Enlarge (credit: Peter Zelei Images via Getty Images) Extreme weather is, by definition, rare on our planet. Ferocious storms, searing heatwaves, and biting cold snaps illustrate what the climate is capable of at its worst. However, since Earth’s climate is rapidly warming, predominantly due to fossil fuel burning, the range of possible weather conditions, including extremes, is changing. Scientists define “climate” as the distribution of possible weather events observed over a length of time, such as the range of temperatures, rainfall totals, or hours of sunshine.