James Webb, astronomy’s new super space telescope, has taken another major step to full operational capability. The $10bn successor to the Hubble Space Telescope is now fully focused and aligned. Light bounces perfectly off its mirrors to form pin-sharp imagery in all four of its instruments. All that remains is to check that the instruments […]
In an unprecedented move, Southern California officials have declared a “water shortage emergency” and asked roughly 6 million residents to limit all outdoor watering to just once a week. The latest government drought monitor maps show nearly all of the West is in drought stretching from California (where 95 of the state is now suffering […]
As drought suffocates the West, a very different threat may unfold only a couple states eastward, according to the NOAA forecast: major flooding that could overwhelm the Red River, which flows along the boundary between North Dakota and Minnesota. Above-average precipitation is most likely in portions of the Great Lakes, Ohio Valley, mid-Atlantic and the […]
The dangerous combination of extreme wildfires followed by torrential rainfall that can lead to deadly flooding and landslides will likely become more common in western states as the world becomes warmer, according to a new study. The study, just released in the journal Science Advances, found that the double threat of extreme fires and rainfall […]
For parched areas of the western United States, spring is unlikely to offer relief. Instead, historic “megadrought” conditions will probably worsen, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) announced in its annual spring outlook. As the Washington Post reports, NOAA’s Climate Prediction Center — part of the National Weather Service (NWS) — is also forecasting […]
Typically, the Center for Disaster Philanthropy (CDP) starts its North American wildfires profile in the summer or even fall. However, as climate change increasingly has a more significant impact, the concept of disaster seasons has been disappearing. Two significant winter fires in Colorado and California, along with dozens of smaller fires, have led to statistics […]
Once nearing extinction, the number of greater one-horned rhinoceroses in India is rising – thanks to anti-poaching efforts and mud platforms that keep the massive animals safe from monsoon flooding. Ninety percent of the one-horned rhinos that exist live in India’s Kaziranga National Park, where a census was taken in March. That census showed the […]
Spring weather can be unpredictable. When severe weather hits unexpectedly, the risk of injury and weather-related death increases, so planning makes sense. Prepare for storms, floods, and tornadoes as if you know in advance they are coming, because in the spring, they very likely will. Temperatures can swing back and forth between balmy and frigid. […]
Tornadoes are violently rotating columns of air that extend from a thunderstorm to the ground, taking on the form of a funnel. Tornadoes can destroy buildings, flip cars, and create deadly flying debris. A tornado can happen anytime and anywhere, bring intense winds of over 200 miles per hour. If you live in an area […]
In January, a rare and severe snowstorm blanketed parts of Greece and Turkey, causing chaos on the streets of major cities and forcing the evacuation of thousands of people. Storm Elpida swept across Greece and blanketed Athens with heavy snow, which rarely falls in the Greek capital but has now occurred in a second consecutive […]