The nation isn't prepared for monster winter storms because Americans falsely think global warming has reduced the amount of seasonal snowfalls, says Joe Bastardi, chief forecaster for WeatherBELL.
"There's a salt shortage out there, and this is because a lot folks, in my opinion, just sort of have been writing off winters," Bastardi told "The Steve Malzberg Show" on Newsmax TV.
"It may be a side issue of this global warming stuff, but people, five years ago, would say, 'Well, people aren't going to know what snow is anymore.'
"This is just ridiculous, and you pay the price with nature all of the time.''
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In fact, Bastardi says, the United States is in "a great pattern" for storms — one of which is now slamming much of the South.
"We told people back in mid-January [that] February was going to be a heck of a month as far as storminess goes," he said.
"Now, January was very, very cold, and it got snowy in the Midwest, but overall, January was a dry month. We knew this one would have a lot of water in it, and that would lead to a lot of storms.
"It's very much like 1994 — February of 1994 — and so we had a lot of people warned."
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