Articles

This photograph of lightning bears meteorological importance with a thrilling beauty showing a very abrupt change of dark sky into a purple one.

Sunrise and sunset

“There is way more going on in thunderstorms than we ever imagined.”
—Steve Cummer of Duke University, on recent research that revealed a new kind of gamma-ray emission in many thunderclouds that Cummer and colleagues call “flickering gamma-ray flashes,” or FGFs.

Seeing the aurora borealis has been a lifelong dream. Growing up in the tropics, it felt like an adventurous fantasy - a journey to a faraway, freezing destination where long winter nights made the lights possible. Now, living in the mid-latitudes, I'm closer to the possibility, though sightings here are rare and fleeting. 

“Day after day, day after day,
We stuck, nor breath nor motion;
As idle as a painted ship
Upon a painted ocean.”
—Lines from Samuel Taylor Coleridge’s 1834 poem, “The Rime of the Ancient Mariner,” describing the “doldrums”—an area circling the Earth near the equator where sailors would become stalled due to little or no wind.

Researchers studied satellite rainfall data for 1,056 cities across the globe for the years 2001–20, and found that 63% exhibited an “urban wet island” effect, meaning they received more annual precipitation in and downwind of their urban areas compared to bordering rural areas.

Cliff Jacobs, with more than 50 years of experience in research and administration in the government and private sectors, offers some advice for students and early-career professionals.

As temperatures stay warmer later into fall, shorts and t-shirts are becoming a common sight deeper into the season. While fall isn’t disappearing, the warming trend is expected to continue across all seasons in the years ahead.

2024 was a busy year for weather, from historic flooding in the southern Appalachians to a crippling ice storm in the Pacific Northwest, plus the eclipse and aurora borealis. Join Meteorologist Steve Glazier as we look back at the year’s most memorable and impactful weather events!

Cool cloud formation in Castle Rock, Colorado on November 30, 2024, around 4:40pm MST.

Misinformation spreads fast! In this webinar, marine scientist Ellen Prager and AMS Fellow Dave Jones discuss tackling ocean and atmosphere myths, the importance of credible sources, and their new book packed with facts and humor.

~4 Billion Years Ago—The first occurrence of rainfall on Earth, according to recent research that examined oxygen isotopes in ancient minerals. 

As the climate warms, you might wonder what future temperatures will look like in your hometown. The University of Maryland’s Future Urban Climates map offers a glimpse, with projections for 40,581 locations worldwide.

Stephanie Herring, chief of the Geophysical Science Branch at NOAA’s National Centers for Environmental Information in Boulder, Colorado, on helpful skills for someone looking to be employed in the climate world. For more, listen to the Clear Skies Ahead podcast at https://blubrry.com/clear_skies_ahead/, with new episodes released every month.

Want to get involved in research in your community? Check out these projects doing amazing work across the United States.

“This discovery is like finding a new switch in Earth's climate.”
— Balaji Senapati of the University of Reading, on research he led that for the first time successfully simulated a “new El Niño” in the southwestern subtropical Pacific Ocean.

Brandon Katz, executive vice president, strategy, at KatRisk in Austin, Texas, on one experience that sparked the passion for his career. For more, listen to the Clear Skies Ahead podcast at https://blubrry.com/clear_skies_ahead/, with new episodes released every month.

I photographed the sunset sky on a sunny day. Everyone looked up at the sky with smiles and exclaimed, ``It's beautiful!'' It gave me a very warm feeling.

After Hurricane Helene hit North Carolina, Rod Scott and five others were stranded at a remote B&B in the Pisgah National Forest, cut off by landslides and power outages. After five days, they hiked 2.5 miles through deep mud and fallen trees to reach safety.

1.33 milliseconds per century—The amount of time since 2000 that days are getting longer because of rapidly melting ice at Earth’s poles, according to research recently published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Kim Klockow McClain, UCAR senior social scientist supporting the National Weather Service in Norman, Oklahoma, on the expanding opportunities for people coming into the social sciences. For more, listen to the Clear Skies Ahead podcast (https://blubrry.com/clear_skies_ahead/).
 

I was raised in a family that valued education, discipline, and the empowerment of women, ensuring I received an education despite societal barriers. My mother, the first woman in our Srinagar community to earn a college degree in the 1930s, paved the way for her sisters and became my role model.

Hear from Jonathan E. Martin, Sean Potter, and Jim Fleming as they explore the lives and groundbreaking work of meteorology pioneers Joanne Simpson, Cleveland Abbe, and Reginald Sutcliffe.