Deadly Georgia Tornado First in a Record 220 Days
The tornadoes were part of a three-day outbreak of severe weather associated with a sprawling storm system that brought spring-like temperatures and humidity to the Midwest and East Coast, along with howling winds on Wednesday night into Thursday. Winds gusted as high as 81 mph in Massachusetts, and topped 60 mph in New York City, where scattered p… Read More
Frigid Air Grips Big Part of U.S.; Is There A Tropical Link?
On Tuesday afternoon, the heart of the cold air mass was located over the northern Plains and Upper Midwest, extending eastward into northern New England. In Duluth, the temperature failed to rise above -10°F on Monday, and on Tuesday temperatures were even lower in northern Minnesota, with International Falls reaching -30°F, with a wind chill in t… Read More
USDA Declares Winter Wheat Belt Drought Disaster Area
On Wednesday, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) declared 597 counties across 14 states natural disaster areas as a result of the ongoing drought that threatens the winter wheat crop. These are the first drought-related natural disaster declarations of the year, and mark the second year in a row that such measures were necessary due to the d… Read More
Great Lakes Legacy Contaminants Fall, Newer Ones Rise
Legacy contaminants are decreasing more quickly than previously reported in three of the Great Lakes, but have stayed virtually the same in two other lakes, according to new research. “These are very positive results. The lakes are improving and slowly cleaning themselves up,” said Thomas Holsen, co-director of Clarkson University’s Center for the … Read More
Storm Brings Tornado Outbreak and Blizzard Conditions
A far-reaching storm system tore across the South on Tuesday, causing what is likely to go into the record books as the worst Christmas Day tornado outbreak on record. The storm responsible for the severe weather also spread a swath of snow and ice from Texas to Indiana, and the whole mess of extreme weather is sliding east on Wednesday, with a str… Read More
Drought to Last Into 2013; Impacts Expected to Intensify
After another week of low rainfall and high temperatures in the Midwest and Great Plains, it is all but guaranteed that this year will end with more than half of the area in the lower 48 states still under drought conditions. Now, as the drought is poised to enter 2013, climatologists expect its impacts to worsen as it lasts through the winter. … Read More
Mississippi Faces Shipping Closure as Water Levels Drop
The Mississippi as seen from Ed Drager's tug boat is a river in retreat: a giant beached barge is stranded where the water dropped, with sand bars springing into view. The floating barge office where the tug boat captain reports for duty is tilted like a funhouse. One side now rests on the exposed shore. "I've never seen the river this low," Drager… Read More
Report: Coal Plants Smothering Communities of Color
Coal plants place a disproportionate burden on poor and largely minority communities, exposing residents to high levels of pollutants that affect public health, according to a new report led by the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP).… Read More
