Humans acutely experience climate change when they encounter extreme environmental conditions, but scientific definitions of “extreme” often don’t reflect communities’ complex lived experiences.
extreme weather
Posted inResearch & Developments
There’s a New Record for the Longest Lightning Flash
515 miles—roughly the distance from Washington, D.C. to Detroit, one-third the length of the Colorado River, and now, the longest lightning bolt ever recorded.
That’s right: A new analysis of satellite data has revealed that a 22 October 2017 storm over the U.S. Midwest created a lightning bolt that reached 829 kilometers (515 miles), from eastern Texas to nearly Kansas City. The record-setting bolt lasted about 7 seconds.
Posted inNews
New Research Shows More Extreme Global Warming Impacts Looming for the Northeast
One new study identifies a 17% increase in the destructive potential of the strongest nor’easters, while another bolsters links between Arctic ice melt and dangerous blizzards.
Posted inEditors' Highlights
Midlatitude Storm Dynamics Better Explained by Lagrangian Analysis
Examining the growth of storms using ERA-5 reanalysis data reveals a nonlinear relationship between baroclinicity and storm activity under extreme conditions.
Posted inNews
Climate Change Made Extreme Heat Days More Likely
A new attribution study shows every single extreme heat event since last May was made more probable by climate change.
Posted inResearch Spotlights
Storm Prediction Gets 10 Times Faster Thanks to AI
Forecasters hope new algorithms will lead to earlier warnings of when dangerous weather is on the way.
Posted inEditors' Highlights
Bringing Storms into Focus
A new study evaluates the performance of kilometer-scale models in predicting large tropical storms, which are key drivers of extreme rainfall and severe weather.
Posted inNews
Large Outdoor Gatherings Expose Event-Goers to Severe Weather
Researchers pinpointed the riskiest events in terms of lightning and tornado exposure by mining data from more than 16,000 large outdoor gatherings.
Posted inResearch & Developments
Weather Alert Translations on Hold Until Further Notice
This month, the National Weather Service (NWS) announced that, until further notice, it will no longer be offering automated translation services for its severe weather alerts. These alerts warn U.S. residents about imminent dangers including thunderstorms, tropical cyclones, flooding, and extreme heat.
Posted inNews
U.S. Power Grids are Vulnerable to Extreme Weather
Different kinds of severe weather, including multiple kinds at once, have different impacts on the grid in different places.