Category: The Earth
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When to Expect the Warmest Day of the Year
During the summer months, most areas in the United States approach their highest temperatures for the year. To give you a better idea of the warmest time of year for your area, NCEI has created “Warmest Day of the Year” maps with the help of Climate.gov for the contiguous United States, Alaska, Hawaii, and Puerto Rico. The maps are derived from the 1991–2020 U.S.…
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What is a North American Monsoon? (video)
The North American monsoon, variously known as the Southwest monsoon, the Mexican monsoon, the New Mexican monsoon, or the Arizona monsoon, is a pattern of pronounced increase in thunderstorms and rainfall over large areas of the southwestern United States and northwestern Mexico, typically occurring between July and mid-September. During the monsoon, thunderstorms are fueled by daytime heating and build up during the late afternoon and…
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What is a Haboob?
A haboob (Arabic: هَبوب, romanized: habūb, lit. ’blasting/drifting’) is a type of intense dust storm carried on an atmospheric gravity current, also known as a weather front. Haboobs occur regularly in dry land area regions throughout the world. Like haboobs that occur in the Middle East, haboob occurrences in North America are often created by the collapse of a thunderstorm. This is a local or mesoscale event, and at…
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What is a Dust Devil? (video)
A dust devil is a strong, well-formed, and relatively short-lived whirlwind, ranging from small (half a metre wide and a few metres tall) to large (more than 10 m wide and more than 1 km tall). The primary vertical motion is upward. Dust devils are usually harmless, but can on rare occasions grow large enough to pose a threat…
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New “Destructive” Severe Thunderstorm Warning category to trigger Wireless Emergency Alerts on mobile phones
July 22, 2021 – Severe thunderstorms can be life-threatening, but not all severe storms are the same. Hazardous conditions range from tornadoes, large hail storms, and widespread straight-line winds called derechoes, to cloud-to-ground lightning and flash flooding. Starting August 2, the National Weather Service will better convey the severity and potential impacts from thunderstorm winds and…
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NASA Tracks Heat Wave Over US Southwest
While one science instrument mapped the dome of high pressure that settled over the southwestern U.S. in early July, another captured ground surface temperatures. Just weeks after the Pacific Northwest endured record-shattering temperatures, another heat wave scorched the U.S. Southwest. This heat wave, which started around July 7, tied or broke several all-time records…
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Sustainable Living: Can You Keep Up?
By Cali C. Rosewell Unless you are living inside a rock, everyone must be aware right now on the damages we have caused the Earth through the years. Good thing there are people who have taken the step towards sustainable living, which a lifestyle that reduces environmental impact. This kind of lifestyle is beneficial…
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Russian Forests Are Crucial To Global Climate Mitigation
Russia is the world’s largest forest country. Being home to more than a fifth of forests globally, the country’s forests and forestry have enormous potential to contribute to making a global impact in terms of climate mitigation. A new study by IIASA researchers, Russian experts, and other international colleagues have produced new estimates of biomass…
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What is Summer Solstice? (video)
The summer solstice, also known as estival solstice or midsummer, occurs when one of the Earth’s poles has its maximum tilt toward the Sun. It happens twice yearly, once in each hemisphere (Northern and Southern). For that hemisphere, the summer solstice is when the Sun reaches its highest position in the sky and is the day with the longest period of daylight. Within the…
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NASA-DLR Study Finds Sustainable Aviation Fuel Can Reduce Contrails
Cleaner-burning jet fuels made from sustainable sources can produce 50%-70% fewer ice crystal contrails at cruising altitude, reducing aviation’s impact on the environment, according to research conducted by NASA and the German Aerospace Center (DLR). Ice crystal contrail formations can linger in the upper atmosphere for hours and affect the way Earth is heated and cooled. They…