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This month’s heavy rains follow a year in which coastal communities in the United States experienced record high-tide flooding, a trend that federal ocean researchers say is expected to continue into the future “without improved flood defenses.” The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, in a report released this month, said years of rising sea levels have made high-tide flooding,...

Massachusetts officials are warning beachgoers that the venomous Portuguese man-of-war has been spotted in the waters off Horseneck Beach in Westport. The Department of Conservation and Recreation on Tuesday warned the public of the sea creature’s presence and said it has posted purple flags at the beach to indicate the presence of dangerous marine animals. The Portuguese man-of-war is...

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration says it will inspect lobster fishing gear from Maine to Massachusetts and beyond using remote cameras. The operations will take place in both inshore and offshore waters from the summer into this fall, according to Mike Henry, a deputy special agent in charge for the Northeast Division of NOAA’s Office of Law Enforcement....

Federal regulators have signed off on new protections for thousands of square miles of deep-sea corals off New England. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said Monday it has approved a final rule that designates the coral protection areas on Georges Bank and in the Gulf of Maine. The largest of the underwater areas is called the Georges Bank Deep-Sea…

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration is predicting an “above-normal” 2021 Atlantic hurricane season, with 13-20 named storms expected. Of those named storms, six to ten are expected to be hurricanes and three to five could be major hurricanes, according to acting NOAA administrator Ben Friedman, who delivered the outlook during a virtual media briefing Thursday. June 1 marks the…

Every decade, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration redefines our weather averages. Our averages are defined by a 30-year span of time. That 30-year average is made up of an overlapping 20 years and a new 10 years. For example, when you hear the First Alert weather team talking about the temperature being a certain number of degrees above or…

A group of rare whales has been spotted east of Boston, prompting the federal government to urge caution among boaters. The whales are North Atlantic right whales, which number only about 360 in the world. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said it is asking mariners to route around the area or transit through it at 10 knots or less…

The coronavirus pandemic has taken away about a third of the commercial fishing industry’s revenue, according to a federal report released on Friday. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said revenues from catch brought to the docks by commercial fishermen fell 29% over the course of the first seven months of the year. Revenues declined every month from March to…

Meteorologists say it’ll be close but it’s looking like 2020 globally will end up as the hottest year on record.

The federal government has extended measures meant to protect an endangered species of whale off New England through the end of the month. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said it is asking mariners to go slowly through an area south of Nantucket or avoid it completely. Similar protections have been in place throughout the fall. The whale numbers at…

The population of North Atlantic right whales, an endangered species that has been the focus of conservation efforts for decades, has dipped to less than 370, officials said. The whale numbers at only 366, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said Monday in an estimate that reflects the population as of January 2019. The previous estimate, which reflected January 2018,…

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration on Thursday released the winter outlook for the 2020-2021 season across the United States. The southern U.S. is expected to be warmer and drier this year while the northern U.S. is expected to be colder and wetter. But here in New England, we anticipate a slight chance of warmer-than-normal temperatures and an equal...

The 2020 Atlantic hurricane season is expected to be an “extremely active season,” officials from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration announced Thursday. Forecasters expect between 19 and 25 named storms, and between seven and 11 hurricanes this season. Three to six of the storms are expected to become major hurricanes. These estimates include the seven tropical storms and two…

This year is on track to be one of the warmest on record, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, which also announced Thursday that last month had tied the previous record for the warmest May in recorded history.

One of the most popular fish with recreational anglers on the East Coast will be subject to new fishing restrictions. The new restrictions apply to bluefish, which sport fishermen seek from Maine to Florida in the U.S. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said the fish have been declared overfished. NOAA is applying interim regulations to recreational vessels fishing...

Ships are hitting and killing whales off the California coast at some of the highest rates in more than a decade, according to data obtained and tabulated by the NBC Bay Area Investigative Unit. The spike in ‘ship strikes’ comes despite a 5-year government initiative to slow down vessels as they make their way into San Francisco Bay.

The planet experienced the hottest January in recorded history last month, marking the latest milestone in a string of climate records that have been broken in recent years, NBC News reports.

The federal government is asking Atlantic Ocean vessels to slow down in an area off Massachusetts because about one-eighth of the worldwide population of an endangered whale has been spotted nearby. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration says 50 North Atlantic right whales were seen south of Nantucket Island on Jan. 31. The agency has enacted a voluntary speed restriction…

Two U.S. agencies say the decade that just ended was by far the hottest ever measured on Earth, capped off by the second-warmest year on record. And scientists say there is no doubt at all this is man-made climate change.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration released the 2019 Atlantic Hurricane season outlook Thursday. This year, they expect a near “normal” season with 70% confidence.

The federal government is creating a new vessel speed restriction zone off Massachusetts to try to protect rare whales. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration says the zone has been established south of Martha’s Vineyard to protect a group of three North Atlantic right whales that was seen in the area on Monday.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration issued a dire flood outlook on Thursday, saying an “unpreceded flood season” may be ahead for the United States. This comes just days after historic flooding swallowed up parts of Nebraska and Iowa. NOAA expects major flooding to continue this spring across this same area, in the Northern Plains and midwest.

The federal government is reminding New Englanders that attempting to take a selfie with a seal or a seal pup is a very bad idea. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration acknowledges that seal pups are adorable, but also says “the best thing you can do for them is to keep your distance.” It says people and pets should stay...

Federal officials say last year was slightly worse than average for the entanglement of large whales, which is a major threat to the animals’ populations. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration released a report Thursday on the subject. The agency says the number of cases nationally was 76, and that 70 entanglements involved live animals, while the rest were dead....

The federal government is asking mariners to slow down off of Massachusetts to help protect a severely endangered species of large whale.

Smoke from the two catastrophic wildfires in California could be visible in New England this week.

Environmentalists scored a major victory in Sacramento Thursday after California lawmakers overwhelmingly voted to phase out the use of a controversial type of fishing gear, known as drift gillnets: mile-long nets blamed for unintentionally killing thousands of sea creatures, including endangered animals.

Federal forecasters say the Atlantic hurricane season will be even quieter than predicted, thanks to atmospheric and oceanic conditions suppressing storm formation. Officials dropped the number of named storms to between seven and 12 in an updated hurricane season forecast issued Thursday. A normal year has 12 named storms, six hurricanes and three major storms.