What does climate change have to do with snowstorms?

Winters are getting warmer, yet Bostonians were digging out from nearly 2 feet of snow from a historic blizzard in late January. Why is the Northeast seeing more big snowstorms like this?

Michael A. Rawlins, Associate Director, Climate System Research Center, UMass Amherst • conversation
Feb. 2, 2022 ~7 min

What is a bomb cyclone? An atmospheric scientist explains

The key ingredients for a storm to undergo bombogenesis are an unstable atmosphere, temperature differences and high-speed winds in the upper atmosphere.

Esther Mullens, Assistant Professor of Geography, University of Florida • conversation
Jan. 27, 2022 ~4 min


Methane in the atmosphere is at an all-time high – here's what it means for climate change

Recent estimates put atmospheric methane at 1,900 parts per billion – close to triple its pre-industrial average.

Euan Nisbet, Professor of Earth Sciences, Royal Holloway University of London • conversation
Jan. 26, 2022 ~8 min

Tonga eruption was so intense, it caused the atmosphere to ring like a bell

A phenomenon first theorized over 200 years ago is also a telltale sign of nuclear tests.

Kevin Hamilton, Emeritus Professor of Atmospheric Sciences, University of Hawaii • conversation
Jan. 23, 2022 ~8 min

How the Earth's tilt creates short, cold January days

The winter solstice is past, but bundle up – January is when winter really arrives in many parts of the Northern Hemisphere.

Deanna Hence, Assistant Professor of Atmospheric Sciences, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign • conversation
Jan. 10, 2022 ~8 min

Why the southern US is prone to December tornadoes

Tornadoes in December aren’t unusual in the Gulf Coast and lower Mississippi Valley states, but the Dec. 10-11 outbreak was extreme and far-reaching.

Kelsey Ellis, Associate Professor of Geography, University of Tennessee • conversation
Dec. 12, 2021 ~8 min

The most influential climate science paper of all time

A 1967 study by Nobel-winner Syukuro Manabe changed climate science forever

Piers Forster, Professor of Physical Climate Change; Director of the Priestley International Centre for Climate, University of Leeds • conversation
Oct. 7, 2021 ~5 min

Monsoons make deserts bloom in the US Southwest, but climate change is making these summer rainfalls more extreme and erratic

Monsoons are weather patterns that bring thunderstorms and heavy rains to hot, dry areas when warm, moist ocean air moves inland. They’re challenging to forecast, especially in a changing climate.

Christopher L. Castro, Professor of Hydrology and Atmospheric Sciences, University of Arizona • conversation
Oct. 1, 2021 ~9 min


Do the northern lights make sounds that you can hear?

Depending on who you ask, the northern lights may, very occasionally, sound like ‘rustling silk’ or ‘two planks meeting flat ways’.

Fiona Amery, PhD Candidate in History and Philosophy of Science, University of Cambridge • conversation
Sept. 16, 2021 ~8 min

How Arctic warming can trigger extreme cold waves like the Texas freeze – a new study makes the connection

Counter to what you might expect, events like the February cold wave that froze Texas can actually become more likely with global warming.

Judah Cohen, Climate scientist, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) • conversation
Sept. 2, 2021 ~8 min

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