New research from Virginia Tech has identified an atmospheric shift that can rapidly trigger “flash droughts” in Puerto Rico, offering insight that could support earlier warning systems and preparedness.

The study, published in Geophysical Research Letters, examines how drought conditions on the island can develop within days rather than weeks or months.

Flash drought can take hold in as little as five to 10 days, leaving limited time for response. This can disrupt agriculture, water supplies and ecosystems, increasing the risk of crop losses and water shortages.

Researchers identified a key change in atmospheric behavior as the trigger.

Continue reading Study identifies atmospheric trigger behind flash droughts in Puerto Rico at Meteorological Technology International.

A regional training initiative is underway to strengthen flood forecasting capabilities in Central Africa, where floods are becoming more frequent and severe.

The World Meteorological Organization (WMO), in collaboration with the AGRHYMET Regional Center and the Swedish Meteorological and Hydrological Institute (SMHI), is supporting the development of the FANFAR river flood forecasting system across the region.

FANFAR provides forecasts of river flood risk up to 10 days in advance, using hydrological modeling of major river basins alongside meteorological data.

The initiative follows significant flooding events in 2024, when floods in Chad and the Democratic Republic of Congo affected 1.9 million and 1.2 million people respectively, according to OCHA.

Continue reading Regional training aims to improve flood forecasting in Central Africa at Meteorological Technology International.

A student on Virginia Tech’s meteorology program is working on a project to improve high-impact flash flood warnings in rural Virginia by studying the density of current National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) rain gauges.

Over the past four years, the region has experienced multiple high-impact flooding events that caused widespread damage and loss of life. However, the defining steep terrain in Appalachia complicates how rainfall is measured and monitored as the NOAA rain gauges have strict placement requirements. They need open, flat land with no nearby trees, which is difficult in a region where there are mountains, valleys and forests.

Continue reading New research to improve flash flood warnings in rural Virginia at Meteorological Technology International.

Windrace ULTRA, a dual-use heavy lift drone, is set to be deployed in Greenland to record new climate data in one of the most remote and extreme environments on Earth.

The deployment, planned for June 2026, forms part of the GIANT program (Greenland Ice sheet to AtlaNtic Tipping points from ice loss), an international research mission to understand how melting glaciers are pushing the Atlantic Ocean toward a crucial climate tipping point.

GIANT, led by a team of international scientists, will use a range of technologies alongside Windracers ULTRA to better understand how ice interacts with ocean waters, including marine robots, satellites and sensors.

Continue reading Windracers ULTRA drones to be deployed in Greenland on glacier surveying mission at Meteorological Technology International.

The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) and the Convention on Wetlands have signed a new cooperation agreement aimed at strengthening the protection of wetland ecosystems that help safeguard communities from natural hazards and play a key role in the global water cycle.

WMO secretary-general Celeste Saulo and Musonda Mumba, secretary general of the Convention on Wetlands, signed the memorandum of understanding on January 19.

Under the agreement, WMO’s expertise in Earth system monitoring, data exchange, science and research will support efforts to preserve wetlands as critical ecosystems. In turn, the Convention on Wetlands will contribute its expertise to help inform tailored products and tools for policymakers and other stakeholders.

Continue reading WMO and Convention on Wetlands sign cooperation agreement at Meteorological Technology International.

Australia’s Bureau of Meteorology has updated the way it calculates sea surface temperature indices for the El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO). The new method is called the relative Niño index.

The relative Niño indices provide better insights into the oceanic ENSO signal in a changing climate. The new method also enables the Bureau to better forecast changes by accounting for the long-term warming trend in the oceans.

About relative Niño indices

Until August 2025, the Bureau used the traditional Niño indices to track sea surface temperatures in the Pacific Ocean. This method worked by measuring how much warmer or cooler specific regions of the Pacific are compared with the usual temperature against a baseline period.

Continue reading Bureau of Meteorology reveals new method of measuring sea surface temperature at Meteorological Technology International.

Come rain or shine, there is one thing that people in the UK are always ready to talk about – the weather. Whether it is the stereotypical rain that is readily associated with this grey collection of islands at the northwestern edge of Europe, or hot summers like that of 2025, nothing gets the Brits chattering like a good gossip about the weather.

New research conducted by the UK’s Met Office has discovered that people in the UK spend, on average, about 56.6 hours each year talking about the weather. That’s more than two full days out of a calendar 365.

Continue reading “Still raining?”: Met Office reveals UK public’s interest in the weather at Meteorological Technology International.

A new chapter on image velocimetry has been added by the World Meteorological Organization to its Guide to Hydrological Practice, providing information to its members on the benefits of these innovative cost-effective methods for measuring rivers and streams.

“The inclusion of image velocimetry in the WMO Guide provides confidence and clarity on the use and applicability of these techniques,” the WMO said in a statement. “By adding this chapter, WMO signals to practitioners, institutions and decision-makers that these methods, after years of innovation, testing and collaboration across the global community, are no longer experimental, but part of the recognized hydrometric toolkit.”

Image velocimetry uses cameras and video analysis to estimate surface flow velocities in rivers and streams.

Continue reading WMO adds image velocimetry to Guide to Hydrological Practices at Meteorological Technology International.

The Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) is participating in a new research initiative aimed at enhancing the understanding of extreme weather, such as hurricanes, using ocean data.

The Study on Air-Sea Coupling with Waves, Turbulence and Clouds at High Winds (SASCWATCH), funded by the Office of Naval Research, will see the deployment of a grid of ocean sensors ahead of hurricanes over the next three years and will use combination of in-situ observations, satellites and high-resolution models to enable researchers to fill gaps in the knowledge of air-sea interactions.

The transfer of momentum, heat and moisture between the ocean and atmosphere plays a critical role in shaping when, where and how intensely extreme weather events develop.

Continue reading New research program aims to improve hurricane predictions with ocean data at Meteorological Technology International.

A CU Boulder-led study has revealed that some of the rainiest places on Earth, including the Amazon rainforest, could see their annual precipitation nearly halved if climate change continues to alter the Atlantic Ocean’s current.

The Tropical response to ocean circulation slowdown raises future drought risk study, published in Nature on July 30, examines the effects of climate change on the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC), a massive system of ocean currents that moves water through the Atlantic Ocean, transporting warm, salty water from the tropics to the North Atlantic.

According to the study’s authors, the AMOC plays an important role in regulating the climate by redistributing heat from the southern to the northern hemisphere.

Continue reading Study reveals slowing Atlantic current could almost halve rainfall in Amazon at Meteorological Technology International.