Surviving the Storm: Navigating Weather Disasters

Catalog description

Extreme weather brings immense economic costs and threatens individuals, communities, and ecosystems. In the United States, extreme weather events have caused trillions of dollars in damage and killed tens of thousands of people in the past several decades alone. Everyone is vulnerable to weather disasters, whether they know it or not, and METEO 1N will introduce students to basic weather concepts so that they can identify atmospheric conditions that lead to various extreme weather events, such as tornadoes, hurricanes, winter storms, flooding and drought, and extreme heat and cold. Students will learn the major hazards posed by these phenomena and will acquire the necessary knowledge and skills to stay safe, all while building both personal and community resilience to extreme weather. While weather forecasting science has evolved to improve prediction of extreme events, limitations and uncertainties in weather forecasts and forecast communication still exist, and METEO 1N will explore how a wide variety of social vulnerabilities can cause extreme weather events to disproportionately affect various sectors of society and lead to disaster. Continued social inequities, increased growth and development of communities, along with changes in the frequency and intensity of extreme weather due to climate change will bring future challenges in preparing for and responding to disasters. Because of this, the course will conclude by exploring the fundamentals of emergency management and its intersection with meteorology to aid in post-disaster recovery and improve preparation so that a particular disaster doesn't happen the same way again.