A UC Irvine Professor is helping contribute to building the most powerful laser in the world
The laser could lead to breakthroughs in cancer treatment and space science
Physicists will build the laser at the University of Rochester
The National Science Foundation awarded an $18-million grant to build the laser at a university in New York. EP-OPAL will house it at the Laboratory for Laser Energetics at the University of Rochester.
The laser will open the door for more research in astrophysics and the medical field, from telescopes to medical imaging.
EP-OPAL could also develop radiation techniques to help treat cancer patients.
Plus, it could lead to new developments in nuclear physics, particle acceleration and quantum mechanics.
The instrument has two separate 25-petawatt lasers and will fire in a millionth of a billionth of a second.
Dollar’s team will focus on particle acceleration and light sources.
I talked to Dollar’s team about the laser and how he’s mentoring the next generation of plasma physicists. Watch the video above to see more.
Franklin Dollar, assistant professor of physics and astronomy (Photo by Steve Zylius/UCI)
Our team of meteorologists dives deep into the science of weather and breaks down timely weather data and information. To view more weather and climate stories, check out our weather blogs section.
Mother Nature, flowers and candy could be your recipe for finding a love for all seasons or Valentine’s Day.
It is that time of the year, when romance is in the air. But can the weather, or even the season, spark love? Or do less than ideal conditions dampen love’s flame and blow it out?
What You Need To Know
Cuffing season is the time between September and November
The “turkey drop” is when you breakup with someone after Thanksgiving
Some consider gloomy or cold weather romantic
Talking about the weather is not a good conversation starter
We chatted with her about how the time of season and weather might influence someone’s dating behavior.
Cuffing season
Autumn may be the best season to ‘fall’ in love. Many people refer to the fall as cuffing season for couples.
Conti says cuffing season is the time between September and November. She told us during those months the weather gets colder and people want to find love for the holidays.
“Everyone wants love for the holidays. Especially leading up to the holidays, that’s when people who are normally single want to be in relationships,” Conti told Spectrum News.
The matchmaking maven says her business is booming during cuffing season for people wanting to find love just in time for Thanksgiving or Christmas.
“[People] will usually fast track something that they maybe did not consider in the summertime.”
The cuffing part comes in as people just wanting to find a partner for the colder months and just come together during that time.
The turkey drop
Though cuffing season runs through November, it might be the best opportunity to breakup with someone.
Conti says the day after Thanksgiving is the time when couples break apart. The celebrity matchmaker calls it the “turkey drop.”
“You can see it in tons of celebrity couples, that right after Thanksgiving so many couples breakup,” Conti said.
She said couples like Harry Styles and Olivia Wilde broke up during that time too, among other couples.
Conti says a lot of couples “turkey drop” right after Thanksgiving.
A new year for love
We are a month into the new year and finding that special someone is top priority for some singles. When a new year begins, Conti says people are deliberate about wanting to find love.
“While cuffing season is over, it’s the new year season, which is people desiring to find that partner,” Conti told us.
As far as other seasons like spring and summer, she says business doesn’t experience that same uptick in clientele during the winter and fall months.
Like cuffing season, there is also the something known as a summer fling. A summer fling is between May and September.
“You see more casual dating during the summertime because that’s more of the weather vibe. It’s sunny out, everyone is relaxed… there’s not that deep longing for connection because it’s freezing cold outside and you want to be cuddling with someone indoors,” Conti said.
Heartbreak weather
Now let’s talk about how the weather could lead you to heartbreak or romance.
Conti laments many dates get cancelled because of bad weather.
“It is really sad, but a lot of people do if it’s raining. We have experienced that people will cancel a date if it’s raining… even if it’s through a matchmaker.”
She notes that people really don’t enjoy driving in the rain to go on a date. However, she has one important piece of advice if there is rain or snow in the forecast for a date.
“My advice to anyone considering in canceling a date if it’s raining or snow… Don’t, you are self sabotaging yourself!,” exclaimed Conti.
The dating expert said this sabotaging equates to flakiness. She says you have to follow through on the plan.
“You need to make a shift and make a change. If that means going on an ice skating date, go for it… if that means leaving your house when it’s drizzling outside, go for it!” exclaims Conti.
Love is in the air
The ideal weather for date ranges from person to person. Some like sunny and while others enjoy overcast skies.
Talking with Conti, she says colder weather might actually be more romantic.
“I actually think a little colder for a date, actually quite romantic, as long as you are indoors… it’s very cozy. So get a really cute winter jacket and enjoy,” she said.
Conti might be right about colder weather, because one of the greatest Christmas songs “Let It Snow!” is a romantic song about a couple getting cozy during a blizzard (even though the songwriters wrote it in the summer).
It all comes down to the people’s preference.
“I don’t think cold weather is bad for a date. I think it’s cozy. If it’s a little rainy outside, it makes your indoor experience more special and romantic. Use it to your advantage,” Conti told Spectrum Networks.
Forecasting romance
The perfect weather for a date may be in April, if you are Miss Rhode Island from the movie “Miss Congeniality.”
But for others, it could be something else. We talked to our Spectrum News meteorologists and digital weather team about their ideal weather for date. Watch their responses.
No matter what season you’re in, you have to be intentional about finding love and being in the moment.
Our team of meteorologists dives deep into the science of weather and breaks down timely weather data and information. To view more weather and climate stories, check out our weather blogs section.
During one of the most trying times in America, the Southeast’s weather did not help the ongoing battle for justice.
What You Need To Know
The Selma to Montgomery march in Alabama occurred in 1965
It was an effort to register more Black voters in the South
Heavy rain soaked the protestors
What was the Selma to Montgomery March?
The Civil Rights Act of 1964 was a huge achievement that ended segregation in public places and banned employment discrimination based on race, color, religion and sex.
It helped strengthen the voting rights of African Americans in the South, but even so, many southern states continued to deny African Americans their right to vote.
On Feb. 18, 1965, a peaceful protest for voting rights in Marion, Ala. turned deadly when white segregationists attacked the group. An Alabama state trooper shot an African American protester, Jimmie Lee Jackson.
In response, Martin Luther King Jr. organized a march from Selma to Montgomery in Alabama to shed more light to what was happening to the Black community and help their voting rights.
Martin Luther King Jr. leads supporters to the voter registration drive in the rain.
The beginning of the march
The event began on March 1, 1965, with a voter registration drive. Pouring rain soaked the supporters and led to ponding on the roadways and sidewalks.
Even these miserable conditions couldn’t stop the movement, as thousands of people prepared for the drive with raincoats, umbrellas and rain boots. This laid the foundation for one of the most important marches during the civil rights movement.
On March 7, the march to Montgomery from Selma began and lasted over two weeks. This was because state troopers and segregationists tried to stop the protesters several times, leading to brief pauses in the march.
On March 15, President Lyndon B. Johnson showed his support for the march, and military personnel led the protesters the rest of the way, finally completing the march on March 25.
A big win for racial equality
After all of their hard work, President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the Voting Rights Act of 1965. It guaranteed the right to vote for all African Americans in every state.
Southern states could no longer use literacy tests to stop African Americans from voting.
The Voting Rights Act of 1965 is one of the greatest pieces of civil rights legislation in American history. It provided another way for the voice of the Black community to be heard.
Our team of meteorologists dives deep into the science of weather and breaks down timely weather data and information. To view more weather and climate stories, check out our weather blogs section.
Guion Bluford was one of the most influential people in the space community, becoming the first African American to fly in space.
What You Need To Know
Guy Bluford was the first African American to fly in space
He started his career as a pilot in the Air Force
He became an astronaut for NASA in 1979
Bluford became intrigued with flying at a very early age. By high school, he knew he wanted to become an aeronautical engineer.
Early life
After getting his college degree, Bluford joined the Air Force and received his pilot wings in Jan. 1966 at the early age of 24.
He soon became an instructor pilot and eventually entered the U.S. Air Force Institute of Technology, where he received his master’s degree in 1974 and a doctor of philosophy degree in aerospace engineering in 1978.
Upon his graduation in 1974, he worked in the Air Force Flight Dynamics Laboratory as a deputy until he was promoted to branch chief of the Aerodynamics and Airframe Branch.
These successes led to his selection to the NASA astronaut program in 1978.
It’s safe to say he never lost sight of his childhood dreams.
Becoming a legend
Guion stands on the launch pad with his crew weeks before his first mission in August of 1983. (AP Photo/Phil Sandlin)
After a year of training in the astronaut program, Bluford became an official astronaut in Aug.1979.
Only four years later he flew his first mission aboard STS-8 on Aug. 30, 1983.
His first trip to space was quick but came with many accomplishments, developing techniques for nighttime operations and deploying the Indian National Satellite.
After 145 hours in space, the crew returned to Edwards Air Force Base on Sept. 5.
Over the next 10 years, Bluford became the second, third and fourth African American in space, logging over 688 hours.
After NASA
In 1993, Bluford left NASA and retired from the Air Force to become the Vice President and General Manager of the Engineering Services Division of NYMA Inc., in Greenbelt, Maryland.
After several more high-end jobs, he went on to become the President of Aerospace Technology in Cleveland, Ohio, a job that he still holds today.
Bluford never stopped learning and pursuing the next level of his career. A brilliant man in the space and engineering community, Bluford became a leader and role model for many African Americans.
Our team of meteorologists dives deep into the science of weather and breaks down timely weather data and information. To view more weather and climate stories, check out our weather blogs section.
Few humans can say they were a part of the mission that allowed astronauts to land on the moon in 1969. Only the prestigious can claim they have a mountain in their name – not on earth, but on the moon.
Melba Roy Mouton is now one of the handful of scientists and mathematicians that do.
What You Need To Know
Melba Mouton was an accomplished Black mathematician and computer programmer for NASA from 1959 to 1973
Despite being a minority, her strong leadership skills and willpower allowed her to excel in a groundbreaking career
One of Mouton’s biggest successes includes her contributions to the Apollo 11 Moon landing
NASA recently named a mountain on the moon in honor of her
While Melba Mouton was not one of the “hidden figures” unveiled and featured for their success at NASA during the late 1950s and 1960s, her story is no different. As a Black female working in a prominently male-dominated field, she too faced the brutal reality of discrimination.
Yet, her relentless determination and curiosity allowed her to overcome obstacles. All of which lead her to become a prominent leader as a mathematician and computer programmer in the Space Race era.
The life of Melba Mouton
Melba Mouton was born in the late 1920s and spent much of her childhood in Virginia during the difficult times of the Great Depression and Word War II. Despite this, she still pursued her passion for math.
She attended the historically Black college, Howard University, earning both a bachelor’s and a master’s degree in mathematics.
Mouton began her NASA career at the Goddard Space Flight Center in 1959. By the early 1960s, she worked as a lead computer programmer for the Mission and Trajectory Analysis Division’s Program Systems Branch, to compute where spacecraft were in orbit and their trajectories.
This eventually put her as the head mathematician, helping to track the Echo 1 and 2 satellites.
(Photo by NASA)
NASA awarded Mouton the Apollo Achievement Award for all of her contributions toward the famed Apollo 11 mission, that allowed astronauts Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin to first step foot on the moon (while third crewmember Michael Collins piloted the command module).
Ending her career at NASA as the Assistant Chief of Research Programs for the agency’s Trajectory and Geodynamics Division, Mouton finally retired in 1973. Years later, doctors diagnosed Mouton with brain cancer and she passed away in 1990 at age 61.
What’s in a name
On Feb. 15, 2023, NASA announced they would name a mountain on the moon after Mouton in honor of all her accomplishments during her time at the agency. With all mountains on the moon referred to as mons, “Mons Mouton” is now the official name of the lunar mountain near the South Pole.
Naming a mountain, or any other topographic features, on the moon isn’t as easy as you think. NASA can only suggest potential names, but it does not have the final say in determining whether the name is confirmed.
Only the International Astronomical Union (IAU) can approve a name and there’s a designated committee that handles that: the Working Group for Planetary System Nomenclature (WGPSN).
According to NASA, the IAU declared that the name for lunar mountains must reflect “scientists who have made outstanding or fundamental contributions to their fields.”
Given all her accomplishments in the field, it makes sense that the name Mouton was a strong candidate, and thus, approved by the IAU.
Although Mons Mouton will first serve as the location for NASA’s Volatiles Investigating Polar Exploration Rover (VIPER) mission set to happen later in 2024.
Please be sure to check out the tribute video NASA put together honoring Melba Mouton, while discussing its plans for Mons Mouton as a potential landing and research site on the moon.
Whether Mons Mouton is the selected landing site for the Artemis III mission or not, the gesture of honoring one of NASA’s greatest scientists comes full circle. With all her efforts to get us to the moon, it is only fitting that her name and her legacy earn a spot among the stars.
Our team of meteorologists dives deep into the science of weather and breaks down timely weather data and information. To view more weather and climate stories, check out our weather blogs section.
Groundhog Day is arguably the biggest weather holiday of the year. On Feb. 2 each year, Punxsutawney Phil emerges from his burrow at Gobbler’s Knob in Pennsylvania. Thousands of people gather around, curious to know if Phil sees his shadow.
As the legend has it, when Phil sees his shadow, it means there are six more weeks of winter ahead of us. No shadow indicates an early spring.
Phil has forecast the weather on Groundhog Day for more than 120 years. But as it turns out, he isn’t that good at his job.
Watch the video above to see how many times he’s gotten the forecast wrong and find out how we came to rely on Phil in the first place.
The National Hurricane Center (NHC) will experiment with some tweaks to the way the cone of uncertainty is presented this hurricane season.
What You Need To Know
Inland tropical watches and warnings will be shown on an experimental map with the cone
The cone will still be present over the watches and warnings
The usage of the cone and alerts will not change
Instead of just displaying watches and warnings at the coast, the NHC will distribute display all tropical watches and warnings through inland areas in a new graphic on their website.
“The absence of displaying those warnings inadvertently gives the impression that it’s all clear in the more inland locations,” says Deputy Director of the National Hurricane Center, Jamie Rhome.
Here is a look at what the new experimental cone will look like.
For reference, here is what the traditional cone of uncertainty looks like.
Studies have shown that it is common for people to misinterpret the cone of uncertainty.
In reality, widening the cone is just communicating a greater degree of uncertainty as to where the center of the storm will pass. It is independent of the size or intensity of the storm.
The NHC hopes to reduce misinterpretation with a new look to the cone, and this new experimental graphic is a step in that direction.
“I suspect we will have to make other changes in the realm of hurricane risk communication as time marches on,” says Rhome. “we want to move people off the cone and onto the hazards.”
Other changes could come to the cone in the future, but the National Hurricane Center wants feedback from professionals and the public before going any further.
“That’s what this experimentation is about, to start a discussion and open up a forum and a venue for people to talk to us about what changes need to be made in hurricane risk communication,” says Rhome.
Even with slight changes to how the cone is displayed, the meaning of the cone of uncertainty, along with tropical watches and warnings, will not change.
The traditional, operational cone of uncertainty will continue to be distributed by the NHC. The new, experimental, graphic will be available on the National Hurricane Center Website.
2024 storm names
Here’s a look at the list of names for the 2024 Atlantic Hurricane Season.
Our team of meteorologists dives deep into the science of weather and breaks down timely weather data and information. To view more weather and climate stories, check out our weather blogs section.
This time of year, snowboarders and skiers head to some of the most popular snow summits across the country. However, snowy natural disasters called avalanches can become a concern.
What You Need To Know
An avalanche is a mass of snow moving down a slope
Someone in the victim’s party triggers 90% of avalanche incidents
The natural disaster kills about 30 people in the U.S. yearly
According to the National Weather Service, an avalanche occurs when there’s a rapid flow of snow down a hill or mountainside.
Avalanches happen suddenly and “occur during or just after snowstorms on slopes between 30 and 45 degrees.”
Also, look out for Avalanche Watches and Warnings from the Weather Service.
The NWS says 90% of avalanche incidents become triggered by someone in the victim’s party.
They also kill about 30 people a year in the U.S.
So far this year, avalanches have killed four people; in California, Wyoming, Idaho and Colorado.
Placer County sheriff vehicles are parked near the ski lift at Palisades Tahoe where avalanche occurred on Wednesday, Jan. 10, 2024, in Tahoe, Calif. (AP Photo/Andy Barron)
There are resources people can use to get avalanche safety training and spot potential avalanches.
Here’s a breakout of avalanche safety tips and warning signs.
Remember, stay vigilant and safe during avalanches and be aware of the signs when you’re on the slopes.
Our team of meteorologists dives deep into the science of weather and breaks down timely weather data and information. To view more weather and climate stories, check out our weather blogs section.
After Four Corners, Florida–in the Kissimmee area–was crowned the lightning capital of the United States in 2022, the most frequently struck place moved a little south in 2023.
What You Need To Know
The Miami-Fort Lauderdale area saw the most lightning flashes in 2023
Over 242 million flashes were recorded across the U.S. in 2023
The global lightning count was over two billion
The Finnish company Vaisala tracks lightning strikes globally every year using a lightning detection network.
They found that the Miami-Ft. Lauderdale area had the most total lightning (in-cloud and cloud-to-ground) of any metro in the U.S. with 120,998 flashes in 2023.
Florida led the country in lightning density (lightning events per square kilometer), followed by Mississippi and Louisiana.
Texas had the most total lightning of any state, tallying over 42 million flashes.
June 14 was the most lightning-active day in the U.S. in 2023, with more than 3.6 million flashes.
While somewhere in Florida is often the lightning capital of the United States, it is not the most struck place in the world.
Lake Maracaibo, Venezuela is considered the lightning capital of the world, with an average of 233 lightning strikes per square kilometer per year, according to NASA.
Global lightning density in 2023. (Vaisala/Xweather)
Our team of meteorologists dives deep into the science of weather and breaks down timely weather data and information. To view more weather and climate stories, check out our weather blogs section.
Sports betting has become increasingly popular over recent years, and bettors are always trying to find an edge.
For outdoor sporting events, weather is one of the biggest variables, and RotoGrinders Chief Meteorologist Kevin Roth has spent the past 10 years combining his weather knowledge and passion for sports to help bettors.
What You Need To Know
Weather can heavily influence outdoor sporting events
Knowing how weather affects a game can help bettors
Altitude is the biggest advantage for a home team
From football, baseball and golf, to NASCAR, tennis, soccer and even the Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest, if it’s outdoors and sports-related, he’s made a forecast for it.
After earning a master’s degree in meteorology and working on TV for 10 years, Kevin Roth saw that there was a need in the fantasy sports world for real forecasts provided by an actual meteorologist, not just a low-quality automated forecast.
He provides forecasts and live weather updates for outdoor sporting events, and breaks down how the weather could affect the game with the lens of a fantasy sports player or a sports bettor.
In football, fantasy sports players get an entire week to digest the latest forecast and can decide who to start until kickoff. Sports bettors don’t get the same luxury if they want to maximize their profit, since betting lines and totals are fluid.
Football
You might think that ‘cold weather teams’ like Kansas City, Buffalo or Green Bay have a built-in advantage during the playoffs when the calendar flips to January, and the weather could offer bitter cold temperatures, high winds and snow.
Earlier this month on Jan. 13, the Kansas City Chiefs beat the Miami Dolphins during the AFC Super Wild Card Weekend in a frigid matchup. The kickoff temperature was -4 degrees with a wind chill of -20 degrees, making it the fourth coldest game in NFL history.
But Roth says he’s a firm believer that cold or snowy weather doesn’t inherently favor a ‘cold weather team’ over a ‘warm weather team,’ like Tampa Bay or Miami.
“The cold, wind and snow impacts all humans the same in a physiological way. Patrick Mahomes [Kansas City Chiefs quarterback] will get the same cold fingers in those conditions that Tua [Miami Dolphins quarterback] would.”
In football (and other sports), the weather can really make its presence known with high winds. Kicking a field goal or throwing a deep ball is much more difficult with a brisk wind in your face, versus when it’s at your back.
Baseball
According to Roth, baseball is the most interesting sport for weather effects since every single factor (rain, wind, temperature, humidity, elevation) plays a significant role in the expected outcome.
Since there are 162 games a year, and hundreds of pitches thrown each game, there is a large sample size to help isolate variables and determine how weather affects the game. Baseball is the only major team sport where every ballpark has unique dimensions, so the impacts can vary depending on where ballplayers play the game.
Roth says “in Chicago’s Wrigley Field, a southerly wind creates a jet stream effect that helps balls sail over the fence for home runs. A 15 mph wind blowing out in Wrigley can increase home run probabilities by over 50%. If you were to take that same wind, blowing out at 15 mph, to San Francisco’s Oracle Park, the wind only accounts for a 5% increase in home runs, as that stadium was specifically designed to minimize the impact of those winds.”
Temperature and humidity is a variable that applies to all ballparks more equally. Most of the season (April through October) athletes play in the thick of the warm summer months. Since hotter air is less dense, offensive players score more runs during the dog days of summer since the air is thin. Routine pop-ups can carry further, sometimes becoming a home run.
In the northern climates, teams there play those early and late season games in temperatures between 30 to 40 degrees. Roth says “the cold, dense air mass will limit how far a well-hit ball will travel, and what would have been a home run in 70 degree weather suddenly becomes a fly out.”
Best “home field advantage?”
If you’re a sports fan, you’ve heard of home field advantage. Oddsmakers and sports books will factor in 2 to 3 extra points for the home team in football games when creating lines, determining the favorite and underdog.
Some factors baked into home field advantage include the crowd, home stadium familiarity, potential officiating bias and the lack of travel, sometimes visiting teams travel across multiple time zones. But how does the weather factor in?
Roth says you have to consider elevation, since it’s the exception to the ‘this impacts everyone equally rule.’ “Our bodies take time to adjust to elevation, so any visiting team thrust into a game at elevation (i.e. – Denver) is immediately at a disadvantage when compared to players whose bodies are already acclimated to the thinner air at elevation.”
Denver Broncos defensive end Matt Henningsen (91) leaves the field during an NFL football game against the Carolina Panthers on Sunday, Nov. 27, 2022, in Charlotte, N.C. (AP Photo/Rusty Jones)
Roth says that Colorado teams have the best home field advantage, since the elevation change and thin air can cause fatigue in more active sports, and change the way a pitch breaks in baseball.
What’s next?
Roth says he’s focusing on “quantitative over qualitative.” He’s been compiling weather data on every outdoor baseball game since 2000 and the statistical results (runs, home runs, ERA, strikeouts, etc) of those games.
The large sample size has allowed him to isolate weather as an individual variable, and the next step he plans is taking that data and applying it to the gambling odds or totals.
Instead of saying “it’s hot and winds are blowing out, that’s great for hitting,” he can definitively say “in 72 games with similar heat and wind in this ballpark, we’ve seen a 48% increase in home runs and a 20% increase to runs scored compared to average.”
You can check out RotoGrinders Chief Meteorologist Kevin Roth’s forecasts here:
Our team of meteorologists dive deep into the science of weather and break down timely weather data and information. To view more weather and climate stories, check out our weather blogs section.
The Full Wolf Moon rises high in our January sky this week.
What You Need To Know
The January full moon’s common nickname is the Wolf Moon
It’ll turn truly full on Thursday
The moon rises high during the winter, similar to the summer sun
The constellation Gemini appears near this full moon
The moon will become fullest at 12:54 p.m. ET on Thursday, Jan. 25. While it’ll be below our horizon then, don’t worry–it appears full for a couple nights before and after the time it’s truly full.
If those cold weather themes have you yearning for summer, this little nugget may help. Because the full moon resides roughly opposite the sun, it rises high in the winter since the sun’s highest point is relatively low. So, when you look at this month’s full moon, its path is similar to what the sun’s will be in July.
Simulated sky the evening of Thursday, Jan. 25. (Stellarium)
While you’re out, you’ll have no trouble finding a couple other night sights. The full moon will appear near the stars Pollux and Castor, which are the heads of the twins of the constellation Gemini. And toward the north, you’ll see the Big Dipper and Little Dipper.
Our team of meteorologists dives deep into the science of weather and breaks down timely weather data and information. To view more weather and climate stories, check out our weather blogs section.
We’ve all heard it before. Tree rings can tell us the age of a tree, but did you know they can also tell us the weather?
What You Need To Know
Tree rings can tell us the age of the tree
They can also help us determine what years were colder, warmer, drier and wetter
Studying tree rings can help us predict future climate
How to prep for research
There are a couple of things to consider before scientists survey trees.
First, they must find a site where humans haven’t affected the area with logging or other research.
Then they pick a group of the same species of trees to take samples from. Having numerous samples from the same area can provide a more reliable look at climate similarities over the years.
Christine Buhl, a forest health specialist for the Oregon Department of Forestry, uses an increment borer to core a dead western red cedar at Magness Memorial Tree Farm in Sherwood, Ore., Wednesday, Oct. 11, 2023. (AP Photo/Amanda Loman)
How scientists take samples
Much like coring an apple, scientists core the trees with an instrument called an increment borer.
This allows them to take a thin sample that shows the rings from the outside to the center of the tree.
This method does not harm the tree, and the tree can heal quickly after it’s cored.
After coring the tree, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) says that the scientists return to the lab, sand the samples so every ring is perfectly visible, and place them upright for a microscope to begin research.
What the rings tell us
Counting the rings on the sample can tell us the trees’ age, but it can also tell us what weather patterns were like each year.
NOAA explains, “trees will have narrow rings during cold periods and wider rings for warm periods.”
They also say “trees that depend heavily on moisture during the growing season will have wider rings during rainy periods and narrower rings during dry periods.”
(Pixabay)
How this helps us
Studying tree rings can help scientists determine what climate was like for each year the tree was alive.
Because trees can live for hundreds to thousands of years, we can see what the climate was like well before record-keeping began for most in the 1800s.
Determining climate through tree rings over the past thousands of years can help reveal weather patterns and predict what climate we might see in the future.
Our team of meteorologists dives deep into the science of weather and breaks down timely weather data and information. To view more weather and climate stories, check out our weather blogs section.
Few species have their sex determined by temperatures, but for sea turtles it’s almost a certainty.
However, this natural occurrence could become a biological disadvantage as global temperatures continue to rise, leading to larger gender disparities.
What You Need To Know
A sea turtle’s gender is determined by the temperatures in its surrounding environment
Higher nest temperatures produce females, while cooler temperatures yield males
A warming planet will likely upset gender diversity in the sea turtle population
Temperature-driven gender reveals
The differences in reproduction between humans and sea turtles extend beyond the obvious ‘one lays eggs while the other does not.’ One key difference between the two is how sex is determined.
For humans and many other species, gender is determined from the by sex chromosomes when fertilization occurs. But this is not the case with sea turtles and other reptiles, given that they lack sex chromosomes.
For them, the gender of their offspring is determined after fertilization, and the deciding factor all depends on temperature. This kind of sexual determination is called temperature-dependent sex determination (TSD).
Building their nest onshore, a female will lay their eggs in the sand, where they will continue to develop before hatching about two months later.
A baby Olive Ridley sea turtle crawls to the sea past discarded turtle eggs at Ostional beach on the northern Pacific coast of Costa Rica, Tuesday, Nov. 19, 2007. (AP Photo/Kent Gilbert)
Higher temperatures stimulate more aromatase activity. This yields an increase in female hormones and thus, the baby sea turtle will hatch as a female.
On the contrary, cooler temperatures limits aromatase activity. This promotes male hormones to dominate, and so the sea turtles that hatch will be male.
(AP Photo/Cody Jackson)
According to NOAA, sand temperatures of 88.8 degrees or more will yield female sea turtles, while sand temperatures of 81.86 degrees or less will produce males.
Eggs incubated in sand temperatures falling between these two thresholds will cause a mix of male and female sea turtles.
As the male sea turtle populations continue to decrease, growing disparities in gender could ultimately endanger the species’ existence in the future.
Our team of meteorologists dives deep into the science of weather and breaks down timely weather data and information. To view more weather and climate stories, check out our weather blogs section.
Have you ever wondered where all the rain goes? It goes to the same place as snowmelt when temperatures thaw out in the spring.
It’s called a river basin, or a watershed, and whether you know it, all the land we stand on is part of a river basin.
What You Need To Know
Rain and snowmelt goes into river basins
A river basin channels runoff into larger bodies of water
Some water soaks into the ground
Some water will seep into the shallow ground, moving through the soil and helping keep grass, trees and plants healthy. It can even travel deeper down, recharging groundwater aquifers.
Once the ground becomes saturated, a river basin collects runoff and excess water and drains it into a larger body of water.
Depending on where in the basin, it can move into small bodies of water like creeks, streams and rivers, and eventually to outflow points into larger bodies of water like a reservoir, bay or the ocean.
In the U.S., most rain runoff eventually finds its way into the Gulf of Mexico, Atlantic and Pacific Ocean, or the Great Lakes.
This map below from Grasshopper Geography shows all the permanent and temporary streams and rivers of the Lower 48 in the U.S., divided into catchment areas.
River basins of the United States. (Robert Szucs/www.grasshoppergeography.com)
The Mississippi/Atchafalaya River Basin (highlighted in pink) is one of the largest in the world. It includes parts or all of 31 U.S. states and two Canadian provinces, collecting precipitation for 41% of the contiguous United States.
The Mississippi River’s water level closely correlates to precipitation totals across the basin. Persistent, heavy rainfall or excessive snowmelt can cause high water levels and put sections of the river into flood stage, threatening communities along the river.
Conversely, severe drought across the Mississippi River basin can lead to low water levels, which can disrupt the shipping industry and expose some oddities from the bottom of the river.
Snowmelt
When snow melts, the water goes to the same place that rain would go. Generally, 10 to 12 inches of snowfall produces 1 inch of liquid water.
In the western U.S. mountains, environmental and utility experts work to conserve that water and replenish lakes and reservoirs that shrink or dry up during times of drought. In the Central U.S., most of the snowmelt ends up in the Mississippi River.
The annual snowpack in mountain ranges can help forecast potential flooding concerns when temperatures warm up. If there’s a large snowpack, rapid snowmelt can cause flooding.
Below, you can see a video from Dec. 2023, after heavy rainfall and snowmelt from warm temperatures combined and led to significant flooding and high waters in Fairfax, Vt.
It’s more common during the spring, but also possible if temperatures climb well above normal during winter.
Snowmelt can be just as important as rain for areas when it comes to recharging groundwater and supplying freshwater for people and animals. Less snowfall means less snowmelt and less water that could be resourceful for us.
Our team of meteorologists dive deep into the science of weather and break down timely weather data and information. To view more weather and climate stories, check out our weather blogs section.
We have one more day of this arctic chill across the parts of the United States.
The jackets, scarves, and beanies won’t be needed from Midwest to the Northeast after Sunday.
What You Need To Know
Cold air covers the central and eastern U.S. through the weekend
Dozens of record cold temperatures have been broken
This kind of cold can be dangerous
The arctic air wraps up from the Northeast and Southeast Sunday morning.
Parts of Florida will wake up to freezing temperatures on Sunday.
Highs will reach 15 to 25 degrees below the average for numerous spots, although this arctic surge won’t be as powerful as the previous one.
And by Monday, temperatures should be closer to normal for this time of the year.
What we saw
The arctic air has been enough to tie or break dozens of record cold temperatures over the past few days–not just morning lows, but afternoon highs.
Sunday morning saw temperatures as low as -20 to -40 degrees in northern and northeast Montana. Saco, Mont., dropped to -51 degrees, and subzero lows reached as far south as Kansas, Missouri, Illinois and parts of Indiana, according to Zack Taylor, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in College Park, Maryland.
The Associated Press reports the winter weather over the past two weeks is blamed for at least 45 deaths. That includes 14 in Tennessee alone, where 9 inches of snow fell around Nashville. Three people in Oregon were electrocuted by a live power line that fell on a car, and five people in Seattle died from exposure to cold.
Brutal cold earlier in the week made Monday’s Iowa caucuses the coldest ever, and heavy lake-effect snow and intense wind gusts forced the Steelers-Bills NFL game to be postponed from its original kickoff. A storm system on the leading edge of the cold dropped accumulating snow as far south as Arkansas and northern Mississippi, whereas much as six inches fell.
This week’s arctic waves have easily been the coldest of the season so far. Check your local forecast to see how cold you’ll get, and take a look at the stories below to be ready for the bitter blast.
Our team of meteorologists dives deep into the science of weather and breaks down timely weather data and information. To view more weather and climate stories, check out our weather blogs section.
As winter progresses across the Northern Hemisphere, cold outbreaks are becoming more common. And for many across the nation, the coldest day of the year is likely on the way to your city.
What You Need To Know
The coldest day of the year largely varies if you live east or west of the Rocky Mountains
Most across the eastern United States find their coldest time of the year in late January
The western United States typically is coldest in December
NOAA has found that the coldest day has been shifting later into winter
As we move deeper into the heart of winter, the coldest part of the year is upon us across the Midwest and Northeast. Back in 2022, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration released an interactive map that details when the coldest day of the year is for your city.
In the analysis conducted by NOAA’s National Center for Environmental Information (NCEI), climate experts found that this chilly milestone is now happening later than it used to.
Check out the map below. It reveals when, on average, the coldest day of the year hits based on data from 1991 to 2020. From the Mississippi Valley to the East Coast, temperatures hit rock bottom around mid-to-late January.
According to their report, the study found several interesting regional differences across the nation. But the most notable observation was the separation between dates the Rocky Mountains bring forth.
That’s because temperatures out west of the Rockies are largely influenced by the parade of storm systems moving ashore from the Pacific Ocean. These storm systems determine the temperature influences, and thus temperatures more closely align with the seasonal solar cycle if you live west of the Rocky Mountains.
While a few pockets out west have seen their date for the coldest day of the year slide later into the season, these locations are typically found in deep valleys, where calm winds and the bountiful snow cover can cause a temperature inversion—where the temperature at the surface is colder than the temperature above the ground.
But for those located east of the Rockies, the analysis found that the date for the coldest day of the year has slid later into the season.
While the West largely finds their temperature fluctuations based on storm systems, the eastern U.S. finds their temperature regime largely dictated by modified snow cover to the north.
Believe it or not, snowfall in Canada drives the temperature forecast for the eastern half of the country. That’s because as snow falls and blankets the ground in Canada, that snowfall at the surface helps cool temperatures.
As Canada’s snow cover grows, it reflects more and more solar radiation away from the ground and back out to space, keeping temperatures colder than they could be.
As storm systems develop and move eastward across Canada, the wind flow can then push this colder air mass at the surface southward into the United States. This is what’s responsible for those cold air outbreaks across the northern tier of the country.
Now, keep in mind, these dates are calculated by averaging temperatures over a 30-year period, from 1991 to 2020. The actual coldest day may happen in your area earlier or later than what the map above suggests.
NOAA’s analysis points out an interesting shift, however: Compared to climatological averages from 1981 to 2010, the coldest day is now occurring three to six days later or more in many places east of the Rockies.
The newer 30-year averages ending in 2020 also show more warming early in the winter in the eastern U.S., according to NOAA. This lines up with findings from Climate Central, which revealed that winters in the United States are warming faster than any other season east of the Rockies and in Alaska.
Our team of meteorologists dives deep into the science of weather and breaks down timely weather data and information. To view more weather and climate stories, check out our weather blogs section.
You’ve almost certainly heard of the polar vortex. But what about “sudden stratospheric warming,” a weather term that’s started making the rounds on social media? They’re related to one another, and they can play a big role in winter weather.
What You Need To Know
Not all our weather happens near the ground
Atmospheric waves sometimes break on the polar vortex, making it weaken
A weaker polar vortex sometimes makes air far aloft descend and quickly warm
These events can cause arctic outbreaks
The polar vortex
First, a quick review of the polar vortex. The one we care about lives in the stratosphere, the second-lowest layer of the atmosphere. The stratosphere is above where most of our weather happens, starting about 6 miles above the ground and reaching up about 31 miles.
That polar vortex forms in the fall as polar nights get longer and temperatures turn colder. In the spring, it breaks down as daylight returns and temperatures become more balanced.
Polar temperatures in the stratosphere are very cold in the winter, but turn relatively warm in the summer. (NOAA)
But something else can make it break down during the winter, waves in the atmosphere. That’s where sudden stratospheric warming comes in.
Sudden stratospheric warming
The atmosphere has waves, just like the ocean. After all, it pretty much is an ocean… just made of air, not salt water. These waves rise up and down, and sometimes they’ll break and crash on the polar vortex, weakening it.
What happens if the vortex weakens enough? Its winds can reverse direction, causing cold air in the stratosphere to descend and quickly warm. And that’s where the name “sudden stratospheric warming” comes from.
“Sudden” doesn’t mean it happens out of the blue, completely unexpectedly. And “warming” is relative, since we’re still talking temperatures that are way below zero.
Polar vortex temperature centered on 2022, when a sudden stratospheric warming event happened. (NOAA)
Instead of a stable swirl keeping the arctic air bottled up, the polar vortex is knocked off-kilter, coming off the North Pole or splitting into a couple pieces. The frigid air mass sometimes spills southward, although it doesn’t always dump into North America. It can just as easily hit Europe or Russia.
Major sudden stratospheric warming events happen once every winter or two on average, according to NOAA. These can cause big cold air outbreaks, although not every cold wave can lead to sudden stratospheric warming.
It also turns out that El Niño can cause sudden stratospheric warming events–and polar vortex breakdowns–because of how it influences the pattern of waves in the jet stream in the late winter.
Our team of meteorologists dives deep into the science of weather and breaks down timely weather data and information. To view more weather and climate stories, check out our weather blogs section.
Every spring, the World Meteorological Organization releases a list of names for hurricanes that season.
But why don’t we name any other storm, particularly winter storms?
What You Need To Know
The U.S. does not officially name winter storms
Other countries name non-tropical storms year round
The National Weather Service has no plans for naming winter storms
History of naming storms
We have unofficially named winter storms throughout history.
Storms such as The Great Blizzard of 1888, a storm that brought feet of snow to the Northeast and killed over 400 people, or a more recent storm in 2010, Snowmageddon, that crippled the mid-Atlantic with snow.
But naming winter storms didn’t become regular until 2012, when a television weather company did so. At the time, this decision divided the weather community. Some saw the practice as more of a publicity stunt than a way to save lives, as they did not consult any official weather agency.
After 5 years of The Weather Channel naming winter storms, an ad hoc committee of the American Meteorological Society conducted a study and agreed that there was no evidence to support that the naming of storms increases the safety of the public.
The flip side
Even though the U.S. does not name storms other than tropical cyclones, the UK Met Office started officially naming storms in 2015. They not only name winter storms, but powerful storms that form throughout the year that cause substantial impact.
Each area in the UK has different criteria for naming storms, but the fun part is that the public can suggest names for the upcoming year.
Taking a stand
However, the National Weather Service still stands on the side of not naming winter storms, but what is the reason?
I talked to Maureen O’Leary, a spokesperson for the National Weather Service, and she said, “unlike tropical storms, winter storms are diverse with conditions that evolve throughout the storm’s life. That is why our forecasts, watches and warnings focus on specific impacts such as wind conditions, snowfall, ice, temperature, visibility and other impacts.
“Winter storm conditions can vary widely and over a very large area, from community to community. It’s critical that people understand how a storm will impact them, in their area, or where they are going.”
She also said there are no plans to consider naming winter storms.
Our team of meteorologists dives deep into the science of weather and breaks down timely weather data and information. To view more weather and climate stories, check out our weather blogs section.
Iowans are used to cold weather, but the arctic blast that’s spread across much of the country is the biggest one to happen at the same time as the caucuses.
What You Need To Know
The coldest Iowa caucuses before this year were in 2004
Most have had highs in the 30s and 40s
This year, wind chills will be in the -20s throughout Iowa on caucus night
The Iowa caucuses began in 1972. That year, the high in Des Moines was 25 degrees and scattered snow fell around the state.
Since then, the warmest caucus day was 49 degrees on Feb. 20, 1984. The coldest, in 2004, had a high of just 16 degrees with wind chills in the single digits.
That’ll seem almost tropical compared to what’s coming on Monday.
Highs throughout Iowa will struggle to even get close to 0 degrees–and that’s just the actual temperature. Caucus-goers are going to face frigid wind chills in the -20s while they’re heading to and from their local precincts in the evening.
Here’s a snapshot of the conditions people had to brave through to caucus.
If there’s any good weather news in the Hawkeye State, it’s that they’ll have dry weather on Monday. That’ll be a welcome change after two powerful winter storms socked parts of the state with heavy snow in the days before. The bad weather forced Republican candidates to cancel some events.
Our team of meteorologists dives deep into the science of weather and breaks down timely weather data and information. To view more weather and climate stories, check out our weather blogs section.
