Thursday, 23 May, 2013

Synopsis: Hurricanes, the most powerful and dangerous storms of all, get their energy from the difference in temperature between a warm ocean and a cooler atmosphere. A century ago, hurricanes blew in with almost no warning; now they are tracked from the sky and space, and every year, warnings get a bit more useful. How [...]

How do hurricanes form? How do we predict their paths? How can we improve predictions?

Are extreme heat, wicked cyclones and record rainfalls signs of climate change, or just more changes in the weather? Will warming eliminate record cold days? Will hurricanes get bigger?

How accurate are weather forecasts? Image: NOAA In general, weather forecasts are getting better, due to improvements in computer models, observations and our understanding of atmospheric. Accuracy depends on the purpose of the forecast and how far out it extends. Next-day forecasts of maximum temperature are good to within 3 or 4 degrees; however, the [...]

What are hurricanes? View NASA’s satellite video retrospective of Hurricane Katrina Hurricanes are a type of “cyclone,” a word that has several uses in describing weather. In some parts of the Midwest, it means tornado; around the Indian Ocean, cyclone means hurricane. In meteorology, cyclone refers to any organized Northern Hemispheric wind system that rotates [...]

How do hurricanes form? How do we predict their paths? How can we improve predictions?

It’s a fact of life: Hurricanes and floods happen. So why are people rebuilding in the path of storms and floods? Is there a smarter way to plan development?

To understand and protect the home planet: it’s no longer a key NASA mission. What will we lose as NASA turns its eyes toward the moon and Mars?

As New Orleans sinks and the seas rise, hurricanes are getting worse. Does it make sense to start restoring marshes and barrier islands that dampen the hurricanes? Could wetlands moderate the next Katrina?

Is global warming feeding hurricanes? Global warming has already raised sea levels. Is warming also making hurricanes like Katrina more intense? Some new evidence says yes.

During Hurricane Charley, ocean fish sing their mating songs louder and longer.

Salvage logging of forests after natural disturbances is a bad idea, ecologists warn. Evidence from a forest whacked by a 1938 hurricane show how salvage logging changes the landscape.