Freaks of the Storm: From Flying Cows to Stealing Thunder: The World's Strangest True Weather Stories

by Randy Cerveny

In the course of his numerous talks and presentations to college and grade school students, civic clubs, and nursing homes, climatologist Randy Cerveny found that people of all ages are fascinated by the "unusual" -- and he seized on that fascination to tell them about strange weather. Now, in his first book, the rest of us can learn of real, documented stories such as these: Odd occurrences of chickens losing all their feathers during tornadoes (so-called "chicken plucking"); Strange stories of finding lightning victims who have been completely stripped of all of their clothes (through a process known as "the vapor effect"); Weird stories of how past powerful hailstorms have both led to the ending of one war -- and the complete prevention of another; Bizarre uses of weather -- such as the strange contraption called a "windwagon" that literally "sailed" nearly 500 miles from Kansas to Colorado; Each chapter in Freaks of the Storm encompasses the oddities of a specific type of weather, such as tornadoes, hurricanes, lightning, and hail. The author also divides specific conditions into a set of categories associated with the overall phenomena.

Genres: Nonfiction, Science, Nature, History

371 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2006

Reviews

[Kevin · Rating 2 out of 5]

Ok, here's what I've decided.

This really is an excellent read, however, it's not one that you should sit down and read like a novel. After a bit of time it became tedious and never really drew me back in.

It's a collection of weather oddities from around the world relating to heat, hurricanes, tornadoes, the works. Each chapter has 13 sections and the last section is always how to survive. So, it really did become rather tedious!

A great read, if done right and spaced over time.

So, anyone want it?

I'll be happy to pass it along!

Kev

[Ashley · Rating 2 out of 5]

DNF'd about a third of the way through. I may pick it up now and then and read a few lines, but unfortunately this book was a bit of a disappointment. It isn't terrible, but there are a lot of problems. There are certainly a lot of interesting facts, but for a book that is written in a manner that is not point-style, it still reads as point-style. Too many dates and locations and not enough about the individual events. I understand that is partly because of the sources of the information - not much more can necessarily be said. But the book would do better if it were organized around that fact. As it is, it is a bit overwhelming with the information, which makes it less digestible.

I also found the number of mistakes difficult to overlook. Any book is going to have the occasional spelling or grammatical error, but there are far too many in this book. Moreover, there are sentences with words missing, or too many words (where it was clear he started to say something one way, but then changed his mind, but the sentence was not fixed), or even the use of words that made no sense (plummet and pummel cannot be used interchangeably).

Overall, I think it is one of those books that I could pick up from time to time and learn a few interesting facts (like a Ripley's Believe-it-or-not or a similar style book), but it is not really good to read chapter by chapter.

[Mark Isaak · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book delivers on its promise of strange weather stories, and it gives enough background that I get the sense that most of them are true. A very few, however, are literally incredible, as Cerveny himself acknowledges, and many others have no support other than a newspaper report. For many of the phenomena, such as rains of fish, cross-shaped hailstones, and red snow, Cerveny gives plausible scientific explanations. A few others, such as ball lightning, megacryometeors, and a rain of golf balls, remain complete mysteries. Its coverage is wide-ranging, including stories about how weather has affected history, the lives of weather forecasters, the etymology of "stealing thunder", and the tribulation of a man named Al Nino. If you approach this book as a science book, you will be disappointed by its lack of depth and rigor, but if you see it as reality-based entertainment, it is fascinating.

[Nancy · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is a compilation of interesting weather phenomena from colorful rain and snow to lightning, hurricanes and tornadoes. Each type of weather has its own chapter; I thought the most interesting bits were the tornadoes and hurricanes, including the longest tornado in history which traveled from Missouri to Indiana in three hours.

I think this is a book best digested in short jaunts. Reading it straight through as I did, it becomes tedious and rather monotonous. I had to keep reminding myself to pay attention to what I was reading as my mind kept wandering. Unfortunately, one of the most jarring things in the book was the number of misspelled or mis-used words. I think this book would probably be best for people who are super excited about weather.

[Sandra Strange · Rating 3 out of 5]

The subhead makes readers thinks it's frivolous, but this book is informative as well as entertaining, with serious explanations of weather's vagaries, from rain and lightning to hurricanes, dust devils and waterspouts. Each chapter explains one of weather's demonstrations of power, then from nonfiction newspaper, book and magazine accounts, narrates numerous incidents that show the unpredictability, power, and destructiveness--as well as the weirdness-- of weather.

[Gigi McCullar · Rating 4 out of 5]

As an aspiring geologist I found this a very credible research tool in climate phenomenon. It wasn't that dry,had good information and was fascinating beginning to end. I appreciate books you can put down and pick up during any random chapter. Now I have more weird facts to chat about at happy hour.

[Anna Engel · Rating 2 out of 5]

I love weather and I love weird weather. This book tried too hard to compile all the weird weather that's ever existed and it's both too much and not enough. Each tornado, for example, got a sentence or two, then he moved on. I got bored.

[Jamie Zaccaria · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fascinating run-through of weather and weather events. Easy enough for the lay person to understand but detailed enough for the meteorology nerds to enjoy.

[Marianne · Rating 3 out of 5]

Really disappointing. A few interesting things, but too much really old stuff that was boring.

[Donna West · Rating 5 out of 5]

I adore this book. I got it from my library 3 times before I finally bought it. Absolutely amazing.

[Morgan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really interesting book! I'm fascinated by strange weather phenomenon, so this was fun.

[Katherine · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love to study and observe the weather. This book is full of some of the strangest and most amazing weather stories. Along with the event is a scientific explanation of what and how it happened.

[Susan Olesen · Rating 2 out of 5]

Meh? Nowhere near as interesting as it should have been. The author tries to stick too hard to a 13-section profile for each chapter, never once mentions rogue waves. Tiny little tidbits, sometimes without proper explanation, too many places of intrusive bits that have nothing to do with the topic that I would have been marked down for in college, and so much of the stuff is ancient, so that it is speculation and leads one to wonder how the weather now could possibly be considered strange. If you want a quick overview of weird things that have happened because of weather, read it. It's quick. If you want any depth of information, go elsewhere.

[Fishface · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really enjoyed these zany stories -- and there were so many of them! I have to say tis book needed very serious copyediting before it was released on an unsuspecting public; the author repeatedly uses "plummet" as a transitive verb, spells the same name differently each time he uses it in the same paragraph, and makes liberal use of redundancies liked "recorded weather records." Those are only quibbles, of course. The rain of Lemmings in Alaska was worth the price of admission all by itself, but that doesn't mean I would forego reading about the snapping-turtle-and-alligator rain in Mobile, Alabama. There is some great stuff in here.

[James · Rating 3 out of 5]

Whirlwinds. Giant hail. Rains of live fish. Two by fours driven through bridges. What's not to like in this book? Well, the author's writing style, for one. Instead of relying on his meteorology students to help with this assemblage of weather phenomena through the ages, he should have added an English major to the team. Some of his word choices and other gaffes are downright laughable, but if you are not an effete intellectual snob it is a veritable treasure trove of fascinating atmospheric freakology. Hail yes - by all means give it a whirl.

[Julie · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is enjoyable if you have a very short attention span, like to be shocked, but don't need to know *why* something happened. You're not going to get any answers really, on why it rained alligators or why some portion of snow was bright blue, etc. but it does have a vast collection of weather oddities. Probably the vastest collection of weather oddities. Kind if worth looking at--I read it cover to cover.

[Tippy · Rating 2 out of 5]

This author obviously loves the field. That was the major redeeming factor in this book. I enjoyed the parts where it was suggested that certain weather events changed the course of history and how. Also the parts that discussed weather in religious texts-although I will note that they talked about "Greek myths" and "Islamic legends," but when he's writing about the bible, it is "the first documented case of..." Just sayin'.

[Laura · Rating 3 out of 5]

We've been having our usual spring weather (grapefruit-sized hail, tornadoes, flash floods, etc.) when I found the book in the school library. It seemed like an appropriate read so I checked it out.

It's a dry read but just because it's dry it doesn't mean it's uninteresting. It's also thick these two characteristics will disinterest the average middle school student. But I can also see a few weather trivia buffs totally getting into it.

I'm glad I read it.

[Maria Lofits · Rating 3 out of 5]

I actually haven't finished this book; it's incredibly dense and while interesting, it reads more like a reference book. There are hundreds of interesting weather stories packed in here, but the font is so small and the stories are so numerous that it's better off to read in small doses. I'm sure I will pick this up again in the future and read a bit more.

[Eilish · Rating 2 out of 5]

This books was interesting enough but just strangely written and kind of tedious to read it felt like a college essay or something.
The interest in the weather phenomena the author obviously has just didn't really show through in his writing. I learned some stuff and there were some interesting anecdotes but I wouldn't recommend it.
Took me like a month to read!

[pianogal · Rating 1 out of 5]

I was really hoping this one was better than it was. The author approached a weird topic too scientifically. The stories were dull and lifeless, not to mention, fairly short. If the author had written them more like stories than like entries in the encyclopedia, it would have been better.

[Kara Immel · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a fabulous book by a Arizona State University Professor who has compiled interesting (freaks) occurrences of storms. Things from lady bugs stuck in hail to fish and frogs raining down on a city. Some gross stories and some cute stories.

[David Ward · Rating 3 out of 5]

Freaks of the Storm: From Flying Cows to Stealing Thunder: The World’s Strangest True Weather Stories by Randy Cerveny (Basic Books 2005)(551.6). This is a collection of the strangest weather stories of all time. My rating: 6/10, finished 2006.

[Jennifer W · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting. A quick read full of random bits of trivia, most of which will probably quickly fall out of my brain. Nothing earth-shattering contained herein, but fascinating if you're a weather geek like me.

[Kimberly · Rating 2 out of 5]

Just randomly picked this book off the shelf. It was okay. Some boring parts, some interesting stories.

[Julie · Rating 3 out of 5]

not super well written, but fun stories for weather fans like me.

[Carrie]

weather

[Beka]

Finished the lightning chapter.

[Bethany · Rating 2 out of 5]

some fun stories, some interesting, but mostly they just blur together into a big mash-up of severe weather. I think the author was trying too hard when he chose to do 13 sections in each chapter.

[Jenn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely loved this book. Very comprehensive and scientific, yet fun to read at the same time. Highly recommend.