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.
Director of the Earth and Environmental Systems Institute
Sustainability & Environment, Earth Science
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.
Contact Kevin Furlong with questions about: earthquakes
Director of the Earth and Environmental Systems Institute,
Distinguished Professor of Geography,
Associate Director of the Institute of Energy and the Environment
Contact Erica Smithwick with questions about: the impact of climate change on people and environments, and how to address forest sustainability under climate variability.
Professor of Meteorology
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.
Associate Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering
Contact Alfonso Mejia with questions about: water resource management, impact of climate change on droughts and floods.
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
Copyright The Pennsylvania State University © 2025