Department of Atmospheric Sciences – in the School of Ocean and Earth Science and Technology at the University of Hawai'i at Mānoa

Storm threats spur first atmospheric sciences bachelor’s and master’s student

When Dennis Trotter was in middle and high school, classes were canceled multiple times due to the impending threat from hurricanes and tropical storms approaching the Hawaiian Islands. He took notice and after learning more about these storms, Trotter became fascinated by meteorology, and knew it was what he wanted to pursue after high school.

El Niño research earns Christina Karamperidou early career scientist award

Christina Karamperidou, SOEST associate professor of atmospheric sciences, was honored with an Early Career Scientist Award by the International Union of Geodesy and Geophysics (IUGG).

Climate change to produce more rainbows

Climate change will increase opportunities to see rainbows, according to a new study led by researchers at the University of Hawai‘i (UH) at Mānoa. The study’s authors estimate that by 2100, the average land location on Earth will experience about 5% more days with rainbows than at the beginning of the 21st century.

Passion for storms strengthens UH research into severe thunderstorms

Dr. Steven Businger, Professor in the Atmospheric Sciences Department at UHM and the projects’ lead, and his associates conducted field experiments in Colorado, where Merage has a ranch south of Denver. Their latest investigation, “The anatomy of a series of cloud bursts that eclipsed the U.S. rainfall record,” was published in Monthly Weather Review in April 2022. It detailed the essential role of steep mountainous terrain in producing a series of supercell thunderstorms that stalled out over Kauaʻi in April 2018.

Aloha! Welcome to the home page of the Department of Atmospheric Sciences. We are entering our second half century providing education in atmospheric sciences at the University of Hawai’i at Manoa. Since 1988 we have been part of the School of Ocean and Earth Science and Technology (SOEST). To learn about our educational programs and our exciting research and service activities follow the links at the top of the page. For more information about the history and structure of the department, please visit our About the Department page.

The department also maintains an online Weather Server displaying real-time weather observations, including information on current weather conditions, and forecasts for Hawai’i, the central Pacific region, and the continental United States.