Readings

Abstract

TUBE WEATHER STOR^ ometimes bad things happen to good books. \ Sometimes an otherwise engaging, intelligent, and cleverly organized book is done a remarkable disservice by its editors. Sometimes a reader wonders if there ever were editors in the first place.The problems (which I'll discuss later) are not to be blamed on the author-or if he is due any blame, it is only insofar as he had a hand in cracking the whip over the editors in question. Climatologist Randy Cerveny has come up with what ought to be a foolproof approach to the presentation of weird weather lore. Cerveny begins with a bit of history, as well as a review of the book's compilers of anecdotes, and explains the book's amusing title: "Many of [nature's] oddities-at least with regard to weather-have been nicknamed in past newspapers, science journals, books, and weather records, the 'freaks of the storm.'" He goes on to introduce the reader to the term "fortean," a tribute to early-twentieth century researcher Charles Fort, who archived and wrote about exotic weather phenomena, such as "rainstorms" of frogs and fish.In the first chapter, Cerveny explains the assembly of data (over 500 stories from his archive of 8,000 anecdotes) he uses throughout the book: Each subsequent chapter focuses on a particular weather oddity. Within each chapter are 12 sections in which the most bizarre chronicles are presented, analyzed, and sometimes even explained away or dismissed in meteorological and scientific terms. A 13th section of each chapter then offers safety recommendations relevant to that particular weather extreme. The last chapter presents an alphabetical state-by-state examination of weather "freaks."The book's style is sharp and entertaining. Chapter 1 begins, "On a foggy October morning in 1947 ..." and ends with a droll imitation of the ringmaster's call, "Boys, girls, ladies, and gents, step right up!"Freaks continues with a piecey, cobbled narrative structure that is often fascinating, sometimes altogether fantastic to read. The absence of tidy conclusions or denouements is refreshing, and the whimsical episodic form promises instant gratification for those who tend not to embrace a cover-to-cover reading style. Moreover, Cerveny's liberal use of quotes prevents Freaks from reading like a textbook, and adroitly washes many of the anecdotes in a quirky, tongue-in-cheek light, worthy of the book's fanciful cover art depicting the tail end of an airborne cow.Impatient and dyed-in-the-wool scientists should be forewarned: Freaks is written for a general audience, and takes the time to explain, for example, how a tornado forms. Still, the meat of the book is enough to keep hard-core meteorologists and the simply curious absorbed and amused. In addition to anecdotes describing the extreme (a 1.23-inch rainfall in one minute), macabre (blood rains, worm-infested snowfalls), or bizarre (chickenplucking tornadoes), Cerveny's stories are often simply entertaining. One tale of three blushing ingenues' wind-ripped clothing is comically salacious. Another des...