Topic: National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

The US government shutdown will impact many of that country's government services, but the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's (NOAA) mission-critical tropical cyclone forecasting...

While no tropical storms or hurricanes are expected to impact the Cayman Islands for at least the next 10 days, atmospheric conditions are becoming more suitable and Hazard Management is urging increased levels of readiness.

Coral bleaching in Cayman is part of a worldwide phenomenon that is threatening reefs across every ocean on the planet, apart from the Arctic.

The US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has declared that the planet is currently experiencing a global coral bleaching event - the fourth on record and the second in the last decade.

The highest level of alert warning of heat stress to Cayman’s corals has been triggered, meaning extensive bleaching is imminent.

Researchers at the University of South Florida are warning of a massive sargassum bloom this year after satellite imagery detected 4 million metric tons of the seaweed blossoming in the western Atlantic Ocean.

Hazy conditions are the forecast for Cayman through Thursday, as a plume of Saharan dust settles over the Caribbean region. While the dust event is typical of this time of year, researchers have described the current Saharan Air Layer as the most significant in decades.

What would happen if a gigantic wave was barrelling toward Grand Cayman and there were only two hours to prepare for its arrival? Hazard Management Cayman Islands tackled that scenario on Thursday, when it participated in the regional Caribe Wave Tsunami Exercise.

Maryland’s National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration predicts an above-average hurricane season this year with between 11 and 17 named storms, five to nine hurricanes and two to four major hurricanes.

A Hurricane Hunter aircraft and its crew are due to land in Grand Cayman next week as part of a regional tour in the run-up to the 2017 hurricane season.

They call it the “season within the season” – the eight weeks from Aug. 22 that is considered “the most active and dangerous time” for tropical storms, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.