Category: Weather Nerd

Debunking Cold-Weather Myths

A woman bundled up for winter drinks steaming beverage in front of fir tree

“Don’t go out in cold weather with wet hair or you’ll catch a cold!” Many people have heard this sentiment throughout their lifetimes from well-meaning parents or grandparents. Many have passed the advice along to their own children. But as AccuWeather reports, just how true are these cold weather warnings? “I call these ‘everybody knows […]

The Polar Vortex set to Weaken Much Earlier Than Usual this Year

Road sign reads: Polar Vortex Extreme Cold Take Precautions

The polar vortex is forecast to weaken unusually early, and that could lead to more persistent cold weather in at least parts of the U.S. in December. Last week, almost 100 daily record lows were tied or broken in the East and South, including some “coldest so early in season” record ties. That cold retreated quickly from […]

The Thanksgiving Week Travel Forecast Looks Messy

Storm Clouds

A cross-country storm could throw a wrench into Thanksgiving travel plans for millions in the coming days, AccuWeather meteorologists warn. As the storm moves east, it will spread disruptive precipitation and thunderstorms across parts of the central, southern and eastern United States, raising the risk of weather-related delays during one of the busiest travel times of the […]

La Niña will Dominate our Winter Weather

empty roadway in winter landscape

Climate troublemaker La Niña will play a starring role in the United States’ winter weather, federal forecasters from the NOAA’s Climate Prediction Center said on Nov. 13. “La Niña continued over the past month, as indicated by the strengthening of below-average sea surface temperatures across the central and eastern equatorial Pacific Ocean,” the prediction center said in a statement. As USA […]

What is Wind Chill? 

A woman bundled up for winter drinks steaming beverage in front of fir tree

As temperatures plummet and the winds howl this winter, you will hear more and more about the dangers of the “wind chill.” What is wind chill, and why is it important to understand how it affects us? As USA Today reports, the wind chill temperature is how cold people (and animals) feel while outside. Wind […]

It’s an Early Snowy Start to Winter for the Northeast and Lake Regions

Lake effect snow over Lake Erie

Lake effect snow events have been actively occurring in the Great Lakes region during November 2025, with significant accumulations reported in parts of the Midwest and upstate New York. On November 9 and 10, an early-season lake effect snow event brought up to a foot of snow to portions of northeast Illinois and northwest Indiana, including […]

Atmospheric River hits West Coast, Brings Record Rainfall and Flash Floods that Turn Deadly

Cloudy skies and rain over San Francisco Golden Gate Bridge

A record atmospheric river hit the West Coast hard over the weekend, causing flash floods, debris flows, and even death. The storm, which started in Northern California at the end of last week, brought up to 9 inches of rain to Southern and Central California over three days, causing deadly flash floods that claimed two […]

The Leonid Meteor Shower is about to Peak

Father and Son sit on dock watch meteor shower in night sky

Folks who miss out on the Taurid meteor showers early in November will have another opportunity to spot shooting stars on the night of Nov. 16-17 as the Leonids peak, according to the American Meteor Society. The Leonid meteor shower has produced some of the biggest meteor storms in history with thousands of meteors per hour. […]

Antarctic Hektoria Glacier has Fastest Retreat in Modern History – What That Means 

Penguin colony stand on Glacier next to water in Antarctica

An Antarctic glacier shrunk by nearly 50% in just two months, the fastest retreat recorded in modern history, according to a new study — and the way it retreated could have big implications for global sea level rise. As AccuWeather reports, the Hektoria Glacier, roughly the size of Philadelphia, is on the Antarctic Peninsula, a spindly chain of […]

50 Years Later, the Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald is a Reminder of How Ferocious Fall Weather can be in the Great Lakes

Painting memorializing the Edmund Fitzgerald in large waves, surrounded by words Edmund Fitzgerald 1950-1975

Half a century ago, one of the worst maritime disasters in U.S. history unfolded when the SS Edmund Fitzgerald cargo freighter sank in Lake Superior amid a potent storm that stirred up towering waves and tropical-storm-force winds. Decades later, the tragedy serves as a reminder of how ferocious the fall storm season can be in […]