EartherEarth Science

Future Bay Area Flooding Could Be Even Worse Than We Thought

If you think the housing crunch is bad in the Bay Area now, just wait. New findings show that more land is sinking into San Francisco Bay than previously thought. Factoring that along with sea level rise projections means even more real estate in harm’s way. The research, published in Science Advances on Wednesday, uses … Continued

EartherConservation

Dangerous Heat Is Coming to Cities Very Soon

Fleeing the sweltering, cement jungles of many urban centers during the dog days of summer is going to become even more critical in coming years as temperatures continue to rise. According to a new report from the Urban Climate Change Research Network, based at Columbia University, average annual temperatures in 100 cities around the world … Continued

EartherEarth Science

Cool, Cool; Another Nor’easter Is Going to Hit the East Coast This Week

Coastal communities in Massachusetts are still cleaning up from last week’s potent nor’easter. They may want to put those efforts on hold, though. Another storm is set to impact the region by midweek. The coastal flooding won’t be nearly as bad, but colder air means snow is expected to pile up across the Mid-Atlantic and … Continued

EartherEarth Science

Why Do Nor’easters Cause Such Bad Flooding?

The East Coast is bracing for another nor’easter this week, with the National Weather Service in Boston warning that the city and nearby coastlines could see three to four feet of storm surge flooding. This, in the same winter that the bomb cyclone turned many of Boston’s streets into frozen soup. https://jalopnik.com/the-cars-are-frozen-1821804568 Is it the … Continued

EartherEnvironmental Justice

The Koch Brothers Are Very Proud of Getting Republicans to Destroy the Environment

The Koch brothers and their network of rich donors have basically bought and paid for the Republican Party, and now they are reaping the rewards. In 2017, the biggest reward was Trump’s climate and environment deregulation frenzy. The Intercept and Documented obtained a memo that lists what the Seminar Network—a cadre of uber rich conservatives … Continued

EartherEarth Science

Rare Snow Has Turned Rome Into a Winter Wonderland

Italy’s Mediterranean climate has turned Siberian. Usually winter weather has a snowball’s chance in hell of reaching Rome. But on Monday, flakes flew in the Holy See and other parts of Italy normally spared from winter weather. The culprit is the “beast from the east,” a mass of cold Siberian air that has turned much … Continued

EartherEarth Science

Where Is the Snow?

Outside of the Northern Rockies and Washington State, the U.S. is desperately seeking snow. Hot, dry weather has been the norm for much of this winter in the West, setting the region up for a summer of water woes. The snow drought is most severe in California and the Southwest. California’s Sierra Nevada are averaging … Continued

EartherEarth Science

Why Nerds Are Excited About This New Weather Satellite

Our benign version of Skynet is about to be one step closer to completion. A new weather satellite is set to launch next Thursday courtesy of NASA and a Atlas V rocket. It will provide some of the most detailed imagery of the western U.S. as well as Alaska, Hawaii, and the Pacific region ever … Continued

EartherEarth Science

This Midwestern Flooding Is Bad

In the same week that the East Coast is dropping all-time heat records and parts of the West are experiencing freak cold snaps, the middle of the country is dealing with floods. Dangerous ones. From Louisiana to Michigan, rivers are spilling over their banks after days of heavy rainfall. Flood warnings and advisories, as well … Continued

EartherClimate Change

Bering Sea Ice Is Disappearing When it Should Still Be Growing

An epic heat wave has created a stunning reverse in the frozen fortunes of the Bering Sea. The sea ice ringing the Arctic normally expands until at least late February and often through mid-March. But sea ice there has plummeted to a record low for this time of year, creating an unheard of ice-free pathway … Continued

EartherClimate Change

It’s Bizarrely Warm at the Northernmost Land Weather Station

The East Coast isn’t the only part of the world that’s dealing with freakishly mild weather this week. In what’s becoming a yearly occurrence, the Arctic is having an off-the-charts heat wave. Temperatures spiked above freezing briefly at Greenland’s northernmost weather station on Monday, but it’s hardly the only area dealing with insane heat. Parts … Continued

EartherEarth Science

Spring Weather Is Arriving Alarmingly Early This Year

Sure, you might have to deal with a little snow this weekend in the Northeast. But the reward on the other side is near-record warmth next week. We’re talking a chance at cracking the 70s in New England, a head start on spring in parts of the Southeast, and some locations that could have a … Continued

Tech News

The Groundhog Is Only a Little Worse Than an Almanac at Predicting Weather

Predicting the weather is not easy. Right now, we know a few things: Generally, things are getting warmer. If it’s an El Niño year, weather patterns will differ. But ultimately, the weather is a super-complex physics problem with tons of moving pieces that make totally accurate forecasting difficult and reliant on models and probabilities. Groundhog … Continued

EartherClimate Change

It’s Time to Worry About California’s Snowpack

Hope everyone enjoyed California’s drought-free year because dry conditions are back in a big, bad way. The second snow survey of the year revealed a dearth of snow in the Sierra Nevada on Thursday. On the same day, the U.S. Drought Monitor updated its estimate to show nearly 44 percent of the state was in … Continued

EartherClimate Change

Scott Pruitt’s First Senate Oversight Hearing Was a Total Sham

The Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) website states that its mission is “to protect human health and the environment.” You would think this would be clear to EPA head Scott Pruitt, and yet at a Senate oversight hearing on Tuesday—Pruitt’s first as administrator—he seemed far more interested in talking jobs and the economy. In fact, Pruitt … Continued

EartherEarth Science

The Midwest Is About to Freeze Its Ass Off While the Southwest Roasts

Just in time for Super Bowl Sunday, Arctic air will descend on the central U.S. as a trail of sub-zero temperatures marches down the the Canadian Rockies and parks over the Midwest. It will be short-lived and not quite as severe as the early January cold snap, but it also arrives at an inopportune time … Continued

EartherEarth Science

The 2017 Hurricane Season Officially Rewrote the Record Books

Even before they made landfall, 2017’s major hurricanes—Harvey, Maria and Irma—were already causing billions in damage. A new update from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) makes clear just how costly this trio of terrors will end up being, estimating that all three storms clock in among the top 5 most expensive hurricanes to … Continued

EartherClimate Change

Norway’s Melting Ice Patches Offer a New Glimpse Into History

As planetary ice recedes, it’s revealing secrets about human history. The latest example of that is in Norway, where a group of researchers has reconstructed 6,000 years of history based on more than 2,000 artifacts that have melted out of ice patches. The new timeline, published this week in Royal Society Open Science, provides insights … Continued

EartherClimate Change

The Weather Channel Homepage Is Out Here Reminding Everyone Climate Change is Real

The Weather Channel is no stranger to talking climate change or dunking on climate deniers (RIP Breitbart). But on Thursday, the only thing on their homepage is how climate change affects every American (along with your local forecast, of course). The site publicized a series of stories that’ve been in the works for more than … Continued

EartherEarth Science

Apparently Storms Can Push 600-Ton Boulders Around

On the rocky shores of a windswept island just west of Ireland, the 620-ton boulder looks almost at home. But careful analysis of its position over the last few years has revealed something odd: between the summers of 2013 and 2014, the boulder shifted a couple meters toward the sea. That discovery is causing scientists … Continued