Today’s National Weather Headlines and Updates – July 31, 2025

Tropical Weather Updates

• Pacific Basin Remains Active, Atlantic is Quiet: The Pacific basin continues to see tropical cyclone activity, with the National Hurricane Center issuing advisories on Tropical Storm Gil in the Eastern Pacific and Tropical Storm Iona in the Central Pacific. The Atlantic basin, however, currently has no active tropical cyclones. Forecasters expect tropical waves in the Atlantic to become more robust as August begins, with the potential for new storm formation in the coming weeks.
  • Source: https://www.noaa.gov/national-hurricane-center

Severe Weather and Forecasts

• Heavy Rainfall and Flash Flooding for the Mid-Atlantic and New England: A significant weather event is expected to bring heavy rain and a threat of flash flooding to the Mid-Atlantic and Southern New England today, particularly along the I-95 corridor. The National Weather Service warns of localized rainfall totals of 5-7 inches or more, which could lead to life-threatening conditions. Isolated severe thunderstorms with damaging winds are also a possibility.
  • Source: https://www.weather.gov/
• Derecho with 99 MPH Gusts Sweeps Upper Plains and Midwest: The National Weather Service has preliminarily classified a long-lived line of storms that brought hurricane-force winds from the Upper Plains to the Midwest as a derecho. Wind gusts of over 60 mph were reported, with a peak gust of 99 mph recorded in northwestern Iowa. The storms caused widespread tree damage and power outages.
  • Source: https://apnews.com/article/derecho-storms-winds-midwest-plains-iowa-7009659fc8ac7c74bc12b071fb5bfe64

Other Headlines

• Defense Department Continues Satellite Data Dispersal for Storm Forecasts: The U.S. Defense Department has decided to continue the distribution of key satellite weather data from the Defense Meteorological Satellite Program (DMSP) beyond the planned end date of July 31, 2025. This decision, which pushes back the phase-out plans by a year, was made after concerns were raised by forecasters at the National Weather Service and National Hurricane Center about the potential impact on hurricane forecast tools during peak season.
  • Source: https://www.spacedaily.com/reports/Defense_Department_opts_to_not_end_satellite_data_for_storm_forecasts_999.html
• NOAA to Announce Findings on Gulf of America “Dead Zone”: NOAA and its partners will hold a media teleconference today to report on the measured size of the hypoxic or “dead zone” in the Gulf of America. This year’s forecast estimated the size to be larger than the historical average.
  • Source: https://www.noaa.gov/media-advisory/noaa-partners-to-report-on-2025-gulf-of-america-dead-zone-monitoring-cruise

Disclaimer: This information was researched and curated with the assistance of AI, but reviewed and verified by a human.