ON FREAK STORMS AND FREAK WEATHER (July 19, 2019)

According to the media, freak storms are wreaking havoc all around the world. They are reported increasingly often, too. They cause damage, but they also bring death. By and by, freak storms have turned into freak weather, too. That is, odd, unusual, surprising, anomalous, irregular, uncommon, strange, abnormal, as well as infrequent weather. Infrequent? The fact is that unusual storms are taking place ever more often, and the media demonstrate it beyond any doubt. The same holds for unusual weather. The only question is when the media will drop the word “freak” from their reports, for it is increasingly inadequate to what is going on around the world. Climate change will eventually lead to language change, to be sure, but the inertia of language cannot but show the inertia of the collective human mind. Call it sluggishness instead, so that everyone can understand it. Indeed, it will take quite a while for the human race to understand that freak storms are history by now. And so is freak weather. By now, freak is normal.