Storm and Tornado
ScienceDaily: Storm News
Thunderstorms, ice storms, even dust storms -- read all the surprising new discoveries here. Will global warming bring violent storms?
- Drier, Warmer Springs In US Southwest Stem From Human-caused Changes In Winds
Human-driven changes in the westerly winds are bringing hotter and drier springs to the American Southwest, according to new research from the University of Arizona in Tucson. Since the 1970s the winter storm track in the western US has been shifting north, particularly in the late winter. As a result, fewer winter storms bring rain and snow to Southern California, Arizona, Nevada, Utah, western Colorado and western New Mexico. - NOAA Forecasts Even Stronger Atlantic Hurricane Season For 2008 Than Earlier Prediction
In the August update to the Atlantic hurricane season outlook, NOAA's Climate Prediction Center has increased the likelihood of an above-normal hurricane season and has raised the total number of named storms and hurricanes that may form. Forecasters attribute this adjustment to atmospheric and oceanic conditions across the Atlantic Basin that favor storm development - combined with the strong early season activity. - Timing Is Everything: How Vulnerable To Flooding Is New York City?
A new high-resolution storm surge modeling system will better be able to predict flood levels and when flooding will occur in the New York metropolitan area, information crucial to emergency managers when planning for impending storms. - Typhoons Bury Tons Of Carbon In The Oceans
A single typhoon in Taiwan buries as much carbon in the ocean -- in the form of sediment -- as all the other rains in that country all year long combined. - Scientists Close In On Source Of X-rays In Lightning
Engineering researchers have narrowed the search for the source of X-rays emitted by lightning, a feat that could one day help predict where lightning will strike. - Satellite View Of Cloud Tops Might Warn Of Storms
For three years, a new way to use data collected by NOAA weather satellites has been giving North Alabama short-term warnings of "pop-up" thunderstorms. This new computer program is now spreading to other parts of the U.S. and the world. Later this summer a version of the new weather program will begin forecasting storms throughout Central America, Southern Mexico and the Dominican Republic. - How Intense Will Storms Get? New Model Helps Answer Question
A new mathematical model indicates that dust devils, water spouts, tornadoes, hurricanes and cyclones are all born of the same mechanism and will intensify as climate change warms the Earth's surface. - Early And Intense Tornado Season Could Be Record
This year may set records for tornadoes and tornado-related deaths. "We have already seen more than 115 tornado-related deaths, making this the deadliest tornado season since 1998," said a meteorologist at NOAA's Storm Prediction Center. "It is only the third time since the 1974 super tornado outbreak that there have been more than 100 tornado-related deaths during a single tornado season in the U.S.," a research meteorologist at NOAA's National Severe Storms Laboratory added. - For Hurricanes, Storms, Raindrop Size Makes All The Difference
When Tropical Storm Gaston hit Richmond, Va., in August 2004, its notable abundance of small and mid-sized raindrops created torrential rains that led to unexpected flash flooding throughout the city and its suburbs. New research from NASA has concluded that tropical cyclones like Gaston produce rain differently than another class of storms called "extra-tropical" cyclones. Making a proper distinction between these systems may be a key to assisting weather forecasters in estimating rainfall intensity. - Tornados, Flooding May Warn Of Climate Change
Record-keeping meteorologists at the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration say this year's tornado season is one of the deadliest in a decade and may be on pace to set a record for the most tornadoes. And flooding in the Midwest has been at 100-year levels this spring. - NOAA Predicts Near Normal Or Above Normal Atlantic Hurricane Season
NOAA's Climate Prediction Center has announced that projected climate conditions point to a near normal or above normal hurricane season in the Atlantic Basin this year. The prediction was issued at a news conference called to urge residents in vulnerable areas to be fully prepared for the onset of hurricane season, which begins June 1. For 2008, the outlook indicates a 60 to 70 percent chance of 12 to 16 named storms, including 6 to 9 hurricanes and 2 to 5 major hurricanes (Category 3, 4 or 5 on the Saffir-Simpson Scale). - Global Warming Has Little Impact In Tropical Storm And Hurricane Numbers, NOAA Reports
A new model simulation of Atlantic hurricane activity for the last two decades of this century projects fewer hurricanes overall, but a slight increase in intensity for hurricanes that do occur. Hurricanes are also projected to have more intense rainfall, on average, in the future. - Hot-air Balloon Research May Improve Tornado Predictions
Three hot-air balloons dropped asphalt shingles, lumber, sticks, leaves and pine needles onto a north Alabama landfill, so scientists could gather data needed to improve tornado warnings. The payloads dropped by the balloons were similar to the types of debris thrown into the air by tornados that touch the ground. Scientists hope the Doppler radar data collected will be a first step toward programming National Weather Service Doppler radar to recognize tornado debris, so more timely and precise tornado warnings might be issued. - Did Dust Storms Make 1930s Dust Bowl Drought Worse?
Climate scientists using computer models to simulate the 1930s Dust Bowl on the US Great Plains have found that dust raised by farmers probably amplified and spread a natural drop in rainfall, turning an ordinary drying cycle into an agricultural collapse. The researcher say the study raises concern that current pressures on farmland from population growth and climate change could worsen current food crises by leading to similar events in other regions. - Will Corals Survive The Stormy Future?
Hurricanes and storms limit the ability of corals in Belize to "recruit" new coral into their communities, according to a new study in Marine Environmental Research. Coral reefs --- which can grow to be thousands of years old --- form and grow when free-swimming coral larvae in the ocean attach to rocks or other hard surfaces and begin to develop. Intense storms can wipe out this "recruitment" process. - Extreme Ocean Storms Have Become More Frequent Over Past Three Decades, Study Of Tiny Tremors Shows
Data from faint earth tremors caused by wind-driven ocean waves -- often dismissed as "background noise" at seismographic stations around the world -- suggest extreme ocean storms have become more frequent over the past three decades. The International Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) and other prominent researchers have predicted that stronger and more frequent storms may occur as a result of global warming trends. - Jet Streams Are Shifting And May Alter Paths Of Storms And Hurricanes
The Earth's jet streams are shifting -- possibly in response to global warming. Scientists have determined that over a 23-year span from 1979 to 2001 the jet streams in both hemispheres have risen in altitude and shifted toward the poles. The jet stream in the northern hemisphere has also weakened. These changes fit the predictions of global warming models and have implications for the frequency and intensity of future storms, including hurricanes. Storm paths in North America are likely to shift northward as a result of the jet stream changes. Hurricanes, whose development tends to be inhibited by jet streams, may become more powerful and more frequent as the jet streams move away from the sub-tropical zones where hurricanes are born. - Forecasters Implement New Hurricane-tracking Technique
A new technique t