As scorching heat grips large swaths of the Earth, a lot of people are trying to put the extreme temperatures into context and asking: When was it ever this hot before?
Is it really hotter now than any time in 100,000 years?
What is a heat dome? An atmospheric scientist explains the weather phenomenon baking Texas and the Southwest
A heat dome occurs when a persistent region of high pressure traps heat over an area. The heat dome can stretch over several states and linger for days to weeks, leaving the people, crops and animals below to suffer through stagnant, hot air that can feel like an oven.
Farmers face a soaring risk of flash droughts
Flash droughts develop fast, and when they hit at the wrong time, they can devastate a region’s agriculture.
AI and machine learning are improving weather forecasts, but they won’t replace human experts
A century ago, English mathematician Lewis Fry Richardson proposed a startling idea for that time: constructing a systematic process based on math for predicting the weather. In his 1922 book, “Weather Prediction By Numerical Process,” Richardson tried to write an equation that he could use to solve the dynamics of the atmosphere based on hand calculations.
Arctic sea ice loss and fierce storms leave Kivalina’s volunteer Search and Rescue fighting to protect their island from climate disasters
As winds and waves from Typhoon Merbok devastated communities along the coast of Western Alaska in 2022, Reppi Swan Sr.’s phone began to ring at Kivalina, a barrier island 80 miles above the Arctic Circle.
Hurricanes and other extreme weather disasters prompt some people to move and trap others in place
If it seems like extreme weather disasters such as hurricanes and wildfires are becoming more frequent, severe and costly, it’s because they are. And that trend is influencing people’s movements.
AI and machine learning are improving weather forecasts, but they won’t replace human experts
A century ago, English mathematician Lewis Fry Richardson proposed a startling idea for that time: constructing a systematic process based on math for predicting the weather. In his 1922 book, “Weather Prediction By Numerical Process,” Richardson tried to write an equation that he could use to solve the dynamics of the atmosphere based on hand calculations.
How to use free satellite data to monitor natural disasters and environmental changes
If you want to track changes in the Amazon rainforest, see the full expanse of a hurricane or figure out where people need help after a disaster, it’s much easier to do with the view from a satellite orbiting a few hundred miles above Earth.
Why tornadoes are still hard to forecast – even though storm predictions are improving
Meteorologists have gotten a lot better at forecasting the conditions that make tornadoes more likely. But predicting exactly which thunderstorms will produce a tornado and when is harder, and that’s where a lot of severe weather research is focused today. Often, you’ll have a line of thunderstorms in an environment that looks favorable for tornadoes, and one storm might produce a tornado but the others don’t.
Is the Western drought finally ending? That depends on where you look
After three years of extreme drought, the Western U.S. is finally getting a break. Mountain ranges are covered in deep snow, and water reservoirs in many areas are filling up following a series of atmospheric rivers that brought record rain and snowfall to large parts of the region.
Many people are looking at the snow and water levels and asking: Is the drought finally over?