Big weather events 2016 how to#

In winter, freezing air temperatures associated with strong winds can create snowstorms (blizzards). Thunderstorms are storms with lightning, thunder, and hail. As the particles get bigger and heavier, they start to fall as snow or rain. When clouds move higher, the droplets get colder and form ice particles. Updrafts (warm air moving upwards in the atmosphere) create clouds, which are made of small water droplets. Depending on the combinations of these ingredients, different types of weather form and some can create storms. Storms: How They Form and Their FutureĪir, water, and heat are the three main ingredients that make the weather. While they can be very dangerous, wildfires are also a natural part of the environment and are needed to maintain healthy ecosystems. Wildfires have many names: forest fires, grass fires, peat fires, bushfires, or hill fires. Heatwaves are common and happen in many regions of the planet, including the oceans! Wildfires are also extreme events ( Figures 1b,k). Extreme events also include droughts ( Figure 1a), heatwaves, and coldwaves. Another group of extremes is linked to floods, and includes extreme rainfall and atmospheric rivers, or “rivers in the sky” ( Figure 1h). These storms can be very intense and often do a lot of damage. Types of storms like tropical cyclones, tornadoes, hailstorms, and storm surges are well-known extreme events ( Figures 1g,i,j). Most of us have experienced at least one type of climate and weather extreme, and some of us have experienced many. Some extreme events are already happening more often, are more intense, and will continue to worsen. Many weather and climate extremes happen naturally, but climate change does change where and how often some extreme events take place, and how strong those events are.

Big weather events 2016 how to#

We cannot stop extreme events from happening, but we can prepare and protect ourselves from them, and learn how to better take advantage of them when possible. For example, some extreme rainfall events in California bring a precious supply of water to the region. However, not all extreme events bring damage, and some can bring good changes. Extreme events also cause health problems and can even cause the deaths of people and animals.

For example, the October–November 2019 wildfires in California (USA) caused $25 billion in damage. The damage caused by extreme events can cost individuals, businesses, and governments a lot of money. See the Author’s Note section for photo credits.Įxtreme events are important because they often cause damage, both to nature and to people. (k) Wildfire and firefighters near Bilpin, Australia (19 December 2019). (i) Thunderstorm off the coast of Byron Bay, Australia. (h) Atmospheric river bringing moisture from the tropics to the Western U.S. (g) Four tropical cyclones across the Pacific Ocean (1 September 2015): Typhoon Kilo, Hurricane Ignacio, Hurricane Jimena, and Tropical Depression 14E. (f) Flooding following hurricane Eta (Central America, November 2020). (e) New Jersey shoreline after a storm surge (USA). (c) The “Victoria’s hailstone” in Villa Carlos Paz in Argentina (8 February 2018). (b) Smoke from the Williams Flat Fire (WA, USA, 8 August 2019).Figure 1 - Different types of climate and weather extremes and their impacts: (a) Drought conditions near Jaguari dam, Brazil (January 2014).Heatwaves, extreme rainfalls, floods, thunderstorms, typhoons, hurricanes, tornadoes, tropical cyclones, hailstorms, storm surges, droughts, and wildfires are all extreme events ( Figure 1).

They are so intense or out of place that they get special mention.

What Are Extreme Events?Įxtreme climate and weather events are defined as unusual and rare events. What are extreme climate and weather events? Will new or stronger extreme events happen due to climate change? How is climate change impacting extreme events? These are the type of questions that our team of climate and earth scientists from around the world will answer in this article. But Earth’s changing climate does change where and how often some extreme events take place, and how strong those events are. Many weather and climate extremes happen naturally, even without climate change. They take place in the air (storms, tornadoes, heavy rain, atmospheric rivers), in the ocean (storm surges, marine heatwaves), and on the land (wildfires, heatwaves, floods, droughts). Extreme climate and weather events are unusual and rare events that often cause a lot of damage both to nature and to people.