Scott Dance

Washington, D.C.

Global Weather Writer

Education: University of Maryland at College Park, BA in Journalism; University of Maryland at College Park, Master's of Public Policy

Scott Dance is a reporter for The Washington Post covering extreme weather news and the intersections between weather, climate, society and the environment. Before joining The Post in 2022, Dance spent more than a decade at the Baltimore Sun, covering a wide variety of stories that include the historic New Horizons flyby of Pluto and the arrival of Superstorm Sandy, and such topics ranging from astronomy to geology to health. Dance was a 2021 Abrams Nieman Fellow in Local Investigative Journalism at Harvard University.
Latest from Scott Dance

Scientists knew 2023’s heat would be historic — but not by this much

When ominous warmth first appeared in Earth’s oceans last spring, scientists said it was a likely sign that record global heat was imminent — but not until 2024.

January 9, 2024

What climate scientists are predicting for the globe in 2024

The last time the El Niño climate pattern neared its peak, it pushed the planet to record warmth in 2016.

January 2, 2024

How a deadly blizzard forced a snow-hardy city to reckon with disaster risks

Buffalo is demonstrating what happens when a disaster overwhelms preparations so dramatically that reforms become essential in the aftermath.

December 22, 2023

Iceland volcano erupts after weeks of warnings and a town’s evacuation

A long-anticipated volcanic eruption in southwest Iceland was diminishing Tuesday, authorities said, but it could nonetheless continue for hours or days.

December 19, 2023

Massive floods in Australia strand hundreds, prompt crocodile warnings

The flooding from the exceptional rainfall in Queensland forced hundreds of evacuations.

December 18, 2023

El Niño is nearing historic strength. What this means and when it will end.

This could be one of the strongest El Niño events observed over the past 75 years, new data shows.

December 15, 2023

The planet is warming so fast, it could cross a key climate limit in 2024

New research shows a planet on track to top a warming benchmark next year, but many at COP28 remain hopeful — too hopeful, in the eyes of some scientists.

December 13, 2023

This is what the Arctic’s record-hot summer looked like

The Arctic continues to become less icy, wetter and greener.

December 12, 2023

Why this year’s quiet U.S. wildfire season could be one of our last

A tame U.S. wildfire season defied the odds. The future is still ominous.

December 8, 2023

This year will be Earth’s hottest in human history, report confirms

This year will break a record set in 2016, underscoring that the world is closer than ever to the global warming thresholds global leaders are seeking to avoid.

November 30, 2023