Meteorologists often refer to the right side of a hurricane as the “dirty side” of the storm.

ROANOKE, Va. – The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration released Thursday that 2020 was the second-warmest year on record globally, falling just behind 2016. BREAKING: 2020 was one of the three warmest years on record, and rivaled 2016 for #1, according to the @WMO. 2020 was Earth's second-warmest year on recordNow, seven of the planet’s warmest years on record have come since 2014. Also noted in NOAA’s Thursday release was the record tropical activity. Closer to home, 2020 was one of the warmest on record for Lynchburg and Roanoke while also being the wettest year on record for the two cities.

Louisiana residents who are still recovering from the devastation of a powerful hurricane less than two months ago braced for another hit as Hurricane Delta steamed north through the Gulf on Thursday after swiping Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula, the Associated Press reported. “They do not retire Greek alphabet storm names -- at least so far,” Gross said. The last time we went through all the letters of the alphabet and moved on to the Greek alphabet was 2005. In 2005, a record-breaking year of devastating hurricanes, we made it through six Greek letters. The Committee also agreed that it was not practical to retire into hurricane history a letter in the Greek alphabet.

Mars will appear brighter than at any other point during the year on Oct. 13, when it will be closest to Earth. “So, a little over every two years, Mars and Earth are closest together in their orbits and, thus, Mars is at its brightest in our nighttime sky. (© 2012 Michael Orso)Blue moon on HalloweenFor the first time since 2001, trick-or-treaters will get the chance to experience a Halloween full moon. A blue moon, by the most popular definition, according to Gross, is when two full moons appear in a single month. “We will have full moons on Oct. 1 and 31, so that means that we’ll have a blue moon on Halloween,” Gross said.

But regardless where you’re located or what types of weather your region regularly experiences, it’s always best to remain vigilant. When it comes to hurricanes and big storms, there’s always so much talk about how to prepare the insides of our homes. Therefore, it’s always better to err on the side of caution, he added. “There’s nothing wrong with being too careful.”So, the next time a big storm’s coming to town, walk around the exterior of your house, your property or your yard. You could even turn this into a project, moving just a few belongings a day, leading up to the storm.

After all the years of recorded named storms, one has to wonder: What happens when we run out of names? “The World Meteorological Organization came up with a six-year rotating list of names for hurricanes,” Gross said. Now we arrive at our initial question: What happens when we run out of names? So, let’s say we have a storm named Walter. The first and last instance in which the Greek alphabet was needed was in 2005, during the busiest hurricane season on record, when there were 28 named storms.

For those who will be witnessing totality during the Great American Eclipse on Monday, you’re in for a real treat: not only will you see the sun completely blocked by the new moon -- so long as it’s not cloudy -- but it will get eerily dark. Birds may become confused or stop flying. And if you know where to look, you may even be able to spot a hidden planet.