Meteorology Matters

As we head through August, it is typical for hurricane season to awaken in the Atlantic Ocean and the models are starting to hint at changes afoot. Elevated Tropical Activity: The Atlantic basin is entering a period of increased tropical activity, consistent with a "backloaded" hurricane season. Conditions are becoming more favorable for development, with warm ocean temperatures and a "La Niña lig...

13% of Floridian Deaths can be attributed to hurricanes and tropical storms? Recent research from both South Korea and the United States reveals a significant and largely underestimated public health burden associated with tropical cyclones (hurricanes/typhoons). Beyond the immediate, direct deaths typically reported, these studies demonstrate a substantial "excess mortality" that can persist for...

Meteorologist in Space Deborah Martorell, a 54-year-old Puerto Rican meteorologist and journalist with over 30 years of experience, is set to become the "first meteorologist in the world (between men and women) to visit space." Her lifelong dream of becoming an astronaut, which began in childhood and was often "taken as a joke or saw me as this immature girl who wants to be an astronaut," is now b...

Review of recent Trump Administration actions impacting the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), with a focus on deregulation, scientific research, and disaster preparedness. In July 2025, the Trump administration has taken significant steps to dismantle environmental regulations and reduce fe...

Pre-1890: Prior to 1890: Recordkeeping for temperatures in Tampa, Florida, begins. 1890: 1890: Temperature records for Tampa, Florida, officially start. 1892: September 1892: Temperature records for Plant City, Florida, officially start. 1895: Since 1895: Florida's average June temperature has been 79.9 degrees. Early 1900s: Since 1902: Records for temperatures at Page Field in Fort Myers begin. S...

Recent studies from the University of Miami Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science and ongoing research by the University of Delaware and Rutgers University are shedding new light on how large sharks respond to hurricanes and their potential utility in predicting these powerful storms. While some shark species flee from approaching hurricanes, others, like tiger sharks, exhibit unexpe...

2024: NOAA Atlas 15 Pilot Release (Montana): On September 26, 2024, NOAA releases the NOAA Atlas 15 Pilot data for the state of Montana. This pilot aims to collect early feedback and demonstrate the nature of Atlas 15 data. It covers a subset of storm durations (1 hour to 10 days) and exceedance probabilities (50% to 1%) in two volumes and is intended for comparison and feedback, not formal peer r...

A persistent "cold blob" in the subpolar North Atlantic, south of Greenland, has defied global warming trends for over a century, cooling by up to 0.3 degrees Celsius while surrounding waters warm. Recent research confirms this anomaly is primarily driven by a weakening of the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC), a vital system of ocean currents that regulates global climate. The sl...

The devastating flash floods that swept through the Texas Hill Country on July 4, 2025, resulted in over 111 confirmed deaths and more than 170 missing persons, primarily in Kerr County. This disaster has brought to light critical failures in emergency warning systems, long-standing debates over funding for such infrastructure, and a significant political reluctance to accept accountability. While...

Devastating flash floods, fueled by extraordinary rainfall, struck the Texas Hill Country on July 4-5, 2025, resulting in at least 37 confirmed deaths, including 14 children with many people still missing. The floods caused widespread destruction, particularly around the Guadalupe River in Kerr County, and prompted a massive search and rescue operation. A central point of contention has emerged re...

Critical Hurricane Forecast and Sea Ice Monitoring Tool Abruptly Terminated Date: June 26, 2025 Abrupt Termination: The DoD will permanently terminate the processing and transmission of microwave data from its three weather satellites by no later than June 30, 2025 . This decision was formalized on June 25, 2025, and communicated to users, including NOAA and the National Hurricane Center, on June...

The Empathizing-Systemizing (E-S) Theory and its Relevance The E-S theory is a central framework discussed in both sources, hypothesizing that individuals possess varying degrees of "empathizing" and "systemizing" cognitive styles. Systemizing: Defined as "(1) the drive to create and analyze psychological sets of logical rules, or “systems,” related to and constructed around things that occur in t...

Meteorology Matters discusses a study indicating that human influence on global climate, specifically stratospheric cooling, could have been detected as early as 1885 , preceding the widespread use of automobiles. Researchers conducted an experiment using modern climate models and hypothetical 1860 measurement capabilities to identify this early "human fingerprint" on atmospheric temperatures. The...

Meteorology Matters discusses an ongoing lawsuit in Rockland County, New York, challenging the accuracy of the 2024 Presidential and Senate election results , particularly concerning alleged missing votes for Kamala Harris and Diane Sare . The lawsuit, brought by SMART Legislation , seeks a full hand recount due to statistical anomalies and voter affidavits claiming uncounted ballots. A significan...

Environmental and safety concerns surrounding the Turkey Point nuclear power plant in Miami-Dade County, Florida , particularly its aging infrastructure and cooling canal system . A central issue highlighted is the hypersaline plume originating from the plant's cooling canals, which is threatening Miami's primary drinking water aquifer and the surrounding ecosystem. Environmental groups, such as M...

Google DeepMind and Google Research's new initiative, Weather Lab , which aims to improve tropical cyclone prediction using artificial intelligence (AI) . This platform features an experimental AI model that predicts various aspects of cyclones, including formation, track, intensity, size, and shape, up to 15 days in advance, with 50 possible scenarios . The article highlights the model's superior...

Effective Shutdown of Climate.gov : The website is likely to cease publishing new content imminently. The "entire content production staff at climate.gov (including me) were let go from our government contract on 31 May," stated an anonymous former contractor. This signifies a de facto shutdown of new information dissemination. Targeted Elimination of Staff: The dismissals were highly specific, wi...

Timeline of Main Events 1950-2016: Florida experiences an increase of approximately 25 extreme rain events annually. 1970-2020: Tide gauge observations are recorded to estimate sea-level rise rates for the eastern Gulf Coast. 1982-Present (implied up to Nov 2024): Storm tracks in the Atlantic basin are recorded in the International Best Track Archive for Climate Stewardship database. 1985-Present...

CHECK IT OUT HERE… https://youtube.com/@wclivestream Response to Funding Cuts and Policy Changes: The primary driver for the scientists' actions is the substantial cuts to federal agencies like the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), NASA, and the Department of Energy, as well as the withholding of research funding to academia by the Trump administration. The CNN article explic...

Above-Normal Season Predicted: NOAA's official outlook predicts an above-normal hurricane season for the Atlantic Basin. NOAA states a "60% chance of an above-normal season, and a 30% chance of a near-normal season." Fox Weather notes that Colorado State University (CSU) also projected an above-average season in their April outlook, with specific numbers slightly higher than historical averages (1...

May 2025 (Earlier in the month): Five former directors of the National Weather Service write a "letter to the American people" expressing concern about staffing shortages and reduced resources, such as weather balloon deployments. May 15, 2025: USA TODAY publishes an article highlighting that National Weather Service offices are short-staffed following Trump administration cuts, with some offices...

January 2025: A government-wide hiring freeze begins in the United States, impacting the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and its subsidiary, the National Weather Service (NWS). February 2025: Approximately 250 NWS employees are fired or take buyouts as part of staffing cuts. Sometime between February and May 2025: An additional 300 NWS employees depart the agency, bringing t...

The Trump administration is targeting the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) Energy Star program for elimination as part of a broader reorganization and deregulatory effort focused on air pollution offices. This move is viewed as a significant step away from the previous administration's focus on climate change and energy efficiency. The Energy Star program, a voluntary labeling initiative fo...

Administration Actions on Climate Science and Data Date: May 9, 2025 Recent actions by the Trump administration have significantly impacted climate science and data collection efforts in the United States. The administration has dismissed a large number of scientists working on the congressionally mandated National Climate Assessment and ended the public database tracking the cost of billion-dolla...

What is a WSR-88D radar and what does it do? The WSR-88D, or Weather Surveillance Doppler Radar, is an advanced radar system used by the National Weather Service (NWS) to detect weather phenomena. It transmits a powerful beam of energy and listens for the scattered energy that bounces back from objects in the atmosphere, such as raindrops, snowflakes, hail, dust, birds, and even insects. By analyz...