Latest news with #AtmosphericandEnvironmentalResearch
NBC News
22-05-2025
- Climate
- NBC News
May nor'easter could bring a soggy start to Memorial Day weekend in New England
SCARBOROUGH, Maine — An unusual May nor'easter is set to wallop New England on Thursday, providing a soaking before the Memorial Day holiday weekend with weather more commonly associated with fall and winter. Nor'easters usually arrive in the end of fall and winter and bring high winds, rough seas and precipitation in the form of rain or snow. This week's nor'easter could bring wind gusts over 40 mph and up to 2 inches of rain in some areas. Snow is even possible at high elevations. The storm has New Englanders preparing for a messy couple of days during a time of year usually reserved for sunshine and cookouts. What is a nor'easter? A nor'easter is an East Coast storm that is so named because winds over the coastal area are typically from the northeast, according to the National Weather Service. The storms can happen at any time of the year, but they are at their most frequent and strongest between September and April, according to the service. The storms have caused billions of dollars in damage in the past. They usually reach the height of their strength in New England and eastern Canada. The storms often disrupt traffic and power grids and can cause severe damage to homes and businesses. 'We have a stronger jet stream, which is helping intensify a low pressure system that just happens to be coming up the coast. And so that's how it got the nor'easter name,' said Kyle Pederson, a meteorologist at the National Weather Service in Boston. Who will see rain and snow The heaviest rain is likely to fall in Rhode Island and southern and eastern Massachusetts, Pederson said. Localized nuisance flooding and difficult driving conditions are possible Thursday, and catastrophic flooding is not expected. The storm is then expected to pass, leaving light rain and patchy drizzle, on Friday. 'It's just really a nice dose of rain for the region — not expecting much for flooding,' Pederson said. Snow is expected to be confined to mountainous areas, but accumulations there are possible. Why nor'easters are rare in May Nor'easters are usually winter weather events, and it is unusual to see them in May. They typically form when there are large temperature differences from west to east during winter when there is cold air over land and the oceans are relatively warm. But right now there is a traffic jam in the atmosphere because of an area of high pressure in the Canadian Arctic that is allowing unusually cold air to funnel down over the Northeast. The low pressure system off the East Coast is being fueled by a jet stream that is unusually south at the moment. 'It really is a kind of a winter-type setup that you rarely see this late,' said Judah Cohen, seasonal forecast director at the private firm Atmospheric and Environmental Research. If this type of pattern in the atmosphere happened two months earlier, he said, 'we'd be talking about a crippling snowstorm in the Northeastern U.S., not just a wet start to Memorial Day weekend.'
Los Angeles Times
21-05-2025
- Climate
- Los Angeles Times
Uncommon May nor'easter to bring rain, snow to New England states just before Memorial Day weekend
SCARBOROUGH, Maine — An unusual May nor'easter is set to wallop New England on Thursday, providing a soaking before the Memorial Day holiday weekend with weather more commonly associated with fall and winter. Nor'easters usually arrive in the end of fall and winter and bring high winds, rough seas and precipitation in the form of rain or snow. This week's nor'easter could bring wind gusts over 40 mph and up to two inches of rain in some areas. Snow is even possible at high elevations. The storm has New Englanders preparing for a messy couple of days during a time of year usually reserved for sunshine and cookouts. A nor'easter is an East Coast storm that is so named because winds over the coastal area are typically from the northeast, according to the National Weather Service. The storms are able to happen at any time of the year, but they are at their most frequent and strongest between September and April, according to the service. The storms have caused billions of dollars in damage in the past. They usually reach the height of their strength in New England and eastern Canada. The storms often disrupt traffic and power grids and can cause severe damage to homes and businesses. 'We have a stronger jet stream, which is helping intensify a low pressure system that just happens to be coming up the coast. And so that's how it got the nor'easter name,' said Kyle Pederson, meteorologist at the National Weather Service in Boston. The heaviest rain is likely to fall in Rhode Island and southern and eastern Massachusetts, Pederson said. Localized, nuisance flooding and difficult driving conditions are possible on Thursday, and catastrophic flooding is not expected. The storm is expected to pass, leaving light rain and patchy drizzle, on Friday, Pederson said. 'It's just really a nice dose of rain for the region — not expecting much for flooding,' he said. Snow is expected to be confined to mountainous areas, but accumulations there are possible. Nor'easters are usually a winter weather event, and it is unusual to see them in May. Nor'easters typically form when there are large differences in temperature from west to east during winter when there is cold air over land and the oceans are relatively warm. But right now there is a traffic jam in the atmosphere because of an area of high pressure in the Canadian Arctic that is allowing unusually cold air to funnel down over the Northeast. The low pressure system off the East Coast is being fueled by a jet stream that is unusually south at the moment. 'It really is a kind of a winter-type setup that you rarely see this late,' said Judah Cohen, seasonal forecast director at the private firm Atmospheric and Environmental Research. He said if this type of pattern in the atmosphere happened two months earlier 'we'd be talking about a crippling snowstorm in the northeastern U.S., not just a wet start to Memorial Day weekend.' O'Malley and Whittle write for the Associated Press. O'Malley reported from Philadelphia.
San Francisco Chronicle
21-05-2025
- Climate
- San Francisco Chronicle
Uncommon May nor'easter to bring rain, snow to New England states just before Memorial Day weekend
SCARBOROUGH, Maine (AP) — An unusual May nor'easter is set to wallop New England on Thursday, providing a soaking before the Memorial Day holiday weekend with weather more commonly associated with fall and winter. Nor'easters usually arrive in the end of fall and winter and bring high winds, rough seas and precipitation in the form of rain or snow. This week's nor'easter could bring wind gusts over 40 mph (64 kph) and up to two inches (five cm) of rain in some areas. Snow is even possible at high elevations. The storm has New Englanders preparing for a messy couple of days during a time of year usually reserved for sunshine and cookouts. What is a nor'easter? A nor'easter is an East Coast storm that is so named because winds over the coastal area are typically from the northeast, according to the National Weather Service. The storms are able to happen at any time of the year, but they are at their most frequent and strongest between September and April, according to the service. The storms have caused billions of dollars in damage in the past. They usually reach the height of their strength in New England and eastern Canada. The storms often disrupt traffic and power grids and can cause severe damage to homes and businesses. 'We have a stronger jet stream, which is helping intensify a low pressure system that just happens to be coming up the coast. And so that's how it got the nor'easter name,' said Kyle Pederson, meteorologist at the National Weather Service in Boston. Who will see rain and snow The heaviest rain is likely to fall in Rhode Island and southern and eastern Massachusetts, Pederson said. Localized, nuisance flooding and difficult driving conditions are possible on Thursday, and catastrophic flooding is not expected. The storm is expected to pass, leaving light rain and patchy drizzle, on Friday, Pederson said. 'It's just really a nice dose of rain for the region — not expecting much for flooding,' he said. Snow is expected to be confined to mountainous areas, but accumulations there are possible. Why nor'easters are rare in May Nor'easters are usually a winter weather event, and it is unusual to see them in May. Nor'easters typically form when there are large differences in temperature from west to east during winter when there is cold air over land and the oceans are relatively warm. But right now there is a traffic jam in the atmosphere because of an area of high pressure in the Canadian Arctic that is allowing unusually cold air to funnel down over the Northeast. The low pressure system off the East Coast is being fueled by a jet stream that is unusually south at the moment. 'It really is a kind of a winter-type setup that you rarely see this late,' said Judah Cohen, seasonal forecast director at the private firm Atmospheric and Environmental Research. He said if this type of pattern in the atmosphere happened two months earlier 'we'd be talking about a crippling snowstorm in the northeastern U.S., not just a wet start to Memorial Day weekend.' O'Malley reported from Philadelphia.
Yahoo
13-05-2025
- Climate
- Yahoo
IBHS Joins Nation'sLargest Hail Study in 40 Years as ICECHIP Launches with Media Field Day
When: Saturday, May 17, 2025Media-Only Access: 1:00–2:00 PM MTPublic Event: 2:00–4:00 PM MTWhere: Flexible Array of Radars and Mesonets (FARM) Facility - 4820 63rd St., Boulder, CO 80301 – Northeast side of building BOULDER, Colo., May 13, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- The National Science Foundation-funded ICECHIP project—"In-situ Collaborative Experiment for the Collection of Hail In the Plains"—invites members of the media to an exclusive Media Field Day to kick off the largest hail-focused field campaign in the U.S. in more than 40 years. The ICECHIP Media Field Day will provide firsthand access to live weather demonstrations, storm-tracking tools and interviews with leading atmospheric scientists. The project brings together 15 U.S. institutions and four international partners to study hailstorms across the Central Plains and the Front Range of the Rocky Mountains. Hail is the most consistently damaging hazard associated with severe thunderstorms, generating over $35 billion in losses in the U.S. last year alone and affecting homeowners, businesses, aviation, agriculture, transportation and more. This six-week field campaign aims to transform the understanding of hail by collecting unprecedented field data - advancing hail detection, improving forecast models and strengthening public warning systems. MEDIA FIELD DAY HIGHLIGHTS: Exclusive media access from 1:00–2:00 PM MT One-on-one questions and interviews with Scientists and team experts Live public demonstrations from 2:00–4:00 PM MT featuring: Opening remarks and project overview (2:00–2:15 PM MT) Weather balloon launch Doppler on Wheels (DOW) vehicles and mobile mesonets Hail measurement systems Radiometers and UAS (large drones) Online Media Kit: Where ICECHIP Goes: The mobile research campaign will continue through June 30th, 2025, and span hail-prone regions across the Plains gathering observations on a wide variety of hailstorms. Principal Investigators Rebecca Adams-Selin Atmospheric and Environmental Research (Lead PI)John Allen Central Michigan University Victor Gensini Northern Illinois UniversityAndrew Heymsfield National Center for Atmospheric Research Steering CommitteeBrian Argrow University of Colorado BoulderIan Giammanco Insurance Institute for Business & Home Safety (IBHS)Karen Kosiba University of Alabama HuntsvilleMatthew Kumjian Pennsylvania State UniversityJoshua Wurman University of Alabama Huntsville For a full list of collaborators and partners, click here. View original content to download multimedia: SOURCE Insurance Institute for Business & Home Safety; Atmospheric and Environmental Research (AER)
CNN
21-02-2025
- Climate
- CNN
The polar vortex is acting weird and the US is paying the price this winter
It's really, really cold again — as the US shivers through at least the eighth blast of air from the Arctic this winter. Winter, which is warming faster than any other season for much of the US, seems to be making a comeback for the first time in years; this January was the coldest in the Lower 48 since 1988. But the US is an outlier, and so is this winter. January was the warmest on record for the globe and, in a vast expanse of global warmth, the US sticks out like a cold, sore thumb. Scientists say it's being caused by a misbehaving polar vortex combining with a key weather pattern that seems to be stuck in place. Some scientists say these factors and this winter could be examples of how extreme cold behaves in a warming world. Others argue it doesn't paint a complete picture and further research is needed. What they do have consensus on is that winter is getting warmer as the planet warms because of fossil fuel pollution, so this Arctic blast from the past feels more like a relic of a bygone era. 'We're definitely shifting the goal posts on what winter looks like,' Zeke Hausfather, a research scientist with the University of California, Berkeley, said, noting that when we experience a season that's actually chilly, it's somewhat jarring. 'There's no location in the US where the coldest day of the year has gotten colder over the last 50 years,' Hausfather continued. 'Our memories are short as to what a normal winter is.' A few atmospheric factors — including the polar vortex — have come together to make the US the epicenter of cold this winter. One is a weather pattern around the Arctic Circle that has emerged more frequently than usual this winter and is driving this week's cold, according to Judah Cohen, director of seasonal forecasting at Atmospheric and Environmental Research. It features a large, long-lasting area of high pressure known as a blocking high because it blocks cold air and reroutes it south via a large dip the jet stream — the river of air over the US that storms flow through –— that also separates cold air from warm air. This high has been stuck over Alaska and northwest Canada, which is something that generally happens more often during La Niña winters and forces the cold to spill into parts of the Lower 48. The end result has been one of the warmest winters to-date in Alaska and an unusually cold one in the Lower 48. The frequent emergence of this pattern this winter could be a sign of things to come in a warming world. A 2023 study found blocking highs in the Arctic Circle similar to this year's would become more frequent as the Arctic warmed and weakened the jet stream, allowing more cold to spill south. It's part of a growing body of research linking the rapidly warming Arctic to changes in jet stream behavior and extreme cold. Other scientists, including Hausfather, think additional research is needed. Whether or not it's connected to climate change, the pattern is still rearing its head this winter and it's working in tandem with the polar vortex. The jet stream and frigid air just could not make it quite as far south without also having help from the polar vortex, according to Cohen. That's because the polar vortex doesn't cause US cold air outbreaks but instead amplifies them, Jennifer Francis, a senior scientist at the Woodwell Climate Research Center said. The polar vortex is area of fast-moving winds well above the Earth's surface and the jet stream that circle the Arctic during the Northern Hemisphere's coldest months. When it's strong, it keeps brutally cold air trapped in the Arctic, like a figure skater doing a spin with their arms tight to their body. When it's weak, the cold air frequently spills south. The polar vortex has been 'considerably stronger' than usual this year, according to Laura Ciasto, a meteorologist with NOAA's Climate Prediction Center, which should keep record-breaking cold out of the US. But it hasn't because the polar vortex has been frequently been stretching into weird shapes Cohen said. A strong polar vortex is circular like a rubber band when it rests on a surface untouched. But energy circling the atmosphere can sometimes smash into the polar vortex, like two hands trying to fling a rubber band, stretching it into something more oblong than circular. That's what's happening now. Now stretched, the polar vortex can then shift the jet stream even farther south than just the blocking high could do on its own. This allows more cold air to spill into the US, and further south, too, Cohen explained. See, for example, the below-zero wind chills Dallas endured Wednesday morning, or when New Orleans was buried under a record-breaking 8 inches of snow in January. The polar vortex has been snapping back and forth from a normal to a stretched state with unusual frequency this year, hence all of the cold snaps, Cohen said. At least 10 of these stretched polar vortex events have occurred this winter, including the ongoing event, according to Cohen: four in December, four in January and two in February. The polar vortex is usually 'like an aircraft carrier, it doesn't turn around quickly and isn't very nimble,' Cohen said. 'I've really never seen anything like it.' These polar vortex stretches are happening more frequently as the world — and especially the Arctic — warms, a 2021 paper published in the journal Science, also co-authored by Cohen, demonstrated. And it's having a huge impact. A stretched polar vortex event played a significant role in the Arctic outbreak that froze Texas in February 2021, killing more than 200 people, according to a 2020 study. The blocking pattern and stretched polar vortex are two factors at the forefront of a still-active and often highly debated area of research into both why and how frequently extreme cold outbreaks reach the US in a warming world. 'There are multiple ways that human caused climate change is having an influence on the jet stream, but it's never clear which factor is the most important one in any given event, like the cold spell happening now,' Francis explained. 'It's always a combination (of factors), and it's always complicated.' There could be other yet to be discovered influences, and confidence will grow as research continues, but scientists know extreme bouts of cold like what's happening this winter will still happen even as temperatures keep rising globally. 'These extreme cold events (will) perhaps happen more often, even though they probably won't be quite as cold over time as the air generally warms,' Francis concluded. But when they do, 'they're going to be just as disruptive.'
