EXTREME WEATHER

After receiving weather queries from fans of her intensive weather analyses, CNN meteorologist Schneider addresses many critical dilemmas in an easy-to-read preventative guidebook.

The author dictates the proper steps to take before, during and after such momentous events as flash floods (get out of your car), firestorms (stay in your car) and earthquakes (“drop, cover, and hold on”). Schneider introduces the chapters with short true-life stories of survival—e.g., one friend warning another just before Hurricane Katrina’s levee-bursting ferocity leveled their neighborhood, and some harrowing testimony from a survivor of a tsunami in Japan. The author capably dispenses basic survival advice, smartly skirting discussions about the possible cause of the weather conditions themselves (i.e., global warming, climate deterioration). Schneider may surprise readers with information debunking myths surrounding lightning during severe thunderstorms, information on odd animal behavior possibly predicting impending weather events and the phenomenon of “thunder snow.” Offering tips on preserving health and maximizing human safety, the author employs the reliable sources of American park rangers, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the CDC, Red Cross and FEMA. Graphs, charts and illustrations enhance chapters of cautionary material for not only humans, but also their animal counterparts. Veterinarians advise on how best to protect or shelter animals at risk of injury or death when exposed to excessive heat (cracking a car window isn’t enough), cold, hurricanes tornadoes and floods. Family-disaster and emergency-food-storage plans round out the author’s important message.

A user-friendly pocket guide for anyone unexpectedly at the mercy of Mother Nature.