Uploaded August 2026 | Updated September 2026, 3 days ago
Climate change is creating conditions for extreme weather as well as disasters like fires and floods. At the same time, the federal databases – and even data archives – that inform understanding and predictions about such events are disappearing.
This CASW Connector Chat on July 16, 2026, co-organized with the American Statistical Association, walked through the pipeline from data analysis to media publication with a statistician, a climate scientist and a journalist. They addressed how the changing data landscape is affecting the questions they can ask and answer and offered tips for reporting on this dynamic and challenging beat.
Speakers:
Christopher K. Wikle, the Curators’ Distinguished Professor of Statistics at the University of Missouri. He specializes in spatio-temporal statistics, with primary applications to geophysical processes, weather, climate, complex biological processes and the environment.
Jason Samenow, the founder and chief meteorologist for Capital Weather, a company dedicated to providing trustworthy D.C. area weather coverage. He was previously The Washington Post's weather editor and also worked as a climate change analyst at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
Sarah Kaplan, a climate reporter at The Washington Post covering humanity's response to a warming world. Her reporting focuses on extreme weather as well as climate change impacts on food, water and biodiversity. She was part of the team of Post journalists recognized as a finalist for the 2025 Pulitzer Prize in National Reporting for coverage of Hurricane Helene's human and environmental toll. She previously reported on Earth science and the universe at The Post.
The event was moderated by Regina Nuzzo, a professor of mathematics and data science at Gallaudet University, co-host of the Normal Curves podcast, and a science journalist specializing in statistics and the scientific process.
For a tipsheet with Sarah's reporting advice, links to Sarah's work, academic articles, and more, visit connector.casw.org/tip-sheet-what-we-no-longer-know-reporting-on-extreme-weather-with-unreliable-federal-data .
Climate change is creating conditions for extreme weather as well as disasters like fires and floods. At the same time, the federal databases – and even data archives – that inform understanding and predictions about such events are disappearing.
This CASW Connector Chat on July 16, 2026, co-organized with the American Statistical Association, walked through the pipeline from data analysis to media publication with a statistician, a climate scientist and a journalist. They addressed how the changing data landscape is affecting the questions they can ask and answer and offered tips for reporting on this dynamic and challenging beat.
Speakers:
Christopher K. Wikle, the Curators’ Distinguished Professor of Statistics at the University of Missouri. He specializes in spatio-temporal statistics, with primary applications to geophysical processes, weather, climate, complex biological processes and the environment.
Jason Samenow, the founder and chief meteorologist for Capital Weather, a company dedicated to providing trustworthy D.C. area weather coverage. He was previously The Washington Post's weather editor and also worked as a climate change analyst at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
Sarah Kaplan, a climate reporter at The Washington Post covering humanity's response to a warming world. Her reporting focuses on extreme weather as well as climate change impacts on food, water and biodiversity. She was part of the team of Post journalists recognized as a finalist for the 2025 Pulitzer Prize in National Reporting for coverage of Hurricane Helene's human and environmental toll. She previously reported on Earth science and the universe at The Post.
The event was moderated by Regina Nuzzo, a professor of mathematics and data science at Gallaudet University, co-host of the Normal Curves podcast, and a science journalist specializing in statistics and the scientific process.
For a tipsheet with Sarah's reporting advice, links to Sarah's work, academic articles, and more, visit connector.casw.org/tip-sheet-what-we-no-longer-know-reporting-on-extreme-weather-with-unreliable-federal-data .
