Extreme weather events like floods, hurricanes, atmospheric rivers, heat waves, and droughts are increasingly discussed in terms of the effects of climate change. Because complex systems have complex causes, it’s Keep reading
Tag: meteorology
Dust Storms
Hot, dry berg winds swept down from the Namibian highlands and sent these plumes of dust flying out to the Atlantic coast. Another plume — white instead of brown — Keep reading
Rolling Over Wisconsin
Although they may look sinister, roll clouds like this one are no tornado. These unusual clouds form near advancing cold fronts when downdrafts cause warm, moist air to rise, cool Keep reading
Clouds Down Under
This large and unusual cloud formation was captured one July morning over western Australia. Stretching over 1,000 kilometers, the clouds have interesting features at both the large and small scale. Keep reading
“Vorticity 5”
Photographer and stormchaser extraordinaire Mike Olbinski is back with the fifth volume in his “Vorticity” series. Shot over the 2022 and 2023 tornado seasons in the U.S. Central Plains, this Keep reading
How Squall Lines Form
Summertime in the middle U.S. means thunderstorms, many of which can form long lines of storms known as squall lines. Complex convective dynamics feed such storms. Here is an illustration Keep reading
“Níłtsą́”
Living in the central and western United States, it’s easy to dismiss summer weather as just another storm, but the truth is that this region sees some of the most Keep reading
Predicting Heat Waves
The United States, Europe, and Russia have all seen deadly, record-breaking heat waves in recent years, largely in areas that are ill-equipped for sustained high temperatures. A new paper presents Keep reading
Ominous Mammatus
Mammatus clouds are fairly unusual and often look quite dramatic. Most clouds have flat bottoms, caused by the specific height and temperature at which their droplets condense. But mammatus clouds Keep reading
Nacreous Clouds
Iridescent clouds shine bright over this Finnish sunset. These colorful clouds are nacreous clouds, also known as mother-of-pearl clouds. Formed from ice crystals during frigid conditions in the lower stratosphere, Keep reading