Stormy Weather

Mon, 27 Jul 2020 02:49:56 GMT

One of the easily-predictable consequences of a warmer planet is more violent weather. The New York Times had an article a couple of days ago, titled What’s Going on Inside the Fearsome Thunderstorms of Córdoba Province?. Among its vivid descriptions is this one of the fleet of radar trucks being used by researchers:

Raised off the ground on hydraulic feet, the trucks are able to scan in winds that might otherwise peel asphalt off a road.

As anyone who knows me can easily guess, my mind went immediately to On the Storm Planet by Cordwainer Smith; curious readers may wish to compare this picture from the Times article with this one of a ground car bolting itself to the ground on Henriada, where

... Heavy ground cars make it possible to travel on the surface. When a tornado approaches, they use mechanical screw-like devices to bolt the vehicle to the ground.

(Just as an aside, On the Storm Planet includes one of my favorite characters, the turtle-girl T'Ruth, who you can see imagined by Virgil Finlay and Pierre Lacombe (pretty far down the page in both cases). Because turtle.)

Readers looking for something a little closer to home might also want to look up Mother of Storms by John Barnes. (Trigger warning: I remember reading a review that included the unforgettable phrase "the sex is as violent as the weather".)

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Stormy Weather