Whether you believe in anthropogenic climate change or not, there are far more than enough weather-related surprises to go around. And one of the best ways to prepare for them is to be aware of the full spectrum of possibilities using the tools already built for climate-change forecasting. Water-sector utilities should be especially alert to these needs, since water and wastewater are absolutely essential services -- and they're frequently located in places at the greatest risk from surprise weather outlier events.