Many facets of everyday life, from boarding a plane to turning on the lights or driving down the highway, are becoming safer and more cost-effective with the help of technologies rooted in atmospheric science.

A partnership between NCAR and Xcel Energy has produced a wind forecasting system that is widely considered to be one of the most advanced of its kind.

Specially developed forecasts aim to help public health officials in Africa coordinate an international immunization program against meningitis, an often deadly disease associated with dry, dusty weather patterns.

After an earthquake and tsunami damaged the Daiichi nuclear power plant in Fukushima, Japan, on March 11, 2011, an unknown quantity of radioactive material was released into the surrounding air and sea.

March is normally the snowiest month of the year across parts of the central Rockies, but March 2012 left much of Colorado snowless and nervous.