More than 21,500 US deaths over last two decades were connected to heat, top medical journal finds
As record-breaking heatwaves continue across parts of the US, a new report shows that heat-related deaths in the country rose by 117% between 1999 and 2023.
The report, released on Monday by the Journal of the American Medical Association (Jama), found that from 1999 to 2023, there have been more than 21,500 heat-related deaths recorded in the US.
Continue reading...Nashville and surrounding areas have been hit by severe storms and flooding, overwhelming city’s infrastructure
Residents in Nashville, Illinois, are evacuating their homes after emergency management officials warned the failure of the city’s dam was “imminent”.
Nashville, a small city in Illinois with a population of nearly 3,000 people, and surrounding areas have been hit with severe storms which have caused flooding, overwhelming the city’s infrastructure. More than 5in of rain fell in the region within six hours on Tuesday.
Continue reading...Multiple twisters reported in Illinois, Iowa and Indiana as weather service warns of damaging winds
A tornado apparently touched down outside Chicago’s O’Hare airport on Monday as storms spawned multiple reports of twisters blowing through Illinois, Iowa and Indiana.
The turbulent weather knocked down trees and power poles, cutting electricity to more than 460,000 customers and businesses. A woman in Indiana died after a tree fell on to a home, authorities said.
The Associated Press contributed reporting
Continue reading...City hits all-time high of 120F as officials set up emergency cooling centers at community centers across south Nevada
Las Vegas set a new record on Wednesday as it marked a fifth consecutive day over 115F (46C), amid a lingering hot spell that will continue scorching much of the US into the weekend.
The blazing hot temperatures climbed to 115F shortly after 1pm at Harry Reid international airport, breaking the old mark of four consecutive days above 115F set in July 2005.
Continue reading...Man, 53, and woman, 74, killed by fallen trees and third person drowns amid howling winds and torrential rain
Tropical Storm Beryl made landfall in south-east Texas on Monday with howling winds and torrential rains, causing the deaths of at least three people, closing oil ports, and knocking out power to more than 2.5 million homes and businesses.
Before making landfall in Texas, the storm had already carved a path through the Caribbean as a category 5 hurricane, where it killed 11 people. It continued on to Mexico’s Yucatán peninsula as a category 2, temporarily dropped in intensity to a tropical storm but again strengthened to a hurricane over the weekend.
Continue reading...More than 146 million Americans under extreme heat alerts as dangerous weather fuels outbreak of new wildfires
A fierce heatwave has shattered temperature records across the US west and has been tied to at least four deaths in Oregon, with more heat on the way as dangerous weather fueled the outbreak of new wildfires.
Oregon faced triple-digit temperatures and saw several records toppled over the weekend, including in Salem, where on Sunday it hit 103F (39.4C), topping the 99F (37.2C) mark set in 1960. Authorities in Multnomah county – home to Portland, where temperatures broke daily records over the weekend – said they were investigating four suspected deaths tied to the heatwave.
Continue reading...Temperatures could crest 100F (38C) in many regions after breaking records and sparking dozens of wildfires
A long-running heatwave that has already broken records, sparked dozens of wildfires and left about 130 million people under a high temperature threat is about to intensify enough that the National Weather Service has deemed it “potentially historic”.
The NWS on Saturday reported some type of extreme heat or advisory for nearly 133 million people across the nation – mostly in western states where the triple-digit heat, with temperatures 15 to 30 degrees fahrenheit higher than average, is expected to last into next week.
Continue reading...‘Severe’ and ‘potentially record-breaking’ heatwave sends temperatures soaring across US
More than 150 million people were under heat alerts on Thursday morning, as a brutal and potentially historic heatwave sent temperatures soaring across the US on Independence Day with little chance of relief over the next week, even after dark.
Forecasters warned that high overnight temperatures and the long-lasting duration of the extreme event will increase the danger, posing additional risks to human health and the rapid spread of wildfires.
Continue reading...Washington DC, Baltimore and Philadelphia all saw record heat while one person died during flooding in South Dakota
Millions of Americans sweated through a scorching weekend as temperatures soared across the US – while residents were also rescued from floodwaters that forced evacuations across the midwest. One person died during flooding in South Dakota, the governor there said.
From the mid-Atlantic to Maine, across the Great Lakes region, and throughout the west to California, public officials cautioned residents about the dangers of excessive heat and humidity. Forecasters say the heatwave will continue early in the week in the south-east, portions of the south and the Plains, providing the biggest worry in affected areas.
Continue reading...Residents rescued by boat as Governor Kim Reynolds declares disaster in 21 counties in north of state
Floodwaters forced people out of their homes in parts of Iowa, the result of weeks of rain, while much of the US longed for relief on Saturday from yet another round of extraordinary heat.
Sirens blared at 2am in Rock Valley, Iowa, population 4,200, where people in hundreds of homes were told to get out as the Rock River could no longer take rain that has slammed the region. The city lacked running water because wells were unusable.
Continue reading...Cities in midwest and north-east brace for heatwave with some to experience highs of 105F – 25 degrees above normal
Extreme heat has begun to hit the US, delivered by a high-pressure weather pattern that the federal weather prediction center says will be “potentially the longest experienced in decades for some locations”.
According to meteorologists with WeatherBELL Analytics, about 265 million people in the US are forecast to see air temperatures reach or exceed 90F (32C), with many of them experiencing heat indices of about 105F by next Sunday.
Continue reading...Scorching temperatures have already swept south-east where Florida is now grappling with severe flooding
The scorching heatwave that has swept the US south-east in recent weeks will soon spread to the country’s midwest and north-east regions, affecting nearly 250 million Americans.
Temperatures are stuck at 90F (32C) or above for at least the next week in much of the US, the National Weather Service (NWS) predicted. The NWS defines a heatwave as a period of temperatures exceeding 90F for two or more days, and this one could last until 26 June.
Continue reading...Storms began on Saturday night as tornado overturned vehicles and shut down an interstate north of Dallas
A Texas sheriff has said at least five people died after powerful storms tore through a rural community, obliterating homes and leaving thousands of people without power.
The Cooke County sheriff, Ray Sappington, told the Associated Press the victims included three family members who were found in one home near Valley View, a rural community near the border with Oklahoma.
Continue reading...Steve MacLaughlin of WTVJ in Miami urges viewers to vote – because ‘there are candidates that believe in climate change’
A TV meteorologist condemned the Florida governor Ron DeSantis’s so-called “don’t say climate change” law on air and urged viewers to vote.
Steve MacLaughlin of WTVJ in Miami addressed viewers on Saturday amid rising heat records across the state, saying: “On Thursday, we reported … that the government of Florida was beginning to roll back really important climate-change legislation and really important climate-change language.”
Continue reading...Low pressure also expected to raise temperatures in eastern Canada and north-east US, while temperatures plummet in west
After a lull in recent weeks, storm season in the US has begun to ramp up again, with 100mph winds and tennis ball-sized hail hitting Kansas on Sunday. It has been a busy season so far in terms of severe storms, with late spring into early summer typically bringing the greatest risk for tornadoes across the plains and midwest. An area of low pressure moving in across the central US, combined with rich moisture streaming in from the Gulf of Mexico, will probably continue the threat of tornadoes and large hail across numerous states. On Tuesday in particular, this severe weather risk may extend from Oklahoma all the way up to the Great Lakes.
This setup of low pressure could lead not just to a large outbreak of severe weather across the US later this week, but also to a sharp temperature gradient across the US and Canada as the warm air is fed into higher latitudes. In eastern Canada and the north-eastern US, temperatures are likely to reach 10C above the average for the time of year. Cities such as Ottawa and Detroit could have daytime maximum temperatures of 30C by Wednesday.
Continue reading...A flood watch remains in effect through Sunday afternoon after forecasters predict additional rainfall in Harris county
High waters flooded neighborhoods around Houston on Saturday following heavy rains that resulted in crews rescuing more than 400 people from homes, rooftops and roads engulfed in murky water. Others prepared to evacuate their properties.
A flood watch remained in effect through Sunday afternoon after forecasters predicted additional rainfall Saturday night and the likelihood of major flooding in Harris county, the nation’s third-largest county which includes Houston, and nearby areas.
Continue reading...Navigation buoy sails 4,000 miles across Atlantic, joining storied history of wrecks upon shores of tiny Scottish island of Eriskay
From Bonnie Prince Charlie’s ill-fated 1745 landing, to the shipwreck of a whisky-laden cargo freighter two centuries later that inspired a bestselling novel and blockbuster movie, the tiny Scottish island of Eriskay has a rich and outsized history of notable maritime events.
Now, the arrival of a visitor from Florida following a 4,000-mile solo voyage across the Atlantic has added another curious chapter. It is a navigation buoy that slipped its mooring in the Florida Keys and rode the Gulf Stream to the British Isles, coming ashore in Eriskay and discovered by one of its 143 residents.
Continue reading...After rainy California season, NWS warned of risk of storms from Missouri to Illinois, with some potentially producing large hail
Thunderstorms and tornadoes are expected to sweep eastward across the US in the coming days after a rainy season in California.
According to the storm prediction center at the National Weather Service (NWS), severe weather is expected to spread from the southern plains and into the mid-Atlantic and Gulf coast states over the next three days. The warnings applied to about 50 million Americans to kick off what are traditionally the three months that are typically the most active in terms of tornadoes in the US each year.
Continue reading...Heavy rainfall brings landslides to country’s south-east. Elsewhere, a wild temperature fluctuation in Iberia
Brazil was hit by devastating floods over the weekend that have so far claimed 20 lives in the resultant landslides and mudslides. There was heavy rainfall in parts of the south-east, including Rio de Janeiro, Petrópolis and the larger Espírito Santo region, with hourly rainfall totals of about 20mm recorded in places. Cumulative totals from Friday through Sunday were close to 250mm, particularly along the coast: this is far higher than the monthly average.
Landslides and mudslides occurred across the region, and a number of houses collapsed. Rescue operations are under way to look for people who may have been stranded by the floods. Although there may still be a few showers over the following days, the worst of the rain has now passed.
Continue reading...Hail as big as baseballs possible from Kansas to Missouri, with torrential rain from Louisiana to Arkansas
Volatile weather is expected to hone in on parts of Kansas and Missouri Wednesday night, and the biggest worry is the potential for massive chunks of hail.
Some are calling it “gorilla hail” because it has the potential to be so big, said Alex Sosnowski, senior meteorologist at AccuWeather. The Kansas City metro area is at the center of the worry zone.
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