Waiting for Hurricane Irene in New York

Abstract

In the brief history of Weather, Climate, and Society, the journal’s editorials have addressed a number of topics, including policy issues, methodological concerns, and emerging themes in the literature of the field. To this set I am now adding a topic generated by the weather itself: Hurricane Irene, whose arrival and passage I recently witnessed in New York. This hurricane is relevant for research in weather, climate, and society, particularly in the area of risk perception. One of the most destructive hurricanes to strike the United States in recent years, it will doubtless receive attention from many perspectives and on many scales. I offer my immediate personal observations, which may complement future studies and even help orient such studies, as well.