2025 Internship Project Overview

Tropical cyclones (TCs), also known as hurricanes, are among the most powerful natural phenomena, posing risks to life and property through intense rainfall and flooding. As climate change is expected to alter precipitation patterns and TC activity, understanding the drivers of inland rainfall is increasingly important for climate risk assessment. I analyzed precipitation trends in AM and FLOR climate model experiments, including control, +2K warming and SWISHE scenarios, to investigate the relative influence of TCs versus large-scale climate phenomena such as El Niño and La Niña. I examined local and regional precipitation for the wettest and driest years in selected inland cities along the U.S. eastern seaboard, generating long-term mean anomaly plots and comparing them with TC density and track data. I created Python scripts in Jupyter Notebooks to process large climate datasets, visualize spatial and temporal patterns and quantify anomalies. This work strengthened my skills in data analysis, high-performance computing and interpreting complex climate model outputs, and inspired me to further study extreme weather interactions with climate variability.

ORGANIZATION/RESEARCH GROUP

The Vecchi Research Group, Department of Geosciences, Princeton University

LOCATION

Princeton, New Jersey

 

Interns

Laahini Addagatla ’28
Major: Computer Science
Minor(s): Finance; Statistics and Machine Learning
"I was fascinated by how the plots I created reflected real-world phenomena and deeper climate patterns emerging from simulated data. I also enjoyed investigating anomalies in my plots, such as the contrasts in precipitation and cyclone activity between northern and southern eastern seaboard cities. Translating complex model outputs into interpretable visualizations was challenging yet rewarding, teaching me persistence, curiosity, and new ways to approach data-driven research, lessons I will carry into my independent thesis and future work. This project also gave me the chance to see coding in action outside the classroom, turning abstract data into meaningful insights, and it reminded me why I love finding creative ways to solve problems through programming."

 

Gabriel Vecchi
Knox Taylor Professor of Geosciences, Professor in the High Meadows Environmental Institute

Mentors

  • Gabriel Rios, Ph.D. Candidate, Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences