Free Republic

The types of snowflakes you see in the air while you’re out trying to catch them on your tongue are based on a few different factors, but the main one is the “dendritic growth zone.”

The Viking Ship Museum in Denmark recently announced an unprecedented discovery in the Øresund Strait: the world’s largest and most advanced medieval cargo ship ever found. Hailed as “a milestone in maritime archaeology,” the discovery occurred while divers were investigating the seabed in the Sound, in anticipation of Copenhagen’s new Lynetteholm district, and stumbled upon a record-breaking cog buried beneath centuries of sand and silt. Found approximately 43 feet deep, the precious wreckage escaped destructive forces, resulting in an extraordinary state of preservation that provided archaeologists with a rare, close-up look at never-before-seen details. “It is extraordinary to have so...

Many environment and climate-related stories hit the headlines in 2025. Here at home, we had the record-breaking Storm Éowyn, one of the most powerful and widespread wind events to hit Ireland since the so-called “Night of the Big Wind” in 1839. Globally we had confirmation that average temperatures throughout the past three years exceeded 1.5°C of warming, and each of the past three years was either the hottest, the second hottest or the third hottest year on record. […] But one story is head and shoulders above all others when it comes to the most consequential environment event of 2025....

https://511.alaska.gov/map/Cctv/165?t=1767394030 This is wha the ice fog in Fairbanks looks like today. It is a clear day. This is frozen exhaust. Mostly ice crystals.

A powerful geomagnetic storm may light up skies across parts of the United States on New Year’s Eve, as a surge in solar activity raises the odds of seeing the aurora borealis farther south than usual. According to a forecast by the NOAA Space Weather Prediction Center, residents in up to ten U.S. states may witness this rare atmospheric event, just in time to ring in the new year. The forecast follows a burst of activity from a large sunspot, sending energy toward Earth and setting the stage for a potentially spectacular natural display. States Most Likely to Witness the...

The New Mexico Environment Department on Friday published a “Climate Action Plan” that contains more than three dozen steps to meet Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham’s goal of achieving net-zero emissions by 2050. NMED officials collaborated with their counterparts at the Energy, Minerals and Natural Resources Department to craft the plan, which they describe as a roadmap to a carbon-neutral future for the state. Officials said the plan protects energy industry jobs for New Mexicans while also cutting emissions and tending to the state’s finite natural resources. “The New Mexico Climate Action Plan is more than a set of goals —...

A new analysis of July temperatures in Death Valley between 1923 and 2024 suggests the world record near-surface air temperature of 134 F measured in July 1913 may be erroneous. ============================================================== Death Valley has held the record for the hottest air temperature ever measured near Earth's surface for 112 years, but now scientists are calling for the title to be rescinded. According to U.S. Weather Bureau data, the air temperature at Greenland Ranch in Death Valley reached a scorching 134 degrees Fahrenheit (56.7 degrees Celsius) on July 10, 1913. This is still the highest air temperature on record, but its...

We often think about human-induced climate change as something that will happen in the future, but it is happening now. Ecosystems and people in the United States and around the world are affected by the ongoing process of climate change today. Climate change affects the environment in many different ways, including rising temperatures, sea level rise, drought, flooding, and more. These events affect things that we depend upon and value, like water, energy, transportation, wildlife, agriculture, ecosystems, and human health.

A potent winter storm brings blizzard conditions to the Great Lakes and dangerous icing to the Northeast Sunday through Monday. Simultaneously, an arctic front plunges southward to clash with record warmth across the South. Video is 10:19 minutes long

In the years preceding the advent of central heating and high-precision weather forecasting, winter brought with it a definite sense of unease and danger. Whereas today a tough winter might just mean spending a bit more time inside, for years, a brutal winter could bring with it death, disease, and total isolation. Whether it be through cataclysmic volcanic winters or historically unprecedented blizzards, these devastating winters had far greater consequences than mere travel delays and hours spent shoveling snow. The Great Frost of 1709 Known as Le Grand Hiver (the Great Winter) in France, the Great Frost was a winter...

What about propane for rural folks? Do we have to give up gas furnaces and stoves? Who will pay? Will electric bills go way up? Flames emerge from burners on a natural gas stove, Wednesday, June 21, 2023, in Walpole, Mass. Gas and construction trade groups sued to block New York state’s controversial ban on gas stoves and furnaces in new buildings. (AP Photo/Steven Senne) Credit: AP ================================================================================ News that Colorado has set hard target dates for an end to burning natural gas in our daily lives prompted many “wait, what?” questions from Colorado Sun readers. And we are here...

A new report from the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland (SEAI) says that although energy related emissions in Ireland have fallen by 16% since 2018, the country has not broken the link between economic growth and fossil fuel use in a meaningful way. The SEAI says Ireland needs to double down on decarbonization, especially in transport, which is still 93% powered by fossil fuels. Ireland is legally obliged to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 50% by 2030. SEAI Energy in Ireland 2025 report notes total energy-related emissions have fallen to the lowest level in over 30 years. This has been...

Camp Mystic has announced its plan to reopen next summer with new safety measures after more than two dozen people were killed in floods at the all-girls Texas summer camp earlier this year. Twenty-seven children and camp counselors died after slow-moving thunderstorms in Kerr County caused the Guadalupe River to flood. In a message to parents issued Tuesday, the camp said it is preparing for next summer's event at their newer Cypress Lake location, which is "completely independent from the older Guadalupe River camp…” The camp said it has taken steps to enhance security at the location, including installing over...

Hoo boy. Sometimes, you might do something so embarrassing, so humiliating, that you want to hide in the closet. The prestigious science journal Nature may be thinking about doing that right about now, because on Wednesday, they officially retracted an influential 2024 climate report that predicted gloom and doom, death and misery, and impending economic catastrophe. As is the case with so much of the leftist climate narrative, their wild claims were quite simply unproven:In April 2024, the prestigious journal Nature released a study finding that climate change would cause far more economic damage by the end of the century...

If that snowstorm felt unusual for this time of the year, it was. Saturday was the snowiest November day ever recorded in Chicago, according to the National Weather Service. The storm dumped over 8 inches of snow on parts of the city. O’Hare International Airport got 8.4 inches as of Sunday morning, and Midway had 6 inches, forecasters said. But the storm isn’t over yet. The area’s winter weather advisory was extended from 6 a.m. to noon Sunday. “A band of snowfall is moving across Chicago, bringing a quick coating of snow again,” Weather Service meteorologist Zachary Yak said. “We...

There are sunken treasures, and then there is the legendary shipwreck of the San Jose. Considered by many to be the ‘Holy Grail’ of shipwrecks, we have been reporting on the explorations of the massive treasure since November 2023: The San Jose Galleon, the ‘Biggest Sunken Treasure in History’, Hasn’t Been Salvaged Yet – But It’s Already Causing Dispute in Court. The remains of the Spanish galleon San José, estimated to be worth nearly $20 billion, has been located off the coast of Colombia. pic.twitter.com/Tsb02Cgu87— Historic Vids (@historyinmemes) December 16, 2023This week, it was reported that Colombian scientists have recovered...

Scientists say they have captured the first direct acoustic evidence of lightning on Mars — tiny crackling electrical discharges triggered by swirling dust devils and storms, picked up by a microphone on NASA’s Perseverance rover. A French-led team reported in the journal Nature that it found 55 episodes of what it calls “mini lightning” — brief, static-like sparks inches long — hidden in 28 hours of rover audio recorded over nearly four Earth years. The faint pops and crackles, barely audible amid howling wind and dust grains pinging the microphone, occurred almost exclusively during the Red Planet’s dustiest, windiest days....

A strong winter storm is set to hit parts of the US Midwest and Great Lakes region this weekend, threatening flight delays and road safety for millions after the holiday. Winter Storm Watches are now in effect across Illinois, Wisconsin, Iowa, Missouri, Indiana, Michigan, Nebraska, South Dakota and Minnesota, impacting around 50 million Americans. Forecasters warned of potentially heavy snowfall, with accumulations of 6–12 inches or more possible in many areas, especially north of Interstate 70 and along and south of Interstate 90. The heaviest snow is currently expected across central and northern Illinois, eastern Iowa, southern and eastern Wisconsin,...

The Hayli Gubbi volcano in Ethiopia, located about 500 miles from the capital city of Addis Ababa, erupted on Sunday for the first time in about 12,000 years. The eruption was not too devastating as such events go, but it did release an enormous plume of ash, which rode the subtropical jet stream and quickly expanded to cover parts of Yemen, Oman, India, and Pakistan. Air India announced it canceled at least 11 flights on Tuesday due to concerns over the cloud. “The affected altitude is between 8.5 kilometers (5.2 miles) and 15 kilometers above the sea level,” said Mrutyunjay...

You may be better off traveling throughout the 'ocean state' via boat. (Credit: Mark F Lotterhand on Shutterstock) ============================================================================ In A Nutshell * Rhode Island has the worst roads in America, with 37.2% of major roads in poor condition and nearly 14% of bridges deteriorating * Washington state leads the nation in pothole complaints at 61.67 per capita, about 60% higher than Michigan’s rate * High spending doesn’t guarantee results: Pennsylvania spends $820 per capita on maintenance but still has 17.3% of roads in poor condition * Poor roads cost drivers hundreds of dollars annually through tire wear, suspension damage,...