Articles tagged as Weather | Smithsonian Magazine

Satellite view of Hurricanes Iselle (left) and Julio (right) approaching Hawaii. From NASA's Aqua satellite

Hawaii doesn’t see direct hits from hurricanes very often

August 7, 2014

Two hurricanes, Iselle and Julio, that could hit Hawaii this weekend (seen here in a satellite image captured August 4) may have been influenced by an El Niño developing in the Pacific.

New Research

Ancient Clam Shells Show That What Drives El Niño Is Still Unclear

Earth’s path around the Sun may play a role, but other factors are still unknown

August 7, 2014

New Research

Without Oceans, Earth-Like Life Probably Can’t Evolve on Other Planets

It’s not all about the planet’s distance from its star, as researchers previously thought

July 22, 2014

Cool Finds

Revenge of the Polar(esque) Vortex

Questions remain as to whether the coming cold snap is a true polar vortex, but either way, the eastern U.S. is about to get much colder

July 14, 2014

In cities, where the urban heat island effect can raise the local temperature several degrees higher than nearby rural areas, summer is a time to cool off wherever you can.

New Research

Why the City Is (Usually) Hotter than the Countryside

The smoothness of the landscape and the local climate—not the materials of the concrete jungle—govern the urban heat island effect, a new study finds

July 9, 2014

Hurricane Arthur won’t be particularly strong, but a storm on Independence Day isn’t great news

July 2, 2014

Double, triple, quad and quintuple tornadoes are more common than you’d think

June 17, 2014

Residents walk near a destroyed house after a landslide in Teresopolis January 15, 2011.

Flooding in southeastern Brazil has killed at least nine

June 10, 2014

Hurricane Irene caused destruction throughout the Caribbean and along the U.S. East Coast, killing more than 50 people in late August 2011.

New Research

Our Gender Biases May Be Making Hurricanes With Female Names More Deadly

Even without Katrina and Audrey, storms with feminine monikers have killed more people than those with masculine names

June 2, 2014

A storm rated category 3 or higher hasn’t made landfall in the U.S. since 2005

June 2, 2014

A strong El Niño this year could mean we’re in for a real scorcher.

May 21, 2014

Cool Finds

Get Up Close And Personal With a Terrifying Supercell

Stormchasers in Wyoming captured footage of a beautiful supercell storm

May 20, 2014

View of ancient buildings in a sandstorm in Lanzhou city, northwest Chinas Gansu province, 24 April 2014

The event is one of the largest to hit China in years

April 25, 2014

Cool Finds

The Freezing Winter Forced New York’s Rats To a New Food Source: Trees

This past winter was particularly hard on the animals

April 24, 2014

As climate change makes wet places wetter and dry areas drier, the frequency of drought is expected in increase in certain locations. Droughts, such as this one in Kenya in 2006, can increase food insecurity, especially among the poor.

Anthropocene

Eight Ways That Climate Change Hurts Humans

From floods and droughts to increases in violent conflict, climate change is taking a toll on the planet’s population

April 10, 2014

Cool Finds

This Winter Was Hard on Animals, Too

As tough as it was on humans, it may have been even harder on the animals who don’t get to curl up in front of the fire

April 9, 2014

New Research

Crummy Weather Can Lead to Harsher Online Restaurant Reviews

Are you sure you didn’t like the food? Maybe it was just the weather…

April 3, 2014

New Research

Heat Increases the Risk of Early-Term Delivery

As temperatures rise, delivery rooms see a peak in early-term babies

April 2, 2014

A deep chill covered much of the eastern half of the United States this winter. Winds known as the polar vortex did not blow in as tight a formation as they have in the past. When they loosened, they let Arctic air spill south, seen by the blue in this picture. Atmospheric scientist Jennifer Francis says that this pattern can be blamed on Arctic warming.

Why We Can Blame A Warm Arctic For This Winter’s Icy Chill

Arctic amplification is affecting the jet stream and letting weather systems persist longer, atmospheric scientist says

February 21, 2014

Park Place, Brooklyn after the 1888 blizzard.

Cool Finds

It Wasn’t Always the City’s Job to Remove Snow

Even if everybody isn’t happy with the quality of snow removal, they should be pleased it’s not their responsibility

February 18, 2014