First Alert Weather Insider

The Global Change Research Act of 1990 requires the federal government to release a major, comprehensive report detailing how climate change will impact nearly every facet of American life. This report is called the National Climate Assessment and is used by countless federal, state, and local officials, as well as private businesses, to plan for

It’s no secret that temperatures across the globe are warming as a direct result of climate change. Heat-trapping pollutants in the atmosphere are causing the planet to warm. This is causing plant hardiness zones to shift north, impacting what kinds of plants can be grown where. Plant hardiness zones are based on the coldest annual

Since the end of 2024, sea surface temperatures in the equatorial Pacific Ocean have been cooler than usual. This is indicative of La Nina conditions. As a reminder, La Niña and El Niño are the two main phases of ENSO (El Niño Southern Oscillation). There is also a neutral phase, which represents when sea surface

It’s no secret that temperatures across the world are only continuing to warm. One of the most fundamental rules of atmospheric science tells us that warmer air can hold more moisture. In fact, for every degree Fahrenheit of warming, the atmosphere can hold 4% more moisture. Almost every part of the country has seen an

Earlier this week CAL FIRE released their final updated hazard maps. This comes as Governor Newsom signed an executive order expediting the release of the maps after the devastating LA wildfires. These maps show the wildfire hazard for local and state jurisdictions. The areas are broken down into three hazard categories: moderate, high, and very

Spring began last week on March 20th, astronomically speaking, anyway. But Mother Nature doesn’t follow such a regular schedule. Depending on where you are in the country, spring begins at different times. For instance, Miami sees spring start much earlier than Indianapolis. The USA National Phenology Network tracks the start of spring with their “Spring

Beginning around 1:00 PM on March 18, 1925, a tornado touched down in Southern Missouri. This was the beginning of the Tri-State Tornado. Before the sun had set, nearly 700 people would lose their lives and more than 2,000 others would be injured. The tornado spanned over 200 miles and moved through more than a

The polar vortex is a persistent area of low pressure dozens of miles above the earth’s poles (both northern and southern). Because the vortex is so high up in the atmosphere, and because it’s over the poles, makes the air very very cold. Every now and then, the jetstream can interfere with and nudge the

A large system moved across much of the country the other day, dumping several inches of rain across several states. So far, the most severe impacts have been felt in Kentucky. Much of the state has seen at least 3 inches of rain with some areas seeing more than 6 inches. This has led to

Historically, storm surge has been the leading cause of (direct) deaths from hurricanes. Interestingly, however, between 2013 and 2022, freshwater flooding accounted for the lion’s share of direct deaths (according to the National Hurricane Center). This is likely the result of a wide array of different factors. One of those factors is the improved and

California, especially Southern California is no stranger to drought. The last winter seasons brought a cascade of winter storms and precipitation to the Southern California region, but the same cannot be said for this winter. It’s late January and we just had our first winter storm of the season. 2024 was a very dry year