Weather, features and articles | Educational Science

May 31, 2008

The Strange Science of Summer

With 8 inches of hail falling in parts of Nebraska this week and Arizona reaching triple digit temperatures last week, it may seem rather arbitrary to call June 20 the first day of the summer this year, aka the summer solstice. But scientists really do have a reason. It's all...

May 31, 2008

History Repeats: The Great Flood of 1993

This month's flooding in the Midwest is reminiscent of the Great Flood of 1993, weather officials now say. But while a repeat of 1993 can't be ruled out, they say, this year is unlikely to match that colossal disaster. Several of the 1993 records have already been broken this year...

Sep 30, 2009

More Than a Storm Chaser

This summer, the Verification of the Origins of Rotation in Tornadoes EXperiment 2 (VORTEX2) brought 80 scientists and crew members and dozens of research vehicles and platforms to the tornado-prone regions of the United States to conduct the most detailed studies to date of tornadoes. Sarah Dillingham was part of...

Jul 31, 2009

Gigantic Lightning Jets Shoot from Clouds to Space

Strokes of lightning flashing down towards the ground are a familiar sight during summer thunderstorms, but scientists have capture an image of a rare lightning bolt shooting out upwards from a cloud, almost to the edge of the Earth's atmosphere. These bolts of upwards lightning, one type among a variety...

Jul 31, 2009

Heat Waves Getting Worse

Heat waves out West are getting worse as the climate changes, a new study finds. One example: From mid July to early August 2006, a heat wave swept through the southwestern United States. Temperature records were broken at many locations and unusually high humidity levels were recorded. The event included...

Mar 31, 2009

Students Venture into Hearts of Violent Storms

This Behind the Scenes article was provided to LiveScience in partnership with the National Science Foundation. Ever wondered what it's like being up close and personal with some of the most violent storms on Earth? That's often just a normal day for students and faculty at Texas Tech University, who...

Jan 31, 2009

Antarctic Meltdown Would Flood Washington, D.C.

Washington, D.C., and other coastal U.S. cities could find themselves under several more feet of water than previously predicted if warming temperatures destroy the West Antarctic Ice Sheet, a new study based on a model predicts. The West Antarctic Ice Sheet (WAIS) towers about 6,000 feet (1,800 meters) above sea...

Nov 30, 2010

Snowstorm from Space: Satellite Image of the Blizzard

The great blizzard of December 2010 is winding down today (Dec. 27), and a new satellite image shows the powerful storm from space. The powerful low-pressure system brought blizzard conditions from northern New Jersey to Maine over Christmas weekend. The GOES-13 satellite captured an image of the storm's center off...

Nov 30, 2010

Earth, a Snapshot: The World on the Eve of 2011

On the morning of Dec. 30, 2010, a satellite captured this stunning portrait of our planet. The serene, full-disk image of North and South America and their surrounding oceans belies the tumultuous events this hemisphere has seen over the last year devastating earthquakes in Haiti and Chile, a massive break...

Oct 31, 2010

U.S., India Join to Improve Monsoon Forecasts

The United States and India are teaming up to improve India's forecasts of the intense rainy season that strikes every year, the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) announced yesterday (Nov. 11). To improve monsoon forecasts, President Barack Obama and Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh will join forces between...

Sep 30, 2010

Paula Becomes Hurricane in Caribbean

Tropical Storm Paula strengthened into Hurricane Paula today (Oct. 12), becoming the ninth hurricane this year. Paula has maximum wind speeds of 75 mph (120 kph) -- a Category 1 on the Saffir-Simpson scale of hurricane strength -- and poses a threat to the eastern Yucatan peninsula and western Cuba....

Sep 30, 2010

What's the Difference Between a Typhoon and a Super-Typhoon?

Super-typhoon Megi made landfall early today (Oct. 18) in the Philippines, where the storm is known as Juan, and its wind speeds placed the storm in the highest classification for hurricanes Category 5. Spanning more than 370 miles (600 kilometers), the mega-storm sustained winds of 178 mph (287 km per...

Aug 31, 2010

Igor Strengthens to Major Hurricane as Julia Becomes Newest Tropical Storm

Update, 10:50 a.m. ET Monday, Sept. 13: Hurricane Igor strengthened to a Category 4 hurricane over the weekend and its highest wind speed is just 5 mph (8 kph) shy of reaching Category 5 status, the highest status on the Saffir-Simpson scale of hurricane strength. Igor was joined by Tropical...

Aug 31, 2010

Huge Windstorm Spawns New Classification: 'Super Derecho'

A windstorm that swept across Kansas, Missouri and Illinois in May 2009 was so fierce that it has earned a brand-new name: super derecho. A derecho (from the Spanish adverb for straight) is a long-lived windstorm that forms in a straight line — unlike the swirling winds of a tornado...

Aug 31, 2010

Skyscraper Storms: 7 Big City Tornadoes

Intro Storm damage from the night of Sept. 16, 2010 in Forest Hills, Queens. A woman was killed nearby when a tree fell on her car. (Image credit: Ker Than, TechMediaNetwork)New York City isn't immune to terrible twisters. A wicked storm tore through town yesterday (Sept. 16) and a National...