weather

Technology

Could Privately Funded Orbiters Fill The Looming Weather Satellite Gap?

Without global coverage, weather (and climate) prediction models will get things wrong.

By Rebecca Boyle Posted 03.26.2013 at 3:30 pm 4 Comments

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Science

Where Do Blizzards Come From? [Vintage Infographic]

This whimsical map from 1923 shows the birth of a typical arctic storm. Is that Old Man Winter lurking in Siberia?

By Rose Pastore Posted 02.11.2013 at 4:31 pm 1 Comment

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Technology

How To Create A More Resilient Power Grid

When a failure occurs along a line now, everything downstream from that point loses power. But there's a better way.

By Kalee Thompson Posted 02.05.2013 at 10:00 am 0 Comments

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Science

The Weather Outside Today Affects Your Stance On Climate Change

Unseasonably warm? Global warming! Unseasonably cold? No global warming!

By Colin Lecher Posted 01.24.2013 at 5:28 pm 12 Comments

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Science

Official Australian Weather Map Gets New Colors To Depict Extreme Heat

Record-breaking temperatures require a meteorological redesign.

By Shaunacy Ferro Posted 01.08.2013 at 3:29 pm 10 Comments

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Science

2013 Prediction: Climate Scientists Say It Again

Two statements on climate change will set the record straight--as long as nuanced differences from past reports aren't exaggerated.

By Curtis Brainard Posted 01.04.2013 at 11:00 am 11 Comments

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Science

Why Aren't We Afraid Of A Tsunami Hitting San Francisco?

When a 7.3-magnitude earthquake struck off Japan's eastern coast early Friday morning, we all feared a tsunami. But San Francisco gets earthquakes all the time, and we're not scared of a tsunami there. Why?

By Dan Nosowitz Posted 12.07.2012 at 5:07 pm 11 Comments

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The Environment

How The U.S. Coast Guard Is Fixing The N.J. Oil Spill Caused By Sandy

Petroleum tanks damaged during the storm spilled an estimated quarter million gallons of oil into New Jersey waterways. Now crews are working around the clock to clean it up.

By Emily Gertz Posted 11.02.2012 at 5:00 pm 1 Comment

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Science

Which Weather Satellite Is Watching You? [Infographic]

22,300 miles above the equator, satellites keep an eye on Earthly weather conditions.

By Colin Lecher Posted 11.01.2012 at 4:30 pm 3 Comments

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Technology

NOAA's New Storm-Chasing Robot Survives Sandy And Reports Back

Deployed off the coast of New Jersey earlier this week, the modified Wave Glider robot gathered realtime data from Sandy as the storm approached landfall Monday.

By Clay Dillow Posted 11.01.2012 at 12:58 pm 3 Comments

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Science

FYI: Why Does Salt Water Make Hurricane Damage So Much Worse?

The white stuff can stick around and ruin, well, pretty much everything. That puts the officials trying to fix it on a ticking clock.

By Colin Lecher Posted 11.01.2012 at 12:00 pm 8 Comments

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Science

In New York, The Day After Sandy

Having weathered the storm, PopSci staff in New York venture out on Tuesday to inspect the aftermath.

By PopSci Editors Posted 10.30.2012 at 4:54 pm 0 Comments

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The Environment

5 Things Hurricane Sandy Reveals About Global Warming

It's tempting to link the nature of this week's "Frankenstorm" to human-caused climate change, but the scientific realities are nuanced. Here are five surprising takeaways.

By Dave Mosher Posted 10.30.2012 at 9:00 am 63 Comments

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Gadgets

How The PopSci Staff Prepares For A Hurricane

Most of the Popular Science staff is based in New York City and the surrounding areas, which is great usually, but not so much today. Here's how we prepared for the hurricane.

By PopSci Staff Posted 10.29.2012 at 6:44 pm 2 Comments

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Science

The Dictionary of Hurricane Sandy: Storm Surge

A lot of meteorological terms will be thrown around for the next few days. We're here to define them so you can understand what's going on. Welcome to the Dictionary of Hurricane Sandy.

By Clay Dillow Posted 10.29.2012 at 3:00 pm 1 Comment