PBS Presents NOVA's "Inside the Megastorm" and Ken Burns's "THE DUST BOWL" For An Extreme Weather Night of Television

BOSTON, MA (November 12, 2012) -- The PBS science series NOVA, produced by WGBH, announced today plans to present Inside the Megastorm, an original one-hour documentary that takes viewers moment by moment through Hurricane Sandy. The film premieres on Sunday, November 18 at 7:00 p.m. ET on PBS (check local listings) and will lead-in to the new Ken Burns documentary series, THE DUST BOWL to form an Extreme Weather themed television-programming block that evening on PBS.

Are super-storms becoming more frequent, more destructive, more deadly? Can we engineer our way to safety if Sandy is a sign of things to come? Using candid first person accounts of storm survivors from the hardest hit areas, and eye-opening interviews with experts and scientists, NOVA's Special Presentation of Inside the Megastorm gives scientific context to a new breed of storms. (An encore presentation of the film will air in the regular weekly NOVA time slot on Wednesday, November 21 at 9:00 p.m. ET on PBS. Check local listings.)

"As we've seen by these recent tragic events, there are forces of nature beyond our control that continue to shape our world in monumental ways," said NOVA's Senior Executive Producer Paula S. Apsell. "NOVA seeks to investigate the science in order to understand and prepare for this new breed of storm."

"PBS presents two documentaries that showcase how fragile and interconnected our relationship is to the environment and how powerful weather events continue to impact our lives from past through the present," said Beth Hoppe, PBS Vice President, Programming. "It's an informative and revealing night of television that viewers will not want to miss."

Following Inside the Megastorm is THE DUST BOWL, a new two-part, four-hour documentary by Ken Burns, airing Sunday-Monday, November 18-19, 8:00-10:00 p.m. ET on PBS (check local listings). The film chronicles the environmental catastrophe that, throughout the 1930s, destroyed the farmlands of the Great Plains, turned prairies into deserts and unleashed a pattern of massive, deadly dust storms that for many seemed to herald the end of the world. It was the worst manmade ecological disaster in American history.

As part of PBS's mission to make content accessible when and where viewers want, the films will also be available in streaming video the day after broadcast on pbs.org.

About NOVA

Now in its 40th season, NOVA is the most-watched primetime science series on American television, reaching an average of five million viewers weekly. The series remains committed to producing in-depth science programming in the form of hour-long (and occasionally longer) documentaries, from the latest breakthroughs in technology to the deepest mysteries of the natural world. NOVA airs Wednesdays at 9pm ET/PT on WGBH Boston and most PBS stations. The Director of the WGBH Science Unit and Senior Executive Producer of NOVA is Paula S. Apsell. Funding for NOVA is provided by David H. Koch Fund For Science, the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, the Lockheed Martin Corporation and public television viewers. Additional funding for Inside the Megastorm is provided by Millicent Bell through the Millicent and Eugene Bell Foundation.

About PBS

PBS, with its nearly 360 member stations, offers all Americans the opportunity to explore new ideas and new worlds through television and online content. Each month, PBS reaches nearly 123 million people through television and more than 21 million people online, inviting them to experience the worlds of science, history, nature and public affairs; to hear diverse viewpoints; and to take front row seats to world-class drama and performances. PBS' broad array of programs has been consistently honored by the industry's most coveted award competitions. Teachers of children from pre-K through 12th grade turn to PBS for digital content and services that help bring classroom lessons to life. PBS' premier children's TV programming and its website, pbskids.org, are parents' and teachers' most trusted partners in inspiring and nurturing curiosity and love of learning in children. More information about PBS is available at www.pbs.org, one of the leading dot-org websites on the Internet, or by following PBS on Twitter, Facebook or through our apps for mobile devices.