The Heat Wave of 1936: The Deadliest Summer in North American History
The Summer That Killed Thousands The summer of 1936 arrived on a landscape already devastated. The Great Plains were in their fifth year of severe drought. Topsoil that had survived for millennia was blowing off the land in the massive dust storms covered in earlier Weather Daily pieces. Farmers who hadn’t yet abandoned their land […]
Why the Hottest Days of Summer Come Weeks After the Longest Day
The Solstice Isn’t the Hottest Day. Here’s Why. June 21 is the summer solstice — the longest day of the year, the day Earth’s Northern Hemisphere is tilted most directly toward the sun, the day solar energy arrives at its maximum annual intensity. By every astronomical measure, it should be the hottest day of the […]
Food Safety in the Heat: What You Need to Know Before the Memorial Day Cookout
The Cookout That Makes People Sick Is Avoidable Memorial Day weekend marks the unofficial beginning of outdoor entertaining season — and the unofficial beginning of the foodborne illness spike that public health agencies track every summer with dispiriting regularity. The CDC estimates that roughly 48 million Americans experience foodborne illness each year, and the rate […]
Why It Feels So Much Hotter Outside Than the Thermometer Says
The Temperature Is 85°F. It Feels Like 100°F. Here’s Why. Memorial Day weekend delivers the first genuinely summer-feeling outdoor days of the year for most of the country, and with them comes the familiar experience of heat that seems disproportionate to what the forecast promised. The thermometer says 85°F, but standing on the deck, sitting […]
Memorial Day Weekend: Recipes for Feeding a Crowd in the Heat
The First Big Cookout of the Year Deserves a Plan Memorial Day weekend is the unofficial opening of outdoor entertaining season — the first occasion of the year when the weather is reliably warm enough to eat outside, the days are long enough to linger, and the holiday gives everyone an excuse to gather. It’s […]
Joplin, May 22, 2011: The Tornado That Changed How America Thinks About Warnings
Fourteen Years Ago Today At 5:34 p.m. on May 22, 2011, a tornado touched down southwest of Joplin, Missouri and began moving northeast through the city. In 38 minutes, it killed 161 people, injured more than 1,000, and destroyed or damaged approximately 8,000 structures across a path nearly a mile wide and 22 miles long. […]
Get Your Outdoor Water Systems Ready Before Summer Arrives
The Window Between Spring and Heat Is the Right Time to Act Late May sits in a useful gap: warm enough that outdoor water systems can be fully tested and adjusted, but not yet deep enough into summer that a failing irrigation head or a cracked hose connection is an emergency. The vegetable garden is […]
How Weather Affects Senior Pets Differently—and What to Do About It
The Same Weather, A Different Body A healthy five-year-old Labrador and a twelve-year-old Labrador can spend the same afternoon outside and have entirely different physiological experiences. The younger dog’s cardiovascular system adjusts efficiently to heat. Its joints move freely through the full range of motion required for walking on uneven ground. Its thermoregulatory system responds […]
Wind Myths Debunked: What You Think You Know About Wind Damage
Peak Wind Season Is Here. The Myths Are Dangerous. Damaging winds from severe thunderstorms kill people and cause billions of dollars in property damage across the United States every year — more combined damage than tornadoes in most years. Despite this, wind is the least respected of the major severe weather hazards. People stand outside […]
How Forecasters See Tomorrow’s Storms Today: Inside Severe Weather Prediction
The Science Behind the Outlook You Check on Storm Days On a Tuesday morning in May, the Storm Prediction Center in Norman, Oklahoma publishes a convective outlook — a map of the United States color-coded by severe weather risk for the coming day. The map shows a Moderate Risk covering parts of Kansas, Oklahoma, and […]