For every 10 degrees north from the equator you move, spring arrives about four days earlier than it did a decade ago, according to researchers from Penn State, U.C. Davis and the University of Minnesota Duluth. This northward increase in the rate of springtime advance is roughly three times greater than what previous studies indicated.

The warming climate is expected to affect coastal regions worldwide as glaciers and ice sheets melt, raising sea level globally. For the first time, an international team has found evidence of how sea-level rise already is affecting high and low tides in both the Chesapeake and Delaware bays, two large estuaries of the eastern United States.

David W. Titley, professor of practice in meteorology, professor of international affairs, founding director of the Center for Solutions to Weather and Climate Risk, Penn State and retired rear admiral, U.S. Navy, was appointed chairman of the advisory committee for the National Academies' new Climate Communications Initiative.

Penn State researcher Fuqing Zhang was one of three experts on a panel, representing universities, federally funded labs and the private sector, who briefed Congress on how recent advances in technology have improved severe weather forecasting, allowing targeted forecasts for both the public and businesses that support the economy and can save lives. The briefing, sponsored by the University Corporation for Atmospheric Research (UCAR), took place today (Nov.14).

Rising sea levels caused by a warming climate threaten greater future storm damage to New York City, but the paths of stronger future storms may shift offshore, changing the coastal risk for the city, according to a team of climate scientists.

Some great ideas are born out of years of painstaking research. Others are gleaned from the plotline of the movie "Twister."