Super Typhoon Utor

Super Typhoon Utor made landfall as a Category 3 storm over the northern Philippines in the early morning hours of August 12, 2013. It was the strongest storm to hit the Philippines so far this year.

Hurricanes Likely to Get Stronger and More Frequent

Hurricanes are Mother Nature’s largest and most destructive storms. Fed by warm ocean waters and moist atmospheric conditions, about 90 such storms, also known as tropical cyclones, form worldwide each year. With the population of coastal areas growing daily and sea level on the rise, how these monster storms may change as the climate continues to warm is an increasingly urgent question facing climate scientists, insurance companies, and public officials.

NASA’s 2013 HS3 Hurricane Mission to Delve into Saharan Dust

NASA’s 2013 Hurricane and Severe Storms Sentinel or HS3 mission will investigate whether Saharan dust and its associated warm and dry air, known as the Saharan Air Layer or SAL, favors or suppresses the development of tropical cyclones in the Atlantic Ocean. The effects of Saharan dust on tropical cyclones is a controversial area of science.