Tag Archives: hurricanes

A Riverine Flooding Cookbook, Volume 1: Meteorological Floods

Meteorological floods are closely tied to the four mechanisms of atmospheric lifting (convection, frontal systems, convergence, and orographic) that produce cooling, saturation, and precipitation. As climate change warms the atmosphere, enabling it to hold more water, and shifts atmospheric circulation patterns, there is the potential for more severe flooding and flooding in new places to result from any of these lifting mechanisms. Continue reading

Categories: by Anne, geohazards, hydrology

Hurricane Harvey and the Houston Flood: Did Humans Make it Worse? (Part 2: Urbanization)

There’s been a lot of speculation and discussion about the role of urbanization in contributing to the flooding from Hurricane Harvey in Houston. Fortunately, urban hydrology is my specialty, so even though I’ve never been to Houston, I feel like … Continue reading

Categories: by Anne, geohazards, hydrology, society

Hurricane Harvey and the Houston flood: Did Humans Make it Worse? (Part 1: Climate Change)

This Friday at noon, the Kent State University Department of Geology is hosting a panel discussion on the human role in the catastrophic flooding experienced by Houston and surrounding communities in the wake of Hurricane Harvey. I will be one … Continue reading

Categories: by Anne, climate science, geohazards

August climate impacts stories: Hurricane Harvey, other climate change fueled-floods, and more

August 30th: Harvey reminds us that we should treat climate change as we treat other public health threats. That’s the argument in this New York Times op-ed: Harvey, the storm that humans helped cause. August 29th: The most sobering hot-take … Continue reading

Categories: by Anne, climate science, hydrology, ice and glaciers, links