Weather Science

The fourth book in our Ask the Experts series, The Environment tackles questions about the world around us. In this book, our experts field queries on the weather, natural disasters, natural resources, climate change, and unusual phenomena.

In this definitive guide, climatologists Barry D. Keim and Robert A. Muller examine the big picture of Gulf hurricanes - from the 1800s to the present and from Key West, Florida, to Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula - providing an extraordinary compilation and interpretation of the entire region's hurricane and tropical storm history. Drawing from their own research and from National Hurricane Center records, Keim and Muller examine numerous individual Gulf storms.

Disaster relief as we know it did not exist when the deadliest tornado in U.S. history gouged a path from southeast Missouri through southern Illinois and into southwestern Indiana. The tri-state tornado of 1925 hugged the ground for 219 miles, generated wind speeds in excess of 300 miles per hour, and killed 695 people.

Consider this: Five of the most expensive hurricanes in history have made landfall since 2005: Katrina ($160 billion), Ike ($40 billion), Sandy ($72 billion), Harvey ($125 billion), and Maria ($90 billion). With more property than ever in harm’s way, and the planet and oceans warming dangerously, it won’t be long before we see a $250 billion hurricane. Why? Because Americans have built $3 trillion worth of property in some of the riskiest places on earth: barrier islands and coastal floodplains.

Thunder is the noise made by lightning. Lightning and thunder happen at the same time, but have you ever noticed that you will see lightning before you hear thunder?

The water cycle is like a circle.

We have four different seasons because the Earth is tipped as it rotates around the sun.

Did you know that a meteorologist is a special scientist that predicts the weather? A meteorologist measures how fast the wind is blowing, measures the humidity in the air, and provides information about warm fronts and cold fronts.

Meteorologists use an anemometer to measure wind speed. Back in the early 1800s, Sir Francis Beaufort, a British admiral, designed a scale to measure wind speed.

If you are fascinated with thunderstorms, cloud formations, tornados, and windy weather, you might be interested in becoming a meteorologist.

Fall brings cooler weather and in autumn there are shorter days. The leaves change from green to orange, red, and purple, until they start falling to the ground.

Have you ever lay down on the grass to look up into the sky at the clouds? Did you know that clouds are made up of tiny droplets of water?

Spring is a very unpredictable time of the year. Sometimes it’s warm, and then snow might appear. Daffodils and crocuses are clues that spring is near.

Kids will learn the difference between a tornado and a hurricane in the fact-filled rhyming audiobook.

How many meteorologists have ever gone viral for doing something positive? Not many, but Alan Sealls did! He was proclaimed “Best Weatherman Ever” by ‘the Internet’ in 2017 for his concise, coherent, enlightening and informative forecasts of Hurricane Irma, viewed millions of times around the world.

Why Elephants Cry is a fascinating frolic through the literature and evidence surrounding the use of unusual behavior of animals to measure and predict the environment. The role of animals, from the smallest ant to the biggest elephant, as predictors of environmental changes is framed around the climate crisis, which highlights the increasingly important part that animals will have to play in the future. Renowned biologist Professor John T. Hancock collects anecdotal stories and myths along with scientific evidence, demonstrating that observation of animals can be of tangible use.

What makes the English English? Is it their eccentricity, their passionate love (or, indeed, hatred) of Marmite - or is it something less easily defined? Beginning at the top of a muddy Gloucestershire slope at the Cooper's Hill cheese-rolling contest and traversing a landscape of lawns and queues, coastlines and sporting arenas, Ben Fogle takes us on a journey through the peculiarly English.

Having abandoned his friends and family and taken to the skies, Ewan hides himself in the Wilderlands, away from humans. However, an unexpected attempt on his life and a warning from another dragon lead him to suspect that not all is right in Regone. Ewan returns to his homeland to attend his brother's wedding and discover the source of the bounty on his head. Once there, the dragon prince finds that Ryan of Westshire has been using his absence to court the Lady Shannon.

This audiobook describes different forms water can take in the atmosphere, including rain, snow, ice, and dew.

After nearly 12 months without rain and the hinges of the world barely still oiled, Thomas and his younger brother, Dustin, set out across a drought-ridden landscape in search of answers. What they discover along the way will change their lives, and their country, forever.