NOAA Archives - Disasters News

May242025 by Editor DeskNo Comments

NOAA Forecasts Active 2025 Hurricane Season: 13–19 Named Storms Expected

Breaking News, Climate Actions, Disasters

U.S. meteorologists are warning of a potentially busy Atlantic hurricane season for 2025, with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) predicting 13 to 19 named storms 6 to 10 of which could intensify into hurricanes. The Atlantic hurricane season officially begins June 1 and runs through November 30. This above-normal forecast is based on two critical climate indicators: warmer-than-average Atlantic sea surface temperatures and the current neutral phase of the El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO). These conditions tip the scales toward a more active season though experts stress that forecasting does not equate to guarantees. Warmer Waters and ENSO Fuel Storm Formation Hurricanes feed off warm ocean waters, and current sea surface temperatures are above the 3...

May222025 by Editor DeskNo Comments

AI Breakthrough Brings Faster, Localized Thunderstorm Forecasts

Breaking News, Climate Actions, Tech

In a major leap for weather forecasting, researchers have successfully trained artificial intelligence to predict localized thunderstorms with remarkable speed and accuracy marking a turning point for emergency preparedness and public safety. Traditionally, AI has been used to generate global-scale weather forecasts, but its effectiveness at smaller scales like predicting individual thunderstorms was limited due to a lack of high-resolution data. That changed when scientists Flora and Potvin trained Google’s powerful neural network, GraphCast, on data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) Warn-on-Forecast System. The result is WoFSCast an AI model capable of accurately simulating key storm dynamics such as updrafts and cold air pockets. These features play...

May152025 by Editor DeskNo Comments

NOAA Ends Tracking of Billion-Dollar Climate Disasters Amid Cuts

Breaking News, Climate Actions

Key Disaster Dataset Discontinued the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) announced on May 8, 2025, that it will stop updating its widely used Billion-Dollar Weather and Climate Disasters database. The decision is part of broader changes under the Donald Trump administration, including staff reductions and shifting priorities that have impacted the agency’s climate operations. Critical Resource for Climate Costs Retired NOAA has played a central role in tracking the financial toll of floods, heatwaves, hurricanes, wildfires, and other climate-related disasters for over four decades. Its data, used by governments, insurers, and researchers, estimated trillions of dollars in damages across the US. The agency stated that all reports from 1980 to 2024 will remain...

May152025 by Editor DeskNo Comments

Powerful Solar Flares Trigger Global Radio Blackouts, Signal Intensifying Sun Activity

Breaking News, Environment, Space

The sun erupted with two massive solar flares early Wednesday, including the strongest of 2025 so far an X2.7-class flare causing widespread shortwave radio blackouts across at least five continents. The event came just a day after NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory captured another major eruption, an X1.2-class flare, in a dramatic image. Solar flares are categorized by intensity, with X-class being the most powerful. Wednesday’s solar storm peaked at 4:25 a.m. ET, delivering a strong burst of plasma and charged particles into space. This flare followed an M5.3-class flare several hours earlier, further underscoring the heightened solar activity. According to NOAA’s Space Weather Prediction Center, these intense flares disrupted high-frequency radio communications in parts of Nor...

Mar42025 by Editor DeskNo Comments

India Warns of Monsoon Cyclone Forecast Risks as US Climate Cuts Shake Global Weather Tracking

Breaking News, Climate Actions, Opinions

Indian scientists have raised alarms over job cuts at the United States’ National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, warning that reduced climate observations could disrupt India’s monsoon forecasts and cyclone tracking. The layoffs, part of the Donald Trump administration’s efforts to reduce the federal workforce, have affected hundreds of meteorologists and climate experts responsible for weather monitoring and forecasting. Union Ministry of Earth Sciences Secretary M Ravichandran expressed concerns about the potential impact on weather predictions. He explained that fewer ocean observations mean less data for forecast models, ultimately reducing predictability. Climate scientist Roxy Mathew Koll from the Indian Institute for Tropical Meteorology called the NOAA layoffs a global ...

Mar32025 by Editor DeskNo Comments

Mass NOAA Layoffs Spark Outrage Raise Alarm Over Weather Forecasting, National Security

Breaking News, Climate Actions, Learning & Developments

Hundreds of employees at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) have been laid off as part of the Trump administration’s sweeping effort to reduce the size of the federal government. The move has triggered strong backlash from lawmakers, scientists, and former NOAA officials, who warn of severe risks to public safety, economic stability, and national security. The layoffs, which began on February 27, targeted probationary employees—those with less than two years of service or who had recently been promoted or transferred. The Commerce Department, which oversees NOAA, issued termination notices, with some employees given as little as two hours to leave their offices, according to NPR. Weather Forecasting at Risk NOAA plays a crucial role in weather forecasting, ...

Jan172025 by Editor DeskNo Comments

Revolutionizing Rainfall Predictions: Japanese Researchers Develop Advanced Climate Modeling Technique

Breaking News, Learning & Developments, Tech

Tokyo, Japan – With climate change amplifying the frequency and intensity of water-related disasters like floods and droughts, accurate global precipitation estimates are more crucial than ever. However, the lack of sufficient rain gauge data in many regions poses significant challenges to these predictions. In a groundbreaking study published in Hydrology and Earth System Sciences, researchers from Chiba University, Japan, have developed a cutting-edge method using the Local Ensemble Transform Kalman Filter (LETKF) to bridge this data gap. Assistant Professor Yuka Muto and Professor Shunji Kotsuki have combined advanced algorithms with real-world data to refine global precipitation estimates, promising a transformative impact on disaster preparedness and water resource management. T...