WX Brief

Most Americans set their clocks back on November 1, 2026. The change does not create daylight. It shifts how daylight aligns with the clock, and its history reaches from railroads and world wars to today’s federal rules.

The polar vortex is a normal part of the winter atmosphere, not a single storm. Its strength and position can help shape cold outbreaks, the jet stream and periods of disruptive winter weather across North America.

In late October 1991, a rare interaction among an Atlantic low, a powerful Canadian high, Hurricane Grace and the Gulf Stream created one of the most remarkable ocean storms in modern weather history.

Isaias became the first hurricane of the 2026 Atlantic season in October, matching a record set more than a century ago before striking Florida’s Gulf Coast.

The 2026 winter solstice occurs on December 21. Here is what happens astronomically, why it produces the shortest day and how it differs from meteorological winter.

The Atlantic produced eight named storms through September, but none became hurricanes. The storm count tells only part of the story: accumulated cyclone energy remained 89 percent below normal as October began.

Nor’easters are powerful coastal storms that can bring heavy snow, destructive winds, coastal flooding and major disruption to the East Coast. Here is how they form, why they can intensify so quickly and what history teaches us about their impacts.

Fall has two widely used starting dates. Here is why the equinox moves on the calendar and how astronomical fall differs from meteorological fall.

By mid-September, the Atlantic had produced five named storms but no hurricanes. Here is what the numbers say—and what they cannot promise about the rest of the season.

A watch asks you to get ready. A warning means the threat is happening or imminent in the warned area.