Category: Weather Nerd

Lake Powell hits Historic Low, raising Hydropower Concerns

A massive reservoir known as a boating mecca dipped below a critical threshold last week raising new concerns about a source of power that millions of people in the U.S. West rely on for electricity. Lake Powell, which covers northern Arizona and up into southern Utah, fell to below 3,525 feet (1,075 meters).  This puts […]

If You’ve Been Wishing Daylight Savings Time would be Year-Round, Your Wish May Soon Come True

Love it or hate it, Daylight Savings Time may just be here to stay.  As Reuters reports, the U.S. Senate has just passed legislation that would make daylight saving time permanent starting in 2023, which would end, once and for all, the sleep depriving twice-annual changing of clocks in a move promoted by supporters advocating […]

It’s Getting Hot In Here: July 2021 was Earth’s Warmest Month in Recorded History

July 2021 was Earth’s hottest July since global record-keeping began in 1880, 0.93 degrees Celsius (1.67°F) above the 20th-century average, NOAA’s National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI) reported. Since July is also the hottest month of the seasonal cycle, that meant that July 2021 was “more likely than not the warmest month on record for the globe […]

The 2021 February Snowpocalypse in Texas was part of the second-costliest winter weather disaster in world history

In 2021, a disastrous winter weather onslaught over the central U.S. brought heavy snow, freezing rain, and severe cold to Texas and surrounding states February 12-20, killing 246 people and causing $23 billion in damage. Dubbed the Texas “Snowpocalypse,” when all was said and done, the storm turned out to be the most expensive winter […]

What is a Solar Cycle, the Maunder Minimum, and Global Temps in 2022

According to NASA, our Sun is a huge ball of electrically-charged hot gas. This charged gas moves, generating a powerful magnetic field. The Sun’s magnetic field goes through a cycle, called the solar cycle, which lasts 11 years. Every 11 years or so, the Sun’s magnetic field completely flips. This means that the Sun’s north […]

2022 Ocean Changes signal a return to El Nino by Summer

If you look closely at ENSO (El Niño Southern Oscillation) regions, you can nicely see the developing cold “waveforms”, as the pressure patterns are creating strong easterly surface trade winds. These drive the wind-driven ocean surface cooling, and peak cold anomalies are now focused more towards the eastern regions. Since early October of 2021, there […]

How ENSO is going to affect the 2022 Tornado Season

As history shows, La Nina can have an important influence on the Spring tornado season in the United States. And usually not in a good way. It is also partially responsible for the winter-time tornado outbreaks across the United States. From the top 5 most active tornado years, 4 were actually La Nina seasons. At […]

Massive Wildfires in Drought-Ridden Florida Panhandle force Thousands to Flee

Wildfires in Florida forced the evacuation of more than 1,000 homes on Sunday, including veterans in a nursing home. The Bertha Swamp Road fire engulfed 9,000 acres, while the Adkins Avenue fire covered just over 840 acres. Combined, the blazes have forced the evacuations of at least 1,100 homes in Florida’s Bay County, according to The Associated […]

“Big Changes Happening Fast” with Antartica’s Thwaites Glacier

One thing that’s hard to grasp about the climate crisis is that big changes can happen fast. Sometimes, in a matter of 48 hours or so, a mélange of ice about 21 miles wide and 15 miles deep can crack up and scattered into the sea. As a matter of fact, it already has – […]

What’s the difference between Upslope and Downslope Winds?

Imagine water flowing through a stream and it encounters a rock jutting upwards. A lot of times you’ll notice the water will flow up and over the rock to the other side. Now picture this on a much bigger scale with a mountain playing as the rock and swapping the atmosphere for the stream. You’ll […]