NOAA News

Proposed Restrictions Building in Oregon’s Flood Plains

Building in flood zones is about to get harder across much of Oregon, due to new federal recommendations. The government published the recommendations, called a biological opinion, in response to a lawsuit from environmental groups. The Audubon Society of Portland, …

RIMS 2016: Sea Level Rise Will Be Worse and Come Sooner

Think sea level rise will be moderate and something we can all plan for? Think again. Sea levels could rise by much more than originally anticipated, and much faster, according to new data being collected by scientists studying the melting …

Reinsurance Group Head Puts Science in Climate Change Discussion

Asked for his thoughts on climate change, Frank Nutter expeditiously turned to science. His sphere of influence is far-ranging as president of the Reinsurance Association of America, a position he’s held since 1991. Nutter has addressed the topic of climate …

What Do Thanksgiving and Climate Change Have in Common?

You have to be either strange or bored to Google the phrase, “What do climate change and Thanksgiving have in common?” So I did. Believe it or not I got results, and found that there are at least two things …

El Nin᷈o Talk Growing Louder Amid Southern California Storms

A whopper of a winter appears to be brewing for the Western U.S. and more conversations are turning to preparations for what could be one of the strongest El Nin᷈os on record. Strong rains throughout much of California and snow …

Paper Fingers Climate Change for California Wildfires

There was a bit of hesitation from National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration scientist Stephanie C. Herring when she was asked questions about the increased risk and the implications of that risk for the insurance industry posed by climate change. Hesitation …

New U.S. Satellite Aims to Unlock Mysteries of Hurricanes

Hurricanes hold lots of secrets. Unlocking them can help forecasters predict the next steps the deadly storms will take. That, in turn, will help improve computer forecast models and give meteorologists a better understanding of each system. As the forecasting …

El Niño Forming in Pacific Is Turbocharged by Tropical Cyclones

The El Niño forming across the Pacific has been turbocharged by a series of tropical cyclones that helped to shift the direction of trade winds, potentially adding to warming that’s evoking parallels with the record 1997-98 event. Several cyclones, including …

NOAA Research Warns Global Warming Continues Unabated

The pace of global warming hasn’t slowed since 1998, a finding that contradicts a major United Nations study and challenges a key argument of skeptics of manmade climate change. Temperatures since 2000 have risen at a pace that is “virtually …

NOAA’s Hurricane Hunter Planes Get $42 million Upgrade

The hurricane planes known affectionately as “Miss Piggy” and “Kermit” are getting new Rolls-Royce engines, new wings and better radar. Every hurricane season for nearly four decades, the two technologically packed planes have flown into storms at speeds of up …