The sick satellite, which engineers are working to fix, is responsible for observing weather systems across the eastern U.S. and the Atlantic Ocean, and is known as GOES-13, or “GOES East.” It is a geostationary satellite, which means that it stays in a fixed orbit at an altitude of about 22,300 miles above the equator, allowing it to keep a consta… Read More
Despite the utter devastation left in the wake of the massive tornado that tore through Moore, Okla., the deadly storm, in many ways, helped showcase how far scientists have come in providing communities early tornado warning signs. In an era of budget cuts that threaten things such as new weather satellites and improved hurricane prediction, … Read More
According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), which operates the nation’s fleet of weather satellites, the weather satellite, known as GOES-13, initially malfunctioned at 3:40 AM on Wednesday morning, and an initial recovery procedure was unsuccessful at restoring it to operation.… Read More
The devastating Moore, Okla., tornado now joins the ranks of America’s strongest and deadliest twisters on record, coming almost exactly two years after a deadly tornado struck Joplin, Mo. In trying to make sense of the Moore tornado, here are some of the things we know and don't know about tornadoes, and whether and how climate change may be inf… Read More
With global average temperatures increasing in response to manmade emissions of greenhouse gases, the world has already been seeing an uptick in the frequency and severity of deadly extreme heat events, and a decrease in cold weather extremes. A new study looks at how these trends are likely to play out in one iconic city in particular: New York. I… Read More
The NWS plans to use $25 million of the $48 million provided to it in the Sandy supplemental bill, along with funds that are called for in President Obama’s fiscal year 2014 budget proposal, to bring about "unprecedented" computing upgrades — going from an operational computing capacity of 213 peak teraflops at the end of the current fiscal year, t… Read More
The study, published Wednesday in the journal Nature, employs a novel index that creates a fish thermometer of sorts, teasing out evidence of population shifts from fishery catch records during the past four decades. The study is the first to detect climate change-related shifts in the range of fish species on a global scale. In doing so, it provid… Read More
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) released its final review of the agency’s performance during Hurricane Sandy, finding that while the agency provided accurate forecasts of the storm’s path and strength well ahead of time, there were many shortcomings, including confusing and poorly timed guidance on the expected storm surg… Read More
With ministers from the eight Arctic states meeting this week in Kiruna, Sweden, for the 2013 ministerial meeting of the Arctic Council, the Obama administration has laid out a broad new U.S. Arctic policy that sets strategic goals for how the U.S. will cope with a rapidly changing Arctic region.… Read More
The anticipated escalation in U.S. wildfire activity comes after the slowest start to wildfires in at least 10 years, according to Jeremy Sullens, a forecaster at NIFC. As of May 3, the country had seen 13,150 wildfires, which have burned about 153,000 acres. Due to a combination of drought and record heat, 2012 saw one of the most destructive wild… Read More
Climate scientists recognize this 400 ppm mark as a symbolic milestone, illustrating the rapid increase of human-caused CO2 emissions over the past century. Numerous other climate data, gleaned from ice cores, ocean sediment, and other sources show that this is the highest CO2 concentration in the air in all of modern human history, possibly as far… Read More
However, if the past two summer monsoon seasons are any guide to what’s ahead, meaningful drought relief may be wishful thinking. “Another dry monsoon could be devastating,” said Victor Murphy, a climate services program manager with the National Weather Service.… Read More
The new study, published in the journal Nature Climate Change, found that environmental conditions will become more favorable for tropical cyclones in and around the Hawaiian islands by 2075-2099. That’s due, in part, to a northwestward shift in the tropical cyclone track as well as increased ocean temperatures in the central tropical Pacific, whic… Read More
For the past 40 years, the Saffir-Simpson Scale has been used to neatly classify all hurricanes into five categories. The scale, created by Herbert Saffir and Robert Simpson in the early 70s, is simple. It measures a storm’s maximum sustained wind speed — no more, no less.… Read More
Tornado researcher Harold Brooks wrote on NSSL’s blog that the death toll from tornadoes during the past 12 months was also flirting with a record low, with just 7 tornado fatalities during the period. This is the lowest 12-month tornado death toll on record dating back to 1950, but research has shown that the 12-month period starting in September … Read More
The news that CO2 is near 400 ppm for the first time highlights a question that scientists have been investigating using a variety of methods: when was the last time that CO2 levels were this high, and what was the climate like back then?… Read More
The GROVER will initially be operated by scientists at the National Science Foundation’s Summit Camp, where the ice sheet is about 2-miles thick, according to a NASA press release. The robot will be capable of operating at all hours during the 24-hour sunlight that characterizes the Arctic summer.… Read More
First and foremost, Sandy drove home the need to rethink coastal development practices that encourage growth in vulnerable areas. Second, the storm, which was forecasted well in advance, proved the value of a robust weather and climate forecasting infrastructure at a time of budget austerity.… Read More
As recently as late March it appeared that most of the West, including Colorado, was headed for a long, and tinderbox-dry spring and summer, with the effects of a long-running drought becoming ever more apparent in the form of dwindling water supplies and destructive wildfires. Many officials feared a repeat of last year’s disastrous wildfire seaso… Read More
The bottom line is that the wild swings in weather that have been seen across the Midwest and South Central states during the past few years, from record flood to record drought and back to record flood, may be an example of what’s in store as global warming continues to alter the atmosphere.… Read More
The radars have already proved their value to NWS forecasters. On Feb. 10, 2012, an EF-4 tornado struck Hattiesburg, Miss. Dual-pol radar products allowed local NWS forecasters to spot the tornado on their radar screens and determine that it was likely a very large and powerful twister.… Read More
The new sensor transmits data in near real-time to crews on the ground to analyze and use for decision-making purposes. The new instrument operates like a spinning mirror, and it paints a stripe on the ground perpendicular to the motion of flight, scanning that land for signs of heat and other characteristics that mark wildfire activity, Hinkley sa… Read More
As ocean waters warm and land-based ice sheets melt in response to manmade global warming, global sea levels have been rising by about 1.2 inches per decade, and recent studies project up to 1 meter, or about 3.3 feet, of sea level rise by the end of this century. This would imperil some of the world’s largest coastal population centers, such as Ne… Read More
The report may leave more open questions than answers, given that it found that no known source of natural climate variability can shoulder most of the blame for the drought, nor can man-made global warming, which over the long run is projected to make droughts more likely in some parts of the U.S., particularly the Southwest.… Read More
The budget request includes money to upgrade the NWS’ computer systems, for climate research, and for the addition of some high-tech research tools such as unmanned aerial vehicles, which NOAA is exploring for use in investigating hurricanes, and detecting and responding to oil spills.… Read More
