Alan Sealls Weather

All of a sudden... the tropics become active. Regardless of seasonal outlooks for the tropics, you must keep up with the weekly and daily forecasts in .

[6/16/26 10AM]
🌀 NOAA NWS National Hurricane Center has initiated advisories on Potential Tropical Cyclone One near the TX coast. This system is expected to become a tropical storm Wednesday and make landfall near the TX/LA border.

Primary local impacts today thru Friday:
⛈️⚠️ Potentially significant flash flooding.
🌊 Minor coastal flooding of 1-3 feet above normally dry ground in SE LA.
🌪️ A few tornadoes cannot be ruled out.
⛵️ Unsettled marine weather.

Ocean currents never cease, fortunately!

What keeps ocean water moving around our planet? 🌊🌎

Beneath the waves, a vast network of currents is constantly at work. Known as thermohaline circulation, or the "great ocean conveyor belt," this system moves water around the globe based on differences in temperature and salinity.

As cold, salty water sinks near the poles and warmer water rises elsewhere, ocean waters are connected in a slow-moving cycle that helps distribute heat, transport nutrients, and support life throughout the ocean. Some water can even spend centuries traveling through the deep ocean before returning to the surface!

Ready to dive deeper? Explore our Learning Zone page and discover how the "great ocean conveyor belt" connects oceans around the world:
https://scied.ucar.edu/video/ocean-move-thermohaline-circulation?utm_source=sm

📸: CLIVAR

Nature Photography Day - That's today. It's a good time to remind you that the American Meteorological Society Annual Photo contest entry deadline is in just two weeks. The contest is open to professionals, amateurs and everyday people who have captured something astonishing, unique, powerful or just plain pretty, related to weather, water and climate. https://headlines.ametsoc.org/photo-contest/

Happy World Ocean Day! Do you know why the ocean is blue? Water absorbs colors in the red part of the light spectrum. Like a filter, this leaves behind colors in the blue part of the light spectrum for us to see. The ocean may also take on green, red, or other hues as light bounces off of floating sediments and particles in the water. Most of the ocean, however, is completely dark. Hardly any light penetrates deeper than 656 feet, and no light penetrates deeper than 3,280 feet. Pictured here: the Big Sur coastline looking north to Bixby Canyon Bridge in California.

Calm weather does not always mean calm beach surf. Follow posted safety instructions and specific beach condition forecasts from the or some other trusted source.

Yes, that flat thing on the back of the truck is a Doppler radar.

While most people seek shelter from a storm, Doppler on Wheels teams do the exact opposite.

Doppler on Wheels are mobile radars mounted on flatbed trucks, allowing researchers to collect weather data at close range. Since the first deployment in 1995, thanks to NSF-funded researchers, these instruments have been used to chase thunderstorms across tens of thousands of miles, collecting groundbreaking, detailed information on tornadoes, hurricanes and blizzards. 🌨️
https://bit.ly/4x0p9OT

📸: Carlye Calvin/UCAR

I'll be a guest, as President of AMS, alongside AMS President-elect Rick Spinrad, Monday, June 1, at 6:20pm Eastern Time.

What is at risk without federally funded weather and climate research 🌍?

Next week, join AMS President Alan Sealls and President-elect Rick Spinrad during the 2nd Weather & Climate Livestream to Save America's Forecasts and find out.

📺 Watch live 1 June 6:20 PM ET: https://wclivestream.com/

As I wrote in this week's Lagniappe Daily, don't assume a forecast or outlook for a "below normal," "below average," "quieter than normal," or "less active" hurricane season means you can't take a direct strike from a major storm. Those are all statistical terms that don't equate to "good" or "bad." Always remember that these forecasts are for the ENTIRE Atlantic Ocean basin, not for your county.

NOAA predicts below-normal 2026 Atlantic hurricane season Early preparation essential to staying safe all season