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The high this afternoon in Phoenix ticked up another degree to 119°F. This is the 3rd occurrence this year, 5th occurrence on record, and ties as the 4th warmest high temperature on record.

Meteorologists say the explanation for the robust winter season is not so simple. The current La Niña pattern does have an influence on global weather, but Maue said that is only one factor. Bianca Feldkircher, a meteorologist for the National Weather Service, said a persistent blocking pattern over the Pacific Ocean plus cold air migrating south from the Arctic have created the conditions for widespread snowfall along the West Coast. Although many regions struggled with the challenging winter conditions, some are welcoming the much-needed moisture. The recent precipitation is a blessing for ameliorating the drought that has persisted in the...

A remarkable, perhaps historic storm system, is currently approaching our forecast area. Impacts of concern through tonight: - Severe thunderstorm wind gusts (greater than 80 mph) as storms move through west/central/north Oklahoma and parts of western north Texas - Severe (post-frontal) westerly winds gusting to 60 mph following the line of storms - Significant tornadoes and significant hail produced by severe storms as they track across northwest, west, west-central, southwest Oklahoma and portions of western north Texas (snip)... ...Everyone should have a safety plan in place by now, and by this evening: + People located in mobile homes should urgently...

Workers in the National Weather Service are 'shocked, stunned and irate' at their bosses in the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration for backing Trump up and claiming that he was right to say Hurricane Dorian was headed for Alabama. In a string of baffling developments now known as 'Sharpiegate', the row centers on the president's September 1 tweet that the brutal storm was likely to hit Alabama 'harder' than expected. The NWS Birmingham office quickly issued a tweet to insist the state was not in the storm's path. Trump then defended his statement and insist it was based on early...

A weather whiplash is predicted to hit people in the Rockies and Plains this week, as conditions go from balmy to blizzard overnight. The high is predicted to be around 80 degrees in Denver and other cities Tuesday — but within 24 hours, blizzard conditions are forecast, the National Weather Service says. "Warm today. Snow tomorrow," says the NWS office in Denver and Boulder, Colo., predicting temperatures that could hit record highs Tuesday — followed by rain turning to snow, in a blast of cold air that will ride winds of 40-60 mph on Wednesday. For many central U.S. residents,...

For residents of St. Louis, Missouri and Washington D.C. commuting to work surrounded by mountains of snow, it’s essential that they leave home equipped with an accurate weather forecast. Yet, politics is rearing its ugly head and preventing Americans from getting the information they need to make safe travel choices. During the shutdown, the National Weather Service (NWS) is forcing Americans to undertake DIY forecasting. Even though the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA, which oversees the NWS) has claimed that much of “operations are in excepted status and therefore remain in place to provide forecasts and warnings to protect...

The world’s largest airborne observatory was supposed to be parked in Seattle this week, so thousands of scientists attending the “Super Bowl of Astronomy” could behold this marvel: a Boeing 747 outfitted with a massive telescope used to study the fundamental mysteries of the universe. But conference-goers will not be able to see NASA’s space-exploring plane. Its visit to the 233rd Meeting of the American Astronomical Society was canceled, one of a growing list of scientific casualties of the partial government shutdown now stretching into its third week. Along with the plane, hundreds of government scientists are also no longer...

REDDING, Calif. (KCRA) — A large fire whirl that developed last week in Redding as a wildfire moved through the city created winds equivalent to an EF-3 tornado, the National Weather Service-Sacramento said Thursday. NWS and a Cal Fire Serious Accident Review Team conducted a damage survey, which preliminarily found that the whirl reached maximum wind speeds exceeding 143 mph. The whirl was produced between 7:30 p.m. and 8 p.m. on July 26 as the wildfire burning in Shasta County moved into the city. The Carr Fire, which ignited July 23 in Whiskeytown near Highway 299, has claimed six lives...

Hurricane Ophelia is the latest weather system to whip up winds and rain in the Atlantic. But the storm is heading east toward the northwest coast of Spain and then up to Ireland instead of crossing the Atlantic toward the hurricane-ravaged Caribbean. Ophelia officially gained hurricane status on Wednesday evening, according to the National Hurricane Center. As of Thursday morning, Ophelia was moving northeast at about 3 mph and was expected to continue on that path for the next day or so. The storm has picked up strength, with sustained winds of 90 mph and higher gusts. Some of...

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SAYS WE HAVE NEVER EXPERIENCED ANYTHING LIKE HARVEY BEFORE. I have gathered downloads and everything I feel one would need to stay informed about Harvey and EFFECTED AREAS. Our prayers are with everyone in the path of Harvey and the ongoing flooding. God bless all you and all the rescuers out there. LIVE COVERAGE: DEADLY HOUSTON FLOODS – People Trapped, Rescues Ongoing Live coverage of the Houston floods with Steve Lookner To help victims of Hurricane Harvey, you can donate to the Red Cross here: http://www.redcross.org/hp/harvey2

Since Friday, the National Weather Service has described the impacts Hurricane (and now Tropical Storm) Harvey in superlatives, with forecasts stating the flooding would be “catastrophic” and “life threatening.” Now, nearly 50 inches of rain (4 feet!) are in the forecast as Harvey stalls over Houston, and the Weather Service is stretching to find the right way to describe the risk. They’re calling the situation “unprecedented.” Long-time weather journalists and meteorologists are saying this language is as dire as the National Weather Service gets. Rains could last through the week. Five are reported dead already. More deaths may come. This...

Imagine a dust storm, driven by monsoon downbursts, building near the Maricopa-Pinal county line. There are thousands of Interstate 10 motorists and hundreds of thousands of Phoenix exurb residents who would probably want to know about such a storm before the stinging, blinding wall of sand arrives. But does all of metro Phoenix need to get the alert? Likely not, but the National Weather Service’s Ken Waters told the dozens of attendees at the annual dust-storm workshop in Coolidge last week that that’s exactly what would happen with the existing cellphone warning system in place for dust events. “If I’m...

What is going on with National Weather Service? Lots of misses piling up. Overreaction by govts, bad forecasting very troubling trend!!— MATT DRUDGE (@DRUDGE) March 14, 2017

The Trump administration is seeking to slash the budget of one of the government’s premier climate science agencies by 17 percent, delivering steep cuts to research funding and satellite programs, according to a four-page budget memo obtained by The Washington Post. The proposed cuts to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration would also eliminate funding for a variety of smaller programs, including external research, coastal management, estuary reserves and “coastal resilience,” which seeks to bolster the ability of coastal areas to withstand major storms and rising seas. NOAA is part of the Commerce Department, which would be hit by an overall 18 percent budget reduction from...

FOR MORE THAN A CENTURY, THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HAS ISSUED ITS FORECASTS IN ALL CAPITAL LETTERS. But in the age of social media that’s considered yelling, so next month federal meteorologists are lowering their voices and their letters — except in dire emergencies. Weather service spokeswoman Susan Buchanan said the agency started using all capital letters in 1849 forecasts because of the telegraph. Twenty years ago, the agency tried phasing out the practice, but old equipment wouldn’t recognize lower-case letters. …

Weather Conditions for: Burlington/Mount Vernon, Skagit Regional Airport, WA. Time (PDT) 16 Sep 5:35 am PDT Temp.(f) 82

Hackers from China breached the federal weather network recently, forcing cybersecurity teams to seal off data vital to disaster planning, aviation, shipping and scores of other crucial uses, officials said. The intrusion occurred in late September but officials gave no indication that they had a problem until Oct. 20, according to three people familiar with the hack and the subsequent reaction by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration or NOAA, which includes the National Weather Service. Even then, NOAA did not say its systems were compromised.

Long Island BT-1000 Knocks CakeFaced MiddleSchool Teacher Out Cold

Since at least Tuesday, satellite data – an important input to weather prediction models – has stopped flowing into the National Weather Service due to an apparent network outage. At 1 p.m. today, the National Weather Service’s National Center for Environmental Prediction (NCEP) issued the following statement warning the outage could impact forecast quality: NCEP HAS NOT RECEIVED A FULL FEED OF SATELLITE DATA FOR INPUT INTO THE NUMERICAL MODELS SINCE 22/0000Z…POTENTIALLY IMPACTING THE MODEL FORECASTS.NESDIS AND NCEP ARE INVESTIGATING THE ROOT CAUSE OF THE ISSUE. ONCE THE SITUATION IS RESOLVED ANOTHER MESSAGE WILL FOLLOW.

Federal workers watch 'Star Trek' on clock By Jim McElhatton Thursday, April 10, 2014 Exploring new frontiers in time and attendance fraud, a group of federal employees and contractors spent one day last summer at a local restaurant followed by an afternoon watching the latest “Star Trek” movie — all at taxpayers’ expense. --SNIP-- The afternoon was all on government time. But once they learned they were being investigated, the employees went back and changed their attendance records to take personal leave. Overall, about $3,500 reflecting the cost of staff time for lunch and the movie was returned to the...