Weather
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Dry lightning risk rises in US West, thanks to tardy monsoon
The annual monsoon that drenches the U.S. Southwest is late this year, raising the risk of wildfires sparked by another of the region's meteorological quirks: dry lightning.
While heavy rain isn't expected in the normally arid area until mid-July, thunderstorms continue to form high above the Earth. But the air below is so parched that ...Read more
'Historic' Saharan dust fills the air from Africa to US. But it does have a plus side
PHILADELPHIA -- A 'historic' outbreak of Saharan dust that is clogging the atmosphere from western Africa to the Caribbean and potentially posing health threats could make it as far as the Midwest.
While the phenomenon is an annual occurrence, "This dust episode has a huge spatial extent," said Andrea Sealy, a meteorologist with the Caribbean ...Read more
Record Saharan dust plume cloaks Caribbean as health warnings issued
MIAMI -- Scientists have been monitoring atmospheric dust on the easternmost Caribbean island of Barbados since 1965. The plume currently drifting over the Caribbean into the Gulf of Mexico is like nothing they've ever seen.
In Haiti, fully cloaked this week under a cloud of hot Saharan dust, residents reported the panoramic view of the capital...Read more
Bahamas has no idea of Dorian death toll after names of the missing were removed from list
The Bahamas' former health minister says the country so badly botched its record-keeping on Hurricane Dorian's missing victims that today it cannot say with certainty how many people actually died in the horrific storm.
Dr. Duane Sands, speaking in the country's Parliament on Thursday, said the Bahamas should convene a coroner's inquest to help...Read more
'More ready than ever before': FEMA says COVID-19 prepared it for hurricane season
MIAMI -- After months of responding to the COVID-19 pandemic across the nation, the Federal Emergency Management Agency says it has never been more ready for hurricane season.
"Ninety days of COVID-19 response makes us more ready than ever before," FEMA Administrator Peter Gaynor said Monday at a news conference at the Miami-Dade County ...Read more
Cristobal forecast to turn into tropical storm again in Gulf of Mexico, move toward US
MIAMI -- Tropical depression Cristobal is dousing parts of Mexico and Central America with heavy rain on Friday and is forecast to strengthen into a tropical storm again as it reemerges into the Gulf of Mexico and moves north toward the U.S. Gulf Coast this weekend.
Cristobal could bring heavy rain, tropical storm force winds and flash floods ...Read more
New hurricane season forecast raises chance of US landfall
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. -- A pessimistic hurricane season forecast was released Thursday, saying the odds have increased for landfall by a major hurricane in the Caribbean or United States.
Colorado State University, one of the most prominent centers for hurricane forecasting, raised the predicted number of hurricanes from eight to nine. The ...Read more
Depression near Mexico expected to become Tropical Storm Cristobal
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. -- The already busy 2020 Atlantic hurricane season officially kicked off Monday with a tropical depression which is soon expected to become Tropical Storm Cristobal.
As of 11 a.m. EDT Tuesday, the depression was located about 140 miles off the eastern coast of Mexico out over the Bay of Campeche, moving west at 3 mph. It ...Read more
Forecasters start hurricane season watching a storm with 'high' chance of development
MIAMI -- Monday marks the first official day of the 2020 Atlantic hurricane season, and forecasters are already monitoring a disturbance in the Gulf of Mexico that has a high chance of becoming a tropical depression and possibly Tropical Storm Cristobal.
The "large" disturbance is near the west coast of the Yucatan peninsula of Mexico and is ...Read more
Flash flooding hits South Florida
MIAMI -- Many parts of South Florida experienced flash flooding Monday afternoon due to heavy downpours that dumped more than 4 inches of rain in under an hour in some areas.
The torrential showers began over the weekend, didn't relent Monday and are expected to last through Tuesday.
The National Weather Service issued flash flood warnings for...Read more
Hurricane season gets a little more complicated with coronavirus
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration predicts this year's upcoming hurricane season could be one for the record books due to unusually warm water temperatures in the Atlantic and Caribbean oceans. Careful planning and execution is always key to an effective emergency response, but it will be particularly important this season when...Read more
'A pretty rare event.' Hail the size of softballs falls in northern Texas
FORT WORTH, Texas -- Hail the size of baseballs, softballs and larger pummeled Burkburnett north of Wichita Falls on Friday evening, ripping through roofs and the windshields of cars, according to the National Weather Service in Norman, Okla., and social media posts.
Randy Bowers, a weather service meteorologist, said the hail was falling in ...Read more
Bay Area heat wave on the way
SAN FRANCISCO -- Summer doesn't officially begin for another month. But this weekend and into early next week, it's going to feel a lot like summertime in the Bay Area.
After a string of mild temperatures recently and even a few rainy days, Northern California is about to heat up and dry out, with temperatures in the Bay Area expected to climb ...Read more
At least 81 killed as Cyclone Amphan batters India and Bangladesh
NEW DELHI -- Cyclone Amphan, one of the most powerful storms to hit South Asia in recent years, has claimed at least 81 lives and caused large-scale devastation in India and Bangladesh, officials said Thursday.
Amphan destroyed thousands of homes, uprooted trees, submerged villages and left vast areas without access to drinking water, power and...Read more
NOAA hurricane forecast predicts busy 2020 hurricane season
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. -- The federal government's hurricane season forecast, released Thursday, predicts an above-average season, offering little hope of a break from strong storms in an already challenging year.
The forecast from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration calls for six to 10 hurricanes, of which three to six could ...Read more
Michigan will 'hold people responsible' for dam failures, Whitmer says
Speaking outside Midland High School, where mid-Michigan residents had sought shelter from two dam failures, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer sought to reassure residents that help was on the way, and that, so far, there were no known casualties.
"What I can tell you, you've already seen from the pictures," she said after taking an aerial tour of the area...Read more
At least 8 dead, millions evacuated as cyclone slams India and Bangladesh
NEW DELHI -- One of the most powerful storms over the Bay of Bengal in recent years lashed India and Bangladesh on Wednesday, killing at least eight people, forcing more than 3 million to evacuate and leaving a trail of destruction in the region.
The "extremely severe cyclonic storm" Amphan made landfall on the coast of the state of West Bengal...Read more
Michigan town could be under 9 feet of water by Wednesday, governor says
DETROIT -- Urging residents to evacuate and saying downtown Midland could be under nine feet of water by Wednesday afternoon, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer late Tuesday declared a state of emergency for Midland County after the Edenville and Sanford dams breached.
Speaking during a press conference late Tuesday, Whitmer said parts of the city of ...Read more
Bangladesh, India conduct mass evacuation as major cyclone nears
NEW DELHI -- Authorities in India and Bangladesh evacuated hundreds of thousands of people Tuesday as a powerful cyclone over the Bay of Bengal moved toward the countries' coastal areas.
Cyclone Amphan is forecast to make landfall between West Bengal and Bangladesh on Wednesday afternoon.
Meteorologists are warning of large-scale damage from ...Read more
Roads still flooded, rivers close to cresting as Chicago hits wettest May on record
CHICAGO -- Chicago passed the mark for the wettest May on record early Tuesday, as roads throughout the area remained flooded, especially near swollen rivers and creeks that were at or near cresting, according to forecasters.
With .11 inches of rain through 4 a.m. Tuesday, Chicago's monthly rainfall total hit 8.30 inches, passing the record ...Read more
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- Bahamas has no idea of Dorian death toll after names of the missing were removed from list
- Record Saharan dust plume cloaks Caribbean as health warnings issued
- 'More ready than ever before': FEMA says COVID-19 prepared it for hurricane season
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