Author Archives: Philip Orton

Southeast Winds and Flooding from Continental Storms

A massive extratropical storm over the Midwest will bring strong southeast winds to New York Bight and the potential for widespread coastal flooding this Thursday and Friday. Sustained winds in the New York metro area will peak at 25-35 mph … Continue reading

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Lessons on Containment for the Climate Pandemic

Climate change and COVID19 are similarly explosive problems, with similar dangers from missing the opportunity for containment.  One silver lining is that the pandemic has led us to change our lives in some ways that could be made permanent, to simultaneously rein in climate change. Continue reading

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Vanishing Glaciers, Rising Seas, and More Street Flooding in Low-Lying New York City Neighborhoods

A guest post by Dr. Vivien Gornitz   The Okjokull glacier in Iceland is no more. In 2014, Oddur Sigurosson, a prominent Icelandic glaciologist, declared that the remnant ice was too thin to qualify as a glacier. A plaque erected … Continue reading

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Pants on Fire, Causing Higher Carbon Emissions

President Trump, concerned about poor performance with Millennials and Independents is now touting his record in reducing US carbon emissions.  This Pants-On-Fire lie has him taking credit for a decade-long trajectory toward lower emissions that is predominantly caused by a … Continue reading

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Riding on Carousels and Ocean Gyres

I had a little fun Friday with a television expert appearance, helping people understand a little mystery – what might have happened to a real estate sign from New Jersey that was found on a French beach.  The story was … Continue reading

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Repetitive Flooding Coming with Winter Storm Riley

Low-lying areas of the NYC Metro area should expect coastal flooding over multiple high tides Friday through Sunday, due to Winter Storm Riley’s winds coinciding with the month’s highest tides.  The forecast for coastal areas is significantly worse than for NY/NJ … Continue reading

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Investing in NOAA Ocean and Atmospheric Research

The Washington Post reported Friday that the Trump Administration is seeking huge cuts from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) 2018 budget, including eliminating the Sea Grant Program and shaving 26% from the Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research … Continue reading

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A “new normal” or drowning by a million drops?

I was interviewed the other day on WNYC regarding flood events of the past few months — there is a concern that the three events that flooded some low-lying neighborhoods with roughly a foot of water signify a “new normal”, but … Continue reading

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Nor’easter Flood Intermission and the Coming Second Act

As things have paused between high tides, we have a sort of intermission in the coastal flood stresses impacting many of us.  Water levels are on their way up again, and here’s an update on what happened and what I expect … Continue reading

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Hurricane Joaquin flood forecast interpretation

5pm EDT, October 1, 2015 [This is a cross-post from Stevens Institute’s Davidson Laboratory.  It is a multi-contributor post summarizing our flood forecast products and interpretation] We are closely monitoring a weekend nor’easter and Hurricane Joaquin in the Caribbean, which could … Continue reading

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