Extreme Weather

Unprecedented summer warmth and flooding, destructive hurricanes, forest fires, drought and torrential rain — extreme weather events are occurring more and more often. Penn State experts look at the causes behind extreme weather, how we can better prepare for these events and the impact on the world around us.

  • Kevin Furlong

    Professor of Geosciences

    Earth Science

  • Erica Smithwick

    Director of the Earth and Environmental Systems Institute

    Sustainability & Environment, Earth Science

  • Yvette Richardson

    Professor of Meteorology

    Earth Science

  • Alfonso Mejia

    Associate Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering

    Engineering & Technology

From earthquakes and wildfires to hurricanes and catastrophic flooding, Penn State researchers are prepared to talk about extreme weather events and the forces that cause them.

  • From using big data to establish long-term models to pairing hurricane patterns with sounds, Penn State is using a multidisciplinary approach to tackling the increasing threat of hurricanes.
  • Penn State researchers work to better understand extreme weather occurrences in order to better predict, track and establish warning systems for these events.
  • Penn State experts can speak to the impact of climate change on wildfires and how their increasing occurrence is impacting ecosystems and landscapes.
Kevin Furlong

Kevin Furlong

Professor of Geosciences

Expertise:

  • Earth Science

Focus Areas:

  • Earthquakes

Contact Kevin Furlong with questions about: earthquakes

Erica Smithwick

Erica Smithwick

Director of the Earth and Environmental Systems Institute,
Distinguished Professor of Geography,
Associate Director of the Institute of Energy and the Environment

Expertise

  • Sustainability & Environment
  • Earth Science

Focus Areas:

Contact Erica Smithwick with questions about: the impact of climate change on people and environments, and how to address forest sustainability under climate variability.

Yvette Richardson

Yvette Richardson

Professor of Meteorology

Expertise:

  • Earth Science

Focus Areas:

Contact Yvette Richardson with questions about: The impacts of climate change on the formation and evolution of severe storms, tornado genesis, radar observations of tornadic thunderstorms, convective initiation, and numerical modeling.

Alfonso Mejia

Alfonso Mejia

Associate Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering

Expertise

  • Engineering & Technology

Focus Areas:

  • Hydrology
  • Water Resources

Contact Alfonso Mejia with questions about: water resource management, impact of climate change on droughts and floods.

Need help finding an expert?

Penn State expertise spans far beyond those that we have currently featured on the site. Call us at 814-865-7517 or contact a member of the media relations staff

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