International collaboration has always been at the heart of COSMIC, a six-satellite network that intercepts GPS signals to measure weather, climate, and space weather variables. Now one of the leading university collaborators on COSMIC, the University of Graz, is UCAR’s latest international affiliate.

There was no gold medal, no podium ceremony, and definitely no tears from the losers on 30 July, but there was a new national champion. On that date, NOAA proclaimed that a South Dakota hailstone had surpassed all contenders in both size and weight.

It’s not exactly a moment for celebration, but when a tropical storm is born in the Atlantic, millions of people learn about it quickly. As with any birth, though, a great deal has to happen in just the right way before a tropical storm is christened.