Why did T-Rex become extinct? Why did the Mayan civilization disappear: If the ancient Israelis did indeed cross the Red Sea, as reported in the Bible, what weather phenomena might have produced the parting of the waters? Why was nearly all human life swept away 73,000 years ago? And what factors created the Great American Dust bowl of the 1930s? The extraordinary people who are interested in asking - and answering - such questions are known as climatologists. In a lively narrative full of intriguing facts, award-winning, internationally known climatologist Randy Cerveny takes the reader on a fascinating tour of some of the world's most perplexing and provocative climate mysteries, past and present. Cerveny explains the science of climate study - from digging ice cores in Antarctica to counting tree rings in Arizona - and the various specialists whose ingenious techniques help to sort out climate's intricate components. He also delves into the human impact of weather through fictional introductions to each chapter that depict how climate change might have affected a typical inhabitant of the ancient Sahara or Indus Valley, a peasant during Europe's 'Little Ice Age', or an aviation expert probing a deadly jet crash in New York City. Finally, he discusses research that attempts to forecast the weather of the next 10,000 years - essential information for planning the nuclear waste depository at Yucca Mountain, Nevada. For readers of "An Inconvenient Truth", devotees of the Weather Channel, history buffs, popular science fans, or anyone who wonders what makes our weather tick - and how it will impact our future, this engaging book offers much to ponder and to enjoy....

In the course of his numerous talks and presentations to college and grade school students, civic clubs, and nursing homes, climatologist Randy Cerveny found that people of all ages are fascinated by the "unusual"—and he seized on that fascination to tell them about strange weather. Now, in his first book, the rest of us can learn of real, documented stories such as these:

• Odd occurrences of chickens losing all their feathers during tornadoes (so-called "chicken plucking");

• Strange stories of finding lightning victims who have been completely stripped of all of their clothes (through a process known as "the vapor effect");

• Weird stories of how past powerful hailstorms have both led to the ending of one war—and the complete prevention of another;

• Bizarre uses of weather—such as the strange contraption called a "windwagon" that literally "sailed" nearly 500 miles from Kansas to Colorado;

Each chapter in Freaks of the Storm encompasses the oddities of a specific type of weather, such as tornadoes, hurricanes, lightning, and hail. The author also divides specific conditions into a set of categories associated with the overall phenomena....