Helene was a category 4 major hurricane with maximum winds of 140 mph.

Winter Snow Totals

A new study finds that climate change is already causing all sorts of problems on Earth, but soon it will be making a mess in orbit around the planet too.

Three tropical cyclones are spinning in the South Pacific, an occurrence that scientists say is unusual.

A Weather Authority Alert Day has been issued for December 29 due to the possibility of heavy thunderstorms and up to 60 MPH winds, which the NOAA classifies as damaging winds. It’s important to keep yourself safe, and make sure your outdoor belongings aren’t at risk of flying away!

Solar storms may produce faint auroras across the northern rim of the United States this Thanksgiving.

Forecasters say Hurricane Kristy has strengthened into a Category 4 storm and is expected to remain away from land as it churns in the Pacific Ocean.

Oscar has weakened to a tropical storm after making landfall Sunday in eastern Cuba.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration released its U.S. Winter Outlook for the 2024-2025 season on Thursday.

Forecasters say Hurricane Kirk has strengthened into a Category 4 storm in the Atlantic Ocean and waves caused by it could cause life-threatening surf and rip current conditions this weekend.

Forecasters say Hurricane Kirk has strengthened into a Category 3 storm in the Atlantic Ocean and is expected to grow rapidly into a major hurricane.

Highs will reach the mid to upper 90s outside of the mountains this weekend

Scientists say a large number of whales visiting the waters off New England included an uncommon sighting of an orca eating a tuna and an unusually large group of an endangered species of whale.

Enjoy the break in humidity now! Temperatures reach the 90s in some spots later this week

NOAA is forecasting 17 to 25 named storms in the Atlantic Basin in 2024

There are a lot of steps the National Weather Service has to take before estimating how strong a tornado was.

The number one risk to the Commonwealth in these types of severe storms is flooding.

An above average hurricane season is expected

The widespread wind storm killed seven people and left thousands without power

A bucket list item checked off for many without having to travel.

You'll have to get to a dark spot with a clear view of the northern sky, but there's potential.

Tropical systems this far inland usually result in flooding or tornadoes.

Temperatures reach into the 60s in most areas Sunday through Tuesday

The Northern Lights will put on a dazzling display in parts of the U.S. Thursday night

Tropical Storm Pilar is lashing Central America with heavy rains that have already been blamed for two deaths in El Salvador as it meanders off the Pacific coast.

Tropical Storm Pilar threatens to bring heavy rain and flash flooding to El Salvador and other parts of Central America as it sat just off the Pacific coast.

Hurricane Norma has weakened slightly but remains a major storm off Mexico’s Pacific coast.

NOAA's forecast puts stock into the El Niño, but there are several other factors at play

Tropical Storm Norma has formed off Mexico's western Pacific coast.

Lidia has dissipated after hitting land as a Category 4 hurricane near the resort of Puerta Vallarta, where one person was killed by a falling tree and two others were injured.

Tropical Storm Philippe is aiming for Bermuda on a path that would eventually take it to Atlantic Canada and eastern New England.

Tropical Storm Philippe is drenching the U.S. and British Virgin Islands as it spins away from the northeast Caribbean on a path that would take it toward Bermuda and later New England and Atlantic Canada.

We'll learn two things in October that will guide us in making a winter forecast.

Tropical Storm Philippe has made landfall in the tiny island of Barbuda as it unleashes heavy rains and flash floods in the northeast Caribbean.

Tropical Storm Rina has formed in the Atlantic Ocean on the heels of Tropical Storm Philippe.

The hailstone fell in Kirk, Colorado in early August

NOAA's forecast puts stock into the El Niño, but there are several other factors at play

The Administration says it was likely the hottest month - overall - on record too.

Forecasters predict more activity in the Atlantic Basin from August through at least October

As an international search determined the implosion of a vessel that disappeared on its way to the underwater wreckage of the Titanic, a man who was one of the submersible company's first customers says a dive he made to the site two years ago was like a suicide mission.

Tropical Storm Arlene, the first named storm of the Atlantic hurricane season, has formed in the Gulf of Mexico.

Typhoon Mawar was a Category 4 super typhoon with maximum sustained winds of 150 mph or greater when it crossed the northern tip of Guam on Wednesday night.

The Flood of '85 destroyed his grandmother's house, thus thrusting him into a career of tropical meteorology

A cyclone which is intensifying as it approaches the southeastern African coast has been labeled as “dangerous” by the United Nation’s weather agency on Monday as nations brace for landfall.

The nation's largest public utility has appointed an independent panel to look into power failures that spurred the decision to implement rolling blackouts during dangerously cold conditions late last year.

It was the 46th straight year in which the annual global temperature was above average

Two weeks ago, we told you about the strongest storms to impact Virginia in 2022. Now, we have a recap for the United States as a whole.

A federal utility’s decision to resort to rolling blackouts after coal and natural gas units went offline during dangerously cold conditions has intensified questions about the Tennessee Valley Authority’s recent decision to double down on fossil fuels.

An arctic blast has brought extreme cold, heavy snow and high winds to much of the U.S. Cold air moving down from Canada has caused temperatures to plunge dramatically.

Tropical Depression Lisa has moved into southern Mexico a day after making landfall as a hurricane in the Central American nation of Belize and heading inland over northern Guatemala.

Hurricane Lisa has made landfall on the Caribbean coast of Belize.

Former Hurricane Roslyn slammed into a sparsely populated stretch of Mexico's Pacific coast between the resorts of Puerto Vallarta and Mazatlan.

Hurricane Roslyn has grown to Category 4 force as it heads for a collision with Mexico’s Pacific coast, likely north of the resort of Puerto Vallarta.

Hurricane Roslyn is moving off Mexico’s Pacific coast, with forecasters predictng a weekend landfall between the resorts of Puerto Vallarta and Mazatlan.

Hurricane Orlene has strengthened some while heading for an expected Monday landfall on Mexico’s northwestern Pacific coast.

There are many ways to categorize a hurricane. The storm’s central pressure is one way. The height of its storm surge is another. How much rain it drops is another. And, of course, the strength of its wind is another. But what causes a hurricane to strengthen or weaken? The answer is simple enough, but multifaceted.

The aurora could be seen as far south as Pennsylvania, Iowa and Oregon early Thursday

Tropical Storm Alex could soon form and eventually have an impact on our weather

Mexican authorities say Hurricane Agatha caused flooding and mudslides that killed at least 11 people and left 20 missing.

Hurricane Agatha has become the strongest hurricane on record to make landfall in May in the eastern Pacific as it swept ashore on a sparsely populated stretch of tourist beaches and fishing towns in southern Mexico.

The first hurricane of the season has formed off Mexico’s southern Pacific coast and it's rapidly growing stronger ahead of an expected strike along a stretch of tourist beaches and fishing towns as a major storm.

The organization is expecting 14-21 named storms, 6-10 hurricanes and 3-6 major hurricanes

Urban areas can run 10 to 15 degrees hotter than their rural counterparts in the summertime

It was the 447th consecutive month with temperatures above the 20th-century average

This same storm produced more than 100 reports of severe weather Monday in the Southern Plains

Though the satellite will monitor the western U.S., it will help improve forecasts for storms that move toward our area

If you’re familiar with the Texas coast, which isn’t known for having crystal clear water, you probably never would have suspected that a mere 100 miles off of Galveston is a 56 square mile marine sanctuary complete.

Following the fourth warmest year on record in the United States, we got the new year off to a cool start!

The country was also struck by 20 billion-dollar disasters in 2021

La Niña most often leads to less snow in this part of the U.S.

Rain is pouring down on southeast Georgia and coastal South Carolina as Mindy, now a tropical depression, makes its way across the state.

A swath of the Florida Panhandle was under a tropical storm warning after Tropical Storm Mindy made landfall Wednesday night.

New Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrell has ordered a mandatory evacuation for a small area of the city outside the levee system.

Tropical Storm Ida has formed in the Caribbean and forecasters say it's aimed at the U.S. Gulf Coast, prompting Louisiana’s governor to declare a state of emergency and forecasters to announce a hurricane watch for New Orleans.

New Englanders bracing for their first hurricane in 30 years are hauling boats out of the water and taking other precautions as Tropical Storm Henri barrels toward the Northeast coast.

They may not live in a pineapple, but they’re certainly hanging out under the sea.

Scientists have a new idea for how Earth got its oxygen: It’s because the planet slowed down and days got longer.

Tropical Storm Elsa is sweeping over western Cuba with strong rain and winds, and forecasters say it will move on to the Florida Keys on Tuesday and Florida’s central Gulf coast by Wednesday.

An undersea exploration company plans to dive to the sunken Titanic to begin what’s expected to be an annual chronicling of the shipwreck’s deterioration.

NOAA and beach safety partners came together to talk about the dangers in coastal waters

High winds and heavy rains are striking coastal Louisiana and Mississippi as a disorganized and unpredictable tropical weather system churns through the Gulf of Mexico.

The organization released new climate "normal" numbers for our region and the rest of the country Tuesday

The fight to improve urban heat islands through mapping continues across the country

ROANOKE, Va. – The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has released its Spring weather outlook. It comes as no surprise that warmer-than-average temperatures are expected this spring for much of the country. Spring 2021 Temperatures OutlookAs for rainfall, we are expecting a slightly wetter spring than average. For the first time in three years, major flooding is not expected. Significant drought conditions are expected to continue and likely worsen in the months ahead, which comes as bad news for our friends to the west.

He tweeted that his NOAA weather radio alerted him about the tornado and he was able to evacuate his wife and baby from their bedroom. Thank u weather radio! Weather radios came in handy during the Nashville tornado last year when cell phone towers went down and residents lost their access to weather app alerts. Why NOAA weather radios are useful (Copyright 2021 by WSLS 10 - All rights reserved.) Consider buying and programming an NOAA weather radio for your home, so you’re prepared the next time severe weather threatens our corner of the Commonwealth!

Your Local Weather Authority is in the process of making its forecast for the upcoming winter. Experts at NOAA are forecasting warmer than average temperatures across the southern half of the United States. What the La Niña typically meansThe main reason for a forecast like this has to do with the La Niña, which is described as cooler than average temperatures in the Pacific Ocean. What a La Niña meansWe reconstructed a map from the North Carolina Climate Office to show what a typical La Niña looks like across the U.S. during the winter months. In fact, one out of every four La Niña winters exceed expectations.

ASHEVILLE, N.C. – Last week, we told you that the Arctic saw its second-lowest sea ice minimum on record in September. That mark beats out September 2015 and 2016, which were previously tied as the hottest on record. BREAKING: Earth just had its hottest #September on record, according to @NOAA #climate scientists. What's more, 2020 is on track to rank among the world's hottest years ever recorded. 2020 as a whole will likely end as a top three hottest year on record.

This GOES-16 GeoColor satellite image taken Friday, Oct. 9, 2020, at 10:00 a.m. EDT, and provided by NOAA, shows Hurricane Delta in the Gulf of Mexico. – Delta has been downgraded from a once powerful hurricane to a tropical storm as it moves inland across the U.S. South. Delta's reach stretched as far west as Galveston, Texas, about 100 miles (160 kilometers) from where the storm struck Louisiana. Tropical Storm Marco fizzled as it hit the southeast Louisiana tip just three days before Laura struck. And Tropical Storm Cristobal caused damage in southeast Louisiana in June.

This GOES-16 GeoColor satellite image taken Friday, Oct. 9, 2020, at 10:00 a.m. EDT, and provided by NOAA, shows Hurricane Delta in the Gulf of Mexico. – Ripping tarps from already damaged roofs and scattering debris piled by roadsides, Hurricane Delta inflicted a new round of destruction on Louisiana as it struck communities still reeling after Hurricane Laura took a similar path just six weeks earlier. Delta's reach stretched as far west as Galveston, Texas, about 100 miles (160 kilometers) from where the storm struck Louisiana. Tropical Storm Marco fizzled as it hit the southeast Louisiana tip just three days before Laura struck. “The wind is much worse than what Hurricane Laura brought,” Gove said in a message on Twitter.

Location 60 miles NNE of Birmingham Alabama Wind 10 mph Heading NE at 10 mph Pressure 29.83 Coordinates 86.3W, 34.3NDiscussionAt 400 AM CDT (0900 UTC), the center of Post-Tropical Cyclone Beta was located near latitude 34.3 North, longitude 86.3 West. The post-tropical cyclone is moving toward the northeast near 10 mph (17 km/h) until it becomes indistinguishable within the background wind and pressure field by mid-afternoon Friday. Maximum sustained winds are near 10 mph (20 km/h) with higher gusts. The estimated minimum central pressure is 1010 mb (29.83 inches). Tropics Satellite at 3:39 Friday Night, September 25thWatches and WarningsThere are no watches or warnings in effect.

Asheville, N.C. – Following the second-hottest July on record globally, NOAA has released their climate report for August and it’s another month for the record books! Just in: The Northern Hemisphere just had its hottest summer on record and #August 2020 ended as 2nd hottest for the globe, per @NOAANCEIclimate. https://t.co/HtyrJLYary #StateOfClimate pic.twitter.com/mzxjW6cpqd — NOAA (@NOAA) September 14, 2020One of the most amazing, but sobering stats they included in the report? The report also includes stats for meteorological summer in the Northern Hemisphere and details about the continued decline of Arctic sea ice. For a local perspective, we recapped southwest and central Virginia’s hot and wet summer in last week’s weather newsletter.

Location 530 miles NNE of Halifax Nova Scotia Wind 50 mph Heading NNE at 32 mph Pressure 28.8 Coordinates 57.3W, 51.0NDiscussionAt 1100 PM AST (0300 UTC), the center of Post-Tropical Cyclone Teddy was located near latitude 51.0 North, longitude 57.3 West based on the Marble Mountain, Newfoundland, radar and surface observations along the west coast of Newfoundland. On the forecast track, the center of Teddy should move closer to the northwestern Newfoundland coast tonight and into the Labrador Sea on Thursday before merging with a larger extratropical low. By the Sea, Newfoundland (near the Cow Head Lighthouse) reported a barometric pressure of 979 mb (28.91 inches). SURF: Large swells generated by Teddy are affecting Bermuda, the Lesser Antilles, the Greater Antilles, the Bahamas, the east coast of the United States, and Atlantic Canada. WIND: Gusty winds are possible along the western coast of Newfoundland tonight.

You’ve surely heard the term “typhoon,” but have you ever wondered how it differs from a hurricane?

ROANOKE, Va. Studies have shown that afternoon temperatures in cities rise 15 to 20 degrees higher than surrounding rural areas. This is known as the urban heat island and it can cause an increased risk for respiratory illnesses, heat exhaustion and stroke and other factors. Why we should care about urban heat islands (WSLS)The city of Roanoke has identified this as a problem and applied for a grant from NOAA to work toward a solution. NOAA Climate and Health Project manager Hunter Jones said the city will be able to use that information to combat the urban heat island. How to fight urban heat islands (WSLS)Jones said the mapping process will take a few months and he expects the data to be ready by late fall or early winter.

ROANOKE, Va. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration issued an update to its forecast for the rest of the Atlantic hurricane season. Similar to Wednesdays forecast from Colorado State University , NOAA is forecast an extremely active season ahead. The warmer the water is, the more conducive it becomes for tropical systems to grow and intensify. Wind shear refers to the difference in wind speed and direction from the ground up. If we make it beyond 21 named storms, storms will take on Greek letters as their names.

ROANOKE, Va. Just a day after Isaas wreaked havoc up the East Coast, experts at Colorado State University released an update to their forecast for the 2020 Atlantic tropical season. The forecast now calls for an extremely active Atlantic season. Weve yet to reach the historic peak of the season, which falls between August 20th and October 10th. Frequency of tropical systems in the AtlanticWith CSUs updated forecast, we would run out of names. The current practice is to start using Greek letters once we run out of names.

ROANOKE, Va. New research from NOAA and NASA Monday confirms that the first half of 2020 has been close to the hottest on record across the globe. The average global temperature between January and June was 1.93F above the 20th-century average and just 0.09F from the record set in 2016. This also states that Junes temperatures were tied as the third-hottest on record, marking the 426th consecutive month of warmer-than-average global temperatures. Roanoke is currently in the middle of one of its longest 90 streaks on record. We'll likely extend our 90 streak in the Roanoke Valley today.

ROANOKE, Va. – Saharan dust plumes emerge from Africa frequently. True Color satellite imagery of Saharan Air Layer around 8 a.m. Tuesday (College of Dupage)However, for some of you, this is new. WHAT IT IS NOTWhile this plume of Saharan dust is more pronounced than others, it doesn’t warrant some of the hype it’s garnered on social media. That is far different from what is happening with the Saharan Air Layer. PROSThe Saharan Air Layer (SAL) is a layer of dry, dusty air thousands of feet above that travels from east to west into the tropics multiple times a year.

BAY OF CAMPECHE Despite two preseason tropical storms (Arthur and Bertha), Atlantic hurricane season did not officially begin until Monday. Its a busy first day of the season for forecasters at the National Hurricane Center in Miami as they have begun issuing advisories on Tropical Depression 3. Tropical Depression 3 information (WSLS)The disturbance was once known as Tropical Storm Amanda and was being tracked as part of the Eastern Pacific hurricane basin. Tropical Depression 3 forecast track (WSLS)This hurricane season is likely to be an active one. Forecasters at Colorado State University, NC State University and NOAA are all predicting above-normal numbers of named storms, hurricanes and major hurricanes.

ROANOKE, Va. – Spring officially begins on Thursday and during this new season, we often experience increased severe weather in southwest Virginia. When severe weather threatens, there is often confusion on the difference between a “watch” and a “warning.” Severe thunderstorm watches are issued when conditions are favorable for the formation of severe storms. A severe thunderstorm warning will be issued when a storm has already become severe or soon will. Severe thunderstorm watch vs. warning (3/15/2020) (WSLS)Tornado alerts are broken down into three categories: watch, warning and emergency. You’ll hear from some of the victims, plus other severe weather preparedness stories each day this week on 10 News at 5 p.m.