"How We Survive": Kai Ryssdal visits the frontlines where national security meets climate change. Listen Now

What seasonally adjusted data does and doesn't mean

Feb 13, 2014
Retail numbers out today don’t look great, sales fell by 0.4 percent in January— when you take into account “seasonal adjustment”.

Two new applications for big data

Sep 2, 2013
Leveraging massive amounts of computing power to predict weather and explore the galaxy.

IBM uses big data to get smarter on energy

Aug 15, 2013
How the company translates tidal waves of real time data to make renewable energy plants more efficient by predicting the weather.

Power grid is tested by heat wave: Will it pass?

Jul 18, 2013
A heat wave covering the Midwest and Northeast is expected to peak today -- and with it, demand for electricity to power air conditioning. People may be asked to conserve, but power grids expect they'll meet demand.

Tobacco crop threatened by excessive rain in Kentucky, Georgia

Jul 15, 2013
Tobacco is a drought resistant plant. But this year, the weather has been anything but dry in major tobacco growing states like Kentucky, North Carolina and Georgia.

High temps hurt economy, outside of Death Valley

Jul 1, 2013
What’s the temperature tolerance to fly a plane? At what degree point does the power grid start shutting down?

Weather forecasts get a design makeover

Jun 18, 2013
We are getting better at predicting the weather. Still, if prediction is half the battle, presentation is the other half.

For public good, not for profit.

Can money and planning stop future flooding in Europe?

Jun 11, 2013
Residents of Germany, Austria, the Czech Republic and beyond are still wading through high waters today. Severe flooding has led to the deaths of at least 24 people.

What will it take to make tornado prediction better?

May 21, 2013
Prediction for tornadoes like the one in Moore, Okla., has gotten pretty good. Building thousands of new radar stations would make it better.

PODCAST: Weather to blame for low Walmart sales; Angelina Jolie surgery boosts film about breast cancer

May 16, 2013
Walmart sales are down and so are housing starts, but the weather could be to blame. Plus, a small film about breast cancer research gets an unexpected boost from Angelina Jolie's preventive mastectomy.