6 northern European nations sign a deal to protect North Sea infrastructure from hostile actors
Six northern Europe countries bordering the North Sea have signed an agreement to work together to protect underwater infrastructure in the northern part of the Atlantic Ocean from an increased risk of sabotage.
System of Atlantic Ocean currents approaches 'cliff-like' tipping point, could collapse, study says
An abrupt shutdown of Atlantic Ocean currents that could put large parts of Europe in a deep freeze is looking a bit more likely and closer than before as a new complex computer simulation finds a โcliff-likeโ tipping point looming in the future.
A Spanish official says spotter planes are helping curtail the number of West African migrant boats
A senior Spanish official says the deployment of two Spanish surveillance planes to watch for migrant boats heading on the treacherous route from West Africa to Spainโs Canary Islands has enabled authorities to stop 59 canoes from Senegal and Gambia.
Drought vs deluge: Florida's unusual rainfall totals either too little or too much on each coast
In Florida, this year has been a tale of two states as far as rainfall totals, with the southeast coast deluged by sometimes-record rainfall and much of the Gulf coast facing a major precipitation deficit.
Environmental groups reject deep-sea mining as key UN meeting looms
Environmental groups are urging a moratorium on deep-sea mining ahead of an international meeting in Jamaica where an obscure U.N. body will debate the issue amid fears it could soon authorize the worldโs first license to harvest minerals from the ocean floor.
Here comes El Nino: It's early, likely to be big, sloppy and add even more heat to a warming world
After months of gradually warming sea surface temperatures in the tropical Pacific Ocean, NOAA officially issued an El Nino advisory Thursday and stated that this one might be different than the others.
China blasts US over response to Chinese balloon incursion
The foreign affairs committee of China's ceremonial parliament is accusing American lawmakers of trampling on the sovereignty of other nations after the United States passed a measure condemning a suspected Chinese spy balloon's intrusion into U.S. airspace.
Forecasters predict above-normal 2022 Atlantic Hurricane Season. Hereโs what you need to know
Forecasters at NOAAโs Climate Prediction Center, a division of the National Weather Service, have just released their official hurricane forecast, predicting an above-average 2022 season. This would make it the seventh consecutive hurricane season weโve seen with higher than normal activity.
Dust can bust a hurricane forecast
The above NOAA pic of the Atlantic Ocean skies full of Saharan dust is from 2006 and you can imagine that any tropical showers and storms would have a zero percent chance of forming in that kind of atmosphere. Those dusty skies are dry for one thing and particulates are falling downward toward Earth, suppressing any upward motion required to get tropical storms to build.
Canary Islands: More than 400 migrants rescued in Atlantic
Spanish rescuers have saved and disembarked more than 400 migrants and asylum seekers to the Canary Islands in the past two days as they attempted to reach the Atlantic Ocean archipelago from West Africa on overcrowded and often unsafe boats.
![Spain's foreign minister visits Senegal to discuss migration](https://www.click2houston.com/resizer/FgStMddjj1G3eRNjfoz7j1UQo-U=/1600x1141/smart/filters:format(jpeg):strip_exif(true):strip_icc(true):no_upscale(true):quality(65)/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/gmg/YXTSCP2MJ5EY5CJJLOLT3NN2D4.jpg)
Spain's foreign minister visits Senegal to discuss migration
(AP Photo/Javier Bauluz)DAKAR โ Spainโs foreign minister met Sunday with Senegal's president in the West African countryโs capital Sunday to discuss the sudden increase of Senegalese migrants attempting to reach the Canary Islands by boat. Spanish Foreign Minister Arancha Gonzรกlez Laya met with President Macky Sall in Dakar to discuss migration and border cooperation between Spain, the European Union and Senegal. Human rights groups have been warning about the reopening of the Atlantic route to the Canary Islands since late 2019, when arrivals began increasing slowly. He participated in the meeting between Spain's foreign minister and Senegalese counterpart Aรฏssata Tall Sall. Sarr said they would work with Spain to increase legal ways for Senegalese to work in Europe, including circular migration programs.
![Spain in diplomatic push over migrant flow to Canary Islands](https://www.click2houston.com/resizer/1Ckztgkv9E5gisV-K5p093reClc=/1600x1122/smart/filters:format(jpeg):strip_exif(true):strip_icc(true):no_upscale(true):quality(65)/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/gmg/4ZXODFWQ4NCL3HWQHDZV3MKHQA.jpg)
Spain in diplomatic push over migrant flow to Canary Islands
(AP Photo/Javier Bauluz)MADRID โ The Spanish government is ratcheting up its response to the steady build-up of migrant arrivals to the Canary Islands from Africa, including a fresh diplomatic offensive. Moroccans have been the most numerous among recent migrant arrivals to the Spanish archipelago, whose nearest islands lie around 70 miles (110 kms) west of the north African nation. Around half of those arrivals โand most of the deathsโ have been in the past 30 days, a spike that has strained resources on the Canary Islands. Spanish Transport Minister Josรฉ Luis รbalos, also on the island, pledged more resources to the stretched maritime rescue services. The IOM's Spain envoy, Marรญa Jesรบs Herrera, who was on a field visit in the islands this week, described the situation as โcritical."
![Spain opens 2nd migrant camp on overrun Gran Canaria island](https://www.click2houston.com/resizer/kmtcN5131oE_u2BG7YHmm1G6afc=/1600x1066/smart/filters:format(jpeg):strip_exif(true):strip_icc(true):no_upscale(true):quality(65)/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/gmg/6RNQ5NVMK5BUFMH4UCOJJ4JDZ4.jpg)
Spain opens 2nd migrant camp on overrun Gran Canaria island
The establishment of a second temporary migrant processing center on the island of Gran Canaria comes amid increasing criticism from local authorities and human rights groups. A pier on the quiet southwest coast of Gran Canaria has become the center of Spainโs ongoing humanitarian crisis. The new camp opening Wednesday will be able to hold 800 people in tents, according to the Interior Ministry. โThe Canary Islands are a powder keg. With at least 493 deaths recorded so far this year, the route to the Canary Islands has seen proportionally more deaths per every arrival than the Central Mediterranean journey from Libya to Italy or Malta.
![Migrant arrivals putting pressure on Spain's Canary Islands](https://www.click2houston.com/resizer/XRY6SJh4QVw7XUEGlk8j2msrfMc=/1600x1066/smart/filters:format(jpeg):strip_exif(true):strip_icc(true):no_upscale(true):quality(65)/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/gmg/Z6YQZSPSZBFVVBL4EZC5EU2EOE.jpg)
Migrant arrivals putting pressure on Spain's Canary Islands
African migrants after arriving at the coast of Gran Canaria island, Spain on Sunday, Nov. 1, 2020. Crossing the Atlantic Ocean sailing on a wooden boat, a group of 44 migrants arrived at Maspalomas beach. More than half of the 16,000 migrants who arrived this year in the Spanish islands off northwest Africa did so in the last four weeks, a sharp influx worrying international and non-profit organizations. Thatโs compared to around 1,500 arrivals recorded last year in the archipelago, better known for its vacation resorts popular among northern Europeans. The new migrant focus on the perilous Canary Islands route, first seen in 2006, has come as authorities crack down on previously popular passages across the Mediterranean Sea from North Africa to European Union countries.
![Hurricanes stay stronger longer after landfall than in past](https://www.click2houston.com/resizer/fIonmXUaPFNMxzT78TCruYB7sXI=/1600x1069/smart/filters:format(jpeg):strip_exif(true):strip_icc(true):no_upscale(true):quality(65)/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/gmg/6SIAMYXR2FHSLLC2T54C5JFOYY.jpg)
Hurricanes stay stronger longer after landfall than in past
(Alexander Gerst/ESA/NASA via AP)Hurricanes are keeping their staying power longer once they make landfall, spreading more inland destruction, according to a new study. Warmer ocean waters from climate change are likely making hurricanes lose power more slowly after landfall, because they act as a reserve fuel tank for moisture, the study found. It found that in the 1960s, hurricanes declined two-thirds in wind strength within 17 hours of landfall. Thereโs less study of what hurricanes do once they make landfall than out at sea, so Chakraborty said he was surprised when he saw a noticeable trend in decay taking longer. But hurricanes arenโt running out of gas as much, especially in the last 25 years when the trend accelerated, Chakraborty said.
![New storm Zeta a hurricane threat to Mexico, US Gulf Coast](https://www.click2houston.com/resizer/_Dd0TbvoYfA2wjz52MCmhLH89vE=/1600x1408/smart/filters:format(jpeg):strip_exif(true):strip_icc(true):no_upscale(true):quality(65)/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/gmg/VO7NKNY3MRGUHFW4YZKSIMGVWI.jpg)
New storm Zeta a hurricane threat to Mexico, US Gulf Coast
MIAMI โ Newly formed Tropical Storm Zeta gradually strengthened Sunday in the western Caribbean and forecasters said it would likely become a hurricane before hitting Mexico's resort-dotted Yucatan Peninsula and the U.S. Gulf Coast in coming days. Zeta was the earliest named 27th Atlantic storm recorded in an already historic hurricane season. The system was centered about 260 miles (420 kilometers) southeast of Cozumel island late Sunday, the U.S. National Hurricane Center said. The government is still handing out aid, including sheet roofing, to Yucatan residents hit by Hurricane Delta and Tropical Storm Gamma earlier this month. The hurricane center said it could make landfall anywhere from Louisiana to the Florida Panhandle.
![Weakened Hurricane Epsilon moves north over Atlantic Ocean](https://www.click2houston.com/resizer/UvxmmxAt8OXLvP_sqbGp8qkahFI=/1600x959/smart/filters:format(jpeg):strip_exif(true):strip_icc(true):no_upscale(true):quality(65)/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/gmg/35CWA32MVNGKBMLJ7V3N7LFKUQ.jpg)
Weakened Hurricane Epsilon moves north over Atlantic Ocean
MIAMI โ A weakened Hurricane Epsilon moved northward Friday over the Atlantic Ocean, a day after after skirting well east of Bermuda. Epsilon's top sustained winds fell Thursday to 85 mph (140 kph), dropping it from a Category 2 to a Category 1 storm, the U.S. National Hurricane Center said. But large ocean swells could cause life-threatening surf and rip current conditions along the coast of New England and Atlantic Canada during the next couple of days, the hurricane center warned. Earlier in the week, Epsilon had gained 50 mph (80 kph) in wind speed in just 24 hours to become a major hurricane on Wednesday. This year's season has had so many storms that the hurricane center has turned to the Greek alphabet after running out of official names.
![Forecasters: Hurricane Epsilon should sideswipe Bermuda](https://www.click2houston.com/resizer/qZzDLepsIi69UNGIYqpPRgnU7lU=/1600x959/smart/filters:format(jpeg):strip_exif(true):strip_icc(true):no_upscale(true):quality(65)/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/gmg/S6GEDBUD3VFWVNNQC5UXPCEUL4.jpg)
Forecasters: Hurricane Epsilon should sideswipe Bermuda
MIAMI โ Hurricane Epsilon's maximum sustained winds dropped slightly as it moved northwest over the Atlantic Ocean on a path that should sideswipe Bermuda on Thursday. The Miami-based center said Epsilon was located about 235 miles (375 kilometers) east-southeast of Bermuda and moving to the northwest at 7 mph (11 kph). Forecasters said Epsilon should make its closest approach to Bermuda by Thursday evening. Large ocean swells could cause life-threatening surf and rip current conditions along the coast of New England and Atlantic Canada during the next couple of days, the hurricane center said. This year's season has had so many storms that the hurricane center has turned to the Greek alphabet after running out of official names.
![Spanish islands struggle with migration surge amid pandemic](https://www.click2houston.com/resizer/zaDnNNE9WK63Opfwq_K4v07Mqjo=/1600x1066/smart/filters:format(jpeg):strip_exif(true):strip_icc(true):no_upscale(true):quality(65)/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/gmg/Y4NGVFWYKZGU5CZ3IYEECJ6E2I.jpg)
Spanish islands struggle with migration surge amid pandemic
While Mediterranean crossings are down this year, arrivals on the Canary islands across a treacherous part of the Atlantic Ocean are up nearly 700% on the year. But the government has blocked nearly all transfers to the Spanish mainland arguing that many international borders are closed for them to be deported or continue on to other European countries. Beefed-up security in the Mediterranean has reduced migration from Africa to the Spanish mainland and the Balearic Islands in 2020, with 30% fewer arrivals between January and mid-October compared to a year earlier. But the surge in traffic to the Canary Islands comes at a high cost in human lives. Arguing that they lack enough resources, local and regional officials in the Canary Islands have asked the Spanish government for more help, including the use of two military facilities to process the migrants.
![Tracking the tropics: Laura weakens to a tropical storm as it moves inland](https://www.click2houston.com/resizer/r1y-FIsEiix9JaiOmdjADKxtD68=/1600x900/smart/filters:format(jpeg):strip_exif(true):strip_icc(true):no_upscale(true):quality(65)/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/gmg/CNW5DZ5NWVH4NG4A4YANLUXGUY.jpg)
Tracking the tropics: Laura weakens to a tropical storm as it moves inland
HOUSTON โ Hurricane Laura made landfall at 1 a.m. Thursday in Cameron, Louisiana. At midnight Thursday morning, Lauraโs northern eyewall began moving onshore with 150 mph sustained winds and gusts up to 185 mph, making it a strong Category 4 storm. As of noon, Laura had weakened to a tropical storm with 75 mph sustained winds. It will continue to weaken quickly as it moves inland. Now that Laura is over land, it will speed up and curve eastward into the Mid-Atlantic states, bringing with it heavy rainfall.
July 7 Update: Thereโs an increase in the 2020 hurricane season forecast
HOUSTON โ Today, Colorado State University hurricane researchers led by hurricane expert, Dr. Phil Klotzbach, have increased their 2020 hurricane forecast to the following:The new updated July hurricane forecast for 2020We have already had five named storms as of the Fourth of July weekend, so according to the new updated hurricane forecast, we could see an additional 15 named storms before the end of the season! One of the fuels for an active hurricane season is warmer than average Atlantic Ocean waterActive Western Africa monsoon season:The current forecast for the monsoonal season across Western Africa is trending to be a wetter (more active) season than usual. These are important because a generally strong La Niรฑa pattern lends itself to a more active tropical season by history. Conversely, an El Niรฑo pattern generally is seen during less active tropical seasons. Weโll continue to see more updates to the 2020 Atlantic Hurricane seasonal forecast this August as well.
![Hereโs what the historic Saharan dust looked like in Houston](https://www.click2houston.com/resizer/EQ47VBFPAzlU87nJu9hqS_i7ymg=/1080x809/smart/filters:format(jpeg):strip_exif(true):strip_icc(true):no_upscale(true):quality(65)/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/gmg/WCLJ4BC5XBHTRGIJB23BTQC3KU.jpg)
Hereโs what the historic Saharan dust looked like in Houston
HOUSTON โ Itโs that time of year when dust from the Sahara Desert in North Africa makes its way across the Atlantic Ocean and is deposited in the Western Hemisphere. When dust is in the air, the skies look milky during the day and sunsets generally look redder than usual. Here is what the dust looked like across the Houston sky:"Ted Bergeron A dusty sunset over Hermann Park" Credit: tbergeron (KPRC 2)"The saharan sunrise from Cinco Ranch" Credit: M&M (KPRC 2)"Saharan sunset - willow fork park, Cinco Ranch." Credit: M&M (KPRC 2)"Pink sunsets on Lake Houston!" Credit: digitalknightproductions (KPRC 2)"The start of the Saharan dust sunsets" Credit: ksalling (KPRC 2)"Saharan dust sunset over Clear Lake!"
![Here are the top three ways this weekโs Saharan dust plume will affect you](https://www.click2houston.com/resizer/u0mQvdZuvst0cVoaQksxmiAiHXg=/1600x900/smart/filters:format(jpeg):strip_exif(true):strip_icc(true):no_upscale(true):quality(65)/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/gmg/EWPSTNIX7ZBOBMYJAHU2KSQSEY.jpg)
Here are the top three ways this weekโs Saharan dust plume will affect you
(CNN) โ The much-anticipated Saharan dust plume is now making its more than 5,000-mile trek across the Atlantic to the United States. If you haven't heard your friends talking about this "mysterious" Saharan dust plume supposedly adding yet another layer to 2020, then you've certainly seen it all over social media this past week. This Saharan dust plume blowing across the Atlantic Ocean from Africa is nothing new, or even special to 2020. Saharan dust can also impact you in several ways once it reaches land. Here's the top 3 ways you'll notice next week's Saharan dust here in the US.
Ask 2 Weather: Is there a correlation between Saharan dust storms and tropical activity in the Atlantic Ocean?
The question: Is there a correlation between Saharan dust storms and tropical activity in the Atlantic Ocean? The answer: Saharan dust, also known as the Saharan Air Layer (SAL), inhibits tropical activity in the Atlantic Ocean. Saharan dust plumes inhibit hurricane formation in various ways. All of these factors make Saharan dust, or the Saharan Air Layer, a hurricanes enemy. And, while these dust plumes happen every summer, sometimes they are more frequent than others.
New hurricane forecast predicts active 2020 Atlantic season
HOUSTON โ Dr. Phil Klotzbach, a renowned tropical expert from Colorado State University, issued his annual Atlantic tropical season forecast Thursday. Dr. Phil Klotzbach's April 2nd forecast for the 2020 Atlantic hurricane season. As the Atlantic water temperature increases, the amount of energy stored in that water increases. Analogous YearsOne way to predict how a hurricane season might unfold is to compare it to history. Most importantly, it gets our minds focused on the fact that hurricane season is right around the corner.