ESM Research

I think I actually was the librarian who requested this book, but I had forgotten about it until it caught my eye on the “New Books” shelf here at Boatwright.* Eye-catching is probably the best description of it; it is packed full of stunning photos of weather events, maps, graphics and charts of information of all kinds for almost any imaginable extreme weather event.

While it’s described as a reference book, the topic is interesting enough and the book readable enough to earn a spot on your bedside table stack. The chapters are organized around the various types of weather events, from “Heat and Drought” all the way through “Windstorms and Fog.” In between, chapters on tornadoes, snow and ice, thunderstorms and hail, hurricanes, and even cold cover the ‘mosts’ of each phenomena: highest measured wind speed in the world, 20 deadliest tornado outbreaks in U.S. history, deadliest (Galveston 1900) and costliest (Katrina 2005) hurricanes in U.S. history, while also describing the science behind the phenomena. (Although world-wide weather events are mentioned when appropriate, the U.S. has traditionally had a strong history of recording weather data over the past 150 years, and it is this data that the author is drawing from, so there is a strong U.S. focus.)

The author, who studied meteorology at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and now writes weather articles for popular publications such as the New York Times and Conde Nast Traveler, does an excellent job of balancing the “why” of weather phenomena with the “what.” The pictures are not only stunning and large; they do an excellent job of illustrating the text and enhancing the reader’s understanding with well-written, detailed captions that tie them to the chapter text.

An extensive set of appendixes, including an analysis of the extreme temperature and precipitation trends tables, the location of U.S. Weather Service stations across the country, state and city snow, temperature and precipitation records, and, finally, a list of “Extreme Weather Web Sites” which should help with the issue of currency. (The author recognizes the challenges in publishing a book on weather events, noting in the first appendix that all records are current as of 1 January, 2007. But a web site for the book is updated monthly, it appears, so hopefully that will continue. More worldwide records are also captured here, under the “More Records” link, as are corrections and additions to the data found in the book.)

In some ways, this review is a bit of a tease, however. If you’re a University of Richmond student or faculty, you’ll have to wait until I let my 6-year old future meteorologist have a look at our copy. If it’s as big a hit as I think it will be, it might make an appearance as his birthday gift in May…I promise to have it back in circulation here asap.

*How could I not buy a book that styles itself “An entertaining read and an indispensable reference book”?