2014 AMS Annual Meeting

In 2011, the United States experienced twelve $1 billion dollar weather and climate disasters. Globally, weather and climate disasters (Figure 1) contributed to more than one-third of a trillion dollars in damage i. The scientific literature and the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) have independently suggested that intensity and frequency of extreme weather events will increase due to climate change. However, there is some debate about whether contemporary extreme weather events and climate change are related. Regardless of attribution, extreme weather and climate events represent a significant intersection point that combines scientific inquiry, technological advances, societal implications, and public awareness.