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In spite of the rising sea level along the coasts, people are moving there in droves. You might wonder why they are doing so, since the risks of damage from high tides and storms now is creeping up even faster than the ocean is. This article from Yale Climate Connections discusses why coastal development is…
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This past week, hurricane forecasters at Colorado State University released their preliminary forecast for the number of tropical storms and hurricanes expected to form in the Atlantic basin this season. They predict a total of 13 tropical storms will form, of which six will become hurricanes. A tropical storm becomes a hurricane when its sustained…
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The latest 7-day QPF map shows that relatively light rainfall will cover most of the region in the next week in advance of the next big storm to move through. There will be some showers in the next few days followed by dry conditions mid-week. Rain will start to move into the region by late…
Posted in: Climate outlooks -
Yesterday I posted a story about how quickly the next El Nino seems to be coming on. It looks from computer predictions that it is likely to be a moderate to strong one, so its impacts are more predictable than in a weak El Nino. Still, every one is unique and the impacts across the…
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The latest ENSO discussion was released by NOAA’s Climate Prediction Center today. It indicates that our neutral conditions are already swinging towards the next El Nino and that it may be present as soon as the May through July period. We need to keep in mind that spring forecasts are generally less accurate than forecasts…
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The latest Drought Monitor, released this morning, shows that overall the amount of drought in most of the region has decreased in response to rain this week. In Virginia, moderate drought expanded as they were largely missed by the heaviest rain. In Florida, the extreme drought decreased in area as more rain returned to the…
Posted in: Drought -
A recent study published in the Journal of Climate indicates that sea levels in the Gulf of Mexico are rising much faster in recent years than they have over the longer period. This has important implications for coastal communities because a more quickly rising sea level means more potential damage from hurricanes, more salt intrusion…