The eye of Hurricane Idalia made landfall along the coast of the Florida Big Bend near Keaton Beach around 7.45am Eastern time, the National Hurricane Center said.
The storm’s maximum sustained winds were near 125 mph.
Continue reading...Idalia makes landfall on Florida’s Gulf coast with torrential rains and 125mph winds and heads up coast to Georgia and the Carolinas
Federal officials warned of “catastrophic and life-threatening” flooding across the south-eastern US on Wednesday after Hurricane Idalia crashed ashore in Florida with 125mph winds, torrential rains and surging seawater. Later in the afternoon the storm made its way up the coast to Georgia and the Carolinas.
The powerful storm, which the National Hurricane Center (NHC) called “an unprecedented event”, made landfall shortly after daybreak with 160mph gusts near Keaton Beach on Florida’s Gulf coast.
Continue reading...Storm expected to strengthen to category 3 before it makes landfall on Florida’s Gulf coast on Wednesday
A rapidly intensifying Hurricane Idalia was closing in on Florida’s Gulf coast on Tuesday, with landfall of the first major hurricane to strike the US this year was expected early on Wednesday.
Forecasters predicted Idalia would crash ashore as a higher-end category 3 hurricane. Category 3 hurricanes have winds between 111 and 129mph. Anything above a category 2 – on a scale of up to 5 – is considered major.
One word – leave. It’s not something to discuss.
Two blocks this way, two blocks that way, two blocks that way. Water. And all the other little residential areas are connected by bridges. Any one of those bridges can be taken out. If they do, you’re stuck on your side.
Continue reading...Rapidly strengthening hurricane nears Gulf coast as officials warn of significant storm surge and destructive winds
A rapidly intensifying Hurricane Idalia was closing in on Florida’s Gulf coast on Tuesday as residents in more than a dozen counties rushed to evacuate amid warnings of a life-threatening storm surge and destructive 125mph winds.
Landfall of the first major hurricane to strike the US this year was expected early on Wednesday, following Idalia’s north-easterly march through the Gulf of Mexico from Cuba.
Continue reading...Storm downgraded to post-tropical cyclone as of Monday morning but mudslides still possible
First responders rescued over a dozen unhoused people who were trapped in knee-deep water in Southern California, AP reported.
Fire officials saved 13 people who were caught in a flooded homeless encampment near the San Diego River.
Continue reading...Storm Hilary expected to cause severe flooding, as other parts of US and Mexico put under extreme heat warnings
For the first time in 84 years, a tropical storm has made landfall in California. Tropical Storm Hilary, with maximum sustained wind gusts of 130mph (210km/h) and a central air pressure of 943mb, advanced towards the Baja California peninsula this weekend as a category 4 hurricane, before arriving as a tropical storm in southern California late on Sunday. The last time a tropical storm made landfall in southern California was in 1939, when it flooded Los Angeles and killed nearly 100 people.
Hilary triggered California’s first ever tropical storm warning, extending from the Mexican border to just north of Los Angeles amid rainfall totals estimated to have reached 70-150mm (3-6in) across southern California. This amount of rainfall is expected to cause life-threatening flooding, and would amount to more than a year’s worth of rain across parts of California and Nevada.
Continue reading...‘Catastrophic’ flooding expected despite weakening to category 1 cyclone after wildfires in Maui and Washington state
Hurricane Hilary was closing in on southern California on Sunday as federal emergency officials, stretched by deadly wildfires in Maui and Washington state, warned of a “serious impact and threat”.
Despite weakening to a category 1 cyclone, the storm was still packing winds of 80mph as it approached Mexico and the south-western US, with “catastrophic” flooding expected to follow landfall.
Continue reading...Drowning reported in Baja California peninsula ahead of storm’s arrival on Saturday night before hitting southern California on Sunday
Hurricane Hilary was downgraded to a category 1 storm as it moved towards the Baja California region on Saturday evening, amid warnings of deadly flooding.
The National Hurricane Center (NHC) said in an advisory on Saturday night that “catastrophic and life-threatening flooding” was still likely and that the storm had maximum sustained winds of 90mph (145km/h).
Continue reading...Southern California gets first tropical storm warning as conditions could potentially affect Baja California peninsula late Friday
Hurricane Hilary, which quickly grew to category 4 strength off Mexico’s Pacific coast, whipping up 145mph winds, could become the first tropical storm to hit southern California in 84 years.
As the hurricane barrels northward, officials have issued the first ever tropical storm watch for the US west coast. Hurricane watches and tropical storm warnings have also been issued for parts of Baja California and mainland Mexico, where fierce winds and rain could cause flooding and landslides.
Continue reading...Storm moves toward Baja California and could bring high winds, surf and rain to southern California
A storm located about 300 miles off the coast of Mexico was upgraded to a hurricane overnight as it heads toward Baja California, potentially bringing heavy rain and winds to the region and the south-western United States this weekend.
Hurricane Hilary formed as a tropical storm about 470 miles off the coast of Manzanillo, Mexico. It is currently about 320 miles (515km) south-west of Manzanillo and is moving about 13mph west-north-west. It is expected to turn north-west on Friday morning.
Continue reading...Soaring hurricane-cover premiums are bad news for the state’s homeowners – and Ron DeSantis is accused of dragging his feet
Households in Florida, the third most populous state in the US, have been grappling for some time with a property insurance crisis that is making home ownership unaffordable for many. After at least six insurers went insolvent in Florida last year, Farmers on Tuesday became the latest to pull out of the Florida market, saying in a statement that the decision was based on risk exposure in the hurricane-prone state.
Climate change is threatening the very existence of some parts of Florida. And the costs are already being felt by Floridians. At the end of 2022, average annual property insurance premiums had already risen to more than $4,200 in Florida – three times the national average.
Continue reading...Storm approaching eastern Caribbean Leeward and Windward Islands in aggressive weather pattern early in the season
Tropical Storm Bret is forecast to strengthen into a hurricane as it approaches the eastern Caribbean’s Leeward and Windward islands, with meteorologists noting that the weather pattern is unusually early and aggressive for the Atlantic cyclone season that formally began on 1 June.
It is only the second hurricane to form in the tropical Atlantic in June since record keeping began, according to forecasters. The previous June hurricane was the 1933 Trinidad hurricane.
Continue reading...Despite 24-hour sun, Lapland dips to -7.7C. Elsewhere, the Atlantic hurricane season begins
Thursday 1 June saw potentially the lowest June temperature on record in Finland. A weather station in Lapland, Enontekiö Kilpisjärvi Saana, reached -7.7C. This may not seem that cold for northern Finland, where winter temperatures reach as low as -51.5C, but the last time Lapland saw a minimum temperature of -7C in June was on 3 June 1962.
In addition, at this time of year Lapland experiences midnight sun where it is constantly light and the sun does not set. This unseasonal cold was possible in the first month of summer due to a large area of high pressure to the west of Finland, blocking the usual westerly/south-westerly flow of weather systems across the Atlantic and North Sea.
Continue reading...Storm is forecast to head into Georgia and the Carolinas later Thursday and Friday, dumping heavy rain across the region
A weakening Tropical Storm Nicole doused large areas of Florida with heavy rain on Thursday, after battering the east coast overnight as a rare November hurricane.
The late-season cyclone made landfall close to Vero Beach at about 3am, delivering 75mph winds and a damaging storm surge that collapsed buildings and swept away roads as far north as Daytona Beach.
Continue reading...Nicole expected to strengthen and make landfall on Thursday as state of emergency is declared in 34 counties
A rare late-season hurricane is expected to hit Florida, after the Sunshine state dealt with the impact of Hurricane Ian a month ago.
Tropical Storm Nicole is expected to make landfall in eastern Florida this week. As the storm continues to strengthen, it is expected to make landfall as a category 1 hurricane on Thursday morning, reported CNN citing the National Hurricane Center (NHC).
Continue reading...Hurricane Lisa, which has battered Belize, formed at same time as Martin, now over Atlantic, for only third time since records began
Two November hurricanes have simultaneously formed in the Atlantic Ocean for only the third time since records began.
Hurricanes Lisa and Martin have brought an unusual amount of activity for this time of year, when hurricane season is usually nearly over. A third system in the Caribbean is also developing, reports the Washington Post.
Continue reading...Roslyn hit land as category 3 hurricane before weakening as it headed inland
Two people died on Sunday from destruction caused by tropical storm Roslyn after it made landfall along Mexico’s Pacific coast as a powerful hurricane before weakening farther inland, authorities said.
A 74-year-old man was killed in the town of Mexcaltitan de Santiago Ixcuintla when a beam fell on his head, Nayarit state’s ministry of security and citizen protection said. A 39-year-old woman died when a fence collapsed in the state’s Rosamorada district.
Continue reading...Nicaraguan soldiers assist evacuations as up to 38cm of rain forecast across Central America after tropical storm strengthened into hurricane
Hurricane Julia swept by just south of Colombia’s San Andres island on Saturday evening soon after strengthening from a tropical storm, as Nicaraguans rushed to prepare for the storm’s arrival on their coast overnight.
After gaining power throughout the day, Julia’s maximum sustained winds had increased to 120km/h (75mph) by Saturday evening, the US National Hurricane Center said.
Continue reading...Johnny Lauder swam through half-mile of flood waters in Naples, Florida, to pull his mother, a double amputee, out of her home
Every time flood waters inundate a community, forecasters admonish their viewers not to swim through them because of countless perils potentially hidden under the surface – but Johnny Lauder ignored those warnings after Hurricane Ian’s storm surge trapped his mother, a double amputee, inside her Florida home.
Lauder swam through a half-mile of neck-deep, rapidly moving, debris-filled flood waters that swamped his 84-year-old mother’s neighborhood in Naples to pull her out of the home that she couldn’t flee from ahead of Ian.
Continue reading...Nearby ports are closed and emergency shelters open as 10in of rain and dangerous surf are expected
Hurricane Orlene has made landfall on Mexico’s Pacific coast near the tourist town of Mazatlán, with winds of more than 80mph (130km/h).
Electrical cables swayed and sent off showers of sparks in the town of El Rosario, about 40 miles (65km) south of Mazatlán, close to where the hurricane hit.
Continue reading...