NASA: El Niรฑo Exits After heating up the eastern Pacific Ocean for about a year, El Niรฑo 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
NASA: Heat Dome Brings a Blast of Heat in the East An area of high pressure lingered in the upper atmosphere over the U.S. Midwest and Northeast in June 2024. This pushed warm air toward the surface and trapped it thereโa weather phenomenon meteorologists call a heat dome. Related: NOAA Winter 2024/25 Early Forecast: La Niรฑa Returns and What That Means For Next Winterโs Ski Season Heat domes put the brakes […] Weather WeatherBrains | June 21, 2024 0 Comments
NASA Satellites Find Snow Didnโt Offset Southwest US Groundwater Loss Record snowfall in recent years has not been enough to offset long-term drying conditions and increasing groundwater demands in the U.S. Southwest, according to a new analysis of NASA satellite data. Declining water levels in the Great Salt Lake and Lake Mead have been testaments to a megadrought afflicting western North America since 2000. However, surface water only accounts for […] SnowBrains | June 18, 2024 1 Comment
NASA: A โSurprisingly Averageโ Year for Sierra Snowpack The Sierra Nevada is known for its booms and busts regarding mountain snow. Last year, there was record-high snow, whereas the snowpack was low three years prior. After more than a decade of unusually wet or unusually dry years, the snowpack in the Sierra Nevada was close to normal in 2024. Related: Californiaโs April Snow Survey Shows Above Average Snowpack […] SnowBrains | April 12, 2024 0 Comments
NASA: The Arctic is Getting Rainier The Arctic is known for its cold temperatures, which allow precipitation to fall as snow. But as temperatures warm, that snow is being replaced by rain. These changes can affect sea ice in the Arctic and weather patterns throughout the Northern Hemisphere. Related: NASA: Record Summer Melting Across Svalbard, Arctic Circle NASA scientists examined rainfall trends over the Arctic and […] SnowBrains | March 19, 2024 0 Comments
NASA: Melting Glaciers Are Destroying Climate Archives Glaciers are natural archives of past climate. In their frozen layers lies evidence of Earthโs changing temperature and atmospheric composition. But as the climate warms, some of the longest records of our changing planet are melting away. One such archive is the Corbassiรจre glacier in Switzerland. The high-altitude glacier is situated on the flanks of Grand Combin, one of the […] SnowBrains | February 28, 2024 0 Comments
NASA Earth Observatory Captures Images of Recent Winter Storm Walloping the U.S. This article originally appeared on earthobservatory.nasa.gov A potent winter storm plowed across the eastern half of the United States on January 9, 2024, delivering heavy rain and snow, strong winds, and damaging tornadoes. That afternoon, the VIIRS (Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite) on the NOAA-20 satellite acquired this natural-color image (above) of the sprawling storm clouds. The system spawned abundant […] SnowBrains | January 17, 2024 0 Comments
NASA: Atmospheric River Flows into the Pacific Northwest A powerful atmospheric river streamed toward the U.S. Pacific Northwest in early December 2023. The long current of water vapor delivered warm, wet weather to much of western Washington and Oregon, toppling daily rainfall and temperature records and escalating flood and debris flow risks. Related: Atmospheric Rivers: How They Work, and How El Niรฑo and La Niรฑa Affect Them This […] Weather SnowBrains | December 6, 2023 0 Comments