Stormassociated

Storm-associated is an adjective used in meteorology, hydrology, and disaster risk science to describe phenomena, effects, or data that are directly linked to storms. The term can describe events that occur during a storm or as a consequence of it, including thunderstorms, tropical cyclones, extratropical storms, and their ancillary processes. In practice, storm-associated phenomena include rainfall, surface runoff, river flooding, strong winds, hail, lightning, and tornado genesis, among others. The phrase emphasizes the connection to storm systems rather than baseline climate conditions.

In data analysis, storm-associated classifications rely on temporal and spatial attribution. Researchers define a storm window and a storm footprint to determine whether a given measurement is storm-associated, or use statistical attribution models to estimate the storm's contribution to an observed event such as flood depth or soil erosion.

Applications of the concept include forecasting support, risk assessment, urban and agricultural planning, and climate impact studies. Distinguishing storm-associated effects from background variability helps target mitigation measures and emergency response.

Challenges include varying usage across disciplines, inconsistent thresholds for what constitutes a storm-associated event, and evolving storm behavior under climate change that can alter attribution confidence. See also related topics such as meteorology, hydrology, severe weather, and climate attribution.