How Weather and Climate Changed History

Discover the impactful ways that climate and weather changed the very course of human history from the founder and chairman of AccuWeather!

Join AccuWeather founder and chairman Dr. Joel N. Myers on a journey from the beginning of time to the modern day to see how weather and climate impacted world events throughout history, both the good and the bad.

Learn about the comet that hit Earth almost 67 million years ago, and how it triggered a massive climate disruption that led to the extinction of the dinosaur; the dramatic climate shift in 1213 BC that created the conditions for the Ten Plagues of Egypt, a foundational moment in three major world religions; how superior knowledge of the winds allowed the ancient Greeks to prevail over Persian attackers in 400 BC; the volcano in 44 BC that helped launch the Roman Empire; how Tropical storms thwarted Mongol invaders and preserved an independent Japan in 1273; how the ＂Little Ice Age＂ ushered in the age of the European Witch Trials, which eventually influenced the Salem Witch Trials; the shipwreck of the Sea Venture in 1609 in an Atlantic hurricane that inspired Shakespeare’s last play TheTempest; the fog that helped to create an independent United States of America during the Revolutionary War; the storm in 1814 that ended the reign of Napoleon Bonaparte; the ＂Great White Hurricane,＂ i.e. two major blizzards, that helped create the New York Subway System in 1888; and so much more!

Also explored are weather what-ifs, including the haunting question: Would the hurricane that remained off the coast have prevented the deadly attacks of September 11, 2001, if it had just moved inland? Dr. Myers founded AccuWeather, the world’s most accurate source of highly localized weather forecasts and warnings everywhere in the world, in 1962, and ever since, he has been the foremost authority on all things weather. Invisible Iceberg: When Climate and Weather Shaped History is an exciting, sometimes shocking, trip around the world and through time to prove once and for all that weather really does shape the world and the course of history!

Dr. Joel N. Myers founded AccuWeather in 1962 and successfully established it as the world’s most accurate and most used source of weather forecasts and warnings as well as a global leader in digital media. He has been recognized as one of the greatest entrepreneurs in American history in the Encyclopedia of Entrepreneurs.

Dr. Myers is considered the ＂father of modern commercial meteorology＂ and was called ＂the most accurate man in weather＂ by the New York Times. He received the American Meteorological Society’s Award for Outstanding Contributions to the Advancement of Applied Meteorology and the National Weather Association’s Lifetime Achievement Award. He has published papers that have appeared in leading scientific journals, has made hundreds of national TV appearances, and has been quoted in the Wall Street Journal, the Washington Post, Axios, Time, USA Today, Businessweek, and thousands of other publications.

A philanthropist, futurist, and sought-out expert in international business and digital media, he has been an invited lecturer at the New York Academy of Sciences and many scientific, leadership, and charitable organizations in addition to giving a TED Talk. He is a member of the Committee for Economic Development of the Conference Board and is a Fellow of the Nantucket Project. Dr. Myers has also been an important force on the Penn State Board of Trustees for thirty-three years and continued to serve as Trustee Emeritus. He is also a founder of the Dads’ Resource Center and has given generously to numerous other charitable organizations.