Dennis Mersereau

North Carolina

Contributor at Forbes

I make it rain and then write about it. 📡 Weather reporter, author, Tom Nook apologist, and aspiring flâneur. He/him. 🏳️‍🌈 || @wxdam.com on Bluesky.

Articles

What to expect as the 2025 Atlantic hurricane season kicks off

6 days ago | ca.news.yahoo.com | Dennis Mersereau

What to expect as the 2025 Atlantic hurricane season kicks offWhat to expect as the 2025 Atlantic hurricane season kicks offThe Atlantic hurricane season is here once again. June 1 marks the beginning of the six-month period during which conditions are favourable for tropical storm and hurricane formation. Experts anticipate a busy season ahead with an above-average number of named storms throughout the Atlantic basin.
Tornado, waterspout, landspout, gustnado: what’s the difference?

6 days ago | ca.news.yahoo.com | Dennis Mersereau

Air spiralling around in circles makes the weather downright fascinating. From a mammoth tornado that can destroy neighbourhoods to a dust devil that pops up in a parking lot, swirling currents of air come in all shapes and sizes. What’s the difference between them all? Here’s a look at six different types of whirlwinds and what makes each one unique.
June heat and storms put Canada on the road to summer

1 week ago | ca.news.yahoo.com | Dennis Mersereau

June heat and storms put Canada on the road to summerWelcome to the beginning of summer, Canada! The start of June heralds the arrival of meteorological summer—with the summer solstice just a few short weeks away. What does a typical June have in store across the country? Severe thunderstorms are a common sight as the atmosphere warms up and an active jet stream lifts across our side of the border.
The day radioactive hail fell on Washington, D.C.

1 week ago | ca.news.yahoo.com | Dennis Mersereau

Thunderstorms are common in the waning days of May as soupy heat builds over the swampy terrain of Washington, D.C. Nestled along the Potomac River, the U.S. capital is perfectly positioned to feel the boiling humidity of an early summer’s day. But one thunderstorm on the afternoon of May 26, 1953, packed an unusual punch. Not only did the storm drop tennis ball size hail on D.C. and its suburbs—but that hail turned out to be radioactive.
700+ twisters: U.S. seeing most active tornado season since 2011

2 weeks ago | ca.news.yahoo.com | Dennis Mersereau

The United States is the most tornado-prone country in the world—but this year’s destructive severe weather season has pushed the upper bounds of tornadic activity by this point in the year. Meteorologists have received more than 900 preliminary reports of tornadoes so far in 2025, and experts have confirmed at least 700 of those twisters. This is the greatest tornado count through this point in the year since the historic outbreaks of 2011.
Rare landspout tornado confirmed in British Columbia

2 weeks ago | ca.news.yahoo.com | Dennis Mersereau

Experts with the Northern Tornadoes Project (NTP) confirmed this week that a rare tornado occurred in central British Columbia on Wednesday, May 21. Video from the region shot around 1:34 p.m. local time showed a landspout tornado near the town of Vanderhoof, located in central B.C. about 80 km west of Prince George. Officials assigned the landspout a default EF-0 rating because no damage was reported from the region. The NTP says they plan to analyze satellite imagery for signs of damage.
Canadian Hurricane Centre expects a busy season, urges preparedness

2 weeks ago | ca.news.yahoo.com | Dennis Mersereau

Experts with the Canadian Hurricane Centre (CHC) expect a busy Atlantic hurricane season again this year. This expectation lines up with forecasters from NOAA and Colorado State University, who all anticipate above-average tropical cyclone activity across the Atlantic basin this summer and fall.
Scientists uncover a driving force behind deadly humid heat waves

2 weeks ago | ca.news.yahoo.com | Dennis Mersereau

Heat waves are an increasing threat for a large swath of the world’s population. Excessive temperatures are bad enough on their own, but adding in humidity is a potentially deadly combination. Humid heat is already pushing the limits of survivability in some regions, and the problem could get worse as climate change forces temperatures to rise and heat waves to grow more frequent. Improved warnings about these deadly temperature extremes are a critical step toward staying safe in the future.
Above-average Atlantic hurricane season likely in 2025, NOAA says

2 weeks ago | ca.news.yahoo.com | Dennis Mersereau

Forecasters with NOAA announced Thursday that they expect another above-average Atlantic hurricane season this year. Experts cited favourable conditions across the Atlantic Ocean—plus the absence of El Niño in the Pacific—as factors that may drive the formation of more named storms than we’d see during a normal season. Atlantic hurricane season begins on June 1 and runs through November 30, though storms can and sometimes do form outside of that date range.
Why don’t people evacuate disasters? New study raises surprising explanations

2 weeks ago | ca.news.yahoo.com | Dennis Mersereau

Hurricane forecasts are better today than ever before. Conditions ripe for flooding can be predicted days in advance. Our smart devices are capable of alerting us the moment a severe weather warning is issued. Despite all these lifesaving technological achievements, getting folks to evacuate ahead of a natural disaster remains a challenge. Why don’t some residents leave when they’re asked to do so?