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
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Colorado State University has released its forecast for the 2025 Atlantic Basin hurricane season. They are forecasting another more active than usual season for the Atlantic Basin. According to their report, they predict 17 named storms, 9 hurricanes, and 17 major hurricanes (category 3 or higher). This compares to the average of 14 named storms,
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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
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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
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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
Continue ReadingCalifornia is the most seismically active state in the country. We know that very well here in Southern California. The reason why we have so many earthquakes is because of the countless fault lines running through the state. There are hundreds running through or around the Coachella Valley alone. Sometimes, an earthquake will be registered
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February 2025 was beautiful if not a bit on the warmer side. Of the 28 days in the month, all but 4 were above average. Two days were below average and two days matched the seasonal average. The month was also notable for reaching 90° for the first time in 2025, roughly two weeks ahead
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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
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Meteorological spring began earlier this month on March 1st. Spring is a season of warming all across the US, but spring itself has gotten significantly warmer for many places since the 1970s. This warming has been most strongly felt in the southern tier of the country, and especially here in the Southwest. The only areas
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The Coachella Valley is world-renowned for many things ranging from architecture to music festivals to, of course, our hot weather. On average, we typically see our first 90° day around March 11th. That’s about 70 days into the year. Taking a look at the graphic below, we can see a decent spread in the first
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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
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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
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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
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This Sunday millions of people will come together all over the country to watch the Super Bowl. Whether you watch for the game or the commercials, it’s one of the biggest weekends of the year. This year, the big game heads down to the Big Easy for a rematch between Kansas City and Philadelphia. There
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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
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It’s official… 2024 was the hottest in recorded history both here in the US and across the globe. Looking at the graphic below, we can see a sharp and intense increase in average global temperatures between the late 1800s through the modern day. 2024 was the first year whose average temperature exceeded the 1.5°C threshold
Continue ReadingIt’s hard to believe that another year has come and gone. December 2024 was very comfortable, there’s no doubt about that. However, it was an unusually warm month. In fact, nearly every day had a high temperature above the seasonal average. Only two days experienced temperatures equal to the season average and zero days were
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If you thought that we have been having more and more billion-dollar disasters, you’d be right. Through November of 2024, the US saw 24 billion-dollar disasters. This ranks second only to 2023 which saw 28 such disasters. While Hurricanes Helene and Milton are both counted on the list, the total extent of the damages is
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While some of the numbers are still being punched, 2024 is nearly certain to go down as the hottest year on record. This would unseat the current hottest year on record of 2023. Last year’s average temperature anomaly exceeded 1.5°C above the pre-industrial average. You may recall that 1.5°C (above the pre-industrial average) is the
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The Atlantic hurricane season formally came to an end on November 30th. Going into the season, the National Hurricane Center was forecasting an above-average season with somewhere between 17 and 25 named storms. They also predicted between 8 and 13 hurricanes and between 4 and 7 major hurricanes. This year saw a total of 18
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