Goddard Earth Observing System
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NASA
A Hot Start to Spring in the Southwest
In March 2026, the first official day of the Northern Hemisphere’s spring felt more like summer across much of the southwestern United States. Numerous high-temperature records fell that day amid a bout of extreme heat. The extent and severity of the heat are represented on this map, which shows air temperatures on the afternoon of March 20, modeled at 2…
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NASA
Dust Outbreak Reaches Europe
Winter winds lofted clouds of dust from the Sahara Desert, carrying it north toward the Mediterranean and dispersing it widely across Europe in March 2026. When the dust combined with moisture-laden weather systems, a dirty rain fell in parts of Spain, France, and the United Kingdom. This animation highlights the concentration and movement of dust throughout the region from March…
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NASA
Summer Heat Hits Southeastern Australia
While a part of the United States braved extreme winter cold, January 2026 brought sweltering summer conditions to many parts of Australia. Australia’s area-averaged mean temperature was 1.90 degrees Celsius (3.42 degrees Fahrenheit) above the 1961–1990 average, making it the fourth-warmest January since the start of observations in 1910, according to the Bureau of Meteorology (BoM). Contributing to this was a late-month heatwave…
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NASA
Extreme January Cold
In the wake of a winter storm that blanketed numerous U.S. states with snow and ice, unusually low temperatures continued to grip a large swath of the nation east of the Rockies in late January 2026. The cold spell was notable for severity, longevity, and geographic scope. This animation depicts surface air temperatures across part of the Northern Hemisphere, including North America,…
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NASA
NASA Awards Global Modeling, Assimilation Support Contract
NASA has selected ADNET Systems, Inc. of Bethesda, Maryland, to provide global modeling and data assimilation support at the agency’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland. The Global Modeling and Assimilation Support contract is a single-award, cost-plus-fixed-fee, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract with a maximum ordering value of approximately $84 million with a five-year period of performance beginning March 15, 2026. Under…
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