A 'very wacky' year for weather hurts people, economies

North Jersey: From the rampage of superstorm Sandy to the warmest average temperature ever recorded, extreme weather harassed New Jersey throughout 2012. There was even a rare derecho — a line of intense thunderstorms that swept through in June with wind gusts of 80 mph. But the state was hardly alone: The worst drought in a half-century parched the central United States. Intense floods ravaged West Africa. Oddly timed typhoons hit the eastern Pacific. An extreme cold snap chilled Europe, and dry conditions seared...

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