• NOAA: 2012 was warmest year ever for US, second most 'extreme'

    Last year was one for the history books, as a long-term warming trend brought two record highs for each record low between 2000 and 2010. And even more concerning, in the past year there were five record highs for each low recorded. NBC's Anne Thompson reports.

    By Elizabeth Chuck, Staff Writer, NBC News

    If you found yourself bundling up in scarves, hats, and long underwear less than usual last year, you weren't alone: 2012 was the warmest year on record in the contiguous United States, according to scientists with The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.


    The average temperature for 2012 was 55.3 degrees Fahrenheit, 3.2 degrees above normal and a full degree higher than the previous warmest year recorded -- 1998 -- NOAA said in its report Tuesday. All 48 states in the contiguous U.S. had above-average annual temperatures last year, including 19 that broke annual records, from Connecticut through Utah.

    “We’re taking quite a large step,” said Jake Crouch, a climate scientist from the NOAA National Climatic Data Center, which has recorded temperatures in the contiguous U.S. for the past 118 years.

    It was also a historic year for "extreme" weather, scientists with the federal agency said. With 11 disasters that surpassed $1 billion in losses, including Superstorm Sandy, Hurricane Isaac, and tornadoes across the Great Plains, Texas, and the Southeast and Ohio Valley, NOAA said 2012 was second only to 1998 in the agency's "extreme" weather index.

    A long-term warming trend for the U.S., combined with drought and a northerly jet stream, led to the record heat, explained Crouch. 

    "During the winter season, the jet stream tended to stay further north of the U.S.-Canadian border, so that limited colder outbreaks in the country. It also limited precipitation. So that led to a warm and dry winter season, and that persisted through the spring," he said. 

    Matt Rourke / AP file

    People play in water from an open fire hydrant during the afternoon heat on July 18, 2012, in Philadelphia. July was the hottest month ever on record in the contiguous U.S.

    "That warm and dry spring and winter laid the groundwork for the drought we had this summer... . When we have drought, it tends to drive daytime temperatures upward."

    The unprecedented warm weather wasn't contained to the United States.

    A corresponding rise in global temperatures prompted the World Meteorological Organization to call the rate at which the Arctic sea ice was melting "alarming" in its Nov. 28, 2012, report.

    “The extent of Arctic sea ice reached a new record low. The alarming rate of its melt this year highlighted the far-reaching changes taking place on Earth’s oceans and biosphere. Climate change is taking place before our eyes and will continue to do so as a result of the concentrations of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, which have risen constantly and again reached new records,” World Meteorological Organization Secretary-General Michel Jarraud said.

    Each year since 2001 has been among the warmest on record worldwide, with 2012 likely to "be no exception despite the cooling influence of La Niña early in the year," the report added.

    'Horrible' sea level rise of more than 3 feet plausible by 2100, experts say 

    Watch NBC's special coverage of the 2012 drought 

    'Wake-up call': Chicago set to break 73-year-old snowless record

    NOAA expects to have global data for 2012 sometime in the coming weeks, but Crouch said scientists already know with certainty "it's going to be in the top ten" warmest years ever.

    Adding to the extremes: 2012 was the driest year on record for the U.S., with 26.57 inches of average precipitation -- 2.57 inches below average. Those dry conditions created an ideal environment for wildfires in the West, which charred 9.2 million acres -- the third highest amount ever recorded, NOAA said Tuesday.

    Other notable climate activity from 2012:

    • Snowpack totals across the Central and Southern Rockies were less than half normal.
    • July was the hottest month ever on record in the contiguous U.S.
    • Tornado activity was concentrated toward the beginning of the season, with large outbreaks in March and April in the Ohio Valley and Central Plains, but the final 2012 tornado count will likely be less than 1,000 -- the least since 2002. "The factors behind that are kind of related to what was going on with the drought. We didn't have these large storm systems moving through the country, so that limited precipitation, and that also limited severe weather outbreaks," Crouch said. What made this year so high on the extreme weather index were cyclones, hurricanes, and the heat, he said.
    • Alaska was cooler and slightly wetter than average, and had a record-cold January. "Their January temperatures were 14 degrees below average. Many locations in Alaska had temperatures 30 degrees below zero," Crouch said, adding that Anchorage, Alaska, set a new snow record.
    • Hawaii experienced growing drought conditions, with 47.4 percent of the state experiencing moderate-to-exceptional drought at the beginning of 2012 and 63.3 percent at the end of the year. Alaska and Hawaii were not included in the bulk of NOAA's 2012 report because of terrain issues, and because scientists don't have records dating back as far as states in the contiguous U.S.

    While NOAA made no meteorological forecasts for 2013, Crouch said the drought was going to continue to be an issue.

    "The drought got a lot of attention this summer when it was having impacts on agriculture. More than 60 percent of the country is still in drought," he said. "And if things don't change, the drought is going to continue to be a big story in 2013."

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  • 'Hurricane domes' rising across Texas as shelters -- and gyms

    —

    David J. Phillip / AP

    Work continues on the construction of a hurricane dome at Edna High School in Edna, Texas, on Dec. 6.

     

    By Juan Lozano, The Associated Press

    Most of the time, the windowless building with the dome-shaped roof will be a typical high school gymnasium filled with cheering fans watching basketball and volleyball games.

    But come hurricane season, the structure that resembles a miniature version of the famed Astrodome will double as a hurricane shelter, part of an ambitious storm-defense system that is taking shape along hundreds of miles of the Texas Gulf Coast.

    Its brawny design — including double-layer cinder-block walls reinforced by heavy duty steel bars and cement piers that plunge 30 feet into the ground — should allow it to withstand winds up to 200 mph.


    "There is nothing standard" about the building, said Bob Wells, superintendent of the Edna school district, as he stood inside the $2.5 million gym, which is set to be completed by March. "The only standard stuff is going to be the stuff we do inside."

    The Edna dome is one of 28 such buildings planned to protect sick, elderly and special-needs residents who might be unable to evacuate ahead of a hurricane. First-responders and local leaders will also be able to take refuge in the domes, allowing them to begin recovery efforts faster after a storm has passed.

    Storm-defense structures are getting increased attention in the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy, which inflicted heavy damage on the East Coast in October. The city of New York, for instance, is considering a multi-billion-dollar system of sea barriers.

    For Texas, a state always in danger during hurricane season, the domes offer the extra benefit of serving as recreation or community centers when not needed as shelters. They are being erected with help from the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

    David J. Phillip / AP

    Bob Wells, superintendent of the Edna Independent School District, shows the new domed gym under construction in Edna, Texas.

    "I think it's good for FEMA, and I think it's good for us. And I think it's good for the taxpayers," Wells said.

    The gym in Edna, a town of 5,500 people about 100 miles southwest of Houston, is the second hurricane dome in Texas. The first was built in 2011 in Woodsboro, near Corpus Christi. Most of the domes will be around 20,000 square feet.

    The plan calls for structures in 11 counties in the Rio Grande Valley, around Corpus Christi and along the coast from Victoria to Newton counties, said Tom Vinger, a spokesman for the Texas Department of Public Safety.

    So far, $34.5 million has been awarded. This month, FEMA approved funds for a hurricane dome that will serve as a community center in Brownsville, one that will serve as a wellness center and physical rehabilitation facility in Bay City and two that will serve as multi-purpose training centers in Kingsville.

    Inside the gym in Edna, Wells' voice echoed as he pointed to the ceiling, which has layers of sprayed-on concrete, insulation and rebar, all of which are under a heavy duty fabric that gives the structure its distinctive wind-resistant shape.

    The doorways are covered by awnings of heavy gauge metal and supported by concrete girders that go 15 feet into the ground.

    FEMA is paying for 75 percent of the dome structures, with local communities picking up the remaining cost.

    The funding is part of the agency's initiative to help homeowners and communities build hardened shelters that provide protection from extreme weather.

    Nationwide, more than $683 million has been awarded in 18 states, including Texas, Alabama, Michigan and South Carolina.

    Walking around the gym, Wells said it reminded him of when, as a teenager, he first walked into the Astrodome after it opened in 1965 in Houston.

    "It was like, 'Oh, wow, this is so cool,'" he said. "I'm still kind of in the 'Oh, wow' stage with this."

    NBC News' Richard Engel investigates what experts say can be done to better protect coastal cities from storms like Sandy. Sandy sent a record 14-foot storm surge into New York Harbor, flooding subway tunnels and airports.

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  • Evacuations ordered near New Orleans as Isaac water threatens river lock

    The Gulf Coast is struggling to recover from Hurricane Isaac as nearly 400,000 homes and businesses are without power. NBC's Gabe Gutierrez reports.

    By Miguel Llanos, NBC News

    St. Tammany Parish, a community north of New Orleans on Lake Pontchartrain, on Saturday ordered the mandatory evacuation of thousands of residents in some 1,200 homes, fearing the failure of a lock along a canal could send a wave of water sweeping through neighborhoods.


    Saturday night, parish emergency officials said that the opening of valves had relieved pressure on Lock 2 on the Pearl River Diversion Canal but the evacuation order would remain in place.

    Earlier, parish officials said the order covered residents between Locks 1 and 2 on the Pearl River Diversion Canal. "Failure of Lock 2 is imminent," the parish said on its website.

    The National Weather Service issued a flash flood warning until 4 a.m. ET Sunday.

    The weather service said that if Lock and Dam No. 2 failed, the initial flood wave would be about 11 feet. It said the wave would take about one hour to travel the 11 miles downstream to Lock and Dam No. 1. 

    Buses were sent to help with the evacuations in the area north of the city of Slidell.

    The order came as hundreds of thousands of people in the region tried to clean up after widespread flooding by Isaac.

    Some 360,000 homes and businesses were still without power.

    A $15 billion upgrade to New Orleans' levee and pump system after Hurricane Katrina helped protect the city during Isaac, but areas outside were not as lucky.

    Earlier this week, a levee in Plaquemines Parish overtopped, flooding dozens of homes and drowning at least two people.

    The Weather Channel's Julie Martin takes a look at a slow-moving storm that is expected to dump heavy rain on the Midwest.

    The flooding outside New Orleans led some local officials to wonder if the upgrades had pushed water into the outside areas.

    Related: Isaac's rains hit Missouri, Illinois

    The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, responding to a request from Sen. David Vitter, R-La., said Saturday it would run models to see if that was the case, the New Orleans Times-Picayune reported.

    David J. Phillip / AP

    Ray Dumes, left, and his son Deron carry out a couch as they clean up their home in LaPlace, La., on Saturday.

    Isaac's rains are now over the central U.S., helping ease the worst drought there in 50 years.

    But high winds associated with the storm system were wreaking havoc. In Clay County, Ark., a possible tornado damaged two homes and hangars at the local airport.  

    Mark Rockwell / Joe Jett

    A hangar lies in ruins after high winds slammed the airport in Clay County, Ark.

    Mark Rockwell / Joe Jett

    Wind damage at the airport in Clay County, Ark.

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  • Expect six Atlantic hurricanes this season, Weather Channel says

    At the National Hurricane Conference in Orlando, Fla., storm experts said the best way to protect yourself is by using hurricane shutters and impact-resistant windows.

    By Miguel Llanos, NBC News

    Folks living along the Gulf and East Coasts can expect a slightly below-average Atlantic hurricane season, the Weather Channel said Wednesday in a forecast that falls in line with an earlier one by university researchers. The federal government, for its part, comes out with its prediction next month.


    "After very active tropical seasons in 2010 and 2011, we expect fewer storms to develop this hurricane season," meteorologist Todd Crawford said on weather.com.

    The big variable, he added, will be El Nino, the cyclical event that impacts Pacific Ocean temperatures and weather worldwide. An El Nino tends to increase vertical wind shear, the phenomenon of changing wind speed that can tear apart storms before they form.

    "There is still uncertainty regarding the development of El Nino, which will impact future forecast updates," Crawford noted. "If the chances of El Nino development increase, our forecast numbers will likely go down even further in future updates."

    Cooler North Atlantic sea temperatures are another factor behind the forecast, Crawford said.

    The Weather Channel forecast calls for 11 named tropical storms, six of which become hurricanes. Two of those should be major hurricanes of Category 3 or higher, it added.

    The 1950-2011 average is 12 named storms, of which seven become hurricanes and three growing to major storms.

    Earlier this month, Colorado State University forecasters predicted 10 tropical storms, four of them becoming hurricanes and two "major" in size.

    The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration will issue the official U.S. forecast in late May.

    NOAA this year retired Irene from its list of names for storms because of the 48 deaths and widespread damage Hurricane Irene caused in 2011.

    It also slightly modified its hurricane wind rating system. As a result, Category 3 hurricanes are now 111-129 mph (from 111-130 mph), Category 4 hurricanes are 130-156 mph (from 131-155 mph), and Category 5 hurricanes are 157 mph or higher (up from 156 mph). 

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  • Mixed blessing: Cleaning up pollutants fueled hurricanes, study finds

    NASA

    This satellite-based image shows Hurricane Katrina approaching the Gulf Coast in August 2005.

    By Miguel Llanos, NBC News

    It's certainly not what officials had in mind when they curbed industrial aerosol pollutants, but a new study suggests that doing so has had a big effect on Atlantic Ocean temperatures -- and in the case of the U.S. can be linked to warming seas that fueled hurricanes like Katrina.


    "When industrial pollution peaked over the Atlantic, this effect played a big role in cooling the ocean beneath," Paul Halloran, a study co-author and ocean scientist with the British government's Met Office weather service, said in a statement accompanying the study. "As pollution was cleaned up -- for example after the clean air legislation of the '90s -- the seas warmed."

    Earlier studies found a link between sea temperatures, hurricanes and droughts. But the new study, published in the peer-reviewed journal Nature, goes beyond that to bring into the picture aerosols from the burning of fossil fuels. Those industrial aerosols can cause corrosive acid rain.

    "Our study is the first to identify how significant these human emissions of aerosols are because they capture aerosol interactions with clouds," co-author Ben Booth told msnbc.com.

    It turns out more aerosols make clouds brighter and longer lasting, thus reflecting sunlight back up and cooling seas. Less do the opposite, warming seas.

    Using a computer model to track aerosol emissions, cloud impact and ocean temperatures, the researchers found that while volcanic eruptions also contribute aerosol pollution, the manmade effect has been much more significant.

    If you're thinking that nations should increase manmade aerosols to battle hurricanes by cooling the Atlantic, the researchers say not so fast.

    "While cool phases correspond to periods with lower hurricane activity in the North Atlantic," Booth said, "they are also linked with widespread persistent African drought (1970s and 1980s) -- with all the associated food and mortality related impacts."

    "I think this is a very important point that we need to get across when we communicate these results," he added.

    Other studies have shown that droughts in Africa and even South America are tied to changes in ocean temperature, Booth said.

    "Our study focuses on how we understand these changes, previously thought to be natural oscillations," he added, and it suggests "that much of this could have been driven by human emissions and volcanic events."

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