What’s up with the Weather? Examining extremes of the past year and how they relate to climate change.

Maine’s climate is getting warmer and wetter, and extreme weather patterns that can bring damaging rainfall or prolonged heat waves are becoming more common. But how does a warming climate produce these extremes? And why has the last year seemed so unusual – summer 2023 ranking 2nd wettest on record after several dry years, global mean temperatures soaring to record highs, and three major storms impacting Maine since December 18?

Join Dr. Sean Birkel, Maine State Climatologist and Assistant Professor at the University of Maine’s Climate Change Institute and Cooperative Extension, as he explores these questions using data visualization tools developed as part of his work at the University. In this process, Dr. Birkel will provide historical climate context and step through recent examples of extreme weather in Maine paired with the large-scale circulation patterns that facilitated these events.