Tag Archives: NOAA

Hurricane Forecasters Expect “Extremely Active” Season

USA Today reports: An “extremely active” hurricane season is likely, top forecasters from Colorado State University announced Thursday. In fact, the forecast includes the highest number of hurricanes ever predicted in an April forecast by Colorado State since the team began issuing predictions in 1995. Colorado State hurricane forecaster Phil Klotzbach, the author of the forecast, knows what the models …

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NOAA: Some States May See Northern Lights Tonight

Nexstar reports: A geomagnetic storm watch has been issued for Monday and Tuesday this week after an eruption of solar material was detected early Sunday morning. NOAA’s Space Weather Prediction Center (SWPC) warned about the eruption, known as a coronal mass ejection (CME) in a post to X. The northern lights, otherwise known as the aurora, are often associated with …

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GOP House Science Chair Could Gut Funding For NOAA

Axios reports: A key House Republican is putting forward a plan to make the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) an independent agency outside the Department of Commerce. Removing the agency from a Cabinet-level department could diminish its clout when it comes to securing funding and weighing in on key policy decisions, former senior NOAA officials tell Axios. It would …

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2022 Climate Disasters Caused $165 Billion In Damage

NBC News reports: The United States experienced 18 extreme weather events last year that each caused at least $1 billion in damages, according to a report released Tuesday by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Weather and climate disasters across the country resulted in more than $165 billion in damages in 2022, making it the third-costliest year on record, NOAA …

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NOAA Scientists Issue Alarming “Arctic Report Card”

NOAA reports: A typhoon, smoke from wildfires and increasing rain are not what most imagine when thinking of the Arctic. Yet these are some of the climate-driven events included in NOAA’s 2022 Arctic Report Card, which provides a detailed picture of how warming is reshaping the once reliably frozen, snow-covered region which is heating up faster than any other part …

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NOAA Forecasts Up To Six Major Hurricanes For 2022

Via press release from NOAA: Forecasters at NOAA’s Climate Prediction Center, a division of the National Weather Service, are predicting above-average hurricane activity this year — which would make it the seventh consecutive above-average hurricane season. NOAA’s outlook for the 2022 Atlantic hurricane season, which extends from June 1 to November 30, predicts a 65% chance of an above-normal season, …

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Forecasters Are Again Nearly Out Of Hurricane Names

Newsweek reports: Atlantic storm names are set to run out for the second year running, with only two left on the official list. The 2021 season has seen a “record-setting” start, with 19 named hurricanes forming in the Atlantic basin so far. “Teresa is the 19th storm to form in the 2021 Atlantic Hurricane season, which is well above normal. …

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NOAA: July 2021 Was Hottest Month Ever Recorded

NBC News reports: July was the hottest month ever recorded, according to data released Friday by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration — an “unenviable distinction” that could ratchet up anxiety about climate change. “In this case, first place is the worst place to be,” NOAA Administrator Rick Spinrad said in a statement. “July is typically the world’s warmest month …

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NOAA Hires Climate Change Denier For Top Position

NPR reports: David Legates, a University of Delaware professor of climatology who has spent much of his career questioning basic tenets of climate science, has been hired for a top position at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Legates has a long history of using his position as an academic scientist to publicly cast doubt on climate science. His appointment …

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NOAA Update: Expect Up To 25 Named Storms In 2020

USA Today reports: The storms will keep rolling in. Forecasters from the federal government said Thursday that an “extremely active” hurricane season was likely for the Atlantic Basin, with as many as 25 named storms forming. This includes the nine named storms that have already formed: Arthur, Bertha, Cristobal, Dolly, Edouard, Fay, Gonzalo, Hanna and Isaias. “This is one of …

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Report Slams NOAA For Backing Trump’s Sharpie Stunt

The Hill reports: Leaders at the National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) violated the agency’s scientific integrity policy by issuing a statement in September 2019 contradicting the National Weather Service shortly after President Trump said Hurricane Dorian was headed toward Alabama. “The development of the statement was not based on science but appears to be largely driven by external influence from …

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NOAA Forecasts Unusually Active Hurricane Season

The Washington Post reports: The 2020 Atlantic hurricane season is forecast to be unusually active, according to a seasonal outlook from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). Any landfalling storms could create unprecedented challenges for government officials working to respond to the coronavirus pandemic, which scientists expect to continue, albeit possibly at a slower pace, throughout the summer. The …

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NOAA: January Was Hottest Ever In Recorded History

From the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration: In the span of 141 years of climate records, there has never been a warmer January than last month, according to scientists at NOAA’s National Centers for Environmental Information. What’s more, the temperature departure from average was the highest monthly departure ever recorded without an El Niño present in the tropical Pacific Ocean. …

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Emails Show How Trump’s Sharpie Lie Roiled NOAA

The Washington Post reports: A trove of documents released on Friday evening provide the clearest glimpse yet into how President Trump’s inaccurate statements, altered forecast map and tweets regarding Hurricane Dorian’s forecast path rattled top officials along with rank and file scientists at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) in September. The documents, released in response to Freedom of …

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Ross Faces Calls To Resign Over Threat Against NOAA

Reuters reports: The news that a cabinet member in the Trump administration had threatened to fire politically-appointed staff at the agency in order to force the NOAA to contradict the advice of its own scientists prompted immediate condemnation. The head of the environmental group the Sierra Club, Michael Brune, called on Ross to resign to “maintain the dignity of the …

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REPORT: Sec. Wilbur Ross Threatened To Fire Top NOAA Staffers For Contradicting Glorious Leader On Dorian

The New York Times reports: The Secretary of Commerce threatened to fire top employees at NOAA on Friday after the agency’s Birmingham office contradicted President Trump’s claim that Hurricane Dorian might hit Alabama, according to three people familiar with the discussion. That threat led to an unusual, unsigned statement later that Friday by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration disavowing …

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NOAA Chief Investigates Statement Backing Trump

The Washington Post reports: The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration acting chief scientist said in an email to colleagues Sunday that he is investigating whether the agency’s response to President Trump’s Hurricane Dorian tweets constituted a violation of NOAA policies and ethics. In an email to NOAA staff that was obtained by The Washington Post, the official, Craig McLean, called …

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Weather Scientists In Uproar Over NOAA Statement

The Washington Post reports: The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s decision to back President Trump instead of its own scientists on the question of whether Alabama was at significant risk from Hurricane Dorian has led to widespread outrage in the broader weather community. Weather forecasters inside and outside the government and former leaders of NOAA and the National Weather Service …

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Trump Pressures NOAA Into Disavowing Dorian Report

Mediaite reports: NOAA has released a statement essentially disavowing the National Weather Service in Birmingham’s tweet that contradicted President Donald Trump’s claim that Dorian would hit Alabama. “The Birmingham National Weather Service’s Sunday morning tweet spoke in absolute terms that were inconsistent with probabilities from the best forecast products available at the time,” the statement reads. Soon after the unsigned …

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NOAA/NASA: 2018 Was Fourth Hottest Year On Record

A joint report from NOAA and NASA: Earth’s long-term warming trend continued in 2018 as persistent warmth across large swaths of land and ocean resulted in the globe’s fourth hottest year in NOAA’s 139-year climate record. The year ranks just behind 2016 (warmest), 2015 (second warmest) and 2017 (third warmest). In separate analyses of global temperatures, scientists from NASA, the …

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