TOMORROW: In celebration of #WorldHealthDay, join #ClimateCentral and @sciline.org to learn more about the tools and skills needed for reporting when climate and health overlap.
RSVP below⬇️
From more extreme weather to increased costs, "climate change is something that every one of us experiences every day." @climatecentral.org
🏔️Western snowpack hit record lows for April 1, after a record-warm winter and extreme March heat.
These natural water towers are shrinking—raising risks for water supply and wildfires as drought persists through June.
➡️Read the latest #ClimateMatters:
www.climatecentral.org/climate-matt...
Climate Central and SciLine present part two of Climate Central’s three-part data journalism series. Data Journalism: Reporting Where Climate and Health Meet Date: Tuesday, April 7, 2026 Time: 1 PM ET / 10 AM PT In this webinar, Climate Central and SciLine will walk journalists through the tools and skills needed to report accurately and confidently when climate and health overlap. Moderated by Shel Winkley, Senior Engagement Specialist and Meteorologist at Climate Central, this webinar features the following experts: Kaitlyn Trudeau, Senior Research Associate at Climate Central Dr. Tori Espensen, Training Director at SciLine Melba Newsome, Journalist
📣Calling all health and climate journalists!
Join #ClimateCentral and @sciline.org for a webinar on reporting at the intersection of climate change and health.
📅Tuesday, April 7, 2026
⏰1 PM ET / 10 AM PT
Register ➡️ www.sciline.org/learn/data-j...
Check out more resources below!
➡️Climate Shift Index: csi.climatecentral.org
➡️Storm Prediction Center: www.spc.noaa.gov
➡️Severe Weather Climatology: www.climate.gov/maps-data/da...
➡️Severe Weather Toolkit: www.climatecentral.org/toolkit-seve...
Severe weather is a spring staple, but this year's setup is ahead of schedule.
According to @noaa.gov, climatologically, there's typically less than a 2% chance of severe weather in this region on the last day of March.
🥶A sharp cold front will slice into warm, unstable air running 15° - 20° above average on the last day of March🌡️
#ClimateCentral's Climate Shift Index shows this unusual, early-spring warmth is at least 2x more likely due to human-caused climate change.
Climate change fingerprint on heat. Average temperatures and severe weather expected on March 31, 2026. Two maps illustrate the degree of severe weather threat and the Climate Shift Index of the region.
⚠️A severe weather threat is taking shape Tuesday, March 31, across IL, MI, OH, IN, NY & PA according to @nws.noaa.gov's Storm Prediction Center⚠️
Damaging winds, large hail and a few tornadoes are possible.
Severe storms like this are expected in spring. #ClimateChange has begun shifting the odds⬇️
Warmer future, more home runs Yearly home run added by warming Baseball season is heating up as the climate warms. Warming trends bring more risky heat for players and fans — and lead to more home runs. Climate Central
Play ball! The 2026 MLB season is underway, and #ClimateChange is stepping up to the plate.
🌡️Since 1970, season temps are up 2.8°F across league cities
⚾Warmer, thinner air adds ~58 extra home runs/year in the 2010s
📈By the 2050s, that number could triple
www.climatecentral.org/climate-matt...
Hundreds of records are falling across the Western U.S. in a heatwave deemed “virtually impossible without climate change.”
Join @coveringclimatenow.org and #ClimateCentral for a webinar unpacking what this means for our climate future.
📅: Thursday, March 26
⏰: 3 PM ET / 12 PM PT
Details below ⤵️
The last 11 years have been the hottest years ever recorded. Earth’s energy imbalance has reached its highest than at any time in observed history, with heat reaching deeper into the ocean. This is the Global #StateOfClimate 2025.
📰 Press release: https://bit.ly/4ds4r2V
#WorldMetDay
More records are expected to fall through Thursday, from Texas to the Canadian Border and across the Pacific Coast.
See how climate change is making summer heat this March more likely where you are⬇️
From Climate Central's Climate Shift Index: 108°F in North Shore, CA Wednesday ties the all-time hottest March temperature on record in the United States.
🌡️108°F in North Shore, CA on Wednesday tied the all-time hottest March temperature on record in the United States!
A record that stood since 1954, tied 72 years later.
🔴#ClimateCentral's Climate Shift Index shows this heat was made at least 5x MORE likely due to climate change.
Congratulations to #ClimateCentral partner @frediotto.bsky.social on receiving this prestigious honor!
Ready to spring into action on the latest global climate trends?
Join us TOMORROW at 12 PM ET / 9 AM PT to review recent extremes and their drivers as well as preview the upcoming season’s weather.
Register below⤵️
📊
Looking for more details?
Want to explore the data?
Find out more ⤵️
www.climatecentral.org/climate-shif...
🔴THE CLIMATE CONNECTION:
📍High temps will reach Climate Shift Index level 5 across Santa Fe, Denver, Salt Lake City, and Boise.
🗣️In other words: This historic mid-March heat would be nearly impossible without human-caused warming for 26M+ people between March 17 & 21.
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High temperatures from the Pacific Northwest to the Desert Southwest will run 20-30°F above mid-March averages.
As of Monday, 29M+ people are under HEAT ADVISORIES or EXTREME HEAT WARNINGS across California, Nevada, and Arizona.
Highs 95° - 110°+ are forecast this week.
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♨️This week: a prolonged heat wave will push temperatures 20-30°F above normal across much of the western U.S.
🌡️Dozens of daily and all-time March records expected...including the earliest 100°F temps on record.
A short 🧵
Stay safe and weather aware today. Check in with your local meteorologists and @nws for updates, watches, and warnings.
📊REPORTING RESOURCES:
• Thunderstorm Straight-line Winds: www.climatecentral.org/climate-matt...
• Weather-Related Power Outages: www.climatecentral.org/climate-matt...
Pie chart showing causes of major U.S. weather-related power outages from 2000–2023. Severe weather accounts for 58% of outages, winter weather 23%, tropical cyclones 14%, extreme heat 3%, and wildfires 2%.
💡 80% of major U.S. power outages from 2000-2023 were weather-related (1,755 total).
⛈️ Severe weather -- high winds, rain, thunderstorms -- caused 58% of those (1,011 events).
They're increasing: 2x more weather-related outages in 2014-2023 than in 2000-2009. /3
Diagram showing how warming can intensify thunderstorm winds. Warmer air holds more moisture, leading to heavier rain and more evaporation, which cools air faster and strengthens downdrafts that create faster straight-line winds.
💨Straight-line winds are the most common severe weather threat.
🔴Storm wind speeds have intensified 7% per 1°F of warming since 1980.
These destructive winds threaten crops, buildings, power grids, and lives—especially across the central U.S. /2
NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather outlook for March 16, 2026. Moderate risk centered over the Carolinas and Virginia, with enhanced and slight risks extending from Georgia through the Mid-Atlantic and into parts of the Northeast.
NOAA Storm Prediction Center map showing severe wind risk on March 16, 2026 across the eastern U.S. Highest risk stretches from the Carolinas through Virginia, Washington D.C., and Philadelphia, with surrounding areas at lower wind risk.
MODERATE (4/5) severe weather risk today for parts of North & South Carolina, Virginia, DC, and Maryland.
⚠️ Threats: Tornadoes, large hail (1"+), and damaging wind gusts up to 80-85 mph through the afternoon.
Let's make a couple connections 🧵/1
New research from Climate Central found 23 weather and climate disasters caused at least $1 billion in damages each — making 2025 the third-highest year for the total count of billion-dollar disasters since 1980. These events included: 🌪️ Tornado outbreaks ⛈️ Severe storms 🔥 Wildfires 🌡️ And more! Notably, severe storms dominated 2025, accounting for 21 of the 23 disasters or 91% of all billion-dollar disasters in 2025. This new report breaks down the costliest events of 2025 and long-term trends in billion-dollar disasters.
NEW REPORT: Did you know that weather and climate disasters cost the U.S. $115 billion in 2025?
From severe storms to tornadoes and wildfires, disasters came with a steep price tag in the U.S. last year.
🔗Read more in the full report: www.climatecentral.org/report/us-bi...
Want to learn more about daily temperature patterns in your community?🌎
Explore #ClimateCentral’s Climate Shift Index (CSI) Global Map and learn more about how our planet's changing climate is altering the frequency of daily temperatures in your city ⤵️
About 154.7 million people across the U.S. — including in the Midwest, Central Plains, Gulf Coast, and Northeast — are expected to reach CSI level 2 today.
That means climate change made these temperatures at least 2× more likely.
🌡️Read the alert: www.climatecentral.org/climate-shif...
⛈️When warm surface air combines with moisture and strong winds aloft, it can increase atmospheric instability — creating severe weather conditions.
An Enhanced Risk of severe storms is forecast late today for:
🟠North-Central Illinois
🟠Northwest Indiana
🟠Northeast Missouri
📈Highs in the mid-70s to mid-80s are forecast across Illinois, Indiana, and Missouri — 20°F to 35°F above average.
These unusually warm temperatures help fuel severe storms.
Unseasonably warm temperatures, driven by #ClimateChange, are increasing severe storm risk across parts of the Midwest today.
Want to better understand climate change’s fingerprints on severe spring weather?
Expert @shelwinkleywx.bsky.social of @climatecentral.org shares changing severe weather trends for the latest issue of Locally Sourced:
