Can Cities Create or Modify Precipitation? Have we answered this question and what is next in 2014 and beyond? "Invited"

The heat island, air pollution, and urban flooding are well-known manifestations of how the built environment can modify hydrometeorological or climate processes. However, many researchers and stakeholders are not as familiar with the notion that urbanization can affect rainfall or storms. For nearly 100 years or more, Horton, Changnon, Bornstein, and a host of other scholars have posed questions like "Do cities initiate storms? or "Can urbanization affect convective storms? This talk will provide a contemporary assessment of such questions within the context of a century's worth of historical research. The discussion will also offer insights on how urban hydrometeorological research should be evolving to meet challenges and opportunities within the academic, practitioner, and policy-making communities.