I hate to say it, but it is. A dry winter that’s on track to making the record books has sent portions of Texas, including Houston and Fort Worth, back into severe drought, raising concerns about wildfires and the health of wheat crops and tree farms. September and November could be the driest of those [...]
Posts Tagged ‘NOAA’
The drought is back
Bad news, y’all. The latest report from the U.S. Drought Monitor, released this morning, shows that more than three-quarters of Texas is now in at least a “moderate” drought, and nearly half the state is in a “severe” or worse drought. Now to be clear, conditions are still far better than 13 months ago, when [...]
Here comes El Niño
Our hurricane season could be short. The formation of Tropical Storm Debby last weekend in the Gulf of Mexico brought the tally of Atlantic storms to four this season, the earliest that’s ever happened. But despite the quick beginning, scientists say this season may have a much quicker end, with an El Niño system likely [...]
Still more drought may be coming
Just what you wanted to hear, right? There is at least the chance of some good news, however. The drought that has plagued Texas is virtually certain to continue at least until early summer, climate experts said on Tuesday at a conference in Fort Worth. But what happens after that is anyone’s guess. The main [...]
Time for the annual “We’re in for a busy hurricane season” forecast
And indeed, forecasters say we are in for another active year, as was the case last year. Here’s SciGuy with some discussion. [S]easonal forecasters did a pretty good job of calling last year’s extraordinarily active season. So while there’s no way we can say precisely where storms might make landfall this year, it’s a fairly [...]
Active hurricane season predicted
Hurricane season officially begins today, and it looks like it will be a busy one. As we have previously discussed, there’s ample reason to expect a very active hurricane season this year. And so it wasn’t too surprising this morning when the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the parent agency of the National Hurricane Center, [...]
More or stronger?
If we’re talking about hurricanes, neither sounds like an attractive choice. A new study with the most extensive computer modeling of storm activity to date suggests the overall number of Atlantic storms will fall 30 percent by century’s end, but the number of the strongest category 4 and 5 hurricanes will increase by 81 percent. [...]
Fish farming approved for the Gulf
Back in January, I noted that there was a proposal to allow a fish farm in the Gulf of Mexico. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) was asked for a ruling on it. On Thursday, the deadline for making such a ruling, the NOAA allowed it to happen by not ruling against it on [...]
Time to replace that portable TV
I don’t have a portable TV, so I hadn’t given the matter of their obsolescence due to the digital transition any thought, but if you have one, you ought to be aware of it. Though Americans were given four extra months to prepare for the nationwide switch from analog to digital signals, the conversion date [...]
“Near normal” hurricane season
Better than a highly active season, I guess. With the Atlantic hurricane season drawing near, the last of a growing number of storm prognosticators, Uncle Sam, chimed in Thursday with its predictions. Federal forecasters with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said there probably would be nine to 14 named storms this year, with four [...]
Measuring hurricanes
The venerable Saffir-Simpson scale for measuring hurricane strength is so simple to use, it’s not really adequate for the task of assessing risk and estimating damage. “If I could wave a wand and make it go away, I would,” said Bill Read, at the National Hurricane Conference in Austin on Friday. “It made sense in [...]
Fish farming in the Gulf?
Not sure what I think about this. Regional fishery managers have a plan to open the Gulf to the first industrial-scale fish farms in federal waters. The proposal — intended to help reduce the nation’s reliance on imported seafood — calls for raising millions of pounds of amberjack, red snapper and other Gulf species each [...]