Hosmay Lopez - NOAA's Atlantic Oceanographic and Meteorological Laboratory

The Growing Impact of ENSO on U.S. Extreme Drought and Flood Events

AOML Communications — Tue, 25 Mar 2025 13:47:21 +0000

Extreme hydroclimate events, such as droughts, floods, and heavy rainfall, account for a substantial portion of weather-related disasters in the United States, leading to significant socio-economic losses involving agriculture, water resources, and public health, among others. For instance, from 1980 to 2024, droughts were responsible for approximately $368 billion in economic losses for the United […]

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State of the Climate in 2023 Released

AOML Communications — Thu, 22 Aug 2024 15:45:48 +0000

Adapted from NOAA press release on August 22, 2024 Today, August 22, the 2023 State of the Climate report was released by the American Meteorological Society, showing Greenhouse gas concentrations, the global temperature across land and the ocean, global sea level and ocean heat content all reached record highs in 2023. The international annual review […]

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New study finds a potential predictor for long-range US tornado forecasts

AOML Communications — Wed, 10 Jul 2024 00:33:21 +0000

Tornadoes are among the deadliest and costliest natural disasters in the United States and are one of the hardest to predict. In December 2021, the most destructive winter tornado outbreak, known as the Quad-State Tornado Outbreak, caused 89 fatalities, 672 injuries, and at least $3.9 billion in property damages. Scientists at the University of Miami’s Cooperative Institute of Marine and Atmospheric Studies (CIMAS) and NOAA’s Atlantic Oceanographic and Meteorological Laboratory (AOML) investigated this outbreak and found that it occurred under an exceptionally strong and prolonged negative Pacific-North American (PNA) pattern, which created favorable conditions for tornado outbreaks.

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NOAA AOML Scientist Wins Federal Employee of the Year Award from the South Florida Federal Executive Board

AOML Communications — Thu, 20 Jul 2023 23:00:13 +0000

Congratulations to AOML scientist, Dr. Hosmay Lopez, for receiving the 2022 Federal Employee of the Year award for the Scientific category at the 58th annual South Florida Federal Executive Board’s awards program. Hosmay was recognized for his groundbreaking contributions to the understanding of how El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) events will evolve with global warming, with significant implications for how residents of South Florida will experience climate change over the next several decades.

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Scientists at AOML Discover Atlantic Niño Fuels the Most Intense and Destructive Tropical Cyclones

AOML Communications — Thu, 29 Jun 2023 12:55:27 +0000

Scientists at NOAA’s Atlantic Oceanographic and Meteorological Laboratory (AOML) found that Atlantic Niño, the Atlantic counterpart of the Pacific El Niño, increases the formation of tropical cyclones off the coast of West Africa, also known as Cape (Cabo) Verde hurricanes. The study published in Nature Communications is the first to investigate the links between Atlantic Niño/Niña and seasonal Atlantic tropical cyclone activity and the associated physical mechanisms.

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NOAA Scientists Detect a Reshaping of the Meridional Overturning Circulation in the Southern Ocean

AOML Communications — Wed, 29 Mar 2023 12:56:10 +0000

Scientists at NOAA’s Atlantic Oceanographic and Meteorological Laboratory (AOML) have shown that the Global Meridional Overturning Circulation (GMOC), commonly known as the global ocean conveyor belt, has changed significantly in the Southern Ocean since the mid-1970s, with a broadening and strengthening of the upper overturning cell and a contraction and weakening of the lower cell. These changes are attributed to human induced ozone depletion in the Southern Hemisphere stratosphere and increased carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. The study also shows that the changes in the Southern Ocean are slowly advancing into the South Atlantic and Indo-Pacific oceans.

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Larger than Normal Atlantic Warm Pool Leads to an Increase in US Heat Waves

AOML Communications — Mon, 21 Nov 2022 16:02:44 +0000

Heat extremes are the number one weather-related cause of death in the United States, prompting the climate community to study the driving forces behind these extreme events to improve their prediction. A new study published in the Journal of Geophysical Research finds an increase in summertime heat wave occurrence over the US Great Plains is linked to a larger than normal tropical Atlantic warm pool.

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Atlantic Coast Hurricanes Intensifying Faster Than Forty Years Ago

AOML Communications — Tue, 01 Nov 2022 14:31:07 +0000

New NOAA research published in the journal Geophysical Research Letters, found that hurricane intensification rates near the U.S. Atlantic coast have increased significantly over the last 40 years and will likely continue to increase in the future.

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NOAA AOML Scientists Project Future Changes in ENSO Variability

AOML Communications — Fri, 08 Apr 2022 14:40:40 +0000

In a new study published in Nature Communications, scientists at NOAA’s Atlantic Oceanographic & Meteorological Laboratory (AOML) investigate the projected changes in the seasonal evolution of El Niño - Southern Oscillation (ENSO) in the 21st century under the influence of increasing greenhouse gases. The study found that global climate impacts on temperature and precipitation are projected to become more significant and persistent, due to the larger amplitude and extended persistence of El Niño in the second half of the 21st Century (2051-2100).

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AOML Scientists Tackle one of the Most Challenging Problems in U.S. Seasonal Rainfall Prediction

AOML Communications — Mon, 15 Jun 2020 14:50:29 +0000

In a recent article published in Geophysical Research Letters, AOML and CIMAS scientists investigated U.S. rainfall variability, focusing on the late summer to mid-fall (August-October) season. The main goal of the study was to identify potential predictors of U.S. precipitation during August-October and to explore the underlying physical mechanisms.

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