From an energy use standpoint, the May-September period is the primary period when cooling demand dominates, while November-March is the period when heating demand dominates. The in-between months of October …

The date of the first fall freeze varies widely across the US, with frosts and freezes often seen by mid-September across the Rockies and northern tier of the US, but …

After a wild spring season that featured the 2nd coldest April and warmest May on record since 1981, summer 2018 is shaping up to be warmer than normal across most …

Here in Oklahoma, pleasant spring weather didn’t get going until about April 24th when we finally saw consistent highs over 60F and lows over 40F. Unfortunately, it didn’t last long …

While Kilauea has been erupting continuously since 1983, the volcano has become more active in recent weeks, spewing both large quantities of lava on the northeastern flank of the volcano …

After a very cold month of April, the pattern has turned markedly warmer during May. While that has generated above-normal cooling demand as portions of the country reach the 90s …

The winter of 2017-2018 is now half over, and so far has been dominated by large temperature extremes. The first three weeks of meteorological winter averaged well above normal across …

Do you like your holiday season to look like a Winter Wonderland? With Christmas less than two weeks away, we can begin to look at which portions of the country …

The QBO, or Quasi-Biennial Oscillation, is an oscillation in the wind direction in the stratosphere within about 15 degrees of the equator. Over a roughly two-year period, winds tend to …

With the pattern turning cold enough at the end of October to produce widespread frosts and freezes, it is an excellent time to look at when the average first freeze …

As of early October, the 2017 Atlantic hurricane season has produced 14 named storms, 8 of which have reached hurricane strength, and 5 of those major hurricane status (Category 3 …

Summer 2017 was hotter than normal for the U.S., ranking 15th hottest on record out of the last 123 years. However, unlike summer 2016, the heat this year was focused …

After seeing the devastation caused by Hurricane Harvey, you might want to find a safer place to live than the hurricane prone Gulf Coast. While both the Gulf and East …

While some extreme heat has been seen this summer across portions of the country, most recently across the Pacific Northwest, the entire June-August summer period is running much cooler than …

The developing pattern across North America features a strong upper level ridge along the West Coast and a central and eastern US trough. The West Coast ridge is sending temperatures …

While it is July and quite hot across much of the US, HBO is currently advertising the new season of Game of Thrones with a “winter is coming” hashtag, so …

As both a meteorologist and an amateur astronomer, I know first-hand the impact weather has on both visual observing and astrophotography. Weather will certainly be a major factor for the …

Spring 2017 continued the warm trends seen in each of the seasons during the last two years. Most of the country averaged warmer than normal, except for New England. The …

The 2017 Atlantic hurricane season is fast approaching, and so it is a good time to look at the factors that influence overall levels of hurricane activity. There are several …

Recently, we had a question about why the Storm Prediction Center (SPC) was forecasting only a 5% chance for tornadoes on a severe weather day. The implication of the question …

The weather is moderating across most of the country at this time of year, and many areas are enjoying at least occasional pleasant weather days. So, we decided to take …

Do you know how to use weather data to estimate energy demand with respect to Heating Degree Days (HDDs) and Cooling Degree Days (CCDs)? Weather is the primary driver in …

One of the main drivers in global weather patterns is Madden Julian Oscillation (MJO), which is a large propagating area of tropical convection (showers and thunderstorms) that has a strong …

Winter 2016-17 got off to a cold start in early December and then produced some widespread well below normal temperatures during the first third of January, but since then warm …

With the mild winter of 2016-17 drawing to a close, attention is now shifting to the weather forecast for spring 2017. The primary questions for the upcoming spring season is …

Where does the current run of warmth rank historically? The last six weeks have been incredibly warm across the eastern half of the US, and numerous records have been set …

There are a number of atmospheric oscillations that are important drivers of week-to-week weather patterns across North America. The Arctic Oscillation (AO) and the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) often get …

As the number of installed wind generation facilities across the U.S. increases, so does the total available generation capacity. With total installed wind generation capacity now well past 75,000 Megawatts …

NOAA has released their full 2016 data for the US and global regions, and the data confirm that 2016 was a very warm year. The full year ranked as the …

The 2016 Atlantic hurricane season was an above average season that concluded with 15 named storms, 7 hurricanes, and 3 major hurricanes. This fit neatly into our preseason predictions of …

After taking most of the last year off, colder than normal weather has made a return this month, with the coldest anomalies seen since the frigid end of the 2014-15 …

If fall 2016 seemed unusually warm, that’s because it was, and not by just a little. Temperatures this season exceeded the warmth seen last year, and dramatically exceeded the seasonal …