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Weather

The tiny mosquito can be a big summer nuisance.

Why Some Summers Are So Appealing For Mosquitoes

…and so unbearable for you

Researchers examined 400 photographs and 100 paintings dating between 1500 and 2015

Art Meets Science

Why Artists Have so Much Trouble Painting Lightning

A new study compares painted versus photographed depictions of lightning bolts’ offshooting branches

An illustration of lightning on Jupiter's northern hemisphere, using an image from the JunoCam.

New Research

Jupiter’s Lightning Is More Earth-Like Than We Thought

Juno is providing scientists with new insights into the gas giant’s flashes of light

How Bad Weather Delayed the Norman Invasion of England

It’s 1066 and William of Normandy and his massive army of 14,000 men are preparing to cross the English Channel and invade England

Calmer seas in this 2015 picture of an albatross flying toward Campbell Island.

Record-Breaking Wave Reaches Height of 78.1 Feet

A buoy recorded the wave in the Southern Ocean last week

Trending Today

Pakistan’s Searing April Temperatures Set New Global Record

On Monday, the city of Nawabshah reached 122.4 degrees Fahrenheit, causing heatstroke, power outages and general misery

New Research

Ocean Current That Keeps Europe Warm Is Weakening

Two new studies show the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation has decreased 15 to 20 percent over the last 150 years

Guy Satat, a graduate student in the MIT Media Lab, at the fog machine

This New System Can See Through Fog Far Better Than Humans

Developed by MIT researchers, the technology could be a boon for drivers and driverless cars

Chilling Out in Hot Springs May Help Japan’s Snow Monkeys Reduce Stress

A new study found that bathing in the springs is linked to lower levels of a metabolite associated with stress

The tornado that touched down near El Reno, Oklahoma plowed through the region. The violent winds and subsequent floods injured 155 and killed 20 people, including the first known storm chasers to die in the twister's swirling path.

How a Legendary Storm Chaser Changed the Face of Tornado Science

In 2013, Tim Samaras died in one of the epic storms he’d spent decades chasing. A new book chronicles his harrowing last days

Orange snow dusted eastern Europe thanks to sands from Sahara

Why Orange Snow Fell Over Eastern Europe

It had to do with storms in North Africa

The wreckage of a Southern Airways DC-9 sits in the front yard of a home facing the road that the plane attempted an emergency landing on in New Hope, Ga., April 5, 1977. The pilot's attempt to save himself and his passengers occurred after the plane's engines failed during a heavy thunderstorm.

What Happened When a Southern Airways Flight 242 Crashed in Sadie Burkhalter’s Front Yard

Her home became a makeshift hospital when she looked out her front door to a fiery inferno

Cool Finds

Nearly 9-Hour Rainbow in Taiwan Sets New Guinness Record

Last November, researchers recorded more than 10,000 photos and videos documenting the long-lasting weather phenomenon

The eight cyclones orbiting Jupiter's north pole.

New Research

New Juno Data Gives Unprecedented Glimpse Beneath Jupiter’s Stormy Shell

The massive planet’s storm go much deeper than previously suspected and its interior rotates nearly as a solid mass

Storm Emma has caused one of the UK's largest mass strandings of sea critters along the North Sea coast.

Tens of Thousands of Sea Creatures Wash Up on UK Shores Following Freezing Weather

Piles of starfish, crab, mussels and lobsters collected along the North Sea coast

Images created by NASA with satellite data helped the U.S. Department of Agriculture analyze outbreak patterns for southern pine beetles in Alabama, in spring 2016.

Can Scientists Forecast Algal Blooms and Pest Outbreaks Like We Do the Weather?

With big data, ecologists have the ability to predict short-term ecological phenomena over the span of days and seasons rather than decades

This World Heritage Site in Japan Is One of the Snowiest Places on the Planet

And you thought Boston got a lot of snow

An oyster-dominated anti-erosion structure in Texas

As Storms Get Bigger, Oyster Reefs Can Help Protect Shorelines

Municipalities and military bases are using the bivalve to defend against flooding and damage from climate change-driven storms

An African lion enjoying an afternoon snack in the falling snow of 2012 at the National Zoo.

How Zoo Animals Stay Safe and Warm in the Arctic Blast

From flamingo ‘hot tubs’ to heated termite mounds, zoos have plenty of tricks to keep creatures safe when the forecast freezes over

The 2007 midwinter solstice illumination of the main altar tabernacle of Old Mission San Juan Bautista, California.

How the Sun Illuminates Spanish Missions On the Winter Solstice

Today, the rising sun shines on altars and other religious objects at many Spanish churches in the U.S. and Latin America

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