Record heat, destructive wildfires, prolonged drought and extreme rainfall are affecting communities around the world this summer, and climate scientists say the broader pattern is becoming increasingly difficult to dismiss.

Climate scientist Daniel Swain said the most significant part of this summer isn't any single disaster, but how closely the events resemble the extreme conditions of recent years.

"The fact that this summer is not a fluke, nor was 2023," said Swain during an recent interview with Katie Couric, pointing to the consistency between today's extremes and long-term warming trends.

For Tampa Bay, that's an important message. Climate resilience isn't only about preparing for hurricanes anymore.

Residents are increasingly navigating overlapping hazards, extreme heat, drought, intense thunderstorms, flash flooding, lightning, wildfire conditions and coastal flooding, sometimes within the same season.

Tampa Bay's weather extremes can flip quickly

One of the challenges for Florida is that wet and dry extremes aren't necessarily opposites.

A region can experience months of drought and then receive several inches of rain from slow-moving thunderstorms. Heavy rainfall can overwhelm streets and drainage systems without immediately eliminating longer-term water shortages.

Swain pointed to a similar pattern contributing to wildfire conditions elsewhere: wet periods encourage vegetation growth, followed by extreme heat and dryness that can turn that vegetation into fuel.

In parts of Europe this year, he said, areas went from unusually wet conditions to record warmth and dryness, a rapid shift that contributed to dangerous fire conditions.

That kind of weather whiplash is particularly relevant for Florida, where residents can face drought, extreme heat and flooding within relatively short periods.

Heat is part of the disaster equation

Heat isn't simply uncomfortable. It can amplify other hazards.

Swain said record-breaking warmth has been a recurring factor across very different wildfire disasters this year, even though the individual landscapes and conditions varied considerably.

"The shared commonality is this record-breaking warmth, record-breaking heat," said Swain.

For Tampa Bay, prolonged heat can place additional stress on people, the electrical grid and emergency services while also increasing heat-related health risks.

It also means residents shouldn't think about preparedness only when a named tropical storm appears on the map.

Rising seas add another Tampa Bay concern

For a low-lying coastal region such as Tampa Bay, what happens thousands of miles away can eventually matter locally.

Swain specifically pointed to the enormous ice sheets covering Greenland and West Antarctica. Unlike floating sea ice, melting land-based ice adds additional water to the oceans and raises global sea levels.

That makes sea-level rise a long-term resilience issue for coastal communities, where higher baseline water levels can worsen the effects of storm surge and coastal flooding.

What residents can do now

The scale of climate change is global, but resilience begins locally. Tampa Bay residents can reduce their vulnerability before the next emergency by taking several practical steps:

  • Know your flood and evacuation zones. They aren't the same thing, and both can affect how you prepare.
  • Build an all-hazards emergency kit. Include water, medications, flashlights, batteries, chargers and supplies for pets.
  • Prepare for power outages. Keep devices charged and have battery-powered lighting and backup ways to receive information.
  • Protect your home from water. Clear gutters and drains and know where water collects around your property.
  • Have a heat plan. Know where you can go if air conditioning or electricity fails during extreme temperatures.
  • Enable emergency alerts. Severe thunderstorms, tornadoes and flash floods can provide far less preparation time than hurricanes.
  • Review insurance and important documents now. Keep digital and waterproof copies of essential records.

Resilience means preparing for more than the next hurricane

Swain cautioned against thinking of climate change as approaching one specific "point of no return." Scientists instead see risks increasing as temperatures rise, with some parts of Earth's climate system potentially reaching tipping points that are difficult to reverse.

For Tampa Bay, the practical takeaway is simpler.

Don't prepare for one disaster. Prepare for disruption.

A hurricane may remain the region's most recognizable threat, but resilience also means being ready for the flooded road after a summer downpour, a prolonged power outage during extreme heat, wildfire smoke, coastal flooding or another emergency that arrives with little warning.

As weather extremes increasingly test communities around the world, preparedness gives Tampa Bay residents something they can control: how ready they are before the next emergency begins.