Severe Weather News

June 13, 2025

Top Headlines

Something More Toxic Than Gators Is Hiding in the Swamps

June 12, 2025 — Mercury contamination is surfacing as a serious concern in parts of Georgia and South Carolina, particularly in regions like the Okefenokee Swamp. University of Georgia researchers found alarmingly high levels of the neurotoxic metal in alligators, ...

Extreme Weather Is Wiping out amphibians—Here’s Where It’s Worst

June 6, 2025 — Frogs, salamanders, and other amphibians are not just battling habitat loss and pollution they're now also contending with increasingly brutal heat waves and droughts. A sweeping 40-year study shows a direct link between the rise in extreme weather ...

First Direct Observation of the Trapped Waves That Shook the World in 2023

June 3, 2025 — A new study has finally confirmed the theory that the cause of extraordinary global tremors in September -- October 2023 was indeed two mega tsunamis in Greenland that became trapped standing waves. Using a brand-new type of satellite altimetry, the ...

Coastal Flooding More Frequent Than Previously Thought

June 2, 2025 — Flooding in coastal communities is happening far more often than previously thought, according to a new study. The study also found major flaws with the widely used approach of using marine water level data to capture instances of ...

Researchers Use Deep Learning to Predict Flooding This Hurricane Season

June 2, 2025 — Researchers have developed a deep learning model called LSTM-SAM that predicts extreme water levels from tropical cyclones more efficiently and accurately, especially in data-scarce coastal regions, to offer a faster, low-cost tool for flood ...

Human-Caused Dust Events Are Linked to Fallow Farmland

June 2, 2025 — California Central Valley, which is known for the agriculture that produces much of the nation's fruits, vegetables and nuts, is a major contributor to a growing dust problem that has profound implications for people's health, safety and ...

Small Currents, Big Impact: Satellite Breakthrough Reveals Hidden Ocean Forces

May 30, 2025 — While scientists have long studied currents of large eddies, the smaller ones -- called submesoscale eddies -- are notoriously difficult to detect. These currents, which range from several kilometers ...

2021's Hurricane Ida Could Have Been Even Worse for NYC

May 29, 2025 — Hurricane Ida wreaked an estimated $75 billion in total damages and was responsible for 112 fatalities -- including 32 in New Jersey and 16 in New York state. Yet the hurricane could have been even worse in the Big Apple, find ...

When Climate Disasters Hit, They Often Leave Long-Term Health Care Access Shortages

May 29, 2025 — Immediate recovery efforts receive the most attention after severe natural disasters, yet new data from researchers at Drexel University and the University of Maryland suggests these climate events ...

When Lightning Strikes: Gamma-Ray Burst Unleashed by Lightning Collision

May 21, 2025 — A multi-sensor detection of an intense gamma-ray flash, which occurs when two lightning leaders collided, has been observed. Observations across a wide radiation spectrum enabled precise measurement of the electric current produced during this ...

Atlantic Ocean Current Unlikely to Collapse With Climate Change

May 29, 2025 — Researchers created a detailed physical model that suggests a major Atlantic Ocean current will weaken far less under climate change than indicated by more extreme climate model ...

Electric Buses Struggle in the Cold, Researchers Find

May 28, 2025 — Researchers have released new insights on a pilot program involving all-electric buses in Ithaca, NY, USA -- with implications for cities, schools and other groups that are considering the electrification of their fleets, as well as operators, ...

Latest Headlines

updated 1:24pm EDT

New Study Analyzes Air Quality Impacts of Wildfire Smoke

May 27, 2025 — With wildfires increasing in frequency, severity, and size in the Western U.S., researchers are determined to better understand how smoke impacts air quality, public health, and even the weather. As ...

When the Sea Moves Inland: A Global Climate Wake-Up Call from Bangladesh's Delta

May 23, 2025 — As sea levels climb and weather grows more extreme, coastal regions everywhere are facing a creeping threat: salt. Salinization of freshwater and ...

El Niño and La Niña Climate Swings Threaten Mangroves Worldwide

May 23, 2025 — New international research demonstrates global-scale patterns in how El Ni o-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) influences mangrove growth and degradation. Previously, impacts had only been documented at ...

Breakthrough AI Model Could Transform How We Prepare for Natural Disasters

May 22, 2025 — From deadly floods in Europe to intensifying tropical cyclones around the world, the climate crisis has made timely and precise forecasting more essential than ever. Yet traditional forecasting ...

May 21, 2025 — Hurricane winds are a major contributor to storm-related losses for people living in the southeastern coastal states. As the global temperature ...

AI Is Good at Weather Forecasting. Can It Predict Freak Weather Events?

May 22, 2025 — Scientists found that neural networks cannot yet forecast 'gray swan' weather events, which might not appear in existing training data but could still happen -- like 200-year floods or massive ...

Clouding the Forecast: Study Reveals Why So Many Climate Models Are Wrong About the Rate of Arctic Warming

May 20, 2025 — The Arctic is one of the coldest places on Earth, but in recent decades, the region has been rapidly warming, at a rate three to four times faster ...

First-of-Its-Kind Global Study Shows Grasslands Can Withstand Climate Extremes With a Boost of Nutrients

May 19, 2025 — Fertilizer might be stronger than we thought. A new international study found that fertilizer can help plants survive short-term periods of extreme ...

Amazon Could Survive Long-Term Drought but at a High Cost

May 15, 2025 — The Amazon rainforest may be able to survive long-term drought caused by climate change, but adjusting to a drier, warmer world would exact a heavy toll, a study ...

World's Rivers Remapped to Improve Flood Modeling

May 15, 2025 — A team has created the most complete map of the world's rivers ever made offering a major leap forward for flood prediction, climate risk planning, and water resource management in a warming world. ...

Ancient Ocean Sediments Link Changes in Currents to Cooling of Northern Hemisphere 3.6 Million Years Ago

May 16, 2025 — New research from an international group looking at ancient sediment cores in the North Atlantic has for the first time shown a strong correlation between sediment changes and a marked period of ...

Tech Meets Tornado Recovery

May 14, 2025 — Traditional methods of assessing damage after a disaster can take weeks or even months, delaying emergency response, insurance claims and long-term rebuilding efforts. New research might change that. ...

Climate Change Is Turning Coastal Lagoons Into 'Salty Soup'

May 14, 2025 — The impacts of human activity and climate change are coalescing to make coastal lagoons saltier, changing the microbial life they support and the function they play in their ecosystems, according to ...

Enhanced Activity in the Upper Atmosphere of Sporadic E Layers During the 2024 Mother's Day Super Geomagnetic Storm

May 13, 2025 — Researchers report on ionospheric sporadic E layer (Es) activity during the Mother's Day geomagnetic storm. The team found that the Es layers were significantly enhanced over Southeast Asia, ...

Summer in the City: Urban Heat Release and Local Rainfall

May 12, 2025 — Stifling heat and sticky air often make summertime in the city uncomfortable. Due to the heat island effect, urban areas are significantly warmer than nearby rural areas, even at night. This, ...

It's Not Just El Niño: New Climate Phenomenon Impacts Hawai'i Rainfall

May 12, 2025 — El Nino-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) is known to have a significant impact on climate across the Pacific, including Hawai'i, and adjacent continents. However, atmospheric scientists have now ...

Waxing and Waning Prairie: New Study Unravels Causes of Ancient Climate Changes

May 8, 2025 — A long period of drought in North America has been recognized by scientists for decades. A new study links the severe climate to a change in Earth's ...

The World's Wealthiest 10% Caused Two Thirds of Global Warming Since 1990

May 7, 2025 — Wealthy individuals have a higher carbon footprint. A new study quantifies the climate outcomes of these inequalities. It finds that the world's wealthiest 10% are responsible for two thirds of ...

Climate Change: Future of Today's Young People

May 7, 2025 — Climate scientists reveal that millions of today's young people will live through unprecedented lifetime exposure to heatwaves, crop failures, river floods, droughts, wildfires and tropical ...

2024 Sea Level 'Report Cards' Map Futures of US Coastal Communities

May 6, 2025 — Researchers have released their 2024 U.S. sea level 'report cards,' providing updated analyses of sea level trends and projections for 36 coastal communities. Encompassing 55 years of ...

Biological Particles May Be Crucial for Inducing Heavy Rain

May 5, 2025 — Atmospheric and climate scientists show that biological particles may induce rain events that could contribute to flooding and snowstorms, owing to their ability to precipitate ice formation in ...

Vertical Farming to Increase Yields and Reduce Environmental Impact

May 5, 2025 — Vertical farming can do more than lettuce. A research team has investigated the cultivation of six food groups in vertical farming: Crops, algae, mushrooms, insects, fish and cultivated meat. In this ...

Oceans Are Heating Faster in Two Bands Stretching Around Globe

May 1, 2025 — The world's oceans are heating faster in two bands stretching around the globe, one in the southern hemisphere and one in the north, according to climate ...

In Two Decades Increasing Urban Vegetation Could Have Saved Over 1.1 Million Lives

Apr. 30, 2025 — Increasing urban vegetation by 30% could save over one-third of all heat related deaths, saving up to 1.16 million lives globally from 2000 to 2019 according to a 20-year modelling study of the ...

Missed School Is an Overlooked Consequence of Tropical Cyclones, Warming Planet

Apr. 29, 2025 — New research finds that tropical cyclones reduce years of schooling for children in low- and middle-income countries, particularly in areas unaccustomed to frequent storms. Girls are ...

Rainfall Triggers Extreme Humid Heat in Tropics and Subtropics

Apr. 29, 2025 — Scientists believe they have found a way to improve warning systems for vulnerable communities threatened by humid heatwaves, which are on the rise due to climate change and can be damaging and even ...

Climate Change Increases the Risk of Simultaneous Wildfires

Apr. 28, 2025 — Climate change is increasing the risk of wildfires in many regions of the world. This is due partly to specific weather conditions -- known as fire weather -- that facilitate the spread of wildfires. ...

Extreme Rainfall: A Long-Standing Hypothesis on Temperature Dependence Finally Settled?

Apr. 28, 2025 — Flash floods resulting from extreme rainfall pose a major risk to people and infrastructure, especially in urban areas. Higher temperatures due to global climate change affect continuous rainfall and ...

How to Break Through Climate Apathy

Apr. 24, 2025 — A new study finds that presenting the same continuous climate data, such as incremental changes in temperature, in binary form -- such as whether a lake did or did not freeze in the winter -- ...

Keeping Tabs on Native Woodlands in Times of Flood and Drought

Apr. 24, 2025 — Like farmland in Australia, native forests struggle with drought and flooding, so future management decisions need more sophisticated systems to monitor and manage their water needs. A new study aims ...