Latest news with #NationalOceanicandAtmosphericAssociation
Yomiuri Shimbun
3 days ago
- Climate
- Yomiuri Shimbun
Gulf Coast Braces for Flooding as Storm System Builds into Possible Tropical Depression
The weather system moving across the Florida Panhandle on Wednesday was showing a greater chance of becoming a tropical depression as it moves toward the northern Gulf Coast, according to the National Hurricane Center. The system has a 40% chance of becoming a tropical depression as it moves west over the Gulf toward southeastern Louisiana on Thursday, the federal agency said. The severity of its impact will depend on how far it travels offshore, where conditions are ripe for a tropical depression, before reaching Louisiana. The tropical weather will affect Alabama and Mississippi as well. Regardless of whether the system intensifies, heavy downpours could cause flooding, officials warned. New Orleans is bracing for 3 to 5 inches (8 to 13 centimeters) of rain through Saturday, but some areas could see as much as 10 inches (25 centimeters), especially near the coast, the National Weather Service said. 'While a tropical depression cannot be ruled out near the coast on Thursday, the main focus remains the heavy rain threat,' the agency wrote on X. Volunteers and local elected officials played music as they shoveled sand into bags to hand out to residents in New Orleans on Wednesday morning at the Dryades YMCA. 'My street flooded just the other day when we got a little bit of rain and so I want to just make sure that I'm proactive,' New Orleans resident Alex Trapps said as he drove away with sandbags in his car. The looming threat in the southeast comes on the heels of a series of lethal floods this summer. On Monday, flash floods inundated New York City and parts of New Jersey, claiming two lives. And at least 132 people were killed in floodwaters that overwhelmed Texas Hill Country on the Fourth of July. The system percolating over Florida will be called Dexter if it becomes a named storm. Six weeks into the Atlantic hurricane season, which runs from June 1 to Nov. 30, there have been three named tropical storms — Andrea, Barry and Chantal — but no hurricanes. Chantal made landfall in South Carolina last week, and its remnants caused flooding in North Carolina that killed an 83-year-old woman when her car was swept off a rural road. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association said in May there was a 60% chance that there will be more named storms this hurricane season than there have been in past years on average. The currently developing weather system is expected to move fully inland by the end of the week. Southern Louisiana — a region all too familiar with the potentially devastating impacts of flooding — is expected to be hit hardest Thursday and beyond. Erika Mann, CEO of the Dryades YMCA, said that local elected officials managed to organize the storm supply distribution within a day after the threat intensified. 'We open our doors and help the community when the community is in need,' Mann said. Some residents who came to get supplies 'jumped out of their cars and they helped. And it just represents what New Orleans is about. We come together in crisis,' Mann said.
Chicago Tribune
3 days ago
- Climate
- Chicago Tribune
Gulf Coast braces for flooding as storm system builds into possible tropical depression
The weather system moving across the Florida Panhandle on Wednesday was showing a greater chance of becoming a tropical depression as it moves toward the northern Gulf Coast, according to the National Hurricane Center. The system has a 40% chance of becoming a tropical depression as it moves west over the Gulf toward southeastern Louisiana on Thursday, the federal agency said. The severity of its impact will depend on how far it travels offshore, where conditions are ripe for a tropical depression, before reaching Louisiana. The tropical weather will affect Alabama and Mississippi as well. Regardless of whether the system intensifies, heavy downpours could cause flooding, officials warned. New Orleans is bracing for 3 to 5 inches (8 to 13 centimeters) of rain through Saturday, but some areas could see as much as 10 inches (25 centimeters), especially near the coast, the National Weather Service said. 'While a tropical depression cannot be ruled out near the coast on Thursday, the main focus remains the heavy rain threat,' the agency wrote on X. Volunteers and local elected officials played music as they shoveled sand into bags to hand out to residents in New Orleans on Wednesday morning at the Dryades YMCA. 'My street flooded just the other day when we got a little bit of rain and so I want to just make sure that I'm proactive,' New Orleans resident Alex Trapps said as he drove away with sandbags in his car. The looming threat in the southeast comes on the heels of a series of lethal floods this summer. On Monday, flash floods inundated New York City and parts of New Jersey, claiming two lives. And at least 132 people were killed in floodwaters that overwhelmed Texas Hill Country on the Fourth of July. The system percolating over Florida will be called Dexter if it becomes a named storm. Six weeks into the Atlantic hurricane season, which runs from June 1 to Nov. 30, there have been three named tropical storms — Andrea, Barry and Chantal — but no hurricanes. Chantal made landfall in South Carolina last week, and its remnants caused flooding in North Carolina that killed an 83-year-old woman when her car was swept off a rural road. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association said in May there was a 60% chance that there will be more named storms this hurricane season than there have been in past years on average. The currently developing weather system is expected to move fully inland by the end of the week. Southern Louisiana — a region all too familiar with the potentially devastating impacts of flooding — is expected to be hit hardest Thursday and beyond. Erika Mann, CEO of the Dryades YMCA, said that local elected officials managed to organize the storm supply distribution within a day after the threat intensified. 'We open our doors and help the community when the community is in need,' Mann said. Some residents who came to get supplies 'jumped out of their cars and they helped. And it just represents what New Orleans is about. We come together in crisis,' Mann said.
3 days ago
- Climate
Gulf coast braces for flooding as storm system builds into possible tropical depression
The tropical weather system moving across the Florida Panhandle on Wednesday was showing a greater chance of becoming a tropical depression as it moves toward the northern Gulf Coast, according to the National Hurricane Center. The weather system has a 40% chance of becoming a tropical depression as it moves west toward southeastern Louisiana on Thursday, the federal agency said. The tropical weather will affect Alabama and Mississippi as well. Regardless of whether the system worsens, heavy downpours could cause flooding, officials warned. New Orleans is bracing for three to five inches of rain through Saturday, but some localized areas could see more than eight to 10 inches, especially near the coast, the National Weather Service said. 'While a tropical depression cannot be ruled out near the coast on Thursday, the main focus remains the heavy rain threat,' the agency wrote on X. The looming threat in the southeast comes on the heels of a series of lethal floods this summer. On Monday, flash floods inundated New York City and parts of New Jersey, claiming two lives. And at least 132 people were killed in floodwaters that overwhelmed Texas Hill Country on the Fourth of July. The current system percolating over Florida would be called Tropical Storm Dexter if it becomes a named storm. Just six weeks into the Atlantic hurricane season, which runs from June 1 to Nov. 30, there have been three named storms: Andrea, Barry and Chantal. Dexter would be the fourth if it develops that way. Chantal made landfall in South Carolina last week, and its remnants caused flooding in North Carolina that killed an 83-year-old woman when her car was swept off a rural road. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association said there was a 60% chance that there will be more named storms this hurricane season than there have been in past years on average. The currently developing weather system is expected to move fully inland by the end of the week. ____
Winnipeg Free Press
3 days ago
- Climate
- Winnipeg Free Press
Gulf coast braces for flooding as storm system builds into possible tropical depression
The tropical weather system moving across the Florida Panhandle on Wednesday was showing a greater chance of becoming a tropical depression as it moves toward the northern Gulf Coast, according to the National Hurricane Center. The weather system has a 40% chance of becoming a tropical depression as it moves west toward southeastern Louisiana on Thursday, the federal agency said. The tropical weather will affect Alabama and Mississippi as well. Regardless of whether the system worsens, heavy downpours could cause flooding, officials warned. New Orleans is bracing for three to five inches of rain through Saturday, but some localized areas could see more than eight to 10 inches, especially near the coast, the National Weather Service said. 'While a tropical depression cannot be ruled out near the coast on Thursday, the main focus remains the heavy rain threat,' the agency wrote on X. The looming threat in the southeast comes on the heels of a series of lethal floods this summer. On Monday, flash floods inundated New York City and parts of New Jersey, claiming two lives. And at least 132 people were killed in floodwaters that overwhelmed Texas Hill Country on the Fourth of July. The current system percolating over Florida would be called Tropical Storm Dexter if it becomes a named storm. Just six weeks into the Atlantic hurricane season, which runs from June 1 to Nov. 30, there have been three named storms: Andrea, Barry and Chantal. Dexter would be the fourth if it develops that way. Chantal made landfall in South Carolina last week, and its remnants caused flooding in North Carolina that killed an 83-year-old woman when her car was swept off a rural road. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association said there was a 60% chance that there will be more named storms this hurricane season than there have been in past years on average. The currently developing weather system is expected to move fully inland by the end of the week. ____ Riddle is a corps member for The Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues.
Sydney Morning Herald
01-07-2025
- Science
- Sydney Morning Herald
Trump cuts satellite data on Antarctic sea ice just as it's needed most
The US decision is part of what has been widely described as an assault on climate science by the Trump administration. It also affects other work by NASA and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association, including hurricane forecasting, as reported by The Guardian US. This masthead sent questions to the US embassy in Australia and the Pentagon, but did not receive a response by deadline. One important dataset under threat is the Sea Ice Index, which has continuous readings back to the late 1970s. It shows that until about 2015, sea ice was around average, or even a bit above average, but since 2016 it has been consistently low. Doddridge said the satellites were past their mission life but remained operational, suggesting the data would still exist but not be shared for scientific work, forcing scientists to use sources with less reliability and continuity such as Japanese or Chinese satellites. 'We won't lose complete access to sea ice data,' Doddridge said. 'What we will lose is a long-term record of well-calibrated, interoperable satellite sensors. What that means is that we won't be able to compare future extremes with past extremes anywhere near as accurately.' The impacts of extremely low sea ice in Antarctica The PNAS Nexus paper canvasses a wide range of impacts from extremely low sea ice, from ecological harm to feedback loops for global warming. Emperor penguins needed landfast sea ice for breeding platforms, Doddridge said, while Adelie penguins relied on sea ice to stay dry while they underwent a 'catastrophic moult', in which they replace all their feathers over a few weeks and temporarily lose their waterproofing. Crabeater seals give birth to their pups on large ice floes and need to stay with them for the two to three weeks between birth and weaning, but are vulnerable to predators such as leopard seals if the ice floes become smaller or harder to find. The paper also raises the spectre that low sea ice could affect the population of Antarctic krill, small crustaceans that are a main food source for a number of whale species, and which need sea ice in the larval stage. Loading Perhaps the biggest impact of low sea ice is the feedback effect it could have on the destruction of the ice shelf – the part of the ice sheet of compacted snow that sits on the ocean rather than over rock – through iceberg formation or melting, and the corresponding effect on sea level rises. Dr Sue Cook, a glaciologist and co-author on the PNAS Nexus paper, said sea ice suppressed ocean swells and waves close to the ice shelf. If the ice shelf was directly exposed to swell, it would start to bend and crack and might disintegrate into icebergs that then disperse out into the open ocean, Cook said. 'In the 15-year record that we looked at, the years with the least summer sea ice produced more than twice as many icebergs as the years with the most summer sea ice,' Cook said. 'This link between iceberg production and sea ice presence isn't something that we include in any of our ice sheet models at the moment, and that means that we might be underpredicting how quickly the Antarctic margin will retreat as sea ice dwindles around the continent.' She added that most models were based on 15 to 20 years of data, which included long periods of good sea ice coverage. 'If we shift to this state where summer sea ice is very low, but we continue using models based on the previous period, then we will definitely underestimate how quickly Antarctica will contribute to sea level rise,' she said. Dr Will Hobbs, a sea ice scientist with AAPP and co-author of the paper, said one of the most important roles of sea ice was the albedo effect, in which it essentially acts as a sunshade in summer. This works because snow-covered ice reflects about 90 per cent of the sunlight back into space, whereas the darker water of the open ocean absorbs 90 per cent of the sunlight, and warms accordingly. Hobbs said that historically in the Southern Ocean, the system always resets in the midwinter, but the researchers found that in a year of extremely low ice, such as 2016, it would affect the next summer and take about three years to fully recover. Hobbs said statistical analysis using reconstructions of the last century suggested there was a 0.1 per cent chance that the low sea ice trend was part of natural variability.
