First in the queue for the NCAR-Wyoming Yellowstone system is a set of 11 computing-intensive projects tackling major problems in Earth and atmospheric science.

The nation’s newest computing facility for atmospheric and related science is poised to take the nation’s infrastructure for weather prediction, climate projection, space weather, and other key tasks to the next level.

Scientists are analyzing results from a project that pulled together chemists, radar experts, cloud physicists, forecasters, pilots, and other specialists to investigate the evolution of thunderstorms.

The United States faces more varied weather risks than most nations on Earth, but we also have uniquely strong capabilities to confront these risks, thanks to decades of research conducted by government agencies, universities, and the private weather industry.

In recent months there’ve been hints of an El Niño on the horizon that might help quench the ongoing U.S. drought. But those hints might turn out to be as meaningless as a mirage on a parched highway.