Heavy precipitation, wind storms, heat waves—when severe weather events such as these occur they are frequently attributed to a wavy jet stream. The jet stream is a powerful air current in the upper ...

When the bubonic plague reached England in the summer of 1348 — spread by fleas, lice, or infected humans, according to the latest theories — it reached a breeding ground for disease. Londoners’ ...

Climate scientists have long watched the jet stream with fascination and growing concern. These rivers of air racing across our planet at altitudes of roughly 5-9 miles dictate much of our day-to-day ...

A new study challenges the idea that climate change is behind the erratic wintertime behavior of the polar jet stream, the massive current of Arctic air that regulates weather for much of the Northern ...

Summer 2024 was officially the Northern Hemisphere’s hottest on record. In the United States, fierce heat waves seemed to hit somewhere almost every day. Overall, the global average temperature was ...

Tree-ring data reveal that periodic shifts in strong winds high above the Earth's surface have driven opposite climates in different parts of Europe for the past 700 years and likely much longer, ...

As a fifth heatwave in twelve weeks sweeps Britain and France — with UK amber heat-health alerts in place for most of England and Météo-France warning of temperatures approaching 40°C (104°F) this ...

The summer of 2025 brought unprecedented flash flooding across the U.S., with the central and eastern regions hit particularly hard. These storms claimed hundreds of lives across Texas, Kentucky and ...

If you’ve ever heard a meteorologist mention the jet stream and thought, “Okay… but what does that actually mean?” You’re not alone. It’s one of the most important drivers of weather across the United ...

A recent study in the journal Nature shows that when the summer jet stream over Europe veers north or south of its usual path, it brings weather extremes that can exacerbate epidemics, ruin crop ...

One year ago, Congress defunded public media. Now that we're 100% community funded, please become a sustaining member or increase your existing membership today. When the bubonic plague reached ...