Case Studies
EWB includes 337 curated cases spanning five extreme weather categories, covering events worldwide from 2020 to 2024. Each category page describes how cases were selected, the bounding box methodology, and the source for each individual event.
Cases are used as the atomic unit of evaluation: every metric is computed over a single case's spatial domain and time window by default, then aggregated across the set.
Active categories
| Category | Cases | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Atmospheric Rivers | 56 | Significant moisture transport of landfalling atmospheric rivers, covering western North America, Europe, the Middle East, and Australia |
| Severe Convection | 115 | Multi-hazard convective outbreaks (tornadoes, hail, and damaging winds) across the US, Canada, and Australia |
| Freezes | 14 | Large-scale cold-air outbreaks validated against ERA5 15th-percentile 2-meter temperature thresholds |
| Heat Waves | 46 | Land-based heat waves validated against ERA5 85th-percentile 2-meter temperature thresholds |
| Tropical Cyclones | 98 | Landfalling storms from all ocean basins, analysis tracks using IBTrACS data |
Planned categories
Additional event types have cases identified but metrics and benchmarks have not been defined. See Planned Event Types for the full list, which includes derechos, flooding, hailstorms, tornado outbreaks, TC tornado outbreaks, and winter weather.
Selection criteria
All cases target the 2020–2024 period. The goal is at least 30 cases per category for statistical robustness; freeze events are the exception at 14 cases due to the rarity of qualifying outbreaks. Events are global where data permits.