Mitch began as a tropical storm over the southwestern Caribbean Sea on October 22, 1998, and strengthened to a hurricane by the 24th. Mitch then rapidly strengthened, becoming a monster Category 5 hurricane with a central pressure of 905 mb on the 26th. To this day, Mitch still ranks as the second-strongest October hurricane on record and remains tied for the eighth-most intense of any Atlantic hurricane on record.
Mitch made landfall in Honduras as a much weaker Category 1 hurricane, but it battered the offshore islands with high winds, waves and storm surge. The greatest impact, however, was from the widespread heavy rain and severe flooding in Honduras, Nicaragua, Guatemala and El Salvador that left thousands dead or missing and caused tremendous property, infrastructure and crop damage in Central America.
Extreme heat is particularly hard on older adults, and an aging population and climate change are putting ever more people at risk
Scorching temperatures have put millions of Americans in danger this summer, with heat extremes stretching from coast to coast in the Southern U.S.
How well-managed dams and smart forecasting can limit flooding as extreme storms become more common in a warming world
The arduous task of cleaning up from catastrophic flooding is underway across the Northeast after storms stretched the region’s flood control systems nearly to the breaking point.
Is it really hotter now than any time in 100,000 years?
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?
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.