Steve Bowen
Work: Chief Science Officer @GallagherRe
Alumnus: Notre Dame (MSc: Business Analytics). Florida State (BS: Meteorology).
Healthy Obsessions: Weather & Climate Nerdery. Metallica. Notre Dame. Chicago Sports (Blackhawks, Cubs, Bears, Bulls).
Views: Mine
- London thunderstorms are pretty great.
- It appears that NOAA's Atlas 14 Precipitation Frequency Data webpage is not currently active. This is an essential dataset that contextualizes extreme rainfall (i.e. return periods), and is heavily utilized to assess / strategize flood potential in localized areas. hdsc.nws.noaa.gov/pfds/
- May 8: Sea surface temperatures in the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea still running warmer than normal. Something to monitor as we edge closer to when we usually expect the first named storm in the Atlantic. FYI: The decadal average (2015-2024) for first hurricane formation date is August 3.
- The echo chambers of social media, among other factors, has led us to the difficult reality that the current lack of scientific literacy must be deemed a crisis.
- NOAA is warning of a group that views Doppler Radars as "weather weapons" and poses a potential threat to US weather infrastructure & personnel. www.cnn.com/2025/05/05/w...
- We're approaching 30 days from June 1, the calendar start of the Atlantic hurricane season. Considering a flood insurance policy? Buy it now as there is a standard 30 day wait period until coverage starts. Want to see if you're in a flood zone? Type your address in here: msc.fema.gov/portal/home
- Some truly outstanding NOAA scientists and other personnel have exited the agency. Their expertise has provided an invaluable service to the country and should be universally celebrated. A heartfelt thank you...
- Today marks 20 years since I graduated from Florida State University with my bachelor's degree in Meteorology. Whenever imposter syndrome creeps in, I look through these books as a reminder of the intense effort it took to earn that degree. Students: Stick with it. Dreams are worth it.
- Today (April 28) brings the threat of a severe weather outbreak in the Central US; notably in the Midwest. Minneapolis-St. Paul is one of the most underappreciated spots in the country for hail risk. Minnesota has seen several billion-dollar severe convective storm (SCS) events in the past decade.
- Reminder: An insured loss is simply the portion of an economic loss covered by insurance. Example: A $1B payout by the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) and $2B by the private insurance market would never be added on top of a $10B economic loss. It just means $3B of the $10B was insured.
- My thanks to The Weather Channel for having me on the air this morning. Covered a lot of ground in 5 minutes: Q1 catastrophe costs, US weather / climate trends, insurance implications, etc. (Can't post the video since Bluesky limits video to 3 minutes, sadly...)
- Texas checking in tonight with the largest US hail recorded thus far in 2025. A mammoth 5.20" hailstone confirmed in Floyd County.
- Today, on this Earth Day 2025, we've released our Q1 2025 Natural Catastrophe and Climate report. Economic Loss: ~$110 billion Insured Loss: ~$56 billion These totals were both substantially higher than their Q1 decadal averages and dominated by US events. (1/n) www.ajg.com/gallagherre/...
- Reposted by Steve BowenThe 2026 budget passback plan calls for eliminating NOAA Research, the scientific backbone that keeps weather forecasts, alerts, and warnings accurate and effective. This would have disastrous consequences. Read the AMS statement, in partnership w/ @nwas.org: bit.ly/4cz2RtC
- A significant portion of the public still does not understand the difference between "weather" and "climate". People believe the terms to be interchangeable. This is a factor as to why continued funding for observational weather data and research is currently being challenged.
- The cli-MATE data portal via the MRCC has long been an absolutely vital source to pull historical weather and climate data.
- Wrapping up my business trip to Asia. This was easily the most striking piece of street art that I encountered.
- NEW PUBLICATION ALERT "The growing void in the US homeowners insurance market: who should bear the rising cost of climate change? Co-authors: @monahemmati.bsky.social & Ian Gray (1/n) www.nature.com/articles/s44...
- Singapore does such an impressive job maintaining and modernizing its infrastructure to address climate change risk. The investment recognizes its reality of more high intensity rainfall events and coastal sea level rise. A global model that blends adaptive engineering and nature based solutions.
- The economics associated with weather / climate hazard research, data collection, and building codes should never be considered as a "spend". This is an investment. The more we learn will directly translate to saved lives and reduced loss costs because we've proactively taken mitigative action.
- Every private sector entity dealing with natural catastrophe / weather / climate risk is hugely dependent on the freely available data from NOAA / NASA / USGS / FEMA. It's quality controlled. It's robust. It's essential. The private weather / climate enterprise cannot function without it either.
- Major shoutout to local National Weather Service offices who have issued literally hundreds and hundreds of tornado / severe thunderstorm / flood warnings in just the past 36 hours alone. Most offices are doing this amid staff shortages. SPC / WPC teams doing amazing work, too. Scientists matter.
- Active few days of potentially destructive thunderstorms (intense tornadoes, large hail, straight-line winds) and significant flooding on tap for a broad swath of the US through April 6. Severe convective storm (SCS) season ramping up quickly. Be weather aware and know where to shelter if needed.
- Storm inbound here in Indianapolis...
- Myanmar facing a humanitarian crisis following today's devastating Mw7.7 earthquake. Large population affected with highly vulnerable homes / construction. This is the country's strongest EQ since 1912 (Mw7.9). Further shaking / impacts felt far from the epicenter in Thailand, China, and beyond.
- Fabulous thread. Confirms what science has long concluded: If you increase carbon dioxide levels, this leads to rising temperatures. Basically, it further supports correlation that carbon dioxide levels (whether forced by humans or volcanoes or something else) directly influences temperatures.
- Whenever I post about climate, skeptical folks inevitable respond with this graph. So I decided to do something radical: actually read the underling scientific paper and ask the authors. As it turns out, it actually says the opposite of what skeptics claim: www.theclimatebrink....
- Another potentially active stretch of US severe weather on the way from March 29-31. This includes perhaps one of the largest highlighted thunderstorm risk outlooks that I've seen at such a long lead time. Something to keep an eye on as the week progresses...
- Fact check: True.
- >100 confirmed tornadoes from the March 14-16 US severe weather outbreak. A significant event. But... Those who think tornadoes are the predominant driver of annual US severe convective storm (SCS) losses are mistaken. In any given year, hail accounts for 50-80% of SCS insurance claims.
- Just your average bowed severe thunderstorm complex coming through Chicago metro when temperatures are hovering in the upper 30s to low 40s. With snow on the way in a few hours.
- Mother Nature trying to get our attention.
- Lovely time of year in northern Illinois. Truly! Nearly 80 degrees just 36-48 hours ago with crazy thunderstorms. About an inch of snow today.
- NOAA consistently delivers life safety guidance and real-time data when the public needs it most. But NOAA is not alone. > NASA and the USGS collect critical real-time / historical scientific data > FEMA provides post-event federal resources / coordination for disaster-hit states (communities)
- March 14 230pm CT: Fires starting to pop up across Oklahoma, Texas, and New Mexico as winds howl and humidity levels plummet associated with the strengthening area of low pressure.
- Yet another example showcasing the exceptional expertise held by NOAA scientists and the invaluable service provided to the public. This is an outstanding forecast with incredible lead time.
