Description: "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 issues, as well as language barriers, can put vulnerable groups at increased risk due to weather. In [this book], veteran journalist Thomas E. Weber takes us on a ... 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"--
Brief description: 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.
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
"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