Hurricane Andrew made landfall on August 24, 1992, near Homestead, Florida, becoming one of the most catastrophic hurricanes in U.S. history. It had an extremely low central pressure of 922 millibars and maximum sustained wind speeds estimated at 165 miles per hour. The storm rapidly intensified less than 36 hours before landfall, leaving most residents less than a day to secure their homes and heed evacuation orders.
When NOAA Atlantic Oceanographic and Meteorological Laboratory (AOML) staff found themselves with a major hurricane on their doorstep, hurricane researchers urgently began working to aid forecasters at NOAA’s National Hurricane Center (NHC). Hurricane Andrew affected their families, and even destroyed one scientist’s home. Once the hurricane passed, our scientists went right back to work, using what they had learned and seen firsthand to improve our understanding of tropical cyclones. In the 30 years since Andrew, NOAA scientists, forecasters and partners have revolutionized hurricane forecasting to save lives and property.
A team of coral researchers from the National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the University of Miami (UM) rescued 43 coral colonies after a sea wall collapsed at Star Island, near Miami Beach.
In partnership with NOAA, Saildrone Inc. is deploying seven ocean drones to collect data from hurricanes during the 2022 hurricane season with the goal of improving hurricane forecasting. For the first year, two saildrones will track hurricanes in the Gulf of Mexico.
Have you ever wondered what animals might be present in a particular habitat or traveled through a certain area of the ocean? Scientists are able to use environmental DNA or “eDNA” sampling to help answer those questions.
New research by scientists at NOAA’s Atlantic Oceanographic and Meteorological Laboratory (AOML) shows that changes in temperatures in the equatorial Pacific Ocean, called El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO), can help predict changes in the Florida Current that occur three months later.
Salt has played an outsized role in human history. This element found in the ocean is now at the heart of new NOAA research that will potentially lead to improved forecasts of the most dangerous hurricanes.
Spectacular footage from inside a hurricane; a major ocean mapping milestone; new insights on the continued impacts of climate change, and much more -- 2021 was a busy year for NOAA Research. As the year draws to a close, we’re taking a look back at a few of our biggest research stories of the last 12 months.
A new study finds coral that live in urban areas have some cool adaptations for their challenging conditions - even specialized proteins for defending against toxic substances.
Keeping track of ocean health is critical for understanding climate change, weather patterns, and the health of important fisheries. But how do NOAA and partner scientists gather data on such a vast environment?