extreme weather, climate & preparedness in the american mind

A 2012 survey of 1,008 American adults found that 82% personally experienced an extreme weather event in the previous year, and a majority believe U.S. weather is worsening. While many link high-profile disasters to global warming, only about a third of respondents have both an emergency plan and a supply kit. The report also highlights a public interest in hearing weathercasters discuss global warming, despite infrequent occurrences of such discussions in forecasts.

• A vast majority of Americans report personal experience with extreme weather, with 82 percent stating they experienced one or more types of extreme weather or natural disaster in the past year. The most common events reported were extreme high winds (60%), extreme rainstorms (49%), and extreme heat waves (42%).
• Public perception indicates a trend of deteriorating weather conditions in the United States, with 52% of respondents stating the weather has been getting worse over the past several years, compared to 22% who say it has been getting better.
• There is significant public belief that global warming exacerbates specific extreme weather events. Majorities agreed this was true for the unusually warm winter of Dec 2011/Jan 2012 (72%), record high summer temperatures in 2011 (70%), and the 2011 drought in Texas and Oklahoma (69%).
• Despite the perceived risks, actual disaster preparedness remains low. Only 36 percent of Americans have a disaster emergency plan known to all family members, and 37 percent have an emergency supply kit in their home.
• Americans show a desire for more climate-related information from their primary weather news sources; 58 percent expressed interest in learning their favorite TV weathercaster's views on global warming, even though only 11 percent had seen a forecaster discuss the topic many times in the previous year.
• Extreme weather has caused tangible harm to a significant portion of the population, with 35 percent of all Americans reporting they were personally harmed a great deal or a moderate amount by an extreme weather event in the past year.

APA

Leiserowitz, A., Maibach, E., Roser-Renouf, C., & Hmielowski, J. D. (2012). extreme weather, climate & preparedness in the american mind. Center for Climate Change Communication. https://climatecommunication.gmu.edu/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/March-2012-Extreme-Weather-Climate-Preparedness-in-The-American-Mind.pdf

Chicago

Leiserowitz, Anthony, Edward Maibach, Connie Roser-Renouf, and Jay D. Hmielowski. extreme weather, climate & preparedness in the american mind. Center for Climate Change Communication, 2012. https://climatecommunication.gmu.edu/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/March-2012-Extreme-Weather-Climate-Preparedness-in-The-American-Mind.pdf.

Wikipedia

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BibTeX

@techreport{leiserowitz2012extreme, author = {Leiserowitz, Anthony and Maibach, Edward and Roser-Renouf, Connie and Hmielowski, Jay D.}, title = {{extreme weather, climate \& preparedness in the american mind}}, institution = {Center for Climate Change Communication}, year = {2012}, url = {https://climatecommunication.gmu.edu/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/March-2012-Extreme-Weather-Climate-Preparedness-in-The-American-Mind.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }