Weather, features and articles | Educational Science

Nov 30, 2004

Forecast for 2005: Another Busy Hurricane Season

On the heels of one of the most deadly hurricane seasons in memory, a top forecaster is calling for another busy year in the Atlantic basin for 2005. We foresee a slightly above-average hurricane season for the Atlantic basin in 2005, Colorado State University forecaster William Gray said Friday. Also,...

Oct 31, 2004

El Nino Now Blamed for Practically Everything

El Nino, that warm-water weather spawner off the coast of South America, has long been been blamed for severe weather in many parts of the Americas. Today scientists said it affects rain patterns throughout the world. Mapping yearly changes in rainfall around the globe, the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM)...

Oct 31, 2004

New Stamps Highlight Cool Clouds

See all the stamps below The United States Postal Service (USPS) recently issued 15 new stamps with clouds as the theme, all in the interest of science education. The stamps were created to promote National Stamp Collecting month in October, but beyond philatelic interests, officials figured they would be a...

Sep 30, 2004

Oct. 31: A Bad Day for Freezing Drizzle and Flying

Today is an anniversary of sorts for the Denver International Airport. It's not a celebration of the installation's long-delayed opening back in 1995, however, but a studied observance of a recurring bad weather system and the damage it has wrought over the last two years. Heavy freezing drizzle on Oct....

Dec 31, 2003

Billion Dollar Disasters: A Chronology of U.S. Events

How good is your weather memory? In what year did the so-called Storm of the Century sweep the country and pound the entire Eastern Seaboard? How many tornadoes struck the Midwest in a record-setting one-week period of May, 2003? And do you remember the thousands of deaths caused by heat...

Nov 30, 2005

Rare December Hurricane Caps Record Year

Hurricane season may be officially over, but nature is paying no attention. Overnight, a tropical storm named Epsilon turned into a hurricane out in the Atlantic. Update: Still a Hurricane 2 p.m. ET Monday, Epsilon is the 14th Atlantic-basin hurricane of the record-setting 2005 season, which started June 1 and...

Sep 30, 2005

New Hurricane Forecast Calls for Busy October

Updated 12:15 p.m. ET A longtime guru of hurricane forecasting said today that October is likely to be another busy month. William Gray, a Colorado State University scientist who has been predicting seasonal hurricane activity for many years with remarkable accuracy, issue a statement today. We project that October will...

Sep 30, 2005

Scientists: Natural Disasters Becoming More Common

Earth might seem like a more active and dangerous place than ever, given the constant media reports of multiple natural disasters recently. But a broader view reveals that it's not Mother Nature who's changed, but we humans. Drawn by undeveloped land and fertile soil, people are flocking to disaster-prone regions....

Sep 30, 2005

Scientists Surprised by X-rays from Lab Lightning

Sparks created in a lab give off X-rays, scientists announced Monday. X-rays are a byproduct of high-energy electron discharges in the Sun, in exploding stars, and even in lightning. Many scientists did not expect sparks alone to do the trick. Researchers at Florida Institute of Technology brought their equipment, which...

Aug 31, 2005

Increase in Major Hurricanes Linked to Warmer Seas

The number of severe hurricanes has doubled worldwide even though the total number of hurricanes has dropped over the last 35 years, a new study finds. The increase in major storms like Katrina coincides with a global increase of sea surface temperatures, which scientists say is an effect of global...

Aug 31, 2005

Hurricane Center May Run Out of Names

HURRICANE RITA: The Latest Storm Update Before the 2005 hurricane season is done, you might read about Hurricane Alpha. Each year, 21 common names are reserved for Atlantic Basin hurricanes, with the list arranged alphabetically and skipping certain letters. Rita is the 17th named storm in the Atlantic Basin this...

Aug 31, 2005

Deadliest U.S. Hurricane Ever Hit Texas in 1900

Texas, the most likely destination for Rita, is second only to Florida in direct hurricane hits since 1900. Between 1900 and 2004, 38 hurricanes hit Texas. [See full list] The National Hurricane Center predicts Rita will strenghten to a dangerous Category 3 storm with winds of at least 111 mph...

Aug 31, 2005

New Computer Model Predicts Rita's Path and Intensity

As Hurricane Rita takes aim on Texas, a new computer model is being tested to see if it can more accurately forecast the storm's movement and intensity. Like the other half-dozen or so different computer models used by the National Hurricane Center, the new one relies on data from various...

Jul 31, 2005

Weather Service: 5-Day Forecasts More Accurate Now

A new instrument for measuring water vapor will improve the accuracy of the timing of medium-range weather forecasts by as much as six hours, scientists said today. Researchers used experimental data from the Atmospheric Infrared Sounder (AIRS) instrument on NASA's Aqua satellite, which takes 3-dimensional pictures of atmospheric temperatures, water...

Jul 31, 2005

Farmer's Almanac: Roller Coaster Temperatures Ahead

LEWISTON, Maine (AP) -- Get your sweaters, mittens and hats ready. The Farmers' Almanac warns that the coming winter will bring unusually sharp fluctuations in temperature, and says readers may be reminded of riding a roller, or in this case, 'polar' coaster. Mother Nature seems to be in the mood...