The Statistical Myth of 'Once-in-a-1000-Year' Weather Events

How Data Limits and Media Hype Fuel Misleading Claims

When the media claims we’re experiencing a "once in 500-year" or "once in 1,000-year" weather event, they’re missing a fundamental point about how data works, and as an Earth Scientist, this is something I’m acutely aware of. In geology, we study the Earth’s long history through rock formations, sediment layers, and fossil records, which help us track m…