NATIONAL OCEANIC AND ATMOSPHERIC ADMINISTRATION

Federal officials say a yearling humpback whale off Maui has been freed from a life-threatening entanglement in mooring gear and a plastic trawling buoy.

Last year was another hot one for planet Earth. It tied with 2018 for the sixth hottest year on record on Earth, according to the National Aeronautics and Space Administration’s (NASA) report on global average surface temperature. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), which did its own study, said 2021 was slightly warmer, pushing 2018 to the Number 7 slot. These are two United States government agencies that have been tracking temperatures for decades.

New images show the scope of the devastation of the deadly underwater volcanic eruption near Tonga. Every home on one island was destroyed by 50-foot waves.

A powerful underwater volcano eruption in Tonga on Saturday (Jan. 15) was captured as it happened in stunning satellite images.

A tsunami triggered by the explosive eruption of the underwater Tonga volcano in the Pacific Ocean slammed the shoreline of the Pacific nation Saturday (Jan. 15).

Satellites orbiting Earth captured a powerful undersea eruption in Tonga from space on Thursday (Jan. 13).

2021 was another record-setting year, ranking as the sixth hottest year on record. Following a trend, these past eight years have also been the eight hottest years on record.

Last year wasn't quite as hot as 2020, due in part to a cooling La Niña pattern that persisted through much of 2021.

Scientists say the exceptionally hot year is part of a long-term warming trend that shows hints of accelerating.

Scientists say the exceptionally hot year is part of a long-term warming trend that shows hints of accelerating.

Two U.S. science agencies say 2021 was the sixth hottest year on record globally, part of a long-term warming trend.

The World Economic Forum’s annual survey shows how little progress we’ve made in tackling the climate emergency.

In the last five years, from 2017 through 2021, the total cost of these billion-dollar disasters has been $742 billion, according to NOAA.

In an on overview published ahead of its full report, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said that 2021 ranked the third costliest on record for such events.

A meteor hurtling through Earth's atmosphere exploded over Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania on New Year's Day (Jan. 1).

Officers with Spain's Civil Guard have been feeding cats who survived the volcano eruption on La Palma. They hope to reconnect them with their owners now that residents can return.

North America's largest rodent has begun to explore new terrain — with unintended consequences.

One event can't prove that climate change is wreaking damage, but can strongly reinforce that idea.

There were 21 named storms in the Atlantic Ocean this year, including seven hurricanes.

Houston, Texas-based Kirby Inland Marine LP has agreed to pay $15.3 million in damages and assessment costs under the Oil Pollution Act to resolve federal and state claims for injuries to natural resources resulting from an oil spill from a Kirby barge, after a collision Kirby caused. Kirby, the Coast Guard, and the State were involved in extensive response and cleanup efforts, and Kirby has cooperated in the assessment of injuries to natural resources. The designated federal trustees for the natural resources impacted by Kirby’s oil spill are the U.S. Department of Commerce through the NOAA and the U.S. Department of the Interior through the U.S. The designated State trustees are the Texas General Land Office, the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, and the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department. The federal and State trustees have worked together to perform their injury assessment work and are engaged in joint restoration planning efforts.

Hurricane Ida alone caused more than $60 billion in damages, making it one of the five most costly U.S. hurricanes on record since 1980. Forecasters ran out of names for a record second year in a row.

llinois saw an extended period of high minimum temperatures across the state in summer and fall. The average minimum temperature for July through October was the second highest on record statewide, below only 2016, according to NOAA.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s team will add a Gulfstream 550 to the three other aircraft at its home base at the Lakeland Linder International Airport in central Florida.

A 6-year-old girl was playing at her grandma's home in Dearborn when a driver hit and killed her.

Some parts of the Northern Great Lakes region were greeted by their first significant snowfall of the season earlier this week, but not even the arrival of the fluffy white stuff could mask these historic times for the Great Lakes themselves.

The government agency tasked with monitoring space weather has warned that a powerful solar storm could interfere with power grids, satellites and radio signals — although it might also have sent the beautiful northern lights incredibly far south overnight into Thursday (Nov. 4).

It's been a busy few days for our sun, which has produced three of the outbursts that scientists call coronal mass ejections since Monday (Nov. 1).

Caribbean and Central American nations are vulnerable to dangerous storm surge and coastal flooding from hurricanes, but many of these nations have limited surge and flood mapping capabilities and forecast systems able to take advantage of the latest technologies. To help solve this pressing real world problem, FIU will continue assisting NOAA’s National Hurricane Center (NHC), which in 2016 initiated the Caribbean Coastal Inundation and Forecast Demonstration Project (CIFDP-C) to develop improved and cost-effective products for storm surge monitoring and warning for Caribbean island-nations and Central American coastal areas. The new project will expand that assistance to 24 additional nations in the Caribbean and Central America. “It is an honor to continue and expand the work with the National Hurricane Center of my late mentor and friend Professor Zhang. Improved storm surge mapping saves lives, we all know this, and it drives our program,” said principal investigator Yuepeng Li, director of the Laboratory for Coastal Research with FIU’s Extreme Events Institute who will lead the FIU team and assist the Storm Surge Unit at the National Hurricane Center in this collaborative effort.

A solar flare eruption from earlier this week is expected to reach Earth on Saturday and Sunday, creating the potential for the aurora borealis to be visible across large parts of the U.S.

NOAA; Map: Kavya Beheraj/Axios; Data: NOAA; Map: Kavya Beheraj/AxiosThe return of La Niña for the second straight year means winter in Colorado will bring warmer temperatures and less precipitation than normal, according to a new forecast by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.Why it matters: Dry conditions have fueled some of Colorado's most devastating wildfires, including last year's East Troublesome blaze, which raged for more than a month and destroyed nearly 194,000 acres.S

General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan dissolves transitional authorities and declares a state of emergency during a statement on Sudan state television. The announcement comes after armed forces detained figures of the government in charge of leading the transition to democracy since the April 2019 ouster of autocratic president Omar al-Bashir.

CCTV footage shows the ground shake in Taipei City as a strong earthquake strikes northeastern Taiwan. Taiwan's central weather bureau said the quake was of magnitude 6.5, the biggest on the island this year, while the US Geological Survey gave a lower figure of 6.2. There were no immediate reports of widespread damage.

This winter may be warmer and drier than usual for some parts of the U.S., the NOAA said.

Expect a drier, warmer winter down south and a wetter winter up north, U.S. government forecasters said Thursday. The National Weather Service predicted two-thirds of the U.S. will see above average temperatures from December through February, while the Pacific Northwest and southern Alaska will likely get colder than usual. The Midwest, Northwestern states and Hawaii should expect above normal precipitation while the South will have less.

Caribbean and Central American nations are vulnerable to dangerous storm surge and coastal flooding from hurricanes, but many of these nations have limited surge and flood mapping capabilities and forecast systems able to take advantage of the latest technologies. To help solve this pressing real world problem, FIU will continue assisting NOAA’s National Hurricane Center (NHC), which in 2016 initiated the Caribbean Coastal Inundation and Forecast Demonstration Project (CIFDP-C) to develop improved and cost-effective products for storm surge monitoring and warning for Caribbean island-nations and Central American coastal areas. The new project will expand that assistance to 24 additional nations in the Caribbean and Central America. “It is an honor to continue and expand the work with the National Hurricane Center of my late mentor and friend Professor Zhang. Improved storm surge mapping saves lives, we all know this, and it drives our program,” said principal investigator Yuepeng Li, director of the Laboratory for Coastal Research with FIU’s Extreme Events Institute who will lead the FIU team and assist the Storm Surge Unit at the National Hurricane Center in this collaborative effort.

The U.S. Revenue Cutter Bear served in two World Wars, and at one point was captained by the first Black man to command a U.S. government vessel.

Federal meteorologists say there's another La Nina, which can be bad news for parts of the parched West.

The La Niña climate pattern is one of the main drivers of weather in the U.S. and around the world, especially in late fall, winter and early spring.

Nearly half of all U.S. households heat their homes with natural gas. A new report from the Energy Information Administration says they can expect to pay 30% more on average this winter.

A solar storm hit Earth and brought with it a spectacular light show visible as far south as New York.

A "moderate" geomagnetic storm is forecast for the Earth on Monday, which could cause fluctuations to the power grid.

Scientists dispatched a specially designed surface drone into the middle of a Category 4 hurricane to gather data and give scientists a better understanding of such storms.

It's going to be a rough weekend in the water for beachgoers along the U.S. east coast.

Federal regulators on Tuesday moved to protect the nocturnal animals from people seeking close encounters with the playful species.

U.S. regulators are banning swimming with Hawaii's spinner dolphins.

Hurricane Sam has strengthened again to a powerful Category 4 storm.

Hurricane Sam is a powerful Category 3 storm in the Atlantic but it poses no threat to land as it loops northward in the Atlantic.

A magnitude 6.1 earthquake was reported Friday morning at 4:52 a.m. Pacific time 114 miles from Adak, Alaska.

Maine's vital lobster industry is facing big challenges: new regulations; fewer young people entering the business; and threats to its thriving lobster population, including climate change.

Satellites captured strengthening Tropical Storm Nicholas as it neared the coast of Texas before pouring down over ten inches of rain in only a few hours.

Hurricane Olaf has slipped back to tropical storm force after slamming into the Los Cabos resorts at the tip of Mexico’s Baja California Peninsula with 100 mph winds and then drenching the region with torrential rains.

Louisiana officials have documented more than 100 bird that were were found to have been affected after crude oil spilled from a refinery flooded during Ida.

In addition to the record-breaking heat, there were several significant climate anomalies and events this summer, per National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

Hurricane Olaf is closing in for a strike on the Los Cabos resort region at the tip of Mexico’s Baja California peninsula.

Hurricane Ida shut down nearly 95% of the region's crude oil and gas production.

A magnitude 7.0 earthquake was reported Tuesday evening at 6:47 p.m. Pacific time four miles from Pueblo Madero (El Playón), Mexico.

Hurricane Ida shut down nearly 95% of the region's crude oil and gas production.

An apparent miles-long brownish-black oil slick in the Gulf of Mexico was seen in aerial survey imagery released by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

An apparent miles-long oil slick in the Gulf of Mexico is seen in aerial survey imagery released by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

Imagery from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration shows what appears to be a large oil slick near an offshore rig in the Gulf of Mexico.

Ida's intense rain and winds are partly fueled by climate change.

Tropical Storm Nora is dropping heavy rains along the Gulf of California after weakening from a hurricane that set off floods and landslides on Mexico’s Pacific coast, caused havoc in Puerta Vallarta and left at least one dead and seven missing.

Hurricane Nora has weakened to a tropical storm as it causes floods and landslides along Mexico’s Pacific coast.

They may not live in a pineapple, but they’re certainly hanging out under the sea.

U.S. weather officials say Earth in July was the hottest month ever recorded.

Forecasters say tropical depression Fred is slowly strengthening and could regain tropical storm status on Saturday.

Tropical depression Fred is heading for a drenching of Cuba and the Bahamas on a forecast track that would carry it toward South Florida as a tropical storm by Saturday.

On the forecast track from Friday into Monday, Fred is set to cause heavy rainfall that could lead to exacerbated flooding across southern and central Florida and into the Big Bend of Florida.

Tropical Storm Fred has weakened to a tropical depression while sweeping over the Dominican Republic and dumping heavy rains that forecasters warn could cause dangerous flooding and mudslides there and in neighboring Haiti.

Heavy rains are pelting the northern Caribbean as Tropical Storm Fred has formed just south of Puerto Rico following a quiet month of no named storms in the region.

U.S. government forecasters say they expect the Atlantic hurricane season to be busier than they first thought.

The US West is getting hit with a triple whammy of record heat, megadrought and wildfires — and just a handful of numbers explains the how and why of this wild and deadly weather.

Researchers are expecting another mild algae outbreak on Lake Erie this summer.

Scientists say the annual peak of global heat-trapping carbon dioxide in the air has reached another dangerous milestone: 50% higher than when the industrial age began.

Forecasters expect yet another busy Atlantic hurricane season this year, but they say it won't be as crazy as 2020.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration announced its initial outlook for the 2021 Atlantic hurricane season Thursday afternoon during a virtual media briefing.

America's normal temperature is now a degree hotter than just 20 years ago.

A crew has returned from the northernmost islands in the Hawaiian archipelago this week with a boatload of marine plastic and abandoned fishing nets that threaten to entangle endangered Hawaiian monk seals and other animals.

The 2021 Atlantic hurricane season begins June 1, and Colorado State University forecasts that we could see an above-average number of storms.

Leatherback sea turtles have been plying the world's oceans for tens of millions of years, but scientists say a rapid decline in their numbers means they could disappear from U.S. West Coast waters within decades.

The Supreme Court ruled Monday, March 22, 2021, that it will not consider a fishing group's attempt to challenge the creation of a large federally protected area in the Atlantic Ocean. The group sued to try to get rid of the Northeast Canyons and Seamounts Marine National Monument, which became the first national ocean monument in the Atlantic when President Barack Obama created it in 2016. The group sued to try to get rid of the Northeast Canyons and Seamounts Marine National Monument, which became the first national ocean monument in the Atlantic when President Barack Obama created it in 2016. Chief Justice John Roberts wrote that the creation of a national monument was “of no small consequence,” but the petitioners did not meet the criteria to bring it before the Supreme Court. “The Northeast Canyons and Seamounts Marine National Monument at issue in this case demonstrates how far we have come from indigenous pottery,” Roberts wrote.

And nearly all of the continental United States is looking at warmer than normal spring, except for tiny parts of the Pacific Northwest and southeast Alaska, which makes drought worse. “It’s definitely something we’re watching and very concerned about.”NOAA expects the spring drought to hit 74 million people. AdMore than 44% of the nation is in moderate or worse drought, and nearly 18% is in extreme or exceptional drought — all of it west of the Mississippi River. AdWinter and spring wheat crops also have been hit hard by the western drought with 78% of the spring wheat production area in drought conditions, Rippey said. That leaves more of the energy to heat up the air, and the heat makes the drought worse by boosting evaporation.

(NOAA via AP)With named storms coming earlier and more often in warmer waters, the Atlantic hurricane season is going through some changes with meteorologists ditching the Greek alphabet during busy years. The Greek alphabet had only been used twice in 2005 and nine times last year in a record-shattering hurricane season. AdMeanwhile, the National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration is recalculating just what constitutes an average hurricane season. STARTING EARLIERMIT hurricane researcher Kerry Emanuel said “this whole idea of hurricane season should be revisited." So a warming world means the new normal is busy hurricane seasons just like the last 30 years.

Just how warm Earth stays this December will determine if 2020 goes down as the hottest year on record. Earth’s temperature in November was 56.95 degrees (13.87 degrees Celsius), which was 1.75 degrees (0.97 degrees Celsius) above the 20th century average, according to NOAA. Florida, Virginia and Maryland so far have had their hottest year on record, while California had its hottest fall. For its part, NASA said 2020 so far is the warmest on record and it's likely to stay that way. Using NASA data, if December is just 0.59 degrees (0.33 degrees Celsius) above the 1980 to 2010 average, 2020 should be the hottest year on record.

MONTGOMERY, Ala. – A record-setting Atlantic hurricane season that saw the highest number of named storms officially came to a close Monday. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said the 2020 Atlantic hurricane season set multiple records while producing a record 30 named storms. NOAA said an average season has 12 named storms, six hurricanes and three become major hurricanes. The prior record for named storms hitting Louisiana in a single hurricane season is 4 set in 2002,” Klotzbach said. NOAA said this was the fifth consecutive year with an above-normal Atlantic hurricane season, with 18 above-normal seasons out of the past 26.

Tropical Storm Eta is parked off the western coast of Cuba, dumping rain. Meanwhile, Tropical Storm Theta — which formed overnight and broke a record as the 29th named Atlantic storm of the season — is chugging east toward Europe on the cusp of hurricane status. The system now has a 70% chance of becoming the 30th named storm. Never before have three named storms been twirling at the same time this late in the year, Klotzbach said. The overall message is that everyone in the area should pay attention to Eta, Brennan said.

Hurricane Zeta passed through Wednesday leaving much of the city and metro area without power. Even as Zeta battered the south, the upcoming election was still on the mind of some residents. “Guys, we received the brunt of Zeta, and Zeta gave us a good punch,” McInnis told WDSU-TV. More than 875,000 customers were without electricity in Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama, including about 350,000 in metro New Orleans. Winds could be “especially severe” in the southern Appalachian Mountains, where flash flooding is possible, the hurricane center said.

EVERGLADES CITY, Fla. – Wildlife officials and a non-profit group are offering $25,000 for information about six critically endangered smalltooth sawfish found killed in Florida. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration announced Thursday that it would pay up to $20,000 for information leading to a criminal conviction or civil penalty. The Center for Biological Diversity announced an additional $5,000 reward. An Everglades National Park employee recently reported the dead sawfish and two dead bonnethead sharks along a causeway south of Everglades City, which is in Collier County. If you have information, you are urged to call the NOAA Enforcement Hotline at 1-800-853-1964.

A companys plan to retrieve the Titanics radio has sparked a debate over whether the famous shipwreck still holds human remains. RMS Titanic Inc. says human remains likely would've been noticed after roughly 200 dives. “And that doesn’t change whether in fact human remains could possibly exist.”Gallo said remnants of those who died likely disappeared decades ago. Yet whale bones have been discovered at similar depths, as were human remains on a 2009 Air France plane that crashed into the Atlantic. Archaeologists who filed court statements supporting the government’s case said there must be human remains, and questioned the motives of those casting doubts.

Two-thirds of the United States should get a warmer than normal winter, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration predicted. Only Washington, northern Idaho, Montana, the Dakotas and northwestern Minnesota, will get a colder than normal winter, forecasters said. The rest of the nation will likely be closer to normal, NOAA said. Judah Cohen, a winter weather specialist for the private firm Atmospheric Environmental Research, sees a harsher winter for the Northeast than NOAA does. But he said La Nina is the strongest indicator among several for what drives winter weather.

This Oct. 8, 2020 photo made available by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration shows Hurricane Delta in the Gulf of Mexico at 12:41 p.m. EDT. Delta is the sixth storm this year and the second in a week to reach the threshold, Lillo calculated. Hurricanes Hannah, Laura, Sally and Teddy and tropical storm Gamma all gained at least 35 mph (56 kph) in strength in 24 hours. This year is particularly nasty and Delta is a good example, said study co-author Gabriel Vecchi, a Princeton climate scientist. “This season has given a lot of examples of these rapidly intensifying storms that we expect to be more common,” Princeton’s Vecchi said.

Louisiana residents still recovering from the devastation of a powerful hurricane less than two months ago braced for another hit as Hurricane Delta steamed north through the Gulf on Thursday after swiping Mexicos Yucatan Peninsula. The projected path included the southwest area of Louisiana where Category 4 Hurricane Laura made landfall less than two months ago. Randazzo watched pieces of one of his restaurants, Panorama Music House, fly past a meteorologist’s car on a Facebook Live video during Hurricane Laura. The most recent forecast for Hurricane Delta has the storm making landfall “almost precisely” where Hurricane Laura struck — a region where homes and electrical infrastructure are still damaged, Edwards said in a radio interview. New Orleans, well to the east of the projected landfall area, was expected to escape the worst of Hurricane Delta.

In 2010, more than 150 countries agreed to goals to protect nature, but the new United Nations scorecard found that the world has largely failed to meet 20 different targets to safeguard species and ecosystems. Reducing "everything on the planet to single scores” obscures the fact that the picture may look different in different places, he said. But Mrema and lead author David Cooper said the world should think about a different poster animal: humans. One of the challenges in meeting global biodiversity targets is a mismatch between countries with abundant natural assets — such as large tracts of intact tropical forests — and those with money to enforce protections. Dalhousie University marine biologist Boris Worm, who also wasn’t part of the report, said the world is at a crossroads.

This satellite photo provided by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration shows Tropical Storm Sally, Sunday, Sept. 13, 2020, at 2050 GMT. Sally churned northward on Sunday, poised to turn into a hurricane and send a life-threatening storm surge along the northern Gulf of Mexico. (NOAA via AP)Here are the latest developments on tropical weather (all times local):4 p.m.A rapidly intensifying Hurricane Sally is closing in on the northern Gulf Coast Sally after reaching Category 2 strength. The National Hurricane Center in Miami says Sally has grown into an extremely dangerous hurricane with top sustained winds of 100 mph (155 kph). The storm could drop as much as 2 feet (0.6 meters) of rain in spots and that could bring severe flooding, according to the center.

Of course, we’ve all heard of tornadoes, hurricanes and snow emergencies -- even if we don’t experience these things, we’re familiar enough with what exactly they entail.

Already smashing records, this years hyperactive Atlantic hurricane season is about to get even nastier, forecasters predict. The agency increased the chance of an above average hurricane season from 60% to 85%. Colorado State University, which pioneered hurricane season forecasts decades ago, on Wednesday amped its forecast to 24 named storms, 12 hurricanes and 5 major hurricanes all higher than their June forecast. An average year, based on 1981 to 2010 data, is 12 named storms, six hurricanes and three major hurricanes. There are 21 names assigned to a hurricane season.

PEMBROKE PARK, Fla. – Whether we like it or not, Tropical Storm Isaias has formed and will need to be monitored this week as it possibly heads in the direction of South Florida. As it becomes part of the conversation, we want to make sure you know the proper way of pronouncing Isaias. According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the proper pronunciation is ees-ah-EE-ahs. For the latest on Isaias and everything else worth watching in the tropics, head over to the Local 10 Hurricane Page. ALSO SEE: Hurricane names for 2020 — Arthur to Wilfred

Former Obama NOAA chief Jane Lubchenco, a scientist at Oregon State University, said in an email that high level officials put politics and their own jobs above public safety. By the time the two tweets were posted, Alabama was no longer in the hurricane centers warning cone, although it had been in previous days. Jacobs said things went crazy in the middle of the night.Then-NOAA communications chief Julie Kay Roberts told the inspector generals office that Walsh told her there are jobs on the line. The report said there was no credible evidence found to say that jobs were threatened. The Inspector General instead selectively quotes from interviews, takes facts out of context.The White House declined comment.

The accusation comes from Peggy Gustafson, the inspector general for the Commerce Department, who wrote a memo expressing deep concern that release of the report was being blocked. The final publication of our evaluation has been delayed, thwarted, and effectively (stopped) by the Departments refusal to identify specific areas of privilege, wrote Gustafson, who was appointed by President Barack Obama. Gustafsons memo said communications with Commerce and NOAA officials were collegial throughout the investigation, but changed after her office submitted the final report for privilege review. This tone shift appears to be directly linked to the content of our report and the findings of responsibility of the high-level individuals involved, Gustafson wrote. I am concerned that the substance of our report and findings has resulted in this retaliatory posturing."

ORLANDO, Fla. Even though the six-month Atlantic hurricane season lasts as long as a typical Major League Baseball season, a Florida congresswoman thinks it needs to be longer. In 2020, three tropical storms Arthur, Bertha and Cristobal formed in mid-May and the beginning of June, she said. There has been only one named hurricane before June since the satellite era started in 1966 Hurricane Alma in 1970. I dont think there is any reason to lengthen the hurricane season, since we havent had a hurricane in May in 50 years," Klotzbach said in an email. Hurricane season was also never intended to include ... all of the activity, just the majority of it," said McNoldy, who works for the Rosenstiel School of Marine & Atmospheric Science.