NOAA News

New Satellite Means Better Future Storm Forecasts

For forecasters trying to better pinpoint the havoc of storms, the future begins next year. That’s when the test phase for the new GOES-R satellite should be complete, providing the  National Weather Service with an improved tool to track lightning, …

El Nino Blamed for Record Carbon Dioxide Levels

The amount of heat-trapping carbon dioxide in the air jumped by the biggest amount on record last month, a rise amplified by El Nino, scientists say. Carbon dioxide levels increased by 4.16 parts per million in April compared to a …

Damage Estimates Rise for Houston-Area Flooding

Authorities say flooding that’s claimed eight lives and displaced thousands of people in the Houston area has caused more than $14 million in damage and inundated more than 1,700 homes. They said Friday the damage figures from unincorporated areas of …

Restrictions Proposed for Building in Oregon Flood Plains

Building in flood zones is about to get harder across much of Oregon, due to new federal recommendations. The government published the recommendations, called a biological opinion, in response to a lawsuit from environmental groups. The Audubon Society of Portland, …

Hurricane Hunter Aircraft Now Tracking Earth’s Shrinking Ice Caps

It is the morning of the last test flight before the first joint NASA-NOAA mission to map melting ice caps, and Miss Piggy is being difficult. Sitting on the flight line just outside Hangar 5 at MacDill Air Force Base, …

Hope for El Nino Drenching Southern California With Rain Continues

Even though Southern California hasn’t gotten the drought-busting rainy windfall some might have expected from El Nino, federal scientists hold out hope for the next several weeks. Central and Northern California have gotten more heavy rain, especially in recent weeks. …

Alabama Hub of Research Study on Southern Tornadoes

About 40 scientists from around the nation are expected to participate in “VORTEX Southeast,” an upcoming study of the unique characteristics of tornadoes that develop in the South, weather researchers say. Like earlier studies in the Midwest, the research based …

Signs El Nino is Weakening, Though Effect Won’t be Felt for Months

Meteorologists see signs that the super El Nino is weakening ever so slightly, but they caution months will pass before people in the Americas will feel it. The World Meteorological Organization said Thursday that El Nino has passed its peak …

Last Year in U.S. Was Second Hottest on Record

Last year was the second hottest on record in the contiguous United States, and included 10 major weather and climate events, such as droughts and storms, that each led to over $1 billion in damages, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric …

El Nino Spares Mexico From a Bad Hurricane Season

Mexico weathered a record eastern Pacific hurricane season with almost no deaths and relatively little damage, given the intensity of this year’s storms. The U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration released its 2015 hurricane season report Tuesday, saying that “this …