Uploaded October 2024 | Updated September 2026, 6 hours ago
Celebrate NOAA DataFest and World Space Week 2024 with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)! This year’s World Space Week theme, Space & Climate Change, highlights the essential role of space science in understanding and addressing the challenges of climate change on Earth. Join us for “Planetary Climates: Exploring Climate on Other Planets and Our Earth,” a compelling live presentation featuring experts Juan Pablo Hurtado and Rafael de Ameller.
Whether you’re a student, educator, scientist, or simply curious about the cosmos and our environment, this event, open to the public, offers an opportunity to explore the intersection between space exploration and climate science.
Celebrate NOAA DataFest and World Space Week 2024 with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)! This year’s World Space Week theme, Space & Climate Change, highlights the essential role of space science in understanding and addressing the challenges of climate change on Earth. Join us for “Planetary Climates: Exploring Climate on Other Planets and Our Earth,” a compelling live presentation featuring experts Juan Pablo Hurtado and Rafael de Ameller.
Whether you’re a student, educator, scientist, or simply curious about the cosmos and our environment, this event, open to the public, offers an opportunity to explore the intersection between space exploration and climate science.






![NOAA-21 is Operational
NOAA-21 is now fully operational in NOAA’s fleet of polar-orbiting satellites that provide critical data to improve the accuracy of 3-to-7 day weather forecasts – including extreme weather events – and monitor climate change.
The newest satellite in the Joint Polar Satellite System (JPSS) constellation, NOAA-21 launched on November 10, 2022, from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California, joining NOAA-20 and Suomi NPP in orbit. NOAA-21 is flying half an orbit, or 50 minutes, ahead of NOAA-20, with Suomi NPP between them. Each orbit the Earth from the North to the South Pole 14 times a day, providing complete global data coverage twice daily. These satellites take measurements and images that help monitor hurricanes, snowstorms, floods, wildfires, and also the ozone layer.
Learn more:
https://www.nesdis.noaa.gov/news/noaa-21-operational
Credits:
NOAA
NASA
Music: “A New Story” by Paul Louis Reeves, Atmosphere Music LTD [UPM]; Volta Music; Universal Production Music NOAA-21 is Operational](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/Yvo837K89w4/mqdefault.jpg)
![Hurricane Otis Causes Catastrophic Damage in Acapulco, Mexico
On Wednesday, Oct. 25, Hurricane Otis made landfall near Acapulco, on Mexico’s southern Pacific coast, at 1:25 a.m. CDT as a Category 5 hurricane with sustained winds of 165 mph. The storm had rapidly intensified off the coast, and according to the National Hurricane Center, Otis was the strongest hurricane in the Eastern Pacific to make landfall in the satellite era.
Because the storm intensified so quickly, with wind speeds increasing by 115 mph within 24 hours, the more than one million people living in and around the city had very little time to prepare for the monster storm ahead of landfall. Only one other storm on record, Hurricane Patricia in 2015, exceeded Otis’ rapid intensification in the Eastern Pacific, with a 120-mph increase in 24 hours.
Credits:
NOAA
NASA
CIRA
Music: “Dark Mist” by Benson Taylor [PRS]; A Remarkable Idea; Universal Production Music Hurricane Otis Causes Catastrophic Damage in Acapulco, Mexico](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/Yxsrcoy0Kok/mqdefault.jpg)
![Lightning Safety
Lightning is a dangerous weather hazard that poses a significant threat to life and property. It can strike at any time, but is most common in the summer months.
For National Lightning Safety Awareness Week (June 22-28, 2025), NOAA is highlighting the capabilities of its Geostationary Lightning Mapper (GLM) instrument onboard the GOES-18 (GOES West) and GOES-19 (GOES East) satellites.
Learn more:
https://www.nesdis.noaa.gov/news/lightning-safety-awareness-week-detecting-lightning-space
Credits:
NOAA
NASA
Cooperative Institute for Research in the Atmosphere (CIRA) at Colorado State University
LightningCast imagery courtesy of the Cooperative Institute for Meteorological Satellite Studies (CIMSS) at the University of Wisonsin-Madison.
Music:
“In The Frame” by Aaron Frederick Lazlo Wheeler [PRS]; Abbey Road Masters; Universal Production Music Lightning Safety](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/Z9TY4fWqmGg/mqdefault.jpg)
![Great Lakes Ice at Historic Low
For the second consecutive year, ice cover on the Great Lakes remains significantly below average for this time of year, which typically sees the peak of ice cover at levels around 53 percent. As of February 11, total ice coverage across all lakes measured a mere 2.7 percent. Lakes Erie and Ontario are basically at—or tied with—their respective historic lows for this time of year, making both essentially ice-free. This record low ice cover is largely attributed to unusually warm temperatures throughout the region in December, paired with the generally short duration of Arctic air blasts.
Credits:
NOAA, NASA, CIRA
Music:
“Elegy of the Ice” by JC Lemay [SACEM]; Koka Media; Universal Production Music
Learn more:
https://www.nesdis.noaa.gov/news/great-lakes-ice-reaches-historic-low Great Lakes Ice at Historic Low](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/Zb0LDu_O884/mqdefault.jpg)
