Science

Washington Reels From Snow-Induced Mayhem as It Braces for More Unusual Winter Weather

Washington state knew that it was in for an unusual snow event over the weekend—but the storm delivered a full-on Snowmageddon. Snow blanked the region beginning Friday and into Saturday, delivering to Seattle what the National Weather Service said was “the most snow in February in 70 years.”Read more...
Tags: Weather, National Weather Service, Science, Washington, Snow, Seattle, Snowmageddon, Extremeweather

Washington Reels From Snow-Induced Mayhem as It Braces for More Usual Winter Weather

Washington state knew that it was in for an unusual snow event over the weekend—but the storm delivered a full-on Snowmageddon. Snow blanked the region beginning Friday and into Saturday, delivering to Seattle what the National Weather Service said was “the most snow in February in 70 years.”Read more...
Tags: Weather, National Weather Service, Science, Washington, Snow, Seattle, Snowmageddon, Extremeweather

As Polar Vortex Freezes US, Satellite Track It from Space

It's winter in the United States, and swaths of the country are currently experiencing bitter cold brought on by a phenomenon nicknamed the polar vortex, a pattern weather satellites are watching closely. The National Weather Service is offering a blunt message about the cold weather, calling it "life-threatening." The cold temperatures are caused by Arctic air masses drifting farther south than usual, bringing biting winds that are pushing wind-chill temperatures in regions of a dozen stat...
Tags: National Weather Service, Science, US, Nasa, United States, Noaa, Great Lakes, Midwest, Ohio Valley, Upper Midwest, Meghan Bartels, Facebook Original

‘Polar vortex event’ brings subzero temps to U.S. — and it could become more common.

Cold Arctic air will bring temperatures near or below zero degrees Fahrenheit for more than 100 million Americans.A disruption in the swirling mass of air above the Arctic Circle – a pattern known as the polar vortex – is causing this weather event.Although counterintuitive, it's possible that global warming leads to these kinds of disruptions. None A huge mass of Arctic air is sweeping across the U.S., bringing subzero temperatures that have grounded flights, closed schools and killed at least ...
Tags: Weather, National Weather Service, Science, Minnesota, Climate Change, Cbs News, Earth, Chicago, North Dakota, Innovation, Arctic, Antarctica, Planets, Huffington Post, Arctic Circle, New England

Blame a wobbly polar vortex for why you're so damn cold

It's coming. The polar vortex — a spinning mass of winter-chilled Arctic air — has become wobbly and weak. It's expected to slosh down and blanket a considerable part of the East Coast and Midwest with frigid polar air beginning this weekend, bringing sub zero temperatures to some Midwestern places. "We're gonna freeze," John Martin, an atmospheric scientist at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, said in an interview.  The polar vortex typically lives in the high Arctic each wint...
Tags: Europe, National Weather Service, Science, US, Indianapolis, Earth, Arctic, East Coast, Midwest, Martin, University of Wisconsin Madison, John Martin, Indiana University Purdue University, ECMWF, Filipelli, Michael Ventrice

Worst is over for winter storm that clobbered U.S. Midwest, D.C. and New England

All Washington D.C. federal offices would be closed on Monday, but train and bus service in the metro D.C. area would resume after being shut down on Sunday, officials said. "There's some digging out to do," Jim Hayes, a forecaster with the National Weather Service's Weather Prediction Center in College Park, Maryland, said early Monday.
Tags: National Weather Service, Science, New England, College Park Maryland, Jim Hayes, All Washington D C

Monster snowstorm to blanket more than half of United States

NEW YORK/TAOS, N.M. (Reuters) - A massive winter storm hit the U.S. Rockies and Plains on Friday then punched east, with snow set to assault a 1,800-mile (1,609 km) corridor through the weekend, creating transportation "havoc" in the middle of the country. Up to 18 inches (45 cm) of snow were expected in the Sangre de Cristo mountains south of Denver, according to the National Weather Service. As the storm heads east, up to 16 inches (41 cm) of snow were likely in western Missouri and St. Loui...
Tags: National Weather Service, New York, Science, United States, Missouri, Denver, Sangre de Cristo, TAOS N M Reuters, U S Rockies

We can finally explain the bizarre light streak that appeared in the sky above Northern California

Several of this week's planned rocket launches ended up being hit with last-second aborts and delays, but that didn't stop Mother Nature from giving California residents a reason to stare skyward anyway. Late Wednesday night some truly bizarre streaks appeared in the sky over the Bay Area, prompting countless witnesses to tweet their own sightings while asking just what the heck it was. According to scientists from various observatories, the strange question mark shaped trail that appear...
Tags: National Weather Service, Science, California, Bay Area, Northern California

Storms halt SpaceX's first U.S. national security space mission

Thunderstorms forced Elon Musk's SpaceX to postpone Thursday's launch of a navigation satellite for the U.S. military, which was poised to be the rocket company's first national security space mission for the United States. SpaceX said its Falcon 9 rocket and payload, a roughly $500 million GPS satellite built by Lockheed Martin Corp, were "in good health" and that it was now targeting a Saturday morning launch from Florida's Cape Canaveral. Patrick Burke, a meteorologist with the National Wea...
Tags: Spacex, Elon Musk, Florida, National Weather Service, Science, United States, Falcon, Cape Canaveral, Lockheed Martin Corp, College Park Maryland, Patrick Burke

SpaceX to try again to launch U.S. satellite in first national security mission

Billionaire Elon Musk's SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket is scheduled to blast off on Thursday after two canceled launches earlier this week due to last-minute technical problems, but poor weather is looming as a potential problem. The rocket will carry a roughly $500 million global positioning system (GPS) satellite built by Lockheed Martin Corp and is due to take off from Florida's Cape Canaveral shortly after 9 a.m. local time (1400 GMT). Weather will be a challenge on Thursday morning, with only a 2...
Tags: Spacex, Florida, National Weather Service, Science, Cape Canaveral, Lockheed Martin Corp, SpaceX Falcon, Space Coast, Patrick Burke

Wet and mild: Warm winter predicted for much of the US

WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. meteorologists say winter is looking wet and especially mild for much of the country, thanks to a weak El Nino brewing. The National Weather Service forecasts a warmer than normal winter for the northern and western three-quarters of the nation. Forecaster Mike Halpert said Thursday no place is expected to get […]
Tags: National Weather Service, Science, News, Washington, US, Ap, El Nino, Mike Halpert

National Weather Service says Hurricane Lane has weakened to Category 1 storm but danger remains as it moves toward Oahu

HONOLULU (AP) — National Weather Service says Hurricane Lane has weakened to Category 1 storm but danger remains as it moves toward Oahu.
Tags: Travel, Weather, National Weather Service, Science, News, Ap, Honolulu, Oahu, Nation & World, Hurricane Lane

Wildfire smoke from California has reached New York City, 3,000 miles away

Anthony Wexler, the director of the Air Quality Research Center at the University of California, Davis, packed his bags and drove his family out to the coast.  They're escaping the smoke. Davis, California, sits amid a layer of wildfire smoke in Northern California. To the northwest, the largest fire in state history, the Mendocino Complex Fire, continues to burn. To the southeast, the Ferguson Fire has closed down smoke-choked Yosemite National Park indefinitely. And to the North, the Carr...
Tags: National Weather Service, New York, Science, California, Oregon, China, Boston, New York City, San Francisco, Beijing, West, East Coast, Pacific Ocean, Central Valley, New England, Northern California

California's Viral Fire Tornado Has Scientists Searching For Answers

Weather geeks went wild last week when the National Weather Service announced that the Carr Fire near Redding, California had spawned the equivalent of an EF-3 tornado on July 26. And for good reason: Fire tornados are among the rarest weather phenomena on Earth, and this vortex had the added distinction of possibly…Read more...
Tags: National Weather Service, Science, California, Earth, Extreme Weather, Redding California, Firenado, Fire Tornado, Fire Weather

National Weather Service Facility's Intercom, Phone Lines Randomly Overtaken by Message in Chinese

Employees at a National Weather Service center in Maryland were randomly interrupted by a “message in Chinese” broadcast over the facility’s little-used intercom system on Wednesday, morningthe Washington Post reported. Bizarrely, it also reached “employees by phone” in the same complex.Read more...
Tags: National Weather Service, Science, Technology, Maryland, Washington Post, China, Spam, Cybersecurity, Scams, Intercom Phone Lines Randomly Overtaken

Crews report progress in battling California wildfires

Crews battling the biggest wildfire on record in California have made some progress but the weather forecast for the rest of the week is not promising, authorities said Wednesday. It will remain very hot and windy -- conditions that help fire spread -- until at least Saturday evening, the National Weather Service office in the state capital Sacramento said late Tuesday. The raging Mendocino Complex fire, comprising twin blazes in the state's north, has now ravaged just over 300,000 acres (120,...
Tags: National Weather Service, Science, California, Sacramento, Los Angeles

Death Valley sets tentative world record for hottest month

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Preliminary data show that Death Valley, California, set the world record for hottest July for the second straight year. National Weather Service meteorologist Todd Lericos says the month’s average temperature at Furnace Creek in Death Valley was 108.1 degrees (42.28 Celsius). That eclipses the record set in Death Valley in July […]
Tags: Travel, National Weather Service, Science, News, Los Angeles, Ap, Death Valley, Death Valley California, Nation & World, Furnace Creek, Todd Lericos

Space photos show fires tormenting bone-dry California

Triple-digit temperatures and parched land have left much of California's expansive forests vulnerable to any spark or flame. The Carr Fire, which started on July 23 after a vehicle caught fire, has spread to nearly 100,000 acres as of July 30. From hundreds of miles above, satellite images show a state besieged by an imposing plume of smoke, with a vast part of the region blanketed in a thick, brown haze.  SEE ALSO: Redding newspaper lost power amid extreme fire, but still found a way to p...
Tags: Utah, National Weather Service, Science, California, Sacramento River, Sacramento, Nasa, Noaa, Redding, Nws, Northern California, Carr, U S Forest Service, Northern Hemisphere, YOSEMITE NATIONAL PARK, Golden State

'Erratic' winds, dry conditions fuel deadly California fires

Around 12,000 firefighters battled Sunday to contain wildfires in California that have killed six people -- but authorities warned "erratic" winds and dry conditions have caused the flames to grow and spread. "Very hot and dry conditions will continue over the West coast states through Sunday," the National Weather Service said early Sunday.
Tags: National Weather Service, Science, California, West Coast

Florida City Has Been Accidentally Sending Out Zombie Alert Messages Since Hurricane Irma

No one should ever screw around on a public alert system. But considering it’s been a bad year for warning systems—from the Hawaii false emergency alert accidentally informing the public of an incoming missile that didn’t exist to the National Weather Service’s false tsunami warning to the Department of Justice’s…Read more...
Tags: Florida, National Weather Service, Science, Zombies, Hawaii, Department Of Justice, Power Outage, Florida City, Emergency Alerts, Braaaaaains

DHS S&T Partners with Local Communities to Improve Flood Resiliency

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Science and Technology Directorate (S&T) is working with local communities to improve resilience to flood disasters. S&T announced today its latest community partnership with Howard County, Maryland and the National Weather Service (NWS).
Tags: National Weather Service, Science, Dhs, Howard County Maryland

Sierra snow pack up 80 percent from last week, but still below normal

By Paul Rogers Bay Area News Group Last week’s major snowstorms brought a welcome change to the Sierra Nevada Range — the source of nearly one-third of California’s water — boosting the overall snow pack by nearly 80 percent. Across most of the Sierra, the blizzards dumped 5 to 8 feet of snow, the biggest Sierra storm system of this winter. But the overall snowpack remains well below normal. Last Monday, the statewide snow pack was at 22 percent of the historic average. On Monday, it had increas...
Tags: Weather, National Weather Service, Science, News, California, California News, Drought, Sport, Soccer, Lake Tahoe, Interstate 80, Sierra, Reno, Doug Carlson, Carlson, Frank Gehrke

Why Do Nor'easters Cause Such Bad Flooding?

The East Coast is bracing for another nor’easter this week, with the National Weather Service in Boston warning that the city and nearby coastlines could see three to four feet of storm surge flooding. This, in the same winter that the bomb cyclone turned many of Boston’s streets into frozen soup.Read more...
Tags: Weather, National Weather Service, Science, Boston, Climate, Meteorology, East Coast, Noreaster, Winter Storms, Batten Down The Hatches As They Say

False Tsunami Warning Scares the Shit Out of People Across the Country

At approximately 8:30am today, the National Weather Service sent a test tsunami warning to an unknown number of people. It was not immediately obvious to some that the alert of an impending, destructive force of nature was a test—and at least one-third party app, AccuWeather, reportedly pushed it out as a genuine alertRead more...
Tags: National Weather Service, Science, Nws, Accuweather, Tsunami, Whoops, People Across the Country, Weather Alerts

This Giant Fireball Over Michigan Was Visible From Six States and Canada

The National Weather Service says that the most likely explanation for an object which sent out illumination and a sonic boom throughout southwest Michigan, five other states, and Canada on Tuesday night was the breakup of a meteor, WXYZ reported. The American Meteor Society collected at least 200 reports of the…Read more...
Tags: Astronomy, Space, National Weather Service, Science, Canada, Meteorites, Michigan, Meteors, WXYZ, American Meteor Society, Six States

NASA's GPM radar spots tornado spawning thunderstorms in Ohio Valley

Severe weather that rolled through the Ohio Valley on Nov. 5 was analyzed by NASA's Global Precipitation Measurement mission or GPM satellite. GPM provided forecasters at the National Weather Service with rain rates and cloud heights that showed where strongest storms were located.
Tags: National Weather Service, Science, Nasa, Ohio Valley

The scope of Puerto Rico's devastation is captured in newly-shared video

It's been more than a month since Hurricane Maria slammed into the island of Puerto Rico, but the devastation is still widespread. The clean-up and recovery efforts are proceeding slowly, with much of the island still resembling a war zone, as evidenced by startling new aerial footage that the National Weather Service posted to YouTube on Tuesday. Debris, downed and denuded trees, and rows of leveled buildings are visible in the video, which hops around the island. The footage underscores t...
Tags: National Weather Service, Science, Tesla, Puerto Rico

Why Trump's NOAA Pick Has Scientists and Forecasters Seriously Worried

On Wednesday, President Trump announced his intent to nominate AccuWeather CEO Barry Myers to run the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), a position that would put the private weather executive in charge of the nation’s public weather forecasting efforts. The appointment of Myers, who unlike most…Read more...
Tags: National Weather Service, Science, Climate Change, Policy, Noaa, Accuweather, Weather Forecasting, Trump, Myers, Political Climate Change, Barry Myers

Trump nominates AccuWeather CEO to head US weather agency

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump has nominated the CEO of a private weather company to head the government agency that oversees the National Weather Service, an organization the nominee has at times clashed with. Barry Myers, who runs the pioneering weather firm AccuWeather, was chosen as undersecretary of Commerce and head of the National […]
Tags: National Weather Service, Science, News, Washington, US, Ap, Commerce, Donald Trump, Accuweather, Trump, Nation & World Politics, Barry Myers

Massive wave of butterflies lights up Denver weather radar

DENVER (AP) — A lacy, cloud-like pattern drifting across a Denver-area radar screen turned out to be a 70-mile-wide (110-kilometer) wave of butterflies, forecasters say. Paul Schlatter of the National Weather Service said he first thought flocks of birds were making the pattern he saw on the radar Tuesday, but the cloud was headed northwest […]
Tags: National Weather Service, Science, News, Ap, Denver, Nation & World, Paul Schlatter