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Articles on Atmospheric science

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Ragweed pollen, instigator of headaches and itchy eyes across the U.S. Bob Sacha/Corbis Documentary via Getty Images

Pollen season is getting longer and more intense with climate change – here’s what allergy sufferers can expect in the future

Rising temperatures mean longer, earlier pollen seasons, but the bigger problem is what carbon dioxide will do to the amount of pollen being released. A 200% increase is possible this century.
Boston got socked with nearly 2 feet of snow in late January 2022. Scott Eisen/Getty Images

Why a warming climate can bring bigger snowstorms

Winters are getting warmer, yet Bostonians were digging out from nearly 2 feet of snow from a historic blizzard in late January. Why is the Northeast seeing more big snowstorms like this?
The Sun rises in Midland, Michigan, shortly after 8a.m. on Jan. 13, 2017. Christian Collins/Flickr

How the Earth’s tilt creates short, cold January days

The winter solstice is past, but bundle up – January is when winter really arrives in many parts of the Northern Hemisphere.
Damage in Mayfield, Kentucky, after a tornado swept through the area on Dec. 11, 2021. Brett Carlsen/Getty Images

Why the southern US is prone to December tornadoes

Tornadoes in December aren’t unusual in the Gulf Coast and lower Mississippi Valley states, but the Dec. 10-11 outbreak was extreme and far-reaching.
Lightning during a monsoon storm in southern Arizona, Saguaro National Park. Pete Gregoire, NOAA

Monsoons make deserts bloom in the US Southwest, but climate change is making these summer rainfalls more extreme and erratic

Monsoons are weather patterns that bring thunderstorms and heavy rains to hot, dry areas when warm, moist ocean air moves inland. They’re challenging to forecast, especially in a changing climate.
Temperatures in normally warm Texas plunged into the teens in February 2021, knocking out power for a population unaccustomed to cold, with deadly consequences. Thomas Shea / AFP via Getty Images

How Arctic warming can trigger extreme cold waves like the Texas freeze – a new study makes the connection

Counter to what you might expect, events like the February cold wave that froze Texas can actually become more likely with global warming.
In high alpine terrain, sun and dry air can turn snow straight into water vapor. Jeffrey Pang/WikimediaCommons

Snow can disappear straight into the atmosphere in hot, dry weather

As rivers run dry in the Rocky Mountains and the West, it’s easy to wonder where all the snow you see on mountain peaks goes. Some of it ends up in the air, but researchers aren’t sure how much.
Mars northern polar cap, photographed by the NASA Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter mission. NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS

Why is there so little water left on Mars?

New results show why and how water is disappearing from Mars atmosphere.

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