Weather, features and articles | Educational Science

Dec 31, 2011

January Seeing Above-Average Tornado Action

If the numbers hold up, this month could be the third-busiest January since tornado record-keeping began in 1950. So far this month, weather watchers have filed 70 tornado reports to the nation's Storm Prediction Center in Norman, Okla. When it comes to counting tornadoes, there are a number of caveats,...

Nov 30, 2013

California to End Year as Driest on Record

This article was provided by AccuWeather.com. With 2013 quickly coming to a close, it's shaping up to be one of the driest calendar years on record for many places in California. Almost all of the Golden State is under either a severe or extreme drought with no end in sight...

Oct 31, 2013

Wild 'Roll Cloud' Tumbles Across Texas Sky

An other-worldly roll cloud stretching from horizon to horizon appears to tumble across the Texas sky in a new video. The cloud video, taken by a couple in Timbercreek Canyon, south of Amarillo, Texas, shows a low, tubular cloud spinning horizontally like an upended tornado. As bizarre as this sight...

Sep 30, 2013

Why So Many Powerful Storms in the Pacific?

The West Pacific took a double-whammy this weekend, and another storm is on the way. First Super-cyclone Phailin flooded India, then Typhoon Nari hit Vietnam. Now, 1,200 miles (2,000 kilometers) to the northwest, Typhoon Wipha is pummeling Japan. The line of storms hit near the peak of the storm season...

Aug 31, 2013

Warming Could Heat Up Storms Over Eastern US

In May, residents of Tornado Alley braced themselves as the region's usual spring thunderstorms began popping up across the plains, bringing heavy rainfall that caused flash floods, high winds, hail and tornadoes. On May 20, the town of Moore, Okla., seemingly a perennial tornado target, was struck by a monster...

Jul 31, 2013

How Superstorm Sandy Changed Views of Weather Threats

NEW YORK — Superstorm Sandy provided a vivid demonstration not only of how extreme weather can affect heavily-populated areas, but also the sociological issue of how society views the risk such weather poses to people. The recent public focus on national security risks has come at the expense of preparation...

Apr 30, 2013

Best Earth Images of the Week May 3, 2013

A mission close to home (Image credit: Gabriel Trisca, Boise State University) NASA's newest rover won't be exploring another planet, but will take a look at part of our own. Named Grover (short for Goddard Remotely Operated Vehicle for Exploration and Research), the rover will explore Greenland's ice sheets to...

Jan 31, 2013

The 10 Worst Blizzards in US History

The country's harshest storms The Storm of the Century in 1993. (Image credit: NASA.)While weather reporters may use the words historic, epic, significant and record-breaking a little too often these days when they talk about winter storms, the United States has seen some truly monstrous blizzards. By definition, a blizzard...

Dec 31, 2012

China's Extreme Cold Snaps Records

An unusually cold winter across China has some regions hitting their lowest average temperatures in more than 40 years, according to state media reports. The Chinese national meteorological agency said polar fronts caused by global warming are to blame for the frigid air. The freeze is the coldest winter in...

Nov 30, 2014

Biggest Cloud-Seeding Experiment Yet Only Sparks More Debate

Meteorologists first conceived of seeding clouds as a way to increase rainfall in 1946, working at General Electric's laboratories in Schenectady, New York. But in the nearly 60 years since then, it has remained unclear whether human attempts to make it snow actually work. Now, the results of the most...

Nov 30, 2014

Hottest Year Ever: 5 Places Where 2014 Temps Really Cooked

Though the official numbers aren't in for December, it's likely that 2014 will go down as the planet's hottest year on record, at least since scientists started keeping tabs on global temperature. Data from three major climate-tracking groups agree: The combined land and ocean surface temperatures hit new highs this...

Oct 31, 2014

Feel the Heat: Fourth-Warmest October for U.S.

It might be chilly (OK, downright Arctic) in the middle third of the U.S. these days, but if you live there, you can warm yourself with memories of October. According to new data released Thursday, October wasn’t just a little warm, it was the fourth-warmest October for the lower 48...

Oct 31, 2014

Quiet 2014 Atlantic Hurricane Season Comes to a Close

The mellow 2014 Atlantic hurricane season ends Sunday (Nov. 30), marking another year without major hurricanes hitting the Eastern United States. It has been a record-breaking nine years since a Category 3 hurricane (or stronger) made landfall along U.S. coastlines. The last was Hurricane Wilma in 2005 (Sandy was not...

Jun 30, 2014

Tropical Storm Arthur's Threat Seen From Space (Photo)

Tropical Storm Arthur bears down on the coast of Florida, in this photo captured today (July 2) by astronauts aboard the International Space Station. The menacing storm is clambering northward, and could strengthen into the first hurricane of the season by Friday, just in time to spoil Fourth of July...

May 31, 2014

Intense Solar Storm Could Hit Earth on Friday the 13th

The sun has unleashed three powerful solar flares over the past two days, and the effects of these eruptions could hit Earth this Friday the 13th — but don't worry, space weather reports show there's no cause for alarm. The three solar bursts were all X-class flares — the most...