Category: Weather Nerd

July is a month of Transition for Hurricane Season

Atlantic hurricane season is usually still slow in July, but there is a slight uptick in activity and the areas of potential development begin to expand farther east into the Atlantic Ocean. Major hurricanes – Category 3 or stronger on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale – in July are rare. Since 1950, only four major hurricanes have […]

7 Facts about Thunder and Lightning you May Not Know

The summer thunder and lightning storm season is in full swing.  If you’ve experienced a thunder and lightning storm, you know how awesome – and frightening – they can be.  Here are some facts about Thunder and Lightning you may not know, from Conserve Energy Future: Fact 1: Lightning has about 6 million strikes every […]

New Orleans is implementing Solar Micro Grids to Help Hurricane Recovery

In the Fall of 2021, in the wake of Hurricane Ida, thousands of utility workers in Louisiana were scrambling to get the power back up and running, and that could take weeks. And in New Orleans, a natural gas plant that was supposed to provide emergency power failed, compounding the recovery efforts. But at one […]

Stargazer Alert: Milky Way to set backdrop for Comet and Meteor Showers in July

Hot and humid summer days are often followed by warm nights, comfortable weather conditions for stargazers hoping to set up a telescope, watch the International Space Station fly overhead or just sit back and gaze at the stars. This year is no exception with July offering a slate of astronomical sights for young stargazers, those […]

Italy’s Po River is Drying Up Due to Drought, threatening Farmers, but also revealing Amazing Artifacts

One of Northern Italy’s worst droughts in recent memory has dried up the country’s Po River, unearthing relics that are typically covered up by the river’s flowing currents. The Po River, Italy’s largest river at 405 miles long, is also the biggest reservoir of fresh water available in the country. According to euronews, persistent drought, […]

Lake Mead water levels drop closer to “Dead Pool” status

Water levels at Lake Mead dropped to historic lows this week with persistent drought exacerbated by climate change and increased water demands driving the reservoir closer to becoming a “dead pool.” The nation’s largest reservoir on Thursday measured at 1,043.8 feet, its lowest level since the lake was filled in the 1930s. The minimum elevation to […]

Why was last year’s Record Northwest Heat Wave so Devastating?

As the Pacific Northwest braces for its first heat wave of 2022, many residents are remembering – and not fondly – the deadly wave of 2021, when a dome of heat that settled near the western edges of North America last summer produced an unrelenting and historic heat wave across the Pacific Northwest and British Columbia, Canada. […]

Rare So Cal Lightning Storm Strikes and Kills Woman and Her Dogs – First Death by Lightning in 2022

As AccuWeather reports, a woman and two dogs were reportedly killed by lightning while out on a morning walk on Wednesday, June 22, in Southern California, authorities said. The woman’s death was the first known lightning fatality in the United States this year. The lightning strike was reported near the San Gabriel River in Pico […]

Nepal to Move Everest Base Camp due to Glacier Melt

Nepal is moving the Everest base camp off of the melting Khumbu glacier, the BBC reports.  Research shows that the Khumbu glacier is rapidly thinning as a result of the changing climate. “We see increased rock falls and movement of melt-water on the surface of the glaciers that can be hazardous,” Scott Watson, a researcher at the University of Leeds […]

Unique Noctilucent “Electric Blue” Clouds Usher in the Summer Season

The summer solstice, which takes place at 5:13 a.m. EDT on June 21, ushers in the year’s longest season, a shade over 93 days, according to timeanddate.com. The summer season also creates a unique phenomenon in the sky, known as noctilucent clouds. The clouds, also called “electric blue clouds,” are formed approximately 50 miles above the Earth’s surface, […]