Perspectives

Reflections on oral history in the geosciences (with a NOAA/AMS terroir). Part 1.

William Hooke
January 27, 2025

Full many a gem of purest ray serene,          The dark unfathom’d caves of ocean bear: Full many a flow’r is...

Fire and Ice: a forecast for the end of the world – and sometimes, for the same-day’s national weather.

William Hooke
January 14, 2025

Leave it to the poet Robert Frost, writing more than a century ago, to capture in 9 short lines and...

The Indonesia tsunami of December 26, 2004

The Indonesia tsunami of December 26, 2004

William Hooke
December 26, 2024

On this day, twenty years ago, Indonesia (and much of southeast Asia) experienced a catastrophic tsunami. The physical impacts extended...

Community-level stress tests (with a nudge from AI).

William Hooke
December 3, 2024

“Civilization exists under geological consent – subject to change without notice.” – attributed (sometimes) to Will Durant. “If you are...

Salient differences between aviation safety and community resilience.

William Hooke
November 25, 2024

The previous LOTRW post left this question hanging: Why, in the aftermath of natural disasters, do we simply rebuild as...

We manage other risks. Why do natural disasters pose a special challenge?

William Hooke
November 19, 2024

On this real world, natural threats and hazards – cycles of flood and drought; hurricanes and winter storms; earthquakes, tsunamis,...

After Hurricane Milton, whither Florida? (And the other 49 of these United States?)

William Hooke
November 13, 2024

Start with some context. Sea level rise is forecast to shrink the land area of Florida by some 1-10% by...

John Milton wrote Paradise Lost. Hurricane Milton is writing a sequel (“take 1.”).

William Hooke
October 24, 2024

Yesterday’s LOTRW post is reproduced here verbatim, but in its original form — before the ChatGPT transformation of certain sections...

John Milton wrote Paradise Lost. Hurricane Milton is writing a sequel.

William Hooke
October 23, 2024

The great English poet John Milton (1608-1674) is most famous for his epic poems Paradise Lost and Paradise Regained[1]. To...

Even as Helene’s high waters and media attention recede, the losses deepen.

William Hooke
October 10, 2024

As of this writing, it’s been two weeks since Hurricane Helene made landfall in the Big Bend area of the...