WHEN WEATHER SLAMS THE MIDWEST, IT'S EASY TO FORGET CALAMITY IN OTHER PARTS OF THE WORLD

Western Europe has been in the news lately for what seems an unusual reason:

Several waves of fierce storms raked the continent, felling trees and killing at least 120. Wind gusts near 100 mph were the strongest in Paris in 50 years, and in southern Germany and Austria, gusts reached 124 and 136 mph, respectively. Hotels and resorts were forced to evacuate guests and destruction was everywhere. Thousands in France faced New Year's Eve without electricity, and as many as 3.4 million homes had it knocked out for a time.

Many of us who have spent all or most of our lives living in Tornado Alley -- stretching from Texas up through the plains of Oklahoma and Kansas, then on through Missouri and the Midwest -- sometimes get the feeling we are uniquely bedeviled by wild swings in the weather. As this news from Europe reminds us, it isn't so.