USA TODAY
"Hurricane Dorian: Residents flee South Carolina coast ahead of storm"
John Bacon and Eric Connor, USA TODAY
5 SEPTEMBER 2019
CHARLESTON, S.C. – Parts of historic Market Street were under a foot of water and gusting winds blew rain sideways Thursday as Hurricane Dorian continued its unrelenting advance on the U.S. coast, days after devastating parts of the Bahamas.
Hundreds of thousands of coastal residents of the Carolinas were packing up to flee their homes or were already gone.
More than 220,000 homes and businesses across the state already were without power.
The historic storm, which dropped slightly to Category 2 status, was about 65 miles southeast of here at 11 a.m. ET Thursday with maximum sustained winds at 110 mph, the National Hurricane Center said.
“It is the water that kills people,” Gov. Henry McMaster said.
“Water is the real danger."
"And it’s clear that we are going to have a lot of water.”
The center warned the storm "continues to lash the coast of the Carolinas" and hurricane conditions are likely over portions of the area later Thursday.
The center of the storm was forecast to move closer to the coast of South Carolina through the day and then move near or over the coast of North Carolina overnight and Friday.
Ken Graham, director of the National Hurricane Center in Miami, said Charleston was experiencing wind gusts in excess of 60 mph.
Similar gusts were recorded elsewhere in the state and in North Carolina, the hurricane center said.
Hurricane-force winds were extending outward up to 60 miles from the center, and tropical-storm-force winds extend outward up to 195 miles.
"People have to realize it’s not just about the center" of the storm, Graham said.
"You have to look at the whole storm.”
Graham said Charleston could face "very dangerous" storm surge of up to 4 feet.
Parts of North Carolina could see 7 feet, he said.
Anything above 3 feet is considered life-threatening, according to the hurricane center.
North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper said the state had opened more than 50 shelters and prepped more than 20 swift water rescue teams.
Sixteen aircraft were also at the ready.
"You certainly put first responders at risk and your own life at risk if you decided to stay, particularly on a barrier island," Cooper said.
"If they have not evacuated at this point, I'd get to the safest place I possibly could."
Cooper said an 85-year-old man fell to his death from a ladder while preparing his Columbus County home for the storm.
At least 20 deaths in the Bahamas have been linked to Dorian.
Federal emergency declarations have been approved for Florida, Georgia, South Carolina and North Carolina.
In Virginia, where some areas could see 4 feet of surge, Gov. Ralph Northam also declared an emergency.
In Charleston, at the corner of Calhoun and Washington streets near the state aquarium, John Rivers and daughters, Martha and Caroline, and son, Minott, were raking tree debris out of storm drains.
"The city is doing the best job they can, but they can't be everywhere at every drain, so we're helping them out," Rivers said as the winds and rain carried debris down the street.
Within minutes, a pool of stormwater that stretched across Washington Street was drained away.
"It's a teachable moment for them, and they're also very civic minded," said Rivers.
"My family has been here since 1670, so it's time for us to pitch in."
On North Carolina's Outer Banks, Derek Bellinger and his family were taking a walk in Kitty Hawk, which was under a mandatory evacuation order.
Bellinger said they had stockpiled four cases of water, enough food to fill a freezer and 25 gallons of gas to power a generator.
But he said they were not leaving — and he was not too worried about Dorian.
"We've done our prep and have been here through many, many storms," Bellinger said.
"We're just kind of hunkered down."
Bacon reported from McLean, Va. Contributing: Lisa Conley, Naples Daily News; Eric Rogers and J.D. Gallop, Florida Today; Mackenzie Wicker and Dillon Davis, Asheville Citizen Times, Jordan Culver, Doyle Rice, Kristin Lam and Steve Coogan, USA TODAY
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Hurricane Dorian: Residents flee South Carolina coast ahead of storm
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ON THE TIMES WE ARE NOW IN
Re: ON THE TIMES WE ARE NOW IN
USA TODAY
"Hurricane Dorian is spawning tornadoes in Carolinas"
Doyle Rice, USA TODAY
6 SEPTEMBER 2019
At least 20 tornadoes have been reported in South Carolina and North Carolina over the past day as Hurricane Dorian approached, adding another layer of worrisome weather to nervous residents along both coasts.
Nils Regnell said a tornado spotted in Little River, South Carolina, on Thursday sounded like a train was running right past his home for about three minutes as the twister blitzed by.
The tornado snapped oak trees, ripped off roofing and even lifted a car, leaving it five houses down the street atop a utility box right next door to Regnell.
Several other tornadoes were also reported in Onslow County, North Carolina.
Tornadoes like the ones that hit the Carolinas on Thursday aren't an uncommon sight during hurricanes: Almost all hurricanes and tropical storms that make landfall in the United States spawn at least one tornado, provided enough of the storm's circulation moves over land, according to NOAA.
Hurricanes and tropical storms offer all the elements to spawn tornadoes, as they carry small, spinning supercells inside their outer bands, which are thunderstorms that can form twisters, Live Science says.
Tornadoes spawned by tropical cyclones are also known to develop very suddenly and be very transient in nature, the Capital Weather Gang said.
They’re also usually tough to see because of low cloud bases in hurricanes.
Fueled from warm, moist ocean air, hurricanes, with their strong wind shear near the ground, can create an unstable atmosphere when they make landfall, and their swirling vortices can sometimes flip vertically into funnels.
Gulf Coast states tend to have the most frequent and significant hurricane tornado events, NOAA said, partly because of their tendency to have at least one state fully exposed to the right-front quadrant of the hurricane when landfall occurs there.
The right-front quadrant of hurricanes contain the necessary ingredients for tornadoes to form.
Although hurricanes can spawn tornadoes up to about three days after landfall, statistics show that most of the tornadoes occur on the day of landfall, or the next day, NOAA said.
The worst tornado outbreak occurred during 2004’s Hurricane Ivan, which caused a multiday outbreak of 127 tornadoes.
The deadliest hurricane-spawned tornado was in October 1964, when 22 people died in Larose, Louisiana, during a twister from Hurricane Hilda.
On Thursday, Brenda Johnson, who was at her house on Retreat Place in Little River when the tornado hit, said it lasted for about three minutes.
She hid in the closet, in the middle of her home.
"It was so scary," she said.
"I have never been through anything like that and I won’t stay here ever again" during a hurricane.
Tornado watches remained in place for all coastal regions in both states as additional twisters are likely all day, the Storm Prediction Center said.
Contributing: Carol Motsinger, the Greenville (S.C.) News
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Hurricane Dorian is spawning tornadoes in Carolinas
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"Hurricane Dorian is spawning tornadoes in Carolinas"
Doyle Rice, USA TODAY
6 SEPTEMBER 2019
At least 20 tornadoes have been reported in South Carolina and North Carolina over the past day as Hurricane Dorian approached, adding another layer of worrisome weather to nervous residents along both coasts.
Nils Regnell said a tornado spotted in Little River, South Carolina, on Thursday sounded like a train was running right past his home for about three minutes as the twister blitzed by.
The tornado snapped oak trees, ripped off roofing and even lifted a car, leaving it five houses down the street atop a utility box right next door to Regnell.
Several other tornadoes were also reported in Onslow County, North Carolina.
Tornadoes like the ones that hit the Carolinas on Thursday aren't an uncommon sight during hurricanes: Almost all hurricanes and tropical storms that make landfall in the United States spawn at least one tornado, provided enough of the storm's circulation moves over land, according to NOAA.
Hurricanes and tropical storms offer all the elements to spawn tornadoes, as they carry small, spinning supercells inside their outer bands, which are thunderstorms that can form twisters, Live Science says.
Tornadoes spawned by tropical cyclones are also known to develop very suddenly and be very transient in nature, the Capital Weather Gang said.
They’re also usually tough to see because of low cloud bases in hurricanes.
Fueled from warm, moist ocean air, hurricanes, with their strong wind shear near the ground, can create an unstable atmosphere when they make landfall, and their swirling vortices can sometimes flip vertically into funnels.
Gulf Coast states tend to have the most frequent and significant hurricane tornado events, NOAA said, partly because of their tendency to have at least one state fully exposed to the right-front quadrant of the hurricane when landfall occurs there.
The right-front quadrant of hurricanes contain the necessary ingredients for tornadoes to form.
Although hurricanes can spawn tornadoes up to about three days after landfall, statistics show that most of the tornadoes occur on the day of landfall, or the next day, NOAA said.
The worst tornado outbreak occurred during 2004’s Hurricane Ivan, which caused a multiday outbreak of 127 tornadoes.
The deadliest hurricane-spawned tornado was in October 1964, when 22 people died in Larose, Louisiana, during a twister from Hurricane Hilda.
On Thursday, Brenda Johnson, who was at her house on Retreat Place in Little River when the tornado hit, said it lasted for about three minutes.
She hid in the closet, in the middle of her home.
"It was so scary," she said.
"I have never been through anything like that and I won’t stay here ever again" during a hurricane.
Tornado watches remained in place for all coastal regions in both states as additional twisters are likely all day, the Storm Prediction Center said.
Contributing: Carol Motsinger, the Greenville (S.C.) News
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Hurricane Dorian is spawning tornadoes in Carolinas
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Re: ON THE TIMES WE ARE NOW IN
USA TODAY
"Hurricane Dorian makes landfall over Cape Hatteras"
Jordan Culver, Adrianna Rodriguez and Ryan W. Miller, USA TODAY
6 SEPTEMBER 2019
ELIZABETH CITY, N.C. – Hurricane Dorian howled over North Carolina's Outer Banks on Friday, lashing the low-lying barrier islands as a weakened Category 1 storm and making landfall over Cape Hatteras.
The storm's powerful winds knocked out power at almost 200,000 homes and businesses across the state as massive waves threatened buildings along the coast.
Water in some streets was up to cars' bumpers here, pelting the area with wind and rain Friday morning.
Flooding on the Outer Banks had some residents seeking refuge in their attics as Dorian roared over.
"Right now the storm is raging," on ocracoke island Gov.
"It is concerning to have this significant storm surge on the
Dare County, which includes North Carolina's Outer Banks, was under curfew Firday morning, with access to the coastal county restricted.
Further north, a round of evacuations were also ordered for Virginians in harm's way.
"Dorian should remain a powerful hurricane as it moves near or along the coast of North Carolina during the next several hours," the National Hurricane Center said.
At 8:35 a.m. EDT, Dorian's center made landfall over Cape Hatteras, the center said.
The storm was 25 miles northeast Cape Hatteras, moving 14 mph northeast with winds up to 90 mph at 10 a.m.
A weather station at Hatteras High School reported sustained winds at 77 mph and gusts up to 89 mph, the hurricane center said.
Wilmington saw heavy rainfall with as much as 15 inches forecast that could cause dangerous flash floods.
Trees bent in the wind and traffic lights swayed.
Up to 7 feet of storm surge was possible from Salter Path to Duck, and parts of southeastern Virginia could see up to 4 feet of storm surge, the hurricane center says.
About 4,500 people stayed in shelters overnight in North Carolina and more than 70 roads were impassible, Gov. Roy Cooper.
A number of hurricanes touched down Thursday, too, Cooper added.
There were no serious injuries but there was significant damage, he said.
Earlier, Dorian devastated the Bahamas with 185-mph winds, leaving at least 30 people dead, after its slow trek through the Caribbean.
At one point, the threat of a major hurricane making landfall along Florida's east coast loomed, but the storm lurched north instead, staying 60 to 80 miles offshore as it passed by.
The storm created tornadoes in South Carolina, too, ripping off roofs and flipping trailers.
A quarter of a million homes and businesses were left without power.
"People have to realize it’s not just about the center" of the storm, said Ken Graham, director of the hurricane center.
"You have to look at the whole storm."
However, from the Lowcountry to the Grand Strand, there was a sigh of relief as potentially historic flash floods did not overwhelm.
Historic downtown Charleston did see up to a foot of water on some streets Thursday, and gusts reached up to 80 mph in some areas.
But Mayor John Tecklenburg said in a tweet that during the city's recovery efforts, "I'm counting our blessings."
The fears of seawater overtopping the walls of The Battery and torrential rainfall leaving the city underwater proved unfounded, as water in the streets leveled off Friday morning.
It was a similar scene in Myrtle Beach.
Palmetto limbs snapped Thursday and littered the sidewalks in this tourist town on Friday morning.
At least four deaths have been attributed to Dorian in the mainland U.S., which all involved men who died in falls or were electrocuted while preparing for the storm in Florida and North Carolina.
In the Bahamas, Dorian decimated much of Grand Bahama and Abaco islands over the weekend when the storm stalled a Category 5 hurricane.
Homes were leveled, cars were flipped, trees were uprooted and, horrifically, children were swept away in the storm surge.
Prime Minister Hubert Minnis said the death toll was expected to rise as storm rescue workers scour islands.
The Bahamian government sent hundreds of police and marines into the stricken islands, along with doctors, nurses and other health care workers.
The U.S. Coast Guard, Britain’s Royal Navy and relief organizations, including the United Nations and the Red Cross, joined the growing effort to rush food and medicine to survivors and lift the most desperate people to safety by helicopter.
Contributing: John Bacon, Trevor Hughes and Joey Garrison, USA TODAY; Brian Gordon, Asheville Citizen Times; Eric Connor and Carol Motsinger, The Greenville News; The Associated Press.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Hurricane Dorian makes landfall over Cape Hatteras
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"Hurricane Dorian makes landfall over Cape Hatteras"
Jordan Culver, Adrianna Rodriguez and Ryan W. Miller, USA TODAY
6 SEPTEMBER 2019
ELIZABETH CITY, N.C. – Hurricane Dorian howled over North Carolina's Outer Banks on Friday, lashing the low-lying barrier islands as a weakened Category 1 storm and making landfall over Cape Hatteras.
The storm's powerful winds knocked out power at almost 200,000 homes and businesses across the state as massive waves threatened buildings along the coast.
Water in some streets was up to cars' bumpers here, pelting the area with wind and rain Friday morning.
Flooding on the Outer Banks had some residents seeking refuge in their attics as Dorian roared over.
"Right now the storm is raging," on ocracoke island Gov.
"It is concerning to have this significant storm surge on the
Dare County, which includes North Carolina's Outer Banks, was under curfew Firday morning, with access to the coastal county restricted.
Further north, a round of evacuations were also ordered for Virginians in harm's way.
"Dorian should remain a powerful hurricane as it moves near or along the coast of North Carolina during the next several hours," the National Hurricane Center said.
At 8:35 a.m. EDT, Dorian's center made landfall over Cape Hatteras, the center said.
The storm was 25 miles northeast Cape Hatteras, moving 14 mph northeast with winds up to 90 mph at 10 a.m.
A weather station at Hatteras High School reported sustained winds at 77 mph and gusts up to 89 mph, the hurricane center said.
Wilmington saw heavy rainfall with as much as 15 inches forecast that could cause dangerous flash floods.
Trees bent in the wind and traffic lights swayed.
Up to 7 feet of storm surge was possible from Salter Path to Duck, and parts of southeastern Virginia could see up to 4 feet of storm surge, the hurricane center says.
About 4,500 people stayed in shelters overnight in North Carolina and more than 70 roads were impassible, Gov. Roy Cooper.
A number of hurricanes touched down Thursday, too, Cooper added.
There were no serious injuries but there was significant damage, he said.
Earlier, Dorian devastated the Bahamas with 185-mph winds, leaving at least 30 people dead, after its slow trek through the Caribbean.
At one point, the threat of a major hurricane making landfall along Florida's east coast loomed, but the storm lurched north instead, staying 60 to 80 miles offshore as it passed by.
The storm created tornadoes in South Carolina, too, ripping off roofs and flipping trailers.
A quarter of a million homes and businesses were left without power.
"People have to realize it’s not just about the center" of the storm, said Ken Graham, director of the hurricane center.
"You have to look at the whole storm."
However, from the Lowcountry to the Grand Strand, there was a sigh of relief as potentially historic flash floods did not overwhelm.
Historic downtown Charleston did see up to a foot of water on some streets Thursday, and gusts reached up to 80 mph in some areas.
But Mayor John Tecklenburg said in a tweet that during the city's recovery efforts, "I'm counting our blessings."
The fears of seawater overtopping the walls of The Battery and torrential rainfall leaving the city underwater proved unfounded, as water in the streets leveled off Friday morning.
It was a similar scene in Myrtle Beach.
Palmetto limbs snapped Thursday and littered the sidewalks in this tourist town on Friday morning.
At least four deaths have been attributed to Dorian in the mainland U.S., which all involved men who died in falls or were electrocuted while preparing for the storm in Florida and North Carolina.
In the Bahamas, Dorian decimated much of Grand Bahama and Abaco islands over the weekend when the storm stalled a Category 5 hurricane.
Homes were leveled, cars were flipped, trees were uprooted and, horrifically, children were swept away in the storm surge.
Prime Minister Hubert Minnis said the death toll was expected to rise as storm rescue workers scour islands.
The Bahamian government sent hundreds of police and marines into the stricken islands, along with doctors, nurses and other health care workers.
The U.S. Coast Guard, Britain’s Royal Navy and relief organizations, including the United Nations and the Red Cross, joined the growing effort to rush food and medicine to survivors and lift the most desperate people to safety by helicopter.
Contributing: John Bacon, Trevor Hughes and Joey Garrison, USA TODAY; Brian Gordon, Asheville Citizen Times; Eric Connor and Carol Motsinger, The Greenville News; The Associated Press.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Hurricane Dorian makes landfall over Cape Hatteras
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Re: ON THE TIMES WE ARE NOW IN
Patch
"Hurricane Dorian: Hundreds Trapped By Flooding On Ocracoke Island"
Kimberly Johnson
6 SEPTEMBER 2019
NORTH CAROLINA — Hurricane Dorian officially made landfall near Hatteras Friday morning, trapping hundreds of residents on Ocracoke Island as the storm continued to batter the Outer Banks and northeastern North Carolina with heavy wind and rain.
“There is significant concern about hundreds of people trapped on Ocracoke Island,” Gov. Roy Cooper said Friday morning.
“There are rescue teams ready as soon as they can get in.”
As many as 800 people could remain in Ocracoke, according to the governor, citing unofficial totals.
“It is concerning to have this significant storm surge there and that so many people are on the island,” Cooper said.
As it drew closer to the North Carolina shore overnight Thursday, Dorian downshifted and by 8 a.m. Friday morning, was clocking maximum sustained winds of 90 mph as it crept forward at about 14 mph, according to the National Hurricane Center.
As the eye of the storm neared Hatteras early Friday, its hurricane-force winds extended 45 miles out.
The storm was on track to reach southern New England overnight Friday, and then move across Nova Scotia late Saturday, NHC said.
Those areas faced dangers of storm surge up to 7 feet and flash flooding.
Flash flooding emergencies were issued for Dare and Hyde counties “and officials are telling people to get to the highest point in their houses,” Cooper said.
State emergency officials urged those in affected areas to continue to shelter in a safe place, stay off roads and stay alert.
http://www.msn.com/en-us/weather/topsto ... P17#page=2
"Hurricane Dorian: Hundreds Trapped By Flooding On Ocracoke Island"
Kimberly Johnson
6 SEPTEMBER 2019
NORTH CAROLINA — Hurricane Dorian officially made landfall near Hatteras Friday morning, trapping hundreds of residents on Ocracoke Island as the storm continued to batter the Outer Banks and northeastern North Carolina with heavy wind and rain.
“There is significant concern about hundreds of people trapped on Ocracoke Island,” Gov. Roy Cooper said Friday morning.
“There are rescue teams ready as soon as they can get in.”
As many as 800 people could remain in Ocracoke, according to the governor, citing unofficial totals.
“It is concerning to have this significant storm surge there and that so many people are on the island,” Cooper said.
As it drew closer to the North Carolina shore overnight Thursday, Dorian downshifted and by 8 a.m. Friday morning, was clocking maximum sustained winds of 90 mph as it crept forward at about 14 mph, according to the National Hurricane Center.
As the eye of the storm neared Hatteras early Friday, its hurricane-force winds extended 45 miles out.
The storm was on track to reach southern New England overnight Friday, and then move across Nova Scotia late Saturday, NHC said.
Those areas faced dangers of storm surge up to 7 feet and flash flooding.
Flash flooding emergencies were issued for Dare and Hyde counties “and officials are telling people to get to the highest point in their houses,” Cooper said.
State emergency officials urged those in affected areas to continue to shelter in a safe place, stay off roads and stay alert.
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Re: ON THE TIMES WE ARE NOW IN
NBC NEWS
"North Carolina coast told to shelter in place as Hurricane Dorian hits with high winds, rain"
Alex Johnson and Minyvonne Burke and Colin Sheeley and Linda Givetash
6 SEPTEMBER 2019
More than a quarter of a million homes and businesses were without power and North Carolinians were told to shelter in place as Hurricane Dorian, still a powerful Category 1 storm, drenched the coasts of the Carolinas and began spreading hurricane conditions along parts of the North Carolina coast early Friday.
More than 275,000 customers were without power, most of them in counties along the South Carolina coast and immediately inland, and many roads were closed by flooding.
"It has only started."
"We have a long night ahead of us," Gov. Roy Cooper said in urging North Carolinians to shelter in place on Thursday.
"Get to safety and stay there," Cooper said.
"This won't be a brush-by."
"Whether it comes ashore or not, the eye of the storm will be close enough to cause extensive damage in North Carolina."
The Latest on Dorian:
At 1 a.m., the hurricane was about 40 miles east-northeast of Wilmington, North Carolina, and was moving northeast at about 15 mph.
The storm had weakened to a Category 1 storm with maximum sustained winds of about 90 mph.
Forecasters said the center of Dorian was expected to move near or make landfall over the North Carolina coast overnight or Friday.
At least 30 people have died in the Bahamas, according to the health minister, and more deaths are expected to be reported.
A second storm-related death was confirmed in North Carolina after a man died while moving his boat at an Inner Banks marina, authorities said.
The core of Dorian was brushing the coast at 1 a.m. as a Category 1 storm, with maximum sustained winds of 90 mph.
Tropical storm-force winds extended hundreds of miles from the eye, which was about 35 miles east-northeast of Wilmington, North Carolina.
The storm was moving northeast at about 15 mph, and it was possible that it could make landfall over the North Carolina coast later Friday.
Flash floods were reported along the coasts of both Carolinas, the National Hurricane Center reported.
It said "significant, life-threatening flash flooding" was expected as far north as southeast Virginia through the night.
Officials in Georgetown County, South Carolina, suspended all emergency services until winds subside enough to ensure safety, NBC affiliate WMBF of Myrtle Beach reported.
People calling 911 were being added to a list to be responded to later, authorities said.
Most of Horry County, South Carolina's fifth-biggest county, imposed curfews through 7 a.m. Friday.
A live electric wire was knocked down in Charleston, South Carolina, igniting sparks and explosions that could be heard blocks away, WMBF reported.
Charleston police urged people to take shelter as conditions worsened, even as images of people kayaking down the flooded streets of Charleston were being shared on social media.
Sara Hughes of North Charleston said she and her family were sleeping downstairs when a tree crashed into her son's upstairs bedroom on Thursday morning.
"I'm just thankful that he listens, and we all hunkered down downstairs," she told NBC affiliate WIS of Columbia.
Forecasters said Dorian would produce especially heavy rainfall across eastern North Carolina, where up to 12 inches were expected, with up to 15 inches in isolated areas.
Rain, storm surge and strong winds weren't the only threats.
The National Weather Service confirmed that a tornado ripped across Emerald Isle on Bogue's Bank Island off North Carolina at 9:06 a.m.
Police told NBC affiliate WITN of Washington that an RV park was heavily damaged as the tornado raced across the island and continued onto the mainland.
WITN quoted a witness as saying about half of the 50 mobile homes in the park were damaged.
A second storm-related death was confirmed in North Carolina on Thursday night.
Chris Murray, the director of emergency management in Pamlico County, told NBC News that a man died after he "suffered a medical emergency" as he was moving his boat at a marina on Wednesday.
Murray said the death was considered to be related to Dorian because "otherwise, they wouldn't have been out there."
WITN quoted Sheriff Chris Davis as saying the man had a heart attack while he was moving his boat in the Inner Banks town of Oriental, about 20 miles southeast of New Bern.
An 85-year-old man from Columbus County died Monday when he fell off a ladder while preparing his house for the storm, state medical examiners said.
The American Red Cross said it was in "dire need" of blood donations as conditions had forced as many as 50 blood drives to be canceled across Georgia and the Carolinas.
"We've lost approximately 1,100 units of blood and platelet products due to the hurricane," Chris Newman, the Red Cross' district manager for donor recruitment in Asheville, North Carolina, told NBC affiliate WXII of Winston-Salem.
"Those units are things we're counting on to help meet our patient demands and their needs in the hospitals," Newman said.
Forecasters said Dorian would continue hugging the Atlantic coast, arriving near extreme southeastern New England on Friday night and Saturday morning.
The hurricane center said it was predicted to approach the Canadian province of Nova Scotia later Saturday or Saturday night as a post-tropical cyclone — still at hurricane force.
The Canadian Hurricane Center said hurricane watches for Nova Scotia would be issued Friday.
Dorian had already caused utter destruction in the Bahamas, ripping roofs and walls off homes, toppling trees, flooding streets and burying communities in debris.
At least 30 people were killed, Health Minister Duane Sands told NBC News on Thursday night, adding that he believed "the number will rise dramatically."
The destruction seen in the Bahamas mirrors the damage inflicted on Puerto Rico and Dominica during hurricanes Maria and Irma in 2017, the World Meteorological Organization said in a statement.
At its peak, Dorian reached maximum sustained winds of 185 mph and caused storm surges of 18 to 23 feet.
Storm surges are a growing threat to low-lying coastal communities because of rising sea levels resulting from climate change, the meteorological organization said.
Rainfall associated with tropical cyclones is also projected to increase with global warming.
Dorian has been one of the slowest-moving cyclones ever recorded.
A recent study by federal scientists at NASA and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration found that such stalling by storms has increased in frequency among North Atlantic hurricanes, which results in more extreme rainfall.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/north ... Uo?index=8
"North Carolina coast told to shelter in place as Hurricane Dorian hits with high winds, rain"
Alex Johnson and Minyvonne Burke and Colin Sheeley and Linda Givetash
6 SEPTEMBER 2019
More than a quarter of a million homes and businesses were without power and North Carolinians were told to shelter in place as Hurricane Dorian, still a powerful Category 1 storm, drenched the coasts of the Carolinas and began spreading hurricane conditions along parts of the North Carolina coast early Friday.
More than 275,000 customers were without power, most of them in counties along the South Carolina coast and immediately inland, and many roads were closed by flooding.
"It has only started."
"We have a long night ahead of us," Gov. Roy Cooper said in urging North Carolinians to shelter in place on Thursday.
"Get to safety and stay there," Cooper said.
"This won't be a brush-by."
"Whether it comes ashore or not, the eye of the storm will be close enough to cause extensive damage in North Carolina."
The Latest on Dorian:
At 1 a.m., the hurricane was about 40 miles east-northeast of Wilmington, North Carolina, and was moving northeast at about 15 mph.
The storm had weakened to a Category 1 storm with maximum sustained winds of about 90 mph.
Forecasters said the center of Dorian was expected to move near or make landfall over the North Carolina coast overnight or Friday.
At least 30 people have died in the Bahamas, according to the health minister, and more deaths are expected to be reported.
A second storm-related death was confirmed in North Carolina after a man died while moving his boat at an Inner Banks marina, authorities said.
The core of Dorian was brushing the coast at 1 a.m. as a Category 1 storm, with maximum sustained winds of 90 mph.
Tropical storm-force winds extended hundreds of miles from the eye, which was about 35 miles east-northeast of Wilmington, North Carolina.
The storm was moving northeast at about 15 mph, and it was possible that it could make landfall over the North Carolina coast later Friday.
Flash floods were reported along the coasts of both Carolinas, the National Hurricane Center reported.
It said "significant, life-threatening flash flooding" was expected as far north as southeast Virginia through the night.
Officials in Georgetown County, South Carolina, suspended all emergency services until winds subside enough to ensure safety, NBC affiliate WMBF of Myrtle Beach reported.
People calling 911 were being added to a list to be responded to later, authorities said.
Most of Horry County, South Carolina's fifth-biggest county, imposed curfews through 7 a.m. Friday.
A live electric wire was knocked down in Charleston, South Carolina, igniting sparks and explosions that could be heard blocks away, WMBF reported.
Charleston police urged people to take shelter as conditions worsened, even as images of people kayaking down the flooded streets of Charleston were being shared on social media.
Sara Hughes of North Charleston said she and her family were sleeping downstairs when a tree crashed into her son's upstairs bedroom on Thursday morning.
"I'm just thankful that he listens, and we all hunkered down downstairs," she told NBC affiliate WIS of Columbia.
Forecasters said Dorian would produce especially heavy rainfall across eastern North Carolina, where up to 12 inches were expected, with up to 15 inches in isolated areas.
Rain, storm surge and strong winds weren't the only threats.
The National Weather Service confirmed that a tornado ripped across Emerald Isle on Bogue's Bank Island off North Carolina at 9:06 a.m.
Police told NBC affiliate WITN of Washington that an RV park was heavily damaged as the tornado raced across the island and continued onto the mainland.
WITN quoted a witness as saying about half of the 50 mobile homes in the park were damaged.
A second storm-related death was confirmed in North Carolina on Thursday night.
Chris Murray, the director of emergency management in Pamlico County, told NBC News that a man died after he "suffered a medical emergency" as he was moving his boat at a marina on Wednesday.
Murray said the death was considered to be related to Dorian because "otherwise, they wouldn't have been out there."
WITN quoted Sheriff Chris Davis as saying the man had a heart attack while he was moving his boat in the Inner Banks town of Oriental, about 20 miles southeast of New Bern.
An 85-year-old man from Columbus County died Monday when he fell off a ladder while preparing his house for the storm, state medical examiners said.
The American Red Cross said it was in "dire need" of blood donations as conditions had forced as many as 50 blood drives to be canceled across Georgia and the Carolinas.
"We've lost approximately 1,100 units of blood and platelet products due to the hurricane," Chris Newman, the Red Cross' district manager for donor recruitment in Asheville, North Carolina, told NBC affiliate WXII of Winston-Salem.
"Those units are things we're counting on to help meet our patient demands and their needs in the hospitals," Newman said.
Forecasters said Dorian would continue hugging the Atlantic coast, arriving near extreme southeastern New England on Friday night and Saturday morning.
The hurricane center said it was predicted to approach the Canadian province of Nova Scotia later Saturday or Saturday night as a post-tropical cyclone — still at hurricane force.
The Canadian Hurricane Center said hurricane watches for Nova Scotia would be issued Friday.
Dorian had already caused utter destruction in the Bahamas, ripping roofs and walls off homes, toppling trees, flooding streets and burying communities in debris.
At least 30 people were killed, Health Minister Duane Sands told NBC News on Thursday night, adding that he believed "the number will rise dramatically."
The destruction seen in the Bahamas mirrors the damage inflicted on Puerto Rico and Dominica during hurricanes Maria and Irma in 2017, the World Meteorological Organization said in a statement.
At its peak, Dorian reached maximum sustained winds of 185 mph and caused storm surges of 18 to 23 feet.
Storm surges are a growing threat to low-lying coastal communities because of rising sea levels resulting from climate change, the meteorological organization said.
Rainfall associated with tropical cyclones is also projected to increase with global warming.
Dorian has been one of the slowest-moving cyclones ever recorded.
A recent study by federal scientists at NASA and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration found that such stalling by storms has increased in frequency among North Atlantic hurricanes, which results in more extreme rainfall.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/north ... Uo?index=8
Re: ON THE TIMES WE ARE NOW IN
THE WASHINGTON POST
"Hurricane Dorian rips through Outer Banks, causing tsunami-like surge as it heads out to sea"
Fenit Nirappil, Kirk Ross, Reis Thebault, Sarah Kaplan
7 SEPTEMBER 2019
JACKSONVILLE, N.C. —A tsunami-like storm surge from Hurricane Dorian ripped through North Carolina’s Outer Banks on Friday — a towering wall of water that left residents trapped and powerless.
A strong tropical storm once again exposed the vulnerabilities of the narrow barrier islands in an era of extreme weather and rising seas.
The hurricane that had swooped along the Eastern Seaboard for days made landfall at Cape Hatteras as a Category 1 storm, far weaker than when it was a Category 5 behemoth that delivered a marathon assault on the Bahamas earlier in the week.
But in this low-lying community built on a foundation of shifting sand, Dorian was still severe enough to cause an “absolute major disaster,” said Peter Vankevich, a resident of Ocracoke Island, along the southern stretch of the Outer Banks.
The hurricane wrought much of its destruction through swift and severe storm surge from the Pamlico Sound, the long lagoon that separates the islands from the North Carolina mainland.
Powerful winds sucked water away from the coast, then pushed it back in a massive wave onto the western sides of Hatteras and Ocracoke islands.
In less than two hours, tide gauges measured a water level increase of more than seven feet — enough to submerge a home’s first-floor windows.
“The water just poured in and has continued to do so,” said Vankevich, who runs the Ocracoke Observer, the island’s main news source.
“If you were out there walking around, you could have been swept away.”
By early afternoon, the storm’s eyewall had moved northwest and away from shore.
It is expected to scrape by southeastern New England on Saturday, then strike parts of Nova Scotia and Newfoundland before it finally spins out into the North Atlantic after a long and deadly slog across the hemisphere.
Dorian began brewing into one of the strongest hurricanes on record more than a week ago, prompting panicked preparations in Florida and north through the Carolinas.
But it was the Bahamas that bore the brunt of the storm’s fury; the tempest stalled for 40 hours directly over the island chain, laying waste to much of two of its northern territories — Great Abaco and Grand Bahama.
The official death toll stood at 43 Friday night but that is likely to be just a fraction of the total death toll, as entire communities were decimated by storm surges that topped 20 feet and winds that gusted to 220 mph.
Thousands of Bahamians made homeless by the storm are squatting in broken, abandoned homes or are scrambling for floor space in shelters without steady food and water.
When Dorian finally dislodged and swerved north Tuesday, the storm skirted the U.S. coastline, its outer edges scraping by Florida, Georgia and most of the Carolinas.
In southeastern North Carolina, where many are still recovering from the devastation caused by Hurricane Florence last year, residents were relieved to escape the worst of it this time.
“When you’re looking at what’s going on in the Bahamas, and you see this massive storm heading right for you, you’re going to be getting worried,” said Tony Catullo, a Myrtle Beach, S.C., resident who spent Friday afternoon sunbathing along the shore.
After days of doom-filled forecasts, the mood here was relaxed: The local country radio station was advertising live music and the “premier hurricane party.”
“We dodged a bullet here,” Catullo said.
People in Wilmington, N.C., returned home Friday morning to surf beneath clearing skies.
In Onslow County, to the north, swiftwater rescuers had little work to do.
“This ain’t nothing,” said Thomas Goff, of Onslow Fire and Rescue.
“I’ve seen pop-up thunderstorms do more damage.”
No serious injuries or fatalities from the hurricane have been reported in the United States, though North Carolina and Florida officials have listed other deaths that appear related to storm preparations and evacuations, including a man who fell from a ladder and people who collapsed under the stress of relocating.
As of Friday morning, 75 roads were closed across North Carolina as the storm lashed the coastline — compared with the 750 road closures reported at the same time during Hurricane Florence last year.
Virginia’s Hampton Roads region experienced some limited flooding during high tide on Friday, but there was little effect from the storm’s waning winds.
William Stiles, head of Wetlands Watch, a local nonprofit focusing on sea-level rise, was out mapping flooding in Norfolk on Friday.
“This one was just weird,” he said.
“It was just the water."
"Not the wind."
"Not the howling horizontal rain we normally get with a hurricane.”
The threat of flash flooding still loomed, though.
And as reports of devastation emerged from the overwhelmed Outer Banks, North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper (D) noted that many people are still at risk.
Photos and video from Ocracoke showed swift-moving, white-capped water rushing through neighborhoods and spilling over window sills.
Emergency officials urged people to stay indoors and move to the highest points in their homes.
Though a mandatory evacuation order had been issued for Dare County, many in the Outer Banks opted to remain in their homes.
Longtime residents, who can recite the names of past hurricanes like a list of bad exes, are accustomed to weathering storms.
The beach communities — accessible only by bridge, boat or plane even in the best of weather — became all but unreachable as 90 mph winds and torrential rain battered the coastline.
An estimated 800 people who did not evacuate remained stranded without power.
Emergency responders were forced to wait for the weather to break before they could deliver aid and rescue people via helicopter.
Hyde County officials helped airlift several people with medical issues and spent Friday evening canvassing neighborhoods to ensure other residents were safe.
But many were waiting to leave, hoping that regular ferry service would soon be restored.
The Outer Banks have always been especially vulnerable to rough weather.
The string of peninsulas and barrier islands, 200 miles long and never more than three miles wide, are the first land masses to be bombarded by water and wind coming off the Atlantic.
The ocean regularly overtops dunes and washes out much of Highway 12 — the only road linking Hatteras Island and the rest of Dare County.
The ferry from Hatteras to Ocracoke had to change routes after its usual run began filling in with sand.
During strong storms, water will carve out new inlets and wash away acres of beach.
For years, the island chain has been slowly shifting west, toward the mainland, beaten back by the encroaching sea.
Dorian clipped its southern reaches before launching eastward.
These alterations are nature’s way of redistributing the tremendous energy of the ocean, explained Kitty Hawk resident Reide Corbett, a coastal oceanographer at East Carolina University and executive director of the Coastal Studies Institute in Manteo.
The term “barrier islands” refers to the way these landforms protect coastlines through their shapeshifting.
“It’s a dynamic system,” Corbett said.
The resilience of the North Carolina coastline — not to mention some 30,000 year-round residents and a billion-dollar tourism industry — depend on it.
Yet climate change has pushed the system to its limits.
Rising sea levels have created a higher floor for storm surge to ride on top of, producing more frequent and more catastrophic floods.
“The water levels in the ocean and the sound are changing,” Corbett said.
“When you have 100 mile per hour winds blowing it up against the island, there’s no place for it to go but inundate.”
The scientist has noticed his neighbors become increasingly concerned about the fate of their islands.
Efforts to “renourish” beaches with additional sand are washed away by the next storm.
Rows of homes that once looked out onto the ocean have been lost to the incoming waters.
Cooper acknowledged the threat posed to his state by climate change while visiting a feeding station in Wilmington on Friday.
“We know these storms now, unfortunately, are a new normal for us."
"We’ve had three hurricanes in the state of North Carolina in less than three years,” he said, in a nod to Florence and 2016’s Hurricane Matthew.
“We have a lot to do to become more resilient."
"We have a lot to do to rebuild not only stronger but smarter.”
Kitty Hawk resident John Trubich, who waited out Dorian’s downpour in the same home where he endured countless other storms, was more resigned.
The future, he said, is in the hands of Mother Nature.
“The Outer Banks was made by wind and water,” he said.
“Eventually, they’ll take it away.”
fenit.nirrapil@washpost.com
reis.thebault@washpost.com
sarah.kaplan@washpost.com
Ross, a freelance journalist, reported from New Bern, N.C.; Thebault reported from Myrtle Beach, S.C.; and Kaplan reported from Washington. Patricia Sullivan in Wilmington, N.C.; Jim Morrison in Norfolk; and Mark Berman and Jason Samenow in Washington contributed to this report.
http://www.msn.com/en-us/weather/topsto ... P17#page=2
"Hurricane Dorian rips through Outer Banks, causing tsunami-like surge as it heads out to sea"
Fenit Nirappil, Kirk Ross, Reis Thebault, Sarah Kaplan
7 SEPTEMBER 2019
JACKSONVILLE, N.C. —A tsunami-like storm surge from Hurricane Dorian ripped through North Carolina’s Outer Banks on Friday — a towering wall of water that left residents trapped and powerless.
A strong tropical storm once again exposed the vulnerabilities of the narrow barrier islands in an era of extreme weather and rising seas.
The hurricane that had swooped along the Eastern Seaboard for days made landfall at Cape Hatteras as a Category 1 storm, far weaker than when it was a Category 5 behemoth that delivered a marathon assault on the Bahamas earlier in the week.
But in this low-lying community built on a foundation of shifting sand, Dorian was still severe enough to cause an “absolute major disaster,” said Peter Vankevich, a resident of Ocracoke Island, along the southern stretch of the Outer Banks.
The hurricane wrought much of its destruction through swift and severe storm surge from the Pamlico Sound, the long lagoon that separates the islands from the North Carolina mainland.
Powerful winds sucked water away from the coast, then pushed it back in a massive wave onto the western sides of Hatteras and Ocracoke islands.
In less than two hours, tide gauges measured a water level increase of more than seven feet — enough to submerge a home’s first-floor windows.
“The water just poured in and has continued to do so,” said Vankevich, who runs the Ocracoke Observer, the island’s main news source.
“If you were out there walking around, you could have been swept away.”
By early afternoon, the storm’s eyewall had moved northwest and away from shore.
It is expected to scrape by southeastern New England on Saturday, then strike parts of Nova Scotia and Newfoundland before it finally spins out into the North Atlantic after a long and deadly slog across the hemisphere.
Dorian began brewing into one of the strongest hurricanes on record more than a week ago, prompting panicked preparations in Florida and north through the Carolinas.
But it was the Bahamas that bore the brunt of the storm’s fury; the tempest stalled for 40 hours directly over the island chain, laying waste to much of two of its northern territories — Great Abaco and Grand Bahama.
The official death toll stood at 43 Friday night but that is likely to be just a fraction of the total death toll, as entire communities were decimated by storm surges that topped 20 feet and winds that gusted to 220 mph.
Thousands of Bahamians made homeless by the storm are squatting in broken, abandoned homes or are scrambling for floor space in shelters without steady food and water.
When Dorian finally dislodged and swerved north Tuesday, the storm skirted the U.S. coastline, its outer edges scraping by Florida, Georgia and most of the Carolinas.
In southeastern North Carolina, where many are still recovering from the devastation caused by Hurricane Florence last year, residents were relieved to escape the worst of it this time.
“When you’re looking at what’s going on in the Bahamas, and you see this massive storm heading right for you, you’re going to be getting worried,” said Tony Catullo, a Myrtle Beach, S.C., resident who spent Friday afternoon sunbathing along the shore.
After days of doom-filled forecasts, the mood here was relaxed: The local country radio station was advertising live music and the “premier hurricane party.”
“We dodged a bullet here,” Catullo said.
People in Wilmington, N.C., returned home Friday morning to surf beneath clearing skies.
In Onslow County, to the north, swiftwater rescuers had little work to do.
“This ain’t nothing,” said Thomas Goff, of Onslow Fire and Rescue.
“I’ve seen pop-up thunderstorms do more damage.”
No serious injuries or fatalities from the hurricane have been reported in the United States, though North Carolina and Florida officials have listed other deaths that appear related to storm preparations and evacuations, including a man who fell from a ladder and people who collapsed under the stress of relocating.
As of Friday morning, 75 roads were closed across North Carolina as the storm lashed the coastline — compared with the 750 road closures reported at the same time during Hurricane Florence last year.
Virginia’s Hampton Roads region experienced some limited flooding during high tide on Friday, but there was little effect from the storm’s waning winds.
William Stiles, head of Wetlands Watch, a local nonprofit focusing on sea-level rise, was out mapping flooding in Norfolk on Friday.
“This one was just weird,” he said.
“It was just the water."
"Not the wind."
"Not the howling horizontal rain we normally get with a hurricane.”
The threat of flash flooding still loomed, though.
And as reports of devastation emerged from the overwhelmed Outer Banks, North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper (D) noted that many people are still at risk.
Photos and video from Ocracoke showed swift-moving, white-capped water rushing through neighborhoods and spilling over window sills.
Emergency officials urged people to stay indoors and move to the highest points in their homes.
Though a mandatory evacuation order had been issued for Dare County, many in the Outer Banks opted to remain in their homes.
Longtime residents, who can recite the names of past hurricanes like a list of bad exes, are accustomed to weathering storms.
The beach communities — accessible only by bridge, boat or plane even in the best of weather — became all but unreachable as 90 mph winds and torrential rain battered the coastline.
An estimated 800 people who did not evacuate remained stranded without power.
Emergency responders were forced to wait for the weather to break before they could deliver aid and rescue people via helicopter.
Hyde County officials helped airlift several people with medical issues and spent Friday evening canvassing neighborhoods to ensure other residents were safe.
But many were waiting to leave, hoping that regular ferry service would soon be restored.
The Outer Banks have always been especially vulnerable to rough weather.
The string of peninsulas and barrier islands, 200 miles long and never more than three miles wide, are the first land masses to be bombarded by water and wind coming off the Atlantic.
The ocean regularly overtops dunes and washes out much of Highway 12 — the only road linking Hatteras Island and the rest of Dare County.
The ferry from Hatteras to Ocracoke had to change routes after its usual run began filling in with sand.
During strong storms, water will carve out new inlets and wash away acres of beach.
For years, the island chain has been slowly shifting west, toward the mainland, beaten back by the encroaching sea.
Dorian clipped its southern reaches before launching eastward.
These alterations are nature’s way of redistributing the tremendous energy of the ocean, explained Kitty Hawk resident Reide Corbett, a coastal oceanographer at East Carolina University and executive director of the Coastal Studies Institute in Manteo.
The term “barrier islands” refers to the way these landforms protect coastlines through their shapeshifting.
“It’s a dynamic system,” Corbett said.
The resilience of the North Carolina coastline — not to mention some 30,000 year-round residents and a billion-dollar tourism industry — depend on it.
Yet climate change has pushed the system to its limits.
Rising sea levels have created a higher floor for storm surge to ride on top of, producing more frequent and more catastrophic floods.
“The water levels in the ocean and the sound are changing,” Corbett said.
“When you have 100 mile per hour winds blowing it up against the island, there’s no place for it to go but inundate.”
The scientist has noticed his neighbors become increasingly concerned about the fate of their islands.
Efforts to “renourish” beaches with additional sand are washed away by the next storm.
Rows of homes that once looked out onto the ocean have been lost to the incoming waters.
Cooper acknowledged the threat posed to his state by climate change while visiting a feeding station in Wilmington on Friday.
“We know these storms now, unfortunately, are a new normal for us."
"We’ve had three hurricanes in the state of North Carolina in less than three years,” he said, in a nod to Florence and 2016’s Hurricane Matthew.
“We have a lot to do to become more resilient."
"We have a lot to do to rebuild not only stronger but smarter.”
Kitty Hawk resident John Trubich, who waited out Dorian’s downpour in the same home where he endured countless other storms, was more resigned.
The future, he said, is in the hands of Mother Nature.
“The Outer Banks was made by wind and water,” he said.
“Eventually, they’ll take it away.”
fenit.nirrapil@washpost.com
reis.thebault@washpost.com
sarah.kaplan@washpost.com
Ross, a freelance journalist, reported from New Bern, N.C.; Thebault reported from Myrtle Beach, S.C.; and Kaplan reported from Washington. Patricia Sullivan in Wilmington, N.C.; Jim Morrison in Norfolk; and Mark Berman and Jason Samenow in Washington contributed to this report.
http://www.msn.com/en-us/weather/topsto ... P17#page=2
Re: ON THE TIMES WE ARE NOW IN
THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT BECOMES MORE AND MORE UNTRUSTWORTHY BY THE DAY …
THE ONLY THING IT CAN BE DEPENDED ON ANYMORE TO DO IS TO LIE TO US ...
THE WASHINGTON POST
"NOAA staff warned in Sept. 1 directive against contradicting Trump"
Andrew Freedman, Colby Itkowitz, Jason Samenow
8 SEPTEMBER 2019
Nearly a week before the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration publicly backed President Trump over its own scientists, a top NOAA official warned its staff against contradicting the president.
In an agencywide directive sent Sept. 1 to National Weather Service personnel, hours after Trump asserted, with no evidence, that Alabama “would most likely be hit (much) harder than anticipated,” staff was told to “only stick with official National Hurricane Center forecasts if questions arise from some national level social media posts which hit the news this afternoon.”
They were also told not to “provide any opinion,” according to a copy of the email obtained by The Washington Post.
A NOAA meteorologist who spoke on the condition of anonymity for fear of retribution said the note, understood internally to be referring to Trump, came after the National Weather Service office in Birmingham contradicted Trump by tweeting Alabama would “NOT see any impacts from the hurricane.”
The Birmingham office sent the tweet after receiving a flurry of phone calls from concerned residents following Trump’s message.
The agency sent a similar message warning scientists and meteorologists not to speak out on Sept. 4, after Trump showed a hurricane map from Aug. 29 modified with a hand-drawn, half-circle in black Sharpie around Alabama.
“This is the first time I’ve felt pressure from above to not say what truly is the forecast,” the meteorologist said.
“It’s hard for me to wrap my head around."
"One of the things we train on is to dispel inaccurate rumors and ultimately that is what was occurring — ultimately what the Alabama office did is provide a forecast with their tweet, that is what they get paid to do.”
Late Friday afternoon, NOAA officials further angered scientists within and beyond the agency by releasing a statement, attributed to an unnamed agency spokesperson, supporting Trump’s claims on Alabama and chastising the agency’s Birmingham meteorologists for speaking in absolutes.
That statement set off a firestorm among scientists, who attacked NOAA officials for bending to Trump’s will.
“This looks like classic politically motivated obfuscation to justify inaccurate statements made by the boss."
"It is truly sad to see political appointees undermining the superb, lifesaving work of NOAA’s talented and dedicated career servant,” said Jane Lubchenco, who served as NOAA administrator under President Barack Obama.
NOAA, which oversees the National Weather Service, isn’t the first agency in the Trump administration to publicly side with the president after he has doubled down on a widely disputed claim.
But the firestorm surrounding the president’s hurricane statements is unprecedented in the organization’s history, and threatens to politicize something that most Americans take for granted as an objective, if flawed, part of daily life: the weather forecast.
A NOAA official familiar with the matter, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to speak candidly, disputed the suggestion that the statement took sides, saying there was “no political motivation” behind it.
The official said agency leadership had considered making a statement for “a day or two” to clear up confusion.
Acting NOAA administrator Neil Jacobs was involved in drawing up the statement as was the NOAA director of public affairs, Julie Kay Roberts, who has experience in emergency management and worked on the president’s campaign.
The leadership of the Commerce Department, headed by Secretary Wilbur Ross, also approved the release, though Ross was out of the country at the time.
The official said the statement called out Birmingham’s tweet because one NOAA hurricane forecast product showed a 5 to 20 percent chance of tropical-storm-force winds in a small part of Alabama.
“It was nothing against Birmingham, we needed to make sure forecast products reflect probabilistic guidance,” the official said, referencing the extremely low odds for tropical storm-force winds.
Such wind speeds, between 39 and 74 mph, rarely cause much damage or require the advance preparation.
The NOAA statement made no reference of the fact that when Trump tweeted that Alabama was at risk, the state was not in the National Hurricane Center’s “cone of uncertainty,” which forecasters use to determine where the storm is most likely to hit.
Alabama also had not appeared in the cone in the days before that.
The acting NOAA director briefed the president on Hurricane Dorian on Aug. 29, using the forecast cone that the White House later adapted via Sharpie marker.
The director of the National Hurricane Center briefed the president on the storm’s likely track again on Sept. 1, shortly after his tweet about the threat to Alabama.
At other times, Trump was briefed by individuals, including the White House homeland security and counterterrorism adviser, who lacked the meteorological expertise to interpret what they were showing.
“If the president had been briefed by someone who understands the forecast, he never would’ve mentioned Alabama,” the NOAA official said.
NOAA’s Friday statement infuriated scientists, who worry the Trump administration is corroding faith in research and data.
“It makes me speechless that the leadership would put [Trump’s] feelings and ego ahead of putting out weather information accurately,” said Michael Halpern, a deputy director at the Union of Concerned Scientists.
“If we’re politicizing the weather what is there left to politicize?"
"We’re seeing this kind of clamp down of scientists across the government, and it’s been an escalating trend.”
In 2018, a survey of scientists at 16 federal agencies found a culture of fear and self-censorship in an administration that has sidelined scientific evidence, especially as it related to climate change, in favor of political expediency.
Keith Seitter, executive director of the American Meteorological Society, said in a statement that “the criticism of the Birmingham forecast office is unwarranted; rather they should have been commended for their quick action based on science in clearly communicating the lack of threat to the citizens of Alabama.”
One of the strongest reactions to the NOAA statement came from David Titley, an atmospheric scientist who served as the chief operating officer of NOAA under Obama.
“Perhaps the darkest day ever for leadership."
"Don’t know how they will ever look their workforce in the eye again."
"Moral cowardice,” he tweeted.
Others who weighed in on social media were also scathing in their response to NOAA’s decision to publicly defend Trump.
“I have never been so embarrassed by NOAA."
"What they did is just disgusting,” Dan Sobien, president of the National Weather Service’s labor union, wrote on Twitter Friday.
“Let me assure you the hard working employees of the NWS had nothing to do with the utterly disgusting and disingenuous tweet sent out by NOAA management tonight.”
A popular television broadcast meteorologist in Birmingham also came to the defense of his city’s National Weather Service team.
“The tweet from NWS Birmingham was spot on and accurate,” James Spann tweeted.
“If they are coming after them, they might as well come after me."
"How in the world has it come to this?”
On Saturday, the National Weather Service leadership seemingly tried to address the outcry in an all-hands letter to its employees to thank them for their hard work during the hurricane.
The letter, obtained by The Washington Post, assured employees they were valued.
“We want to assure you that we stand behind our entire workforce and the integrity of the forecast process, including the incredible scientific, technical and engineering skill you demonstrated for this event,” the NWS leadership wrote.
“We saw first hand that our integrated forecast process works, and we continue to embrace and uphold the essential integrity of the entire forecast process as it was applied by ALL NWS offices to ensure public safety first and foremost.”
colby.itkowitz@washpost.com
andrew.freedman@washpost.com
jason.samenow@washpost.com
http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/ ... P17#page=2
THE ONLY THING IT CAN BE DEPENDED ON ANYMORE TO DO IS TO LIE TO US ...
THE WASHINGTON POST
"NOAA staff warned in Sept. 1 directive against contradicting Trump"
Andrew Freedman, Colby Itkowitz, Jason Samenow
8 SEPTEMBER 2019
Nearly a week before the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration publicly backed President Trump over its own scientists, a top NOAA official warned its staff against contradicting the president.
In an agencywide directive sent Sept. 1 to National Weather Service personnel, hours after Trump asserted, with no evidence, that Alabama “would most likely be hit (much) harder than anticipated,” staff was told to “only stick with official National Hurricane Center forecasts if questions arise from some national level social media posts which hit the news this afternoon.”
They were also told not to “provide any opinion,” according to a copy of the email obtained by The Washington Post.
A NOAA meteorologist who spoke on the condition of anonymity for fear of retribution said the note, understood internally to be referring to Trump, came after the National Weather Service office in Birmingham contradicted Trump by tweeting Alabama would “NOT see any impacts from the hurricane.”
The Birmingham office sent the tweet after receiving a flurry of phone calls from concerned residents following Trump’s message.
The agency sent a similar message warning scientists and meteorologists not to speak out on Sept. 4, after Trump showed a hurricane map from Aug. 29 modified with a hand-drawn, half-circle in black Sharpie around Alabama.
“This is the first time I’ve felt pressure from above to not say what truly is the forecast,” the meteorologist said.
“It’s hard for me to wrap my head around."
"One of the things we train on is to dispel inaccurate rumors and ultimately that is what was occurring — ultimately what the Alabama office did is provide a forecast with their tweet, that is what they get paid to do.”
Late Friday afternoon, NOAA officials further angered scientists within and beyond the agency by releasing a statement, attributed to an unnamed agency spokesperson, supporting Trump’s claims on Alabama and chastising the agency’s Birmingham meteorologists for speaking in absolutes.
That statement set off a firestorm among scientists, who attacked NOAA officials for bending to Trump’s will.
“This looks like classic politically motivated obfuscation to justify inaccurate statements made by the boss."
"It is truly sad to see political appointees undermining the superb, lifesaving work of NOAA’s talented and dedicated career servant,” said Jane Lubchenco, who served as NOAA administrator under President Barack Obama.
NOAA, which oversees the National Weather Service, isn’t the first agency in the Trump administration to publicly side with the president after he has doubled down on a widely disputed claim.
But the firestorm surrounding the president’s hurricane statements is unprecedented in the organization’s history, and threatens to politicize something that most Americans take for granted as an objective, if flawed, part of daily life: the weather forecast.
A NOAA official familiar with the matter, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to speak candidly, disputed the suggestion that the statement took sides, saying there was “no political motivation” behind it.
The official said agency leadership had considered making a statement for “a day or two” to clear up confusion.
Acting NOAA administrator Neil Jacobs was involved in drawing up the statement as was the NOAA director of public affairs, Julie Kay Roberts, who has experience in emergency management and worked on the president’s campaign.
The leadership of the Commerce Department, headed by Secretary Wilbur Ross, also approved the release, though Ross was out of the country at the time.
The official said the statement called out Birmingham’s tweet because one NOAA hurricane forecast product showed a 5 to 20 percent chance of tropical-storm-force winds in a small part of Alabama.
“It was nothing against Birmingham, we needed to make sure forecast products reflect probabilistic guidance,” the official said, referencing the extremely low odds for tropical storm-force winds.
Such wind speeds, between 39 and 74 mph, rarely cause much damage or require the advance preparation.
The NOAA statement made no reference of the fact that when Trump tweeted that Alabama was at risk, the state was not in the National Hurricane Center’s “cone of uncertainty,” which forecasters use to determine where the storm is most likely to hit.
Alabama also had not appeared in the cone in the days before that.
The acting NOAA director briefed the president on Hurricane Dorian on Aug. 29, using the forecast cone that the White House later adapted via Sharpie marker.
The director of the National Hurricane Center briefed the president on the storm’s likely track again on Sept. 1, shortly after his tweet about the threat to Alabama.
At other times, Trump was briefed by individuals, including the White House homeland security and counterterrorism adviser, who lacked the meteorological expertise to interpret what they were showing.
“If the president had been briefed by someone who understands the forecast, he never would’ve mentioned Alabama,” the NOAA official said.
NOAA’s Friday statement infuriated scientists, who worry the Trump administration is corroding faith in research and data.
“It makes me speechless that the leadership would put [Trump’s] feelings and ego ahead of putting out weather information accurately,” said Michael Halpern, a deputy director at the Union of Concerned Scientists.
“If we’re politicizing the weather what is there left to politicize?"
"We’re seeing this kind of clamp down of scientists across the government, and it’s been an escalating trend.”
In 2018, a survey of scientists at 16 federal agencies found a culture of fear and self-censorship in an administration that has sidelined scientific evidence, especially as it related to climate change, in favor of political expediency.
Keith Seitter, executive director of the American Meteorological Society, said in a statement that “the criticism of the Birmingham forecast office is unwarranted; rather they should have been commended for their quick action based on science in clearly communicating the lack of threat to the citizens of Alabama.”
One of the strongest reactions to the NOAA statement came from David Titley, an atmospheric scientist who served as the chief operating officer of NOAA under Obama.
“Perhaps the darkest day ever for leadership."
"Don’t know how they will ever look their workforce in the eye again."
"Moral cowardice,” he tweeted.
Others who weighed in on social media were also scathing in their response to NOAA’s decision to publicly defend Trump.
“I have never been so embarrassed by NOAA."
"What they did is just disgusting,” Dan Sobien, president of the National Weather Service’s labor union, wrote on Twitter Friday.
“Let me assure you the hard working employees of the NWS had nothing to do with the utterly disgusting and disingenuous tweet sent out by NOAA management tonight.”
A popular television broadcast meteorologist in Birmingham also came to the defense of his city’s National Weather Service team.
“The tweet from NWS Birmingham was spot on and accurate,” James Spann tweeted.
“If they are coming after them, they might as well come after me."
"How in the world has it come to this?”
On Saturday, the National Weather Service leadership seemingly tried to address the outcry in an all-hands letter to its employees to thank them for their hard work during the hurricane.
The letter, obtained by The Washington Post, assured employees they were valued.
“We want to assure you that we stand behind our entire workforce and the integrity of the forecast process, including the incredible scientific, technical and engineering skill you demonstrated for this event,” the NWS leadership wrote.
“We saw first hand that our integrated forecast process works, and we continue to embrace and uphold the essential integrity of the entire forecast process as it was applied by ALL NWS offices to ensure public safety first and foremost.”
colby.itkowitz@washpost.com
andrew.freedman@washpost.com
jason.samenow@washpost.com
http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/ ... P17#page=2
Re: ON THE TIMES WE ARE NOW IN
ASSOCIATED PRESS
"Dorian still slamming eastern Canada at hurricane force"
By ROB GILLIES, Associated Press
8 SEPTEMBER 2019
TORONTO (AP) — The storm that has already walloped the Virgin Islands, Bahamas and North Carolina brought hurricane-force winds to far-eastern Canada on Sunday, knocking out power to hundreds of thousands of people.
Dorian hit near the city of Halifax Saturday afternoon, ripping roofs off apartment buildings, toppling a huge construction crane and uprooting trees.
There were no reported deaths in Canada, though the storm was blamed for at least 49 elsewhere along its path.
The U.S. National Hurricane Center said the post-tropical cyclone was centered about 30 miles (50 kilometers) east-southeast of Cape Whittle, Quebec, late Sunday morning.
Top sustained winds had slipped to 75 mph (120 kph), just above the threshold of hurricane force.
It was heading to the northeast, roughly up the St. Lawrence River, at 25 mph (41 kph).
Nova Scotia officials asked people in the province to stay off the roads so crews could safety remove trees and debris and restore power.
The government said that up to 700 Canadian military personnel will be fanning out across the Maritimes to help restore electricity, clear roadways and evacuate residents in flooded areas.
Nova Scotia Power Inc. chief executive Karen Hutt said there were over 400,000 Nova Scotia Power customers without power at the peak of the storm and 50,000 have since been restored.
But she said some could remain without service for days.
As the storm plowed into Prince Edward Island, about 50,000 homes and businesses were soon without power, as were another 74,000 in New Brunswick.
By far the greatest devastation caused by the storm was in the Bahamas, where Dorian struck a week ago as a Category 5 hurricane with 185 mph (295 kph) winds, and then hovered just offshore for more than a day and a half, obliterating thousands of homes.
Planes, cruise ships and yachts were evacuating people from the Abaco Islands and officials were trying to reach areas still isolated by flooding and debris.
The country's National Emergency Management Agency said it was sending in extra staff because operations had been hampered by the storm's impact on local workers.
The agency said it was setting up shelters or temporary housing for the newly homeless across the islands and appealed for Bahamians to take in storm victims.
The government said at least 43 people died due to the storm.
Dorian was blamed for five deaths in the U.S. Southeast and one in Puerto Rico.
Meanwhile, floodwaters were receding from North Carolina's Outer Banks, leaving behind a muddy trail of destruction.
The storm's worst damage in the U.S. appeared to be on Ocracoke Island, which even in good weather is accessible only by boat or air and is popular with tourists for its undeveloped beaches.
Residents who waited out the storm described strong winds followed by a wall of water that flooded the first floors of many homes and forced some to await rescue from their attics.
"We're used to cleaning up dead limbs and trash that's floating around," said Ocracoke business owner Philip Howard said Saturday.
"But now it's everything: picnic tables, doors, lumber that's been floating around."
Gov. Roy Cooper said about 800 people had remained on the island to wait out Dorian, which made landfall Friday morning over the Outer Banks as a far weaker storm than the monster that devastated the Bahamas.
The governor said officials were aware of no serious injuries on the Outer Banks from the storm.
About 200 people were in shelters and 45,000 without power Saturday, according to the governor's office.
Emergency officials transported fuel trucks, generators, food and water to Okracoke.
Dorian also lashed the eastern tip of Maine with heavy rain, strong winds and high surf as the storm passed offshore.
Several hundred homes and businesses lost power.
___
For more of AP's coverage of Hurricane Dorian, go to: https://apnews.com/Hurricanes
http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/other/dor ... id=HPDHP17
"Dorian still slamming eastern Canada at hurricane force"
By ROB GILLIES, Associated Press
8 SEPTEMBER 2019
TORONTO (AP) — The storm that has already walloped the Virgin Islands, Bahamas and North Carolina brought hurricane-force winds to far-eastern Canada on Sunday, knocking out power to hundreds of thousands of people.
Dorian hit near the city of Halifax Saturday afternoon, ripping roofs off apartment buildings, toppling a huge construction crane and uprooting trees.
There were no reported deaths in Canada, though the storm was blamed for at least 49 elsewhere along its path.
The U.S. National Hurricane Center said the post-tropical cyclone was centered about 30 miles (50 kilometers) east-southeast of Cape Whittle, Quebec, late Sunday morning.
Top sustained winds had slipped to 75 mph (120 kph), just above the threshold of hurricane force.
It was heading to the northeast, roughly up the St. Lawrence River, at 25 mph (41 kph).
Nova Scotia officials asked people in the province to stay off the roads so crews could safety remove trees and debris and restore power.
The government said that up to 700 Canadian military personnel will be fanning out across the Maritimes to help restore electricity, clear roadways and evacuate residents in flooded areas.
Nova Scotia Power Inc. chief executive Karen Hutt said there were over 400,000 Nova Scotia Power customers without power at the peak of the storm and 50,000 have since been restored.
But she said some could remain without service for days.
As the storm plowed into Prince Edward Island, about 50,000 homes and businesses were soon without power, as were another 74,000 in New Brunswick.
By far the greatest devastation caused by the storm was in the Bahamas, where Dorian struck a week ago as a Category 5 hurricane with 185 mph (295 kph) winds, and then hovered just offshore for more than a day and a half, obliterating thousands of homes.
Planes, cruise ships and yachts were evacuating people from the Abaco Islands and officials were trying to reach areas still isolated by flooding and debris.
The country's National Emergency Management Agency said it was sending in extra staff because operations had been hampered by the storm's impact on local workers.
The agency said it was setting up shelters or temporary housing for the newly homeless across the islands and appealed for Bahamians to take in storm victims.
The government said at least 43 people died due to the storm.
Dorian was blamed for five deaths in the U.S. Southeast and one in Puerto Rico.
Meanwhile, floodwaters were receding from North Carolina's Outer Banks, leaving behind a muddy trail of destruction.
The storm's worst damage in the U.S. appeared to be on Ocracoke Island, which even in good weather is accessible only by boat or air and is popular with tourists for its undeveloped beaches.
Residents who waited out the storm described strong winds followed by a wall of water that flooded the first floors of many homes and forced some to await rescue from their attics.
"We're used to cleaning up dead limbs and trash that's floating around," said Ocracoke business owner Philip Howard said Saturday.
"But now it's everything: picnic tables, doors, lumber that's been floating around."
Gov. Roy Cooper said about 800 people had remained on the island to wait out Dorian, which made landfall Friday morning over the Outer Banks as a far weaker storm than the monster that devastated the Bahamas.
The governor said officials were aware of no serious injuries on the Outer Banks from the storm.
About 200 people were in shelters and 45,000 without power Saturday, according to the governor's office.
Emergency officials transported fuel trucks, generators, food and water to Okracoke.
Dorian also lashed the eastern tip of Maine with heavy rain, strong winds and high surf as the storm passed offshore.
Several hundred homes and businesses lost power.
___
For more of AP's coverage of Hurricane Dorian, go to: https://apnews.com/Hurricanes
http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/other/dor ... id=HPDHP17
Re: ON THE TIMES WE ARE NOW IN
NBC NEWS
"Tornado causes 'significant damage' in Sioux Falls"
Phil Helsel
11 SEPTEMBER 2019
A tornado struck Sioux Falls, South Dakota, late Tuesday, causing “significant structural damage” and massive power losses in the city, the mayor and other officials said.
Sioux Falls officials asked people not to travel because of downed power lines and trees, and Mayor Paul TenHaken shared a photo of a devastated auto-parts store along with a tweet stating, “there is significant structural damage like this across our city.”
“Please stay off the roads — there’s a lot of people that either are still on the roads who didn’t get off in time for the storm or are back on to see the damage,” TenHaken said in a video from an emergency operations center.
“You need to stay off the roads."
"There’s severe power outages throughout the city,” he said.
The tornado struck around 11:30 p.m. on the south side of Sioux Falls, said National Weather Service Science and Operations Officer Phil Schumacher.
But forecasters won’t know the extent of the damage, the storm’s track or its intensity rating until assessment teams view the area in the morning, he said.
Schumacher said that officials are aware that homes and businesses had been damaged but had not heard of any injuries being reported.
The Argus Leader newspaper of Sioux Falls reported that the tornado ripped off part of the roof of Avera Heart Hospital, but that staff said there were no reports of injuries there.
The tornado hit as strong thunderstorms moved through.
At an airport about six miles from where the twister touched down, a wind gust of 62 mph was reported, but Schumacher said that was from thunderstorms and not from the tornado.
Utility company Xcel Energy said on its website that more than 12,200 customers were without power early Wednesday.
The area faces possible flash flooding due to rain.
West of Sioux Falls there had been reports of between 3 to 5 inches of rain early Wednesday, Schumacher said.
“People should really, if they see any roads flooded please just turn around,” he said.
http://www.msn.com/en-us/weather/topsto ... P17#page=2
"Tornado causes 'significant damage' in Sioux Falls"
Phil Helsel
11 SEPTEMBER 2019
A tornado struck Sioux Falls, South Dakota, late Tuesday, causing “significant structural damage” and massive power losses in the city, the mayor and other officials said.
Sioux Falls officials asked people not to travel because of downed power lines and trees, and Mayor Paul TenHaken shared a photo of a devastated auto-parts store along with a tweet stating, “there is significant structural damage like this across our city.”
“Please stay off the roads — there’s a lot of people that either are still on the roads who didn’t get off in time for the storm or are back on to see the damage,” TenHaken said in a video from an emergency operations center.
“You need to stay off the roads."
"There’s severe power outages throughout the city,” he said.
The tornado struck around 11:30 p.m. on the south side of Sioux Falls, said National Weather Service Science and Operations Officer Phil Schumacher.
But forecasters won’t know the extent of the damage, the storm’s track or its intensity rating until assessment teams view the area in the morning, he said.
Schumacher said that officials are aware that homes and businesses had been damaged but had not heard of any injuries being reported.
The Argus Leader newspaper of Sioux Falls reported that the tornado ripped off part of the roof of Avera Heart Hospital, but that staff said there were no reports of injuries there.
The tornado hit as strong thunderstorms moved through.
At an airport about six miles from where the twister touched down, a wind gust of 62 mph was reported, but Schumacher said that was from thunderstorms and not from the tornado.
Utility company Xcel Energy said on its website that more than 12,200 customers were without power early Wednesday.
The area faces possible flash flooding due to rain.
West of Sioux Falls there had been reports of between 3 to 5 inches of rain early Wednesday, Schumacher said.
“People should really, if they see any roads flooded please just turn around,” he said.
http://www.msn.com/en-us/weather/topsto ... P17#page=2
Re: ON THE TIMES WE ARE NOW IN
Orlando Sentinel
"Hurricane Humberto forms off Florida coast"
Todd Stewart, Tiffini Theisen, Lisa Maria Garza
16 SEPTEMBER 2019
Tropical Storm Humberto became Hurricane Humberto late Sunday and grew in strength overnight — well off the Florida coast — but the state will almost certainly be spared any significant impact.
In its 5 a.m. update, the National Hurricane Center clocked the storm with sustained winds of 85 mph.
Hurricane-force winds extend outward up to 30 miles from Humberto’s center and tropical-storm-force winds extend outward up to 150 miles.
Although it is expected to strengthen further, its projected path is not a threat to Florida.
Swells from Humberto are expected to increase rip current threat along the coast of the Southeastern U.S., but there are no coastal watches or warnings in effect.
“Our biggest risk will likely be the enhanced seas, swells and rip currents at our Atlantic beaches through at least Wednesday or Thursday," Fox 35 meteorologist Brooks Tomlin said after Sunday’s 11 p.m. update.
"Central Florida will tap into much drier air from Wednesday into next weekend, lowering rain chances and humidity."
"It’ll feel like a slight taste of fall.”
Long-range forecasts puts Humberto within striking distance of Bermuda by early Thursday.
The NHC dropped the tropical storm watch that was in effect on Friday from the Jupiter Inlet to Flagler-Volusia county line.
There also is no longer a tropical storm warning for the northwestern Bahamas, but the storm expected to bring 1-3 inches with pockets of 6-inch rain to parts of the island nation, although not much storm surge threat is projected.
“Humberto is ingesting less dry air and is gaining enhanced, persistent convection near its center, which a sign that the storm’s vertical structure is improving,” Tomlin said.
The NHC said the swells “are expected to produce dangerous surf conditions and life-threatening rip currents.”
Humberto narrowly missed the Bahamas, which is still reeling from the devastation of Hurricane Dorian.
The storm briefly shuttered a couple of small airports, sent people in damaged homes to seek shelter and threatened to interrupt the distribution of sorely needed supplies including food and water.
Meanwhile, two more tropical waves are being tracked by the National Hurricane Center.
One system formed overnight Saturday in the Gulf of Mexico and has a low chance of developing into a tropical storm.
The other, located in the central tropical Atlantic, has an 80 percent chance of formation in the next five days.
Richard Tribou and David Harris of the Sentinel staff, and the Associated Press contributed to this report.
http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/weather/h ... P17#page=2
"Hurricane Humberto forms off Florida coast"
Todd Stewart, Tiffini Theisen, Lisa Maria Garza
16 SEPTEMBER 2019
Tropical Storm Humberto became Hurricane Humberto late Sunday and grew in strength overnight — well off the Florida coast — but the state will almost certainly be spared any significant impact.
In its 5 a.m. update, the National Hurricane Center clocked the storm with sustained winds of 85 mph.
Hurricane-force winds extend outward up to 30 miles from Humberto’s center and tropical-storm-force winds extend outward up to 150 miles.
Although it is expected to strengthen further, its projected path is not a threat to Florida.
Swells from Humberto are expected to increase rip current threat along the coast of the Southeastern U.S., but there are no coastal watches or warnings in effect.
“Our biggest risk will likely be the enhanced seas, swells and rip currents at our Atlantic beaches through at least Wednesday or Thursday," Fox 35 meteorologist Brooks Tomlin said after Sunday’s 11 p.m. update.
"Central Florida will tap into much drier air from Wednesday into next weekend, lowering rain chances and humidity."
"It’ll feel like a slight taste of fall.”
Long-range forecasts puts Humberto within striking distance of Bermuda by early Thursday.
The NHC dropped the tropical storm watch that was in effect on Friday from the Jupiter Inlet to Flagler-Volusia county line.
There also is no longer a tropical storm warning for the northwestern Bahamas, but the storm expected to bring 1-3 inches with pockets of 6-inch rain to parts of the island nation, although not much storm surge threat is projected.
“Humberto is ingesting less dry air and is gaining enhanced, persistent convection near its center, which a sign that the storm’s vertical structure is improving,” Tomlin said.
The NHC said the swells “are expected to produce dangerous surf conditions and life-threatening rip currents.”
Humberto narrowly missed the Bahamas, which is still reeling from the devastation of Hurricane Dorian.
The storm briefly shuttered a couple of small airports, sent people in damaged homes to seek shelter and threatened to interrupt the distribution of sorely needed supplies including food and water.
Meanwhile, two more tropical waves are being tracked by the National Hurricane Center.
One system formed overnight Saturday in the Gulf of Mexico and has a low chance of developing into a tropical storm.
The other, located in the central tropical Atlantic, has an 80 percent chance of formation in the next five days.
Richard Tribou and David Harris of the Sentinel staff, and the Associated Press contributed to this report.
http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/weather/h ... P17#page=2