Heeding Sandy’s Lessons, Before the Next Big Storm
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
Hurricane Sandy’s Untold Filthy Legacy: Sewage
Hurricane Sandy was the largest storm to hit the northeast U.S. in recorded history, killing 159, knocking out power to millions, and causing $70 billion in damage in eight states. Sandy also put the vulnerability of critical infrastructure in stark relief by paralyzing subways, trains, road and air traffic, flooding hospitals, crippling electrical… Read More
Warmer Seas May Impact Antarctic Clams’ Reproduction
Antarctic clams (Laternula elliptica) play a vital role in the ocean ecosystem, drawing down carbon into sea-bed sediments and circulating ocean nutrients. Now a new study has found that the reproductive capacity of this long-lived and abundant species — existing in the cold, oxygen-rich waters of the Antarctic — could be seriously affected by … Read More
Boost to Colorado Snowpack May Lessen Wildfire Risk
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
Shale Mining in Great Barrier Reef ‘Likely to be Banned’
Mining shale oil under the Great Barrier Reef is likely to be banned by Australia's federal Labor government as tensions rise over the environmental impact of the booming oil and gas industry on the coastline beside the reef. In February, the conservative Queensland state government lifted a moratorium on the shale oil industry in most places alon… Read More
Wild Weather Swings May Be a Sign of Climate Change
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
Weather Service Completes Upgrades to Radar Network
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
U.S. Shows Rapid Rise of Temps Since First Earth Day
In commemoration of Earth Day, 2013, Climate Central has just released a new report that provides a state-by-state analysis of temperature trends since the first Earth Day took place in 1970. That occasion marked a significant change in America’s environmental consciousness, and led to the creation of, among other things, the Environ… Read More
