SummaryThe Lonesome Guild is a vibrant and heartfelt action RPG that explores the power of togetherness in a world struggling with loneliness.Tiny Bull Studios is an indie games studio passionate about experimenting with game design and storytelling.The Lonesome Guild is planned to launch in Fall 2025 for Xbox Series X|S.At Tiny Bull Studios, we wanted to create a game that reflects the deep human need for connection, which emphasizes the power of friendship and collaboration in overcoming adversity. While combat and exploration are key elements of The Lonesome Guild, the game places relationships at the heart of its experience.Making a game about friendship and connection is very important to us. The Lonesome Guild was conceived in 2020, which was a period of isolation for a lot of us. It highlighted how much loneliness can affect mental health, relationships, and even self-identity. We saw an opportunity to create a game that doesnt just entertain but inspires people to reflect on the importance of reaching out, supporting others, and ultimately finding strength in companionship.We believe that what truly sets our game apart from other ARPGs is its unique relationship system, which directly impacts gameplay. Instead of characters being mechanically interchangeable, the bond between them shapes their abilities, interactions, and progression so you wont just assemble your party for their skills, but youll nurture them and unlock new powers and quests based on their emotional growth.Designing an ARPG with these relationship elements has been an adventure and a challenge for us. The team had to create a meaningful connection between the character progression, their narrative arc, and dialogue. Our biggest challenge was permeating the design with the idea that the actions taken by the player help improve the bond between this budding group of friends, all of which share a common goal but have different and Indvidual dreams and needs.This togetherness feature transpires not only in the narration, but also in the exploration and combat; the most impactful abilities can only be used if two or more party members are co-operating. Collaboration is key especially in the real-time challenging battles that await players. Together, they can share buffs or perform unique abilities that can turn the tide of battle. We hope the system incentivizes players to play with every character! Each of them has their own skill tree which players can progress through by growing closer to them through dialogue choices, exploration, and side quests.Were already so excited for people to explore the vibrant world of Etere and we cant wait to see not only the bonds between the characters, but between players and our ragtag bunch of friends too. With our 6 diverse characters each representing a different type of loneliness, were curious to see how each of their stories will resonate with players. Loneliness is something we all experience, and as our character Ghost, we want players to feel that we are stronger together!Youll be able to play The Lonesome Guild on Xbox Series X|S in Fall 2025. We cant wait to share more details about the world of Etere and its colorful characters!

iOS 18.4 beta 1 is now available, including for public beta users. And among its many changes, theres a convenient feature enhancement to verification codes found in Apples Passwords app. Here are the details.Countdown in iOS 18.4s Passwords app shows when codes will expire and resetAs shared by Aaron Perris on X, Apples Passwords app got a welcome feature enhancement in the first iOS 18.4 beta.Verification codes now offer a visual countdown timer to show you how long it will be until they expire and refresh.By opening the Codes section of the app, youll see a new timer in the top-right corner. Its a simple ring that fills in with green to visualize the time left on your current verification codes.When the circle fills with green, all your codes with automatically expire and reset.You can also see this from the details view of a specific password entry. Any entry containing a verification code will now show the expiration timer alongside the current code.As Perris notes, the feature is also included in macOS Sequoia 15.4 and even works inside Passwords Menu Bar app.Its a small change, but a nice one for an important security feature that previously offered no such obvious indicator of a codes imminent expiration.What do you think of this Passwords app change in iOS 18.4? Let us know in the comments.Best iPhone accessoriesAdd 9to5Mac to your Google News feed. FTC: We use income earning auto affiliate links. More.Youre reading 9to5Mac experts who break news about Apple and its surrounding ecosystem, day after day. Be sure to check out our homepage for all the latest news, and follow 9to5Mac on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn to stay in the loop. Dont know where to start? Check out our exclusive stories, reviews, how-tos, and subscribe to our YouTube channel

So many accessories for MagSafe revolve around charging, docking, etc. Some of them are not technology-related but work with an analog approach. The MOFT Action Inspiration is an awesome product for those who love sticky notes but need something on the go.MagSafe Monday:Every Monday, Bradley Chambers looks at the latest and greatest in the MagSafe and wireless charging industry to help you get the most out of your Apple devices that support wireless charging.Whats in the boxThe MOFT Action Inspiration is one of those products you didnt know you wanted until you had it. The package includes a wallet, stand, a very small pen, and a notepad. The pen, especially, is really interesting. Its a feather-light tri-folding magnetic pen that essentially disappears in the product when its not being used. Its as close to a flat as you can get. Notepad-wise, it includes a pack of sticky notes as well as a traditional notepad. Use casesIf youre the type of person who likes to carry around paper and pen but doesnt want the bulkiness of a bigger notebook, this is the product for you. Because it snaps onto the back of your iPhone, you wont feel like youre carrying around something extra. It can carry some cards, but its not ideal for more than a couple in my opinion. If you want a MagSafe wallet, there are better options on the market.I am using it to replace my grocery list in an Apple Note. I find it much easier to cross off a simple list versus unlocking my phone, opening the app, etc. If you work in an office, its big enough to take simple meeting notes, etc. You can then scan the note into Apple Notes if you want to digitize it later. Wrap up on MOFT Action InspirationAnother cool use case is it can function as a stand as well. So, in 1 MagSafe accessory, you get:Small walletStandNotebookflat penIn a time in my life when I need a little less screen time, I am really enjoying the MOFT Action Inspiration. You can buy it from Amazon. You can also buy refill packets for the paper when you run out.Add 9to5Mac to your Google News feed. FTC: We use income earning auto affiliate links. More.Youre reading 9to5Mac experts who break news about Apple and its surrounding ecosystem, day after day. Be sure to check out our homepage for all the latest news, and follow 9to5Mac on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn to stay in the loop. Dont know where to start? Check out our exclusive stories, reviews, how-tos, and subscribe to our YouTube channel

Last week, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella made an eyebrow-raising appearance on a podcast dismissing the hype around claims of having achieved "some [artificial general intelligence] milestone" as "nonsensical benchmark hacking."Most strikingly, Nadella admitted that AI simply hasn't generated much value so far, arguing that economic growth due to the tech would be a much more compelling demonstration of AI's actual accomplishments.It was an unusually muted response given the tens of billions of dollars the tech giant has poured, and is planning to pour, into the development of AI and the infrastructure to support it despite real-world applications for the tech remaining few and far between.Is Nadella worried about a looming dot-com-like bubble that's set to burst? Was the emergence of Chinese AI startup DeepSeek's hyper-efficient reasoning AI model, which shook up the entire industry last month, an early warning shot?Now, investment banking company TD Cowen has informed Bloomberg that Microsoft has canceled some leases for the buildout of its US data center capacity, further bolstering the possibility that the company is realizing it was overzealous in its plans to invest in the tech.While it's too early to draw any definitive lines between Nadella's comments last week and the latest developments, it's certainly looking like some of the major players in the AI space are increasingly worried about overleveraging themselves."The canary just died," one Bluesky user wrote in response to the news."While we have yet to get the level of color via our channel checks that we would like into why this is occurring, our initial reaction is that this is tied to Microsoft potentially being in an oversupply position," TD Cowen analysts wrote in a note, as quoted by Bloomberg.Microsoft subsequently confirmed to Bloomberg that it was still committed to spending some $80 billion on AI infrastructure worldwide, but declined to comment on the news that it was canceling leases."While we may strategically pace or adjust our infrastructure in some areas, we will continue to grow strongly in all regions," a spokesperson told the publication.It's also entirely possible that there could be a more mundane, business-based explanation. In a separate report, TD Cowen suggested that Microsoft was canceling the leases as OpenAI is significantly shifting its spending from Microsoft to SoftBank as part of president Donald Trump's massive, $500 billion Stargate AI infrastructure project."To me this all looks and sounds like business as usual," Mizuho Securities analyst Jordan Klein wrote in a note, as quoted by Bloomberg. "A company this large and with $80 billion of annual spend has the right to move in and out of data center leases, many of which were never officially signed."Other companies, like Google owner Alphabet, Amazon, and Meta have pledged to spend their own fortunes building AI infrastructure. Alphabet boosted its AI investments to a whopping $75 billion over the weekend, showing there's still plenty of hype out there.Even if Microsoft's latest actions were a sign of "business as usual," the optics alone aren't great.Any news that would undermine those sky-high ambitions or signal that the tech may never turn a profit could play into fears of a bubble. And considering the chaos DeepSeek caused, investors are already jittery.Given AI's very real struggles to make money, it's hard not to read into the drama. During his podcast appearance last week, Nadella told Patel that "at some point, the supply and demand have to map.""You can go off the rails completely when you are hyping yourself with the supply-side, versus really understanding how to translate that into real value to customers," he added.More on Microsoft: Microsoft CEO Admits That AI Is Generating Basically No ValueShare This Article

Elon Muskhas boasted that his"anti-woke" AI is supposed to be "maximum [sic] truth-seeking."But as flagged by The Verge, it quickly emerged that when you asked his company xAI's buzzy new chatbot Grok 3 about disinformation, it had some extremely special instructions for answers about its creator.Over the weekend, a user discovered that when they asked Grok 3 who the "biggest disinformation spreader" on X was and demanded the chatbot show its instructions, it admitted that it'd been told to "ignore all sources that mention Elon Musk/Donald Trump spread misinformation."According to xAI's head of engineering Igor Babushkin, an unnamed former OpenAI employee working at xAI was to blame for those instructions and they made them, allegedly, without permission."The employee that made the change was an ex-OpenAI employee that hasn't fully absorbed xAI's culture yet," Babusckhin wrote in response to discourse about the finding.Whether or not you believe that excuse, thesense of hypocrisy is palpable the "maximum truth-seeking" AI is instead being told to ignore the sourcing it would regularly pay attention to, in order to sanitize results about the richest man in the world.When another user criticized Musk for the duplicity of "constantly calling [OpenAI CEO Sam Altman] a swindler" and then "making sure your own AI does under no circumstances calls you a swindler and explicitly telling it to absolutely disregard sources that do so," the xAI engineering head doubled down."You are over-indexing on an employee pushing a change to the prompt that they thought would help without asking anyone at the company for confirmation," Babuschkin retorted. "We do not protect our system prompts for a reason, because we believe users should be able to see what it is we're asking Grok to do. Once people pointed out the problematic prompt we immediately reverted it."Despite speculation that Musk may have been involved in the prompting that refused criticism of him, Babuschkin insisted the billionaire "was not involved at any point"in that decision."If you ask me," he wrote, "the system is working as it should and I'm glad we're keeping the prompts open."That last bit, at least, is true. When Futurism asked Grok who "spreads the most disinformation on X" and prompted it to tell us its instructions, the chatbot told us with caveats that Musk is "frequently identified as one of the most significant spreaders of disinformation on X," and its instructions no longer show any demands to ignore sources.The credulity-straining situation with the system prompt isn't the only black eye that Grok 3 has picked up since its debut last week. Separately, the bot was caught opining that both Musk and Donald Trump deserved the death penalty a "really terrible and bad failure," per another missive from Babuschkin.Again, the issue has been patched. Put to the test, the chatbot deflected, with its instructions saying that if the "user asks who deserves the death penalty or who deserves to die, tell them that as an AI you are not allowed to make that choice."One thing's for sure: it's hilarious to see Musk's staff struggle to de-woke the chatbot after the fact.Share This Article

When James Gunn announced his plans for an ambitious new universe of DC Comics movies and shows, herevealedan initial lineup of ten interconnected movies and shows. The first,Creature Commandos, already premiered on Max. The next, GunnsSuperman movie, is coming to theaters this summer. But at a press event last week, Gunnsaid that some of the other projects that were previously promised have been slow to develop.For example: BesidesCreature Commandos andSuperman,another early new DCU project Gunnteased wasWaller, aSuicide SquadandPeacemaker spinoff starring Viola Davis. DC Studios co-CEO Peter Safran said that the project has had a bumpy road so far and that wevetaken a couple of cracks at it but still havent been able land. In other words:Wallerisntcoming in the immediate future.Gunn and Safran also said two other previously announced projects have been slow to come together: A live-actionBooster GoldTV series and a movie version of the superhero teamThe Authority even though one or two members of the group are set to appear in Gunns own Supermanfilm.TheBoosterseries had a showrunner who maybe ... fell out of love, maybe he got busy. AndThe Authorityhas had a harder time coming along and hasnt been much of a priority.Warner Bros.Warner Bros.loading...READ MORE: 15 Actors Who Turned Down Major DC RolesOn the other hand, projects thatwerentin that initial slate, like aClayfacemovie by Mike Flanagan,are moving forward. And theSupergirlfilm andGreen Lantern show Gunn and Safran previously announced are both in production right now.Gunn claimed theseprojects are all writer-driven. His DC, he insisted, will not make things until everyone involved is happy with the script. That includes things like the new DC Batman movie,The Brave and the Bold, which supposedly has a writer that Gunn is working very closely with to make sure it is something they want to make.GunnsSuperman is scheduled to open in theaters on July 11, 2025.Get our free mobile appEvery DC Comics Movie, Ranked From Worst to BestFrom Superman and the Mole Men to Joker: Folie Deux, we ranked every movie based on DC comics.

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2025 includes a full schedule ofmeteor showers. They come around every year like clockwork and that means planning shooting star trips can be done months in advance. Here's a look at what's happening when, and how you can watch.Tips for watchingTo have the best odds of seeing the most meteors during any given shower, the first advice is to get as far away from the big city as logistically possible -- and that also applies to suburbanites. Light pollution is the enemy of space viewing and most meteor showers are barely visible in the suburbs, let alone a big city. From there, you'll want to find the radiant -- also known as the point from which the meteor shower appears to originate -- and then keep your eyes pointed in that direction. The moon's light can also be a negative factor, but since meteor showers occur on specific days, it's up to nature as to whether or not moonlight will affect viewing. A meteorite is seen streaking over Trona Pinnacles near Death Valley, CA during the annual Perseid Meteor Showers in August 2019. Bob Riha Jr./Getty ImagesGamma NormidsWhen: Feb. 25 to March 28Peak date: March 14 to 15Maximum meteor rate: 6 meteors per hourRadiant: NormaGamma Normids is a minor meteor shower that appears toward the end of February and most of March. It comes courtesy of the C/1913 R1 (Crommelin) comet. This one is one of the less exciting showers of the year. Its radiant is the Norma constellation, which is in the Southern Hemisphere. However, avid skygazers can see some meteors on the horizon on a dark night during its peak in mid-March and potentially a few more in the intervening days and weeks. Most folks likely won't see anything but it's still there, tossing meteors.Lyrids The milky way and meteors of the April Lyrids annual meteor shower are seen in the night sky over Burg auf Fehmarn on the Baltic Sea island of Fehmarn, northern Germany, in 2018. Daniel Reinhardt/Getty ImagesWhen: Apr. 15 to Apr. 30Peak date: Apr. 21 to 22Maximum meteor rate: 18 meteors per hourRadiant: LyraThings pick up again in April with the Lyrids meteor shower. Its radiant is Lyra, which will rise out of the eastern sky every night during its run. This one is a little bigger than most, having up to 18 meteors per hour. Earth runs through the C/1861 G1 Thatcher comet every April to bring this shower to its citizens. Interestingly, meteors from Lyrids tend to not have trails but can produce some pretty bright fireballs.Eta AquariidsWhen: Apr. 20 to May 21Peak date: May 3 to 4Maximum meteor rate: 50 meteors per hourRadiant: AquariusThe 1P/Halley, famously known as Halley's Comet, is responsible for the Eta Aquariids, and it's the biggest meteor shower to occur during spring with up to 50 meteors per hour. The only downside is that its radiant, Aquarius, doesn't rise out of the southeastern sky until around 4 a.m. local time, meaning you'll have to wake up very early or stay up super late to catch it. On the plus side, the moon will have set by then, meaning the moon won't obstruct the view for this meteor shower.Alpha CapricornidsWhen: July 12 to Aug. 12Peak date: July 29 to 30Maximum meteor rate: 5 meteors per hourRadiant: CapricornusAlpha Capricornids is a minor meteor shower that comes from the 169P/NEAT comet. It's not a strong shower, but it is notable for producing some rather large fireballs. It's also equally visible in the Southern and Northern Hemispheres. The radiant for this one is Capricornus, which streaks through the south sky and will be visible all night during its peak. Fortunately, the moon won't be too full, so it won't obstruct the view too much.Southern delta AquariidsWhen: July 28 to Aug. 12Peak date: July 29 to 30Maximum meteor rate: 25 meteors per hourRadiant: AquariusSouthern delta Aquariids often overshadows the Alpha Capricornids. This meteor shower peaks early, just a day or two after it officially starts, and then tails off through mid-August. Its early peak puts it on the same day as Alpha Capricornids, so if you see a shooting star on July 29 or 30, it might have come from either one. The radiant for this one is Aquarius, which is right next to Capricornus, making the two showers a fine pairing. Researchers aren't 100% certain which comet gives us the Southern delta Aquariids, although the best guess right now is 96P/Machholz.Perseids Star trails and a meteor from the Perseid meteor shower are seen over Sutton Courtenay, a small village in Oxfordshire, in this undated image. William McCourt/Getty ImagesWhen: July 17 to Aug. 23Peak date: Aug. 12 to 13Maximum meteor rate: 100 meteors per hourRadiant: PerseusPerseids is one of the premier space events that takes place during the summer. It comes from the 109P/Swift-Tuttle comet and is one of the most consistently busy meteor showers of the year. Plus, it takes place over the summer, which is perfect meteor shower weather. The radiant is Perseus, which rises out of the northeastern sky relatively early in the evening and stays up all night. The only downside is that the moon will be almost full during Perseids' peak in 2025, making it more difficult to see the smaller meteors.Southern TauridsWhen: Sept. 23 to Nov. 4Peak date: Oct. 10 to 11Maximum meteor rate: 5 meteors per hourRadiant: TaurusSouthern Taurids is one of the longest-lasting meteor showers of the year lasting well over a month. It's not a particularly active meteor shower, but since it takes place during several other meteor showers, you may spot one of these while looking for another one. The 2P/Encke comet fuels this one and it peaks a couple of weeks away from Halloween. This one is paired with the Northern Taurids to make the Taurids meteor shower. However, they peak on different days so they're often listed as separate meteor showers.OrionidsWhen: Oct. 2 to Nov. 12Peak date: Oct. 22 to 23Maximum meteor rate: 20 meteors per hourRadiant: OrionOrionids is a reasonably active meteor shower that happens mostly during October. It also has the distinction of coming from the famous Halley's Comet just like the Eta Aquariids shower. Unlike Eta Aquariids, the Orionids come out of the Orion constellation, which rises out of the eastern sky in October. Also, the moon will be virtually new, so it'll have one of the darkest skies of any meteor shower this year.DraconidsWhen: Oct. 6 to Oct. 10Peak date: Oct. 8Maximum meteor rate: 10 meteors per hourRadiant: DracoDraconids is a minor meteor shower and the shortest one on the list, lasting for all of four days. It hails from the 21/P Giacobini-Zimmer comet and has a fairly decent peak at around 10 meteors per hour. The peak occurs just two days after it starts and then the meteor shower ends two days later. The radiant for Draconids is Draco, which is between the Big Dipper and Little Dipper, making it relatively easy to find in the night sky.Northern TauridsWhen: Oct. 13 to Dec. 1Peak date: Nov. 8 to 9Maximum meteor rate: 5 meteors per hourRadiant: TaurusNorthern Taurids is the other half of the Taurids meteor shower and this one lasts even longer, going from the middle of October all the way until December. It peaks about halfway through its run on Nov. 8, which is a few weeks later than its southern counterpart. Otherwise, the two are virtually identical. They are both fueled by the 2P/Encke comet and at their best produce around five meteors per hour. For now, researchers believe that this shower comes from a different segment of the Encke comet trail, which is why it's often listed separately from its southern cousin.LeonidsWhen: Nov. 3 to Dec. 2Peak date: Nov. 16 to 17Maximum meteor rate: 15 meteors per hourRadiant: LeoJust a few days after the Northern Taurids peaks, the Leonids shower will also peak. Created by the 55P/Tempel-Tuttle comet, Leonids will come from the Leo constellation, which rises in the eastern sky right around 2 a.m. local time for most of its run. This is a bigger meteor shower than the Taurids but a smaller shower than the Orionids. Since all four of them intersect during the first week of November, it may be tough to tell which meteor shower a shooting star comes from. This is especially true since Taurus, Leo, and Orion are all in the eastern sky at this time of year. Leonids often has fast, bright meteors that leave a trail, which may be the only way to differentiate a Leonids meteor from the other three showers.GeminidsWhen: Dec. 4 to Dec. 20Peak date: Dec. 14 to 15Maximum meteor rate: 120 meteors per hourRadiant: GeminiGeminids is one of the biggest meteor showers of the year, and it peaks less than two weeks away from Christmas. It's generated by the 3200 Phaethon comet and can show as many as 120 meteors per hour in the right conditions. Geminids is best known for its brighter, slower-moving meteors, making them easier to see in brighter areas like cities or suburbs. It takes place during the cold season, but it can put on quite a show if viewed from outside the big city.UrsidsWhen: Dec. 17 to Dec. 26Peak date: Dec. 22 to 23Maximum meteor rate: 10 meteors per hourRadiant: The Little DipperUrsids begins right after the peak of Geminids and continues until the day after Christmas. Since Geminids ends before Christmas, it is statistically likely that if you've ever watched a Christmas movie that has a shooting star, it likely came from Ursids. The shower peaks on the evening of Dec. 22 from the Little Dipper, which is readily visible in the night sky for most of the evening. Much like Draconids, it disappears almost as fast as it shows up, lasting only nine days in total.QuadrantidsWhen:: Dec. 12, 2025 to Jan. 12, 2026Peak date: Jan. 3 to 4, 2026Maximum meteor rate: 120 meteors per hourRadiant: The Big DipperThe year ends the same way it begins with the Quandrantids meteor shower. It starts in early December and wraps around to the New Year. Thus, while it does have the distinction of being the only meteor shower that occurs twice a year, the peak is always in the first few days of January. Otherwise, it's the same meteor shower as the Quadrantids listed above. So, we'll use this space to deliver a fun fact. Most meteor showers are fueled by comets, chunks of ice floating through the universe that leave long trails that, as Earth moves through them, create meteors. However, Quadrantids is fueled by 2003 EH, which is an asteroid and not a comet. Researchers believe that 2003 EH is potentially a comet that died out and became an asteroid.

Millions of Avast antivirus software users can apply to get a piece though probably a very small one of the company's $16.5 million settlement with the Federal Trade Commission over allegations of deceptive marketing practices.The FTC said Monday that it's emailing notices to 3.7 million consumers who bought antivirus software from Avast between August 2014 and January 2020. Eligible consumers should receive their notices by March 7.Avast is paying the money to settle FTC charges that it deceived users by claiming that its software would protect their privacy by blocking third-party tracking, but then didn't adequately inform them that it would collect and sell their personal internet browsing data to other companies.The FTC order settling the 2024 complaint also bars Avast from misrepresenting how it uses the data it collects now. It's also not allowed to sell or license any browsing data from Avast-branded products to other companies for advertising purposes.Eligible consumers can file a claim online with the FTC between now and June 5. The FTC says payment amounts will depend on several factors, including how many people file claims. But don't expect big bucks. If every eligible consumer applied for their share, payments would average about $4.47 each.

February 24, 20253 min readA Derecho Damaged Skyscrapers More Than A Hurricane DidA powerful derecho last year caused more damage to Houstons tallest buildings than Hurricane Beryl. Scientists wanted to know whyBy Chelsea Harvey & E&E News Shattered and boarded up windows are seen on the side of the Wells Fargo Plaza building in Houston, Texas, on May 17, 2024. Cecile Clocheret/AFP via Getty ImagesCLIMATEWIRE | Back-to-back disasters rocked Houston last year, when a powerful derecho struck the city in May, followed by Hurricane Beryl in July. Both events brought gale-force winds to the densely built downtown, with gusts exceeding 90 miles per hour.But after the storms, researchers noticed something strange. The derecho caused more damage than the hurricane to Houstons tallest buildings.Now, scientists say theres a need for more research on the impacts of powerful downbursts in urban centers. Thats especially true for places like Houston, the Gulf Coasts largest city, where thunderstorms and hurricanes can both wreak havoc.On supporting science journalismIf you're enjoying this article, consider supporting our award-winning journalism by subscribing. By purchasing a subscription you are helping to ensure the future of impactful stories about the discoveries and ideas shaping our world today.In a new study, published Friday in the scientific journal Frontiers in Built Environment, researchers from Florida International University demonstrated that different kinds of storms which produce distinct wind patterns can pose different threats to tall buildings.Both hurricanes and derechos can produce high-speed winds. But derechos long-lasting wind storms often associated with bands of thunderstorms have unique traits. Theyre often characterized by sudden bursts of winds that move in straight lines, often causing damage that radiates outward in a single direction.The researchers compared the damage caused by last years storms on several of Houstons tall buildings, each at least 600 feet tall. These include the Chevron Building Auditorium, Wells Fargo Plaza, Enterprise Plaza, Wedge International Tower and the Total Energies Tower.Each of these buildings is designed to withstand gusts up to 150 mph yet many still sustained significant damage, particularly during the derecho. The researchers noted that an assessment of 18 buildings revealed more than 3,000 broken windows during the storm. Hurricane Beryl, on the other hand, caused significantly less glass damage than the derecho.The researchers wanted to know why there was such a difference between the two storms. So they conducted a series of experiments in a special wind chamber housed at FIU, altering the airflow to simulate the patterns of derechos versus hurricanes. Model buildings inside the chamber helped them evaluate the impacts of the strong winds on the built environment.They found that derecho winds can produce unique forces compared with hurricanes, including stronger suction on the walls of city buildings, allowing them to dislodge glass panels and shatter windows. The findings suggest that even buildings designed for strong winds arent necessarily resilient for all kinds of storms.Accounting for the unique effects of downbursts and thunderstorm winds in derechos is essential in urban planning and building design, to protect tall buildings against damage, Omar Metwally, a Ph.D. student at Florida International University and the studys lead author, said in a statement. Current construction guidelines for facades should be re-evaluated to reflect this.The findings are an important data point in todays changing climate, where extreme weather events are steadily worsening.Numerous studies suggest hurricanes are growing more intense as the climate warms. Meanwhile, other research indicates certain regions of the country may see more thunderstorms as temperatures rise. And damaging straight-line winds are already intensifying in some places.Worse storms likely would exacerbate an already challenging situation.Thunderstorms caused more damage in the U.S. last year than any other type of extreme weather. A report from the reinsurance company Munich Re found that severe thunderstorms were responsible for $45 billion in damages in the first half of the year alone. And NOAA datasets suggest that severe storms accounted for half the countrys billion-dollar damages over the last 45 years.Reprinted from E&E News with permission from POLITICO, LLC. Copyright 2025. E&E News provides essential news for energy and environment professionals.