Current Events

  • Atmospheric CO2 Level Tops 400 ppm
    During the week of May 13th, the CO2 level at the Mauna Loa Observatory in Hawaii topped 400 ppm rep...Read more

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    Atmospheric CO2 Level Tops 400 ppm

    During the week of May 13th, the CO2 level at the Mauna Loa Observatory in Hawaii topped 400 ppm repeatedly. Daily levels of CO2 can vary due to weather, and there are seasonal trends as well. The level of atmospheric greenhouse gases continues to increase, now over 120 ppm since the Industrial Revolution began. For more on the Keeling Curve, see http://keelingcurve.ucsd.edu/. Find out more about greenhouse gases and warming.
  • Massive Tornado Outbreak on Tornado Alley
    The week of May 19 brings dozens of tornadoes to Tornado Alley in the states of Oklahoma, Kansas, Io...Read more

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    Massive Tornado Outbreak on Tornado Alley

    The week of May 19 brings dozens of tornadoes to Tornado Alley in the states of Oklahoma, Kansas, Iowa, Illinois and Missouri. On May 20th, a massive tornado struck Moore, Oklahoma, devastating communities - destroying over 100 homes and hitting two elementary schools and a hospital - with many casualties and deaths. Our thoughts are with our friends and colleagues suffering from these storms. For more on the May 20th storms, see the NOAA Storm Prediction Center Storm Report.
  • Kansas Legislator Proposes Bill to Outlaw Sustainability Education
    A bill has been introduced in the Kansas legislature this week that would prohibit the promotion of ...Read more

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    Kansas Legislator Proposes Bill to Outlaw Sustainability Education

    A bill has been introduced in the Kansas legislature this week that would prohibit the promotion of sustainability. Here is a link to the one-page bill: http://www.kslegislature.org/li/b2013_14/measures/documents/hb2366_00_0000.pdf. See report on Bloomberg News.

Weather

Weather is the state of the atmosphere at a given time and place. Most weather takes place in the troposphere, the lowest layer of the atmosphere.

Weather is measured and described in a variety of ways by meteorologists, scientists who study and predict weather. Air temperature and pressure, the amount and type of precipitation, the strength and direction of wind, and the types of clouds are all described in a weather report.

Weather changes each day because the air in our atmosphere is always moving, distributing energy from the Sun. In most places in the world, the types of weather events also vary throughout the year as seasons change.

<a href="/earth/Atmosphere/clouds/kelvin_helmholtz.html">Kelvin-Helmholtz</a> clouds resemble breaking <a href="/earth/Water/ocean_waves.html">waves in the ocean</a>. They are usually the most developed near mountains or large hills. Wind deflected up and over a barrier, like a mountain, continues flowing through the air in a wavelike pattern. Complex <a href="/earth/Water/evaporation.html">evaporation</a> and <a href="/earth/Water/condensation.html">condensation</a> patterns create the capped tops and cloudless troughs of the waves.  This image was taken on February 9, 2003 in the morning in Boulder, Colorado.<p><small><em> Courtesy of Roberta Johnson</em></small></p>Hurricane Alex, a <a href="/earth/Atmosphere/hurricane/saffir_simpson.html">category 3</a> storm at its strongest, traveled north along the east coast of North America in August 2004 causing <a href="/earth/Atmosphere/hurricane/surge.html">flooding</a>, strong <a href="/earth/Water/ocean_waves.html">waves</a>, and rip tides along the coast. <a href="/earth/Atmosphere/hurricane/formation.html">Hurricanes form</a> in the tropics over warm ocean water and die down when they <a href="/earth/Atmosphere/hurricane/movement.html">move</a> over land or out of the tropics. These storms are called hurricanes in the Atlantic and typhoons or tropical cyclones in other areas of the world.<p><small><em> Courtesy of NOAA</em></small></p>This photograph of a <a href="/earth/Atmosphere/clouds/cumulonimbus.html">cumulonimbus cloud</a> was taken on the <a href="/earth/grassland_eco.html">grasslands</a> of eastern Wyoming. Notice the <a href="/earth/Atmosphere/precipitation/rain.html">rain</a> and <a href="/earth/Atmosphere/precipitation/hail.html">hail</a> falling from this cloud! Cumulonimbus clouds form during <a href="/earth/Atmosphere/tstorm.html">thunderstorms</a>, when very warm, moist air rises into cold air. As this humid air rises, water vapor <a href="/earth/Water/condensation.html">condenses</a>, and forms huge <a href="/earth/Atmosphere/clouds/cumulonimbus.html">cumulonimbus</a> clouds. <p><small><em> Photo courtesy of <a href="http://www.inclouds.com">Gregory Thompson</a></em></small></p>Does Earth science matter? The power outage experienced by residents in New York City on October 30th 2012 due to Hurricane Sandy demonstrates the interconnectedness of our society, and the power of the Earth system. Every person should have an understanding of how the Earth system works so they can live better lives, protect those they love, and make wise choices. Earth science education is critical!<p><small><em>Image courtesy of Hybirdd, licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Generic license.</em></small></p>Greenland’s <a href="http://www.windows2universe.org/earth/polar/cryosphere_glacier1.html">ice sheet</a> saw a record <a href="http://www.windows2universe.org/headline_universe/olpa/greenland_10dec07.html">melt</a> in July 2012. Scientists studying this event have found that this melting event was triggered by an influx of unusually warm air and amplified by the presence of a blanket of thin low-level <a href="http://www.windows2universe.org/earth/Atmosphere/cloud.html">clouds</a> which pushed temperatures up above freezing. For more information see the <a href="http://www.news.wisc.edu/21638">press release</a> from the University of Wisconsin Madison.<p><small><em>Image courtesy of University of Wisconsin-Madison</em></small></p>

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Explore Weather

Weather Fronts

When a front passes over an area, it means a change in the weather. Many fronts cause weather ...Read more

Clouds

Clouds can come in all sizes and shapes, and can form near the ground or high in the atmosphere. ...Read more

Thunderstorms

Thunderstorms are one of the most thrilling and dangerous types of weather phenomena. Over ...Read more

Tornadoes

Tornadoes form from severe thunderstorms. They have a very high energy density which means ...Read more

Hurricanes

As a strong hurricane heads towards a vulnerable coast, people take precautions - boarding ...Read more

Heat Waves

It’s the middle of the summer and it’s hot – hotter than normal. The heat lasts for days. It’s ...Read more

Blizzards

Fast winds blowing up to 75 mph (120 kph), 43 inches (1 meter) of snowfall, power outages, ...Read more

Urban Weather

Cities can affect the weather. Looking at satellite data, scientists have observed that heavy ...Read more

Atmospheric Optics

Have you ever seen clouds in the sky that looked different than "normal" clouds? Or have you ...Read more

Weather Instruments

Knowing what weather is on the way is important to many people. For example, farmers plan their ...Read more

More about Weather

Historical Events

5/22 ~7.9 magnitude earthquake hits near Xining, Tsinghai, China in 1927
5/24 Nicholas Copernicus, a Polish astronomer, died on this date in 1543 Details
5/30 7.5 magnitude quake hits Quetta, Pakistan in 1935

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Did you know?

Did you know that most of the Earth's clouds and weather are found in lowest level of the Earth’s atmosphere?

Did you know that the atmosphere gets thinner as you go up in altitude?

 

Earth and Space Science Concept of the Day

Do you know what this word or phrase means?

Cirque
xCirque : A semicircular basin excavated by glaciers in mountain top regions; may contain a lake

Click on the word to find out!

Research Highlights

Scientists Study "Glaciovolcanoes," Mountains of Fire and Ice, in Iceland, British Columbia, U.S.

Glaciovolcanoes, they're called, these rumbling mountains where the orange-red fire of magma meets the frozen blue of glaciers. Iceland's Eyjafjallajökull volcano, which erupted recently, is but one of...Read more

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