VISIT: Meteorological Interpretation Blog

On 10 March 2026, NWS WFO Honolulu, HI, issued a rare Ashfall Warning over the big island of Hawai’i as Kilauea, an active shield volcano, had violently erupted (yet again). This time, the volcanic eruption produced a significant ash plume that led to Hawai’i Volcanoes National Park to temporarily close parts of the park and Continue Reading

NWS WFO Fairbanks, AK, forecasted blowing snow across northwestern Alaska, where the region would experience strong and gusty winds of ~50-60 mph from 6-8 March 2026. On the afternoon of 8 March 2026, the high winds led to the existing snowpack becoming dislodged, then picked up and blown across the remote landscape. Blowing snow and Continue Reading

On 17 February 2026, the NWS Storm Prediction Center (SPC) issued an Extreme Fire Weather Outlook for the central and southern high plains, stretching from southwest Nebraska to the Oklahoma and Texas Panhandles. The outlook relayed the increased fire danger over the region, which was forecasted for high winds and low relative humidities. Abundant dry Continue Reading

A significant chunk of ice fractured across Lake Erie last weekend, where an 80+ mile long crevice was seen from space, and nearly stretched from Ontario, Canada, to Cleveland, OH. A social media – drone video (below) captures the fractured ice along Lake Erie. Per NOAA’s Great Lakes Environmental Research Laboratory (GLERL), ice coverage over Continue Reading

During late January 2026, a historic winter storm impacted millions of people across the central and southern United States, producing significant snow, sleet and ice accumulations that led to a flurry of airport delays and cancellations, impassable roadways for motorists, damage to infrastructure, power outages, and cold temperatures. This blog entry focuses on the significant Continue Reading

After the start of the new year, hot, dry, and windy conditions were conducive to bushfires erupting over southeastern Australia. The fires were primarily observed in the state of Victoria, where the capital city of Melbourne resides. According to the broadcast outlet, 10-News Melbourne, approximately 400,000 hectares (or ~980,000 acres) were burned over the region, Continue Reading

Earlier this week, the Big Island of Hawaii received snow over the volcanic summits of Mauna Kea and Mauna Loa. Both summits are 13,000 plus feet above sea level, where they can accumulate snowfall, typically throughout Hawaii’s wet season (October through April). On Monday, 5 January 2026, winter storm warnings forecasted high winds and 5-10 Continue Reading

Last week, a few fires erupted within Yuma County, located in northeastern Colorado. The fire hotspots were first captured by geostationary satellites at ~0500 UTC, 18 December 2025, after cloud cover moved out of the region. GOES-19 5-minute infrared imagery shows the hotspots in white and red pixels at 2-km spatial resolution. At ~0630 UTC, Continue Reading

Over the past three weeks, tule fog blanketed the California Central Valley, oscillating in size and extent across the region. The 400+ mile long, ~50+ mile wide valley, was inundated with fog that led to reduced ground visibilities for motorists and aviation, along with bringing cooler temperatures to the area. The VIIRS instrument from JPSS Continue Reading

Earlier this week, a significant dust storm impacted the Chubut and Santa Cruz Provinces of southern Argentina. A strong low-pressure system, initially located in the South Pacific Ocean, traversed through the Andes Mountain Range and exited into the South Atlantic Ocean, which brought hurricane force winds that supported the development of the dust storm. Widespread Continue Reading