extreme weather

Analysis and Comment (10)

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Forecasting the chaos of tornadoes

By Adam Kucharski, Imperial College London

During the autumn of 1944, the US Air Corps forecasting team made a series of perfect predictions about weather patterns over the Pacific Ocean. Or so it seemed according to reports from aircrafts flying…
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Tornadoes are common in the US Great Plains, but still devastating. Carsten Peter/EPA/World Press Photo

Explainer: why are tornadoes so destructive?

By Ailie Gallant, Monash University

Tornadoes are a part of life for people living in the Great Plains of the United States. In Oklahoma, a state that averages 62 tornadoes a year, people are prepared as best as they can be and are well…
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People affected by floods move to higher grounds in Khoski, Sindh province, Pakistan, 17 September 2011. AAP

Weather extremes: atmospheric waves and climate change

By Vladimir Petoukhov, Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research and Stefan Rahmstorf, Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research

The northern hemisphere has experienced a spate of extreme weather in recent times. In 2012 there were destructive heat waves in the US and southern Europe, accompanied by floods in China. This followed…
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Heat, floods and fire: it’s not just weather. timswinson.com

Angry summer shaped by a shifting climate

By Will Steffen

The hottest summer on record. The hottest month on record. The hottest day ever recorded for the whole of Australia. Heatwaves, bushfires, record rainfall and floods – extreme events across the land. This…
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The Australian media might call them ‘mini-tornadoes’, but they’re just as destructive as the real thing. AAP Image/Paul Beutel

Tornadoes in Australia? They’re more common than you think

By Hamish Ramsay, Monash University

There is a long-standing myth that Australia doesn’t get tornadoes. This simply isn’t true. Just ask residents of Burnett Heads and Bargara, on Queensland’s southeast coast, or the Melburnians who were…
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Adapting to future disasters is complicated and expensive, but might be more cost-effective than endless clean-ups. AAP Image/Paul Beutel

Clean-up or adaptation? ‘Disaster-proofing’ Queensland

By Sarah Boulter, Griffith University

Following several years of devastation in Queensland, the state’s premier believes it’s time to “flood and disaster proof” as many towns and communities as possible. In Mr Newman’s words: “We can’t accept…
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A warmer atmosphere holds more moisture, and that can lead to more extreme rainfall. AAP Image/Dave Hunt

Increases in rainfall extremes linked to global warming

By Seth Westra

Rainfall extremes are increasing around the world, and the increase is linked to the warming of the atmosphere which has taken place since pre-industrial times. This is the conclusion of a recent study…
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Recent extreme weather doesn’t tell us how the future will be. EPA/Justin Lane

Hurricane Sandy: the new normal?

By Gary W Yohe, Wesleyan University

Are we now experiencing the “new normal” climate? Let’s look at the recent evidence: A storm of historic proportions is moving up the east coast as a Nor’easter without precedent, since no such storm…
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Residents of Virginia have begun sandbagging against the arrival of Sandy. EPA/MIchael Reynolds

Hurricane Sandy mixes super-storm conditions with climate change

By Kevin Trenberth, University Corporation for Atmospheric Research

As I write this, Hurricane Sandy remains a very large, powerful hurricane. On Sunday afternoon (local time), Sandy brought winds gusting to 103km/h to coastal North Carolina. Heavy rains are already occurring…
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The climate system is highly sensitive to radiative forcing, so it’s no wonder we’re seeing more extreme weather events. Isn’t it time to take notice? AAP

The atmosphere’s shift of state and the origin of extreme weather events

By Andrew Glikson

The linear nature of global warming trends projected by the IPCC since 1990 and as late as 2007 (see Figure 1) has given the public and policy makers an impression there is plenty of time for economies…

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