Weather Whiz: October 11

The SpaceX Falcon 9 launch creates a glowing "space jellyfish" over St. Augustine, Florida.(Bryan Lacouture)How well have you been paying attention to the weather this week? Here are five questions that will test your knowledge of what's been going on. QUESTIONSA _____ weighing in at 3,156 pounds is now a contender for a world record. How many of the last seven champions of Major League Baseball have all been from southern or warmer-weather cities? It is best to clean your gutters when roughly what percent of the leaves near your home have fallen? When the temperature is expected to drop to 32 degrees or lower, a _____ is issued. What was the cause of the giant, glowing jellyfish that appeared in the morning sky on Tuesday?.... ANSWERSPumpkinAll seven70%Freeze warningA SpaceX Falcon 9 rocketHow did you do this week? Come back for more exciting weather questions next week, or risk showing up to trivia night unprepared! Get More of Our News on GoogleSet The Weather Company as a 'Preferred Source' to get quicker access to the news you value.

Phases of a lunar eclipse, with a total eclipse shown on the right.(NASA)How well have you been paying attention to the weather this week? Here are five questions that will test your knowledge of what's been going on. QUESTIONSHow many of the Lower 48 states had at least some drought conditions as the first full day of fall arrived? El Niño winters typically bring ______ weather to the South and a drier winter to the Northern Tier. SpaceX set a U. S. speed record by reaching the International Space Station in just ______ hours, a U. S. speed record. The world's oldest grapevine just produced another harvest in Maribor, Slovenia, despite the region's ______ summer ever recorded. An ______ lasts about a month and recurs roughly every six months, each one producing at least one lunar and one solar eclipse..... ANSWERS40WetterEightHottestEclipse seasonHow did you do this week? Come back for more exciting weather questions next week, or risk showing up to trivia night unprepared! Get More of Our News on GoogleSet The Weather Company as a 'Preferred Source' to get quicker access to the news you value.

An October nor'easter is developing in the Atlantic, where it will bring high surf, rip currents, coastal flooding, winds and rain to parts of the East Coast for several days this week. The National Hurricane Center has it highlighted as an area to watch this week for potential subtropical development. However, regardless of development, this system will bring dangerous conditions to the East Coast this week. Fortunately, this system doesn't look to be as strong as the one in September. But the bad news? It could linger for much of the week, so impacts could have a longer duration than you would think. There are currently coastal flood alerts across parts of coastal North Carolina and Virginia, where anywhere from 1 to 4 feet of inundation is possible. Key takeawaysWe do not expect this storm to be as strong as the late September nor'easter. The area most likely impacted the longest appears to be from the Delmarva Peninsula to eastern North Carolina, with more models pointing to primarily eastern North Carolina.

Thousands evacuate Southern California as wind-fueled fires burn homesFire crews in Southern California gained ground Saturday on a wind-driven blaze that charred hills and damaged or destroyed at least six large coastal homes, allowing evacuation orders to be lifted and thousands of people to return home. The fast-moving Norte Fire sparked the previous day in San Clemente amid hot, strong Santa Ana winds that drove it into San Juan Capistrano, prompting the evacuation of about 16,000 residents. Firefighters work to douse a house fire during the Norte Fire on Friday, Oct. 16, 2026, in San Juan Capistrano, Calif.(AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)Hundreds of firefighters deployed to combat the blaze in the hills of Orange County. At one home engulfed in smoke and fire, photos showed them using hoses to try to douse the flames. Most of the evacuations were lifted Saturday evening, except for one street in San Clemente. The Norte Fire was one of several in the region hit by the Santa Anas, which blow from the interior and toward the coast.

Marine technician crosses world's roughest sea to document AntarcticaFor Andrew Naslund, Antarctica is his “favorite place in the world.”He’s a marine technician for Scripps Institution of Oceanography. And while not a professional photographer, he’s capturing Antarctica’s beauty along his research journey. Andrew Naslund, Scripps Institution of Oceanography marine technician.(Andrew Naslund)The researchNaslund spends months aboard a research vessel, the R/V Roger Revelle (AGOR 24), which he describes as “basically a floating laboratory.”“The purpose of this ship is to provide a platform for scientists to reach some of the most remote reaches of our oceans,” Naslund said. A big part of his role is assisting the scientists to safely deploy and recover their instrumentation over the side of the ship. He also keeps track of incoming data, ensuring the scientists are getting the information that they came out there to get. “[We’re] a mobile weather station. So anywhere that we travel in the world, we’re collecting meteorological weather data,” he says.