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Winter Weather Turns Deadly in North Texas
A cold front across Dallas-Fort Worth brought freezing rain and sleet to the region, and headaches for motorists.
The National Weather Service issued a Winter Weather Advisory for all of North Central Texas through 6 p.m. Tuesday. By mid-morning on Tuesday, freezing drizzle will morph into a winter mix of rain, freezing rain, sleet and even snow for counties north of Interstate 20.
A number of schools were planning to open late on Tuesday morning because of the potential for dangerous driving; several — including Northwest ISD and Denton ISD — announced they would be closed.
There was a fatal accident involving a Dallas firefighter who fell from an icy overpass along Walton Walker Boulevard in Southwest Dallas around 8:30 p.m. Traffic near the intersection of Walton Walker and Interstate 20 was at a standstill.


A yellow weather warning for thunderstorms is in place over Hertfordshire.
The county basked in glorious sunshine and 35C temperatures just two weeks ago, but now heavy downpours are expected as we head into the August Bank Holiday weekend.
In some parts of the county, heavy rain and thunderstorms may have started during the early hours of the morning.
The Met Office has placed the warning over the majority of the East of England for nine hours, from 11am till 8pm.
The town is expected to be hit by some light showers, with mainly heavy downpour moments and the possibility of a few thunderstorms.
Bishop’s Stortford HIT
During the morning, it is expected to be dry with some light showers.
Thunderstorms are forecast for 1pm.
Heavy showers are expected to last throughout the day, with some light showers replacing them once in a while.
Heavy rain and some thunderstorms will likely last throughout the evening and the early hours of Saturday.


A sprawling late-season winter storm is expected to bring a mixed bag of precipitation across a wide swath of the United States through Saturday, raising concerns about hazardous driving conditions and scattered power outages, meteorologists said Friday.
About 20 million people from Tennessee to Maine were under some kind of winter weather warning, according to the National Weather Service. The northeast interior was expected to bear the brunt of the storm.
“It’s a pretty awesome storm system,” Matthew Clay, a meteorologist with the Weather Service in Burlington, Vermont, said Friday. “For the interior of New England, we’re expecting about 7 to 14 inches of snow.”
Snow can fall in some places at a rate of one to two inches per hour and can combine with winds of up to 50 miles per hour, resulting in “bloated, blown snow even after the snow has cleared.” », the weather forecasting center of the service. warned on Twitter Friday afternoon.
“Severely reduced visibility and whiteout conditions will at times make travel extremely dangerous,” the center said.
The center also warned that wet snow could contribute to power outages. Record high temperatures were likely for much of the southeast on Sunday.
Light snow will fall from the southern plains to Wisconsin on Friday behind a cold front moving through the central United States, the weather service said.
This front will strengthen, leading to the development of a major winter storm in the Tennessee and Ohio valleys in the eastern part of the country this weekend.
Areas of northern Texas and southern Oklahoma are expected to receive a few inches of snow through Friday morning. Similar snow totals were expected for areas of eastern Tennessee through Saturday evening, and up to five inches of snow could fall in parts of Kentucky.
Parts of Kansas received up to five inches of snow, the weather service said. Weather warnings prompted Kansas City, Missouri, to close public schools Friday.
Jim Stefkovich, a meteorologist with the Alabama Emergency Management Agency, said that a winter storm warning was issued for northern Alabama from 9 p.m. Friday to 9 a.m. Saturday.
High winds “would produce dangerous single-digit wind chill readings overnight and into Saturday morning,” he said, adding, “You don’t want to be outside in those conditions.”
The northeast was most likely to bear the brunt of snow accumulations, forecasters said. Areas around Albany, NY, could receive up to four inches of snow. Towns further north could receive up to 12 inches.
In Vermontseven to 14 inches of snow was forecast for much of the state, and parts of northern Maine could receive 12 to 18 inches.
A meteorologist said it was not unusual to see a late winter storm system in March.
“March is one of those months where there are years where we see a lot of snow and there are years where we hardly see anything,” Torry Gaucher, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Norton, Mass., said on Friday. .
“Technically, we are in weather spring,” he added. “Calendar-wise, we still have a month before spring really hits.”
Towns closer to the coast, including New York City and Boston, were to receive a mix of rain and snow, with significantly less accumulation. The Boston area could receive at least an inch of snow Saturday and Sunday morning.
This weekend’s storm follows an active winter weather pattern across much of the south and east coast this year.
In early January, back-to-back storms created treacherous driving conditions in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast, including a weather system that stranded hundreds of drivers on Interstate 95 in Virginia for more than 24 hours . The storm trapped truckers, students, families and every gang of commuters, including Senator Tim Kaine.
In mid-January, another storm hit the south, killing at least two people and leaving thousands without power before moving north and dropping heavy snowfall on parts of the northeast and Canada. Another January storm swept across the East Coast, prompting thousands of flight cancellations and prompting the governors of New York and New Jersey to declare states of emergency. This storm dropped more than 30 inches of snow in parts of Massachusetts.
In early February, another storm hit parts of Texas with snow and sleet, disrupting travel and power. Governor Greg Abbott called it “one of the most significant icing events we’ve had in the state of Texas in at least several decades.” Another storm followed in late February, hitting the northeast with a mix of snow, sleet and rain.
Johnny Diaz contributed report.


Hurricane Mitch was one of the most powerful tropical cyclones ever observed, with sustained winds at one point of 180 MPH or 290km/h. Mitch battered Central America in 1998, killing an astounding 11,000 people. It was the deadliest hurricane in over 200 years, and second deadliest ever. Only the Great Hurricane of 1780 in the Lesser Antilles was worse.
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Welcome to my professional website!
I am a Postdoctoral Research Fellow in Earth and Environmental Science at the Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory of Columbia University, with an interest in climate change and carbon cycling in polar regions. My research focuses on biogeochemical feedback processes across terrestrial and marine systems resulting from amplified Arctic warming. My work is guided by the uncertainties surrounding the future of the Arctic environment and its potential impact on the global climate system.
To this end, I investigate processes such as the release of carbon and greenhouse gases from thawing permafrost, the melting of Arctic ice sheets, and the rapid acidification of the Arctic Ocean due to rising atmospheric CO2 levels and declining sea ice. A central aspect of my research involves using past warming periods as “natural experiments”. For instance, I study environmental change during warming events like the post-glacial climate transition 17,500 to 10,000 years ago and much warmer interglacial periods in the more distant past, such as 120,000 and 400,000 years ago. These periods serve as references for understanding climate transformations, and provide context to ongoing and future climate states.
In my work, I employ molecular analysis of organic matter in terrestrial and marine sediments, as well as stable and radioactive isotopes, to elucidate carbon cycling and climate variability.
On March 14, I was invited to discuss the effects of climate change in the Arctic region at a public panel organized by the University of Cologne NYC Office as part of their Transatlantic Tandem Talk series.


What are greenhouse gases (GHG) and how to minimize emissions
Most company stakeholders today understand the importance of their organization doing its part to minimize their carbon footprint and fighting climate change. But like with all complex topics, there can be confusion about how to minimize a company’s greenhouse gas emissions.
The impact of greenhouse gases and the significance of a company — no matter its size or industry — taking steps to reduce them can be surprisingly misunderstood.
So here’s a breakdown of greenhouse gas emissions and minimization that can be used to help explain and clarify to any level of management, executive, and c-suite.
To learn about how your organization can calculate its emissions, watch our free on-demand webinar: Calculate and Measure your Environmental Footprint (GHG)
Greenhouse gas emissions: the basics
Greenhouse gases (GHGs) are gas compounds in the Earth’s atmosphere that trap heat in what’s known as the greenhouse effect. Their natural occurrence helps make the planet habitable. GHGs emitted by human activity, like burning fuels and farming, are greenhouse gas emissions. They increase the amount of GHGs in the atmosphere, which increases warming by the greenhouse effect enough to change the climate.
There are four main greenhouse gas emissions to know, each one derived from different sources and with its own unique features.
1. Carbon dioxide
Probably the most well-known GHG emission, carbon dioxide is released mainly from the burning of fossil fuels. It’s most often emitted by the energy and transportation sectors, as well as some manufacturing industries, and it can stay in the atmosphere for hundreds of years.
Carbon dioxide is also the GHG emission with the highest atmospheric concentration, which is calculated using data collected by a mix of global monitoring stations and satellites. The current atmospheric concentration of carbon dioxide is 415.24 parts per million (ppm), which means there are just over 415 molecules of carbon dioxide for every million molecules of air in the atmosphere.
Methane is released from landfills, natural gas, and petroleum industries, as well as the agriculture industry’s livestock sector. Methane stays in the atmosphere for about 12 years, and in November of 2020, it made up 16% of the world’s greenhouse gas emissions.
Methane is also more efficient at warming the planet than carbon dioxide. The essential measurement of greenhouse gas is its global warming potential (GWP), which indicates how much heat the gas traps when it’s in the atmosphere. Methane’s GWP is 25, which means it’s estimated to be about 25 times more efficient than carbon dioxide.
3. Nitrous oxide
Mainly emitted by the agriculture industry through fertilizer, manure, and burning biomass, Nitrous oxide accounts for 6% of all GHG emissions. Its atmospheric concentration was registered as 333.6 ppb in November 2020. But it has a GWP of 294 at trapping heat. So, while much less prevalent than methane, it’s more than ten times as efficient.
Nitrous oxide also has an atmospheric lifetime of 114 years, which is calculated to determine the average timeframe in years it would take to be naturally removed from the atmosphere.
4. Fluorinated gases
Also known as “F-gases”, these are a group of completely man-made greenhouse gases that include hydrofluorocarbons, perfluorocarbons, and sulfur hexafluoride. A large portion of them, like hydrofluorocarbons, are emitted by coolants used in things like refrigerators and air conditioners, and others, like perfluorocarbons, are released by manufacturing and industrial processes.
Unlike other GHGs, F-gasses have atmospheric lifetimes that are hundreds of thousands of years and their GWPs range from 12,000 to more than 22,000. As of November 2020, the atmospheric concentration of sulfur hexafluoride, one of the main fluorinated gases, was registered as 10.39 parts per trillion (ppt).
Global greenhouse gas emissions, Our World in Data: "Today, we collectively emit around 50 billion tonnes of CO2e each year. This is more than 40% higher than emissions in 1990, which were around 35 billion tonnes."
Why companies need to minimize greenhouse gas emissions
Because of the massive scale of greenhouse gas emissions and their effect on the climate, there needs to be a large-scale societal response. Environmental messaging has traditionally focused on individual actions, but it has shifted in recent years to include companies and organizations. And with good reason. While individual responsibility is still important, the actions that a company takes to reduce GHG emissions are more impactful.
Take a construction company building a large office building, for example. Such a project produces a large amount of greenhouse gas emissions. But that company can make specific choices that reduce a calculated amount of emissions, like using green alternative building materials or implementing an energy-efficient design. And while each decision may seem to only reduce a small amount, it can be equal to more than what a single person can do in a lifetime.
And all those choices and their impacts add up.
There are also government policies that are motivating factors. The majority of actions by national governments to cut greenhouse gases and fight climate change revolve around the 2016 Paris Agreement, in which 196 countries pledged to reduce greenhouse gas emissions with their own specific goals by the year 2030.
In an effort to meet those goals, several countries have introduced a variety of policies to encourage companies to minimize their GHG emissions. These can be punitive, like carbon taxes which require companies whose operations emit greenhouse gases to pay financial penalties. They can also be supportive, like government programs that advise and even subsidize large-scale transitions that reduce GHG emissions.
How to minimize greenhouse gas emissions as an organization
The key to any company or organization cutting their greenhouse gas emissions is first understanding the full impact of their operation. This is done through the use of a calculation framework. It’s a toolset that applies known GHG emissions of specific activities to an organization’s actions and calculates the greenhouse impact.
There are several groups that provide frameworks and help companies use them, but a few are more common than others.
Greenhouse Gas Protocol
One of the most recognizable names helping businesses and governments to be able to measure and manage their greenhouse gas emissions, Greenhouse Gas Protocol (GHG Protocol) provides a wide variety of resources and training. GHG Protocol began operating in 1998 and is most well-known for its scope 1, 2, and 3 emissions classifications. Scope 1 accounts for a company’s direct GHG emissions and scope 2 for its indirect emissions that it controls (like electricity usage), while scope 3 refers to indirect emissions that the company doesn’t control.
Science Based Targets
Another major organization that creates frameworks is Science Based Targets. It's an initiative that focuses on helping the corporate sector meet the goals of the Paris Agreement by showing companies the amount of their GHG emissions, advice on how to lower them, and even the time frame they have to do so to prevent their effects on the globe.
Learn more in our blog post What You Need to Know About Science Based Targets.
A global organization that works with investors, companies, and local governments to become more sustainable, CDP measures and reports its environmental impact. With offices and partners all over the world, they work to urgently improve the climate.
How to start tracking your emissions
Once a company has a framework to understand their GHG emissions, they can then find aspects within their operation to reduce or replace with alternatives — and lower the greenhouse gases they’re putting into the atmosphere. It’s best to start with targets and goals of which GHG emissions to reduce and by how much. The framework can then be used to find insight on actions to take to reach those targets.
Many organizations focus first on their energy consumption, performing an audit to find out where the majority of the power your company uses comes from, and then finding and switching to a vendor who uses renewable resources. Others look at their supply chain to find where to curb the most GHG. Some even explore options internally, like creating stay-at-home positions or organizing carpooling, that can help lower emissions.
But how a company chooses to minimize greenhouse gas emissions depends on its business, industry, its regions, and more. Any organization can reduce its GHG emissions and even reach a net-zero carbon footprint — in which, through strategies like reduction and carbon offsets, a company’s GHG impact has been neutralized to an equivalent of none.
To get started straight away with calculating your organization’s GHG emissions, get in touch with our experts. Book a demo to learn all about how Worldfavor’s solutions can help you track your emissions, how you perform in relation to international reporting standards and minimize your overall impact.
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Contributed photo By Madi Patrick-Jantzen
Madi Patrick-Jantzen took this photo of the tornado that formed briefly five miles northwest of Grant on June 6. According to the National Weather Service, the tornado was on the ground for only around one minute. No damage was reported from this tornado.
Photo by Becky Uehling / PC Post
Tandy Overstreet stands next to a 50-plus-year-old pine tree that got uprooted in her yard north of Brandon during the June 6 storm.
By Becky Uehling
On June 6, at around 7:15 p.m., the air was eerily still in the town of Grant as a spring storm that had been building for hours approached.


From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
- This article is about weather phenomena. For other uses, see Hurricane (disambiguation) and Typhoon (disambiguation).
In meteorology, a tropical cyclone (or tropical disturbance, tropical depression, tropical storm, typhoon, or hurricane, depending on strength and geographical context) is a type of low pressure system which generally forms in the tropics. While they can be highly destructive, tropical cyclones are an important part of the atmospheric circulation system, which moves heat from the equatorial region toward the higher latitudes.
Terms for tropical cyclones
- hurricane in the North Atlantic Ocean, North Pacific Ocean east of the dateline, and unofficially in the South Atlantic Ocean
- typhoon in the Northwest Pacific Ocean west of the dateline
- severe tropical cyclone in the Southwest Pacific Ocean west of 160°E or Southeast Indian Ocean east of 90°E
- severe cyclonic storm in the North Indian Ocean
- tropical cyclone in the Southwest Indian Ocean and South Pacific Ocean east of 160°E.
Whilst these terms all refer to the same phenomenon, the term cyclone indicates the storm occurs in the southern hemisphere whereas hurricane refers to the northern hemisphere. This derives from the fact that in the southern hemisphere, these depressions rotate in a clockwise direction ("cyclonic") and in the northern hemisphere rotate in an anti-clockwise direction ("anti-cyclonic").
The word typhoon has two possible origins:
- From the Chinese 大風 (daaih fūng (Cantonese); dà fēng (Mandarin)) which means "great wind". (The Chinese term as 颱風 táifēng, and 台風 taifu in Japanese, has an independent origin traceable variously to 風颱, 風篩 or 風癡 hongthai, going back to Song 宋 (960-1278) and Yuan 元(1260-1341) dynasties. The first record of the character 颱 appeared in 1685's edition of Summary of Taiwan 臺灣記略).
- From Urdu, Persian or Arabic ţūfān (طوفان) < Greek tuphōn (Τυφών).
The word cyclone came from the Greek word "κύκλος", meaning "circle".
Mechanics of a tropical cyclone
Structurally, a tropical cyclone is a large, rotating system of clouds, wind and thunderstorm activity. Its primary energy source is the release of the heat of condensation from water vapor condensing at high altitudes, the heat ultimately derived from the Sun. Therefore, a tropical cyclone can be thought of as a giant vertical heat engine surppoted by mechanics driven by physical forces such as the orbital revolution and gravity of the Earth. Continued condensation leads to higher winds, continued evaporation, and continued condensation, feeding back into itself. This gives rise to factors that give the system enough energy to be self-sufficient and cause a positive feedback loop where it can draw more energy as long as the source of heat, warm water, remains. Factors such as a continued lack of equilibrium in air mass distribution would also give supporting energy to the cyclone. The orbital revolution of the Earth causes the system to spin, giving it a cyclone characteristic and affecting the trajectory of the storm.
The factors to form a tropical cyclone include a pre-existing weather disturbance, warm tropical oceans, moisture, and relatively light winds aloft. If the right conditions persist and allow it to create a feedback loop by maximising the energy intake possible, for example, such as high winds to increase the rate of evaporation, they can combine to produce the violent winds, incredible waves, torrential rains, and floods associated with this phenomenon.
Condensation as a driving force is what primarily distinguishes tropical cyclones from other meteorological phenomena, and because this is strongest in a tropical climate, this defines the initial domain of the tropical cyclone. By contrast, mid-latitude cyclones, for example, draw their energy mostly from pre-existing horizontal temperature gradients in the atmosphere. In order to continue to drive its heat engine, a tropical cyclone must remain over warm water, which provides the atmospheric moisture needed. The condensation of this moisture is driven by the high winds and reduced atmospheric pressure in the storm, resulting in a sustaining cycle. As a result, when a tropical cyclone passes over land, its strength diminishes rapidly.
Scientists at the National Center for Atmospheric Research estimate that a hurricane releases heat energy at the rate of 50 to 200 trillion watts -- about the amount of energy released by exploding a 10-megaton nuclear bomb every 20 minutes .
The formation of tropical cyclones is the topic of extensive ongoing research, and is still not fully understood. Five factors are necessary to make tropical cyclone formation possible:
- Sea surface temperatures above 26.5 degrees Celsius (79.7 degrees Fahrenheit) to at least a depth of 50 meters (164 feet). The moisture in the air above the warm water is the energy source for tropical cyclones.
- Upper-atmosphere conditions conducive to thunderstorm formation. Temperature in the atmosphere must decrease quickly with height, and the mid-troposphere must be relatively moist.
- A pre-existing weather disturbance. This is most frequently provided by tropical waves—non-rotating areas of thunderstorms that move through tropical oceans.
- A distance of approximately 10 degrees or more from the equator, so that the Coriolis effect is strong enough to initiate the cyclone's rotation. (2004's Hurricane Ivan was the strongest storm to form closer than 10 degrees from the equator; it started forming at 9.7 degrees north.)
- Low vertical wind shear (change in wind speed or direction over height). High wind shear can break apart the vertical structure of a tropical cyclone.
Tropical cyclones occasionally form despite not meeting these conditions.
Only specific weather disturbances can result in tropical cyclones. These include:
- Tropical waves, or easterly waves, which, as mentioned above, are westward moving areas of convergent winds. This often assists in the development of thunderstorms, which can develop into tropical cyclones. Most tropical cyclones form from these. A similar phenomenon to tropical waves are West African disturbance lines, which are squally lines of convection that form over Africa and move into the Atlantic.
- Tropical upper tropospheric troughs, which are cold-core upper level lows. A warm-core tropical cyclone may result when one of these (on occasion) works down to the lower levels and produces deep convection.
- Decaying frontal boundaries may occasionally stall over warm waters and produce lines of active convection. If a low level circulation forms under this convection, it may develop into a tropical cyclone.
When do tropical cyclones form?
|Source: NOAA + additions for 2001-04|
Worldwide, tropical cyclone activity peaks in late summer when water temperatures are warmest. However, each particular basin has its own seasonal patterns.
In the North Atlantic, a distinct hurricane season occurs from June 1 to November 30, sharply peaking from late August through September. The statistical peak of the North Atlantic hurricane season is September 10. The Northeast Pacific has a broader period of activity, but in a similar timeframe to the Atlantic. The Northwest Pacific sees tropical cyclones year-round, with a minimum in February and a peak in early September. In the North Indian basin, storms are most common from April to December, with peaks in May and November.
Worldwide, an average of 80 tropical cyclones form each year.
Where do tropical cyclones form?
Most tropical cyclones form in a worldwide band of thunderstorm activity called the Intertropical convergence zone (ITCZ).
Nearly all of them form between 10 and 30 degrees of the equator and 87% form within 20 degrees of it. Because the Coriolis effect initiates and maintains tropical cyclone rotation, such cyclones almost never form or move within about 10 degrees of the equator , where the Coriolis effect is weakest. However, it is possible for tropical cyclones to form within this boundary if there is another source of initial rotation. These conditions are extremely rare, and such storms are believed to form at most once per century. Hurricane Ivan of 2004 developed within 10 degrees of the equator. A combination of a pre-existing disturbance, upper level divergence and a monsoon-related cold spell led to Typhoon Vamei at only 1.5 degrees north of the equator in 2001. It is estimated that such conditions occur only once every 400 years.
There are seven main basins of tropical cyclone formation:
- North Atlantic Basin: The most-studied of all tropical basins, it includes the Atlantic Ocean, the Caribbean Sea, and the Gulf of Mexico. Tropical cyclone formation here varies widely from year to year, ranging from over twenty to one per year. The average is about ten. The United States, Mexico, Central America, the Caribbean Islands, Bermuda, and Canada are affected by storms in this basin. The U.S. National Hurricane Center (NHC) based in Miami, Florida, issues forecasts for storms for all nations in the region; the Canadian Hurricane Centre, based in Halifax, Nova Scotia, also issues forecasts and warnings for storms expected to affect Canadian territory and waters. Hurricanes that strike Mexico, Central America, and Caribbean island nations, often do intense damage, as hurricanes are deadlier over warmer water. Additionally, they can hit the coast of the U.S., especially Florida, North Carolina, the U.S. Gulf Coast and occasionally New Jersey, New York and New England (usually hurricanes weaken to tropical storms before they reach these northern regions). The coast of Atlantic Canada receives hurricane landfalls on rare occasion, such as Hurricane Juan in 2003. Many of the more intense Atlantic storms are Cape Verde-type hurricanes, which form off the west coast of Africa near the Cape Verde islands.
- Western North Pacific Ocean: Tropical storm activity in this region frequently affects China, Japan, the Philippines, and Taiwan. This is by far the most active basin, accounting for one-third of all tropical cyclone activity in the world. National meteorology organizations and the Joint Typhoon Warning Center (JTWC) are responsible for issuing forecasts and warnings in this basin.
- Eastern North Pacific Ocean: This is the second most active basin in the world, and the most dense (a large number of storms for a small area of ocean). Storms that form here can affect western Mexico, Hawaii, northern Central America, and on extremely rare occasions, California. In the U.S., the Central Pacific Hurricane Center is responsible for forecasting the western part of this area while the National Hurricane Center is responsible for the eastern part.
- South Western Pacific Ocean: Tropical activity in this region largely affects Australia and Oceania, and is forecast by Australia and Papua New Guinea.
- Northern Indian Ocean: This basin is divided into two areas, the Bay of Bengal and the Arabian Sea, with the Bay of Bengal dominating (5 to 6 times more activity). Hurricanes which form in this basin have historically cost the most lives — most notably, the 1970 Bhola cyclone killed 200,000. Nations affected by this basin include India, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Myanmar, and Pakistan, and all of these countries issue regional forecasts and warnings. Rarely, a tropical cyclone formed in this basin will affect the Arabian Peninsula.
- Southeastern Indian Ocean: Tropical activity in this region affects Australia and Indonesia, and is forecast by those nations.
- Southwestern Indian Ocean: This basin is the least understood, due to a lack of historical data. Cyclones forming here impact Madagascar, Mozambique, Mauritius, and Kenya, and these nations issue forecasts and warnings for the basin.
Unusual formation areas
The following areas spawn tropical cyclones only very rarely.
- Southern Atlantic Ocean: A combination of cooler waters, the lack of an ITCZ, and wind shear makes it very difficult for the Southern Atlantic to support tropical activity. However, three tropical cyclones have been observed here — a weak tropical storm in 1991 off the coast of Africa, Hurricane Catarina (sometimes also referred to as Aldonça), which made landfall in Brazil in 2004 as a Category 1 hurricane, and a smaller storm in January 2004, east of Salvador, Brazil. The January storm is thought to have reached tropical storm intensity based on scatterometre winds.
- Central North Pacific: Shear in this area of the Pacific Ocean severely limits tropical development. However, this region is commonly frequented by tropical cyclones that form in the much more favorable Eastern North Pacific Basin.
- Mediterranean Sea: Storms which appear similar to tropical cyclones in structure sometimes occur in the Mediterranean basin. Such cyclones formed in September 1947, September 1969, January 1982, September 1983, and January 1995. However, there is debate on whether these storms were tropical in nature.
- Northeastern Atlantic Ocean: In October 2005, Hurricane Vince formed near Madeira, then moved northeastward, passing south of the Portuguese south coast, and made landfall in southwestern Spain as a tropical storm. Vince's origin was the northernmost in the eastern Atlantic ever recorded, and Vince was the first storm in recorded history to reach the Iberian Peninsula as a tropical cyclone, i.e. before being transformed into an extratropical low or absorbed into other systems of low pressure.
- Australia: SW Pacific Basin includes the eastern part of Australia and the Fiji area.
- Australia: SE Indian Basin includes the eastern part of the Indian ocean and the northern and western part of the Australian basin.
|Basin||Season Start||Season End||Tropical Storms (34-63 knots)||Tropical Cyclones (>63 knots)||Category 3+ Tropical Cyclones (>95 knots)|
|Northwest Pacific||Year Round||Year Round||26.7||16.9||8.5|
|Australia Southwest Pacific||October||May||10.6||4.8||1.9|
|Australia Southeast Indian||October||May||7.3||3.6||1.6|
Structure and classification
A strong tropical cyclone consists of the following components.
- Surface low: All tropical cyclones rotate around an area of low atmospheric pressure near the Earth's surface. The pressures recorded at the centers of tropical cyclones are among the lowest that occur on Earth's surface at sea level.
- Warm core: Tropical cyclones are characterized and driven by the release of large amounts of latent heat of condensation as moist air is carried upwards and its water vapor condenses. This heat is distributed vertically, around the center of the storm. Thus, at any given altitude (except close to the surface where water temperature dictates air temperature) the environment inside the cyclone is warmer than its outer surroundings.
- Central Dense Overcast (CDO): The Central Dense Overcast is a dense shield of very intense thunderstorm activity that make up the inner portion of the hurricane. This contains the eye wall, and the eye itself. The classic hurricane contains a symmetrical CDO, which means that it is perfectly circular and round on all sides.
- Eye: A strong tropical cyclone will harbor an area of sinking air at the center of circulation. Weather in the eye is normally calm and free of clouds (however, the sea may be extremely violent). Eyes are home to the coldest temperatures of the storm at the surface, and the warmest temperatures at the upper levels. The eye is normally circular in shape, and may range in size from 8 km to 200 km (5 miles to 125 miles) in diameter. In weaker cyclones, the CDO covers the circulation center, resulting in no visible eye.
- Eyewall: It is the area directly around the eye of the cyclone where the winds are the highest, the clouds reach furthest into the atmosphere and the precipitation is the heaviest. The heaviest damage caused by tropical cyclones occurs where the eyewall crosses over land.
- Outflow: The upper levels of a tropical cyclone feature winds headed away from the center of the storm with an anticyclonic rotation. Winds at the surface are strongly cyclonic, weaken with height, and eventually reverse themselves. Tropical cyclones owe this unique characteristic to the warm core at the center of the storm.
Types of tropical cyclones
Tropical cyclones are classified into three main groups: tropical depressions, tropical storms, and a third group whose name depends on the region.
A tropical depression is an organized system of clouds and thunderstorms with a defined surface circulation and maximum sustained winds of less than 17 metres per second (33 knots, 38 mph, or 62 km/h). It has no eye, and does not typically have the spiral shape of more powerful storms. It is already becoming a low-pressure system, however, hence the name "depression".
A tropical storm is an organized system of strong thunderstorms with a defined surface circulation and maximum sustained winds between 17 and 33 meters per second (34–63 knots, 39–73 mph, or 62–117 km/h). At this point, the distinctive cyclonic shape starts to develop, though an eye is usually not present. Government weather services assign first names to systems that reach this intensity (thus the term named storm).
At hurricane intensity, a tropical cyclone tends to develop an eye, an area of relative calm (and lowest atmospheric pressure) at the center of the circulation. The eye is often visible in satellite images as a small, circular, cloud-free spot. Surrounding the eye is the eyewall, an area about 10 to 50 miles (16 to 80 kilometers) wide in which the strongest thunderstorms and winds circulate around the storm's center.
The circulation of clouds around a cyclone's center imparts a distinct spiral shape to the system. Bands or arms may extend over great distances as clouds are drawn toward the cyclone. The direction of the cyclonic circulation depends on the hemisphere; it is counterclockwise in the Northern Hemisphere, clockwise in the Southern Hemisphere. Maximum sustained winds in the strongest tropical cyclones have been measured at more than 85 m/s (165 knots, 190 mph, 305 km/h). Intense, mature hurricanes can sometimes exhibit an inward curving of the eyewall top that resembles a football stadium: this phenomenon is thus sometimes referred to as stadium effect.
Eyewall replacement cycles naturally occur in intense tropical cyclones. When cyclones reach peak intensity they usually - but not always - have an eyewall and radius of maximum winds that contract to a very small size, around 5 to 15 miles. At this point, some of the outer rainbands may organize into an outer ring of thunderstorms that slowly moves inward and robs the inner eyewall of its needed moisture and momentum. During this phase, the tropical cyclone is weakening (i.e. the maximum winds die off a bit and the central pressure goes up). Eventually the outer eyewall replaces the inner one completely and the storm can be the same intensity as it was previously or, in some cases, even stronger.
While the most obvious motion of clouds is toward the center, tropical cyclones also develop an outward flow of clouds. These originate from air that has released its moisture and is expelled at high altitude through a chimney effect of the storm engine. This outflow produces high, thin cirrus clouds that spiral away from the center. The high cirrus clouds may be the first signs of an approaching hurricane.
Categories and ranking
Hurricanes are ranked according to their maximum winds using the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Scale. A Category 1 storm has the lowest maximum winds, a Category 5 hurricane has the highest. The rankings are not absolute in terms of effects. Lower-category storms can inflict greater damage than higher-category storms, depending on factors such as local terrain and total rainfall. In fact, tropical systems of less than hurricane strength can produce significant damage and human casualties, especially from flooding and landslides.
The National Hurricane Center classifies hurricanes of Category 3 and above as Major Hurricanes. The Joint Typhoon Warning Center classifies typhoons with wind speeds of at least 150 mi/h (67 m/s or 241 km/h, equivalent to a strong Category 4 storm) as Super Typhoons.
The definition of sustained winds recommended by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) and used by most weather agencies is that of a 10-minute average. The U.S. weather service defines sustained winds based on 1-minute average speed measured about 10 meters (33 ft) above the surface.
Other storm systems
An extratropical cyclone is a storm that derives energy from horizontal temperature differences, which are typical in higher latitudes. A tropical cyclone can become extratropical as it moves toward higher latitudes if its energy source changes from heat released by condensation to differences in temperature between air masses. From space, extratropical storms have a characteristic "comma-shaped" cloud pattern. Extratropical cyclones can also be dangerous because their low-pressure centers cause powerful winds.
In the United Kingdom and Europe, some severe northeast Atlantic cyclonic depressions are referred to as "hurricanes," even though they rarely originate in the tropics. These European windstorms can generate hurricane-force windspeeds but are not given individual names. However, two powerful extratropical cyclones that ravaged France, Germany, and the United Kingdom in December 1999, "Lothar" and "Martin", were named due to their unexpected power (equivalent to a category 1 or 2 hurricane). In British Shipping Forecasts, winds of force 12 on the Beaufort scale are described as "hurricane force."
There is also a polar counterpart to the tropical cyclone, called a polar low.
Movement and track
Although tropical cyclones are large systems generating enormous energy, their movements over the earth's surface are often compared to that of leaves carried along by a stream. That is, large-scale winds—the streams in the earth's atmosphere—are responsible for moving and steering tropical cyclones. The path of motion is referred to as a tropical cyclone's track.
The major force affecting the track of tropical systems in all areas are winds circulating around high-pressure areas. Over the North Atlantic Ocean, tropical systems are steered generally westward by the east-to-west winds on the south side of the Bermuda High, a persistent high-pressure area over the North Atlantic. Also, in the area of the North Atlantic where hurricanes form, trade winds, which are prevailing westward-moving wind currents, steer tropical waves (precursors to tropical depressions and cyclones) westward from off the African coast toward the Caribbean and North America.
The earth's rotation also imparts an acceleration (termed the Coriolis Acceleration or Coriolis Effect). This acceleration causes cyclonic systems to turn towards the poles in the absence of strong steering currents (f.e. in the north, the northern part of the cyclone has winds to the west, and the Coriolis force pulls them slightly north. The southern part is pulled south, but since it is closer to the equator, the Coriolis force is a bit weaker there). Thus, tropical cyclones in the Northern Hemisphere, which commonly move west in the beginning, normally turn north (and are then usually blown east), and cyclones in the Southern Hemisphere are deflected south, if no strong pressure systems are counteracting the Coriolis Acceleration. The Coriolis acceleration also initiates cyclonic rotation, but it is not the driving force that brings this rotation to high speeds (much of that is a "ballerina effect", that means: air is drawn in from an area much larger than the cyclone, and a tiny angular velocity of that air will be magnified greatly, when the distance to the storm center shrinks, due to the conservation of angular momentum)
Interaction with high and low pressure systems
Finally, when a tropical cyclone moves into higher latitude, its general track around a high-pressure area can be deflected significantly by winds moving toward a low-pressure area. Such a track direction change is termed recurve. A hurricane moving from the Atlantic toward the Gulf of Mexico, for example, will recurve to the north and then northeast if it encounters winds blowing northeastward toward a low-pressure system passing over North America. Many tropical cyclones along the U.S. East Coast and in the Gulf of Mexico are eventually forced toward the northeast by low-pressure areas which move from west to east over North America.
Because of the forces that affect tropical cyclone tracks, accurate track predictions depend on determining the position and strength of high- and low-pressure areas, and predicting how those areas will change during the life of a tropical system.
With their understanding of the forces that act on tropical cyclones, and a wealth of data from earth-orbiting satellites and other sensors, scientists have increased the accuracy of track forecasts over recent decades. High-speed computers and sophisticated simlulation software allow forecasters to produce computer models that forecast tropical cyclone tracks based on the future position and strength of high- and low-pressure systems. But while track forecasts have become more accurate than 20 years ago, scientists say they are less skillful at predicting the intensity of tropical cyclones. They attribute the lack of improvement in intensity forecasting to the complexity of tropical systems and an incomplete understanding of factors that affect their development.
Officially, "landfall" is when a storm's center (the center of the eye, not its edge) reaches land. Naturally, storm conditions may be experienced on the coast and inland well before landfall. In fact, for a storm moving inland, the landfall area experiences half the storm before the actual landfall. For emergency preparedness, actions should be timed from when a certain wind speed will reach land, not from when landfall will occur.
A tropical cyclone can cease to have tropical characteristics in several ways:
- It moves over land, thus depriving it of the warm water it needs to power itself, and quickly loses strength. Most strong storms become disorganized areas of low pressure within a day or two of landfall. There is, however, a chance they could regenerate if they manage to get back over open warm water. If a storm is over mountains for even a short time, it can rapidly lose strength. This is, however, the cause of many storm fatalities, as the dying storm unleashes torrential rainfall, and in mountainous areas, this can lead to deadly mudslides.
- It remains in the same area of ocean for too long, sucking up all the warm water. Without warm surface water, the storm cannot survive.
- It experiences wind shear, causing the convection to lose direction and the heat engine to break down.
- It can be weak enough to be consumed by another area of low pressure, disrupting it and joining to become a large area of non-cyclonic thunderstorms.
- It enters colder waters. This does not necessarily mean the death of the storm, but the storm will lose its tropical characteristics. These storms are extratropical cyclones.
- An outer eye wall forms (typically around 50 miles from the center of the storm), choking off the convection toward the inner eye wall.
Even after a tropical cyclone is said to be extratropical or dissipated, it can still have tropical storm force (or occasionally hurricane force) winds and drop several inches of rainfall. When a tropical cyclone reaches higher latitudes or passes over land, it may merge with weather fronts or develop into a frontal cyclone, also called extratropical cyclone. In the Atlantic ocean, such tropical-derived cyclones of higher latitudes can be violent and may occasionally remain at hurricane-force wind speeds when they reach Europe as a European windstorm.
In the 1960s and 1970s, the United States government attempted to weaken hurricanes in its Project Stormfury by seeding selected storms with silver iodide. It was thought that the seeding would disrupt the storm's eyewall, causing it to collapse and thus reduce the winds. The winds of Hurricane Debbie dropped as much as 30 percent, but then regained their strength after each of two seeding forays. In an earlier episode, disaster struck when a hurricane east of Jacksonville, Florida, was seeded, promptly changed its course, and smashed into Savannah, Georgia. Because there was so much uncertainty about the behavior of these storms, the federal government would not approve seeding operations unless the hurricane had a less than 10 percent chance of making landfall within 48 hours. This placed severe restrictions on the project, and when the Navy pulled out in 1972, it all but killed any further attempts at hurricane seeding in the Atlantic.
It was later discovered that eyewall disruption happens naturally as part of eyewall replacement cycles, and so the success of the program was impossible to gauge.
Other approaches have been suggested over time, including cooling the water under a tropical cyclone by towing icebergs into the tropical oceans; covering the ocean in a substance that inhibits evaporation; or blasting the cyclone apart with nuclear weapons. These approaches all suffer from the same flaw: tropical cyclones are simply too large for any of them to be practical .
Monitoring, observation and tracking
Intense tropical cyclones pose a particular observation challenge. As they are a dangerous oceanic phenomenon, weather stations are rarely available on the site of the storm itself. Surface level observations are generally available only if the storm is passing over an island or a coastal area, or it has overtaken an unfortunate ship. Even in these cases, real-time measurement taking is generally possible only in the periphery of the cyclone, where conditions are less catastrophic.
It is however possible to take in-situ measurements, in real-time, by sending specially equipped reconnaissance flights into the cyclone. In the Atlantic basin, these flights are regularly flown by US government hurricane hunters . The aircraft used are WC-130 Hercules and WP-3D Orions, both four-engine turboprop cargo aircraft. These aircraft fly directly into the cyclone and take direct and remote-sensing measurements. The aircraft also launch GPS dropsondes inside the cyclone. These sondes measure temperature, humidity, pressure, and especially winds between flight level and the ocean's surface.
A new era in hurricane observation began when a remotely piloted Aerosonde, a small drone aircraft, was flown through Tropical Storm Ophelia as it passed Virginia's Eastern Shore during the 2005 hurricane season. This demonstrated a new way to probe the storms at low altitudes that human pilots seldom dare.
Tropical cyclones far from land are tracked by weather satellites using visible light and infrared bands. These satellite images are recieved regularly on half hour intervals. As the hurricane approaches land, the cyclone can also be imaged remotely by a nationwide system of doppler radar. Land-based doppler radars play a crucial role during landfall because they give forecasters the ability to see the storms location and intensity minute by minute.
Recently, university researchers have begun to deploy mobile weather stations ruggedized to withstand hurricane-force winds. The two largest programs are the Florida Coastal Monitoring Program  and the Wind Engineering Mobile Instrumented Tower Experiment . During landfall, the NOAA Hurricane Research Division compares and quality controls reconnaissance aircraft data—which include flight-level, GPS sonde and stepped frequency microwave radiometer wind speed estimates—to wind speed data transmitted in real-time from weather stations erected near or at the coast. The National Hurricane Center uses these data to evaluate conditions at landfall and to verify its forecasts.
Naming of tropical cyclones
Storms reaching tropical storm strength (winds exceeding 17 metres per second, 38 mph, or 62 km/h) are given names, to assist in recording insurance claims, to assist in warning people of the coming storm, and to further indicate that these are important storms that should not be ignored. These names are taken from lists which vary from region to region and are drafted a few years ahead of time. The lists are decided upon, depending on the regions, either by committees of the World Meteorological Organization (called primarily to discuss many other issues), or by national weather services involved in the forecasting of the storms.
Each year, the names of particularly destructive storms (if there were any) are "retired" and new names are chosen to take their place.
See also: Lists of tropical cyclone names
The WMO's Regional Association IV Hurricane Committee selects the names for Atlantic Basin and central and eastern Pacific storms.
In the Atlantic and Eastern North Pacific regions, feminine and masculine names are assigned alternately in alphabetic order during a given season. The "gender" of the season's first storm also alternates year to year: the first storm of an odd-numbered year gets feminine name, while the first storm of an even-numbered year gets a masculine name. Six lists of names are prepared in advance, and each list is used once every six years. Five letters — "Q," "U," "X," "Y" and "Z" — are omitted, so the format accommodates 21 named storms in a hurricane season. If there are more than 21, the rest are named as letters from the Greek alphabet: the 22nd storm is called "Alpha," the 23rd "Beta," and so on. This was first necessary in 2005 when Tropical Storm Alpha formed on October 22 followed shortly by Hurricane Beta on October 27. Names of storms may be retired by request of affected countries if they have caused extensive damage. The affected countries then decide on a replacement name of the same gender and ethnicity as the name being retired. If a Greek letter is retired, it is not replaced. For example, if "Beta" is retired after 2005, the 23rd storm in a future year would be "Gamma". See List of notable tropical cyclones for lists of retired names.
In the Central North Pacific region, the name lists are maintained by the Central Pacific Hurricane Center in Honolulu, Hawaii. Four lists of Hawaiian names are selected and used in sequential order without regard to year.
In the Western North Pacific, name lists are maintained by the WMO Typhoon Committee. Five lists of names are used, with each of the 14 nations on the Typhoon Committee submitting two names to each list. Names are used in the order of the countries' English names, sequentially without regard to year. Japan Meteorological Agency uses a secondary naming system in Western North Pacific that numbers a typhoon on the order it formed, resetting on December 31 of every year. The Typhoon Songda in September 2004 is internally called the typhoon number 18 and is recorded as the typhoon 0418 with 04 taken from the year.
The Australian Bureau of Meteorology maintains three lists of names, one for each of the Western, Northern and Eastern Australian regions. There are also Fiji region and Papua New Guinea region names.
The Seychelles Meteorological Service maintains a list for the Southwest Indian Ocean.
History of tropical cyclone naming
The practice of giving storms people's names was introduced by Clement Wragge, an Anglo-Australian meteorologist at the end of the 19th century. He used feminine names and the names of politicians who had offended him.
During World War II, tropical cyclones were given feminine names, mainly for the convenience of the forecasters and in a somewhat ad hoc manner. For a few years afterwards, names from the Joint Army/Navy Phonetic Alphabet were used.
The modern naming convention came about in response to the need for unambiguous radio communications with ships and aircraft. As transportation traffic increased and meteorological observations improved in number and quality, several typhoons, hurricanes or cyclones might have to be tracked at any given time. To help in their identification, beginning in 1953 the practice of systematically naming tropical storms and hurricanes was initiated by the United States National Hurricane Center, and is now maintained by the WMO.
In keeping with the common English language practice of referring to inanimate objects such as boats, trains, etc., using the female pronoun "she," names used were exclusively feminine. The first storm of the year was assigned a name beginning with the letter "A", the second with the letter "B", etc. However, since tropical storms and hurricanes are primarily destructive, some considered this practice sexist. The National Weather Service responded to these concerns in 1979 with the introduction of masculine names to the nomenclature. It was also in 1979 that the practice of preparing a list of names before the season began. The names are usually of English, French or Spanish origin in the Atlantic basin, since these are the three predominant languages of the region where the storms typically form.
Renaming of tropical cyclones
In most cases, a tropical cyclone retains its name throughout its life. However, a tropical cyclone may be renamed in several occasions.
1. A tropical storm enters the southwestern Indian Ocean from the east
In the south Indian Ocean, RSMC la Reunion names a tropical storm once it crosses 90°E from the east, even though it has been named. In this case, the Joint Typhoon Warning Center (JTWC) will put two names together with a hyphen.
2. A tropical storm crosses from the Atlantic into the Pacific, or vice versa, before 2001
It was the policy of National Hurricane Center (NHC) to rename a tropical storm which crossed from Atlantic into Pacific, or vice versa.
Examples: Cesar-Douglas(1996), Joan-Miriam(1988)
In 2001, when Iris moved across Central America, NHC mentioned that Iris would retain its name if it regenerated in the Pacific. However, the Pacific tropical depression developed from the remnants of Iris was called Fifteen-E instead. The depression later became tropical storm Manuel.
NHC explained that the Iris had dissipated as a tropical cyclone prior to entering the eastern North Pacific basin, the new depression was properly named Fifteen-E, rather than Iris.
In 2003, when Larry was about to move across Mexico, NHC attempted to provide greater clarity:
- Should Larry remain a tropical cyclone during its passage over Mexico into the Pacific, it would retain its name. However, a new name would be given if the surface circulation dissipates and then regenerates in the Pacific.
Up to now, there has been no tropical cyclone retaining its name during the passage from Atlantic to Pacific, or vice versa.
3. Uncertainties of the continuation
When the remnants of a tropical cyclone redevelops, the redeveloping system will be treated as a new tropical cyclone if there are uncertainties of the continuation, even though the original system may contibute to the forming of the new system.
Example: TD10/TD12 (eventually developed into Hurricane Katrina) (2005)
4. Human faults
Sometimes, there may be human faults leading to the renaming of a tropical cyclone.
A mature tropical cyclone can release heat at a rate upwards of 6x1014 watts . Tropical cyclones on the open sea cause large waves, heavy rain, and high winds, disrupting international shipping and sometimes sinking ships. However, the most devastating effects of a tropical cyclone occur when they cross coastlines, making landfall. A tropical cyclone moving over land can do direct damage in four ways.
- High winds - Hurricane strength winds can damage or destroy vehicles, buildings, bridges, etc. High winds also turn loose debris into flying projectiles, making the outdoor environment even more dangerous.
- Storm surge - Tropical cyclones cause an increase in sea level, which can flood coastal communities. This is the worst effect, as cyclones claim 80% of their victims when they first strike shore.
- Heavy rain - The thunderstorm activity in a tropical cyclone causes intense rainfall. Rivers and streams flood, roads become impassable, and landslides can occur.
- Tornado activity - The broad rotation of a hurricane often spawns tornadoes. While these tornadoes are normally not as strong as their non-tropical counterparts, they can still cause tremendous damage.
Often, the secondary effects of a tropical cyclone are equally damaging. They include:
- Disease - The wet environment in the aftermath of a tropical cyclone, combined with the destruction of sanitation facilities and a warm tropical climate, can induce epidemics of disease which claim lives long after the storm passes. One of the most common post-hurricane injuries is stepping on a nail in storm debris, leading to a risk of tetanus or other infection. Infections of cuts and bruises can be greatly amplified by wading in sewage-polluted water.
- Power outages - Tropical cyclones often knock out power to tens of thousands of people, prohibiting vital communication and hampering rescue efforts.
- Transportation difficulties - Tropical cyclones often destroy key bridges, overpasses, and roads, complicating efforts to transport food, clean water, and medicine to the areas that need it.
Beneficial effects of tropical cyclones
Although cyclones take an enormous toll in lives and personal property, they may bring much-needed precipitation to otherwise dry regions. Hurricane Camille averted drought conditions and ended water deficits along much of its path. Hurricane Floyd did the same thing in New Jersey in 1999. The destruction caused by Camille on the Gulf coast spurred redevelopment as well, greatly increasing local property values. On the other hand, disaster response officials point out that redevelopment encourages more people to live in clearly dangerous areas subject to future deadly storms (as shown by the effects of Hurricane Katrina). Of course, many former residents and businesses do relocate to inland areas away from the threat of future hurricanes as well.
Hurricanes also help to maintain global heat balance by moving warm, moist tropical air to the mid-latitudes and polar regions.
Long term trends in cyclone activity
While the number of storms in the Atlantic has increased since 1995, there seems to be no signs of a global trend; the global number of tropical cyclones remains about 90 ± 10. .
Atlantic storms are certainly becoming more destructive financially, since five of the ten most expensive storms in United States history have occurred since 1990. This can to a large extent be attributed to the number of people living in susceptible coastal area, and massive development in the region since the last surge in Atlantic hurricane activity in the 1960s.
Often in part because of the threat of hurricanes, many coastal regions had sparse population between major ports until the advent of automobile tourism; therefore, the most severe portions of hurricanes striking the coast often went unmeasured. The combined effects of ship destruction and remote landfall severely limits the number of intense hurricanes in the official record before the era of hurricane reconnaissance aircraft and satellite meteorology. Although the record shows a distinct increase in the number and strength of intense hurricanes, therefore, experts regard the early data as suspect.
The number and strength of Atlantic hurricanes may undergo a 50-70-year cycle. Although more common since 1995, few above-normal hurricane seasons occurred 1970-1994. Destructive hurricanes struck frequently from 1926-60, including many major New England hurricanes. A record 21 Atlantic tropical storms formed in 1933, only recently exceeded in 2005. Tropical hurricanes occurred infrequently between 1900-25; however, many intense storms formed 1870-1899. During the 1887 season, 19 tropical storms formed, of which a record 4 occurred after 1 November and 11 strengthened into hurricanes. Few hurricanes occurred in the 1840s to 1860s; however, many struck in the early 1800s, including an 1821 storm that made a direct hit on New York City which some historical weather experts say may have been as high as Category 4 in strength.
These unusually active hurricane seasons predated satellite coverage of the Atlantic basin that now enables forecasters to see all tropical cyclones. Before the satellite era began in 1961, tropical storms or hurricanes went undetected unless a ship reported a voyage through the storm. The official record, therefore, probably misses many storms in which no ship experienced gale-force winds, recognized it as a tropical storm (as opposed to a high-latitude extra-tropical cyclone, a tropical wave, or a brief squall), returned to port, and reported the experience.
A common question is whether global warming can or will cause more frequent or more fierce tropical cyclones. So far, virtually all climatologists seem to agree that a single storm, or even a single season, cannot clearly be attributed to a single cause such as global warming or natural variation . The question is thus whether a statistical trend in frequency or strength of cyclones exists. The U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration says in their Hurricane FAQ that "it is highly unlikely that global warming has (or will) contribute to a drastic change in the number or intensity of hurricanes." .
Regarding strength, a similar conclusion was consensus until recently. This consensus is now questioned by K. Emanuel (2005) (Nature 436, 686–688, preprint). In this article, K. Emanuel states that the potential hurricane destructiveness, a measure which combines strength, duration, and frequency of hurricanes, "is highly correlated with tropical sea surface temperature, reflecting well-documented climate signals, including multidecadal oscillations in the North Atlantic and North Pacific, and global warming." K. Emanuel further predicts "a substantial increase in hurricane-related losses in the twenty-first century".
Along similar lines, P.J. Webster et al. published an article in Science 309, 1844-1846 examining "changes in tropical cyclone number, duration, and intensity" over the last 35 years, a period where satellite data is available. The main finding is that while the number of cyclones "decreased in all basins except the North Atlantic during the past decade" there is a "large increase in the number and proportion of hurricanes reaching categories 4 and 5". I.e., while the number of cyclones decreased overall, the number of very strong cyclones increased.
Both, Emanuel and Webster et al., consider the sea surface temperature as of key importance in the development of cyclones. The question then becomes: what caused the observed increase in sea surface temperatures? In the Atlantic, it could be due to the Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation (AMO), a 50–70 year pattern of temperature variability. K. Emanuel, however, found the recent temperature increase was outside the range of previous oscillations. So, both a natural variation (such as the AMO) and global warming could have made contributions to the warming of the tropical Atlantic over the past decades, but an exact attribution is so far impossible to make.
While Emanuel analyzes total annual energy dissipation, Webster et al. analyze the slightly less relevant percentage of hurricanes in the combined categories 4 and 5, and find that this percentage has increased in each of six distinct hurricane basins: North Atlantic, North East and North West Pacific, South Pacific, and North and South Indian. Because each individual basin may be subject to intra-basin oscillations similar to the AMO, any single-basin statistic remains open to question. But if the local oscillations are not synchronized by some as-yet-unidentified global oscillation, the independence of the basins allows joint statistical tests that are more powerful than any set of individual basin tests. Unfortunately Webster et al. do not undertake any such test.
Under the assumption that the six basins are statistically independent except for the effect of global warming, Stoft has carried out the obvious paired t-test and found that the null-hypothesis of no impact of global warming on the percentage of category 4 & 5 hurricanes can be rejected at the 0.1% level—there is only a 1 in 1000 chance of simultaneously finding the observed six increases in the cat-4&5 percentages. This statistic needs refining because the variables being tested are not normally distributed with equal variances, but it may provide the best evidence yet that the impact of global warming on hurricane intensity has been detected.
Main article: List of notable tropical cyclones
Tropical cyclones that cause massive destruction are fortunately rare, but when they happen, they can cause damage in the thousands of lives and the billions of dollars.
The deadliest tropical cyclone on record is a 100 mph (160 km/h, Category 2) storm that hit the densely populated Ganges Delta region of East Pakistan (now Bangladesh) on November 13, 1970. It killed anywhere from 200,000 to 500,000 people. The Indian Ocean basin has historically been the deadliest, with three storms since 1900 killing over 100,000 people, each in Bangladesh.
In the Atlantic basin, three storms have killed more than 10,000 people. Hurricane Mitch during the 1998 Atlantic hurricane season caused severe flooding and mudslides in Honduras, killing about 18,000 people and changing the landscape enough that entirely new maps of the country were needed. The Galveston Hurricane of 1900, which made landfall at Galveston, Texas as an estimated Category 4 storm, killed 6,000 to 12,000 people, and remains the deadliest natural disaster in the history of the United States. The deadliest Atlantic storm on record was the Great Hurricane of 1780, which killed between 20,000 and 30,000 people in the Antilles.
The most intense storm on record was Typhoon Tip in the northwestern Pacific Ocean in 1979, which had a minimum pressure of only 870 mbar and maximum sustained windspeeds of 190 mph (305 km/h). It weakened before striking Japan. Tip does not hold the record for fastest sustained winds in a cyclone alone; Typhoon Keith in the Pacific, and Hurricane Camille and Hurricane Allen in the North Atlantic currently share this record as well , although recorded windspeeds that fast are suspect, since most monitoring equipment is likely to be destroyed by such conditions.
Camille was the only storm to actually strike land while at that intensity, making it, with 190 mph (305 km/h) sustained winds and 210 mph (335 km/h) gusts, the strongest tropical cyclone of record to ever hit land. For comparison, these speeds are encountered at the center of a strong tornado, but Camille was much larger and long-lived than any tornado.
Typhoon Nancy in 1961 had recorded windspeeds of 213 mph (343 km/h), but recent research indicates that windspeeds from the 1940s to the 1960s were gauged too high, and this is no longer considered the fastest storm on record.  Similarly, a gust caused by Super Typhoon Paka over Guam was recorded at 236 mph (380 km/h); however, this reading had to be discarded, since the anemometer was damaged by the storm. Had it been confirmed, this would be the strongest non- tornadic wind ever recorded at the Earth's surface. (The current record is held by a non-hurricane wind registering 231 mph (372 km/h) at Mount Washington in New Hampshire.)
Tip was also the largest cyclone on record, with a circulation 1,350 miles (2,170 km) wide. The average tropical cyclone is only 300 miles (480 km) wide. The smallest storm on record, 1974's Cyclone Tracy, which devastated Darwin, Australia, was roughly 30 miles (50 km) wide.
On March 26, 2004, Cyclone Catarina became the first recorded South Atlantic hurricane. Previous South Atlantic cyclones in 1991 and 2004 reached only tropical storm strength. Hurricanes may have formed there prior to 1960 but were not observed until weather satellites began monitoring the Earth's oceans in that year.
A tropical cyclone need not be particularly strong to cause memorable damage; Tropical Storm Allison in June 2001 had its name retired for killing 41 people and causing over $5 billion damage in East Texas, even though it never became a hurricane; the damage from Allison was mostly due to flooding, not winds or storm surge. Hurricane Jeanne in 2004 was only a tropical storm when it made a glancing blow on Haiti, but the flooding and mudslides it caused killed over 3,000 people.
On August 28, 2005, Hurricane Katrina made landfall to Louisiana and nearby states. The U.S. National Hurricane Center, in its August review of the tropical storm season stated that Katrina was probably the worst natural disaster in U.S. history. Its death toll is above 1000, mainly from flooding and the aftermath. It is also estimated to have caused $200 billion in damages. Before that, the most costly storm had been 1992's Hurricane Andrew, which caused an estimated $25 billion in damage in Florida.
- Polar low
- Subtropical cyclone
- Hurricane categories (Saffir-Simpson)
- List of Atlantic hurricane seasons
- List of Pacific hurricane seasons
- List of Pacific typhoon seasons
- List of North Indian cyclone seasons
- List of notable tropical cyclones
- Hurricane proof building
- Hurricane preparedness
Tracking and Warning
- Joint Typhoon warning Center - Western Pacific
- MetService, New Zealand - Tasman Sea, South Pacific south of 25° S
- Australian Bureau of Meteorology - Southern hemisphere from 90° E to 160° E
- Canadian Hurricane Centre - Northwest Atlantic (overlaps US NHC)
- Hurricane & Storm Tracking for the Atlantic & Pacific Oceans - Shows all current hurricanes and their tracks
Regional Specialised Meteorological Centers
- US National Hurricane Center - North Atlantic, Eastern Pacific
- Central Pacific Hurricane Center - Central Pacific
- Japan Meteorological Agency - Western Pacific
- India Meteorological Department - Bay of Bengal and the Arabian Sea
- Météo-France - La Reunion - South Indian Ocean from Africa to 90° E
- Fiji Meteorological Service - South Pacific east of 160°, north of 25° S
- Yearly World Tropical Storm Summary - About 10 years of origins and tracks, in color, up to present. Broken up by year and region; for example "Atlantic, 2005"
- Unisys historical and contemporary hurricane track data e.g. Atlantic 1968
- Hurricanes of the 1970s, including survivor stories and 1980s
- Worldwide tropical cyclone tracks, 1979-1988
- the EM-DAT International Disaster Database
- Create-a-Cane Interactive fun site from NOAA, allows to specify conditions and see how they impact storm formation
- NASA Hurricane Web Page - Data, research, science & multimedia resources from NASA
- Hurricane Facts
- WMO guide on cyclone terminology
- NOVA scienceNOW: Hurricanes
- Mariner's Guide for Hurricane Awareness (pdf)
- WebCamPlaza Big collection of hurricane webcams.
- www.worldhurricanes.com- Lates news from the WN network.
- Tropical Cyclones - Chapter from the online edition of Nathaniel Bowditch's American Practical Navigator
- Hurricane Alley - tracking
- Live Hurricane Talk and Information Archive
- NOAA's Tropical Cyclone FAQ
- Hurricanes & climate change
- Global climatology of tropical cyclones
- Caribbean Hurricane Network
- 1995 Mediterranean "Hurricane"
- Atlantic hurricanes track animations
- Tropical cyclone pictures and movies, from the United Kingdom Met Office
- Global Warming & Hurricanes - Review based on latest articles in Science and Nature. Graph of trends in 6 hurricane basins.
- Hurricane Havens Handbook for the North Atlantic Ocean
- Typhoon Havens Handbook for the Western Pacific and Indian Oceans
- Tropical Storm Risk
- Hurricanes, global warming, and global politics
- Steve Gregory's Blog at Weather Underground
- Dr. Jeff Masters Blog at Weather Underground


Boating on Boulder Creek at 12th Street, now Broadway on June 1, 1894.
Photo copyright by the Denver Public Library.
Visit the BASIN Gallery for more historic flood images.
"May 29 - June 2. Heavy rains fell over the mountains extending from the Colorado-Wyoming border southward into the Republican and Arkansas river basins. Rainfall over the Boulder and South Boulder Creek basins was particularly heavy. Rainfall records for a 96 hour period ending at 3 AM on June 1894 show that the mountain drainage area received from 4.5 to 6 inches of precipitation. Rainfall amounts over the high plains gradually decreased from west to east varying from 5 inches at Boulder to approximately 2.5 inches at the mouth of Boulder Creek. The mountain rainfall, combined with the snowmelt runoff to produce the greatest flood known at Boulder, which came roaring down the valley during the night of 30 May 1894. Buildings, bridges, and even long sections of roads and railroads were washed away. Although damages were extensive, a dollar amount was not estimated at that time." From US Army Corps of Engineers, August 1969 Floodplain Mapping of Boulder Creek.
Information compiled by Elizabeth Black.


Air air pollution is among the nation’s most essential environmental issues. Massive cities, similar to New Delhi, are always uncovered to vital quantities of air air pollution.
In keeping with a journey information issued by Worldwide SOS, superb particles (PM2.5) from transport sources are the most important pollutant. Non-vehicular causes of air pollution in Delhi and neighboring states embody burning of building mud, rubbish and tires. New Delhi is among the world’s most polluted cities. PM2.5 ranges are at the least 15 occasions larger than WHO air high quality requirements. Progress in a number of sectors, together with manufacturing, transport, energy technology and building, has contributed to worsening air high quality in different components of India.
On the event of World Well being Day, IANSlife spoke to Dr. Vikram Vora, the medical director of Worldwide SOS within the Indian subcontinent, to study extra about air air pollution, the way it impacts people and what may be carried out to mitigate the state of affairs.
How does air air pollution have an effect on public well being?
Dr. Vikram: Air air pollution is a rising public well being concern because it impacts people in addition to communities by which they stay and work together. Over 90 p.c of the world’s inhabitants at this time breathes polluted air.
Moreover probably the most seen affect on respiratory well being (shortness of breath, continual cough, decreased lung capability), it additionally impacts cardiovascular well being (elevated incidence of stroke and coronary heart assault on account of intravascular irritation that damages blood vessels). One other critical affect that’s more and more seen is the rise in most cancers circumstances on account of pollution. These could also be proof against remedy and have the potential to adversely have an effect on mortality charges in affected populations.
Most worryingly, the affect just isn’t restricted to explicit demographics hostile results on reproductive and developmental well being (decreased fertility, low beginning weight), cognition, conduct and outcomes (dementia and early dying) transcend all age teams.
The ensuing enhance in well being care prices and sick depart affecting productiveness could cause main social and financial disruption to populations.
What are the assorted elements one ought to take to guard oneself?
Dr. Vikram: Consciousness and applicable motion are key to defending oneself. Having an lively menace notion is step one towards air air pollution. Whereas it’s well-known (and sadly accepted) that air high quality throughout the winter months in northern India is poor, many in different components of the nation had been shocked to study that the air high quality index (AQI) in cities like Mumbai really surpassed that of Delhi this yr. Staying knowledgeable is crucial.
Limiting publicity to air air pollution by avoiding outside train and staying indoors with closed home windows on days with decrease air high quality may help. Utilizing air purifiers indoors improves air high quality in properties, places of work and different closed areas. Keep away from utilizing incense sticks, flooring cleaners with harsh chemical substances and aerosol-based room fresheners. It’s good follow to put on a masks such because the N95, which filters out the dangerous particulates. In the event you should step out for any motive, preferring public transport can scale back publicity and assist keep away from including to present air pollution.
Lastly, and probably most significantly, getting a routine well being checkup yearly, particularly if you’re over 40 or have continual situations like hypertension, coronary heart illness, continual respiratory illness, and so on., acts as an early warning system and prevents critical sicknesses. well being problems.
How can employers assist restrict the affect of air pollution?
Dr. Vikram: Employers and organizations would do nicely to do not forget that air air pollution not solely impacts the well being and well-being of their workers, but additionally has a profound affect on productiveness and may result in monetary losses.
Organizations with good responsibility of care practices should take the lead in displaying different employers that air air pollution may be managed if the precise steps listed under are taken:
Develop insurance policies and procedures to encourage accountable environmental practices similar to decreasing waste technology, selling recycling and decreasing power consumption
Increase consciousness amongst workers concerning the well being dangers related to air air pollution
Guarantee satisfactory air flow in all work areas with fashionable, low-energy and high-efficiency air flow programs that adjust to nationwide and worldwide requirements
Present air purifiers in places of work that may be operated on days when the air high quality is poor
For workers working in areas of upper contamination or outside, present private protecting tools (PPE) similar to face masks with applicable breaks
An annual well being test for workers is strongly advisable
On days with extreme weakening of AQI, enable workers to work remotely in order that journey and consequent enhance in vehicular air pollution may be averted
Encourage workers to make use of public transport or carpool by utilizing low-polluting transport similar to electrical vehicles
How is productiveness affected on account of air air pollution?
Dr. Vikram: It’s now well-known that air air pollution reduces productiveness. A latest research from China discovered that for a 10-point change in AQI, employee productiveness dropped by 4%. Publicity to air air pollution causes respiratory issues similar to bronchitis and exacerbation of bronchial asthma, decreasing productiveness on account of absenteeism. Inhalation of polluted air could cause continual fatigue, resulting in decreased work efficiency. Poor indoor air high quality can lead to sick constructing syndrome, a situation by which workers expertise complications, fatigue and respiratory issues whereas at work.
Among the impacts are instantly associated to a decline in psychological well-being. Analysis reveals that air air pollution causes adjustments within the human mind, with 5 p.c of research displaying bodily and useful adjustments within the emotion-regulating components. This could make individuals extra inclined to psychological well being issues and well-being. Among the manifestations are:
A decline in cognitive perform impacts reminiscence, consideration and decision-making.
Elevated stress and nervousness
Decrease ranges of innovation
Is there an instance or particular guidelines that organizations now give their workers?
Dr. Vikram: Though there are tips for organizations to comply with to impact a discount of their emissions and carbon footprint, a aware effort have to be made to inculcate finest practices and inculcate eco-friendly conduct amongst workers as nicely. Some organizations do that nicely (with documented environmental insurance policies), whereas some battle to keep up the stability between financial and social accountability.
Many corporations at this time make use of those that stay nearer to the office or enable workers to earn a living from home. Some supply shared firm transportation or encourage carpooling to scale back air air pollution.
Even inside places of work, a paperless atmosphere is inspired to scale back waste. Recycling is now widespread.
State-of-the-art HVAC programs with excessive filtration and air purification capability are used with frequent air adjustments. PPEs are offered to larger danger workers.
Many organizations make sure that the workforce is provided with up-to-date well being info from trusted sources and problem well being advisories towards air air pollution when obligatory, enabling workers to make knowledgeable selections. Steady well being checks have been began for all workers, that are tailor-made for max effectivity and never simply as a tick on a tick field.
Air air pollution will proceed to be a rising menace to worker well-being for the foreseeable future. How we deal with this menace each individually and collectively will decide how future generations stay and thrive.


We understand that climate change is a global concern and we are transitioning to a less carbon-intensive generation portfolio to help address the potential impacts of climate change while also focusing on our responsibility to provide reliable and affordable electricity to our members. Our efforts in this area range from using energy wisely, operating our facilities in as efficient a manner as possible, controlling emissions and diversifying our generation portfolio.
Taken together, SMMPA has made a major commitment to sustainability and in the process, has significantly reduced its
carbon footprint. Since 2005, collectively these efforts have reduced 5.5 million tons of carbon dioxide emissions – the same impact as nearly 1.2 million passenger cars from the road or the carbon dioxide sequestered in over 6.5 million acres of U.S. forests in a year.
Click here to download our brochure, which highlights some of our carbon reduction activities.


This weather station is located in the United States in the mountains of southwestern Montana, USA. Its sensors measure temperature, wind speed and direction, precipitation, barometric pressure, humidity, UV radiation, and ambient light.
The Lynxari™ IoT Software Platform controls all the sensors, collecting raw data and publishing it to cloud-based servers, databases, and APIs. Find out why Lynxari is a different kind of IoT platform to learn more about its capabilities and functionality.
Copyright © 2019 Agilatech®. All Rights Reserved. Lynxari™ is a trademark of Agilatech LLC


Atmospheric sulfur dioxide data became available in 1982 during and after the eruption of El Chichon, when the Total Ozone Mapping Spectrometer, TOMS, received increased absorption in the shortest wavelength channels of the instrument. TOMS was designed to map the daily global total ozone field. The increased absorption was later determined to be due to sulfur dioxide because it is a gaseous volcanic substituent that has corresponding absorption to that seen in the TOMS data. Currently there is no way to develop an algorithm that will accurately subtract the effects of sulfur dioxide from the TOMS data in order to obtain the correct ozone amounts because the temperature dependence of sulfur dioxide absorption cross sections is unknown.
The experimental design to find the temperature dependence involves getting the ultra violet absorption spectra of sulfur dioxide in the wavelength region of 290-340 nm at 298 K, 210K and at least one temperature in between. There is very little low temperature data currently available, so the data is very important to develop an accurate model and algorithm.
The most important factor in the temperature dependence is the affect temperature has on the population of rotational energy levels. At room temperature molecules are able to occupy levels other than ground state. As the temperature is dropped, however, the higher energy levels become less populated and the ground level becomes more populated according to the Boltzmann distribution. The values of cross sections were observed to increase with temperature if they corresponded to a transition that was originated from a ground energy level and to decrease with temperature if the transition originated from a higher energy level.
Available by permission of the author. Reproduction or retransmission of this material in any form is prohibited without expressed written permission of the author.
Brunner, Alexis, "The Temperature Dependence of Ultra Violet Sulfur Dioxide Absorption Cross Sections" (1996). Honors Theses, 1963-2015. 579.


The other weekend I went camping with my family. And we wanted sunny weather. The only thing we could do to try and get sun shine was to pray. After all God alone controls the weather. Right? Humans don't control the weather. Or do we?
Global warming is a reality and science is stating that we as humans are the cause of this. And global warming is affecting the weather. I just read an article by cbc stating that rain and global warming are linked (Changes in rainfall man-made, Canadian scientists say).
Now I am not saying that we should not be praying. We need to pray more and pray about everything. However we cannot just pray and pretend that our actions do not affect our world. Changing the way I live today will not give me sun on the weekend. But we are changing the weather of the world.


A new European Air Quality Index, launched last week by the European Environment Agency (EEA) and the European Commission, allows users to check the current air quality across Europe’s cities and regions. The Index is accompanied by new country fact sheets that provide updated air quality information for EEA member countries.
The Index consists of an interactive map that shows the local air quality situation at station level, based on five key pollutants that harm people's health and the environment: particulate matter (PM2.5 and PM10), ground-level ozone (O3), nitrogen dioxide (NO2) and sulphur dioxide (SO2).
Users can zoom in or search for any town or region in Europe to check the overall air quality and measurements per key pollutant. The Index shows an overall rating for each monitoring station, marked by a coloured dot on the map, corresponding to the worst rating for any of the five pollutants.
6th October 2021
9th July 2021


Ever look down at the weather app on your iphone and see some small text under the temperature that reads “Unhealthy Air Quality for Sensitive Groups?” Ever wonder what that means? And if you should be concerned?
Today we are going to be discussing exactly what that unhealthy air quality for sensitive groups warning means, and what you can and should do when you see it.
While this blog has been heavily nutrition-focused lately, but this post is going to tap into my Environmental Health Science MPH. May as well use it, right?
What is AQI?
Before we can understand what “Unhealthy Air Quality” means, let’s first talk about what it is and how it’s measured. Air Quality Index (AQI) is a term used by government agencies to communicate with the public how polluted the air is or is forecasted to be.
Generally speaking, the higher the AQI, the greater the public health risk. Different governments have different national air quality standards to classify different health risks and communicate these risks to their citizens.
How is the AQI Calculated?
In the US, the EPA calculates the AQI for five major air pollutants regulated by the Clean Air Act, including particulate matter (read my whole post about what PM is here), carbon monoxide, ground-level ozone, sulfur dioxide, and nitrogen dioxide.
Air monitors collect and record pollutants over 1,000 locations across the country. The raw data is used to develop a separate AQI for each of the 5 mentioned pollutants. The highest of the AQI values from these 5 is reported as the AQI value of the day.…


It is currently 44 degrees on May 12th at 3pm in Philadelphia.
All I can say is so much for the idea of “global warming.”
I always did prefer the term “climate change.” I know, I know, it is so much less threatening … but it is also so much easier to validate because no matter the temperature or humidity … the climate is always changing.
As far as the “increases” as noted by Al Gore and others … I continue to run across scientific reports that contradicts their assertions. Such contradictions cite sun flare cycles, the build up of ice along parts of the polar ice caps that are not referenced by Gore et al. and the obvious statement that the world’s CO2 percentage only has comparable data going back less than 100 years and only in major metropolitan areas … which begs the obvious question / statement … since in the last 100 years, societies have seen a positive pattern of populations relocating from rural fields to city centers and suburbs … well, wouldn’t the increase in the density of the population explain the increase in the temperature and the CO2 in these city centers?


Based on historical oceanic and atmospheric information, climate models and most recent observations, as well as a review of ocean basin and atmospheric details, researchers at NSIDC believe 2023 to be more likely than 2025 as the Atlantic hurricane season likely to be slightly above normal
As much as 15% of the total rain in the Atlantic basin may fall in Texas, parts of Texas and Louisiana and Florida between August and October.
There is a higher than expected chance of Texas and Louisiana becoming moderate to severe drought in September. However, the number of drought-states may be reduced because of rain during hurricane season.
This means it could be the end of October before the longest drought in southern Texas comes to an end.
The heat wave is expected to persist over Texas, much of Louisiana and Florida, and the east coast into northern Florida during hurricane season.
Normal temperatures are expected in western North Carolina, coastal Georgia and Florida. The normal summer temperature in the Dallas area is projected to be slightly warmer than the long-term norm, while normal summers over east Alabama, western North Carolina and Florida are expected to be above normal.


The need to utilize the sun as a major energy source is hot. While many homeowners consider solar power as a solution to reducing high electricity bills, others realize that the issue is bigger than that; it is about global warming. Humanity needs to make the switch to pollution-free energy as an effort to reduce emissions of greenhouse gases from fossil fuels.
As a clean, renewable energy source, solar energy is one of the main ways that we can battle against climate change. It is available now for residential, commercial and industrial use, and can power homes, offices and cars. While it may be difficult to tackle the problem on a global scale, you can help. To join the fight against climate change and to make a difference, consider installing solar inverters in your home.