weather
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Environment
How a week of extreme weather changed the lives of millions of Americans
The Palisades Fire destroys vehicles and buildings in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles on January 7, 2025. Credit: AP Photo/Ethan Swope, File It was a week of fire and ice. It started with millions of people across the United States shivering in days of snowstorms and frigid air, thanks to a jet stream that has frequently deviated from…
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Earth
2024: An amazing year of extreme weather and climate
Extreme climate and weather events in 2024. Credit: Wenxia Zhang From persistent drought in southern Africa and Central America earlier this year, to recent devastating extreme rainfall in Spain, to deadly Hurricane Helen along the East Coast of the United States, 2024 will bring billions of people closer to home. It was the year of climate change that affected our…
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Environment
Elucidating the mechanism by which weather conditions cause changes in the concentration of fine particles in the atmosphere
Graphical summary. Credit: Atmospheric and Oceanic Science Letters (2024). DOI: 10.1016/j.aosl.2024.100586 A new study published in the journal Atmospheric and Oceanic Science Letters reports major advances in the study of the relationship between weather conditions and atmospheric particulate matter (PM2.5) concentrations. Air pollution is a major global issue, and PM2.5 is a serious pollutant. Fluctuations in PM2.5 concentration not only…
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Earth
Nitrate levels in soil suggest extreme weather events due to climate change are accelerating groundwater contamination
Researchers at the University of California, Davis will insert devices underground that continuously collect water samples, providing real-time data on the movement of nitrate pollutants. Credit: Isaya Kisekka / UC Davis Extreme weather events caused by climate change, such as droughts and heavy rains, can increase the risk of nitrates from fertilizers entering groundwater, according to a recent study by…
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Earth
Valencia floods: warming climate is making once rare weather more common and more destructive, researchers say
In recent days, a seasonal weather system known in Spain as a “cold drop” or DANA (an acronym for “depresión aislada en niveles altos”: isolated cyclone at high level) has been causing heavy rain and flooding across Spain’s Mediterranean coast. causing flooding in Andalusia, especially in the Valencia region, Castile-La Mancha and the Balearic Islands. The storm left hundreds of…
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Earth
What is La Niña? Experts explain how the weather pattern can affect your winter plans
Credit: CC0 Public Domain This winter’s La Niña forecast could bring more snow than usual to the northwestern United States and drier, warmer weather to the south. But Northeastern University professor Samuel Munoz said he would be wary of planning skiing or beach vacations near La Niña, a periodic weather pattern caused by the cooling of the Pacific Ocean. “Not…
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Space & Cosmos
SpaceX Crew-8 returns home to Florida as weather improves
Credit: Unsplash/CC0 Public Domain Four members of the SpaceX Crew 8 mission boarded Crew Dragon Endeavor on Wednesday in preparation for the return trip to Earth from the International Space Station, with the goal of splashing down early Friday off the coast of Florida. NASA astronauts Matthew Dominick, Michael Barratt and Janet Epps, along with Roscosmos astronaut Alexander Grebenkin, were…
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Space & Cosmos
“Killer Electrons”: Thunderstorms play space weather and space pinball
Visualization showing how magnetic field lines, thin lines in cyan color, orbiting the Earth can trap charged particles, thin lines in yellow color. Credit: UCLA EPSS/NASA SVS When lightning strikes, electrons rain down. In a new study, researchers led by undergraduate students at the University of Colorado Boulder have discovered a new relationship between Earth’s weather and space weather. The…
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Earth
Machine learning could improve extreme weather warnings
In June 2021, the U.S. Pacific Northwest and southwestern Canada experienced a significant heatwave, with temperatures reaching 43°C (109°F) in Portland, Oregon. New weather forecasting approaches based on machine learning can more accurately predict such phenomena and improve lead times. Credit: Contains modified Copernicus Sentinel data (2021) processed by the European Space Agency. CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO Traditional weather forecasts…
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Environment
Ice age clues and advanced climate models reveal how El Niño weather patterns change
An 8x microscope image of washed tropical marine sediments shows a large number of foraminifera shells. Credit: Kaustubh Tirumalai, University of Arizona The last ice age peaked about 20,000 years ago, with massive glaciations and dramatic climate changes that transformed Earth’s oceans, landscapes and ecosystems. According to a study led by the University of Arizona, Earth’s last ice age could…
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