Howard Everett Smith

These are stories of such extremes of weather as:
The Northeast Blizzard of 1888, the New England Hurricane of 1938, the Galveston Hurricane of 1900, the floods caused by Hurricane Agnes, the Great Tornado of March 18, 1925, 1816- the year without a summer, the tragedy of Andrea Doria (1956) caused apparently by fog, the killer smog of Donora, Dust Bowl of 1930s, drought of Sahal 1968-1975 when no rain fell, the Idaho Lightning Fire of 1910, and the Xenia tornado of 1974.
The author himself was a participant of the New England Hurricane. He was 10 years old at the time.
Even though the latest disasters are not included, as the book was written in 1982, the accounts are very interesting and well written. Especially, atmospheric conditions leading to disastrous weather are well described. I read the whole thing in one day.

His general thoughts, even though seemingly stating the obvious, are good to remember, too.
From the preface:
‘And there is always a possibility of a greater disaster, especially in the urban areas. Droughts have become progressively worse in terms of deaths occasioned because there are more people than ever in the world and almost every productive acre on this planet is growing food. Some scientists believe that it is only a matter of time before a catastrophic drought takes place that will have a worldwide impact, even affecting then so-called developed countries.
In addition to all this, some killer weather is man-made. Humans are, for example, solely responsible for killer smogs. Poor land management can turn a drought into a disaster. No-one knows what long-term effects of carbon dioxide pollution in the air will be…Is it possible that in spite of science the worst is still to come? Or does the progress of science itself expose us to greater dangers?
The greatest danger is complacency. We must live with the weather. In fact, we are alive because rains fall on our crops and fill our reservoirs. We survive because the sun shines on us and allows us to live healthy lives. We need changes in weather for our psychological well-being. We need the winds, for they pollinate plants, mix the oxygen in proper way, carry away pollution. Odd as it may seem, we even need hurricanes, for they play an important role in bringing needed moisture from the tropics to the temperate zones.’… (plus d'informations)