Cloud Warriors - by Thomas E Weber (Hardcover)

About the Book

"A deeply reported and wide-ranging look at the people, and the technology, predicting and tracking weather in order to raise public awareness to keep one step ahead of extreme weather. For millennia, humans have tried to understand and predict the weather. In the 1950s and 60s, the Space Age helped usher in satellites and radar, while computers made it possible to plug all that data into complex equations that predicted the atmosphere's future behavior. Now a new wave of forecasting advances is unfolding, driven by artificial intelligence, drones, and new types of satellites. The Internet of Things has turned everything from cellphones to cars into ubiquitous weather sensors. Equally significant are new efforts to understand how people respond to forecasts and warnings. Scientists and government officials are realizing that how people get their weather information, and how they use it, are crucial to the outcomes of weather events. Among other things, some inequities, such as economic and health issueas, as well as language barriers, can put vulnerable groups at increased risk due to weather. In CLOUD WARRIORS, veteran journalist Thomas E. Weber takes us on a fascinating tour of how meteorologists, scientists, and officials track and prepare for major weather events, such as hurricanes, tornados, floods, forest fires, extreme heat, and winter storms. As climate change is altering our planet and making weather events more extreme, readers will meet those on the front lines of weather preparation and prediction. We travel from coast-to-coast, to space and back, from National Weather Service to AccuWeather, meeting TV meteorologists and storm chasers, city planners and backyard weatherman. This is a book about the weather-and the power of being able to see it coming"-- Provided by publisher.

Book Synopsis

The unprecedented inside story of the people pushing boundaries of science and technology to build better weather forecasts--providing life-saving warnings and crucial intelligence about nature's deadliest threats

Killer tornadoes. Catastrophic hurricanes. Lethal heat waves. Across the United States and around the world, extreme weather events bring an unending torrent of death and destruction. One indispensable tool consistently offers the ability to help reduce the impact of these calamities: the weather forecast. For centuries, humans have sought to foretell nature's next moves, from ancient farmers to trailblazers of the Space Age, who brought computers and satellites to bear on the problem. Now a new wave of advances, including artificial intelligence and data-gathering drones, makes it possible to accurately detect these fearsome events further in advance. They provide critical time to prepare and get people out of harm's way--an undertaking made ever more urgent by the effects of climate change.

In a remarkable tale of innovation and perseverance, veteran journalist Thomas E. Weber takes readers into the world of the pioneers creating these game-changing forecasts. From storm chasers racing to hunt twisters and physicists unraveling the secrets of the atmosphere, from scientists studying how people react to warnings to humanitarian groups rushing to avert famines, Weber goes behind the scenes to show how predictions keep getting better. He explains what's needed to turn these forecasts into actions that prevent tragedies and how anyone can become more weather literate to protect themselves in emergencies. Cloud Warriors will change the way you think about treacherous weather--and the power of being able to see it coming.

Review Quotes

"A fascinating look at the state of weather forecasting."--Booklist

"Weber aims to increase weather literacy and does an excellent job in helping readers achieve that goal."--Library Journal

"Eye-opening...The vibrant profiles highlight the passion, expertise, and commitment of weather researchers, and the smart blend of meteorology and sociology reveals how extreme weather disproportionately affects the poor...An impassioned case for the value of weather forecasting."--Publishers Weekly

"Weird weather and all the risks that go with it--from fires and floods, to health crises and financial catastrophes--are the new normal. That means forecasting the weather accurately is now a life-or-death proposition. In Cloud Warriors, Weber tells us who's doing it and how, in ways that will keep you turning the page."--Rana Foroohar, author of Makers and Takers: How Wall Street Destroyed Main Street

"A fascinating, vivid, and enlightening book. Cloud Warriors sets a standard in storytelling about our era's most advanced technology, and highest-stake global (and local) trends, in clear and gripping terms."--James Fallows, author of Our Towns: A 100,000-Mile Journey into the Heart of America

"In any book about climate and weather, the atmosphere itself becomes a powerful character. But here, so too do the storm-chasing scientists and algorithm-writing physicists who study and do battle with these natural beasts. In Weber's adept hands, we learn about all of these sets of combatants, courtesy of a yarn that is powerful, compelling, and edifying."--Jeffrey Kluger, author of Apollo 8: The Thrilling Story of the First Mission to the Moon

"Cloud Warriors is a testament to how--in a time of divisiveness and misinformation about climate and weather--the clarity of science can help better the world."--Richard Stengel, author of Mandela's Way: Lessons for an Uncertain Age

"Cloud Warriors is a unique and fascinating book that combines the thrill of chasing storms with the clarity of scientific insights and the physics behind them."--Dr. Jagadish Shukla, author of A Billion Butterflies: A Life in Climate and Chaos Theory

About the Author

Thomas E. Weber is a veteran writer, editor, and newsroom executive with a lifelong interest in how science and technology shape society. He was The Wall Street Journal's first internet columnist and later became a bureau chief for the paper. As executive editor of TIME, he supervised the magazine's feature journalism. He has taught journalism and publishing at Columbia University and New York University, as well as at his alma mater, Princeton University.