Severe weather threats move into lower Great Lakes, Tennessee Valley Wednesday

Get late-breaking weather information, and your local forecast, at http://www.weather.gov.

More severe weather expected from Great Lakes to Central Texas on Tuesday

Get late-breaking information from the NOAA National Weather Service Storm Prediction Center (http://www.spc.noaa.gov/).

Global April temperatures were 13th highest on record; Year-to-date is eighth warmest period on record; North American snow cover was third largest

According to NOAA scientists, April 2013 was also the 37th consecutive April and 338th consecutive month (more than 28 years) with a global temperature above the 20th-century average.

Scientists find ancient microbes in Antarctic lake

In one of the most remote lakes of Antarctica, nearly 65 feet (19.8 meters) beneath the icy surface, scientists have uncovered a community of bacteria.

Drygalski Ice Tongue, Antarctica

Take a peek at our latest Earth image of the week. If you like it, download it!

Ice sheet loss at both poles increasing, study finds

An international team of experts has produced the most comprehensive and accurate assessment to date of ice sheet losses in Greenland and Antarctica and their contributions to sea level rise.

Volcanoes cause climate gas concentrations to vary

Trace gases and aerosols are major factors influencing the climate. With the help of highly complex installations, such as MIPAS on board of the ENVISAT satellite, researchers try to better understand the processes in the upper atmosphere. Now, scientists have completed a comprehensive overview of sulfur dioxide measurements.

Climate change and wildfire

Concerns continue to grow about the effects of climate change on fire. Wildfires are expected to increase 50 percent across the United States under a changing climate, over 100 percent in areas of the West by 2050 as projected by some studies. Of equal concern to scientists and policymakers alike are the atmospheric effects of wildfire emissions on climate.

Origins of human culture linked to rapid climate change

Rapid climate change during the Middle Stone Age, between 80,000 and 40,000 years ago, sparked surges in cultural innovation in early modern human populations, according to new research.