Off the Radar

Latest Episodes:

Aircraft Icing: Lessons Written in Tragedy Mar 10, 2026

Show notes

Every winter, aircraft depart in snow and freezing rain under a simple but unforgiving rule: a clean aircraft flies. That rule was shaped by tragedy.

In this episode, we revisit the 1982 crash of Air Florida Flight 90 - a disaster that exposed the deadly consequences of ice contamination and inadequate thrust on takeoff, and helped transform winter flight standards. The lessons from that day reshaped deicing procedures, crew training, and federal regulations that still govern cold-weather operations.

We’re joined by retired airline captain and aviation safety expert Steven Green, whose four decades of flying and deep work in aircraft icing and accident analysis bring critical perspective to the science and the stakes. Together, we examine how ice disrupts flight, the crashes that rewrote the rules, and why the margin for error in winter aviation remains razor thin.

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The Blizzard of 2026: Behind the Forecast Mar 03, 2026

Show notes

One week after the Blizzard of 2026 buried parts of the Northeast under more than three feet of snow, we’re going behind the forecast.

On this episode of Off the Radar, Emily Gracey sits down with fellow meteorologists Joe Martucci and Chris Gloninger to break down the science and strategy behind one of the most impactful winter storms of the season. From the early model signals to the moment confidence surged, they walk through how the forecast evolved as the bomb cyclone rapidly intensified.

Joe and Chris also share what it was like to predict a major storm while living in the communities directly in its path, the biggest challenges they faced communicating impacts, and what made this blizzard stand out from others in recent memory.

It is a behind-the-scenes look at the decisions, data, and real-world experience that shaped the forecast for the Blizzard of 2026.

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Alaska’s Climate Crisis Part 2: The Human Cost Feb 24, 2026

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In Part One of this series, meteorologist Emily Gracey examined the science behind Alaska’s rapidly changing climate - the warming trends, disappearing sea ice, and extreme storms reshaping the state.

In Part Two, we hear what those changes sound like on the ground.

When the remnants of Typhoon Halong struck Western Alaska in October 2025, more than a thousand people were displaced. Entire villages flooded overnight. In Kwigillingok, Tribal Resilience Coordinator Dustin Evon watched the tide rise at midnight and barely made it to safety. He was one of the lucky ones – entire homes drifted away, many still containing families who weren’t able to leave in time. It was the challenge of a lifetime to see a community disappear.

Now, he faces a new challenge: how to rebuild ...or whether rebuilding is possible at all.

With no roads connecting rural villages to the rest of Alaska, evacuations must happen by air. And with federal funding fragmented and competitive, long-term relocation can take years…if it happens at all.

This episode explores the human cost of climate change in Alaska, the structural gaps in disaster assistance, and what it means to consider leaving behind the land that your ancestors have occupied for thousands of years.

Because in Western Alaska, resilience isn’t just about surviving the storm.

It’s about deciding whether it’s possible to stay once the storm is over.

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How Thirsty is Generative AI? Feb 17, 2026

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Behind every chatbot response, AI-generated image, and large language model is a vast network of data centers consuming enormous amounts of electricity and water. In this episode, Emily talks with Dr. Amanda Smith of Project Drawdown about the hidden environmental footprint of generative AI and what it means for a warming, resource-constrained world.

Dr. Smith explains how data centers operate, why they are often located where power is cheap and reliable, and why water remains the most efficient way to cool the servers that power today’s AI systems. We unpack the difference between carbon footprints and water footprints, explore why training AI models is especially energy intensive, and clarify common misconceptions about how much water tools like ChatGPT actually use.

The key question is not whether we should use AI, but how we use it. Thoughtful deployment, smarter infrastructure, and informed users will shape whether generative AI becomes part of the climate problem or part of the solution.

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Can the Winter Olympics Survive in a Warming World? Feb 10, 2026

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For more than a century, the Winter Olympics have depended on cold, reliable conditions. But as the planet warms, that foundation is becoming harder to find.

As the Games return to Northern Italy, this episode of Off the Radar examines how climate change is reshaping the future of winter sports. Meteorologist Emily Gracey speaks with Dr. Daniel Scott of the University of Waterloo, whose research shows a rapidly shrinking list of cities capable of hosting the Winter Olympics safely and fairly.

We explore why warmer temperatures mean more than just artificial snow, how deteriorating snow and ice increase risks for athletes, and why the Paralympic Games face even steeper challenges as competition moves deeper into warmer months.

With fewer cold places left on the map, the question is no longer theoretical. Can the Winter Olympics survive in a warming climate, and what decisions made today will determine their future?

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The Year Ahead: A Sit-down with NWS Director Ken Graham Feb 03, 2026

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The future of weather forecasting is being built right now.

Recorded on site at the annual meeting of the American Meteorological Society in Houston, this conversation with Ken Graham, Director of the National Weather Service, looks at where meteorology has been, where it is headed, and what it will take to get there.

This year’s conference theme, “Fast and Slow Thinking: the Human Factor in a Rapidly Changing World,” took on added meaning as a major winter storm disrupted travel and kept some participants away. But it did not slow the collaboration, innovation, and urgency inside the meeting rooms.

Ken Graham shares how artificial intelligence is transforming weather models, why partnerships across the weather enterprise matter more than ever, and how modern communication, from weather radios to social media, plays a critical role when it matters most. He also talks about the energy he sees across the National Weather Service, the next wave of talent coming in, and why he is genuinely excited about the year ahead. It is a conversation about technology, trust, and turning forecasts into action.

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Climate Melodies: Turning Data into Sound Jan 27, 2026

Show notes

Climate science is most often communicated through charts, graphs, and visual models. But data does not have to be seen to be understood.

In this episode, meteorologist Emily Gracey explores how climate data can be translated into sound. Emily is joined by mathematician and musician Harlan Brothers, who creates climate sonifications by converting real datasets into music and audio you can hear.

Using measurements such as global temperature over land, sea surface temperatures, and sea level rise, Harlan turns long term warming trends into melodies that reveal patterns over time. The conversation looks at how sonification works, why sound can engage people differently than visuals, and how music can add a new dimension to climate communication without compromising scientific integrity.

Throughout the episode, listeners will hear examples of these climate sonifications woven into the discussion, offering a chance to experience climate data through a different sense.

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Alaska's Climate Crisis Part 1: The Science Jan 20, 2026

Show notes

Alaska is warming faster than any other U.S. state- nearly four times the global rate. Permafrost that's been frozen for thousands of years is thawing. Villages are sinking. Homes are floating away. And Indigenous communities are paying the highest price.

In this episode, meteorologist Emily Gracey talks with Rick Thoman, one of the foremost experts on Alaskan climate and weather, about the extreme events reshaping the state. From the unprecedented remnants of Typhoon Halong that displaced over a thousand people in October 2025, to the disappearing Bering Sea ice and collapsing salmon populations, Rick walks us through what the data tells us about Alaska's rapidly transforming climate, and why what's happening at the top of the world matters for all of us.

This is part one of a two-part series on Alaska's changing climate. Part two will explore the impact to Tribal communities in the state.

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IVT: The Invisible Force Behind Deadly Floods Jan 13, 2026

Show notes

When catastrophic flooding hits, we usually look at rainfall totals and records broken. But what if the most important number comes before the rain ever starts?

In this episode, meteorologist Emily Gracey explores a groundbreaking Washington Post investigation that reveals how massive flows of atmospheric moisture are intensifying across the globe, creating hotspots that turn storms into deadly floods. Using a powerful metric called Integrated Vapor Transport (IVT), the reporting shows that the real story isn't happening on the ground...it's happening way above our heads.

Emily sits down with Washington Post meteorologist Ben Noll, who spent a year analyzing the data behind "Deadly Rivers In The Sky." Together, they unpack how rising global temperatures have supercharged the movement of moisture through Earth's atmosphere, why certain regions now face grave risks of extreme rainfall, and what this means for communities from Appalachia to Spain.

Floods can be sudden, devastating, and hard to recover from. But what if the real story isn't just the rain that falls, but the moisture in the sky that never used to be there?

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Arctic Alarm: Inside NOAA's 2025 Report Card Jan 06, 2026

Show notes

NOAA has just released its 2025 Arctic Report Card, and the findings are stark: the Arctic is warming more than twice as fast as the rest of the planet, with this year setting alarming new records. In this episode, meteorologist Emily Gracey sits down with Dr. Matt Druckenmiller, one of the report's editors, to unpack twenty years of tracking rapid Arctic change. From the lowest winter sea ice maximum ever recorded to "rusting rivers" flowing orange with metals from thawing permafrost, the transformations happening at the top of the world are reshaping weather patterns, sea levels, and ecosystems far beyond the Arctic Circle. Dr. Druckenmiller explains what "atlantification" means for ocean circulation, why the oldest Arctic sea ice has declined by 95% since the 1980s, and how these changes are already disrupting Indigenous food security and cultural traditions. This isn't just about polar bears and melting glaciers, it's about understanding a planetary shift that's affecting all of us, from Arctic communities to your own neighborhood. Tune in for a deep dive into the science, the stakes, and why sustained Arctic observation has never been more critical.

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