Weather, features and articles | Educational Science

May 18, 2020

Arthur becomes the Atlantic's 1st named tropical storm of 2020

Satellites have spotted the first named storm of the 2020 Atlantic Ocean hurricane season, Tropical Storm Arthur, swirling off the coast of North Carolina. Stunning views of the storm released by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) yesterday and today (May 17 and 18) show Arthur churning in the...

May 19, 2020

Hurricanes really are getting stronger, just like climate models predicted

Hurricanes are getting stronger as the world gets warmer, according to a new analysis. Studying how hurricanes have changed over time is difficult. The tools scientists use to study them change constantly and. measurements made with one instrument can't be compared easily to measurements made with another. So though research...

Jul 25, 2020

Hanna becomes 1st Atlantic hurricane of the season, as it treks toward Texas

Tropical Storm Hanna, now packing maximum sustained winds of 75 mph (120 km/h), has become the first Atlantic hurricane of the season, as it treks west toward the coast of Texas, a state that is particularly hard hit by the novel coronavirus. As of 7 a.m. ET today (July 25),...

Jul 26, 2020

Hanna weakens to tropical storm, wallops southeast Texas with heavy rains, flash flooding

Hanna, the first hurricane of the Atlantic season, is walloping southeast Texas and northeast Mexico with heavy rains and dangerous flash flooding, according to the National Hurricane Center. Hurricane Hanna made landfall at 6 p.m. ET on Saturday (July 25) in Texas on Padre Island, just south of Corpus Christi,...

Aug 3, 2020

Tropical storm Isaias forecast to strengthen into a hurricane before hitting the Carolinas

Tropical Storm Isaias is forecast to strengthen to a hurricane before it hits the Carolinas this evening. As of 12 p.m. ET today (Aug. 3), Isaias is about 90 miles (145 kilometers) east-southeast of Georgia and blowing with maximum sustained winds of up to 70 mph (110 km/h) winds, which...

Aug 4, 2020

Isaias treks up the East Coast, threatening strong winds, tornadoes

Tropical storm Isaias strengthened into a Category 1 hurricane around 11:10 p.m. ET Monday (Aug. 3), before making landfall near Ocean Isle Beach in North Carolina, bringing flooding and multiple structure fires. Isaias hit land as a tropical storm with winds of 85 mph (136 km/h) and caused flooding of...

Aug 6, 2020

'Busy' hurricane season is about to get a whole lot busier, NOAA says

The Atlantic hurricane season roared off to a stormy and record-breaking start this year, with nine named storms forming by July 30. And it's shaping up to be one of the more active seasons on record, according to experts with the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). Today (Aug. 6),...

Aug 21, 2020

First ever double hurricane could hit the Gulf of Mexico

Next week for the first time on record, two hurricanes could hit the Gulf of Mexico at the same time. Twice before, in 1959 and 1933, two tropical storms have entered the Gulf at the same time. But never before have both been hurricanes. It might not go that way....

Aug 25, 2020

Laura expected to slam into Texas and Louisiana as a Category 3 hurricane

Tropical storm Laura is now a hurricane, and it's expected to grow even more powerful as it whirls toward Louisiana and Texas. The storm passed over Cuba and into the Gulf of Mexico Tuesday morning (Aug. 25), strengthening into a hurricane even as the scattered remains of tropical storm Marco...

Aug 26, 2020

Laura is now a monster Category 4 hurricane

Editor's Note: This story was updated at 2:21 p.m. ET to note that Laura has strengthened to a Category 4 storm, and to provide updated information on its wind speeds. Hurricane Laura has now strengthened into an extremely dangerous Category 4 storm with maximum sustained winds of nearly 140 mph...

Aug 27, 2020

Record-setting Hurricane Laura kills 4, leaves trail of destruction across Louisiana

Hurricane Laura barrelled ashore in southwestern Louisiana in the dark hours of the morning (Aug. 27) as a category 4 storm. Right before landfall, it became the strongest Gulf hurricane since Hurricane Katrina in 2005. Laura, now weakened to a tropical storm, is headed northeast, but the storm surge it...

Sep 14, 2020

La Niña may brew a more active hurricane season, worsen drought in the Southwest

A climate pattern known as La Niña is emerging in the equatorial Pacific Ocean, supporting climate scientists' predictions for an active Atlantic hurricane season. La Niña could also bring warmer, drier conditions to southern states in the U.S. — many of which are already experiencing extreme drought. La Niña (The...

Sep 14, 2020

Hurricane Sally set to batter a Louisiana still reeling from Hurricane Laura

Hurricane Sally is strengthening in the Gulf of Mexico and is expected make landfall somewhere on the central Gulf Coast later today (Sept. 14). The slow-moving storm has been drifting northwest off the coast toward Louisiana, and was officially upgraded from tropical storm to hurricane this afternoon. The National Hurricane...

Sep 15, 2020

Hurricane Sally expected to bring 'historic flooding' to the Gulf Coast

Hurricane Sally may bring historic flooding, including extreme life-threatening flash flooding, to the central U.S. Gulf Coast from the western Florida Panhandle to southeastern Mississippi, according to the National Hurricane Center (NHC). As of 11 a.m. EDT, the storm is about 55 miles (85 kilometers) east of the mouth of...

Sep 16, 2020

Hurricane Sally makes landfall as Category 2 storm, bringing extreme winds and flooding

Hurricane Sally made landfall near Gulf Shores, Alabama, early Wednesday morning (Sept. 16) as a Category 2 hurricane after strengthening overnight. The slow-moving storm hit with sustained winds of 105 mph (169 km/h), toppling trees, cutting power and dropping extreme amounts of rain, according to CNN. After landfall, the storm...