Superstorm 1950 (eBook)

The Greatest Simultaneous Blizzard, Ice Storm, Windstorm, and Cold Outbreak of the Twentieth Century

David A. Call (Autor)

eBook Download: EPUB

2023
206 Seiten
Purdue University Press (Verlag)
978-1-61249-798-3 (ISBN)

Infos

In November 1950, the greatest storm of the twentieth century crippled the eastern United States, affecting more than 100 million people. Sometimes referred to as the Great Appalachian or Thanksgiving storm, this was no ordinary weather event. Its giant size and multiple record-setting hazards—including snow, ice, flooding, wind, and cold temperatures—were cataclysmic. This superstorm was the most costly weather-related disaster when it occurred. Only two other storms that affected the US mainland since then, both hurricanes, have exceeded its death toll. The weather records it established remain benchmarks of extreme weather to this day.

Superstorm 1950 examines the immediate impact of the storm, covering not just meteorology, but also its wide-ranging social impacts, which varied by race, class, and gender. The repercussions continue to affect us today, in obvious areas like weather forecasting, and in surprising areas like Ohio State football and government tax policy. Because superstorms are not as familiar as hurricanes or tornadoes, they can be overlooked in terms of weather-related disasters. This is a mistake. Vulnerability to weather disasters is increasing, and a similar storm today would likely be the most expensive weather disaster ever in the United States. Superstorm 1950 serves not only as a riveting account of one of the greatest disasters in US history, but also provides a premonition of what may come if global climate change is not confronted.

Inhalt

An Introduction

Part 1: The Genesis

Then (1950)

The Storm

Part 2: The Effects

Fifty-Seven Inches

Dig-Out Days

An Icy Blackout

Water Everywhere

Blown Away

Frigid

Part 3: The Upshot

The Modelers

Now and Beyond

Acknowledgments

Notes

References

Index

Produkt-Details

• Erscheint lt. Verlag: 15.1.2023
• Zusatzinfo: 9 b/w maps, 18 b/w photographs
• Verlagsort: West Lafayette
• Sprache: englisch
• Themenwelt: Sachbuch/Ratgeber ► Natur / Technik ► Natur / Ökologie
• Themenwelt: Geisteswissenschaften ► Geschichte ► Regional- / Ländergeschichte
• Themenwelt: Naturwissenschaften ► Biologie ► Ökologie / Naturschutz
• Themenwelt: Naturwissenschaften ► Geowissenschaften ► Meteorologie / Klimatologie
• Schlagworte: 1950 Thanksgiving storm • Blizzard • blizzard of 1993 • climate change • Extreme weather • global warming • Great Appalachian storm • Great Lakes storm of 1913 • Hurricane • Hurricane Sandy • ice storm • meteorology • natural disaster • Snow • societal impacts of weather • storm of the century • Superstorm • weather and society • weather history • weather impacts • weather-related disasters • white hurricane • Winter Storm
• ISBN-10: 1-61249-798-5 / 1612497985
• ISBN-13: 978-1-61249-798-3 / 9781612497983