Articles tagged with Weather Forecasting
The NASA National Polar-orbiting Operational Environmental Satellite System (NPOESS) Preparatory Project (NPP) climate and weather satellite has completed all environmental testing, including thermal vacuum testing. The successful test paves the way for the satellite's planned launch on October 25.
The California Energy Commission is funding $1.4 million in renewable energy research at UC San Diego, including advanced solar forecasting and energy storage systems. The investment will help accelerate the development of clean energy technologies and achieve California's 33% Renewable Energy Portfolio Standard by 2020.
A low pressure area over northern Illinois has created conditions for severe weather in the eastern third of the US. The GOES-13 Satellite captured an image of strong thunderstorms with a high risk area stretching from southern Arkansas to northeastern Texas.
OU School of Meteorology faculty are leading predictability research initiatives, exploring various weather phenomena and their impacts. The team aims to improve forecasting for severe weather events like landslides, tornadoes, and thunderstorms by advancing tools like the SEGMENT modeling system.
Researchers developed a method to use passive microwave satellite imagery to monitor hurricane structure and intensity changes, revealing patterns in storm dynamics. This allows for a 30-hour window before a storm hits its maximum strength, enabling forecasters to issue earlier warnings and evacuate areas at risk.
Tropical Storm Errol has strengthened overnight and developed into a well-defined center of circulation, with strong thunderstorms and cold cloud tops. The storm is expected to bring heavy rainfall, rough surf, and gusty winds along the northern coast of Western Australia.
Researchers at North Carolina State University have developed software that creates a privacy mode for Android systems, giving users flexible control over personal information. The TISSA prototype includes four possible privacy settings for each application, allowing users to customize the level of information accessed.
A new computer-generated forecast provides pilots with critical weather information on the likelihood of encountering in-flight icing conditions. The Forecast Icing Product with Severity (FIP-Severity) offers 12-hour forecasts that help users plan safe flight paths, reducing accidents and costs related to icing hazards.
The EURISGIC project aims to estimate geomagnetically induced current (GIC) risk using European archives and develop a prototype service for GIC forecasts. The project, involving 6 countries, will provide real-time solar wind measurements to improve power grid resilience.
The new Space Weather App allows users to access real-time images and data on solar events, including coronal mass ejections and X-ray outbursts. Users can customize the app to display information of interest, increasing public awareness of space weather.
Groundwater depletion in California's Central Valley poses a significant threat to the state's economy and food security, with two-thirds of the loss attributed to central valley groundwater depletion. Conversely, corals are expanding their range poleward in temperate areas as seas warm, indicating rapid modifications to coastal ecosys...
The NASA National Polar-orbiting Operational Environmental Satellite System (NPOESS) Preparatory Project (NPP) climate/weather satellite is successfully completing flight environmental testing. The five-instrument suite will provide continuity of climate observations and enhance weather forecasting capabilities.
A new scientific study confirms that computer models at a European weather-forecasting center gave clear indications of the impending floods in Pakistan last July. The researchers found that if the information had been processed, forecasters could have predicted extremely accurate rainfall totals and even prevented some flooding.
NASA's Terra satellite captured an image of Cyclone Yasi on Jan. 30 at 23:20 UTC, revealing a well-formed storm that appears to be strengthening. The cyclone is forecast to continue intensifying over the next 36 hours and make landfall just south of Cairns as a large system.
A physics-based space weather prediction model is now in operation, offering a one-to-four day warning of high-speed solar plasma streams and Earth-directed coronal mass ejections. This development addresses the growing need to protect global communications infrastructure from severe space weather disruptions.
A tropical cyclone system, System 98S, is bringing heavy rainfall and gusty winds to the northwestern coast of Western Australia. The NASA TRMM satellite has captured images of moderate to heavy rainfall in the system, with areas near Kununurra experiencing light to moderate rainfall.
Kieran T. Bhatia, a meteorology and physical oceanography doctoral student, has been awarded the 12th annual Alumni Fellow at the University of Miami's Rosenstiel School. The fellowship provides tuition and stipend support for his graduate career. Bhatia is working on research related to hurricane dynamics and development.
Researchers at the University of Wisconsin-Madison found that satellite data can significantly improve forecast accuracy for thunderstorms, which can bring intense rain, hail, lightning, and tornadoes. By incorporating upper atmosphere conditions into storm prediction models, scientists can better anticipate severe weather events.
A study by Duke University scientists found that the Bermuda High's center intensified by 0.9 geopotential meters a decade from 1948 to 2007, leading to increased summer rainfall variability in the Southeast. This intensification is attributed to anthropogenic warming and is expected to continue in coming decades.
The new fog warning system provides reliable services and saves socio-economic costs, with a forecasted cost-benefit ratio of 9.4, indicating it pays itself back ten times over within ten years. The system has demonstrated minimal service breaks and real-time functionality.
Tropical Storm Richard is expected to intensify in the western Caribbean before making landfall, bringing maximum storm totals of 5-7 inches of rain and potentially flash flooding and mudslides. Residents in eastern Honduras, Guatemala, Belize and Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula are bracing for its impacts as it approaches
Researchers used Doppler weather radar data to improve forecast models for monsoon systems, reducing landfall error from 200km to 75km. This enhancement can better prepare people for heavy rains and catastrophic floods in coastal areas of India.
Tropical Storm Nicole's remnants combined with an upper-level low pressure system, dumping record rainfall on the US East Coast. Heavy rains fell across states from New England to North Carolina, breaking records at multiple airports and cities.
Tropical Storm Nicole has weakened into a remnant low pressure area off the Florida coast. A massive trough of low pressure over the eastern seaboard is streaming tropical moisture from Nicole's remnants, bringing heavy rainfall totals to the region.
Tropical Storm Malakas is expected to strengthen as it approaches Iwo To due to cold cloud top temperatures. The storm's high sea levels and northward movement pose a threat to the island.
The TRMM satellite provided a 3-D image of Hurricane Igor's cloud heights and rainfall rates, revealing towering clouds and heavy rainfall. The image showed the eye was still distinct but the southwestern portion had eroded, with heavy rainfall falling at 2 inches per hour.
A new report examines current capabilities for making climate predictions and identifies opportunities for improvement. Improvements in observational capabilities, statistical models, and data assimilation systems are needed to better understand key processes that could help improve forecasts.
Researchers conducted 18 hurricane hunter flights, including the first flight by an unmanned NASA Global Hawk over a hurricane to study intensification. The Intensity Forecast Experiment (IFEX) incorporates data from various sources to improve forecast accuracy.
The GOES-13 satellite captured an image of Hurricane Earl northeast of North Carolina, showing a huge storm with cloud cover stretching over the northeastern U.S. The category 2 hurricane is expected to turn towards the northeast and approach southeastern New England.
Hurricane Earl is producing heavy rainfall of over 50 mm/hr in Puerto Rico as a category four hurricane with wind speeds of about 115 knots. The storm is expected to maintain intensity for the next few days, impacting the Bahamas and eastern North Carolina.
NASA's Terra satellite captured Tropical Storm Lionrock, Tropical Storm Namtheun, and Typhoon Kompasu in one image. The two storms are expected to merge, while Typhoon Kompasu is headed for a landfall in China with maximum sustained winds near 109 mph.
NASA's Atmospheric Infrared Sounder captured an infrared image of Tropical Depression 5's (TD5) remnants on August 18, showing showers and clouds extending from Louisiana northeast into Tennessee. The strongest thunderstorms were located over south central Louisiana and north central Alabama, producing heavy rainfall.
The remnants of Tropical Depression Five continue to bring heavy rain to Louisiana and Mississippi, with some areas experiencing localized flooding. NASA satellite imagery shows the slow-moving system stretching from Louisiana northeast into Mississippi, with some higher thunderstorms embedded in the cloud cover.
The USDA is developing a web-based fertilizer forecast tool to predict field runoff occurrence and enhance water quality. The tool uses National Weather Service data to analyze precipitation, soil moisture, and other factors.
NASA's TRMM satellite confirms better organization in Tropical Depression 5, leading to its classification as the fifth tropical depression in the northeastern Gulf of Mexico. Forecasters predict strengthening into Tropical Storm Danielle in the next day or so.
A NASA-funded research scientist has developed a supercomputer model that can replicate the formation of tropical cyclones five days in advance. This breakthrough could lead to greater accuracy and earlier warnings for life-threatening storms.
Researchers at NC State University developed a new methodology that combines multiple general climate forecast models to improve the accuracy of winter precipitation and temperature forecasts. The tool is valuable for government officials, providing key information for predicting energy consumption and water availability.
Tropical Storm Conson has been downgraded to a typhoon after interacting with the northern Philippines' land surface, with maximum sustained winds near 75 mph. The storm is now expected to continue weakening due to increased wind shear and interact with southern China.
Tropical Storm Conson has formed in the northwestern Pacific Ocean with maximum sustained winds near 60 knots (69 mph) and is forecast to make landfall on July 13. The storm's track is expected to take it north-northwest over the next couple of days, bringing heavy rainfall and gusty winds to the northern Philippines.
Tropical storm Alex is strengthening due to low wind shear and warm ocean surface temperatures, posing a threat of heavy rainfall, gusty winds, and storm surge to northeastern Mexico and southeastern Texas. The National Hurricane Center predicts the storm will make landfall on Wednesday, bringing potentially life-threatening conditions.
The University of Michigan predicts a larger-than-average Gulf dead zone this year, with a range of 6,500 to 7,800 square miles. The impact of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill on the size of the dead zone is unclear, but it could either increase or decrease due to various factors.
The GOES-13 satellite captured images of two major hurricanes, Celia and Darby, with Celia being a Category Five hurricane and Darby a Category Three. The storms appear to be chasing each other, with Hurricane Celia having the larger eye.
NASA satellite imagery confirms Tropical Storm Phet's intensification, featuring large areas of high cloud tops and strong convection. The storm is forecast to strengthen further and make landfall along the India-Pakistan border by the end of the week.
The National Oceanography Centre (NOC) has partnered with the Met Office to upgrade the Porcupine Abyssal Plain sustained observatory (PAP-SO), a key European ocean observatory. This collaboration aims to advance scientific knowledge of the ocean and improve climate prediction by integrating meteorological and ocean data.
A NASA 3D image reveals a thunderstorm in Cyclone Laila that reached almost 11 miles high. The Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission satellite provided data to forecasters, helping them predict rainfall and storm behavior.
Cyclone Laila has strengthened into a Category One cyclone and is affecting southern India's coastal areas. It is expected to intensify further and make landfall near Andhra Pradesh's coast on May 20.
The VORTEX2 project, the most ambitious tornado study in history, aims to surround tornadoes with an unprecedented fleet of mobile radars and cutting-edge tools. The study seeks to improve tornado warnings and short-term severe weather forecasts by examining how tornadoes form and the patterns of damage they cause.
CU-Boulder's disdrometer team will use three vehicles to measure precipitation particles in severe storms, while a UAS project aims to collect meteorological data safely navigating below clouds. The efforts aim to improve tornado forecasting and reduce fatalities.
Researchers are combining indigenous environmental knowledge with modern science to learn new things about the Arctic climate. Studies have found that weather patterns in the Arctic are becoming more unpredictable, which is not matching up with scientific measurements.
Cyclone Tomas, a Category 4 cyclone, has caused damage to residents in the northern Fiji islands with heavy rainfall and strong winds. The storm's eye is cloud-filled, with very high, cold thunderstorms surrounding it.
The Solomon Islands are under threat from Cyclone Ului, a powerful Category 4 cyclone affecting the islands. The storm is expected to continue tracking westward before turning southward and weakening due to increasing vertical wind shear.
Tropical Storm Tomas is expected to intensify over the weekend, bringing gusty winds, ocean swells, and heavy rainfall to residents of Nadi, Fiji. The storm has strengthened by 23 mph since March 11, with forecasters predicting it will weaken due to increasing wind shear from Monday or Tuesday.
The Fiji Meteorological Service has issued a tropical cyclone alert for the South Pacific islands of Wallis and Futuna, citing Tropical Storm Tomas. The storm is expected to strengthen further and become a cyclone in the next day or two.
Tropical Storm Hubert has strengthened into a low pressure system making landfall in eastern Madagascar with maximum sustained winds near 39 mph. The storm is expected to bring moderate to heavy rainfall and gusty winds to the capital city and surrounding areas.
A rare tropical cyclone system formed off Brazil's coast, exhibiting tropical storm-force winds before weakening and moving away from the area. The Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite captured images of the system, which is now expected to be absorbed by a mid-latitude cold front in the next couple of days
GOES-P is the third and final spacecraft in the GOES N Series, continuously providing weather monitoring and forecast operations. The satellite will also help monitor solar conditions with its Solar X-Ray Imager instrument, improving forecasts for solar disturbances and protecting billions of dollars worth of assets.
The National Weather Service has adopted a new method for predicting snowfall density, allowing for more accurate forecasts and differentiation between powdery and wet snow. The method uses only two variables: temperature and wind speeds at mountain crest level.
Cyclone Gelane has reached category 4 strength in the Southern Indian Ocean, with sustained winds near 143 mph and a compact eye. The storm is expected to move into adverse atmospheric conditions this weekend, leading to weakening and potential rough surf along nearby islands.
Researchers at the University of Missouri are studying how increasing carbon dioxide levels and global temperatures may impact atmospheric blocking, a rare but significant weather event. They aim to improve forecasting accuracy by identifying cues that can warn people of long-lasting, severe weather.
NASA and JAXA satellite data combined with ground weather station information aid in forecasting tropical cyclone tracks. Olga's center is expected to remain over land, but Australian Bureau of Meteorology forecasts its reemergence into the Gulf of Carpentaria.