Dr. Sam Anderson
@sam-science.bsky.social
postdoc at simon fraser university & columbia university // thinking and writing about heatwaves, glaciers, rivers, and us // canadian 🇨🇦 // he/him #climatechange #hydrology #LGBTinSTEM 🏳️🌈 #transrights 🏳️⚧️
Here's (a short snippet of) the story of the forgotten heatwave of 1941 -- what happened, how it was different from modern extremes, and why it matters. Originally presented to @cmos-scmo.bsky.social. www.youtube.com/watch?v=cWRE...
Extraordinary heatwaves in 1941 and 2021 | Impacts, lessons, & surprises | CMOS 2026
YouTube video by Sam Anderson
youtube.com
From the US in March to Europe in May, this is what the bleeding edge of climate change feels like. It isn't just a sign of things to come -- it's what climate change *is*. www.theglobeandmail.com/opinion/arti...
Opinion: Heat waves are invisible. But we need to see them for what they are
A heatwave has shattered records in the U.S. When that happens, we have to confront the dramatic, terrifying change they signal – no matter where they’re happening
theglobeandmail.com
A shattered record is categorically different than a broken record, with the recent US heatwave the latest in a series of record-shattering extremes. A few of my thoughts on heat, water, and the face of climate change for @theglobeandmail.com: www.theglobeandmail.com/gift/0cdc78b...
Heat waves are invisible. But we need to see them for what they are
A heatwave has shattered records in the U.S. When that happens, we have to confront the dramatic, terrifying change they signal – no matter where they’re happening
theglobeandmail.com
It turns out that 2021 wasn't a warning; it was a promise.
Nahel Belgherze@wxnb.bsky.social · 6mo agoAs the first reanalysis data become available, I think I can say with a fairly high degree of confidence that the March 2026 heatwave will go down as the most anomalously extreme heat event ever observed at any time of year in the southwestern U.S.
Awful. Conditions just continue to worsen for Colorado's snowpack (and across many other western U.S. states), with average snow water equivalent nosediving after the historic March heatwave. (which actually continues today with more record heat!) Graphic: nwcc-apps.sc.egov.usda.gov/awdb/basin-p...
I can't believe we're doing this again, but...we're doing this again. Another day of record-shattering Match heat across interior West & Central U.S., w/countless March (& even some April) monthly records broken. Some locations are even breaking monthly records set...last week.
Exactly why non-summer heatwaves matter so profoundly for water resources, especially in mountain regions where even small deviations in temperature drive large changes in where, where, and how much melt occurs.
Daniel Swain@weatherwest.bsky.social · 6mo agoAmid the historic and ongoing record heatwave (which will continue for at least another week in this region), Colorado River Basin snowpack has unfortunately taken an unprecedented March nosedive. Given the pre-existing water crisis, this is a highly alarming trajectory.
Spring heatwaves drive enhanced early-season melt, raise risks of freshet flooding, and -- once they end -- leave basins parched as they face the impending summer. This is one type of non-summer heatwave that has outsized impacts on water resources! www.kqed.org/science/2000...
‘Snow-Eater’ Heat Wave Behind Big Sierra Melt Is a Look at Our Climate Future | KQED
An early spring California heat wave is feasting on what’s left of the Sierra Nevada snowpack, raising wildfire and drought concerns.
kqed.org
I submitted this short film to the 2025 Polar Film Festival to express some of the experiences we had during our time on Devon Island this past summer. The Canadian High Arctic is evocative and remarkable, and I'm so grateful to have spent that time in Nunavut! www.youtube.com/watch?v=PtoS...
DAYS ON DEVON ISLAND | Polar Film Festival 2025 | Cinematic 4K Arctic Drone Footage
YouTube video by Sam Anderson
youtube.com
Fun update! My postdoc is continuing in partnership between @sfuscience.bsky.social and Northwest Hydraulic Consultants here in Vancouver, where I will continue to better understand the ever evolving links between climate extremes and the water we live with. Exciting updates to come!
Heatwaves can be dry, or wet, or dry-then-wet, or wet-then-dry, or wet-then-dry-then-wet, or... It all depends where you are and what season it is! Our new paper dives into the cool world of heatwaves and precipitation. doi.org/10.1088/3033... @ioppublishing.bsky.social @sfuscience.bsky.social
On the mean precipitation characteristics of North American heatwaves - IOPscience
On the mean precipitation characteristics of North American heatwaves, Anderson, Sam, Chartrand, Shawn
doi.org
Today's Climate Shift Index (CSI) is highlighting just how much climate change has made today's heat wave more likely to occur, especially for the warm nighttime temperatures. Follow along with real-time and forecast CSI global maps from @climatecentral.org at csi.climatecentral.org/climate-shif...
I spend most of my time thinking and writing and researching about heat waves. Being in one reminds me why -- extreme heat cuts deep.
✨ Archive newspapers teach us about the social and physical impacts of historical climate extremes ✨ Last week at @egu.eu I presented my recent work in which I use archived newspapers across North America in addition to climate reanalysis data to reconstruct "the lost heatwave" of 1941.
Huge congratulations to @lucymaloney.bsky.social @onecityvan.bsky.social and @seanorr.bsky.social @copevancouver.bsky.social! Vancouver’s two new City Councillors!! 🥳
do you or someone you know work at noaa and are dealing with the AWS contract debacle? i'd love to talk to you :) signal mollytaft.76, you can speak anonymously
Headlines from The Globe and Mail in 1941 feel highly relevant in the modern day, too.
From #TDOV last year: "For the same reasons that trans people celebrate trans visibility .. so too do anti-trans actors fear it for awakening another person who questions or challenges the traditional heteronormative, sexist, racist version of capitalism we live in." xtramagazine.com/power/identi...
Who’s afraid of trans visibility? | Xtra Magazine
OPINION: On International Transgender Day of Visibility, we must call out Canada’s right for weaponizing the triumph of our visibility
xtramagazine.com
On cascading extremes in climate and politics, through my experiences in the Canadian High Arctic last summer. Check out my latest in The Globe and Mail here: www.theglobeandmail.com/gift/0cdc78b...
On an island carved by climate extremes, I came to better understand our own polarization
The fractures in our social and political fabrics are, in some ways, not unlike the landscape of Devon Island, in the High Arctic: torn open and deepened by extremity, unhidden and cascading
theglobeandmail.com
I submitted this short film to the 2025 Polar Film Festival to express some of the experiences we had during our time on Devon Island this past summer. The Canadian High Arctic is evocative and remarkable, and I'm so grateful to have spent that time in Nunavut! www.youtube.com/watch?v=PtoS...
DAYS ON DEVON ISLAND | Polar Film Festival 2025 | Cinematic 4K Arctic Drone Footage
YouTube video by Sam Anderson
youtube.com
Today I learned that the southernmost point of Nunavut -- Stag Island -- is deep in James Bay. This means that Nunavut extends further west than Alberta, further east than New Brunswick, near the North Pole, and further south than Edmonton. The geography of this country is amazing. 🇨🇦
After becoming increasingly enmeshed in the wildfire world, you start to notice things about the way we've systematically altered our relationship with the natural environment in a way that has increased the risk of destructive fires. And then you stop being able to unsee them.
Hi! An introduction to my new followers: 1. I research how heatwaves impact rivers and water systems 2. I got into climate science because I love glaciers and snow, and I think it's nice when we have water to drink 3. I write about climate, water, and us ❄️🔥💧☀️
Hydrology Paper of the Day @sam-science.bsky.social on how extreme temperature events affect hydrology, streamflow, and glacier ablation in the context of climate change: British Columbia and Alberta, Canada; CNN-LSTM machine learning; and numerical experiments to explore processes and sensitivities
Dr. Sam Anderson@sam-science.bsky.social · 3y agoGlaciers, heatwaves, and machine learning come together in our new paper, out today! agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.... #hydrology #machinelearning #earthscience
Heatwaves aren't always dry -- and it turns out that the precipitation characteristics of North American heatwaves vary strongly in space and time. Come learn more at the Global Environmental Change online poster session at AGU! #climatechange #earthscience #heatwave #AGU24
#arcticscience #dronephotography #climatechange #fieldwork
Dr. Sam Anderson@sam-science.bsky.social · 2y agoFrom this summer's fieldwork on the remarkable Devon Island in the Canadian High Arctic: three short videos, on the theme of "Water, Landscapes, and Us". Part 1: Water www.youtube.com/watch?v=wVg7...
From this summer's fieldwork on the remarkable Devon Island in the Canadian High Arctic: three short videos, on the theme of "Water, Landscapes, and Us". Part 1: Water www.youtube.com/watch?v=wVg7...
Devon Island: Water
YouTube video by Sam Anderson
youtube.com
Water management links local and federal interests. Federalism -- through finance, policy, and geography -- has long been key to reshaping the water landscape in Alberta. Here are some of my thoughts for The Globe and Mail at a moment of jurisdictional crossroads in the Prairies.
Opinion: Our federation helped make Alberta rich in water. Now, that dam is breaking
Albertans seeking sovereignty forget that the province’s agricultural success is a gift of pan-governmental cooperation – something they can’t lose sight of, in the face of serious water shortages
theglobeandmail.com
