Category Archives: US weather

Hurricane Dorian: ‘We’re at the frontline of climate change but we don’t cause it’, says Barbados PM – live

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Sarah St George, chairman of the Grand Bahama Port Authority, told the Guardian that the “force and size” of Dorian took everyone by surprise, a situation made worse by the hurricane stalling over the archipelago.

“Grand Bahama is not in good shape at all because 70% of it was under water,” St George said. “On the north side of the island the water was coming up to the second floor of their houses. My assistant Tammy was on the roof of her house for 30 hours hanging on to a coconut tree with her 8-year-old daughter Ariana. Her grandmother lost her grip and slipped off the roof and drowned. There was no way of getting to them. They’ve lost everything.”

In the president’s continuing battle against his own incorrect statement that Alabama was under threat from Hurricane Dorian, which has left at least 23 people dead, he has just now been tweeting what he claims is evidence he knew what he was talking about.

It is not.

Just as I said, Alabama was originally projected to be hit. The Fake News denies it! pic.twitter.com/elJ7ROfm2p

I was with you all the way Alabama. The Fake News Media was not! https://t.co/gO5pwahaj9

Over the weekend, projections for #HurricaneDorian have continually skewed further north and east, leaving Alabama outside the anticipated path. While we are thankful for that, we remain #AlwaysReady to help our sister states. #OneTeamOneFight #OneGuard pic.twitter.com/7TbFKpd2Zh

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Hurricane Dorian lashes Bahamas with ferocious winds and flash flooding – video

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Winds of more than 220mph (355km/h) have struck the northern Bahamas in the biggest storm to hit the Caribbean island chain in modern times. The ‘catastrophic’ category 5 hurricane forced the US states of Georgia and South Carolina to issue evacuation orders for their coastal communities on Sunday night as the National Hurricane Center warned of storm surges of 18-23ft (5.5-7 metres) above normal levels.

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Hurricane Dorian pounds northern Bahamas with ‘catastrophic’ winds

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Hurricane Dorian grew into a “catastrophic” category 5 storm on Sunday as winds of more than 180mph pounded the northernmost islands of the Bahamas, the biggest storm to hit the island chain in modern times.

Related: Floridians not fazed as Hurricane Dorian’s path keeps state guessing

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Hurricane Dorian: where will the storm hit and what damage will it bring?

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Dorian is one of the six strongest hurricanes recorded in the Atlantic, but meteorologists are finding its path difficult to predict

Hurricane Dorian is proving a slippery customer. Not only is it one of the six strongest hurricanes recorded in the Atlantic in the past 70 years, but meteorologists are finding its path very difficult to predict because of its wide “cone of uncertainty”. It is impossible to say just where the storm will hit – and with how much deadly force.

Within that fuzzy picture, Dorian has the potential to affect millions in the Caribbean and along the US coast. So what is the current thinking about its path?

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Hurricane Dorian: Trump flies to golf club as likelihood of direct hit recedes

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  • National Hurricane Center warns of winds and storm surge
  • Bahamas set to be hit Sunday, US east coast remains on alert

Millions along the US east coast from Florida to North Carolina remained under threat of a deadly strike from Hurricane Dorian on Saturday, even as official predictions for the path of the 150mph monster storm pulled back from from a direct hit on land.

Related: The historic hurricanes that made landfall on Florida’s east coast

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Hurricane Dorian strengthens to category 4 as Florida braces for storm

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Landfall anticipated early Tuesday on state’s east coast with maximum sustained winds of 140mph

Residents of Florida braced for what could be a historically damaging storm on Friday as Hurricane Dorian lingered in the western Atlantic, building strength in advance of its anticipated landfall early on Tuesday on the state’s east coast.

The storm strengthened into an “extremely dangerous” category 4 hurricane on Friday evening, amid fears it could prove to be the most powerful hurricane to hit Florida’s east coast in nearly 30 years. Forecasters warned that Dorian could wallop the state with “extremely dangerous” 140mph (225 kph) winds.

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The historic hurricanes that made landfall on Florida’s east coast

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As Hurricane Dorian is projected to strike, the deadliest storms to hit the state recently approached from the Gulf, south and west

Hurricane Dorian is projected to make landfall on Florida’s east coast early next week as a potential category 4 storm with winds up to 140mph.

While hurricane activity on the Atlantic coast is not uncommon, the deadliest recent storms to strike Florida, including Michael (2018) and Irma (2017), approached from the Gulf side, the south and west.

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Police ask criminals to cool it as US east coast heat wave lingers

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  • Added humidity could make daytime highs feel like 43C
  • Cold front could bring thunderstorms to Midwest

The US east coast sweated through another day of heat and humidity on Sunday, in a stretch of weather so oppressive that a New Jersey drawbridge got stuck, Pennsylvania firefighters suffered heat exhaustion and police departments from New York to Boston implored residents and criminals to play it safe.

Related: Heat rises across US as New York tempers flare over subway suspension

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Storm Barry makes landfall in Louisiana – video

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Thousands of homes have been left without power after Storm Barry battered parts of Louisiana early on Sunday. The storm flooded highways, forced people to scramble on to rooftops, and dumped heavy rain as it made landfall 160 miles west of New Orleans. Authorities have warned of disastrous flooding across the Gulf Coast

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Hurricane Barry: storm strengthens as officials warn of heavy rain to come

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  • New Orleans residents told to seek shelter as 50,000 lose power
  • NHC director details ‘amazing amount of moisture’

Tropical Storm Barry strengthened into a category one hurricane on Saturday as it neared the Louisiana coast, threatening millions with heavy rains and storm surge. The storm was expected to weaken after it moved inland but forecasters encouraged residents in New Orleans to be patient and stay vigilant.

More than 12 hours after city officials anticipating crippling and potentially historic flooding told residents to “shelter in place”, a few rays of sun peeked through the clouds on Saturday morning, adding a glint to the mostly dry city streets.

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New Orleans: evacuations ordered as city braces for possible hurricane

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Forecasters say the biggest danger is not destructive winds but heavy rain as it was upgraded to tropical storm Barry on Thursday

Mandatory evacuations were ordered south-east of New Orleans, Louisiana, on Thursday as the city and a surrounding stretch of the Gulf coast braced for a possible hurricane over the weekend that could unload heavy rain and send water spilling over levees, in the first big test for flood defenses since the devastation of Hurricane Katrina in 2005.

The strength and speed of the wind increased on Thursday and by mid-morning was upgraded to become tropical storm Barry.

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Global heating: London to have climate similar to Barcelona by 2050

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Nearly 80% of cities to undergo dramatic and potentially disastrous changes, study finds

London will have a similar climate in three decades’ time to that of Barcelona today, according to research – but if that seems enticing, a warning: the change could be accompanied by severe drought.

Madrid will feel like present-day Marrakech by 2050, and Stockholm like Budapest, according to a report on the likely impacts of the climate crisis. Around the world, cities that are currently in temperate or cold zones in the northern hemisphere will resemble cities more than 600 miles (1,000km) closer to the equator, with damaging effects on health and infrastructure.

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One dead and six injured in Dallas crane collapse amid severe thunderstorms

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  • Witness: crane ‘fell straight through’ apartment building
  • Names of injured and woman who died not known

A woman has died and at least six people were injured when a crane collapsed on to an apartment building in Dallas amid severe thunderstorms early on Sunday afternoon.

Dallas Fire-Rescue spokesman Jason Evans told reporters first responders searching the Elan City Lights building found a woman inside an apartment who was later pronounced dead.

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Memorial Day: sweltering heat and storms follow tornadoes and flooding

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Sweltering heat, storms and possible twisters were expected to hit the southern plains and south-eastern states on Memorial Day, on the heels of deadly tornadoes and flooding.

Related: Are hurricanes getting stronger – and is the climate crisis to blame?

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California ‘Glory Hole’ drains reservoir after heavy rains – video

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The water level in the Lake Berryessa reservoir, 75 miles north of San Francisco, has risen so much that, unusually, water is pouring into its overflow pipe, as can be seen in footage published by The Vacaville Reporter. The overflow, known as the Morning Glory Spillway, or simply the Glory Hole, drains water once the reservoir is over capacity and shoots it into a creek below the Monticello Dam. 

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Las Vegas gets first significant snow for years after rare winter storm – video

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A winter storm brought rare snowfall to the Las Vegas Strip this week, with some suburban foothill areas getting several inches of snow. The snow snarled flights at the airport and traffic on highways.

The snow could reach 3in by Friday on western and southern outskirts of the city, but rain could reduce accumulation

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New York prisoners’ protest at no heating heard from outside – video

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Prisoners at the Metropolitan Detention Center in New York have been banging on the walls and windows of their cells to get attention from people on the street in protest against conditions inside. The facility has not had any heating in the last week despite the freezing temperatures

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