Our favorite Eye on the Storm stories of 2024 » Yale Climate Connections

There are plenty of stories to tell about how climate change and extreme weather intersect and how people are coping with the mix. At Yale Climate Connections, we have been working on this issue for years, including through our Eye on the Storm division, led by longtime meteorologists and weather/climate authors Dr. Jeff Masters and Bob Henson.

We know that not every reader has read all 151 Eye on the Storm posts we have published since January 1st of this year. To make things easier, we’re highlighting some of our favorites below. Many were written by Jeff and Bob, while others were written by occasional or one-time contributors, enlivening and broadening the scope of our coverage.

Resurfacing some deep dives

The capstone of 2024’s multi-part Eye on the Storm posts was an epic summer three-parter from Jeff about how (and whether) the United States is really preparing to adapt to the devastating changes that climate change is already bringing has. and the extent to which extreme weather may or may not stimulate this process.

Can a colossal extreme weather event trigger action to address the climate crisis?
(July 24)

When will climate change upend life in the United States?
(August 19)

What should you do to prepare for the storm of climate change?
(August 20)

In December, Bob investigated the possibility of a collapse of the Atlantic Multidecadal Overturning Circulation (AMOC), the crucial loop current that flows through the Atlantic Ocean (including the Gulf Stream). This circulation is expected to slow over the course of the century and beyond, and there is increasing concern that a near-total collapse of the circulation could begin in the next few decades – a collapse that may be apparent years in advance.

Collapse of the Atlantic circulation? New clues to the fate of a crucial conveyor belt
(December 10)

How much should you worry about an Atlantic conveyor belt collapse?
(December 11)

Meteorologist Michael Lowry gave us a visual tour of an intensive hurricane-hunting flight in 2022. The flight ultimately confirmed the promise of a new drone that could revolutionize data collection from the interior of tropical cyclones.

Meteorologist turns scary flight into research project
(September 6th)

A new era of hurricane tracking begins
(September 6th)

How does our view of climate change compare to what it actually “looks like”??

Several articles this year focused on the contrasts between popular ideas about human-caused climate change and current reality. More and more weather events across the country are falling under the themes of “wet gets wetter, dry gets drier” and “weather whiplash,” both of which have been linked in numerous studies to a warming climate. Climate communicator Kait Parker took an in-depth look at the stark contrasts that emerged across Texas in the spring of 2024, as a severe drought gripped the state’s border with Mexico while other parts of the state were inundated by record-breaking rainfall.

A stark divide in Texas shows what climate change looks like
(June 18)

Heat waves are particularly difficult to capture photographically. When people suffer and die from heat, it often happens behind closed doors and out of sight. And the natural (and healthy) instinct to cool off in pools or the sea typically results in light-hearted images that can strike a deeply upsetting tone.

How do you imagine a heat wave?
(June 26)

Another type of image that is already stereotypical is that of the “climate”. It is intended to be a place where climate extremes (particularly heat, fire and sea level rise) are avoided and people can find a sense of refuge. But many of these so-called refuges are in cooler, wetter climates where flooding is increasingly common, as demonstrated by the catastrophic impact of Hurricane Helene in and near Asheville, North Carolina.

Is the idea of ​​a “climate paradise” underwater?
(October 1st)

Hurricane-induced devastation in a warming world

The Atlantic’s frenetic hurricane activity in 2024 (see Jeff Masters’ summary of this “strangely hyperactive” season) has put an exclamation point on the fact that warmer oceans lead to tropical cyclone activity at times when the atmosphere is in a favorable state. A new tool from the nonprofit Climate Central this year, the Climate Shift Index: Ocean, quantifies how much human-caused climate change has increased the likelihood of above-average sea surface temperatures when observed at a specific time and location. And for the year’s two most catastrophic U.S. storms, Helene and Milton, researchers concluded that record and record warm water this year nearly doubled the economic damage that would have occurred without climate change.

Human-caused warming of the oceans increased recent hurricanes, including all 11 Atlantic hurricanes in 2024
(November 20)

The 2024 Atlantic season was curiously fully booked as record-breaking hurricanes at the start and end of the season curbed an unprecedented month-long lull from late August to late September. Pearl Marvell, features editor and Spanish translator at Yale Climate Connections, took a poignant look at the physical and human devastation on the tiny Union Island, part of St. Vincent and the Grenadines in the Caribbean, after Category 4 Hurricane Beryl ripped through the area swept on July 1st. Just a day later, Beryl became the earliest Category 5 storm ever recorded in the Atlantic.

The Ballad of Union Island (August 6)

If you’re wondering whether it’s time to add a Category 6 to the Saffir-Simpson scale, two researchers have examined that very question. As it turns out, the answer may be very different for scientific purposes than for the general public.

Does the Saffir-Simpson scale for hurricanes require a Category 6?
(February 5)

Wildfires are (again) a major threat along with tornadoes in the Great Plains

Our ever-warming climate is causing ecosystems to dry out more quickly and increasing the risk of wildfires that char the landscape. By far the country’s largest wildfire in 2024 did not occur in California, Montana or Alaska. It was in Texas and Oklahoma – a monster that devastated more than a million hectares of land, and most of it in the first 24 hours. The Smokehouse Creek fire was the latest in a series of wildfire disasters across the Southern Plains fueled by intense heat and strong winds, including some of the region’s worst fires since European settlement more than a century ago. Researchers are now combining pinpoint satellite detection of fires with warning and reconnaissance techniques already used for tornadoes. The results could improve wildfire safety across the country.

New warning system could save lives in forest fires
(March 26)

Two of our contributors demonstrated how developing tornado resilience can lead to safer and more climate-friendly communities overall. Storm chaser and photographer Charlie Randall visited Greensburg, Kansas, which became a Plains pioneer in renewable energy after its destruction by a hurricane in 2007. And researcher Daphne LaDue explained how simple building practices can help reduce damage to most homes hit by even the most violent tornadoes: “We know how to build better. We just have to start.”

Portrait of a Kansas city that transitioned entirely to clean energy after a devastating tornado
(June 10)

How to make your home more resilient to tornadoes
(April 9)

And on April 3, the 50th anniversary of the 1974 super outbreak — which spawned a record 30 tornadoes classified as violent — three experts shared their thoughts on how tornado behavior and awareness might evolve as the Frequency of tornadoes in the highly vulnerable Lower Mississippi Valley is increasing as communication and warning modes change dizzyingly.

How might the next super tornado outbreak affect tomorrow’s world?
(April 3)