Dr. Jeff Masters

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Dr. Jeff Masters

@drjeffmasters.bsky.social

Extreme weather and climate change expert writing for Yale Climate Connections. Co-founder, Weather Underground; former hurricane hunter.
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If you read one thing I write about the climate brittleness bubble, make it this letter on what's happening in Houston in the wake of Hurricane Beryl. If it rings for you, please share it. alexsteffen.substack.com/p/this-is-ho...
This is how a bubble ends: not with a bang, but a discount.alexsteffen.substack.com It's begun. We're not ready.
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Sure, lots of U.S. stations set all-time extreme heat records in the 1930s. But the globe was nowhere near record-hot. Bob Henson provides great context on the records, which were due to a combination of natural variability and poor farming practices. yaleclimateconnections.org/2024/07/why-...
Why were the 1930s so hot in North America? » Yale Climate Connectionsyaleclimateconnections.org Climate skeptics sometimes point to heat records from that decade to dismiss the reality of global warming. They're leaving out crucial context.
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This is a welcome change! “elevating structures by 2 additional feet adds around 2 percent to the cost of the average project, but that this spending will pay for itself over the next 60 years by preventing future damages.” grist.org/extreme-weat...
FEMA will now consider climate change when it rebuilds after floodsgrist.org The federal disaster relief agency is overhauling its rules in a bid to end a cycle of rebuilding in unsafe areas.
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After widespread rains of 2-3” in SE Michigan from Beryl’s remnants moving through, we got a flaming sunset over Ford Lake in Ypsilanti.
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After the second hottest June in US history, the burners aren't exactly being turned down this month. Las Vegas is having the hottest week in its history, and heat advisories now stretch from Boston to Birmingham. Many more records will fall. yaleclimateconnections.org/2024/07/reco...
Record heat engulfs both U.S. coasts » Yale Climate Connectionsyaleclimateconnections.org Historic heat will likely melt more records as this summer grinds onward.
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More questions than answers on if managed retreat from wildfire zones makes sense, but the risk is huge. “44 million houses are in the wildland-urban interface (WUI) across the US. For comparison, there are 9-15 million housing units in high flood risk zones.” www.ppic.org/blog/does-ma...
Does Managed Retreat Make Sense in Wildfire-Prone Lands?www.ppic.org The concept of “managed retreat” originated in coastal areas that are dealing with sea level rise. Now, the term is increasingly used in discussions around wildfire—but does that make sense? We asked ...
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This is going to get expensive: If climate change has increased the outside temperature from 96F to 100F, the energy your air conditioner consumes increases by 42%, since the power consumed varies by the square of the temperature difference between the outside and inside.
Can we air condition our way out of extreme heat? A primer on air conditioning from The Climate Brink www.theclimatebrink....
Can we air condition our way out of extreme heat?www.theclimatebrink.com part 1: a primer on air conditioning
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Beryl maintained its hurricane-force strength as its stronger right-hand side moved directly over central Houston, bringing the city some of its strongest winds since Hurricane Ike in 2008. The final post Bob Henson and I have planned for Beryl: yaleclimateconnections.org/2024/07/hous...
Houston area slammed by Beryl's winds and water » Yale Climate Connectionsyaleclimateconnections.org Arriving at minimal hurricane strength, Beryl maximized its impact on the Houston area with millions of power outages.
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Bottom line from the latest Beryl discussion from Bob Henson and I: It is likely that Beryl will make landfall in Texas on Monday as a rapidly intensifying hurricane, most likely as a Cat 1 or Cat 2, but landfall as a major Cat 3 is looking less likely. yaleclimateconnections.org/2024/07/trop...
Beryl slowly reorganizing over the Gulf or Mexico » Yale Climate Connectionsyaleclimateconnections.org Beryl is on course to reach Texas Monday as a rapidly intensifying Cat 1 or 2 storm, but most likely not a major hurricane.
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The 2021 Bipartisan Infrastructure Law included funds to elevate 19 single-family homes in the Florida Keys. I love the Keys, but the cruel math says that our limited adaptation dollars are better spent elsewhere.
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Beryl's long tour of the Atlantic has two more stops to go--Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula and the Texas/Mexico border region--after making unwelcome visits to the Windward Islands, Jamaica, and the Cayman Islands. The July 4th update from Bob Henson and I: yaleclimateconnections.org/2024/07/hurr...
Hurricane Beryl weakens, spares the Cayman Islands » Yale Climate Connectionsyaleclimateconnections.org Beryl is expected to hit Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula on Friday morning as a Cat 1 hurricane, then make landfall near the Texas/Mexico border late Sunday or early Monday.
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With #HurricaneBeryl, 2024 is the 11th hurricane season in last 150 years in which a hurricane developed south of 20N, east of 80W prior to Aug 1. The other 10 seasons went on to average twice or more the normal number of U.S./Florida hurricane and major hurricane landfalls.
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The top five most damaging Jamaican hurricanes (in 2023 USD, according to EM-DAT): 1) Gilbert, 1988, $2.5 billion 2) Ivan, 2004, $920 million 3) Charlie, 1951, $630 million 4) Charley, 2004, $470 million 5) Dean, 2007, $420 million Below is a photo I took in the eye of Cat 5 Gilbert:
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Beryl is the second strongest hurricane ever to make a landfall in the Windward Islands. Only Hurricane Maria’s September 19, 2017 landfall on Dominica as a category 5 storm with 165 mph winds was stronger.
#Beryl is now the strongest hurricane ever officially recorded by July 1 in the Atlantic Ocean. Previous record: Dennis on July 8, 2005. The only other storm to have 150+ mph winds in July was Emily (2005). Remarkable. This is a massive warning sign for the rest of the season.
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A study in Nature Ecology & Evolution reports that the frequency and magnitude of extreme wildfires appear to have doubled over the past 20 years, and the six most extreme years for these events have occurred since 2017. go.nature.com/3RFYBPW 🧪
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“The worst heat waves are more like neutron bombs: They kill people while leaving buildings standing. And most of the deaths occur beyond the gaze of observers, including photographers.”
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“In years like the 2022–23 winter, I expected that the record amount of snowfall would really help to replenish the groundwater supply…but as the population increases, so does water use. The ultimate solution will have to include wiser water management.” earthobservatory.nasa.gov/images/15297...
Groundwater Declines in the U.S. Southwestearthobservatory.nasa.gov Record snowfall has not been enough to offset groundwater losses amid long-term drying and a heightened demand for the resource.
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When disaster strikes in the form of a major flood, hurricane, or the like, we merely give the equivalent of a blood transfusion to the injured, without stopping the bleeding. My latest on U.S. climate adaptation efforts: yaleclimateconnections.org/2024/06/the-...
The U.S. is nowhere near ready for climate change » Yale Climate Connectionsyaleclimateconnections.org Despite recent investments in adaptation, the U.S. remains woefully unprepared for the coming extreme storms and floods.
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My latest post: consider the bipartisan National Coordination on Adaptation and Resilience for Security Act of 2023, to produce a national climate adaptation and resilience strategy, with a chief resilience officer appointed by the president. yaleclimateconnections.org/2024/06/the-...
The U.S. is finally making serious efforts to adapt to climate change » Yale Climate Connectionsyaleclimateconnections.org A major bill before Congress could help the country prepare for the coming climate storm.
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Impressive research to “back out” how much people are paying for property insurance. Remarkable that “US property catastrophe reinsurance prices doubled between 2018 and 2023.”
For the first time, a new paper allows Americans to see how sharply insurance costs are rising in risky areas - and imagine the consequences for the country as a whole susanpcrawford.substack.com/p/making-tox...
Making toxic pockets of residential real estate more visiblesusanpcrawford.substack.com An important new paper shows where and why rapid repricing is more likely to happen