Marianne Mizera

1 month ago | bostonglobe.com | Ken Mahan |Marianne Mizera

With the start of the Atlantic hurricane season only 10 days away, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) is predicting a 60 percent chance of an above-average season with between 13 and 19 named storms and six to 10 of those achieving hurricane status. Major hurricanes, those reaching Category 3 or higher, are expected to number three to five storms. The forecast calls for about the same number of hurricanes compared to the 2024 season.

1 month ago | bostonglobe.com | Marianne Mizera

The recent heavy rainfall has done the trick, and the monthslong drought has finally lifted across most of Massachusetts. On Tuesday, state environment officials said that from Boston to the Berkshires, the commonwealth is back to normal water levels. The exception is Southeastern Mass. and Cape Cod, where the peninsula still remains under a “significant drought” level, according to state officials. Right now, communities across the southeastern part and the islands remain in a mild drought.

1 month ago | bostonglobe.com | Marianne Mizera |Chris Gloninger |Ken Mahan

New England is looking at an increasingly stormy Saturday afternoon and evening as a system continues moving into the region, bringing rounds of heavy rain with a slight chance of isolated thunderstorms, some of which could be strong to severe, mainly across Western Massachusetts and Vermont. This storm activity should weaken and fizzle out by the time it reaches the Boston area tonight.

1 month ago | bostonglobe.com | Marianne Mizera |Chris Gloninger

A meteor shower that has its origins in the 3,000-year-old Halley’s Comet is set to light up the night sky early next week. Known for their speed, the Eta Aquarids are icy, rocky debris that’s been shed from the nucleus of Halley’s Comet each time it returns to the inner solar system and strikes the Earth’s atmosphere, according to NASA. The meteor shower will remain active until May 28.

2 months ago | bostonglobe.com | Marianne Mizera

Above-normal precipitation has helped ease drought conditions across Massachusetts, which has downgraded its threat level to “mild” status for most of the state after struggling with severe rain deficits since last summer, according to environmental officials. Most parts of the state saw 4 to 6 inches in monthly precipitation, rain and snowfall combined, which has “helped improve streamflow and raise groundwater levels in several regions,“ officials said in a statement Wednesday.