7 Largest Indoor Ski Areas in the World For most of us in the northern hemisphere, the skiing season is coming to a close. Palisades Tahoe, CA, closed for the season on the 4th, leaving just two resorts open in North America. There still are plenty of places to ski this summer, however, and a unique way to get some laps in the off-season is actually indoors. A […] Anton Lengyel | April 26, 2025 0 Comments
NOAA April 2025 ENSO Update: La Niña has Ended This post first appeared on the climate.gov ENSO blog. After just a few months of La Niña conditions, the tropical Pacific is now ENSO-neutral, and forecasters expect neutral to continue through the Northern Hemisphere summer. Neutral is also the most likely state through the fall (greater than 50% chance). Related: NOAA: Did La Niña Shape North American Precipitation this Winter […] Weather WeatherBrains | April 12, 2025 0 Comments
Skiing on the Equator: Investigating the Mythical Puncak Jaya Ski Resort Puncak Jaya—also known as the Carstensz Pyramid—is a 4,884-meter (16,024-foot) peak in the highlands of Papua, Indonesia, famed as the only place in the equatorial Pacific with year-round ice. In recent years, an intriguing rumor has circulated: that a ski resort once operated on the slopes of Puncak Jaya, making it the world’s second-highest ski area despite its tropical location. […] Clay Malott | February 14, 2025 1 Comment
NASA: La Niña Is Here This post first appeared on NASA Earth Observatory After seven months of waiting, La Niña—the cooler sister of El Niño—finally showed up in the eastern Pacific Ocean in early December 2024. La Niña may not stick around long, though. According to NOAA, the Pacific may return to neutral conditions in spring 2025. Part of the El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) cycle, […] Weather WeatherBrains | February 7, 2025 0 Comments
[UPDATED] NOAA February 2025 Outlook: Colder With More Precipitation Than Normal for PNW and Northern Rockies The NOAA just released its outlook for February 2025. It’s looking good for northern regions, and also the northeast. tl;dr: La Niña conditions are expected to influence February 2025 weather patterns across the United States. The forecast predicts above-normal temperatures for much of the southern and eastern U.S., while the northern regions may experience below-normal temperatures. Precipitation is likely to be above-normal […] Weather WeatherBrains | February 3, 2025 2 Comments
[UPDATED: January 16] NOAA Winter 2024-25 Forecast: La Niña and the Rest of the Ski Season On Thursday, January 16, the NOAA updated its long-range seasonal forecasts for this winter, giving snow lovers an idea of what the remainder of winter 2025 might hold. Here’s what the NOAA winter 2024-25 forecast looks like: Related: Farmers’ Almanac 2024-25 Winter Forecast: Cold, Wet, Snowy Winter Ahead…. But Where? Related: [VIDEO] Direct Weather Updated Winter 2024-25 Forecast: Coldest and […] Weather WeatherBrains | January 16, 2025 7 Comments
NOAA ENSO Update January 2025: 59% Chance La Niña February–April and 60% Chance of Neutral Conditions in March–May This post first appeared on the climate.gov ENSO Blog and was written by Emily Becker La Niña conditions emerged in the tropical Pacific in December. There’s a 59% chance La Niña will persist through February–April, followed by a 60% chance of neutral conditions in March–May. Read on for the recent observations that led us to declare the (long-awaited) onset of […] Weather WeatherBrains | January 10, 2025 0 Comments
NOAA November 2024 ENSO Update: 57% Chance Weak La Niña Will Develop Soon Then Last Through Winter This post first appeared on the climate.gov ENSO blog and was written by Emily Becker. There’s a 57% chance La Niña will develop soon. This is late for La Niña to arrive, and it’s very likely to be a weak event at most. However, even a weak event can influence temperature, rain, and snow patterns across the world. Today, we’ll […] Weather WeatherBrains | November 14, 2024 0 Comments
Former Pro-Snowboarder Killed After She Was Stabbed in the Chest by a Swordfish While Surfing In a tragic and rare incident, Italian surfer Giulia Manfrini was killed after being impaled by a swordfish while surfing off the coast of Indonesia’s Mentawai Islands. The 36-year-old adventurer and former professional snowboarder was struck in the chest when the fish unexpectedly leapt from the water on Friday. Related: Renowned Surfer and Hollywood Actor Tamayo Perry Killed in Shark […] Surf SwellBrains | October 22, 2024 0 Comments
NOAA ENSO October 2024 Update: Confidence of La Niña Emerging This Winter Decreased to 60% Chance This ENSO update first appeared on the climate.gov ENSO Blog and was written by Emily Becker. The tropical Pacific Ocean reflected neutral conditions—neither El Niño nor La Niña—in September. Forecasters continue to favor La Niña later this year, with an approximately 60% chance it will develop in September–November. The probability of La Niña is a bit lower than last month, […] Weather WeatherBrains | October 10, 2024 0 Comments
How the Queen of Big-Wave Surfing Got into Writing Kids Books On a 70-foot wave, Maya Gabiera looks like an ant. With a wave that’s the size of an industrial parking garage, you can hardly see her. Most often, the trailing spray flying off her board is what becomes first visible, and then you can make out her small, shadowy figure speeding down the wave that’s curling up toward the sky, […] Surf Martin Kuprianowicz | August 28, 2024 0 Comments
NOAA August 2024 Outlook: La Niña’s Comeback – Sizzling Southwest, Soggy Southeast Yesterday, July 18, the NOAA released its outlook for August 2024. The forecast indicates a month characterized by generally above-normal temperatures across most of the contiguous United States, influenced by various climate factors, including the potential emergence of La Niña conditions. The forecast predicts significant regional variations, with the Southwest likely experiencing notably higher temperatures and below-normal precipitation. In contrast, […] WeatherBrains | July 19, 2024 0 Comments
NASA: El Niño Exits After heating up the eastern Pacific Ocean for about a year, El Niño finally died out in May 2024. The natural climate phenomenon contributed to many months of record-high ocean temperatures, precipitation extremes in Africa, low ice cover on the Great Lakes, and severe drought in the Amazon and Central America. As of July 2024, the eastern Pacific was in […] SnowBrains | July 15, 2024 0 Comments
NOAA ENSO July 2024 Update: El Niño is Over With 79% Chance of La Niña Winter El Niño’s term is over, and La Niña is favored for the school year (79% chance for November–January). Our neutral summer break is underway, so let’s pack our bags and hit the road. Summer school A quick primer for our newer visitors: El Niño and La Niña are opposite phases of the El Niño/Southern Oscillation (ENSO), a climate pattern that […] Weather WeatherBrains | July 12, 2024 0 Comments
NOAA ENSO June 2024 Update: La Niña Likely by Late Summer After a year of dominance, El Niño released its hold on the tropical Pacific in May 2024, according to NOAA’s latest ENSO update. El Niño—the warm phase of the El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO), our planet’s single largest natural source of year-to-year variations in seasonal climate—has been disrupting climate in the tropics and beyond since May 2023, likely contributing to many […] Weather WeatherBrains | June 14, 2024 0 Comments
NOAA ENSO Update April 2024: 85% Chance La Niña Develops Next Winter The El Niño of 2023–24 is weakening. Forecasters estimate an 85% chance that El Niño will end and the tropical Pacific will transition to neutral conditions by the April–June period. There’s a 60% chance that La Niña will develop by June–August. Overall, the forecast this month is very similar to last month, and we continue to expect La Niña for […] Weather WeatherBrains | April 12, 2024 0 Comments
February 2024 ENSO Outlook: 55% Chance El Niño Transitions to La Niña in Summer On a brisk early February morning, all of us El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) forecasters emerged from our burrows and saw our shadows. That can mean only one thing: conditions are favorable for the development of La Niña within the next six months. Yes, the February ENSO Outlook officially announces that we are in a La Niña Watch, even while, at […] Weather WeatherBrains | February 8, 2024 0 Comments
NOAA ENSO January 2024 Update: El Niño Reaching Peak Strength | 60% Chance of La Niña in Late-Summer/Fall El Niño is very likely close to peak strength and is likely to continue for the next few months while gradually weakening. Despite the expected weakening of El Niño’s tropical Pacific sea surface signature, impacts to global climate will continue for the next few months. Forecasters currently expect ENSO-neutral conditions (ENSO = El Niño/Southern Oscillation, the whole El Niño & […] Weather WeatherBrains | January 12, 2024 0 Comments
NOAA ENSO Update December 2023: 54% Chance El Niño Will be “Historically Strong” in Top 5 on Record El Niño is zipping along in the tropical Pacific. There’s a 54% chance that this El Niño event will end up “historically strong” (more details below), potentially ranking in the top 5 on record. Looking ahead, it’s likely that El Niño will end and neutral conditions return by April–June. Sail across the Pacific El Niño is associated with specific changes […] Weather WeatherBrains | December 14, 2023 0 Comments
NOAA ENSO Update October 2023: El Niño is Certain, But How Strong Will it Get? El Niño is currently purring along in the tropical Pacific. Forecasters expect El Niño will continue through the spring, with a 75-85% chance it will become a strong event. A stronger El Niño—definition to follow shortly—means it is more likely that we will see El Niño’s expected thumbprint on winter temperature and rain/snow patterns around the world. Related: 2023-24 El […] Weather WeatherBrains | October 12, 2023 0 Comments
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