Category Archives: US weather

State of emergency in New York amid ‘historic’ flooding caused by remnants of Hurricane Ida

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Extreme weather promoted the first ever flash flood emergency warning for New York City from the National Weather Service

The National Weather Service (NWS) has issued its first ever flash flood warning for the city of New York, as the remnants of Hurricane Ida brought heavy rain that flooded subway lines and streets in the Manhattan, Brooklyn and New Jersey.

Amid the downpour, the service said on Twitter, “this particular warning for NYC is the second time we’ve ever issued a Flash Flood Emergency (It’s the first one for NYC). The first time we’ve issued a Flash Flood Emergency was for Northeast New Jersey an hour ago.”

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Hurricane Ida: aerial footage shows flooding and destruction in Louisiana – video

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Nearly all of Louisiana lost electrical power on Monday after one of the strongest hurricanes to strike the region downed power lines, littered roads with debris and flooded isolated communities south of New Orleans in the US. After dumping a deluge of rain in Louisiana by late Monday afternoon and killing at least two people, Ida was downgraded to a tropical depression as its eye crawled through neighbouring Mississippi

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Hurricane Ida: more than 1m without power as New Orleans assesses damage

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Crews using airboats and helicopters conduct search and rescue missions after at least two people killed

More than 1 million homes and businesses remained without power in and around New Orleans on Monday as residents and authorities began to assess “catastrophic” damage from Hurricane Ida, a 150mph monster storm that was the most powerful ever to hit Louisiana.

Related: New Orleans battered by Hurricane Ida as storm claims first victim in Louisiana

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Hurricane Ida’s rampage through Louisiana – in pictures

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Up to 2 million people in and around New Orleans were without power after Hurricane Ida, a 150mph monster storm that was the most powerful ever to hit Louisiana. At least one person was killed, by a falling tree, but the governor, John Bel Edwards, warned that the death toll will probably rise

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New Orleans battered by Hurricane Ida as storm claims first victim in Louisiana

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A million households without power as governor says system of levees overhauled after Hurricane Katrina will face ‘most severe test’

One person has died as Hurricane Ida, one of the most powerful storms ever to hit the US, knocked out power to all of New Orleans, reversed the flow of the Mississippi River and blew roofs off buildings across Louisiana.

Related: Hurricane Ida live updates: first death in Louisiana as New Orleans loses power

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Hurricane Ida: New Orleans hunkers down beneath category 4 storm

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  • Storm hits land on 16th anniversary of Katrina
  • Louisiana governor confident levees will hold

Hurricane Ida made landfall in Louisiana on Sunday as a brutal category 4 storm, slamming the coast with 150mph sustained winds as it trudged towards New Orleans and Baton Rouge, threatening devastation.

Related: The Katrina survivors who fled devastation only to freeze in Texas

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Hurricane Ida barrels down on Louisiana amid warnings of ‘life-altering storm’

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Tens of thousands in US face evacuation orders as storm makes first landfall in Cuba, sparking fears of floods and mudslides

Hurricane Ida rapidly gained strength on Friday evening as communities in southern Louisiana braced for a major category 4 storm with sustained winds of about 140mph and tens of thousands of residents were placed under mandatory evacuation orders.

The hurricane is due to make landfall in the US on Sunday, with officials warning of a “life-altering storm”. The cities of New Orleans and Lafayette, as well as the state capital, Baton Rouge, are under threat from Ida, which is forecast to reach the US somewhere between the parishes of Terrebone and St Mary, slightly west of New Orleans.

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Tennessee floods death toll rises after homes and businesses destroyed – video

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The flooding in rural areas on Saturday took out roads, cellphone towers and telephone lines, leaving families uncertain about whether loved ones survived. Many of the missing live in neighborhoods where the water rose fastest, Humphreys county sheriff Chris Davis said.

At the White House in Washington, Joe Biden said he expressed his 'deepest condolences for the sudden and tragic loss of life through this flash flood'

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‘It’s just unbelievable’: Tennessee surveys wreckage after floods kill 22

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Succession of thunderstorms deposited record-breaking 17in of rain in some parts of state

Tennesseans were surveying the mangled wreckage of towns and communities across the middle of the state on Monday, after a record-breaking deluge caused flash flooding that swept away houses, shattered lives and left at least 22 people dead and many more missing.

Related: A midwestern town moved uphill to survive climate crisis. Can others do the same?

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Henri drenches US north-east as 140,000 lose power in slow-moving storm

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National Hurricane Center says storm to slow down further and likely stall near Connecticut-New York line

The slow-rolling storm Henri was taking its time drenching the US north-east on Monday.

Henri, which made landfall as a tropical storm on Sunday afternoon in Rhode Island, had moved north-west through Connecticut. It hurled rain westward far before its arrival, flooding areas as far south-west as New Jersey before pelting north-east Pennsylvania, even as it dropped to tropical depression status.

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Tennessee floods death toll rises to 22 as Biden offers help

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  • Record rainfall fueled flash floods in rural town of Waverly
  • Governor surveys devastation as families seek missing

At least 22 people were confirmed dead on Sunday as rescue crews searched desperately amid shattered homes for dozens still missing after record-breaking rain sent floodwaters surging through parts of Tennessee.

Related: A midwestern town moved uphill to survive climate crisis. Can others do the same?

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Henri becomes hurricane as it heads for Long Island and New England

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  • Forecasters predict landfall in New York or Connecticut
  • New England has not been hit by hurricane since 1991

Preparations for a monster storm forecast to hit parts of the US north-east were stepped up on Saturday after Henri was promoted to a hurricane as it moved closer to land.

In New York, Andrew Cuomo used his last hours as governor to direct the state response, declaring a state of emergency in some areas and telling residents: “If you have to get to higher ground, it has to be today.”

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Climate crisis: what one month of extreme weather looks like – video

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In the last month, devastating weather extremes have hit regions across the world. From flash floods in Belgium to deadly temperatures in the US, from wildfires in Siberia to landslides in India, it has been an unprecedented period of chaotic weather. Climate scientists have long predicted that human-caused climate disruption would lead to more flooding, heatwaves, droughts, storms and other forms of extreme weather, but even they have been shocked by the scale of these scenes


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Thunderstorms and lightning threaten to spur more fires in US west

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More than 80 major wildfires currently burning in western states as Bootleg fire reaches 537 sq miles

Oregon’s explosive summer of wildfire is threatening to escalate further, with thunderstorms and lightning set to spur more of the blazes that have torn through much of a parched, dangerously hot US west this year.

Related: Heat exhaustion, apocalyptic scenes: what it’s like fighting the US’s biggest wildfire

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Western US and Canada brace for another heatwave amid more than 70 wildfires

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  • Fires have burned about 1,562 sq miles
  • Next heatwave expected to start on Saturday

The fourth searing heatwave in five weeks is set to strike the west of the United States and Canada this weekend, aggravating wildfires that are already ravaging an area larger than Rhode Island as drought and record-breaking temperatures tied to the climate crisis pummel the region.

The impending heatwave comes as 12 states are already battling 71 active wildfires. The combined area of the blazes is about 1,553 sq miles (4,021 sq km), according to the National Interagency Fire Center.

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US west heatwave: 31m people brace for record-breaking temperatures

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Las Vegas could surpass its record-high of 117F as residents of US west face very high risk of heat-related illness

More than 31 million people across the US west and south-west are bracing for a brutal heatwave that could bring triple-digit temperatures this weekend, with authorities warning that records could be broken in many regions of California and Nevada. Officials have said that Las Vegas could even surpass its record-high temperature of 117F.

The “heat risk” is classified as “very high” across much of this area, meaning all residents there face “very high risk of heat-related illness due to both the long duration heat, and the lack of overnight relief”, the National Weather Service (NWS) has said.

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New York City hit by extreme weather, flooding subways and streets – video

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The US east coast was hit by extreme weather on Thursday as heavy thunderstorms brought flooding and travel disruption to New York City. The city witnessed dramatic scenes as subway stations were inundated by water due to heavy rainstorms ahead of the arrival of Tropical Storm Elsa

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Hail, tornadoes and flooded New York subways as stormy weather hits east coast

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Rainstorms drenched New York while Tropical Storm Elsa sparked tornadoes in North Carolina and Virginia

The US east coast was battered by extreme weather on Thursday as heavy thunderstorms brought flooding and travel disruption to the New York City area, while Tropical Storm Elsa dumped heavy rainfall and even sparked tornadoes in North Carolina and Georgia.

Some subway system ya got there. This is the 157th St. 1 line right now. @NYCMayor @BilldeBlasio pic.twitter.com/xyfTAUPPNu

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Record-breaking US Pacific north-west heatwave killed almost 200 people

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Officials reported 116 deaths in Oregon and 78 in Washington after extreme temperatures in normally moderate region

The death toll from the record-breaking heatwave that struck the US Pacific north-west last week has risen to nearly 200, with health authorities reporting 116 deaths in Oregon and 78 in Washington state.

The data in Washington state are particularly striking given historical context. There were seven heat-related deaths in Washington between mid-June and the end of August in 2020. Between 2015 and 2020, the state saw just 39 deaths in the late spring and summer months.

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North America endured hottest June on record

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Satellite data shows temperature peaks are lasting longer and rising higher

North America endured the hottest June on record last month, according to satellite data that shows temperature peaks lasting longer as well as rising higher.

The heat dome above western Canada and the north-west United States generated headlines around the world as daily temperature records were shattered across British Columbia, Washington and Portland.

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