With spring severe weather season fast approaching, I thought it would be a good time to review some related material over the coming days and weeks.  One thing that forecasters and storm chasers have a "love / hate" relationship with is the Cappi...

Press Release 11-101Big Clue to Future Climate Change in Small Plants Scientists find surprising response to higher levels of carbon dioxide in 13 species of grassland plants A wild lupine blooms at NSF's Cedar Creek Long-Term Ecological Research si...

April 2011 was the globe's 7th warmest April on record, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) National Climatic Data Center (NCDC). NASA's Goddard Institute for Space Studies rated April the 4th warmest on record, tied...

by William S. Becker Last February, three Republican leaders in Congress filed a brief in the U.S. Supreme Court arguing that when it comes to global climate change, judges and Justices should mind their own business. The courts are about to get a di...

By Brian Edwards, Meteorologist Apr 24, 2011; 11:03 AM ET This graphics shows how wind shear, or the twisting of the winds in the atmosphere, contribute to tornadic development. A major severe weather outbreak is forecast to affect much of the m...

A vivid picture of our climate's future can be found in our past. Currently, atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) levels have reached 390 parts per million (ppm). The last time CO2 was that high was around 3 million years ago, in the early Pliocene. Back t...

Although the cold air that has been moving in aloft these days may have its down sides for gardening and some outdoor activities, there IS a silver lining to the situation....very nice cumulus and cumulonimbus clouds for viewing (an example shown above...

If you're sitting on a bench in New York City's Central Park in winter, you're probably freezing.After all, the average temperature in January is 32 degrees Fahrenheit.But if you were just across the pond in Porto, Portugal, which shares New York's la...

Snowflake.jpg February 10, 2011 | A new study by NCAR scientists looks at the accuracy of snow gauges, instruments used for collecting and measuring snow. Making accurate measurements of snowfall is critical for weather forecasting, climate studies, ...

WindFarm1.jpg February 15, 2011 | A new NCAR study compares two different methods for forecasting power production at wind farms: turbine-based versus farm-based. The turbine-based method involves forecasting winds at each individual turbine on a giv...

(University of California - San Diego) "Lost" samples from a famous origin of life researcher could send the search for Earth's first life in a new direction.

The equatorial waters of the Eastern Pacific off the coast of South America have steadily warmed during March, and it appears increasingly likely that the current La Niña event will be over by June. This week, sea surface temperatures (SSTs) over th...

by Janet Ritz The world changes so fast, it's difficult to see it in context. Scientists watch from a mathematical point of view, points on a graph, comparative analyses, blips on radar from sensors slapped on the bows of ships.  Dry bi...

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If there is going to be a major nuclear disaster with massive release of radioactivity into the atmosphere from Japan's stricken Fukushima nuclear plant, today would be the best day meteorologically for this to occur. The low pressure system that broug...