A sudden stratospheric warming event has begun, deforming the Polar Vortex and setting the stage for a colder start to winter across the United States, Canada, and Europe.
An arctic blast could be in forecast for the U.S. during December 2025, with a sudden stratospheric warming (SSW) being forecast to disrupt the polar vortex. This will result in a spill of arctic air across mid-latitudes and below average temperatures across the U.S.
An early stratospheric warming developing over the Arctic in late November 2025 is raising the likelihood of colder conditions and increased snowfall across parts of the United States, Canada, and possibly Europe in December.
ENSO remains neutral, and NOAA’s Climate Prediction Center has issued a La Niña Watch, assigning a 71 % probability of La Niña development during October–December 2025.
A rare stratospheric warming event is disrupting the Antarctic polar vortex in September 2025, with forecasts suggesting wetter southern Australia, drier eastern Australia, and a higher chance of abnormally hot days.
A sudden stratospheric warming event is unfolding over Antarctica in early September 2025, rapidly weakening the southern polar vortex. Forecast models indicate potential downstream effects on the Northern Hemisphere jet stream, with implications for winter 2025/26 in the USA and Canada.
The World Meteorological Organization confirmed a new lightning flash record spanning 829 km (515 miles) across the Great Plains, United States, observed on October 22, 2017.
An extremely rare gigantic jet, powerful bolt of upward lightning, was captured from the International Space Station as it soared above a thunderstorm over northern Mexico and the U.S. Southwest on July 3, 2025. The striking image, taken by NASA astronaut Nichole Vapor Ayers, shows the jet piercing into the ionosphere, offering a rare glimpse of one of Earth’s most elusive atmospheric phenomena.
The Antarctic stratosphere is showing initial signs of disruption, as early warming waves form around a persistently cold polar vortex core. Further intensification and broadening of the anomalies are forecast for July 2025.
A plume of Saharan dust stretching from the coast of Africa to the northwestern Caribbean and into the Gulf of Mexico is forecast to reach Florida by Saturday, May 31, 2025. Southern and central parts of the state are expected to experience hazy skies and reduced air quality over the weekend. A denser plume could arrive by mid-next week, with the dust reaching Texas by Tuesday, June 3.
