The Democrat secretary of state of Wisconsin, now campaigning for lieutenant governor, is facing a wave of ridicule after posting a breathless social-media video blaming a routine severe-weather event on climate change.
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According to WND, Sarah Godlewski triggered the backlash with a 10-second TikTok clip in which she dramatically showcased hail in her yard as supposed proof of a climate crisis. Republicans say we dont have climate change, she declared, before turning her camera to the ice. This is golf-ball-size hail in my front yard! This is NOT normal! And we cant keep ignoring our environment.
The storm system that moved through the Midwest on Tuesday did produce unusually large hailstones, a phenomenon long documented by meteorologists and weather historians. Noah Bergren, senior meteorologist at Fox35 in Orlando, Florida, observed: Holy hail! 3?+ diameter mega hailstones from Madison, Wisconsin Tuesday evening. Because of the density of ice, this weights more than a MLB baseball. Hail of this size generally falls at 70-80 MPH downwards, so yes, it can be dangerous to deadly if it strikes humans or animals. Probably had to be suspended in the thunderstorm updraft up to 30 minutes to grow this size.
Conservatives quickly highlighted that extreme hail is hardly unprecedented and does not automatically validate sweeping climate-change narratives. Talk-show host Dan ODonnell of WIBA Radio in Madison posted the video on X, remarking: Wisconsins Democrat Secretary of State thinks hail is evidence of climate change. The party of science, ladies and gentlemen!
Political strategist Alex Bruesewitz, an adviser to President Donald Trump, questioned the judgment of voters who put such officials in office. How do these people get elected? he asked, adding bluntly: She is a whack job!
Social-media users piled on, mocking both the tone and the substance of Godlewskis outburst. Hail is not normal? Hail is proof of climate change? @SarahforWI is off her rocker, one wrote, while another added: Yeah. Its called weather. Shocker.
Others zeroed in on the theatrics of the clip and the apparent ignorance of basic meteorology. 1) why are you yelling? 2) hail is not normal? what? one critic asked, as another pointed to historical records: The largest hailstone officially recorded in Wisconsin history was 5.7 inches in diameter, which fell in Wausau on May 22, 1921. A close runner-up was a 5.5-inch stone in Port Edwards on June 7, 2007.
Skeptics also noted the quiet retirement of the old global warming label in favor of the more malleable climate change. Why dont we say global warming any more? one commenter asked, reflecting a broader conservative concern that the terminology shifts whenever predictions fail to match reality.
Godlewskis campaign materials make clear that environmental activism is central to her political brand, and critics argue that her hail video is part of a broader push to justify expansive green spending. Her website boasts that As state treasurer she ended the Republican gag order on climate change and prioritized investing in renewable energy projects and led the investment of more than $299 million supporting over 451 projects in hundreds of communities across Wisconsin.
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