UMaine Extreme Weather, Climate Change Research Featured on WMTW

WMTW (Channel 8 in Portland) reported on University of Maine research to improve the prediction of extreme weather events. UMaine received $1.5 million of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s $5.5 million award to increase the precision of predictions of extreme weather events and coastal flooding in the northeastern United States. The UMaine faculty and researchers are among the 39 researchers engaged in the two-year study. The group will build, deploy, garner and analyze data from state-of the-art outfitted floats, gliders and moorings during two winter storms and two summer storms. Mary Jane Perry, professor of oceanography and interim director of the UMaine Darling Marine Center; and Huijie Xue, professor of oceanography, spoke about the project. “So rather than four days out saying the storm might be here, the goal is to be able to narrow that window and give better and better predictions,” Perry said. The report also featured the CLAS (Climate Change Adaptation and Sustainability Conference) held at UMaine to help local community planners prepare for climate changes and introduce them to tools developed at UMaine’s Climate Change Institute (CCI) to assist in the planning process. Paul Mayewski, CCI director, spoke about weather in relation to climate change. “The climate becomes less stable the more often cold and warm air masses clash,” he said.