Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

DeniseG @denisegutzmer.bsky.social · 16h

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the National Weather Service (NWS) experienced some drastic cuts, but I'm not sure about the Climate Prediction Center. I'd guess that they lost some staff, too, but not sure how many.

DeniseG @denisegutzmer.bsky.social · 17h

The U.S. Hazards Outlook indicates a risk of rapid onset drought in parts of Oklahoma, Arkansas, Mississippi, Louisiana and Texas from Oct. 17 - 23.

#RapidOnsetDrought #drought #FlashDrought 🧪

www.cpc.ncep.noaa.gov/products/pre...

The Days 8-14 U.S. Hazards Outlook shows areas where rapid onset drought risk exists in the next 8 to 14 days.

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DeniseG @denisegutzmer.bsky.social · 18h

Drought continued to expand in much of the eastern US, while easing in parts of the West and around the confluence of the Ohio and Mississippi rivers. Drought (D1-D4) covers 45.02%, an increase of 2.04 points from last week.

#drought #DroughtMonitor 🧪

droughtmonitor.unl.edu/CurrentMap.a...

The U.S. Drought Monitor shows the spatial extent and severity of drought across the country.

The one week change map shows areas where drought worsened in yellow and areas of improvement in green.

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DeniseG @denisegutzmer.bsky.social · 19h

Parched soils can spark hot drought a nation away

Dry soils in northern Mexico may trigger episodes of simultaneous drought and heatwave hundreds of miles away in the southwestern United States, such as Arizona, New Mexico, and Texas, per a new study.

#drought 🧪

news.agu.org/press-releas...

Parched soils can spark hot drought a nation away

Dry soils in northern Mexico may trigger episodes of simultaneous drought and heatwave hundreds of miles away in the southwestern United States, such as Arizona, New Mexico, and Texas, according to a ...

news.agu.org

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DeniseG @denisegutzmer.bsky.social · 22h

La Niña conditions are present and favored to persist through December 2025 - February 2026, with a transition to ENSO-neutral likely in January-March 2026 (55% chance).

ENSO Alert System Status: La Niña Advisory

#LaNina #ENSO 🧪

www.cpc.ncep.noaa.gov/products/ana...

The graph shows official NOAA CPC ENSO probabilities.

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DeniseG @denisegutzmer.bsky.social · 23h

Saltwater wedge moves up Mississippi River but not expected to reach New Orleans, Corps says

The Corps has built an underwater sill to prevent salt water from moving upriver every year since 2022. The sill will be constructed by Oct. 12.

#drought #MississippiRiver

www.nola.com/news/environ...

Saltwater wedge moves up Mississippi River but not expected to reach New Orleans, Corps says

The Army Corps says the saltwater wedge moving up the Mississippi River and isn’t expected to reach New Orleans’ drinking water intakes. But river levels will continue to drop for at least the next mo...

www.nola.com

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DeniseG @denisegutzmer.bsky.social · 23h

Scientists deploy ‘drone knights’ to shield 200-year-old trees from drought

Scientists at the University of Hohenheim recently introduced a data-driven drone system to monitor tree health and optimize irrigation at Hohenheim Gardens.

#drone #drought 🧪

interestingengineering.com/science/scie...

'Drone knights' protect 200-year-old trees from drought in Germany

German researchers have combined drone imaging and sensor data to help preserve 200-year-old trees through targeted watering.

interestingengineering.com

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DeniseG @denisegutzmer.bsky.social · 1d

Record Amazon fires release more carbon than an entire country

The Amazon has suffered its most destructive fire season in more than two decades, releasing a staggering 791 million tons of carbon dioxide—on par with Germany’s annual emissions.

#Amazon #wildfire 🧪

sciencedaily.com/releases/202...

Record Amazon fires release more carbon than an entire country

The Amazon has suffered its most destructive fire season in more than two decades, releasing a staggering 791 million tons of carbon dioxide—on par with Germany’s annual emissions. Scientists found th...

sciencedaily.com

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DeniseG @denisegutzmer.bsky.social · 3d

Enjoying international cuisines makes people more tolerant

Research has found that frequently enjoying a greater number of international foods reduced the likelihood of perceiving immigrants as “cultural or economic threats” by a tenth.

#food #tolerance

www.theguardian.com/food/2025/oc...

Enjoying international cuisines makes people more tolerant, UK study finds

Frequent and varied eating found to reduce likelihood of perceiving immigrants as ‘cultural or economic threats’

www.theguardian.com

DeniseG @denisegutzmer.bsky.social · 3d

The calculated soil moisture anomaly map shows incredibly dry soil in the Northeast and parts of the Midwest, Southeast and states along the Gulf.

#soilmoisture #drought 🧪

www.cpc.ncep.noaa.gov/products/Soi...

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DeniseG @denisegutzmer.bsky.social · 6d

The 8-14 day U.S. Hazards Outlook for October 11-17 shows an area of rapid onset drought risk for southeastern Texas across Louisiana to Mississippi.

#drought #flashdrought #RapidOnsetDroughtRisk 🧪

www.cpc.ncep.noaa.gov/products/pre...

The U.S. Hazards Outlook map shows areas where rapid onset drought risk, heavy precipitation and flooding may occur.

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DeniseG @denisegutzmer.bsky.social · 6d

'This is unprecedented:' Ecology restricts surface water use in the Yakima River Basin

In a rare move, all surface water rights holders in the Yakima River Basin will see their water curtailed due to lack of water from Oct. 6-31.

#drought #Yakima #Washington

www.yakimaherald.com/news/local/b...

'This is unprecedented:' Ecology restricts surface water use in the Yakima River Basin

Total system storage of the Yakima Project's five reservoirs is at 8%, among the lowest on record. Without reservoir water, natural flows are not enough to fulfill irrigation demands, including

www.yakimaherald.com

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DeniseG @denisegutzmer.bsky.social · 7d

The director of Eisenhower Library and museum in Abilene, Kansas said he was suddenly told to resign or be fired. He refused to give the Trump administration a historic sword from the museum’s collection.

🗡️ #Kansas #sword

www.kcur.org/politics-ele...

Director of Eisenhower Library in Kansas ousted after refusing to give Trump administration a sword

The director of the presidential library and museum in Abilene, Kansas, said he was suddenly told to resign or be fired. He refused to give the Trump administration a historic sword from the museum’s ...

www.kcur.org

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DeniseG @denisegutzmer.bsky.social · 7d

Flash drought developed in the Northeast in the latter part of summer, so you're right in that came on quickly.
The Northeast typically isn't all that dry so it is unusual to see such intense drought there.

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DeniseG @denisegutzmer.bsky.social · 7d

You can also find the National Drought Mitigation Center here on Bluesky. @droughtcenter.bsky.social

DeniseG @denisegutzmer.bsky.social · 7d

'Drought Download' video series visualizes U.S. Drought Monitor

A new video series by the National Drought Mitigation Center at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln provides an audio-visual recap of weekly U.S. Drought Monitor updates.

#drought #DroughtMonitor 🧪

news.unl.edu/article/drou...

news.unl.edu

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DeniseG @denisegutzmer.bsky.social · 7d

California’s Ancient Glaciers Are Melting Away for the First Time in Human History

Geologists found that these glaciers have been in place since before humans came to the Americas. This means there is no precedent in the last 20,000 years for their disappearance.

www.kqed.org/science/1998...

California’s Ancient Glaciers Are Melting Away for the First Time in Human History | KQED

New research shows that California's Sierra Nevada glaciers, which will vanish in decades, have remained intact for at least 10,000 years.

www.kqed.org

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DeniseG @denisegutzmer.bsky.social · 7d

I will and hope that you’re doing alright.

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DeniseG @denisegutzmer.bsky.social · 7d

Drought worsened in parts of Montana, the upper Midwest, South Plains and Southeast, but eased along and south of the Ohio River. Drought (D1-D4) decreased slightly to cover 42.98% of the contiguous US this week, a reduction of 0.43 points.

#drought 🧪

droughtmonitor.unl.edu/CurrentMap.a...

The one week change map shows where drought intensified in yellow or eased in green. The white areas are not affected by dryness.

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DeniseG @denisegutzmer.bsky.social · 7d

Yellowstone ecosystem grizzlies dying at record pace in 2025

This year, 63 Yellowstone ecosystem grizzly bears have died already, exceeding last year’s pace of deaths. Moderate to severe drought limited food availability for the bears.

#Yellowstone #bears #drought

wyofile.com/yellowstone-...

Yellowstone ecosystem grizzlies dying at record pace in 2025 - WyoFile

Biologists list 63 bears confirmed dead in 2025, up from 56 at this time in 2024, which was a record year.

wyofile.com

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DeniseG @denisegutzmer.bsky.social · 8d

Drought watch issued for New Jersey, water conservation urged

New Jersey residents and businesses are urged to voluntarily conserve water as dry weather has stressed water supplies.

#NewJersey #drought

www.wfmz.com/news/area/ne...

Water conservation urged as drought watch issued in NJ

The DEP strongly urges New Jersey residents and businesses to voluntarily practice water conservation efforts.

www.wfmz.com

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Reposted by DeniseG

a.s. @wxandbiscuits.bsky.social · 8d

Our new wildland fire seasonal outlook is out. Should be a busy fall in the Southeast and dormant season in the Southern Plains. www.nifc.gov/nicc-files/p...

October is forecast to see above normal fire
activity in Hawaii, Southern California, Oklahoma, Texas, Minnesota, Michigan, Maine, Vermont, New Hampshire, New York, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Virginia and North Carolina.

November fire activity is forecast to be above normal in Hawaii, Southern California, Oklahoma, Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina and Virginia.

December fire activity is forecast to be worse than normal in Southern California, Texas and the western Carolinas.

January fire activity is forecast to be worse than normal in the western Carolinas and Texas.

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Reposted by DeniseG

Dennis Mersereau 🛰️ @wxdam.com · 8d

Well, it's government shutdown season. Again. Here's how this latest shutdown could affect the flow of weather forecasting and data.

www.theweathernetwork.com/en/news/weat...

A U.S. government shutdown could affect weather forecasting, data - The Weather Network

The U.S. federal government shut down at midnight on Oct. 1, putting forecasters in a bind and locking away important data

www.theweathernetwork.com

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DeniseG @denisegutzmer.bsky.social · 8d

Tree-ring data sheds light on past and present summer climate extremes

University of Arizona scientists used historical tree-ring data to study a key driver for widespread, extreme summer weather events.

#TreeRingData #jetstream #drought 🧪

news.arizona.edu/news/tree-ri...

Tree-ring data sheds light on past and present summer climate extremes

New U of A-led research uses tree-ring drought records to create the first-ever 1,000-year climate reconstruction of summer jet stream patterns across the entire Northern Hemisphere.

news.arizona.edu

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DeniseG @denisegutzmer.bsky.social · 8d

Drought has slowed the flow of the Mississippi River, allowing saltwater to move upriver in southeast Louisiana. The location of the saltwater wedge is tracked by the US Army Corps of Engineers.

#drought #MississippiRiver #water #WaterQuality 🧪

www.mvn.usace.army.mil/Missions/Eng...

The graphic shows the location of the saltwater wedge moving up the Mississippi River in southeast Louisiana.

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