ON THE TIMES WE ARE NOW IN

thelivyjr
Site Admin
Posts: 73424
Joined: Thu Aug 30, 2018 1:40 p

Re: ON THE TIMES WE ARE NOW IN

Post by thelivyjr »

USA TODAY

"Forecasters monitoring weak tropical systems in Gulf, Caribbean and Atlantic"


Doyle Rice, USA TODAY

21 JULY 2020

Though the typical peak of hurricane season is still several weeks away, forecasters Monday were monitoring a trio of weak tropical systems in the Gulf, Caribbean and Atlantic Ocean.

The first system, a weak low-pressure area, formed over the northwestern Gulf of Mexico Monday morning, according to the National Hurricane Center.

"The associated shower and thunderstorm activity is currently disorganized, and little additional development is expected before the system moves inland over Texas tonight or Tuesday," the hurricane center said.

Although this system is not a significant concern, Weather.com said "it could enhance rainfall near parts of the upper Texas and Louisiana coasts."

The second system is a tropical wave now spinning over the Bahamas and Cuba, the hurricane center said.

Once the wave moves into the Gulf of Mexico late Tuesday, more favorable conditions for tropical development are forecast, AccuWeather said.

However, at this time, meteorologists believe the system will not have time to ramp up to a hurricane and the chance of a tropical storm developing from it is 10-20% and for a tropical depression to evolve from it is between 20-30%, according to AccuWeather.

Just like the first system, parts of the Texas and Louisiana Gulf coasts could see enhanced showers and thunderstorms from this system late in the week, Weather.com warned.

The third disturbance is a tropical wave in the central Atlantic Ocean that's has a low chance of developing into a tropical depression or storm, the hurricane center said.

If any of the systems become a named tropical storm, it would get the name Gonzalo.

So far this year, six tropical storms have formed in the Atlantic Basin, with the most recent being Tropical Storm Fay 10 days ago.

Fay soaked portions of the northeastern U.S. with heavy rain.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Forecasters monitoring weak tropical systems in Gulf, Caribbean and Atlantic

http://www.msn.com/en-us/weather/topsto ... ?ocid=iehp
thelivyjr
Site Admin
Posts: 73424
Joined: Thu Aug 30, 2018 1:40 p

Re: ON THE TIMES WE ARE NOW IN

Post by thelivyjr »

NBC NEWS

"Tropical Storm Isaias bears down on Puerto Rico, could hit Florida on weekend"


By Ben Kesslen

July 30, 2020, 9:22 AM EDT

Tropical Storm Isaias bore down on Puerto Rico Thursday morning — bringing high winds, flash-flood warnings and, in some areas, up to 8 inches of rain — and could hit Florida over the weekend.

The storm will produce “potentially life-threatening flash flooding and mudslides” in the Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic, northern Haiti, and the Bahamas, the National Hurricane Center said in an early Thursday morning report.

Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands should expect “tropical storm conditions” throughout the morning, as the storm heads west Thursday and Friday, the hurricane center said.

The islands should expect three to six inches of rain, and up to eight inches in “isolated” areas, the National Weather Service said.

The weather service said the U.S. Virgin Islands, eastern Puerto Rico, and Hispaniola might see rivers flood, as well as urban and small streams.

“Life-threatening surf and rip current conditions” are forecasted in places where Isaias will pass through, it said.

As of 8 a.m. Thursday, Isaias had maximum sustained winds of 60 miles per hour, with some higher gusts.

The winds extended outwards up to 345 miles, the weather service said.

The storm was forecast to be near the central Bahamas on Friday night and to approach the northwest Bahamas or southern Florida on Friday night and Saturday.

As it travels northwest up the Caribbean Sea, Isaiah is expected to hits parts of eastern Cuba and south Florida on Friday and over the weekend, the hurricane center said.

“It is too soon to determine the location or magnitude of those impacts,” the center said on Thursday, telling residents to monitor the system, prepare their households, and follow the forecast in the next few days.

Ben Kesslen is a reporter for NBC News.

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/weather/tr ... a-n1235293
thelivyjr
Site Admin
Posts: 73424
Joined: Thu Aug 30, 2018 1:40 p

Re: ON THE TIMES WE ARE NOW IN

Post by thelivyjr »

NBC NEWS

"Florida battens down for Tropical Storm Isaias which will move up U.S. East Coast - The storm is expected to move near Florida on Saturday afternoon through Sunday before heading north along the U.S. East Coast."


By Phil Helsel and Minyvonne Burke

Aug. 1, 2020 02:59

July 31, 2020, 11:36 PM EDT / Updated Aug. 1, 2020, 5:22 PM EDT

Florida battened down on Saturday as Tropical Storm Isaias barreled toward the state before its expected move up the U.S. East Coast.

With maximum sustained winds of 70 mph the storm was downgraded form a hurricane Saturday afternoon.


It was forecast to move over the Straits of Florida Saturday night before approaching the southeast coast of Florida early Sunday.

Isaias was forecast to "re-strengthen to a hurricane overnight," the National Hurricane Center said in an advisory.

Hurricane warnings remained in effect for Boca Raton, Florida and Northwestern Bahamas.

Isaias was expected to remain at hurricane strength Monday, the center said.

Florida is already fighting the coronavirus pandemic and one county official in South Florida said Friday it was hard to imagine that they were now dealing with a storm.

"It's just kind of been the way 2020's going so far, but we roll with it, right?" Howard Tipton, administrator for St. Lucie County, which is north of Palm Beach County, said at a news conference.

"We don't get to determine the cards that we're dealt."

Gov. Ron DeSantis said Saturday that a request he sent to President Donald Trump for a federal disaster declaration was approved, and "the state of Florida is fully prepared."

DeSantis, who has urged residents to have seven days' worth of food, water and medicine on hand ahead of the storm, said that while he doesn't “anticipate hospitals needing to evacuate patients," one small hospital in Brevard County moved its COVID-19 patients to another location.

NASA on Saturday said that despite the weather "conditions are 'Go'" for the scheduled return Sunday afternoon of astronauts Robert Behnken and Douglas Hurley, who departed for the International Space Station aboard SpaceX's Endeavour spacecraft in late May.

NASA said in a statement that they could splash down at a primary landing site off the coast of Pensacola or at an alternate site off of Panama City.

Both are in the Gulf of Mexico.

Miami-Dade County meanwhile ordered parks, beaches, marinas and golf courses closed through at least Saturday.

Palm Beach County, which was under an earlier hurricane warning, said it was opening four shelters and one for animals Saturday morning.

The shelters are for residents of mobile or manufactured homes and other housing deemed substandard.

Florida Power & Light Company said it activated its emergency response plan and recruited around 2,000 people from 10 states to help restore power.

The utility expects a large part of its coverage area to feel the storm's effects.

Miami-Dade Mayor Carlos Giménez on Saturday morning told residents to stay home and that high winds and flooding were expected in some areas of South Florida by mid-afternoon.

Authorities in North Carolina ordered the evacuation of Oracoke Island, which was slammed by last year’s Hurricane Dorian, as well as that of Holden Beach, and Ocean Isle Beach.

Cape Lookout National Seashore said it would close at 5 p.m.

The Bahamas evacuated people in Abaco, who have been living in temporary structures since Dorian, and those on the eastern end of Grand Bahama.

The storm knocked shingles off roofs and tumbled trees as it carved its way through the archipelago.

Even if it does not make landfall, the storm is relatively large and its effects could extend beyond its center.

A Storm Surge Watch has been issued from Jupiter Inlet to Ponte Vedre Beach, Florida, where there is the possibility of life-threatening inundation from storm surge.

Residents in these areas should follow the advice given by local emergency officials.

On Thursday, while still a tropical storm, Isaias toppled trees, destroyed crops and caused widespread flooding and small landslides in the Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico, where hundreds of thousands of people were left without power and water.

Officials reported that a man died in the Dominican Republic when he was electrocuted by a fallen electrical cable.

More than 5,000 people were evacuated, and more than 130 communities remained cut off by floodwaters.

Phil Helsel is a reporter for NBC News.

Minyvonne Burke is a breaking news reporter for NBC News.

The Associated Press and Dennis Romero contributed.

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/weather/hu ... s-n1235557
thelivyjr
Site Admin
Posts: 73424
Joined: Thu Aug 30, 2018 1:40 p

Re: ON THE TIMES WE ARE NOW IN

Post by thelivyjr »

NBC NEWS

"Tropical Storm Isaias expected to lash Carolinas with 'life-threatening storm surge' - 'Preparations should be rushed to completion,' the National Weather Service warned Monday morning - Isaias heads toward Carolinas, raising concerns about flooding"


By Elisha Fieldstadt

Aug. 3, 2020, 10:15 AM EDT

Residents in the Carolinas were advised to prepare for "life-threatening storm surge" as Tropical Storm Isaias crept up the coast and was expected to make landfall with the force of a hurricane by Monday night.

"Isaias is forecast to regain hurricane strength before it reaches the coast of northeastern South Carolina and southern North Carolina, and hurricane conditions are expected in the hurricane warning by this evening."

"Preparations should be rushed to completion," the National Weather Service warned Monday morning.

"There is the danger of life-threatening storm surge inundation along portions of the immediate coastline and adjacent waterways of northeastern South Carolina and southern North Carolina coast."

Those areas could expect up to 8 inches of rain, flash flooding and possible tornadoes.

Isaias was expected to make landfall near the border of the Carolinas between 10 p.m. Monday and 2 a.m. Tuesday as a Category 1 hurricane or a strong tropical storm.

Meteorologists worried the landfall would coincide with the high tide.

Coastal areas north of the Carolinas could also expect possible "flash and urban flooding, high winds, dangerous storm surge, coastal flooding, life-threatening surf, rip currents, and severe thunderstorms with tornadoes to portions of the Eastern U.S.," the weather service said.

About 59 million people were under a tropical storm alert Monday, stretching from Florida to Maine.

Most of those areas were also under flash flood watches, as heavy rainfall was predicted.

The storm had already dropped heavy rain on Florida's east coast even though it had been downgraded from a hurricane to a tropical storm Saturday afternoon.

Last week, the storm uprooted trees, destroyed crops and homes and caused widespread flooding and small landslides in the Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico.

One man died in the Dominican Republic.

In Puerto Rico, the National Guard rescued at least 35 people from floods that swept away one woman, whose body was recovered Saturday.

Isaias snapped trees and knocked out power as it blew through the Bahamas on Saturday.

Officials there opened shelters for people in the Abaco Islands to help those who have been living in temporary structures since Hurricane Dorian devastated the area, killing at least 70 people in September 2019.

Elisha Fieldstadt is a breaking news reporter for NBC News.

Associated Press contributed.

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/weather/tr ... e-n1235622
thelivyjr
Site Admin
Posts: 73424
Joined: Thu Aug 30, 2018 1:40 p

Re: ON THE TIMES WE ARE NOW IN

Post by thelivyjr »

MARKETWATCH

"Tropical Storm Isaias batters East Coast, knocks out power for nearly 3 million"


By Associated Press

Published: Aug. 4, 2020 at 5:28 p.m. ET

WINDSOR, N.C. — At least four people were killed as Tropical Storm Isaias spawned tornadoes and dumped rain Tuesday along the U.S. East Coast after making landfall as a hurricane in North Carolina, where it caused floods and fires that displaced dozens of people.

Two people died when Isaias spun off a tornado that struck a North Carolina mobile home park.

Authorities said two others were killed by falling trees toppled by the storm in Maryland and New York City.

More than 15 hours after coming ashore, Isaias still had sustained top winds of 65 mph.

At 2 p.m. EDT Tuesday, the storm’s center was about 65 miles west of New York City, where winds forced the Staten Island ferry and outdoor subway lines to shut down.

As Isaias sped northward at 40 mph, the National Hurricane Center warned of potentially life-threatening flooding around Philadelphia and other points along the I-95 corridor.

Two people died after a tornado demolished several mobile homes in Windsor, North Carolina.

Emergency responders finished searching the wreckage Tuesday afternoon.

They found no other casualties, and several people initially feared missing had all been accounted for, said Ron Wesson, chairman of the Bertie County Board of Commissioners.

He said about 12 people were hospitalized.

Sharee and Jeffrey Stilwell took shelter in their living room about 1:30 a.m. Tuesday as the tornado tore through Windsor.

Sharee Stillwell said their home shook “like a freight train.”

“I felt like the house was going to cave in,” said Jeffrey Stillwell, 65, though once the storm passed, the couple found only a few damaged shingles and fallen tree branches in the yard.

The mobile home park less than 2 miles away wasn’t so fortunate.

Aerial video by WRAL-TV showed fields of debris where rescue workers in brightly colored shirts picked through splintered boards and other wreckage.

Nearby, a vehicle was flipped onto its roof.

“It doesn’t look real; it looks like something on TV."

"Nothing is there,” Bertie County Sheriff John Holley told reporters, saying 10 mobile homes had been destroyed.

“All my officers are down there at this time."

"Pretty much the entire trailer park is gone.”

In New York City, a massive tree fell and crushed a van in the Briarwood section of Queens, killing a man inside, police said.

A woman in Mechanicsville, Maryland, died when a tree crashed onto her car during stormy conditions, said Cpl. Julie Yingling of the St. Mary’s County sheriff’s office.

Isaias toggled between hurricane and tropical storm strength as it churned toward the East Coast.

Fueled by warm ocean waters, the storm got a late burst of strength as a rejuvenated hurricane with top sustained winds of 85 mph before coming ashore late Monday near Ocean Isle Beach, North Carolina.

Many homes flooded in Ocean Isle Beach, and at least five caught fire, Mayor Debbie Smith told WECT-TV.

Before making landfall late Monday, Isaias killed two people in the Caribbean and battered the Bahamas before brushing past Florida.

On Tuesday, forecasters expected it to remain a tropical storm on a path into New England.

“We don’t think there is going to be a whole lot of weakening."

"We still think there’s going to be very strong and gusty winds that will affect much of the mid-Atlantic and the Northeast over the next day or two,” hurricane specialist Robbie Berg told The AP.

Tornadoes were confirmed by the National Weather Service in Virginia, Maryland, Delaware and New Jersey.

Power outages also spread as trees fell, with more than 2.8 million customers losing electricity across multiple states, according to PowerOutage.US, which tracks utility reports.

In Suffolk, Virginia, near the coast, multiple homes were damaged by falling trees and city officials received reports of a possible tornado.

Motorists in the Philadelphia area had to be rescued as roads suddenly flooded.

The New Jersey Turnpike banned car-pulled trailers and motorcycles.

Most of the significant damage Tuesday seemed to be east and north of where the hurricane’s eye struck land in North Carolina.

Gov. Roy Cooper said Tuesday that Brunswick, Pender and Onslow counties along the state’s southeast coast were among the hardest hit with storm surge, structure fires and reports of tornadoes.

Deputies on North Carolina’s Oak Island had to rescue five adults and three children after the storm hit, causing damage along the beachfront and knocking electricity and sewer facilities offline, authorities said.

In North Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, the storm sent waves crashing over the Sea Cabin Pier late Monday, causing a big section to collapse into the water as startled bystanders taking photos from the pier scrambled back to land.

“I’m shocked it’s still standing,” said Dean Burris, who watched from the balcony of a vacation rental.

The Hurricane Center had warned oceanside dwellers near the North Carolina-South Carolina state line to brace for storm surge up to 5 feet and up to 8 inches of rain.

Eileen and David Hubler were out early Tuesday cleaning up in North Myrtle Beach, where 4 feet of storm surge flooded cars, unhinged docks and etched a water line into the side of their home.

“When the water started coming, it did not stop,” Eileen Hubler said.

They had moved most items of value to their second floor, but a mattress and washing machine were unexpected storm casualties.

“We keep thinking we’ve learned our lesson,” she said.

“And each time there’s a hurricane, we learn a new lesson.”

https://www.marketwatch.com/story/tropi ... latestnews
thelivyjr
Site Admin
Posts: 73424
Joined: Thu Aug 30, 2018 1:40 p

Re: ON THE TIMES WE ARE NOW IN

Post by thelivyjr »

MARKETWATCH

"Powerful storm with 100-mph winds leaves path of destruction across Midwest"


By Associated Press

Published: Aug. 10, 2020 at 6:33 p.m. ET

IOWA CITY, Iowa — A rare storm packing 100 mph winds and with power similar to an inland hurricane swept across the Midwest on Monday, blowing over trees, flipping vehicles, causing widespread property damage and leaving hundreds of thousands without power as it turned toward Chicago.

The storm known as a derecho lasted several hours as it tore across eastern Nebraska, Iowa and parts of Wisconsin, had the wind speed of a major hurricane, and likely caused more widespread damage than a normal tornado, said Patrick Marsh, science support chief at the National Weather Service’s Storm Prediction Center in Norman, Okla.

It’s not quite a hurricane.

It has no eye and its winds come across in a line.

But the damage it is likely to do spread over such a large area is more like an inland hurricane than a quick more powerful tornado, Marsh said.

He compared it to a devastating Super Derecho of 2009, which was one of the strongest on record traveled more than 1,000 miles in 24 hours, causing $500 million in damage, widespread power outages and killing a handful of people.

“This is our version of a hurricane,” Northern Illinois University meteorology professor Victor Gensini said in an interview from his home about 15 minutes before the storm was about to hit.

Minutes later he headed to his basement for safety as the storm took aim at Chicago, starting with its suburbs.

Gensini said this derecho will go down as one of the strongest in recent history and be one of the nation’s worst weather events of 2020.

“It ramped up pretty quick” around 7 a.m. Central time in Eastern Nebraska.

"I don’t think anybody expected widespread winds approaching 100, 110 mph,” Marsh said.

Several people were injured and widespread property damage was reported in Marshall County in central Iowa after 100 mph winds swept through the area, said its homeland security coordinator Kim Elder.

She said the winds blew over trees, ripped road signs out of the ground and tore roofs off of buildings.

“We had quite a few people trapped in buildings and cars,” she said.

She said the extent of injuries is unknown and that no fatalities have been reported.

Elder said some people reported their cars flipping over from the wind, having power lines fall on them and getting injured when hit by flying debris.

Dozens of cars at one factory had their windshields blown out.

Buildings have also caught on fire, she said.

“We’re in life-saving mode right now,” Elder said.

Marshalltown Mayor Joel Greer declared a civil emergency, telling residents to stay home and off the streets so that first responders can respond to calls.

MidAmerican Energy said nearly 101,000 customers in the Des Moines area were without power after the storm moved through the area.

Reports from spotters filed with the National Weather Service in Des Moines had winds in excess of 70 mph.

Roof damage to homes and buildings were reported in several Iowa cities, including the roof of a hockey arena in Des Moines.

Across the state, large trees fell on cars and houses.

Some semi-trailers flipped over or were blown off highways.

Farmers reported that some grain bins were destroyed and fields were flattened, but the extent of damage to Iowa’s agriculture industry wasn’t immediately clear.

MidAmerican spokeswoman Tina Hoffman said downed trees are making it difficult in some locations for workers to get to the power lines.

In some cases power line poles were snapped off.

“It’s a lot of tree damage."

"Very high winds."

"It will be a significant effort to get through it all and get everybody back on,” she said.

“It was a big front that went all the way through the state.”

Cedar Rapids, Iowa, has “both significant and widespread damage throughout the city,” said public safety spokesman Greg Buelow.

“We have damage to homes and businesses, including siding and roofs damaged,” he said.

“Trees and power lines are down throughout the entire city.”

Buelow said residents should stay home so crews can respond to “potentially life-threatening calls.”

Tens of thousands of people in the metro area were without power.

What makes a derecho worse than a tornado is how long it can hover one place and how large an area the high winds hit, Marsh said.

He said winds of 80 mph or even 100 mph can stretch for “20, 30, 40 or God forbid 100 miles.”

“Right now, it’s making a beeline for Chicago,” Marsh said Monday mid-afternoon.

“Whether or not it will hold its intensity as it reaches Chicago remains to be seen.”

But the environmental conditions between the storm and Chicago are the type that won’t likely diminish the storm, Marsh said.

It will likely dissipate over central or eastern Indiana, he said.

What happened is unstable super moist air has parked over the northern plains for days on end and it finally ramped up Monday morning into a derecho.

“They are basically self-sustaining amoebas of thunderstorms,” Gensini said.

“Once they get going like they did across Iowa, it’s really hard to stop these suckers.”


Derechoes, with winds of at least 58 mph, occur about once a year in the Midwest.

Rarer than tornadoes but with weaker winds, derechoes produce damage over a much wider area.

The storms raced over parts of eastern Nebraska before 9 a.m. Monday, dropping heavy rains and high winds.

Strong straight-line winds pushed south into areas that include Lincoln and Omaha, National Weather Service meteorologist Brian Barjenbruch said.

“Once that rain-cooled air hit the ground, it surged over 100 miles, sending incredibly strong winds over the area,” Barjenbruch said.

Omaha Public Power District reported more than 55,500 customers without power in Omaha and surrounding communities.

The weather service’s Marsh said there’s a huge concern about power outages that will be widespread across several states and long lasting.

Add high heat, people with medical conditions that require power and the pandemic, “it becomes dire pretty quickly.”

https://www.marketwatch.com/story/power ... latestnews
thelivyjr
Site Admin
Posts: 73424
Joined: Thu Aug 30, 2018 1:40 p

Re: ON THE TIMES WE ARE NOW IN

Post by thelivyjr »

MARKETWATCH

"California plagued by scorching heat (130 degrees!), lightning, blackouts and even fire tornadoes"


By Mike Murphy

Published: Aug. 16, 2020 at 11:49 p.m. ET

After a weekend of wild and scorching weather, California residents were warned Sunday to brace for the likelihood of rolling blackouts through Wednesday.

More than 200,000 PG&E Corp. customers in Northern California lost power Saturday in the state’s first sequence of rolling blackouts since the Enron-stoked statewide energy crisis of 2000-’01.

Another 200,000 customers apparently got a reprieve Sunday night, as PG&E tweeted that forecast evening outages — typically lasting an hour or two — would not be needed as demand was expected to be met.

Last year, broad swaths of California were intentionally blacked out to reduce wildfire risks on days with high winds, but the current blackouts are unrelated to that.

This time around, “There is not a sufficient amount of energy to meet the high amounts of demand during the heat wave,” California’s Independent System Operator said Sunday.

The nonprofit public benefit corporation urged energy conservation for the next several days.

Conditions were exacerbated, Cal ISO said, by the “unexpected loss” of a 470-megawatt power plant Saturday and a loss of 1,000 megawatts of wind power, as well as a greater reliance on solar energy, which can be disrupted by cloud cover.

The blackouts came amid a surge in energy usage as homes cranked up the air conditioning to counter a widespread and intense heat wave, straining the state’s energy grid even though a large number of businesses remain closed due to the pandemic.

Triple-digit heat gripped much of the state, topped by an eye-popping reading of 130 degrees in Death Valley on Sunday.

If confirmed, that would rank as the first time Death Valley — historically the hottest spot in the country — has hit 130 degrees since 1913, the National Weather Service said.

In Northern California, the heat was accompanied by a rare summer thunderstorm that brought spectacular lightning strikes around the San Francisco Bay Area early Sunday, sparking a number of small fires.

Wind gusts in some places reached 75 mph.


Nearly 5,000 lightning strikes were recorded around the state by 6 a.m. Sunday.

“This is probably the most widespread and violent summer thunderstorm event in memory for Bay Area, & it’s also one of the hottest nights in years,” tweeted Daniel Swain, a UCLA climate scientist.

Forecasters said conditions were ripe for a repeat early Monday, potentially sparking more fires.

While lightning-caused fires around the Bay Area were mopped up Sunday, larger wildfires continued to rage in other parts of California.

The Lake Fire, in the mountains north of Los Angeles, near Lancaster, had burned nearly 28 square miles as of Sunday night, with just 12% containment.

Another blaze, dubbed the Loyalton Fire, near the state line north of Lake Tahoe, has burned more than 45 square miles and spurred evacuation orders for remote communities.

That fire spurred the first-ever warning Saturday for a “firenado” — an event caused when ground winds whip flames higher, into a tornado-like spiral.

The National Weather Service issued the warning for “fire-induced tornadoes” and warned fire crews to use extreme caution.

https://www.marketwatch.com/story/calif ... _headlines
thelivyjr
Site Admin
Posts: 73424
Joined: Thu Aug 30, 2018 1:40 p

Re: ON THE TIMES WE ARE NOW IN

Post by thelivyjr »

THE ORLANDO SENTINEL

"Tropical Storm Laura path shifts, but still Florida threat; could join TD 14 as hurricanes in Gulf next week"


By Joe Mario Pedersen and Richard Tribou, Orlando Sentinel

Aug 21, 2020 at 2:01 PM

Tropical Storm Laura formed Friday morning with a projected path shifting farther south, but still a threat to both South Florida by Monday and the Panhandle by next week, according to the National Hurricane Center.

By 2 p.m., the storm is moving west at 18 mph about 175 miles east-southeast of the northern Leeward Islands with maximum sustained winds of 45 mph.

Tropical-storm force winds extend out 150 miles.

“We see some pretty good land interaction it looks like on the new proposed track,” said FOX 35 meteorologist Jayme King.

“Much of the Florida peninsula, all of it pretty much in fact is now out of the cone of uncertainty, but all sites now on the western Florida Panhandle around Pensacola toward Mobile Bay, Alabama with a possible Category 1 hurricane strike there by Wednesday.”

Before then, though, the forecast track has Laura moving over the northern Leeward Islands today, near Puerto Rico on Saturday morning and along the northern coast of Hispaniola on late Saturday or early Sunday.

The U.S. has issued tropical storm warnings for Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands while other country governments have issued warnings for Antigua, Barbuda, St. Kitts, Nevis, Anguilla, British Virgin Islands, Saba, St. Eustatius, St. Martin, St. Barthelemy and the northern coast of the Dominican Republic.

A tropical storm watch is in place for parts of Haiti’s northern coast.

Long-term projections for Tropical Storm Laura have it near the Florida Keys on Monday still as a tropical storm, but then into the Gulf of Mexico off Florida’s southwest coast as a Category 1 hurricane where it will then head to the Florida Panhandle.

Officials in the Florida Keys declared a local state of emergency Friday and issued a mandatory evacuation order for anyone living in boats, mobile homes and in recreational vehicles and campers.

Tourists who are staying in hotels in the Florida Keys should be aware of hazardous weather conditions and consider altering their plans starting on Sunday, Monroe County officials said in a news release.

The order also says all recreational vehicles must be removed from the county by noon Sunday.

“Residents should continue to monitor the storm and be prepared for Category 1 hurricane winds and strong squalls,” said Shannon Wiener, Monroe County Emergency Management Director.

“Please secure all boats and outside items over the weekend for this event.”

Laura’s future is unclear as the storm faces a number of factors that could stymie its growth and others that would promote it as it stays on track toward Florida.

While land interaction with Hispaniola and Cuba as well as dry air could deter its development, Laura is also projected to move over an area of the Gulf of Mexico where is should be generally favorable for tropical development, the NHC said.

“The possibilities range from the system degenerating to an open wave as seen in the GFS (American model) and ECMWF (European model) to a major hurricane,” the NHC said.

Other meteorologists are more confident Laura will become a hurricane at some point, as will Tropical Depression 14 as it heads toward Texas, said King early Friday.

“Both will become a hurricane, and possibly two hurricanes in the Gulf of Mexico at the same time,” King said.

If TD 14 becomes a tropical storm it will be named Marco.

As of 2 p.m. Friday, TD 14 is 180 miles east-northeast of Isla Roatan, Honduras and 280 miles southeast of Cozumel, Mexico, heading northwest at 14 mph with maximum sustained winds of 35 mph.

Mexico has issued a tropical storm watch for the northern coast of the Yucatan Peninsula north and west of Cancun to Dzilam while a tropical storm warning remains in effect from the Honduras-Nicaragua border west to Punta Castilla, Honduras as well as the Bay Islands of Honduras.

TD 14 is expected to become a tropical storm Friday evening as it moves over the Honduras coastline.

The center is expected to move over the Yucatan Peninsula of Mexico late Saturday, and then moving back into the warm waters of the Gulf, where it is expected to brew into hurricane strength early Monday morning.

The storm is then projected to take aim at the Texas coastline, the NHC showed in its modeling.

A tropical wave off the coast of Africa is also moving west Friday morning.

The wave is a large area of disorganized showers and is expected to move farther off shore at a speed of 15 to 20 mph.

Environmental factors are not conducive to its development but it has a 20% chance of becoming a tropical depression or tropical storm in the next two days and a 30% chance of doing so in the next five.

More coverage at OrlandoSentinel.com/hurricane.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Joe Mario Pedersen

Joe Mario Pedersen is a member of the Sentinel's Breaking News team. He's a native of Florida, the home of the Florida Man. Originally from Fort Lauderdale, Joe is a University of Central Florida graduate with a major in Radio & Television. He worked for four years at The Villages Daily Sun, including on the newsroom’s multimedia story projects.

Richard Tribou

Richard Tribou is travel editor for OrlandoSentinel.com, Sun-Sentinel.com and TheDailyDisney.com with a focus on Florida travel. He often writes on cruises and theme parks and contributes to the the Go For Launch space blog, Theme Park Rangers, Gone Viral and The List.

https://www.orlandosentinel.com/weather ... story.html
thelivyjr
Site Admin
Posts: 73424
Joined: Thu Aug 30, 2018 1:40 p

Re: ON THE TIMES WE ARE NOW IN

Post by thelivyjr »

NBC NEWS

"Hurricane Marco forms off the Gulf Coast as Tropical Storm Laura is close behind"


By Dennis Romero and Doha Madani

Aug. 22, 2020, 8:52 PM EDT / Updated Aug. 23, 2020, 12:53 PM EDT

Tropical storm Marco was upgraded to hurricane status on Sunday as it gained strength over the Gulf of Mexico.

Marco could be part of an unprecedented twin strike to the U.S. Gulf Coast alongside Tropical Storm Laura, which could also strengthen to a hurricane this week.


Marco entered the Gulf of Mexico on Saturday evening and was headed toward landfall in Louisiana or Mississippi on Monday afternoon, according to National Hurricane Center projections.

By Sunday afternoon, the Air Force Reserve Hurricane Hunters found that Marco had reached sustained winds of 75 mph.

To reach hurricane status, a storm needs to generate sustained winds of at least 74 mph.

The National Hurricane Center in Miami warned that Marco is expected to bring high gusts and life-threatening storm surge along the Gulf Coast.

Tropical storm Laura — about 40 miles northeast of Port au Prince, Haiti, on Sunday morning — was expected to strengthen to a hurricane by Tuesday afternoon, the center said.

It could make landfall from Texas to Florida's Gulf Coast by Wednesday afternoon, forecasters said.

"It looks like the upper Gulf is going to get a one-two punch," hurricane center spokesman Dennis Feltgen said.

"That’s pretty much unprecedented that close together."


The shortest time between U.S. landfalls for major storms is 23 hours between Sept. 4 and 5, 1933.

The Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority said Sunday that more than 30,000 of its customers, about 2 percent total, have already lost power as the storms approach.

Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards declared a state of emergency Friday ahead of the storms and on Saturday asked President Donald Trump to grant federal emergency status to the state.

"Tropical Storms Marco and Laura are forecast to impact Louisiana in quick sequence early next week," Edwards' office said in a statement.

Edwards warned residents they had until Sunday evening to finalize preparations and gather supplies, urging all residents to begin sheltering in place that night.

"You need to be prepared to ride out the storms, you and your family, wherever you are at dark tonight and that is because tropical storm force winds will be impacting coastal Louisiana before daylight tomorrow," Edwards said during a press conference Sunday.

Louisiana State University announced that it would close campus Monday, assuring students that the school would ensure access to meals as they sheltered in their residence halls.

The school's administration said it would monitor both storms and provide updates to students and staff.

A mandatory evacuation of Plaquemines Parish in New Orleans will begin Sunday afternoon, parish officials announced on Saturday night.

Plaquemines is the southernmost area of the city, surrounded by the Gulf of Mexico, and has been severely damaged by previous hurricanes, including Katrina in 2005.

Marco was in the Gulf of Mexico, about 360 miles southeast of the mouth of the Mississippi River, according to the hurricane center on Sunday morning.

It was moving north-northwest at 13 mph.

A hurricane watch was in effect from Intracoastal City, Louisiana, to the Mississippi-Alabama border, including New Orleans, federal forecasters said.

Tropical Storm Laura had maximum sustained winds of 45 mph on Sunday, and was moving west at 18 mph.

A tropical storm warning was in effect for Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands and parts of the northern coast of the Dominican Republic, and a tropical storm watch was issued for the central Bahamas and the Florida Keys from Ocean Reef to Key West and the Dry Tortugas, the hurricane center said.

Dennis Romero writes for NBC News and is based in Los Angeles.

Doha Madani is a breaking news reporter for NBC News.

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/weather/tw ... ecommended
thelivyjr
Site Admin
Posts: 73424
Joined: Thu Aug 30, 2018 1:40 p

Re: ON THE TIMES WE ARE NOW IN

Post by thelivyjr »

MARKETWATCH

"Hurricane watch: Marco fizzles out while Laura poised to slam Gulf Coast"


By Associated Press

Published: Aug. 24, 2020 at 5:02 p.m. ET

NEW ORLEANS — Tropical Storm Marco began falling apart Monday, easing one threat to the Gulf Coast but setting the stage for the arrival of Laura as a potentially supercharged Category 3 hurricane with winds topping 110 mph and a storm surge that could swamp entire towns.

The two-storm combination could bring a history-making onslaught of wind and coastal flooding from Texas to Alabama, all complicated by the coronavirus pandemic, forecasters said.

Still a tropical storm for now, Laura churned just south of Cuba after killing at least 11 people in the Dominican Republic and Haiti, where it knocked out power and caused flooding in the two nations that share the island of Hispaniola.

The deaths reportedly included a 10-year-old girl whose home was hit by a tree and a mother and young son who were crushed by a collapsing wall.

Laura was not expected to weaken over land before moving into warm, deep Gulf waters that forecasters said could bring rapid intensification.

“We’re only going to dodge the bullet so many times."

"And the current forecast for Laura has it focused intently on Louisiana,” Gov. John Bel Edwards told a news briefing.

Shrimp trawlers and fishing boats were tied up in a Louisiana harbor ahead of the storms.

Red flags warned swimmers away from the pounding surf.

Both in-person classes and virtual school sessions required because of the coronavirus pandemic were canceled in some districts.

A food bank that has been twice as busy as normal since March providing meals to people affected by the pandemic prepared to shut down for a few days because of the weather, but not before distributing a last round of provisions to the needy.

“We’re very tired,” said Lawrence DeHart, director of Terrebonne Churches United Foodbank in Houma.

State emergencies were declared in Louisiana and Mississippi, and shelters were being opened with cots set farther apart, among other measures designed to curb infections.

“The virus is not concerned that we have hurricanes coming, and so it’s not going to take any time off and neither can we,” Edwards said.

Louisiana was trying to avoid opening state-run shelters because of the COVID-19 threat.

The governor encouraged evacuees to stay with relatives or in hotels.

But officials said they made virus-related preparations at state shelters in case they are needed.

As Marco collapsed, the National Hurricane Center canceled all tropical storm watches and warnings.

Marco’s winds died down to 40 mph as it sloshed 40 miles southeast of the mouth of the Mississippi River.

By midday Monday, an airplane monitoring the system could only find a small area of wind strong enough to keep Marco a tropical storm, and those winds were not near the ragged center.

Because strong crosswinds were decapitating the storm, Marco was expected to lose tropical storm designation late Monday, the hurricane center said.

While Marco weakened, Laura’s potential got stronger, and forecasters raised the possibility of a major hurricane that would pummel western Louisiana and eastern Texas from late Wednesday into Thursday.

Once Laura passes Cuba, the system could quickly strengthen over warm water, which acts as fuel to supercharge the storm.

Forecasters predicted winds of 105 mph before landfall, but some models showed an even stronger storm.

Together, the two storms could bring a total of 2 feet of rain to parts of Louisiana, perhaps raising the storm surge to more than 10 feet along the Louisiana coast and pushing water 30 miles up the rivers in a worst-case scenario, said meteorologist Benjamin Schott, who runs the National Weather Service office in Slidell, Louisiana.

Mandatory evacuation orders were issued west of New Orleans for much of Cameron Parish, where officials said seawater pushed inland by the storm could submerge communities including Cameron, population about 410.

“We want everybody to get out safely,” said Ashley Buller, the assistant director for emergency preparedness.

The double punch comes just days before the Aug. 29 anniversary of Hurricane Katrina, which breached the levees in New Orleans, flattened much of the Mississippi coast and killed as many as 1,800 people.

August Creppel, chief of the United Houma Nation, was worried about the group’s 17,000 members, spread out over six parishes along the Louisiana coast.

He took part in a ceremony Saturday at the Superdome in New Orleans that included Native American singing and prayers to commemorate the hurricane’s 15th anniversary.

“We know our people are going to get hit."

"We just don’t know who yet,” said Creppel, who has been in contact with the Red Cross to get supplies once the weather eases.

For the residents of the Louisiana coast, “they’re certainly lucky that Marco is not worse than it is,” said University of Miami hurricane researcher Brian McNoldy.

“This will come and go, and they can get ready for Laura."

"That’ll be the main attraction.”

Meanwhile, Laura drenched much of Cuba as it headed northwest at 20 mph with top sustained winds of 60 mph.

On the Louisiana coast at Holly Beach in an area nicknamed the “Cajun Riviera,” Eric Monceaux was frantically packing what he could take with him.

Hit first by Hurricane Rita in 2005 and again by Ike in 2008, he does not plan to come back if Laura does its worse.

“That would be strike three,” he said.

“I’m 62, and I gave it two strikes."

"The third one is ‘strike three, you’re out’ like a baseball game.”

Closer to New Orleans In Belle Chasse, Chris Leopold stocked up on propane at a hardware store after a weekend spent getting ready for rough weather.

“You pick up everything off the ground, bring in what you can, tie down any boats you have, empty your refrigerator, cut the power, cut the water and say your prayers on the way out,” he said.

https://www.marketwatch.com/story/hurri ... latestnews
Post Reply