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ScienceDaily: Storm News
Thunderstorms, ice storms, even dust storms -- read all the surprising new discoveries here. Will global warming bring violent storms?
- 2008 Atlantic Hurricane Season Sets Records
The 2008 Atlantic Hurricane Season officially comes to a close on November 30, marking the end of a season that produced a record number of consecutive storms to strike the United States and ranks as one of the more active seasons in the 64 years since comprehensive records began. A total of 16 named storms formed this season. The storms included eight hurricanes, five of which were major hurricanes at Category 3 strength or higher. - Second Warmest October For Global Temperatures, NOAA Says
The combined global land and ocean surface average temperature for October 2008 was the second warmest since records began in 1880, according to a preliminary analysis by NOAA. - The Lightning Flash Before The Flood
Flash floods are the most common natural disaster in the United States, and because of their unpredictability they’re the leading weather-related cause of death for Americans. They usually arrive with little or no warning, but researchers are now trying to predict where and when they will occur ― using lightning. - Coastal Erosion On Grand Isle, Louisiana, Occurring Rapidly
Students measuring the loss of sand on the barrier island of Grand Isle, La., are seeing coastal erosion happen before their eyes. On spits of land on the edge of the Gulf of Mexico students are observing rapid land loss in southern Louisiana. - Hurricane Ike Caused Underwater Damage To Galveston
A rapid response research mission after Hurricane Ike found the hurricane significantly reshaped the seafloor and likely carried an enormous amount of sand and sediment out into the Gulf, changes that could help coastal communities gauge the effectiveness of their sometimes controversial efforts to replenish eroding sand along shorelines. - NASA-enhanced Dust Storm Predictions To Aid Health Community
NASA satellite data can improve forecasts of dust storms in the American Southwest in ways that can benefit public health managers. - Rising Arctic Storm Activity Sways Sea Ice, Climate
A new NASA study shows that the rising frequency and intensity of arctic storms over the last half century, attributed to progressively warmer waters, directly provoked acceleration of the rate of arctic sea ice drift, long considered by scientists as a bellwether of climate change. - Global Warming Will Have Significant Economic Impacts On Florida Coasts, Reports State
Scientists have released two new studies, including a report finding that climate change will cause significant impacts on Florida's coastlines and economy due to increased sea level rise and hurricane storm surge. Property damage is expected to increase. A second study recommends that the state of Florida adopt a series of policy programs aimed at adapting to these large coastal and other impacts as a result of climate change. - Wetlands Restoration Not A Panacea For Louisiana Coast
Counting on wetlands restoration projects to protect storm buffeted infrastructure along the Louisiana Coast is likely to be a "losing battle" that provides "false hope" and prevents endangered communities from clearly planning for their future, says a researcher from Western Carolina University (WCU). - Flood-alert System Eased Fears At Texas Medical Center
A long-term collaboration between Rice University and the Texas Medical Center paid off during Ike when researchers predicted accurately that Brays Bayou would not overflow its banks. - Hurricane Ike Tracked By European Space Agency's Envisat
Residents along the Gulf Coast are bracing for Hurricane Ike as it travels over the Gulf of Mexico after ripping through Cuba and Haiti. ESA's Envisat satellite is tracking the storm, which is forecast to make landfall on the Texas coast by Sept. 13. - 2008 Atlantic Hurricane Season Kicking Into High Gear
For the first time in the 2008 hurricane season, there were four tropical cyclones active in the Atlantic Ocean basin on one day (Sept. 2). September is considered the peak of the Atlantic Ocean hurricane season, and in the first week of September there were four tropical cyclones that forecasters were watching. - Hurricane Gustav's Path And Development
The development and path of Hurricane Gustav is shown via a sequence of satellite images acquired by Envisat's Medium Resolution Imaging Spectrometer (MERIS) instrument on 25 August, 28 August, 30 August and 1 September 2008 (from right to left). - Global Warming: Warmer Seas Linked To Strengthening Hurricanes, According to New Research
The theory that global warming may be contributing to stronger hurricanes in the Atlantic over the past 30 years is bolstered by a new study. - Katrina And Rita Provide Glimpse Of What Could Happen To Offshore Drilling If Gustav Hits Gulf
Shortly after Hurricanes Katrina and Rita hit the US, engineers studied damage done to offshore drilling platforms in the Gulf of Mexico. If tropical storm Gustav strengthens into a Category 3 hurricane, as forecasters are predicting, the damage could be extensive. - 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 Ea