Weather

Firefighters work to contain the Lake Fire burning in Los Padres National Forest in California. More than 3,900 fires have spread across California this year.

California Faces a Brutal Wildfire Season, With More Land Burned to Date Than in Recent Years

The state's fires have burned more than 11 times as much land so far in 2024 than they had at this point last year, according to the most recent numbers from Cal Fire

The Mount Rainier white-tailed ptarmigan is one of the few animals that spends its entire life at high elevations.

Meet the Rare, 'Beautiful' Birds That Thrive in Snow and Are at Risk Because of Climate Change

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service listed the Mount Rainier white-tailed ptarmigan as threatened under the Endangered Species Act this month

Painted ladies are known for making long migrations over land.

These Stunning Butterflies Flew 2,600 Miles Across the Atlantic Ocean Without Stopping

Researchers combined several lines of evidence to solve the mystery of why a group of painted ladies, which do not live in South America, were found fluttering on a beach in French Guiana

A girl runs through sprinkles of water to cool off on a hot summer day.

See 15 Stunning Scenes of Summer

These highlights from the Smithsonian Magazine Photo Contest will remind you of everything you love about the season

In order to build ships strong and technically savvy enough to traverse through some of the most remote and challenging landscapes on Earth, several cruise companies borrowed designs from other parts of the shipping industry.

How a New Line of Expedition Ships Is Turning the Tides on Polar Seas

High-tech features are making treacherous ocean passages feel tame

Purple squares illustrate auroras on Mars, as detected by NASA’s MAVEN orbiter between May 14 and May 20. The brighter the purple, the more auroras present.

Mars Was Hit With a Solar Storm Days After Earth's Aurora Light Show, NASA Says

Studying this event could hold lessons for scientists about how to protect astronauts from radiation on future trips to the Red Planet

Captured by the Hubble Space Telescope, the heliosphere of a young star, LL Orionis, collides with an interstellar medium of dust. A similar event with our own sun, researchers say, might have occurred between two and three million years ago.

A Giant Interstellar Cloud May Have Once Enveloped Earth, Potentially Causing Ice Ages

Astronomers suggest this cold, dense cloud compressed our sun's protective field between two and three million years ago, leaving the Earth exposed to cosmic material

Val Castor, a veteran storm chaser for KWTV in Oklahoma City, saw the huge chunk of ice in a ditch on the side of the road.

Pineapple-Sized Hail Stone Falls in Texas—and It Might Set a New State Record

Veteran storm chaser Val Castor spotted the behemoth ice chunk in a ditch near Vigo Park in the Texas panhandle

Children play in a spray pool in Rio de Los Angeles State Park in Los Angeles, California, on Thursday, June 6. A heat wave led to record-setting temperatures across the western U.S. last week.

The Western U.S. Is Sweltering Under a 'Heat Dome.' What Does That Mean?

A stagnant high-pressure system over the region is trapping heat, exacerbating high temperatures and setting records

Flamingos were nearly hunted to extinction for their feathers by the early 1900s. But, thanks in part to conservation and habitat restoration efforts, they're making a comeback in Florida. This flamingo was spotted in Miami Beach in 2018.

More Than a Century Ago, Flamingos Disappeared From Florida. Now, They're Coming Home

Likely transported by Hurricane Idalia last August, more than 100 of the pink birds were counted in a February census in the Sunshine State, where they are considered a native species

Components of Seahenge, or Holme I, were displayed at the British Museum in 2022.

England's Mysterious 'Seahenge' Monument May Have Been Built to Prolong Summer

One researcher thinks the structure was used for ancient rituals during a period of bitter cold

An aerial image of Kilauea volcano erupting, June 3, 2024.

Hawaii's Kilauea, One of the World's Most Active Volcanoes, Erupts Again

The short-lived eruption occurred in an area of the volcano that had not erupted since December 1974

A couple of atypically colorful logbook pages from the Bengal of Salem, Massachusetts, housed at the Providence Public Library. The ship sailed around the Pacific Ocean from 1832 to 1835.

How a Trove of Whaling Logbooks Will Help Scientists Understand Our Changing Climate

Researchers are examining more than 4,200 New England documents to turn descriptions of the wind into data

From 1979 to 2020, severe turbulence in some locations increased by as much as 55 percent, according to a 2023 study.

Climate Change Is Making Airplane Turbulence More Common and Severe, Scientists Say

Following turbulence on a flight last week that led to one death and dozens of injuries, researchers, flight attendants and transportation officials alike are warning about links between warmer air and turbulence

The popular chapel has been closed since February because of damage caused by land movement.

A Historical Glass-Enclosed Chapel Overlooking the Pacific Ocean Must Be Dismantled Before Nature Can Destroy It

The one-of-a-kind sculpture in California, designed by the son of famed American architect Frank Lloyd Wright, is at the mercy of shifting grounds

At least 138 howler monkeys have been found dead in the Mexican state of Tabasco since May 16.

Mexico's Howler Monkeys Are Dying, 'Falling Out of the Trees,' Amid Scorching Heat Wave

Veterinarians and volunteers are trying to save the threatened primates by hoisting buckets of water and food into trees, as well as providing medical care

Lightning wowed onlookers watching the eruption of Volcán de Fuego in Guatemala last month.

Lightning Dazzles Onlookers Watching the Eruption of Volcán de Fuego in Guatemala

Volcanic lightning is so common that it's even earned its own nickname: dirty thunderstorms

From Latourell, Oregon, the northern lights appear as ribbons of color in the night sky on May 11.

See 12 Breathtaking Images of the Northern Lights, Spotted in Shocking Places Over the Weekend

A period of unusually strong solar activity meant the colorful aurora borealis could be seen much farther south than normal

Bumblebees, on the whole, are better adapted for cooler temperatures than for heat—one species, Bombus polaris, even lives in the Arctic.

Bumblebee Nests May Be Overheating With Rising Global Temperatures, Study Finds

Across various species and regions, bumblebee nests thrive between 82 and 89.6 degrees Fahrenheit—and climate change could make it harder to find habitats in that range

The tornadoes uprooted and snapped some trees, but fortunately, no injuries or deaths have been reported.

Rare Tornado Spinning the 'Wrong' Direction Forms Over Oklahoma

A powerful anticyclonic tornado uprooted trees and damaged some buildings on the night of April 30, and a second unusual twister changed direction, doubling back on its path

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