Today marks the first day of a two-week online dialogue on the establishment of the NOAA Climate Service. You can participate in the conversation by visiting their website: www.NAPAclimatedialogue.org. The study is trying to determine how the NOAA Climate Service can best: Provide information at the global, regional and state levels over varying timescales Support […]
Tag Archives | weather & climate
New NOAA PDF Answers Hurricane vs Oil Slick Questions
Posted on June 8, 2010
NOAA has released a short new PDF outlining how they expect the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill will affect this year’s hurricanes. The short version: not much. The two pages of “Hurricanes and the Oil Spill” attempt to concisely answer such questions as: What will happen to a hurricane that runs through this oil slick? (Very […]
New Survey of Southeast Louisiana Residents Shows Most Planning to Evacuate
Posted on June 7, 2010
A new survey of residents of Southeast Louisiana finds that while 57% feel at least “moderately comfortable” with the area’s levee systems, drainage pumps, and emergency warning systems, about 80% have “well developed” hurricane evacuation plans and say they are willing to evacuate in the face of a hurricane (see the graph for percentages of […]
Eight Hurricanes, Fifteen Tropical Storms for 2010 Forecasters Say
Posted on April 7, 2010
The leading storm forecasting team at Colorado State University is predicting eight hurricanes and fifteen tropical storms for this year’s hurricane season. “While patterns may change before the start of the hurricane season, we believe current conditions warrant concern for an above-average season,” researcher William Gray said. Not good news. “U.S. forecaster sees increased 2010 […]
FLOAT House Suggests New Approach to Floodplain Living
Posted on October 14, 2009
No matter what you’re trying to do, it rarely hurts to have Brad Pitt on your team. When Make It Right, a group founded by Pitt after he saw the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans’s Lower Ninth Ward, revealed its new FLOAT House last week, the announcement received a fair amount of media […]
Corps of Engineers Mandates Consideration of Sea Level Rise
Posted on October 13, 2009
In a new public document, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (COE) has announced that it will immediately require all COE Civil Works projects in coastal and estuarine areas to consider sea level rise in all phases of its projects. The short document continues with specific explanations of which rates of sea level rise must […]
The Costs of Not Preparing for Climate Change
Posted on September 30, 2009
Even the most conservative project puts sea level rise at 0.5 meter (1.6 feet) higher than current levels. The HRI Socio-Economics Group was asked by the Environmental Defense Fund, with support from the British Consulate General in Houston, to assess what the socio-economic impact might be for the Galveston Bay region of Texas. HRI Endowed […]
NOAA Seeks Proposals on Impacts of SLR on Ecosystems
Posted on August 11, 2009
NOAA is soliciting research proposals for projects of 3 to 5 years in duration for development of modeling and mapping tools to better understand and predict the impacts of sea level rise on coastal ecosystems, including ecologically and economically valuable natural resources, to support proactive coastal management and mitigation decisions. The area of interest includes […]
NOAA Revises Hurricane Outlook
Posted on August 6, 2009
According to its August Atlantic hurricane season outlook, NOAA’s National Weather Service Climate Prediction Center now expects a near- to below-normal Atlantic hurricane season, as the calming effects of El Nino continue to develop. But scientists say the season’s quiet start does not guarantee quiet times ahead. The season, which began June 1, is entering […]