Transcript:

In 2012, Superstorm Sandy caused record-setting storm surge flooding in New York City. The devastating event prompted city officials to invest in protecting the city from future storms.

Coughlan de Perez: “What we see is that people tend to prepare for extreme weather after they’ve experienced extreme weather.”

But Erin Coughlan de Perez of Tufts University says that as climate change causes more extreme weather, cities should not wait for that kind of terrible wake-up call to get prepared.

In a 2025 study, she and co-authors used climate models to identify possible but never-before-seen events across several cities.

For example, in Montgomery County, Alabama, models show that a future heat wave could reach almost 110 degrees.

And an early spring storm could drop more than eight inches of rain in a single day.

Coughlan de Perez: “The goal of this modeling is to try to show people, here are examples of events that you probably want to prepare for and try to help with that imagination of how the event could unfold and what we need to do to be ready in advance.”

She says if people use past disasters as their guide for what to expect …

Coughlan de Perez: “Then we’re driving forward while looking in the rearview mirror.”

Reporting credit: Sarah Kennedy / ChavoBart Digital Media