Weather, features and articles | Educational Science

Aug 27, 2021

Storm Ida could slam into Louisiana as a Category 3 hurricane

Tropical storm Ida is gaining strength as it barrels through the Caribbean Sea and is expected to be a dangerous major hurricane when it slams into the northern Gulf Coast on Sunday (Aug. 29), the National Hurricane Center (NHC) warned Friday morning (Aug. 27). The NHC defines a major hurricane...

Aug 29, 2021

Hurricane Ida could slam into Louisiana just shy of Category 5

Hurricane Ida is already lashing the coast of southeastern Louisiana with winds reaching 150 mph (240 km/h) and life-threatening storm surge, as the Category 4 storm gets closer to landfall. The hurricane is expected to slam into southeastern Louisiana in the next few hours, the National Hurricane Center (NHC) said....

Aug 29, 2021

'Extremely dangerous' Hurricane Ida makes landfall in Louisiana with 150 mph winds

Hurricane Ida, an extremely dangerous Category 4 hurricane, made landfall near Port Fourchon, Louisiana, at 11:55 a.m. local time on Sunday (Aug. 29), bringing with it maximum sustained winds of 150 mph (240 km/h) and extremely life-threatening storm surges of 12 to 16 feet (3.7 to 4.9 meters) according to...

Aug 30, 2021

Why did Hurricane Ida stay so strong for so long?

Ida remained a hurricane for 16 hours after it made landfall on Sunday (Aug. 29), and was a major hurricane (defined as a storm of Category 3 or above) for six hours of that time. How did the storm have so much staying power? It basically didn't know it was...

Aug 31, 2021

See Hurricane Ida from 1 million miles away in this NOAA satellite view

When Hurricane Ida slammed into Louisiana as huge Category 4 storm on Sunday (Aug. 29), the tempest's sheer size was evident from nearly a million miles away. A new photo from NASA's Epic camera on the NOAA Deep Space Climate Observatory (DSCOVR) shows Hurricane Ida as it appeared from Lagrange...

May 24, 2022

Expect another above-average hurricane season in 2022, NOAA predicts

Experts are warning that the Eastern U.S. should prepare for another barrage of tropical storms this year. The 2022 Atlantic hurricane season is likely to be more active than average for the seventh year in a row, according to the latest prediction from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)....

Jul 5, 2022

Rare 'triple-dip' La Niña could bring another year of intense hurricanes and drought to the US

After two years of La Niña — El Niño's cooler counterpart — the South Pacific may be facing a potential third appearance of La Niña in a row, which could bring more rainfall to an already-saturated eastern Australia and continue the trend of intense hurricane seasons along the east coast...

Sep 5, 2022

How are hurricanes named?

Hurricanes have human names, such as Alex, Nigel and Sara. Chances are, you share your name with a hurricane or know someone who does. But where do these names come from? The Hurricane Committee at the United Nations' World Meteorological Organization (WMO) decides on a list of tropical storm names...

Sep 19, 2022

Hurricane Fiona hits the Dominican Republic after wiping out Puerto Rico's power grid

Hurricane Fiona struck the eastern coast of the Dominican Republic on Monday (Sept. 19) after the Category 1 storm had caused widespread flooding, landslides and a territory-wide blackout in Puerto Rico the day before. Fiona strengthened from a tropical storm to a hurricane on Sunday morning (Sept. 18), and the...

Sep 23, 2022

Which hurricane caused the most damage?

Powerful winds, drenching rain and towering storm surges make hurricanes not only some of the planet’s most violent storms, but also the costliest natural disasters in the United States, researchers reported in 2019 in the journal PNAS. Ranking the most damaging hurricanes, however, depends on the measure used: usually, financial...

Sep 26, 2022

Hurricane Ian to reach Category 3 before hitting Cuba, turning toward West Florida

Hurricane Ian, the fourth hurricane of the 2022 Atlantic season, strengthened from a tropical storm into a Category 1 hurricane in the early hours of Monday morning (Sept. 26), and it's expected to continue intensifying into at least a Category 3 storm as it nears Cuba's western shore, the National...

Sep 28, 2022

Hurricane Ian to unleash 'life-threatening' flooding in Florida as Category 4 storm

Editor's note: This is a developing story and may be updated. Hurricane Ian strengthened to a Category 4 storm early Wednesday (Sept. 28) morning having just passed over western Cuba, causing an island-wide blackout and killing at least two people. The storm's center is due to reach Florida's western shore...

Sep 28, 2022

Hurricane Ian stayed strong after smashing into Cuba. Why?

Hurricane Ian struck western Cuba Tuesday (Sept. 27) as a Category 3 storm and lost very little steam as it moved over the island and into the Gulf of Mexico, where the hurricane then ramped up to a Category 4 storm. The hurricane then continued to intensify as it barreled...

Sep 29, 2022

How do palm trees withstand hurricanes?

Trees generally snap, or at least lose a few branches, when faced with hurricane-strength winds. Not palm trees. These staples of the tropics typically bend during gusty weather. How does the mighty palm usually stay standing, swaying — sometimes violently — in storms? For starters, unlike traditional trees, palm trees...

Sep 29, 2022

Peer into Hurricane Ian’s 'eye' in this photo that an astronaut snapped from space

Astronauts watched from orbit as powerful Hurricane Ian slammed into Florida on Wednesday (Sept. 28). Expedition 68 astronaut Bob Hines of NASA captured footage of the weakening, yet still forceful, hurricane from the International Space Station (ISS). This storm is HUGE! That’s the Mississippi River and New Orleans on the...