We're already three tropical storms into the Atlantic Hurricane Season, which officially began on June 1st. Tropical Storm Colin, which moved over the Gulf of Mexico before making its way up the East Coast and then exiting U.S. waters earlier this week, brought some rainfall, localized coastal flooding and dangerous surf to Florida and North Carolina.

As announced just before Memorial Day by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (Sea Grant's federal parent agency), a near-normal season has been predicted, suggesting more activity in the Atlantic possible than the last three below-normal years. For more on this, as well as the NOAA-funded video on Sea Grant's Coastal Storm Awareness Program (CSAP), see www.seagrant.sunysb.edu/articles/r/2644. Also featured is a full audio stream of NOAA's hurricane outlook announcement.



A summary of findings from the 18-month CSAP effort can be found along with the new short documentary and trailer aimed at educating emergency managers and empowering coastal communities: www.seagrant.sunysb.edu/articles/r/2642.

One of our recent blog posts, "Atlantic Hurricane Season is Here: Be Aware, Be Strong, Be Prepared," www.seagrant.sunysb.edu/blog/25, is filled with tips and resources from NOAA, its other line offices (including the National Weather Service and National Hurricane Center) as well as partner organizations including the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).

NOAA's National Hurricane Center offers up-to-date information on tropical cyclones and disturbances in the Atlantic Ocean at www.nhc.noaa.gov. NOAA's National Weather Service also offers forecasts, safety tips, weather-by-zip-code and more at www.weather.gov.


In Other News from NOAA's New York Sea Grant ...

(1) A historic 7-foot round boat is our eye-catching "Clean and Safe Boating" educational vessel for 2016. The vessel is part of a season-long campaign that, since 2008, has educated over 650,000 boaters. For more, including some key safe and clean boating tips, see www.seagrant.sunysb.edu/articles/r/2645.

(2) We continue our commemoration of ?#‎SeaGrant50?, the year-long anniversary campaign, by featuring some related coastal effort milestones - both statewide and nationally - on its blog, www.nyseagrant.org/blog.

(3) Learn more about NYC's coastal issues via our news item, "TWA's Annual NYC Conference: Defining and Delivering Equity at the Waterfront," www.seagrant.sunysb.edu/articles/r/2640. Find additional "NYSG in NYC" news at www.nyseagrant.org/nyc.

(4) A revised, full-color guide offers home gardeners tips on how to be more water-wise with their landscaping practices. These everyday efforts can help reduce threats to water quality: www.seagrant.sunysb.edu/articles/r/2639.

(5) Take a look back with us on over a dozen projects from 2015 in a series of short impact statements. The key focus areas for these projects range from community resiliency to coastal storm events and supporting healthy New York coastal ecosystems and economies: http://ow.ly/4n9nnh.

And for more on the impacts of our Sea Grant specialists and funded researchers in New York's Great Lakes and marine waters through the years, check out www.nyseagrant.org/successstories.

(6) Videos and presentations from November 2015's Nature-Based Shoreline Practices Workshop can now be found at www.nyseagrant.org/naturebasedshorelines.

(7) Videos and other resources from late Fall 2015's NYSG-hosted Watercraft Inspection Webinar Series are at www.nyseagrant.org/watercraftinspection.

Top 10 Trending News Stories from NOAA ...

(1) U.S. & GLOBAL CLIMATE >>> Despite a near-average May, warmth in March and April fueled the warmest spring in the contiguous United States since the record-breaking spring of 2012. As has been the case for much of this decade, overnight temperatures were generally relatively higher than afternoon temperatures when compared to average. Learn more in the May 2016 U.S. Climate Report: http://1.usa.gov/22Jp9ho . #‎StateOfClimate?

Also: The January–April 2016 temperature across global land and ocean surfaces was record high for the year-to-date, surpassing the previous record set in 2015 by 0.54°F. Learn more in the April 2016 Global Climate Report: http://1.usa.gov/1XubZ7h.

(2) SWIM SAFE >>> It's hard to see and survive a ?#‎RipCurrent? (you might know it as a "rip tide") when you don't know what to look for. Get a good look from the beach -- and the air in this NOAA Ocean Today VIDEO: oceantoday.noaa.gov/ripcurrentscience.

(3) U.S. DROUGHT >>> According to the June 7, 2016 U.S. Drought Monitor (http://1.usa.gov/28nUbzE), moderate to exceptional drought covers 13.2% of the contiguous United States, an increase from last week’s 12.7%. The worst drought categories (extreme to exceptional drought) held steady at 2.5% for a fourth week. ?#‎DroughtMonitor?

(4) OCEAN DAY EVERYDAY >>> What do you know about our world ocean? oceanservice.noaa.gov.

(5) CLIMATE >>> Will the transition from ?#‎ElNiño? to ?#‎LaNiña? be quick? Read the latest post on Climate.gov's blog: www.climate.gov.

(6) BE PREPARED >>> Learn how we all can take steps to prepare for hurricanes and protect ourselves and our belongings: https://usresponserestoration.wordpress.com/2016/05/17/preparing-for-what-can-go-wrong-because-of-hurricanes.

(7) PITCH IN >>> Do your part to help protect our estuaries: oceanservice.noaa.gov.

(8) GLOBAL WARMING >>> Warming due to carbon dioxide jumped by half in 25 years -- Get the highlights from 10th Annual Greenhouse Gas Index, www.noaa.gov.

(9) WATER QUALITY >>> How do scientists predict the spread of a ?#‎HarmfulAlgalBloom?? Watch the video to find out: oceantoday.noaa.gov/predictinghabs.

Also, NOAA held a reddit Science AMA online chat on harmful algal blooms in early May. (Tip: Click the word "context" under each response to see the question that was asked.) http://bit.ly/1s0iCTl

(10) SUPER-COMPUTING >>> NOAA's powerful Global Forecast System model were upgraded, providing forecasters with a more accurate 4-D picture of how a weather system will evolve: www.noaa.gov.

Also, when it comes to weather prediction, it's all about math: At data centers in Virginia and Florida, NOAA’s supercomputers are on the job nonstop: www.noaa.gov.

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On www.nyseagrant.org ...

- Our "Trending Topics," such as climate change and green tips for coastal living, via a section on our homepage, www.nyseagrant.org.

- For the latest news from NYSG, check out our 'Currents' section, www.nyseagrant.org/currents, as well as our 'by-topic' archives, www.nyseagrant.org/currentsarchive.

- To keep tabs on all of NYSG's coastal science news, follow us on Facebook (www.facebook.com/nyseagrant), Twitter (www.twitter.com/nyseagrant) and YouTube (www.youtube.com/nyseagrant); Subscribe to our free news feeds (click the orange & white icon in the "Follow Us" navigation bar at www.nyseagrant.org); Sign up for our e-list in a few quick clicks at www.nyseagrant.org/nycoastlines. Our flagship publication, NY Coastlines / Currents, is published 1-2 times a year.