Tag Archives: hurricanes

A Riverine Flooding Cookbook, Volume 1: Meteorological Floods

Posted on May 12, 2020 by Anne Jefferson

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)

Posted on September 7, 2017 by Anne Jefferson

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)

Posted on September 7, 2017 by Anne Jefferson

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

Posted on August 31, 2017 by Anne Jefferson

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