Weather, features and articles | Educational Science

Aug 24, 2017

Hurricane Harvey Threatens Texas with 'Devastating' Floods

Texans from Houston to Corpus Christi are bracing for a wallop from Hurricane Harvey, which is rapidly intensifying in the Gulf of Mexico before its expected landfall late Friday or early Saturday. Harvey will be the first hurricane to make landfall in Texas in nine years (and could be the...

Aug 28, 2017

These Tweets Show Just How Nuts Harvey's Rains and Floods Are

Tropical Storm Harvey has pummeled Houston and the surrounding area since Friday, with rainfall totals climbing higher and higher — first hitting 12 inches (30 centimeters), then 20 inches (51 cm), and now approaching 40 inches (102 cm). And the rain is still falling. While it may be clear that...

Aug 28, 2017

Waters Rising: How Harvey's Floods Endanger Health

Houston and other parts of southeast Texas are in the midst of historic flooding from Harvey, now a tropical storm, with heavy rain still expected to batter the region in the coming days. How does flooding put people's health at risk? The public health implications run deeper than the risk...

Aug 29, 2017

As Flooding from Harvey Intensifies, Astronauts Tweet Well Wishes to Houston

Astronauts on the International Space Station have been sending well wishes to their friends, family and colleagues in Houston, as the city and surrounding areas continue to deal with massive flooding caused by Tropical Storm Harvey. See more Earlier this afternoon (Aug. 28), NASA astronaut Randy Bresnik — who is...

Aug 29, 2017

Flooding Could Free 350 Gators at Texas Sanctuary

Swelling floodwaters in southeast Texas could spell big trouble for an alligator sanctuary that houses more than 350 American alligators on its property, according to news reports. Drenching rainfall deposited by Tropical Storm Harvey has flooded Gator Country, an alligator rescue facility and adventure park in Beaumont, Texas. Water has...

Sep 1, 2017

How Long Will It Take Houston's Floodwaters to Drain?

Houston has turned into a giant bathtub after being inundated with relentless rains from Tropical Storm Harvey, which made landfall in Texas as a hurricane but has since been downgraded to a tropical depression. But while most bathtubs drain quickly (as long as they aren't clogged), it could take days,...

Sep 11, 2017

Hurricane Harvey Caused 500,000-Year Floods in Some Areas

Hurricane Harvey may have dumped an unprecedented level of water, one expected to be seen just once every 500,000 years, in some areas of Southeast Texas, according to a new report. The 24-hour measures of rain falling during Hurricane Harvey were unprecedented and exceeded the rate predicted to occur once...

Oct 11, 2017

'King Tides' Flood Florida Streets (Here's Why)

See more Sodden lawns and streets-turned-lakes plagued low-lying parts of Florida's coast such as Miami and Tampa Bay over the last week, but the culprit wasn't the latest howling storm. In fact, the skies were often sunny and blue. The rash of flooding was instead the work of so-called king...

Jan 18, 2018

Maya Underworld: Peek Inside the World's Longest Flooded Cave

Exploring an underworld (Image credit: Karla Ortega/GAM)Divers enter the flooded underworld that lies beneath the Yucatán Peninsula. Cave explorers with the Great Maya Aquifer Project announced this week that two cave systems near the city of Tulum are actually one, making the system the longest flooded series of caves in...

Mar 19, 2019

Nebraska Flooding Seen from Space in Dramatic Detail

A new series of before-and-after images shows the ongoing flooding in Nebraska in jaw-dropping detail. The images, created by the European Union's Earth-observation program, Copernicus, show rivers turned to lakes and farms and towns underwater. The record flooding is the result of a bomb cyclone that struck the central U.S....

Mar 19, 2019

What's Behind the Massive Midwestern Floods: 2 Giant Waves of Water

Historic floods across the Midwest have left three dead, prompted mass evacuations, and drowned cities. The floods aren’t isolated incidents, however: Two giant waves of water are rolling down from the country's far-northern middle expanse. One wave is following the path of the Missouri River toward the Mississippi River, carrying...

Jul 8, 2019

The Science Behind Washington's Scary 'Flash Flood Emergency'

TURN AROUND DON'T DROWN! That was the all-caps message the D.C./Baltimore National Weather Service (NWS) issued today (July 8) as surging water engulfed roads and stranded drivers — requiring multiple water rescues. The severe flooding prompted the office to issue a somewhat unusual flash flood emergency declaration in Washington D.C....

Nov 13, 2019

Venice Suffers Worst Flooding in 50 Years, Mayor Blames Climate Change

Venice is in a state of emergency as the Italian city deals with the aftermath of one of the worst floods in its history. Late on Tuesday (Nov. 12), high tides from the surrounding lagoon surged onto the more than 100 islands that make up Venice, flooding 85% of the...

Jul 20, 2020

Steaming river of black sludge floods through Arizona

A camera points down a seemingly benign trail in Pima County, Arizona. But just moments into the video, something dark appears in the distance, before blanketing the dry dirt. Eventually, it resolves into a coal-black river of sticks and sludge, flowing almost as quickly as clear water. The video, posted...

Jun 16, 2021

'Ballooning' spiders leave behind sea of silk after flood in Australia

Parts of #Gippsland are covered in #spider web??!! The little black dots are spiders. There is web as far as the eye can see. This is near Longford #Victoria thanks Carolyn Crossley for the video pic.twitter.com/wcAOGU9ZTuJune 15, 2021 See more Many residents of Victoria, Australia, evacuated their homes to avoid...