Mountain pine beetles appear to be doing more than killing large swaths of forests in the Rocky Mountains. Scientists suspect they are also altering local weather patterns and air quality.

In a potential boon for agriculture, a NASA-funded effort that involves NCAR and the private firm DTN/Meteorlogix has produced one of the world’s most accurate systems for predicting soil temperature up to two days in advance.

Plants in a forest respond to stress by producing significant amounts of a chemical form of aspirin, scientists have discovered.

This year is proving unusually active for Atlantic storms. The hurricane season is only at its midpoint, but already there have been 10 named storms—which is the average number for an entire year.

Maura Hagan, a senior scientist at the National Center for Atmospheric Research, has been named NCAR deputy director.