Latest news with #ColoradoStateUniversity
USA Today
14 hours ago
- Climate
- USA Today
National Hurricane Center watching another potential storm off Southeast coast
Signals strung out across the Atlantic Ocean indicate the 2025 hurricane season may be kicking into a more active gear in the days ahead, but a disturbance a little closer to the U.S. has drawn the attention of the National Hurricane Center. In a July 22 update, the hurricane center flagged a low pressure area off Northeast Florida that showed some chance of developing after it crosses over Florida into the Gulf of America, renamed from the Gulf of Mexico, later in the week. The system is forecast to move in a west-southwestward direction into the north-central Gulf where it may encounter conditions that could allow for some slow development if it remained far enough from shore, according to a hurricane center update from Philippe Papin, a hurricane specialist. Papin's forecast put the chances of development at only 10% over seven days, predicting the system is likely to move inland by the weekend. Either way it's likely to mean a few more days of heavy rain along the northern Gulf Coast, forecasters say. "Expect rain and storm chances to increase towards the end of the week as this disturbance moves in, though it's too early to say much with certainty beyond that," the National Weather Service office in Houston posted on its social media. In Lake Charles, Louisiana, the weather service noted the amount of moisture in the air is expected to surge to the maximum amount possible by the afternoon of July 24. Deja vu disturbance? If the hurricane center's tropical outlook map looks familiar, that's because a similar scenario has played out twice in recent weeks. On July 5, Tropical Storm Chantal formed from a low pressure area off the southeastern United States. Chantal went on to cause flooding in parts of North Carolina, and was blamed for at least six deaths. Then on July 12, the hurricane center started watching another potential low pressure area off the southeastern coast, which then slogged across the Florida peninsula with heavy rain on July 15 and then along the state's Panhandle. It remained disorganized and moved over southeastern Louisiana on July 17. Chantal was a little earlier than normal for the third named storm of the season, according to Phil Klotzbach, a research scientist and co-author of a seasonal outlook from Colorado State University. On average the third named storm of the Atlantic hurricane season forms on August 3. After all the seasonal outlooks predicting a busy season, it may seem like the 2025 season is off to a slow start, but hurricane experts don't expect things to stay quiet. Ocean temperatures are warming more than normally expected in an area of the Atlantic called the "main development region," called that because of its propensity to crank out some of the strongest storms, hurricane specialist Michael Lowry wrote in a July 22 post on his Substack blog. Sea surface temperatures have risen sharply in the region in July. Warmer seas can help fuel any potential storm systems that form in the region. How do hurricanes form? An inside look at the birth and power of ferocious storms Lowry credits the current warming in the Atlantic to a weakening of the Bermuda High, a pattern of high pressure that expands and shrinks over the western Atlantic and heavily influences hurricane movement. "After some of the strongest trade winds on record to start the year, and the strongest June trade winds since 1990," trade winds in July have been the weakest since at least 1979, wrote Lowry, a hurricane center veteran and now a specialist at WPLG 10 in Miami. Other signals including a periodic oscillation over the ocean that influences hurricane activity and a shift in the monsoon winds in North Africa also signal a potential increase in activity. Dinah Voyles Pulver covers climate change and the environment for USA TODAY. She's written about hurricanes, tornadoes and violent weather for more than 30 years. Reach her at dpulver@ or @dinahvp on Bluesky or X or dinahvp.77 on Signal.
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Health
- Yahoo
How to use heart rate zones on your smartwatch to smash your fitness goals, according to research
When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. For years, the gold standard for gauging workout intensity was often a simple "how you feel" metric. And while perceived exertion is still used by many exercisers and athletes today, it's a bit like navigating without GPS. On the other hand, your heart rate, and by extension heart rate zones, allow you to pinpoint exactly what your body is doing, every second of your run, cycle, or gym session. Heart rate training zones are a powerful, data-driven approach that can unlock new levels of fitness and efficiency in your workouts. Think of your heart rate as your body's internal speedometer – it adjusts constantly based on your effort level. Just as a car has different gears for different speeds, your heart beats at varying rates depending on the intensity of your exercise. Thanks to advances in wearable tech like the best smartwatches, best running watches, and dedicated heart rate monitors, tracking these zones has never been easier or more accurate. The five heart rate zones, from Zone 1 (warm-up and recovery) to Zone 5 (maximum effort intervals), each deliver their own specific benefits, which is why understanding them can significantly improve your fitness routine. Research from sports science experts at institutions like Colorado State University has shown that purposeful heart rate zone training allows you to tailor workouts to meet specific fitness goals. For example, lower intensity zones (1 and 2) burn a higher percentage of fat, while higher zones (4 and 5) develop efficiency and burn more overall calories in short bursts. Below, we break down each of these crucial heart rate zones and explain how to harness their power for your personal training goals. Zone 1 Used for: Warm-up, cool-down, active recovery Intensity: Very light to minimal effort Heart rate zone 1, or just 'Zone 1' usually appears as a blue or similarly cool-toned color on fitness trackers, and is generally around 50-60% of your maximum heart rate according to Polar. You can easily calculate your maximum heart rate (MHR) by subtracting your age from 220. Zone 1 is often underestimated in its importance, yet it's essential for warming up, cooling down, and promoting recovery between harder training sessions. Breathing remains light and you can comfortably hold a conversation during Zone 1 activities. It might be low in intensity, but this study showed that Zone 1 exercise boosts circulation and helps flush out metabolic byproducts, preparing your body for future efforts. Adding gentle Zone 1 activities such as walking, gentle cycling, or a relaxed swim into your routine can therefore help boost your overall fitness base. Zone 2 Used for: Aerobic base building, long endurance training Intensity: Light to moderate effort Zone 2, often represented by a green color on fitness trackers, typically falls between 60-70% of your MHR. It's often referred to as the 'fat-burning zone', but a more accurate term is the 'aerobic base zone', where the body becomes more efficient at using oxygen and fat for long-lasting energy production. When training in Zone 2, your breathing should still be comfortable enough to maintain a conversation, though perhaps with a slight effort. Think steady-state cardio like long, slow, easy runs, sustained cycling, or brisk walking – activities you can comfortably maintain for 30 minutes or more. Research indicates that regularly spending time in Zone 2 significantly strengthens your cardiovascular system, increasing your endurance and stamina over time. This is the cornerstone of building an aerobic base and will help you perform longer workouts without excessive fatigue. Athletes preparing for marathons or long-distance events often dedicate a large portion of their training to this zone. Zone 3 Used for: Aerobic fitness, tempo runs, steady-state efforts Intensity: Moderate-to-hard effort Zone 3 kicks in at 70-80% of your MHR, and you'll usually see this displayed as a yellow or orange hue on fitness trackers. This is often considered the "aerobic power" zone, where your workout starts to feel noticeably challenging but is still sustainable. You'll likely be breathing heavier here, making continuous conversation difficult, but you should still be able to speak in short sentences. Activities in Zone 3 could include brisk, sustained runs, harder cycling efforts, or intense group exercise classes. Some coaches refer to Zone 3 as a 'gray zone' because while it improves aerobic fitness, it may not deliver the most efficient gains compared to focused Zone 2 or Zone 4 training. Still, it plays a valuable role in building race pace and sustainable effort tolerance. It's where you start to push your comfort zone, preparing your body for faster paces and more demanding efforts. The result? You become more efficient at transporting oxygen to your muscles and clearing lactate, which in turn delays fatigue when exercising at higher intensities. Zone 4 Used for: Anaerobic threshold training, speed work Intensity: Hard effort Zone 4 is characterized by a heart rate between 80-90% of your maximum, often appearing as a red or orange indicator on fitness trackers. This is the "anaerobic threshold" zone, where your body starts switching from using oxygen efficiently to working without it. Your breathing will be deep and rapid as you work hard and push your limits, with activities like high-intensity interval training (HIIT) bursts, competitive running paces, or sustained climbs on a bike. Training in Zone 4 significantly improves your body's ability to tolerate and clear lactate, letting you push harder for longer. Integrating Zone 4 workouts is crucial for athletes aiming to improve their speed, power, and overall race performance. The challenging nature of these sessions means they should be interspersed with easier recovery days in order to avoid burnout: users of the best Garmin watches will be familiar with their watch's plunging Body Battery and Training Readiness scores following demanding Zone 4 sessions. However, workouts like these are hugely effective for breaking through plateaus and building serious fitness. Zone 5 Used for: Peak performance, VO2 max improvement Intensity: Maximal effort Zone 5 represents the absolute peak of your effort, when your heart rate pushes to 90-100% of its maximum. On fitness trackers, this zone is almost always indicated by a deep red or even purple color to signify its intensity. This is the "maximal effort" zone, where your body is operating at or near its VO2 max – the maximum amount of oxygen your body can utilize during intense exercise. Your breathing will be heavy, short, and labored, making conversation pretty much impossible. Activities in Zone 5 are brief, all-out bursts, such as very short sprints, maximal effort intervals, or the final push in a race. These sessions are designed to enhance your speed, power, and ability to perform at your best for short durations. Zone 5 is very taxing on the body and should be reached infrequently, typically for only a few minutes total per session. Sustained efforts in Zones 4 and 5, or interval workouts in which you're continually pushing into these higher zones, should always be followed by ample recovery time. You might also like... Fitbit down no longer: Here's what happened during Fitbit's "major outage" You don't need a fitness tracker for zone two training – just this free trick from Harry Styles' trainer The best heart rate monitors 2025
USA Today
12-07-2025
- Climate
- USA Today
Tropical trouble could be brewing around Florida, hurricane forecasters say
A broad area of low pressure could develop sometime within the next several days offshore of the southeastern U.S. coast. Another potential tropical disturbance popped up on the National Hurricane Center's tracking chart on Saturday, July 12. For those who watch every potential storm closely, this initial map looks a lot like the first one that popped up for Tropical Storm Chantal. The possible development area swoops from the Atlantic to the Gulf across much of Florida, but this time the system is moving toward the Gulf, and the advisory includes the southern shores of Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama. A broad area of low pressure could develop sometime within the next several days offshore of the southeastern U.S. coast, the hurricane center said on the afternoon of July 12. Environmental conditions could become "marginally conducive" for the gradual development of a system within five to seven days as it moves westward across Florida. The chances of development are low, only 20%. If for some reason, a tropical storm does develop, the next name on the list this season is Dexter. "Should development take place on the Atlantic side of Florida, it may once again drift northward toward the U.S. coast," Accuweather said on July 11. The more plausible option is development on the Gulf side, which could be steered westward along the northern Gulf Coast, the weather forecast company stated. Regardless of development, the area of disturbed weather is expected to be a rainmaker in the region. Heavy rain is possible over parts of Florida and the Southeast coast through mid-to-late week, the center stated in the July 12 advisory. Tropical weather watchers say windshear over the Caribbean and dry air and Saharan dust over the Atlantic have helped keep this hurricane season from getting too busy so far. Still Chantal's development put the 2025 hurricane season about a month ahead of schedule. Typically the third Atlantic named storm doesn't form until August 3, according to Phil Klotzbach, a research scientist at Colorado State University, who leads its seasonal outlooks for the Atlantic hurricane season each year. The season was forecast to see above normal activity, however the latest forecast from Klotzbach and his team slightly reduced the number of possible storms. What happened to Tropical Storm Chantal? Chantal formed off the Southeast U.S. coast on July 4, then moved over the Carolinas. Heavy rains flooded parts of North Carolina, claiming six lives. Chantal victims: At least six deaths were reported in flooding in North Carolina The Haw River crested at 32.5 feet, only a third of a foot away from its all-time high, set after Hurricane Fran in 1996, according to the weather service office in Raleigh. Chantal also spawned four EF-1 tornadoes in North Carolina, one each in Mebane, Snow Camp, southern Pittsboro and at the Raleigh Executive Jetport. The highest rainfall totals were reported in Chatham County, where 11.92 inches were reported in Moncure and Pittsboro, where the weather service collected five other rainfall reports of between 10 and 11.5 inches. Dinah Voyles Pulver, a national correspondent for USA TODAY, writes about climate change, violent weather and other news. Reach her at dpulver@ or @dinahvp on Bluesky or X or dinahvp.77 on Signal.
Yahoo
12-07-2025
- Climate
- Yahoo
Hurricane center eyes potential system to form near Florida
The National Hurricane Center began forecasting Saturday a system to form later this week near Florida with a chance to develop into the season's next tropical depression or storm. In its 2 p.m. tropical outlook, the NHC said it expects a broad area of low pressure to form over the next several days offshore of the southeastern U.S. coast. 'Environmental conditions could become marginally conducive for the gradual development of this system by mid to late next week as the system moves generally westward across the Florida peninsula and over the eastern and north-central portion of the Gulf,' forecasters said, Whether it develops or not, the NHC said heavy rainfall is possible over portions of Florida and the southeast U.S. coast beginning midweek. The NHC gave it a 20% chance to develop in the next seven days. If it were to spin up into a named storm, it could develop into Tropical Storm Dexter. The state was previously doused by rains associated with what developed into Tropical Storm Chantal earlier this month. That storm ended up striking the Carolina coast and dumped flooding rains inland. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration had before the start of hurricane season forecast an expected 13 to 19 named storms for the year, of which 6-10 would grow into hurricanes. Three to five of those would develop into major hurricanes of Category 3 strength or higher. Researchers out of Colorado State University this week, though, updated their forecast for the year saying they expect the season to be slightly less busy than what they had predicted earlier this year. Hurricane season runs June 1-Nov. 30.
Politico
11-07-2025
- Politics
- Politico
The Colorado River's top climate expert is worried
With help from Alex Nieves, Mike Lee, Marc Heller and Miranda Willson INCONVENIENT SCIENCE: President Donald Trump may be erasing the words 'climate change' from federal websites and moving to shut down climate science programs, but he can't ignore the problems climate change is causing along the Colorado River. With current rules governing how states split the river's water for farming and drinking set to expire at the end of next year and states at loggerheads over new ones, the West's most important waterway is handing the Trump administration its first climate crisis as its levels have reached critical lows. No one knows that better than Brad Udall, a senior water and climate research scientist at Colorado State University's Colorado Water Institute. Udall has studied the Colorado River for three decades and made it his mission to explain the science in a way that works for policymakers. (The name might ring a bell: His father was Mo Udall, the Arizona congressman and Democratic presidential candidate who lost the 1976 primary to Jimmy Carter. His brother is former Colorado Sen. Mark Udall, former New Mexico Sen. Tom Udall is his cousin, and his uncle, Stewart Udall, was John F. Kennedy's Interior secretary.) 'It's hard to describe just how bad this is,' Udall said of the trajectory for the Colorado River, which supplies 40 million people, including nearly half of Californians and the agricultural engine of the Imperial Valley. Already the river has shrunk 20 percent since 2000 as temperatures have risen. After more than a year of cross-border verbal sparring and threats of litigation, the involved states, which include California, Colorado, Arizona and others, are now contemplating a new approach that would tie water deliveries to the amount of water actually flowing down the river. It's a framework that could be more adaptable to climate change, but negotiators have yet to resolve the biggest sticking points, including just how deeply the states will agree to cut their usage. Udall spoke with POLITICO about how bad things could get along the Colorado River, whether the states and federal government are preparing for worst-case possibilities, and what Trump's assault on scientific work means for efforts to keep the taps running. This interview has been edited for length and clarity. Just how dire is the climate situation along the Colorado River? I use the term, 'beyond awful.' This year we had pretty good snowpack, almost 95 percent of normal snowpack, and we're going to get 45 percent of normal runoff out of that snowpack, which is stunning. With respect to temperature, we know if it warms, all forms of evaporation increase, and we put that decrease at about 10 percent of the flow for every degree Celsius that warms. It's far more challenging to figure out what's going on with precipitation. What's been disturbing in the basin is we have seen modest precipitation declines, especially in summertime, that seemed to translate into large reductions in flow the following year because of reduced soil moisture that serves as a buffer from one year to the next. Basically, if it's dry in the summer, the soils dry out and the next spring, when the snow pack goes to melt, instead of that water flowing over land into rivers and creeks, as it did historically, it now goes to recharging the decimated soil moisture from the previous year. So what does this all mean for overall flows? We have seen a 20 percent reduction in flows over the first 26 years of this century, and at least half of that — and potentially the whole amount — is due to human-caused climate change. If you want to be really pessimistic, we could double that. We could see a 40 percent reduction in flow by 2050, which is about a 10 million acre-foot per year average [as compared with the 16.5 million acre-feet that were promised to states and Mexico under current compacts and treaties.] So put that in the context of the negotiations right now. Are the states and the federal government contemplating the full range of climate scenarios that you think the science demands? The two initial proposals — one out of the Upper Basin [states of Colorado, Utah, Wyoming and New Mexico] and one out of the Lower Basin [states of California, Arizona and Nevada] — contemplated up to 4 million acre-feet of reductions. And that's close. But it's such a closed process, so nobody knows what exactly is going on. There's been a long history of states doing deals and then having to come back every few years for another round of negotiations when there's another crisis. How do you think the Trump administration's stance on climate change will affect how states craft rules that would hold up in doomsday scenarios? Back during work on the 2007 agreement [for the current rules governing the Colorado River], Reclamation pulled together six different climate scientists to put together an appendix to the environmental impact statement which talked about the climate challenges in the basin. To my knowledge that was the first time a major EIS incorporated climate science, and that was under a Republican — the Bush administration. There are really conservative states in the basin, both Wyoming and Utah. Even though people maybe can't mention the climate change word, they see what's going on here. It's impossible to deny what's happened in this space — it's happening in front of our eyes. So maybe that constrains future reductions that I'd like to see people plan for. But there's no pretending that we're going back, that we're going to see 15 million acre-feet. What else should be on people's radar right now? I worry about the administration's complete anti-science bent. Cuts to NOAA, cuts to the USGS, cuts to Reclamation on, frankly, very important science that is our eyeglasses to the future. — AS Did someone forward you this newsletter? Sign up here! BUCKLE UP: Get ready for a jam-packed week of energy policy debate in the Capitol, including the first hearing for a sweeping bill to overhaul gas regulations. Lawmakers will hear SB 237, a proposal backed by Senate Pro Tem Mike McGuire, for the first time on Wednesday in the Assembly Utilities and Energy Committee. That bill lost its most controversial provision — a proposed cap on low-carbon fuel standard credits — last night after Senate Democrats nixed the concept in the face of opposition from state officials, fuel producers and environmental groups. But it could still make major changes, like transitioning California away from its unique, lower-emission gasoline blend to a West-wide standard in an effort to stop supply shortages. Both chambers will also hear their representative cap-and-trade reauthorization proposals in the Assembly Natural Resources and Senate Environmental Quality committees. Negotiations over the future of the program remain a work in progress, but the hearings should offer an opportunity for both sides to lay out their top priorities. Also on the schedule: Assemblymember Cottie Petrie-Norris and Sen. Josh Becker, chairs of each chamber's energy and utility committee, will hear each other's energy affordability bills. And Becker's SB 540, a bid to move California towards a Western regional energy market, is also up in Assembly Utilities and Energy. — AN DON'T HOLD YOUR BREATH: California shouldn't count on the Trump administration to help fight wildfires this year. Forest Service Chief Tom Schultz told lawmakers during a congressional committee hearing Thursday that he doesn't know how much, if any, financial assistance the agency can provide communities to defend against wildfires for the remainder of the year, Marc Heller reports for POLITICO's E&E News. Schultz defended the administration's current and proposed cuts to programs that assist local fire departments, saying that they haven't told these departments that they wouldn't receive support. 'We're saying we're still in discussions on that,' he told lawmakers. Schultz said the Forest Service announcements about what local grants will be dispersed are coming 'probably within the next couple of weeks,' ahead of an Aug. 15 deadline. That response drew a rebuke from California Sen. Alex Padilla, who said it should be a 'big red flag for all of us.' 'We're a month out, and you're still finalizing the numbers?' he said. — AN CLEAN IT UP: Congressional Democrats are putting more pressure on the EPA to clean up sewage flowing through the Tijuana River into San Diego. Padilla, California Sen. Adam Schiff and New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker introduced a bill Thursday directing EPA to develop a new water management program for the San Diego-Mexico border. That would be similar to existing programs for the Chesapeake Bay, Great Lakes and other aquatic ecosystems to encourage restoration and local partnerships, Miranda Willson reports for POLITICO's E&E News. Billions of gallons of raw sewage have flown through the Tijuana River Valley and into the ocean in recent years, while the slow pace of major infrastructure upgrades at the South Bay International Wastewater Treatment Plant — funded through the 2018 U.S.-Mexico trade agreement — has sparked bipartisan frustration. EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin visited San Diego in April to negotiate with Mexican officials over steps for repairing and upgrading the international sewage treatment plant. HEATING UP: California's budget crunch is cutting into the state's plan to reduce heat deaths in its prison system. The state budget passed last month included a $6 million cut to an 'air cooling pilot program' the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation plans to launch, a fourth of the $23.6 million the agency has requested in the wake of a death at a state women's prison, Mike Lee reports for POLITICO's E&E News. California has the second-largest state prison system in the country, with about 94,000 people behind bars. About a fourth of its beds lack air conditioning, according to CDCR. The cut comes as states around the country are scrambling to adapt as climate change warms the planet. In Texas, which has the country's largest prison population, a federal judge has called the conditions 'plainly unconstitutional.' Inmates in Florida have sued over hot conditions. — AN — Cal Fire's new AI chatbot can't accurately describe wildfire containment or reliably provide information like evacuation supplies and evacuation orders. — Tesla hasn't applied for permits to operate robotaxis in California, despite Elon Musk's claim that the company will expand to the Bay Area in two months. — California isn't going to get a break from a brutal heatwave blanketing the West going into the weekend.
