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Atmospheric Science Extreme Weather Polar Vortex Science

Blame a wobbly polar vortex for why you’re so damn cold

sudshr47 January 18, 2019

It’s coming.

The polar vortex — a spinning mass of winter-chilled Arctic air — has become wobbly and weak. It’s expected to slosh down and blanket a considerable part of the East Coast and Midwest with frigid polar air beginning this weekend, bringing sub zero temperatures to some Midwestern places.

“We’re gonna freeze,” John Martin, an atmospheric scientist at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, said in an interview.

The polar vortex typically lives in the high Arctic each winter. So why does this mass of frigid air sometimes swirl so far down south and away from its home?

Here is my “official” 3D animation of this year’s stratospheric #PolarVortex split. Another beautiful event! pic.twitter.com/ml59N1cDoh

— Zac Lawrence (@zd1awrence) January 14, 2019 Read more…

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Atmospheric Science Extreme Weather Florida Hurricanes Science

Hurricane Michael is primed to grow stronger and pummel the Florida coast. Here’s why.

sudshr47 October 9, 2018

Hurricane Michael has matured, developed an eye, and is gathering strength as it churns on a direct path towards the Florida Panhandle.
National Hurricane Center scientists expect the storm to strike land on Wednesday as a major storm, with win…

Atmospheric Science Climate Change Extreme Weather Hurricanes Science

Remarkably warm oceans spawned 2017’s massive hurricanes

sudshr47 September 27, 2018

There’s no doubt that hurricanes are complicated beasts with complex origins.

But following the Atlantic’s extremely active 2017 hurricane season, a group of scientists at Princeton University’s Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory have identified a connection between the six major hurricanes — with winds over 110 mph — that churned in the ocean, three of which pummeled the U.S.

All were supercharged by unusually warm waters, and these warm conditions outweighed other weather factors.

This research — published on Thursday in the journal Science — has significant climate change implications, as the world is expected to continue its accelerating warming trend. Read more…

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Atmospheric Science Extreme Weather Hurricanes Noaa Science

This Atlantic hurricane season may be quieter than expected, and no one’s complaining

sudshr47 June 21, 2018

At the end of May, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) released its 2018 hurricane forecast, predicting a likely active or above active season in the Atlantic Ocean — though certainly not on par with 2017’s exceptionally stormy season.

But almost a month later, conditions in the Atlantic are showing signs that the 2018 season might be quieter than forecasters initially thought.

Specifically, surface water temperatures in the tropical Atlantic are unusually cold. When these waters are cooler, it tends to damper the formation of powerful storms, Phil Klotzbach, a research scientist in the Department of Atmospheric Science at Colorado State University, said in an interview. Read more…

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Atmospheric Science Hurricanes Science Tropical Cyclone Typhoons

Hurricanes are slowing down, and that’s very bad news for everyone

sudshr47 June 6, 2018

Hurricanes and typhoons — the monstrous, destructive storms that bring extreme wind and rain to coasts around the world — are slowing their pace as they traverse the globe.

After assessing every tropical cyclone on record between 1949 and 2016, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) scientist James Kossin found that the storms have slowed down in every ocean, save the Northern Indian.

This research, published Wednesday in the journal Nature, concluded these storms are now moving about 10 percent slower on average than they did in the past, though regional speeds in specific oceans vary. Read more…

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