Articles

1938 Hurricane
The 1938 Hurricane

The Great New England Hurricane of 1938 undoubtedly IS the one to which all other New England hurricanes are sooner or later compared. There have only been three others of comparable combined strength and widespread devastation since the colonization of the region.

By Dr. Lourdes Avilés
Are Hurricanes Getting Worse?
Are Hurricanes Getting Worse?

To scientists who study them, there are two mysteries surrounding hurricanes that stand above the rest: Why do they exist at all, and why aren’t there many more of them? This may strike you as a paradox, but these are serious questions that arise when burrowing deep into the theory, modeling, and observations of these storms. And they bear on the question posed by the title of this essay.

By Dr. Kerry Emanuel
Back to Back Hurricanes, Bumblebee Weather, and Exoplanets: The Latest Headlines
Back to Back Hurricanes, Bumblebee Weather, and Exoplanets: The Latest Headlines

Here are a few of the news stories that we've been following in the last week. Do you have a story we missed? Share it in the community

New Radar Photography, Polar Ice Impacts, and Record Heat: The Latest Headlines
New Radar Photography, Polar Ice Impacts, and Record Heat: The Latest Headlines

Here are a few of the news stories from the weather and atmospheric sciences and space that we've been following in the last week. Do you have a story we missed? Share it in the community!

NASA’s Delta-X mission helps with disaster response after Hurricane Ida

Charged with studying the Mississippi River Delta, NASA’s Delta-X project was gearing up to collect data on Louisiana’s coastal wetlands when Hurricane Ida barreled ashore in late August. The storm – a high-end Category 4 when it made landfall near Port Fourchon, Louisiana, on August 29 – damaged buildings and infrastructure alike, resulting in power outages, flooding, and oil slicks in the Gulf of Mexico.

Cloud Tracker: Satellite Imagery and the Pioneering Work of Tetsuya Fujita
Cloud Tracker: Satellite Imagery and the Pioneering Work of Tetsuya Fujita

Today we rely so heavily on satellite imagery for understanding, predicting, and maintaining life-safety in weather, that it's hard to imagine a world without it. But until the 1960s, there was no satellite imagery, let alone the richly colored images of atmospheric movement that we see everyday.

In addition to his well known and groundbreaking work on tornadoes and aviation safety, Tetsuya Theodore (Ted) Fujita was a pioneer in using satellite imagery to understand and analyze atmospheric motion. He created methods for analyzing satellite images that allowed observers to accurately diagnose wind movement using pictures from the early Television Infrared Observation Satellite (TIROS) launches. He also developed laboratory techniques that facilitated cloud motion analysis.

By W. Paul Menzel
November 10, 1967: NASA's First Color Picture of the Earth
November 10, 1967: NASA's First Color Picture of the Earth

Photography has been an important tool in the atmospheric sciences since it was invented, and as photography advanced, so too did the quality of weather observations. The very first color photograph of the earth from a satellite came from the U.S. Air Force's DODGE satellite that was launched in 1967.

 

Cloudy With a Chance of Pain: A Citizen Science Project to Understand How Weather Affects Pain
Cloudy With a Chance of Pain: A Citizen Science Project to Understand How Weather Affects Pain

The belief that weather influences people's health has been prevalent for millennia. Recent studies on the relationship between weather and pain for those who suffer from chronic pain remain indeterminate, with some studies finding strong effects and others finding no effects; most studies face limitations to their study design or dataset size. To address these limitations, a U.K.-wide smartphone study Cloudy with a Chance of Pain was conducted over 15 months with 10,584 citizen scientists who suffer from chronic pain, producing the largest dataset both in duration and number of participants.

Wildfire Smoke and a Weather Ready Nation
Wildfire Smoke and a Weather Ready Nation

Tanja Fransen's presentation from the 2022 AMS Community and Citizen Science Symposium covers the increasing issues with wildfire smoke intrusions and public health and how a Weather Ready Nation needs to include partners in the public health arenas.  

Life Changing Forecasts: Helping to Manage Meningitis in the West African Sahel
Life Changing Forecasts: Helping to Manage Meningitis in the West African Sahel

Meningitis epidemics have a devastating impact on the region and its people. Even with treatment, the fatality rate can exceed 10%, and 10%–20% of survivors experience long-term after effects including brain damage and hearing loss. Meningitis can push a family into severe poverty, which is especially significant in a region where the annual per capita income ranges from US$500 to US$1500. Weather forecasting can play a significant role in vaccination campaigns and prioritize where vaccines should be delivered. 

By Rajul Pandya, Abraham Hodgson, Mary H. Hayden, Patricia Akweongo, Thomas Hopson, Abudulai Adams Forgor, Tom Yoksas, Maxwell Ayindenaba Dalaba, Vanja Dukic, Roberto Mera, Arnaud Dumont, Kristen McCormack, Dominic Anaseba, Timothy Awine, Jennifer Boehnert,
The Hidden Cost of Heat Waves: Citizen Science and the Harlem Heat Project
The Hidden Cost of Heat Waves: Citizen Science and the Harlem Heat Project

In an average year, high temperatures kill more people in the United States than all other weather-related phenomena combined (NOAA 2016), and in New York City two-thirds of heat-related deaths occur at home. Those most at risk are the ill and elderly, who tend to be home throughout the day. Yet few studies capture indoor residential temperatures in non-air-conditioned homes. 

By Brian Vant-Hull, Prathap Ramamurthy, Brooke Havlik, Carlos Jusino, Cecil Corbin-Mark, Matthew Schuerman, John Keefe, Julia Kumari Drapkin, and A. Adam Glenn
Five Decades of Particulate Air Pollution Health Effects Research
Five Decades of Particulate Air Pollution Health Effects Research

Douglas Dockery from the Harvard Chan School of Medicine covers 50 years of air pollution history and research in this fascinating talk. This includes a look at how energy production and the Arab oil embargo of the 1970s impacted human health and pollution research, and why the focus on PM2.5 particulates came to be. 

Weather Patterns Associated with Pain in Chronic-Pain Sufferers
Weather Patterns Associated with Pain in Chronic-Pain Sufferers

Hippocrates (circa 400 BCE) wrote in On Airs, Waters, and Places that diseases had seasonal cycles and the health of city dwellers was affected by prevailing wind directions. Such ideas persisted until the eighteenth century. Today, a common belief among three-quarters of patients who suffer from chronic pain is that their daily pain levels fluctuate with the weather.

By David M. Schultz, Anna L. Beukenhorst, Belay Birlie Yimer, Louise Cook, Huai Leng Pisaniello, Thomas House, Carolyn Gamble, Jamie C. Sergeant, John McBeth, and William G. Dixon
Wind and Wildfire-Associated Smoke Event, September 2020
Wind and Wildfire-Associated Smoke Event, September 2020

In this presentation from the 2022 AMS Community and Citizen Science Symposium, Candice Erdmann describes how, during a severe windstorm on Labor Day 2020, several wildfires began to tear through parts of the Oregon Cascades Range. This includes a discussion of the topography, air quality monitors used, and data verification processes.

In Case You Missed It: Atmosphere & Weather News
In Case You Missed It: Atmosphere & Weather News

Here are a few of the news stories from the weather and atmospheric sciences world that we've been following this week. Do you have a story we missed? Share it in the community!

How's the Weather...Indoors?
How's the Weather...Indoors?

This presentation from the 2022 AMS Weather Band Community and Citizen Science Symposium offers a brief presentation of original quantitative data gathered from personal equipment in a residence to explore the relevance of dynamic atmospheric barometer readings with respect to the slightly different indoor oxygen levels. The audience may make their own  implications or interpretations of the data as it relates to the maintenance, prevention, and treatment of common respiratory health issues.

Weather Risk Communication for Professional Golf
Weather Risk Communication for Professional Golf
The Heat is On: Summer Safety Webinar with Melissa Griffin
The Heat is On: Summer Safety Webinar with Melissa Griffin
2022 AMS Weather Band Photo Contest
2022 AMS Weather Band Photo Contest
Think and Act Like a Lifeguard – Where Weather, Water and Waves Meet
Think and Act Like a Lifeguard – Where Weather, Water and Waves Meet

Any beachgoer could find themselves in trouble or see someone else in danger. For our own safety, we can learn how to think like a lifeguard. 

By Bruckner Chase
The Past, Present, and Future of the Northeastern Storm Conference
The Past, Present, and Future of the Northeastern Storm Conference

The Northeastern Storm Conference is the largest and longest running student led conference in the nation. What once was a small meeting of students on the Lyndon State College campus has grown into a three-day conference with hundreds of attendees from across the country.

By Gabrielle Brown
Can a Hedgehog Forecast Rain?
Can A Hedgehog Forecast Rain?

While the scientific methods have varied a great deal, weather forecasting has been a subject of human endeavor for as long as we have written records! Ancient forecasters used everything from cloud observations to jellyfish sightings to predict the weather and help them make their most important decisions on topics from going to war to sowing crops. 

By AMS Staff
Developing Tools for Forecasting and Communication: The Human Role in their Design
Developing Tools for Forecasting and Communication: The Human Role in their Design

There have been many changes in the role of humans in the forecast process in recent years and many new roles that have been created in this era of social media, smart technology, and artificial intelligence. This webinar series details how humans will use machine learning and other techniques to develop tools that will assist forecasters, not replace them.

By Falko Judt, Greg West, Pat Market, Dan Nietfeld, Robert Hoffman, Neil Stuart
Science is Cool and It Helps People
Science is Cool and It Helps People

AMS 2018 Keynote Speaker Richard Alley joins us to share his enthusiasm for science and science communication.

By Richard Alley
Some Welcoming Remarks
Some Welcoming Remarks

The Weather Band is for all of us who are fascinated with the wide range of phenomena we see in the atmosphere, from the power of hurricanes to the delicacy of a dendritic snowflake.

By Keith Seitter
The Today Show's First Forecast on Television
The Today Show's First Forecast on Television

Watch TODAY anchor Dave Garroway deliver the national weather forecast via telephone and by hand.

By The Today Show