Stephen M. Strader, PhD
Associate Professor of Geography and the Environment | College of Liberal Arts and Sciences
Stephen Strader, PhD, is an expert on the interaction of climate change, natural hazards, and society.
Spotlight
Media
Shrinking of polar ice caps (February 2017)
Geography and the Environment professor Stephen Strader discusses his research with KYW Newsradio on why our 2017 winer was so warm.
Increased storm damage over the next century (May 2017)
Geography and the Environment professor Stephen Strader discusses his research with KYW Newsradio on the increased effect of storm damage by the end of the century.
Areas of Expertise (6)
- Geographic Information Systems
- Natural Hazards
- Hazards and Society
- Severe Weather
- Tornadoes
- Wildfires
Biography
Severe weather – tornadoes, hurricanes, hail, wind, blizzards, thunderstorms, floods – cause disruptions to daily life and exact a heavy toll on lives and property. A meteorologist, whose research on tornadoes includes storm chasing in “Tornado Alley” each spring, Dr. Strader is a highly knowledgeable source on all types of severe weather; the effect increasing global temperatures have on the frequency and intensity of storms; as well as the risk and disaster potential of increased population density in storm vulnerable areas. He can also discuss what scientists are working on to improve readiness for and responsiveness to severe weather events.
Education (3)
- Northern Illinois University: PhD
- Northern Illinois University: MS
- Indiana University: BS
Select Accomplishments (2)
Affiliations (4)
- American Meteorological Society
- Association of American Geographers
- Sigma Xi Scientific Research Society
- Gamma Theta Upsilon Geography Honor Society
Select Media Appearances (8)
At the Center of Florida’s Tornado Damage, a Retirement Community Picks up the Pieces
The Washington Post
10/12/2024
Across the country, people who live in manufactured homes are 15 to 20 times more likely to be killed in a tornado than those in a permanent structure, the National Weather Service estimates. Though they make up about 6 to 7 percent of the housing stock nationally, they account for more than half of tornado deaths, said Stephen Strader, an associate professor of geography and the environment at Villanova University. In St. Lucie County, they account for as much as 15 percent of housing, he said, citing census data.
Expanding Bull's-Eye Effect: As Cities Grow, Severe Weather Risk Also Grows
FOX Weather
4/3/2024
Villanova University Meteorologist Stephen Strader explains Ohio's deadly 1974 tornado outbreak would be much more devastating today because more homes and people in the path of severe storms.
Death in South Amplify Extreme Danger of Manufactured Homes During Severe Weather
The Weather Channel
3/27/2023
Strader specializes in what he calls "disaster geography," or studying the effects natural disasters like tornadoes have on society and our environment. Most of the manufactured homes in the Southeast exist outside of the typical mobile home parks you would see in other parts of the country. “They're isolated on different plots of land by themselves or maybe with one or two other homes,” Strader said. “What that means is they're 20, 30 minutes away from the nearest shelter. So, if the (tornado) warning is 13 minutes away, and you're 20 minutes away from your shelter, it's the middle of the night. You have two kids, you have to get them out of bed. Your car may not want to start… (things) just start stacking up.”
Extreme Vulnerability in Mississippi Existed Long Before the Tornado
Forbes
3/26/2023
However, intensity of the storm is just part of the problem. Many experts (and some of my own research) warn that the vulnerability risk was in place well before the tornado. Villanova professor Stephen Strader hits the nail on the head with the tweet below. His research over the years has sounded the alarm about manufactured, mobile, and other types of homes prevalent in the South.
Opinion: The Hurricane Problem Florida Could Have Avoided
CNN
9/29/2022
After hours of battling Hurricane Ian’s high winds, torrential rain and storm surges nearing 12 feet in some locations, residents are left to pick up the pieces. In the hours and days after Ian, the true destruction will be revealed, shedding light on the hardest hit areas. Those residents who did not evacuate are facing life-threatening conditions, while emergency responders deal with an overwhelming volume of calls from those in need of help. Unfortunately, this scene is all too common to the state of Florida.
Maps Show How Millions of People Have Moved into Hurricane Ian's Path
The Washington Post
9/28/2022
As Stephen Strader has watched Hurricane Ian barreling toward Florida’s west coast, he cannot stop thinking about all that lies in its path. “What if Hurricane Ian had occurred in 1950? How many people would be affected?” said Strader, a hazards geographer and professor at Villanova University. “Not nearly as many as now. Our built environment is expanding and growing.”
Our tornado warning system has come a long way, but it could be better
USA Today
6/16/2021
“Those classic scenes of ‘Wizard of Oz’ — of the tornado dancing in the landscape — have now been replaced with the tornado going through these brand-new subdivisions that are less than 10 years old. And that’s that urban sprawl,” said meteorologist and tornado researcher Stephen Strader of Villanova University in Pennsylvania. Strader recently published a research paper on the challenges meteorologists face in conveying the seriousness of threats. The public doesn’t always grasp what the meteorologists, who are primarily physical scientists, are trying to tell them.
How We Create Our Catastrophes
The New York Times (op-ed)
8/30/2019
Over the past 167 years, 40 percent of all hurricanes that scored direct hits on the United States struck Florida. So it shouldn’t be surprising that Dorian, the latest storm to emerge from the Atlantic, has drawn a bead on Florida’s east coast. … Dr. Stephen Strader is a hazards geographer and atmospheric scientist at Villanova University.
Select Academic Articles (8)
Spatiotemporal analyses of lightning and tornado exposure to large outdoor gatherings in the conterminous United States
Weather, Climate and Society
2025
Changes in tornado risk and societal vulnerability leading to greater tornado impact potential
Nature
2024
Spatiotemporal changes in conterminous US wildfire exposure from 1940 to 2010
Natural Hazards: Journal of the International Society for the Prevention and Mitigation of Natural Hazards
2018
Recipe for disaster: How the dynamic ingredients of risk and exposure are changing the tornado disaster landscape
Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society
2015
Contact Stephen M. Strader, PhD