Redding Residents Hear Cold Facts About The Weather

REDDING, Conn. – Don't worry about the seemingly extreme weather we've been having, it's all happened before.

That was former Hartford television meteorologist Art Horn's message to Redding residents Thursday during his Weather Warriors lecture at the Community Center.

“There’s nothing new in weather,” said Horn, who now teaches at Tunxis Community College in Farmington. “Records are being set, but they’re always being set. People think the recent drought is close to what it was in the 1930s, but it’s nothing close, because that drought lasted nine years. It’s being politicized.”

Redding resident Valli Lipsicas sounded a bit dubious. “I’ve never seen weather like last winter when we got so much snow," she said, "and it’s been so hot this summer.”

Mary Callahan of Redding also was concerned about the heat. “It seems like there are more violent differences," she said, "and I never remember such intense heat.” 

Horn’s lecture focused on people who deal with extreme weather in their work, from airline pilots to smoke jumpers to truckers. He spoke about extreme weather all over the world, from Alaska to Antarctica, and included New England residents in his list of Weather Warriors for surviving the winter of 2010-11, when record snows fell.

Lipsicas found Horn's program "fascinating." "I've learned something here about the weather," she said.

Horn, of Manchester, Conn., resident was a TV meteorologist for 25 years, finished his career at NBC 30 in West Hartford. 

Click here to follow Daily Voice Westport and receive free news updates.