ForecastWatch October Wrap-up and News

October Wrap-Up

NWS Completes Major Upgrades to Weather Radars

The Radar Operations Center with the National Weather Service recently completed a $150 million, nine-year project called SLEP. SLEP stands for Service Life Extension Program, which aims to extend the lifespan of the 159 weather radars that make up the nation’s Next Generation Weather Radar network (NEXRAD). 122 NEXRAD radars are owned by the NWS, with 37 additional radars owned by the FAA and DoD, but all have received five major upgrades.

Forecast High Temperature Accuracy in the United States

As part of our United States Best Places report, we analyzed high temperature forecast accuracy for one to three days in advance. A forecast was deemed accurate if it was within three degrees of the observed high temperature. The most accurate high temperature forecasts were found in Florida, Hawaii, Puerto Rico, and southern Arizona. The least accurate high temperature forecasts were found in the central to northern Plains, northern Rockies, and much of Alaska.

Subscribe to the ClimateWatch newsletter!

Earlier this year, our parent company Intellovations LLC launched a newsletter called ClimateWatch!

The goal is to bring you the week's most pressing climate issues, impacts, trends and forecasts, groundbreaking innovations, and actionable tips in our weekly newsletter dedicated to keeping you up-to-date on climate information. In the future, the plan is to include in-depth analyses from our experts in the newsletter. 

Check out the newsletters from October:

• First Carbon Positive Hotel in America

• CO2 Sponges, Hurricane Helene, and Africa's GDP

• Climate Proposals, Greening Antarctica, and Midwest Climate Refuge

• Winter Outlook, Climate Resistance Communities, and Mass Bird Deaths

• Failing Carbon Sinks, Insufficient Climate Policies, and NFL Stadium Rooftop Farm

Hail Finally Gets Scientific Recognition

When it comes to extreme weather, hurricanes and tornadoes seem to get the most attention. Hail tends to fly under the radar, literally and metaphorically. Yet hailstorms total cars, destroy roofs, and devastate crops, costing the U.S. $46 billion in 2023 alone. That $46 billion represents 60-80% of losses from hail, tornadoes, wind, and lightning combined. A new project called the In-situ Collaborative Experiment for the Collection of Hail in the Plains (ICECHIP) hopes to bring more awareness and research into studying hail.

Space Weather and the Sun’s Impact on Earth’s Weather and Climate

Representatives from NOAA, NASA, and the international Solar Cycle Prediction Panel recently announced that the Sun has reached its solar maximum period, which could continue for the next year. The solar cycle is a natural cycle that the Sun goes through as it transitions between low and high magnetic activity. Roughly every 11 years, the Sun’s magnetic poles flip and the Sun transitions from being calm to an active and stormy state. During solar maximum, the number of sunspots (cooler regions on the Sun caused by a concentration of magnetic field lines) and the amount of solar activity increases. The increase in solar activity can impact satellites and astronauts in space, navigation systems, radios, power grids, the northern lights, and weather and climate on Earth.

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