The main purpose of this ongoing blog will be to track planetary extreme, or record temperatures related to climate change. Any reports I see of ETs will be listed below the main topic of the day. I’ll refer to extreme or record temperatures as ETs (not extraterrestrials).😜
Here is a new feature for this blog, which I will add daily. This is the latest inciteful Green News Report from my friends Desi Doyen and Brad Friedman at Progressive Voices. Hit ‘continue reading,’ listen, then hit return to see my daily topics:
Green News Report with Brad Friedman & Desi Doyen
Episode: 9/24/2026 — More info…
Dear Diary. One of the worst weather woes to affect the U.S. over the U.S. this week will be an early season nor’easter. By comparison, this event will not be as bad as a hurricane from our non-existent hurricane season thanks to El Niño. Nevertheless, the system will cause much beach erosion, flooding, and destruction from the Outer Banks of North Carolina northeast to Boston. Every weather system us affected by our long-term carbon pollution, but how much for this nor’easter?
The system will be strong by Sunday:
The Atlantic Ocean is anomalously warm beneath the system that will add more fuel to the storm.
Over the last decade strong nor’easters have been found to have been strengthened by climate change:
It’s no wonder that Climate Central has found that this nor’easter will be strengthened by climate change:
Climate change is adding fuel to this weekend’s Nor’easter | Climate Central
Climate change is adding fuel to this weekend’s Nor’easter
September 24, 2026
A developing nor’easter is expected to strengthen along the U.S. East Coast through the weekend, bringing heavy rainfall, strong winds, dangerous surf, and coastal flooding from the Mid-Atlantic into New England. As of September 24, coastal flooding has already affected portions of Virginia and North Carolina, with ocean overwash closing a miles-long stretch of road on the Outer Banks and breaking waves of 12-17 feetforecast alongHatteras Island, North Carolina.
The storm is expected to bring its most significant impacts to the Northeast beginning Friday, with coastal wind gusts of 40-60 mph and widespread rainfall totals of 2-4 inches, with isolated amounts reaching 5 inches on Cape Cod.
Dangerous surf is expected, with coastal flooding possible along much of the Northeast coast Friday through Sunday, including the Jersey Shore, Long Island, Rhode Island, Martha’s Vineyard, Nantucket, and portions of coastal New Hampshire and Maine. Breaking waves of 6-17 feet are possible along the Massachusetts coast, while offshore seas near Jeffreys Ledge in the Gulf of Maine could reach 15 feet. Prolonged onshore winds and repeated high tides, amplified by Saturday’s full moon, will increase the risk of coastal flooding, beach erosion, and damage to coastal infrastructure
How is climate change influencing this storm?
The developing nor’easter is forming over exceptionally warm Atlantic waters off the Mid-Atlantic coast, where sea surface temperatures of 81-83°F are 2-4.5°F above normal.
- According to Climate Central’s Climate Shift Index: Ocean, these unusually warm waters have been made 10 to 50 times more likely by human-caused climate change.
- As the storm moves northward, it is expected to travel over unusually warm waters of 75-80°F, approximately 2-4°F warmer than normal.
- Ocean CSI along its forecast path indicates that these ocean temperatures are 10 to 50 times more likely, and up to 70 times more likely in some areas, due to climate change.
- Warmer waters can increase evaporation and supply additional moisture to the atmosphere, potentially enhancing rainfall as the nor’easter moves along the East Coast.
- Human-caused climate change is also contributing to rising sea levels and exacerbating flooding outlooks along the East Coast. Tide forecasts for Lewes, Delaware, for example, indicate that the region could experience moderate coastal flooding in the coming days, but would experience only minor flooding without the influence of human-caused sea level rise. Similarly, New York City is expected to experience minor coastal flooding, but without the influence of human-caused climate change, sea levels would not reach flood levels at all.
What do experts say?
Dr. Zachary Labe, a Climate Scientist at Climate Central, said:
“Climate change is raising sea levels along the East Coast, so coastal communities are starting every storm from a higher water level. That makes flooding and erosion from nor’easters like this one more likely and more severe.”
How do we know climate change is influencing this storm?
The Climate Shift Index: Ocean is grounded in peer-reviewed methodology and high-quality data. It quantifies the influence of climate change on sea surface temperatures.
The Ocean CSI indicates how human-caused climate change has influenced the likelihood of daily sea surface temperatures occurring at nearly any location around the world’s oceans.
To request an interview with a Climate Central scientist, please contact Abbie Veitch at aveitch@climatecentral.com.
Other resources
Access photorealistic, street-level visuals of storm surge flooding risks using Climate Central’s FloodVisionⓇ tool. Learn more here.
More:
Here are some “ETs” recorded from around the U.S. the last couple of days, their consequences, and some extreme temperature outlooks, as well as any extreme precipitation reports:
Here is More Climate News from Friday:
(As usual, this will be a fluid post in which more information gets added during the day as it crosses my radar, crediting all who have put it on-line. Items will be archived on this site for posterity. In most instances click on the pictures of each tweet to see each article. The most noteworthy items will be listed first.)