Videos - Climate in Context

• Published: April 4th, 2016 in Climate, in Water, in Weather, in Projections, in Snow & Ice, in Basics, in United States, in US National,

Even though snowpack in Western states was up in 2016, snowpack is still trending down across the region. A new Climate Central report also show that several Western states have seen an increase in the percentage of winter precipitation falling as rain. Sean Sublette explains on this week's Climate Matters.

Videos - Climate in Context

• Published: March 2nd, 2016 in Impacts, in Climate, in Extremes, in Heat, in Health, in Landscapes, in Energy, in Fossil Fuels, in Food & Agriculture, in Flora & Fauna, in United States, in US National,

A warmer spring may sound nice, but can have serious consequences. An early spring can disrupt the well-established behavior patterns of plants and animals, which can affect the economy and human health. Watch Climate Central Meteorologist Sean Sublette explain more on this week's Climate Matters.

Videos - Climate in Context

• Published: February 17th, 2016 in Trends, in Climate, in Extremes, in Heat, in Landscapes, in Food & Agriculture, in Flora & Fauna, in Responses, in United States, in US National, in California, in Pennsylvania, in Maryland, in Virginia, in Alabama, in Arizona, in Arkansas, in Colorado, in Connecticut, in Delaware, in Florida, in Georgia, in Idaho, in Illinois, in Indiana, in Iowa, in Kansas, in Kentucky, in Louisiana, in Maine, in Massachusetts, in Michigan, in Minnesota, in Mississippi, in Missouri, in Montana, in Nebraska, in Nevada, in New Hampshire, in New Jersey, in New Mexico, in New York, in North Carolina, in North Dakota, in Ohio, in Oklahoma, in Oregon, in Rhode Island, in South Carolina, in South Dakota, in Tennessee, in Texas, in Utah, in Vermont, in Washington, in Washington, D.C., in West Virginia, in Wisconsin, in Wyoming,

Climate Central meteorologist Sean Sublette takes a look at the warming trends across the country for each season: winter, spring, summer, and autumn. Of the four, winter is warming the fastest for most of the country, and a longer growing season may have damaging effects. Find out more on this week's Climate Matters.

Videos - Climate in Context

• Published: January 27th, 2016 in Trends, in Climate, in Snow & Ice,

The country may have just passed the midpoint of meteorological winter, but different parts of the U.S. have their coldest days of winter at different times of the season. Here’s meteorologist Sean Sublette with the breakdown of when — and where — it’s usually the coldest.

Videos - Climate in Context

• Published: January 20th, 2016 in Trends, in Climate, in Extremes, in Heat, in Causes, in Greenhouse Gases,

2015 was the hottest year on record by a wide margin, beating the previous record (2014) by 0.29°F. An attribution study found that the continued buildup of greenhouse gases is the overwhelming driver for the record heat, while El Niño played only a minor role. Here's Sean Sublette with the details.

Videos - News and Reports

• Published: January 15th, 2016 in Climate, in Extremes, in Hurricanes, in Oceans & Coasts, in Weather, in Extreme Weather, in Snow & Ice, in Antarctic,

In the Atlantic Ocean, Hurricane Alex is making waves in meteorology news, and the Southern Ocean’s got its own method for capturing carbon! Get your weekly recap of climate and weather news with Climate Central’s Multimedia Journalism Fellow, Greta Shum… on the Shum Show!
 

Videos - Climate in Context

• Published: January 12th, 2016 in Trends, in Climate, in Weather, in Climate Statistics, in States of Change, in United States, in US National,

We're seeing fewer and fewer cold nights across the U.S. Details on the trend and why it matters on this week's Climate Matters with Climate Central meteorologist, Sean Sublette.

Videos - Climate in Context

• Published: December 21st, 2015 in Trends, in Weather, in Basics,

Dreaming of a white Christmas? Watch Bernadette Woods Placky, chief meteorologist, explain the statistical probability of at least 1 inch of snow on the ground on December 25th across the U.S.

Videos - Climate in Context

• Published: December 16th, 2015 in Trends, in Climate, in Causes, in Greenhouse Gases, in Weather, in Basics,

Climate change means our seasons are warming up — all four of them. But is one heating up faster than the others? Chief meteorologist Bernadette Woods Placky has the answer on Climate Matters.

Videos - Climate in Context

• Published: December 9th, 2015 in Trends, in Climate, in Extremes, in Basics, in Responses,

Hitting a couple of climate milestones may not seem like a big deal, but the global average temperature climbing to 1°C and the global concentration of CO2 reaching 400 perts per million are major milestones. Watch Sean Sublette explain.

Videos - Climate in Context

• Published: November 30th, 2015 in Impacts, in Trends, in Climate, in Causes, in Greenhouse Gases, in Policy, in Society, in Projections, in Basics, in Responses, in Solutions, in Global,

You're likely to hear the term 2°C a lot during the next two weeks as world leaders, scientists and policymakers meet in Paris in one of the most important climate change conferences in years. They seek to come to a binding agreement that keeps the planet from warming 2 degrees Celsius from pre-Industrial temperatures. But why that target? And what happens if we go past it? Climate Central's chief meteorologist, Bernadette Woods Placky, has the answers.

Videos - Climate in Context

• Published: November 18th, 2015 in Impacts, in Trends, in Climate, in Extremes, in Flooding, in Wildfires, in Heat, in Drought, in Oceans & Coasts, in Sea Level, in Causes, in Health, in Society, in Weather, in Extreme Weather, in Food & Agriculture, in Projections, in Basics, in Responses, in Solutions, in States of Change, in United States, in US National, in New England, in Mid-Atlantic, in South, in Pacific Northwest, in West, in Midwest, in Southwest, in Plains, in Rockies,

Across the country, many of us are experiencing changes in weather – winters are colder, summers are hotter, storms are hitting harder, and wildfires are burning longer. When these events strike, they have a profound and detrimental impact on our economy and daily lives. And changes likes these are expected to continue and get worse over time. So while each state has a differing level of efforts in place, in order to reduce future risks, it is critical that states improve their plans now.

States at Risk: America’s Preparedness Report Card is the first-ever quantitative assessment that summarizes the changing nature of key threats, including extreme heat, drought, wildfires, inland flooding, and coastal flooding, and the corresponding levels of preparedness in each of the 50 states.

The goal of the Report Card is to help states improve their level of preparedness by recognizing risks from the climate-related threats they face, building an action plan, and implementing this plan. Taking action now will pay dividends as we look to the future.

States At Risk: America’s Preparedness Report Card was prepared by Climate Central and ICF International

Videos - Climate in Context

• Published: November 11th, 2015 in Impacts, in Climate, in Extremes, in Drought, in Causes, in Basics, in Responses,

California and the Southern Plain states illustrate how droughts can form in very different ways.

Videos - Climate in Context

• Published: November 4th, 2015 in Impacts, in Trends, in Climate, in Extremes, in Heat, in Causes, in Basics,

September weather in November? It's no fluke.

The nationwide average November temperature has risen 0.51°F per decade since 1970, on average, giving a total warming of 2.3°F during that time. Plus, Novembers are warming slightly more than falls as a whole at 0.43°F per decade, on average, for a total of 1.9°F.

Videos - Climate in Context

• Published: October 28th, 2015 in Impacts, in Climate, in Extremes, in Heat, in Causes, in Basics, in Responses, in United States,

Halloween marks a tricky time of the year when it comes to the weather. As our chief meteorologist Bernadette Woods Placky explains, you have to consider this month's weather extremes and climate trends in order to pick a costume that's not going to leave you neither freezing nor sweating.

Videos - Climate in Context

• Published: October 21st, 2015 in Impacts, in Trends, in Climate, in Extremes, in Heat, in Causes, in Greenhouse Gases, in Projections, in Basics,

If you remember from the Back to the Future movie trilogy, October 21, 2015 is the date Doc Brown and Marty McFly time traveled to in order to sort out their past, present and future lives. 

Here at Climate Central, we don’t need a tricked-out DeLorean to help us sort out temperatures trends. We’ve got sound science and meteorologist Bernadette Woods Placky for that.

Videos - Climate in Context

• Published: September 15th, 2015 in Trends, in Climate, in Extremes, in Flooding, in Wildfires, in Hurricanes, in Heat, in Drought, in Weather, in Extreme Weather, in Snow & Ice, in Basics, in Climate Statistics, in States of Change, in United States,

To better understand the weather is to understand the climate. Come check out the new weather and climate site: wxshift.com. You'll find up-to-date weather data, along with news, analysis, multimedia and features on weather and climate. Plus, you'll see that it's a pretty cool-looking site, too. Give it a try!

Videos - On the Media

• Published: May 28th, 2015 in Climate, in Extremes, in Flooding, in Causes, in Weather, in Extreme Weather, in States of Change, in United States, in South, in Oklahoma, in Texas,

Heavy rains are in the news as Texas floods. Bernadette Woods Placky, Climate Central's chief meterologist, gave a breakdown of the recent records set in the Southern Plains and the connection to climate change on Thursday morning in an interview with The Weather Channel's Sam Champion. In true weather-geek fashion, Woods Placky invoked the Clausius Clapeyron equation — an equation that lays out how much more water the atmosphere can hold as it warms — and also highlighted Climate Central's When It Rains It Pours interactive, which shows rising heavy rain trends across the U.S.

Videos - Climate in Context

• Published: February 5th, 2015 in Trends, in Climate, in Extremes, in Heat, in Basics, in Climate Statistics, in Global,

2014 set a new mark for the hottest year on record.  And while unprecedented heat has become almost common place, it's been a long time since the world set any global cold records.

Videos - Climate in Context

• Published: February 3rd, 2015 in Trends, in Causes, in Basics, in Climate Statistics, in Wxshift, in Global,

Having trouble viewing? Watch this video on YouTube here

The world is on a hot tear. Nearly all of the planet's warmest years on record have occurred in the past 15 years. Is that just a coincidence, or does global warming have anything to do with the hot streak? Climate Central calculated the probability.

Videos - On the Media

• Published: January 22nd, 2015 in Impacts, in Trends, in Climate, in Extremes, in Projections, in Wxshift, in Global,

CCTV America interviews Climate Central Meteorologist Bernadette Woods Placky about the El Nino weather phenomenon and what we can expect looking forward.

Videos - On the Media

• Published: January 21st, 2015 in Climate, in Policy, in Society, in Basics, in Solutions, in United States,

On the heels of President Obama's sixth State of the Union address Tuesday, the Weather Channel’s Al Roker and Stephanie Abrams turned to Senior Science Writer Michael Lemonick for his take on the president's climate plan. 

Videos - Climate in Context

• Published: January 18th, 2015 in Trends, in Climate, in Extremes, in Heat, in Basics, in Global,

This iconic NASA animation depicts how temperatures around the globe have warmed from 1880 to 2014.

Videos - On the Media

• Published: January 7th, 2015 in Trends, in Climate, in Extremes, in Policy, in Society, in Weather, in Extreme Weather, in Projections, in Basics, in Climate Statistics, in Global,

Michael Lemonick, a senior science writer for Climate Central, appeared on The Weather Channel’s “Wake Up With Al” on Tuesday morning to discuss climate change and what's ahead in 2015. 

Videos - On the Media

• Published: September 19th, 2014 in Trends, in Climate, in Oceans & Coasts, in Weather, in Projections, in Basics,

There's been an El Niño Watch in place since March but the climate phenomenon has yet to fully arrive on the scene. But the great wait for elusive climate phenomenon — which can alter weather patterns around the world — might finally be coming to an end as the atmosphere and ocean are finally starting to line up. 

Climate Central's Brian Kahn was on Al Jazeera America's America Tonight to talk about the current state of El Niño, a warming of ocean waters in the eastern tropical Pacific, and if there's any connection between the emerging climate phenomenon and the recent floods that have drenched parts of the Southwest and Texas. Above-normal precipitation in the region is one of the hallmarks of El Niño-fueled weather patterns. Californians are also hoping that if El Niño does form, it could bring rains to their drought-parched state, though the strength of El Niño will help determine how likely that is to happen.

Videos - Climate in Context

• Published: July 24th, 2014 in Impacts, in Climate, in Oceans & Coasts, in Causes, in Weather, in Basics, in Wxshift,

In our new series called “Climate Indicators,” Climate Central's own meteorologist, Bernadette Woods Placky, explains what you need to know about El Niño in just 90 seconds. 

Videos - On the Media

• Published: April 6th, 2014 in Trends, in Climate, in Extremes, in Projections, in Basics, in Climate Statistics,

Climate Central Chief Climatologist Dr. Heidi Cullen discusses with CBS’ Bob Schieffer on Face the Nation the results of the recent IPCC report on global warming, and her role as chief science advisor on a new documentary series on climate change.

Videos - On the Media

• Published: February 16th, 2014 in Climate, in Society, in Responses, in Solutions,

Climate Central Chief Climatologist Dr. Heidi Cullen explains in a panel discussion on ABC’s This Week with George Stephanopoulos how cooperation among diverse groups is critical to addressing global warming issues.

Videos - On the Media

• Published: February 16th, 2014 in Impacts, in Climate, in Extremes, in Hurricanes, in Heat, in Drought, in Weather, in Extreme Weather,

Climate Central Chief Climatologist Dr. Heidi Cullen explains in a panel discussion on ABC’s This Week with George Stephanopoulos how climate change increases the risks of extreme weather events like heat waves, droughts, and monster storms. 

Videos - On the Media

• Published: February 12th, 2014 in Climate, in Extremes, in Weather, in Extreme Weather, in Snow & Ice, in Basics, in United States, in New England, in Mid-Atlantic,

A winter storm charges up the East Coast, leaving residents in a deep freeze. Climate Central Meteorologist Bernadette Woods Placky returns to Baltimore, where she once worked at a TV meteorologist, to put the storm in a climate perspective.