Great Plains Weather

by Kenneth F. Dewey

The weather of the Great Plains is extreme and highly variable, from floods to droughts, blizzards to tornadoes. In Great Plains Weather Kenneth F. Dewey explains what makes this region’s climate unique by presenting a historical climatology of extreme weather events. Beginning with tornadoes—perhaps the most formidable plains weather phenomena—he describes the climatology of these storms and discusses memorable tornadoes of the plains. As one of the storm chasers who travels the Great Plains in the spring and summer tracking severe weather, Dewey also shares some of his experiences on the road.

Dewey then goes on to discuss famous blizzards, from the “School Children’s Storm” of 1888 to more recent storms, along with droughts and floods. Precipitation, or the lack thereof, has long determined human activity in the region; exacerbated by the vagaries of climate change, it continues to have a significant economic and cultural impact on the people of the plains. Dewey’s absorbing narrative is complemented by images of tornadoes, snowstorms, and flash floods that he amassed in forty years of climatological research.
 

200 pages, Paperback

Published May 1, 2019

Reviews

[Harry Podschwit · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great introduction to weather on the Great Plains. I thought the chapter on tornados was a bit longer than the rest of the chapters, and the snow chapter could have emphasized some more of the meteorology/science instead of historical events, but these are only minor complaints.

I know others have commented that they thought the author used too many words on personal anecdotes, and while he certainly talked about his experiences, I didn’t think he over did it (cough cough Gavin Pretor-Pinney).

[E. · Rating 3 out of 5]

A fun exploration of the crazy, extreme weather of the Great Plains. One thing I learned was that the wild swings of temperatures and conditions has always been a feature of this region. We all have our personal stories of weird changes of weather (like wearing shorts in the morning and snow boots in the evening), but the ones in this book are truly wild.

[James McCormick · Rating 3 out of 5]

Generic intro to plains weather intermingled with stories by the eccentric author.