States with Severe Weather Preparedness Sales Tax Holidays Important Notes: Alabama Does It Right: Demand a Tax Break for Disaster Supplies Alabama’s got the right idea with their annual Severe Weather Preparedness Sales Tax Holiday. It’s time for other states, especially those prone to tornadoes, hurricanes, and floods, to follow suit! Imagine stocking up on … Read more
The Big One Looms While recent disruptions are concerning, the USGS says Popocatépetl could unleash way more power. Its last huge blowout was in 800 A.D., and a similar blast today would put hundreds of thousands of people in immediate danger. Popocatépetl: A Looming Concern for Travelers to Mexico City Mexico City, a vibrant metropolis … Read more
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Disasters can strike anybody at anytime, resulting in catastrophic property damage and loss. Fires in dwellings and natural disasters such as floods, hurricanes, tornadoes, severe storms, mudslides, and wildfires cause significant property damage every year across the United States. Although disasters usually strike without warning, there are measures you can take both before and after … Read more
What is Flood Insurance? Because standard homeowners insurance doesn’t cover damage from flooding, you will need to purchase a separate flood insurance policy to obtain coverage for your home and its contents. Fortunately, flood insurance is widely available from insurance companies that participate in the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP), a partnership between the Federal … Read more
The 2024 lunar calendar promises a captivating journey through the phases of our moon, each offering celestial splendor and potential impacts on the ocean’s rhythm. Here’s a glimpse into what you can expect from each full moon: January 25 – Wolf Moon: Rising at 12:54 p.m. EST, the Wolf Moon marks the first full moon … Read more
The United States government is working in collaboration with local communities to provide expeditious financial assistance to victims of weather disasters in support of damage recovery. Financial aid is provided through a variety of means including disaster loans, grants, and casualty tax deductions for losses resulting from the destruction of property or unexpected calamities, such … Read more
Weather disruptions are a fact of life when it comes to travel. Flights can be delayed or cancelled for a variety of reasons, including bad weather. If you’re a traveler who frequently gets stuck due to weather, the Venture X card can be a valuable asset. Get Comfortable During Weather Disruptions at the Airport … Read more
While it’s true that Oklahoma experienced a significant decrease in earthquake activity after stricter wastewater disposal regulations were implemented in 2015, it’s not entirely accurate to say the quakes have “stopped” or activity isn’t significant. Here’s a more nuanced picture: Decrease in Overall Activity: Recent Uptick and Reasons: Current Activity: Recent significant events occurred last … Read more
We understand your frustration – you’ve encountered a temporary interruption in your map access. We sincerely apologize for the inconvenience. This downtime is due to a recent increase in mapping service costs and the need to compensate our dedicated developers for their ongoing work on maintaining and improving this valuable resource on the map. Keeping … Read more
Determining the type of supercells that may occur within a given severe weather environment is important for a multitude of reasons. A supercell is a thunderstorm that rotates. There are three types of supercells: low-precipitation (LP), classic, and high-precipitation (HP). The configuration of the wind shear profiles within a severe weather environment is critical in diagnosing … Read more
Those of us who live around Atlanta, Georgia or Dallas, Texas, who only see around 2 or 3 inches of snow per year on average, can be heard complaining during the winter when a snow event occurs. There are, however, many cities around the nation where considerably more snow falls and it becomes part of the … Read more
We often see fronts on weather maps on television or the internet. In this blog, we’ll discuss the formation and intensification of fronts, known as frontogenesis. Strictly speaking, frontogenesis is defined as an increase in the magnitude of a horizontal density gradient. To explain the dynamics of frontogenesis, we begin by looking at the frontogenetical … Read more
How to Recognize, Treat and Avoid Hypothermia It’s a fact of life that our kids still have to stand in the bitterly cold temperatures while they wait for their bus. Fortunately, they aren’t exposed to the cold for too long; assuming the bus driver is on time, they will soon be on the warm bus … Read more
Now more than ever, many people find themselves wrestling with anxiety. Having anxiety issues is more than just feeling a little nervous or anxious. Anxiety and panic attacks can make a person feel like the world will crush them, or like they might implode. For many, simply calming down is not an option. Learning to … Read more
As the winter months approach, many people with chronic pain experience a worsening of their symptoms. Science offers some explanations for this phenomenon. One reason is the decrease in blood flow that occurs when your body tries to conserve heat in cold weather. This reduced blood flow to joints and muscles can lead to stiffness … Read more
Introduction The title is a question that is frequently asked of meteorologists, especially in the wake of an abnormally warm or cool season; it is a topic of interest among atmospheric scientists and the general public alike. In this article, we will attempt to answer this question using climatology, casting aside gut feelings and old … Read more
Like humans, our pets can have phobias, such a stress-inducing fear of loud noises, fireworks, and thunderstorms. As a pet-owner, you have an awareness of your dog’s mood and her behavior likely alerts you to an approaching thunderstorm, even before you hear the first clap of thunder. She may cry or whimper, tremble, or scurry … Read more
The devastating tornado that tore through Little Rock on March 31st, 2023, left a trail of heartbreaking destruction in its wake. Classified as an EF3 on the Enhanced Fujita scale, this powerful twister carved a 35-mile path of damage. Homes were reduced to piles of splintered wood and scattered belongings, their foundations a jarring testament … Read more
The tornado outbreak in Oklahoma on May 20, 2013 occurred on the last day of a series of three consecutive days with significant severe weather. On this day, the most deadly tornado of the year for the United States occurred in Moore, Oklahoma. The tornado that tracked through Moore had developed near Chickasha, Oklahoma and … Read more
The town of New Bern, North Carolina, located approximately 40 miles inland from the coastline along the Neuse River, has recorded storm surge greater than 6 feet above ground level for more than 24 hours in a row. The Neuse River is a saltwater river that empties into the Pamlico Sound in coastal North Carolina, … Read more
A blocking weather pattern has encompassed much of the nation throughout the summer. A persistent area of high pressure and large-scale, high-amplitude ridging over the western half of the country has resulted in hot temperatures and extremely low atmospheric moisture content. These are the conditions necessary for the development of wildfires. Last week, NOAA’s Geostationary … Read more
The National Weather Service’s Weather Surveillance Radar-1988 Doppler (WSR-88D) network across the United States consists of 155 Doppler radar sites operated by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). In 2013, the entire WSR-88D network was upgraded to dual-polarization capabilities, meaning that the Doppler radar can emit pulses in both the horizontal and vertical plane. … Read more
…Daily rainfall record shattered at DFW on the 28th… …Also the most rainfall ever recorded on ANY day in February… …February 2018 is now the wettest on record for DFW… A heavy rain event on the last day of the month pushed monthly rainfall totals to record levels at DFW Airport in the Dallas/Fort Worth … Read more
The atmosphere can display phenomenal optical features through the bending of light. You may have looked up at the sky on a day with high-level clouds, e.g. cirrus clouds, which are composed of ice crystals. These hexagonal ice crystals act as prisms, and when a photon (a particle of light) passes through the ice crystal, … Read more
The City of Rowlett, Texas, continues their efforts to raise money for those affected by the EF-4 tornado that impacted the area on December 26th, 2015. Rowlett Strong, the non-profit organization involved, has earned a Gold Participant status from the GuideStar non-profit organization. GuideStar is one of the world’s largest source of non-profit information. Rowlett … Read more
On Sunday, November 17th, 2013, an outbreak of deadly tornadoes occurred across the upper midwest region of the United States. 73 tornadoes were confirmed across Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, Missouri, and Ohio. Two of the seventy-three tornadoes were violent, of which both earned damage ratings on the Enhanced Fujita Scale of EF-4 (166-200mph winds). Both … Read more
A new polar orbiting satellite, the Joint Polar Satellite System-1 (JPSS-1), is scheduled to launch Wednesday, November 15th, at 1:47am PDT from the Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. Update [11/16 at 11:39am CST]: The morning launch was scrubbed due to strong upper level winds. The new launch time is scheduled for Saturday, November 18th, … Read more
Last year on November 19th, 2016, GOES-16 (formerly GOES-R) was launched on the Atlas V541 rocket from the NASA Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida. Nearly a year after its launch into geosynchronous orbit at an altitude of 22,240 miles above the Earth’s surface, the satellite constellation will begin its drift to the GOES-East … Read more