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Stories by Tim Wagner

Midwest Air Clearing Out, but Smoke Headed Northeast

Elevated smoke levels have been present in the upper Midwestern United States for well over a week, but recent synoptic-scale pattern shifts have started to bring in clearer (albeit warmer and more humid) air from the south. The following animation shows GOES-19-observed aerosol optical depth (AOD) for 1400 UTC (9:00... Read More

Hail in the Samoan Archipelago

In the evening of 28 July 2025, residents of the Samoan island of Upolu experienced an intense thunderstorm which produced hail, a very rare event for maritime tropical Pacific environments. Social media videos show 1 – 2 cm hailstones falling around residents excited to see such novel conditions. The forecasters... Read More

Tropical Convection to Bring Heavy Rainfall to Guam

It is mid to late July, and the western Pacific Ocean is starting to see its share of tropical activity. While Tropical Storm Francisco is spinning toward the Ryuku Islands of southwestern Japan, the people of Guam have their eyes on Invest 98W, an intensifying system closely approaching their island.... Read More