Storm News

By now, nearly everyone in the United States and especially those living in hurricane-prone areas is aware that the country is overdue for a major hurricane strike. Ever since records were kept in the mid 1800s, this has been the longest period the US has gone without a hit from a major hurricane as the country is nearing 360 weeks without a Category 3 or higher storm. However, experts are worried that hurricanes Wilma, Katrina and Rita will become nothing more than distant memories and that people will let their guard down and not be ready for the next hurricane hit.

Right now, tropical storm Isaac, with 40 mile per hour winds is moving on a westerly path toward the Caribbean Islands. The storm is expected to move over the eastern part of the islands by the end of the work week and become a hurricane. Issac is heading toward the direction of Florida which is the most hurricane-prone state in the country. FEMA is now reminding people in Florida and those living in other hurricane-prone states to be ready in case Isaac does come aground. The two named storms of this year that did jar Florida were Beryl and Debby both of which caused widespread flooding and wind damage.

Forecasters are keeping a close eye on Isaac because it does pose a threat to Florida during next week’s Republican National Convention which is being held in Tampa. It has been longer than nine decades since Tampa took a direct hit from a hurricane. The last storm that hit Tampa was Charley in 2004, a Cat 4 storm that packed 150 mile per hour winds. The National Hurricane Center is predicting that Isaac could strike the Tampa Bay area and other parts of the Sunshine State after it moves past Cuba as early as Sunday a.m.

Florida and the Republican party have back-up plans ready in case Isaac makes its way to Florida and the Tampa area including an evacuation if the worse case scenario happens. There will be tens of thousands of people attending the convention so a great deal of focus is being put on being prepared.

As of early Wednesday morning, Isaac was about 350 miles east of Guadeloupe and moving at just under 20 miles per hour. The storm is predicted to become strong over the next two days due to increasingly warm water temperatures and low to moderate wind shear. The storm is the ninth named storm of the 2012 hurricane season and is already affecting cruise ship travel in popular tourist destinations such as Martinque and St. Lucia. There are tropical storm warnings in effect for many Caribbean islands. As the storm grows more powerful and continues eastward, more storm warnings are sure to be posted throughout the Caribbeans. Issac has to have maximum sustained winds of over 74 miles per hour before it becomes a hurricane so now it’s just a waiting game to see if that does occur.

Two people lost their lives on Thursday as a result of severe weather moving across the United States from the Plains to the northeast. A possible twister ripped trees out of the ground and damaged several buildings in Elmira, New York. In Genessee, Pennsylvania, a woman was killed when she was hit by a falling tree at a camping area. In Brooklyn, New York, a man lost his life when debris fell from a church steeple that was struck by lightening. Wind speeds up to 70 miles per hour were reported near Albany, Ohio, the National Weather Service said Friday.

A swatch of severe thunderstorms raged across the Ohio Valley and into the mid-Atlantic states on Thursday, cutting off power to over 100,000 homes and businesses in Ohio, New York and Pennsylvania. Hundreds of flights were canceled in the affected areas Thursday with the most cancellations happening at New York’s LaGuardia airport. As the thunderstorms sent black, menacing clouds across cites and open countryside, hail ranging from the size of peas to quarter-size fell in some areas.

Thunderstorms continued to increase in coverage and intensity throughout the evening hours of Saturday across New Jersey and southern New England. These storms brought damaging winds again to New York City, Trenton, NJ, Philadelphia, PA, Washington DC and Cape Hatteras, North Carolina. The rainfall rates of some of these thunderstorms have been estimated at two to three inches per hour – causing many roads to flood, forcing their closure.

On Saturday, the National Weather Service said that severe thunderstorms accompanied by rain, hail and high winds could pass through mid-Pennsylvania. The service said that the showers and thunderstorms will be slow movers and that they have the capacity to produce heavy amounts of rainfall over a short period of time. The unstable weather is however, being forecast to move out of the state by Sunday morning – allowing for a gradual clearing and drying tend to begin on Sunday as high pressure moves in.

Drought conditions across much of the United States worsened over the weekend in spite of the rain that many areas got. The parts of the drought-stricken country that got two to three inches of rain this week are still under droughts as they need between nine and twelve inches of rain to return to normal soil moisture conditions. A few rainy days is simply not enough water to make any significant improvements.

Millions of people living in the mid-Atlantic region of the United States roasted in the high temperatures over the weekend following the severe storms that pounded the eastern portion of the country. The storms which dumped rainfall brought with them high winds which downed trees and left millions of homes and businesses without power.

The electricity is not expected to be back on for several days or even a week in some areas which likens the damage to what occurs during a hurricane. Four states as well as the District of Columbia declared emergencies as more bad weather is threatening to make things worse. The lack of power is dangerous because people are left vulnerable without air conditioning in the high temperatures which soared into the high 90s and low 100s. Elderly and sick people are at highest risk as are low income families who rely on fans to cool down their homes.

Storms damaged states from Indiana to New Jersey with the bulk of the damage occurring in West Virginia, Washington, Virginia and Maryland. Six people lost their lives in Virginia including an elderly woman who was asleep in bed when a tree fell onto her home. Two youngsters were killed in New Jersey when a tree fell on their tent while camping. Two others were killed in Maryland, one person in Ohio and one each in Washington DC and Kentucky.

Dozens of inmates in Illinois were moved from the Dixon prison facility to the Pontiac Correctional Center after severe thunderstorms damaged the prison. Entire power lines and trees fell in Illinois which forced work crews to work in the sweltering heat to clear power stations and other structures. Two dozen residents of an Indianapolis apartment home for the elderly in Indianapolis were moved to a Red Cross shelter when that facility lost power.

Over the weekend, many people in the Mid-Atlantic region without power spent time in air conditioned shopping malls, movie theater complexes and other places which were cool. Some decided to seek refuge with relatives and friends who had power as late night and early morning temperatures hovered in the 80s – providing little to no relief from the searing heat.

The round of summer storms which have thus far claimed thirteen lives, continues to cause problems into the new work week. With millions still without power, there is widespread concern about traffic problems as commuters take to the roads with non-working stoplights. However, federal and state workers in many states were given the option of staying at home Monday and Tuesday to lessen the chance that major automobile accidents occur. Many people were unable to get out of their neighborhoods due to entire trees and power poles being downed. There simply aren’t enough work crews available to clear the streets which has led many residents to grapple the problem themselves by cutting paths through neighborhoods with chainsaws.

Tropical storm Debby which is churning in the Gulf of Mexico is now stalled out, but it is expected to reach landfall later this week. Already, the massive system is wreaking havoc in Florida as it has drenched most of the Sunshine State. The storm has Florida’s Panhandle clearly in its sights so Floridians have a lot to be concerned about weather-wise this week.

The large storm system has sparked tornado warnings and reports of twisters across Florida. One woman was killed in central Florida when a twister destroyed her home. The National Weather Service issued tropical storm warnings from Alabama across Florida’s Panhandle and down into Florida’s Big Bend early Sunday. As of Sunday evening, Debby was just over 110 miles southwest of Apalachicola and was expected to stay over the open waters of the Gulf for the next few days. Debby is sustaining winds at around 60 miles per hour but forecasters think that it could grow stronger and turn into a hurricane before coming ashore. In order to become a hurricane, the storm must sustain winds of at least 74 miles per hour.

Debby lashed Florida Sunday with very heavy rains and high winds. The storm, unorganized and unpredictable in its path, stalled out in the Gulf of Mexico and sent heavy downpours of record-breaking rains over Tampa Bay and it’s neighboring counties. The rain never let up all day Sunday. It started with Gulfport and Tampa and ended late Sunday with emergency workers in Pass-a-Grille looking for roofs ripped off homes on darkened streets. Roadways turned into rivers, prompting many people to leave their homes in boats, canoes and kayaks. The merciless heavy rains and high winds are expected to continue Monday and possibly into Tuesday with rainfall amounts in some areas predicted to be at record levels.

Up to 15 inches of rain could be dumped on Florida’s Panhandle with some isolated areas in northern Florida receiving up to 25 inches before all is said and done. In light of the recent heavy rainfalls and wet ground conditions, these amounts of rain will increase the flash flooding threat across northern Florida and southern Alabama. Debby is predicted to make landfall late Wednesday or early Thursday in the Panhandle of Florida.

Even though the storm has not yet reached completion there have been significant damages throughout northern Minnesota. One of hardest hit areas is Duluth as Mayor Don Ness described how “much of Duluth is spread along a steep rocky hillside overlooking Lake Superior so the water speeds downhill, carrying debris with it”. Even though total figures are not yet known and won’t be known until days or even weeks after the storm ends the damage has affected everyone and everything in this region.

Property Damages

The true extent of property damages will not be known until after the storm has finished passing. However it is clear from images provided that the damage has been all encompassing. Houses with trees on them due to high winds, city businesses flooded, houses flooded, and may other saddening images have been released all of which convey the immense amount of damage that has occurred. The only people who will be benefiting from all this are flood cleaning agencies but even their homes are sure to be damaged by the storm. From what has occurred so far the amount of damage has proven to be enormous and further damage is sure to ensue throughout the rest of the day today.

Damage to the Crops

In addition to the all the damages that houses and buildings are sustaining as a result of this storm the agricultural sector of northern Minnesota and much of the heartland is taking a beating as well. Prior to this storm there had been an excess of rainfall and many of the crops were already inundated with more water than they could handle. This additional rainfall that is expected to reach 15 inches in some areas could completely wipeout crops in those areas. This overabundance of rain coupled with the wind gusts that are expected to reach up to 40 to 50 miles per hour could spell disaster for many of the farmers not only in northern Minnesota but throughout the heartland region. More so than the property damages this could be the biggest takeaway from the storm as a crop shortage may spell doom for many of the already cash strapped farmers.
Power Outages

In addition to all the other damage that has occurred high winds have caused many power lines to go down and have created outages in many cities throughout Minnesota. Many residents will have to go without power at least until tomorrow morning when the storm will have passed repair crews will be able to get to work fixing these power lines.

The severe weather that struck the Denver metro area Wednesday left millions of Mile High City residents scratching their heads and wondering if it was June or really January. Up to eight inches of hail was left on the ground in some areas – prompting road crews to bring out snowplows to clear it off roadways and making locals wonder if it was indeed wintertime again already.

In addition to large hail the size of golf balls and in some cases softballs which pounded the Denver area, there were seven reports of tornadoes across several Colorado counties. The heavy weather that hit the Denver area Wednesday evening into the overnight hours left downed trees and damaged houses in its path as the storm moved through Thursday. The weather was at its worst around midnight. Several city streets were forced closed by flooding which affected Thursday morning’s rush hour.

The Denver Fire Department was scrambling to keep up with the barrage of phone calls which were pouring in Wednesday night. Several home fires had to be put out after lightening strikes which sparked electrical fires inside walls. Firefighters had to literally dig the fires out of the walls in order to stop the flames from spreading further.

In Eibert County, officials reported tornado damage to several homes including two which were missing their roofs and others with smashed out windows. Insurance companies have reported that they have been receiving hundreds of home and vehicle claims in Colorado by Thursday a.m. The beginning of June is the peak time for this type of severe weather in Colorado. Most of the state has been experiencing drought conditions so some rain was welcomed although not in the quantities that most areas received.

When the Colorado skies opened up and unleashed severe weather, it delivered spectacular lightening, very large hail balls and tornadoes. And, if Wednesday wasn’t enough, more severe weather struck again on Thursday afternoon along the Front Range that dumped even more rain and hail and which brought with it high winds. So what’s in store for the weekend? The National Weather Service says that things should calm down as the system moves to the southeast and is followed by warm, dry air. The Service does have three counties under flood warnings however: Arapahoe, Douglas and Elbert due to high river levels and rain-soaked areas situated on low levels.

Growing weaker, Hurricane Bud is headed toward a string of beach resorts and small villages on the Pacific coastline of Mexico, south of Puerto Vallarta. Numerous schools in the state of Jalisco were closed ahead of heavy rainfall Friday and officals have been scrambling to open emergency shelters in many empty school rooms.

Drenching rains and six foot high waves pounded coastal areas Friday evening as the hurricane’s eye was set to come ashore overnight. Hotel owners with establishments located in the path of the storm boarded up windows before Bud made land. Bud became a Category 3 storm with maximum winds of 115 miles per hour Thursday but it since weakened to a Category 1 as it’s winds diminished Friday afternooon. The National Hurricane Center in Miami, Florida is predicting that Bud will be a tropical storm when it moves inland and then makes a U-turn and heads back out to sea. The biggest threat from this system is heavy rainfall which could lead to widespread flooding and dangerous mudslides.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration or NOAA has predicted a near-normal hurricane sesaon this year. People living on the US Atlantic coastline still have vivid recollections of 2008′s Hurricane Katrina which flooded most of New Orleans, leaving hundreds of thousands residents homeless. And, this August marks the 20th anniversary of Hurricane Andrew – the Category 5 hurricane that wreaked havoc in southern Florida, resulting in billions of dollars worth of damge.

The National Weather Service is telling people to be ready for this year’s hurricane season. It states that nine to fifteen named storms may develop this year with one to three of them likely being category 3 or higher.

As Bud weakened Friday, NOAA turned its attention to another system developing in the Atlantic northeast of the Bahamas and the southeast coast of Florida. The system is expected to become Tropical Storm Beryl over Memorial Day weekend. As of early Saturday morning, the storm was about 265 miles from Charleston, South Caroline and had winds of about 45 miles per hour which are expected to growing stronger as the storm slows down. Tropical storm warnings are in effect for portrions of the South Carolina coast. High tides are expected to crash against the Southeastern coast which could cause flooding there.

Flash Flood Watch for Twin Cities

As per the National Weather Service (NWS), a storm system is expected to bring up to 2 inches or more of rainfall across the Twin Cities from Wednesday through Friday. This has prompted the NWS to issue a flash flood watch in the Twin Cities. The hazardous weather outlook has been issued by the service for parts of Central Minnesota, East Minnesota and South Central Minnesota.

According to the NWS, rain and isolated thunderstorms are expected to continue Thursday. Rain at the rate of a half-inch per hour could fall in some parts during the morning. Some areas could also experience damaging winds produced by a few thunderstorms.

Flash flood watch for much of Central Minnesota and portions of Southern Minnesota will remain in effect until Thursday.
The NWS predicts total two to three inches of rain is likely to fall today and tonight in the flash flood watch zone, with some parts getting more than three inches of rainfall. The watch covers cities of Minneapolis, Saint Paul and Mankato.
Some streets and underpasses could get flooded in urban areas. Motorists are advised not to drive through flooded roads.
The NWS expects additional rounds of thunderstorms during the weekend.

The first tropical storm of the 2012 hurricane season formed off South Carolina’s shore over the weekend, ushering in an early beginning to this year’s hurricane season. A ship near the storm’s center reported that the storm, called Alberto has wind speeds of about about 60 miles per hour which is about 15 miles per hour stronger than what the National Hurricane Center predicted earlier.

Saturday evening, the storm was over 100 miles offshore and was on a southwesterly path, moving slowly at about 3 miles per hour. It is expected to keep on that path over the next few days and is not predicted to come close to the coastline of the Carolina’s. However, Alberto will kick up some high waves on beaches as well as be responsible for some substantial rip currents along the outer banks of North Carolina. It is expected to register winds at about 24 miles per hour at it’s nearest approach to the Carolina’s. Alberto also is expected to produce a few isolated and scattered rain showers along the coastline early this week.

The National Hurricane Center says that it may post tropical storm watches for portions of the Carolina’s later this week as the storm gains strength. June 1st is the official start of the 2012 hurricane season but Alberto is showing us that the season can start earlier as it formed two weeks ahead of the official season.

Surfers headed to Charleston, SC beaches on Sunday to take advantage of some impressive waves produced by Alberto. Boaters and swimmers were warned to be extra careful as the rip currents can easily and very quickly sweep vessels to shore and swimmers off course.

The early arrival of the 2012 Pacific hurricane season is a good time to remind people who live in hurricane prone areas to prepare. While there is never a convenient time for a hurricane or a convenient time to get ready, it is necessary to have a disaster plan ready in case a storm is imminent. Now is a good time to make a shopping list consisting of batteries, battery-powered light sources such as lanterns and flashlights, bottled water, transistor radios, first aid kits, fire extinguishers and portable generators.

Today, May 15th is the official start to the Eastern Pacific hurricane season. Already a named storm has formed in the east Pacific, Aletta which is a modest storm as it only is packing winds of 40 miles per hour. However, Aletta is a sure indicator that more storms are to develop. Forecasters are currently keeping their eyes on some turbulent cloud masses in the ocean which could trigger the next named storm. Aletta is forecast to dissipate over the next couple of days so there is no imminent threat to the U.S.

The Atlantic hurricane season officially begins on June 1st. The formation of Aletta signals that activity is increasing in tropical areas around the globe. That is following a record 41 day period in at least 70 years with no tropical storm formations anywhere on earth. While the Atlantic hurricane season receives a lot of attention and press in the United States, tropical storms and even hurricanes which have formed during the Eastern Pacific hurricane season have resulted in devastating, widespread flooding and even in the loss of lives. Arizona is the state in the country that has seen the most storm activity during this season. In 1970, tropical storm Norma was responsible for flooding across central and southern Arizona which resulted in several people losing their lives.

With the onset of the Pacific hurricane season and the soon-to-be arrival of the Atlantic season, now is the time for people living in tropical storm/hurricane-prone areas to prepare themselves. If a storm is heading your way, it is important to know what you will need to have on hand if you stay to ride the storm out. You should have enough food and water on hand to last your family for three to seven days. It’s also important to store important documents in a safe place and to know your evacuation routes. Planning in advance is the key to surviving a tropical storm or hurricane.

As for the upcoming Atlantic hurricane season, fewer storms are in the forecast which is great news. The 2012 season is being predicted to have eleven tropical storms, six of which will develop into hurricanes. Two of the hurricanes are expected to sustain winds of over 110 miles per hour, so say forecasters at Weather Service International. That prediction is due to cooler water temperatures in the Atlantic in addition to the year’s weather patterns thus far.