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Tag: Storms

  • Wildfires rage in western Turkey for a 3rd straight day exacerbated by windy and dry weather

    Wildfires rage in western Turkey for a 3rd straight day exacerbated by windy and dry weather

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    ISTANBUL — Wildfires raged across western Turkey for a third straight day Saturday, exacerbated by high winds and warm temperatures, authorities said.

    More than 130 fires have erupted across the country in the past week, according to Turkey’s Disaster and Emergency Management Directorate. Most have been brought under control, but eight major fires continued in a number of provinces including Izmir, Aydin, Manisa, Karabuk and Bolu.

    Thousands of firefighters were tackling the blazes on land and from the air, with dozens of aircraft and hundreds of vehicles aiding in the emergency response.

    Thousands of people have been evacuated from the affected areas, but there have been no reported casualties, according to Agriculture and Forestry Minister Ibrahim Yumakli, who spoke to reporters Saturday as he toured the affected provinces.

    Yumakli cited low humidity, high winds and high temperatures as exacerbating factors. The General Directorate of Forestry warned people not to light fires outside for the next 10 days because of the weather conditions across western Turkey, warning of a 70% greater risk of wildfires. Firefighters extinguished on Friday a blaze in Canakkale province that threatened World War I memorials and graves at the Gallipoli battle site.

    At the peninsula where an Allied landing was beaten back by Ottoman troops in a yearlong campaign in 1915, the flames reached Canterbury Cemetery, where soldiers from New Zealand are interred. Images of the site in northwest Turkey showed soot-blackened gravestones in a scorched garden looking out over the Aegean Sea.

    Meanwhile, authorities detained four people in Bolu in connection with the fires, two of whom were arrested and two released.

    In June, a fire spread through settlements in southeast Turkey, killing 11 people and leaving dozens of others requiring medical treatment.

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  • Hurricane Ernesto makes landfall on Bermuda as a Category 1 storm

    Hurricane Ernesto makes landfall on Bermuda as a Category 1 storm

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    MEXICO CITY — Hurricane Ernesto which made landfall on the tiny British Atlantic territory of Bermuda early Saturday was downgraded to a tropical storm by afternoon, according to the National Hurricane Center.

    The storm brought heavy rain and strong winds forcing residents to stay indoors and keeping more than 26,000 without power, officials said.

    Earlier, the U.S. National Hurricane Center warned of strong winds, a dangerous storm surge and significant coastal flooding.

    It said some 6 to 9 inches (150-225 millimeters) of rain was expected to fall on Bermuda. “This rainfall will likely result in considerable life-threatening flash flooding, especially in low-lying areas on the island,” the center said.

    Due to the large size of the storm and its slow movement, tropical storm force winds and gusts to hurricane force are expected to continue through Saturday afternoon, with tropical storm-strength winds continuing well into Sunday, the Bermuda government said. Ernesto is moving toward the north-northeast at around 7 mph (11 kph).

    The Bermuda Weather Service confirmed the passage of the eye was from 5:30 am to 8:30 am local time in Bermuda. The eye expanded as it crossed Bermuda and they had lighter than expected winds.

    The Minister said that the Emergency Measures Organisation (EMO) is receiving damage assessments as reports from overnight come into the Operations Group. They have not received any reports of any major damages yet.

    The NHC reported life-threatening surf and rip currents on the east coast of the United States and said they would reach Canada during the day. The center of Ernesto will slowly move away from Bermuda Saturday and pass near southeastern Newfoundland late Monday and Monday night, said the center.

    Lana Morris, manager of Edgehill Manor Guest House in Bermuda said that conditions are calm, though the wind has started to pick up again.

    “I spoke to my guests, they told me they still have electricity, they have running water, and are comfortable.”

    Morris said she has been communicating with her guests via phone.

    “They do not have internet — but if the network is down, it’s down. They are safe and I’m happy with that.”

    Bermuda is an archipelago of 181 tiny islands whose total land mass is roughly the size of Manhattan.

    According to AccuWeather, it’s uncommon for the eye of a hurricane to make landfall in Bermuda. It noted that, before today, since 1850 only 11 of 130 tropical storms that came within 100 miles (160 kilometers) of Bermuda had landfall.

    The island is a renowned offshore financial center with sturdy construction, and given its elevation, storm surge is not as problematic as it is with low-lying islands.

    Ernesto previously battered the northeast Caribbean, where it left tens of thousands of people without water in Puerto Rico as the National Weather Service issued yet another severe heat advisory, warning of “dangerously hot and humid conditions.”

    LUMA, Puerto Rico’s national power company said they have restored more than 1.3 million customers’ electricity 72 hours after the passage of Ernesto. Hundreds of thousands of others were without water, as the National Weather Service issued yet another severe heat advisory, warning of “dangerously hot and humid conditions.”

    “It’s not easy,” said Andrés Cabrera, 60, who lives in the north coastal city of Carolina and has no water or power.

    Like many on the island, he could not afford a generator or solar panels. Cabrera said he was relying for relief only “on the wind that comes in from the street.”

    Officials said they hoped to restore power to 90% of nearly 1.5 million customers in Puerto Rico by Sunday, but have not said when they expect power to be fully restored.

    After a process of cleaning up and removing debris, The Virgin Islands Department of Education (VIDE) said that all public schools will resume operations on Monday.

    Classes in Puerto Rico public schools also were scheduled to start Monday, nearly a week after their original date.

    Ernesto is the fifth named storm and the third hurricane of this year’s Atlantic hurricane season.

    The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has predicted an above-average Atlantic hurricane season this year because of record warm ocean temperatures. It forecast 17 to 25 named storms, with four to seven major hurricanes.

    ——

    This story has been corrected to give the conversion of rainfall as millimeters instead of centimeters.

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  • Rare break in high heat, humidity starts a pleasant stretch

    Rare break in high heat, humidity starts a pleasant stretch

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    Thursday morning is off to a very warm and humid start. Temperatures are feeling much warmer than the upper 70s and lower 80s. A few isolated showers may make their way to the coast Thursday morning, otherwise it’s a dry start to the day. A weak front will slide in throughout the afternoon bringing in showers and a few storms after lunch. Up to a 50% coverage of rain is on tap. Temperatures Thursday afternoon should remain in the upper 80s and lower 90s as the front will move through during the day. However, some southern spots may be a bit warmer.This front will clear by the evening setting us up for a dry, and less humid night ahead. Friday will be a spectacular August day. Highs reach the lower 90s (average) and humidity is MUCH lower. It will be very pleasant outside despite highs in the 90s. Due to the lower humidity, rain chances are on the lower end Friday. An isolated shower is possible, otherwise it will be sunny & breezy. The lower humidity and isolated rain chances stick around this weekend. Highs on Saturday stay at average in the lower 90s, but then return to the middle 90s by Sunday. A few more rain chances are in the forecast Monday, then rain picks back up again on Tuesday. TROPICS: Ernesto is a Category 1 hurricane with winds of 85 mph. Ernesto is beginning its northerly trek towards Bermuda. Ernesto is no longer expected to become a major hurricane. However, it is still going to be a powerful Category 2 hurricane with winds of 110 mph as it nears Bermuda. Ernesto will not have big impacts to CFL however, rough surf and life-threatening rip currents are still likely along the east coast of Florida.

    ORLANDO, Fla. —

    Thursday morning is off to a very warm and humid start. Temperatures are feeling much warmer than the upper 70s and lower 80s.

    A few isolated showers may make their way to the coast Thursday morning, otherwise it’s a dry start to the day.

    A weak front will slide in throughout the afternoon bringing in showers and a few storms after lunch. Up to a 50% coverage of rain is on tap.

    Temperatures Thursday afternoon should remain in the upper 80s and lower 90s as the front will move through during the day. However, some southern spots may be a bit warmer.

    This front will clear by the evening setting us up for a dry, and less humid night ahead. Friday will be a spectacular August day.

    Highs reach the lower 90s (average) and humidity is MUCH lower. It will be very pleasant outside despite highs in the 90s.

    Due to the lower humidity, rain chances are on the lower end Friday. An isolated shower is possible, otherwise it will be sunny & breezy.

    The lower humidity and isolated rain chances stick around this weekend. Highs on Saturday stay at average in the lower 90s, but then return to the middle 90s by Sunday.

    A few more rain chances are in the forecast Monday, then rain picks back up again on Tuesday.

    TROPICS: Ernesto is a Category 1 hurricane with winds of 85 mph.

    Ernesto is beginning its northerly trek towards Bermuda. Ernesto is no longer expected to become a major hurricane. However, it is still going to be a powerful Category 2 hurricane with winds of 110 mph as it nears Bermuda.

    Ernesto will not have big impacts to CFL however, rough surf and life-threatening rip currents are still likely along the east coast of Florida.

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  • Ernesto becomes a hurricane after pummeling northeast Caribbean and knocking out power in the region

    Ernesto becomes a hurricane after pummeling northeast Caribbean and knocking out power in the region

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    SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico — Ernesto strengthened into a hurricane on Wednesday as it dropped torrential rain on Puerto Rico and left nearly half of all clients in the U.S. territory without power as it threatened to strengthen into a major storm en route to Bermuda.

    The storm was located about 175 miles (280 kilometers) northwest of San Juan, Puerto Rico and was moving over open waters. It had maximum sustained winds of 75 mph (120 kph) and was moving northwest at 16 mph (26 kph).

    “The official forecast still reflects the possibility of Ernesto becoming a major hurricane in about 48 hours,” the National Hurricane Center said late Wednesday morning.

    A tropical storm warning was in effect for Puerto Rico and its outlying islands of Vieques and Culebra and for the U.S. and British Virgin Islands.

    “I know it was a long night listening to that wind howl,” U.S. Virgin Islands Gov. Albert Bryan Jr. said in a news conference.

    An island-wide blackout was reported in St. John and St. Croix, and at least six cell phone towers were knocked offline across the U.S. territory, said Daryl Jaschen, emergency management director.

    He added that the airports in St. Croix and St. Thomas were expected to reopen at midday.

    Schools and government agencies, however, remained closed in the U.S. Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico, where heavy flooding was reported in several areas, forcing officials to block roads, some of which were strewn with trees. Nearly 100 flights also were canceled to and from Puerto Rico.

    “A lot of rain, a lot of rain,” Culebra Mayor Edilberto Romero said in a phone interview. “We have trees that have fallen on public roads. There are some roofs that are blown off.”

    Ernesto is forecast to move through open waters for the rest of the week and make its closest approach to Bermuda on Friday and Saturday. It is expected to become a major Category 3 storm in the upcoming days and then weaken slightly to a Category 2 as it nears Bermuda.

    “Residents need to prepare now before conditions worsen,” said Bermuda’s National Security Minister Michael Weeks. “Now is not the time for complacency.”

    Forecasters also warned of heavy swells along the U.S. East Coast.

    “That means that anybody who goes to the beach, even if the weather is beautiful and nice, it could be dangerous … with those rip currents,” said Robbie Berg, warning coordination meteorologist with the National Hurricane Center.

    Between 4 to 6 inches of rain is expected in the U.S. and British Virgin Islands and between 6 to 8 inches in Puerto Rico, with up to 10 inches in isolated areas.

    The government of the U.S. Virgin Islands reported an island-wide blackout in St. Croix, while in Puerto Rico, more than half a million customers were without power.

    Late on Tuesday, the U.S. Federal Emergency Management Agency had warned people in both U.S. territories to prepare for “extended power outages.”

    Luma Energy, the company that operates transmission and distribution of power in Puerto Rico, said early Wednesday that its priority was to restore power to hospitals, the island’s water and sewer company and other essential services.

    Puerto Rico’s power grid was razed by Hurricane Maria in September 2017 as a Category 4 storm, and it remains frail as crews continue to rebuild the system.

    Not everyone can afford generators on the island of 3.2 million people with a more than 40% poverty rate.

    “People already prepared themselves with candles,” said Lucía Rodríguez, a 31-year-old street vendor.

    Puerto Rico Gov. Pedro Pierluisi announced late Tuesday that U.S. President Joe Biden had approved his request to use emergency FEMA funds as a result of the tropical storm.

    Ernesto is the fifth named storm of this year’s Atlantic hurricane season.

    The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has predicted an above-average Atlantic hurricane season this year because of record warm ocean temperatures. It forecast 17 to 25 named storms, with four to seven major hurricanes of Category 3 or higher.

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    Associated Press journalist Julie Walker in New York contributed.

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  • Study finds rains that led to deadly Indian landslides were made worse by climate change

    Study finds rains that led to deadly Indian landslides were made worse by climate change

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    BENGALURU, India — The heavy rains that resulted in landslides killing hundreds in southern India last month were made worse by human-caused climate change, a rapid analysis by climate scientists found Tuesday.

    The study by the World Weather Attribution, a group of scientists who use established climate models to quickly determine whether human-caused climate change played a part in extreme weather events around the world, found that the 15 centimeters (5.91 inches) of rain that fell in a 24-hour period July 29-30 was 10% more intense because of global warming. The group expects further emissions of planet-heating gases will result in increasingly frequent intense downpours that can lead to such disasters.

    Nearly 200 people were killed and rescuers are still searching for more than 130 missing people in Kerala state, one of India’s most popular tourist destinations.

    “The Wayanad landslides are another catastrophic example of climate change playing out in real time,” said Mariam Zachariah, a climate scientist at Imperial College of London and one of the authors of the rapid study.

    Last month’s rainfall that caused the landslides was the third-heaviest in Kerala state since India’s weather agency began record-keeping in 1901.

    Last year over 400 people died due to heavy rains in the Indian Himalayan state of Himachal Pradesh. Multiple studies have found that India’s monsoon rains have become more erratic as a result of climate change. “Until the world replaces fossil fuels with renewable energy, monsoon downpours will continue to intensify, bringing landslides, floods and misery to India,” said Zachariah.

    India’s southern state Kerala has been particularly vulnerable to climate change-driven extreme weather. Heavy rainfall in 2018 flooded large parts of the state, killing at least 500 people, and a cyclonic storm in 2017 killed at least 250 people including fishers who were at sea near the state’s coasts.

    “Millions of people are sweltering in deadly heat in the summer. Meanwhile, in monsoons, heavier downpours are fuelling floods and landslides, like we saw in Wayanad,” said Arpita Mondal, a climate scientist at the Indian Institute of Technology Bombay and one of the study’s authors. Earlier this year another study by the same group found that deadly heat waves that killed at least 100 people in India were found to have been made at least 45 times more likely due to global warming.

    India, the world’s most populous country, is among the highest current emitters of planet-heating gases and is also considered to be among the most vulnerable regions in the world to climate impacts.

    “When it rains now, it rains heavily. In a warmer world, these extreme events will be more frequent and we cannot stop them. However, we can try to establish early warning systems for landslides and also avoid any construction activity in landslide-prone regions,” said Madhavan Rajeevan, a retired senior official at India’s Ministry of Earth Sciences who is from Kerala state.

    Tuesday’s study also recommended minimizing deforestation and quarrying, while improving early warning and evacuation systems to help protect people in the region from future landslides and floods. The study said the Wayanad region had seen a 62% decrease in forest cover and that that may have contributed to increased risks of landslides during heavy rains.

    “Even heavier downpours are expected as the climate warms, which underscores the urgency to prepare for similar landslides in northern Kerala,” said Maja Vahlberg, climate risk consultant at Red Cross Red Crescent Climate Centre who was also an author of the study.

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    Follow Sibi Arasu on X at @sibi123

    ___

    The Associated Press’ climate and environmental coverage receives financial support from multiple private foundations. AP is solely responsible for all content. Find AP’s standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at AP.org.

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  • Debby departs DC region after dumping nonstop rain, flooding roads and downing trees – WTOP News

    Debby departs DC region after dumping nonstop rain, flooding roads and downing trees – WTOP News

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    Post Tropical Cyclone Debby started to move out of the D.C. area Friday afternoon after drenching the region with heavy rains and high winds throughout the morning. Here’s what you need to know. 

    Listen live to WTOP for traffic and weather updates on the 8s.

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    Debby’s deluge: Post tropical cyclone continues downpour on DC area

    Post Tropical Cyclone Debby moved out of the D.C. area Friday afternoon after drenching the region with heavy rains and high winds throughout the morning.

    However, a cold front approaching from the west brought the chance for a few more scattered showers and some gusty thunderstorms through Friday evening, WTOP meteorologist Mike Stinneford said, adding that conditions will remain “rather muggy” for the rest of the day. 

    “Not expecting a big outbreak of severe weather but some storms can produce some gusty winds and heavy rainfall,” Stinneford said.

    Any storms were expected to end quickly and skies will clear up overnight.

    Overall, remnants from Debby dumped between 2.5 to 4.5 inches of rain Friday morning. Parts of the area were under a tornado watch, which was canceled around noon, but not before the National Weather Service issued tornado warnings in parts of Northern Virginia.

    A flood warning in effect was in effect until 10 p.m. Friday for the major bodies of water around the D.C. metropolitan area where roads have the likelihood of flooding due to increased water levels, according to the NWS.

    A ground delay was reported at Reagan National Airport in Arlington until 10 p.m. “due to low ceilings,” according to the FAA.

    Earlier, the threat of severe weather prompted school systems to modify their schedules for Friday, including closures and cancellations.

    Showers will stick around late into Friday evening, and winds should also die down overnight, with breezy conditions on Saturday morning.

    “Good news is, much nicer for the weekend, with sunshine and lower humidity,” WTOP meteorologist Lauryn Ricketts said.

    Flooding from Debby in Annapolis, Maryland.
    (WTOP/John Domen)

    WTOP/John Domen

    Car make a splash in Langley Park, trying to get through flooded roadways during Storm Debby.
    (WTOP/Kyle Cooper)

    WTOP/Kyle Cooper

    Alexandria commuters move slowly through the last remnants of Storm Debby, which brought heavy rain and flooding.
    (WTOP/Cheyenne Corin)

    WTOP/Cheyenne Corin

    Roads were closed in Annapolis, Maryland, as Storm Debby brought heavy flooding.
    (WTOP/John Domen)

    WTOP/John Domen

    A car at the intersection of University Blvd. and New Hampshire Ave. drives through flood water in Langley Park after the last remnants of Storm Debby.
    (WTOP/Kyle Cooper)

    WTOP/Kyle Cooper

    The docks in Annapolis flooded during Storm Debby, with boats floating at ground level.
    (WTOP/John Domen)

    WTOP/John Domen

    A tow truck helps cars that get stuck in a large puddle on Game Preserve Road in Maryland after the last remnants of Storm Debby.
    (WTOP/Kyle Cooper)

    WTOP/Kyle Cooper

    FORECAST

    FRIDAY NIGHT: Clearing skies. Lows mid 60s to lower 70s

    SATURDAY: Partly to mostly sunny with lower humidity. A passing showers possible southeast of D.C. Highs mid to upper 80s

    SUNDAY: Partly to mostly sunny. The humidity will stay low. Highs low to mid 80s

    MONDAY: Partly cloudy and pleasant. Highs in the lower 80s

    TUESDAY: A chance of a shower. Highs near 80

    CURRENT CONDITIONS

    Outages

    The Associated Press and WTOP’s Will Vitka and Kate Ryan contributed to this report.

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    © 2024 WTOP. All Rights Reserved. This website is not intended for users located within the European Economic Area.

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    Emily Venezky

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  • Forecasters still predict highly active Atlantic hurricane season in mid-season update

    Forecasters still predict highly active Atlantic hurricane season in mid-season update

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    MIAMI — Federal forecasters are still predicting a highly active Atlantic hurricane season thanks to near-record sea surface temperatures and the possibility of La Nina, officials said Thursday.

    The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s updated hurricane outlook said atmospheric and oceanic conditions have set the stage for an extremely active hurricane season that could rank among the busiest on record.

    “The hurricane season got off to an early and violent start with Hurricane Beryl, the earliest category-5 Atlantic hurricane on record,” NOAA Administrator Rick Spinrad said in a statement. “NOAA’s update to the hurricane seasonal outlook is an important reminder that the peak of hurricane season is right around the corner, when historically the most significant impacts from hurricanes and tropical storms tend to occur.”

    Not much has changed from predictions released in May. Forecasters tweaked the number of expected named storms from 17 to 25 to 17 to 24. Of those named storms, 8 to 13 are still likely to become hurricanes with sustained winds of at least 75 mph, including 4 to 7 major hurricanes with at least 111 mph winds.

    An average Atlantic hurricane season produces 14 named storms, seven of them hurricanes and three major hurricanes. Hurricane season runs from June 1 through Nov. 30.

    The updated outlook includes two tropical storms and two hurricanes that have already formed this year. The latest storm, Hurricane Debby, hit the Gulf Coast of Florida on Monday and was still moving through the Carolinas as a tropical storm on Thursday.

    When meteorologists look at how busy a hurricane season is, two factors matter most: ocean temperatures in the Atlantic where storms spin up and need warm water for fuel, and whether there is a La Nina or El Nino, the natural and periodic cooling or warming of Pacific Ocean waters that changes weather patterns worldwide. A La Nina tends to turbocharge Atlantic storm activity while depressing storminess in the Pacific and an El Nino does the opposite.

    La Nina usually reduces high-altitude winds that can decapitate hurricanes, and generally during a La Nina there’s more instability or storminess in the atmosphere, which can seed hurricane development. Storms get their energy from hot water. An El Nino that contributed to record warm ocean temperatures for about a year ended in June, and forecasters are expecting a La Nina to emerge some time between September and November. That could overlap with peak hurricane season, which is usually mid-August to mid-October.

    Even with last season’s El Nino, which usually inhibits storms, warm water still led to an above average hurricane season. Last year had 20 named storms, the fourth-highest since 1950 and far more than the average of 14. An overall measurement of the strength, duration and frequency of storms had last season at 17% bigger than normal.

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  • Heavy rain hit DC area Wednesday night, with Debby to bring more this week – WTOP News

    Heavy rain hit DC area Wednesday night, with Debby to bring more this week – WTOP News

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    A cold front moving through the region will bring in cooler temperatures and heavy storms on Wednesday before the remnants of Debby move in by the end of the week.

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    Alexandria residents prepare for possible flooding from Debby

    Listen live to WTOP for traffic and weather updates on the 8s.

    Parts of the D.C. region received heavy rain and storms Wednesday as Tropical Storm Debby pushes its way north after smacking the Gulf Coast. Here’s what you need to know.

    Loudoun County, Virginia, already received 2 to 4 inches of rain and is likely to get another 1 to 2 inches are possible by Thursday morning.

    “We’ll see more of the same Thursday late going to Thursday night and through Friday morning. All as some of the outermost bands from Debby, still spiraling off the coast of South Carolina, continues to move northward,” said 7News First Alert Chief Meteorologist Veronica Johnson.

    The flood threat will be at its highest late Thursday going into Friday where the D.C. area will be blanketed by about 5 inches of rain

    As of 7 p.m. Wednesday, between 1.5 and 3 inches of rain had already fallen in the area and another 1 to 3 inches are possible, according to the National Weather Service. Places such as Frederick, Ijamsville, Ballenger Creek and New Market were likely to experience flash flooding.

    The NWS warned of flooding in small creeks and streams, urban areas, highways, streets, underpasses and low-lying areas. A flash flooding warning was temporarily in effect for southeastern Frederick County due to passing heavy rain.

    Meanwhile, Tropical Storm Debby was meandering off the coast of the Carolinas as it moves north. 7News First Alert Senior Meteorologist Brian van de Graaff told WTOP that a cold front moving through the region brought cooler temperatures and heavy storms Wednesday before the remnants of Debby move in by the end of the week.

    “We are watching for the potential for some very intense rainfall,” he said.

    The First Alert Weather Center projects 2 to 4 inches of rain for the D.C. region from Debby. The National Weather Service also issued a flood watch for southeastern Virginia through Friday evening.

    Another flood watch, for Western Maryland and parts of Virginia, such as Culpeper and Orange counties, is in effect from Thursday evening to Friday evening, the NWS said.

    Looking ahead, “The good news is, coming over a 48-hour period would mean lesser chances for flooding, but … flooding can’t be ruled out. The National Weather Service may have to put some advisories out for that heading into your Friday,” van de Graaff said.

    It’s going to depend on the storm’s path. That might mean gusty winds and, perhaps, even some isolated tornadoes, according to van de Graaff, something they’ll be watching very carefully.

    “It’s all dependent on the path of that storm and which way it goes. I do think it all moves out of here just in time for the weekend,” van de Graaff said.

    Preparations for Debby

    Maryland Gov. Wes Moore declared a state of preparedness ahead of the “significant risk” Tropical Storm Debby poses to the D.C. area, and said, “Should there be a public emergency due to severe weather, preparations will be made and local agencies will be given additional resources and support to protect the public.”

    Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin declared a state of emergency for the Commonwealth as the impending weather “could cause transportation difficulties and power outages.”

    “As we prepare for Tropical Storm Debby, I urge all Virginians and visitors to stay informed, follow local emergency guidelines, and take necessary precautions to ensure the safety of their families and communities,” Youngkin said. “There is the potential for strong winds, heavy rains, and possible flooding across regions of the Commonwealth.”

    Transportation officials in Virginia said that if travel is a must during heavy weather, drivers should check road conditions before heading out by checking the 511 Virginia mobile app, the 511 Virginia site or by calling 511. Travelers should also report any concerns such as flooding, downed trees or road hazards to the Virginia Department of Transportation’s 24-hour Customer Service Center.

    In Montgomery County, Maryland, officials urged residents to sign up for Alert Montgomery to keep up to date with flood risks as Tropical Storm Debby approaches.

    “With a storm system like this, what we’re concerned about is the near-random locations of high intensity rainfalls that overwhelm the local stormwater management systems in that area,” said Montgomery County Assistant Chief Administrative Officer Earl Stoddard.

    There are areas of the county that flood regularly when heavy storms hit.

    “The aptly named Beach Drive is a common place where we see flooding,” Stoddard said.

    There are also flood monitors that dot the county, with sensors that serve as warnings before actual flooding take place, said Stoddard.

    “We have teams around the county making sure those monitors are actively working right now.”

    There are sandbags available for residents in Calvert County in Maryland and in Alexandria in Virginia.

    WTOP’s Nick Iannelli hears from people in flood-prone Alexandria, Virginia, ahead of Debbie’s arrival to the D.C. area.

    Forecast

    OVERNIGHT: Scattered rain and thunderstorms likely, warm and muggy
    Lows: 70s
    Winds: NE 4-8 mph
    Scattered thunderstorms are likely as the outer bands of Debby interact with a stalled weather front. It is looking like a soggy morning rush.

    THURSDAY: FLOOD ALERT
    Scattered rain and heavy storms likely
    Highs: 75-80
    Winds: East 5-10 mph
    Widespread moderate to heavy rain is likely due to the remnants of Debby moving through the region. Rainfall amounts could range from 1 to 3 inches by end of day. 

    FRIDAY: SEVERE ALERT
    Rain likely, potentially heavy with a few strong to severe storms
    Highs: 75-80
    Winds: East 5-10 mph
    Widespread rain is likely due to the remnants of Debby moving through the region. Rain could become quite heavy with strong winds and isolated tornadoes.

    Tropical Update: Tropical Storm Debby
    Debby made landfall as a Category 1 hurricane near the Big Bend region of Florida on Monday and is now a tropical storm again. Our latest forecast has it stalling out over the Carolinas through about Wednesday. After that, a weakened Debby will start to trek northward toward the Mid-Atlantic. However, a slight shift east could mean drier conditions, while a shift to the west could mean wetter conditions. Regardless, relief from the heat and drought is likely as we are trending cloudier, cooler and wetter through Friday. Plan on a nice weekend with lowering humidity levels and a chance to dry out. Stay tuned for the latest updates.

    CURRENT CONDITIONS

    WTOP’s Ciara Wells and Nick Iannelli contributed to this report. 

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    © 2024 WTOP. All Rights Reserved. This website is not intended for users located within the European Economic Area.

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  • Tropical Storm Debby has made a second landfall in South Carolina. It’s expected to bring heavy rain up the East Coast

    Tropical Storm Debby has made a second landfall in South Carolina. It’s expected to bring heavy rain up the East Coast

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    Tropical Storm Debby has made a second landfall in South Carolina. It’s expected to bring heavy rain up the East Coast

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  • July ends 13-month streak of global heat records as El Nino ebbs, but experts warn against relief

    July ends 13-month streak of global heat records as El Nino ebbs, but experts warn against relief

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    Earth’s string of 13 straight months with a new average heat record came to an end this past July as the natural El Nino climate pattern ebbed, the European climate agency Copernicus announced Wednesday.

    But July 2024 ’s average heat just missed surpassing the July of a year ago, and scientists said the end of the record-breaking streak changes nothing about the threat posed by climate change.

    “The overall context hasn’t changed,” Copernicus deputy director Samantha Burgess said in a statement. “Our climate continues to warm.”

    Human-caused climate change drives extreme weather events that are wreaking havoc around the globe, with several examples just in recent weeks. In Cape Town, South Africa, thousands were displaced by torrential rain, gale-force winds, flooding and more. A fatal landslide hit Indonesia’s Sulawesi island. Beryl left a massive path of destruction as it set the record for the earliest Category 4 hurricane. And Japanese authorities said more than 120 people died in record heat in Tokyo.

    Those hot temperatures have been especially merciless.

    The globe for July 2024 averaged 62.4 degrees Fahrenheit (16.91 degrees Celsius), which is 1.2 degrees (0.68 Celsius) above the 30-year average for the month, according to Copernicus. Temperatures were a small fraction lower than the same period last year.

    It is the second-warmest July and second-warmest of any month recorded in the agency’s records, behind only July 2023. The Earth also had its two hottest days on record, on July 22 and July 23, each averaging about 62.9 degrees Fahrenheit (17.16 degrees Celsius).

    During July, the world was 1.48 degrees Celsius (2.7 degrees Fahrenheit) warmer, by Copernicus’ measurement, than pre-industrial times. That’s close to the warming limit that nearly all the countries in the world agreed to in the 2015 Paris climate agreement: 1.5 degrees.

    El Nino — which naturally warms the Pacific Ocean and changes weather across the globe — spurred the 13 months of record heat, said Copernicus senior climate scientist Julien Nicolas. That has come to a close, hence July’s slight easing of temperatures. La Nina conditions — natural cooling — aren’t expected until later in the year.

    But there’s still a general trend of warming.

    “The global picture is not that much different from where we were a year ago,” Nicolas said in an interview.

    “The fact that the global sea surface temperature is and has been at record or near record levels for the past more than a year now has been an important contributing factor,” he said. “The main driving force, driving actor behind this record temperature is also the long-term warming trend that is directly related to buildup of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere.”

    That includes carbon dioxide from the burning of fossil fuels such as coal, oil and natural gas.

    July’s temperatures hit certain regions especially hard, including western Canada and the western United States. They baked, with around one-third of the U.S. population under warnings at one point for dangerous and record-breaking heat.

    In southern and eastern Europe, the Italian health ministry issued its most severe heat warning for several cities in southern Europe and the Balkans. Greece was forced to close its biggest cultural attraction, the Acropolis, due to excessive temperatures. A majority of France was under heat warnings as the country welcomed the Olympics in late July.

    Also affected were most of Africa, the Middle East and Asia, and eastern Antarctica, according to Copernicus. Temperatures in Antarctica were well above average, the scientists say.

    “Things are going to continue to get worse because we haven’t stopped doing the thing that’s making them worse,” said Gavin Schmidt, climatologist and director of the Goddard Institute for Space Studies, who wasn’t part of the report.

    Schmidt noted that different methodologies or calculations could produce slightly different results, including that July may have even continued the streak. The primary takeaway, he said: “Even if the record-breaking streak comes to an end, the forces that are pushing the temperatures higher, they’re not stopping.

    “Does it matter that July is a record or not a record? No, because the thing that matters, the thing that is impacting everybody,” Schmidt added, “is the fact that the temperatures this year and last year are still much, much warmer than they were in the 1980s, than they were pre-industrial. And we’re seeing the impacts of that change.”

    People across the globe shouldn’t see relief in July’s numbers, the experts say.

    “There’s been a lot of attention given to this 13-month streak of global records,” said Copernicus’ Nicolas. “But the consequences of climate change have been seen for many years. This started before June 2023, and they won’t end because this streak of records is ending.”

    ___

    Alexa St. John is an Associated Press climate solutions reporter. Follow her on X, formerly Twitter, @alexa_stjohn. Reach her at ast.john@ap.org.

    ___

    The Associated Press’ climate and environmental coverage receives financial support from multiple private foundations. AP is solely responsible for all content. Find AP’s standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at AP.org.

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  • New Yorkers are warned from the skies about impending danger from storms as city deploys drones

    New Yorkers are warned from the skies about impending danger from storms as city deploys drones

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    NEW YORK — Gone is the bullhorn. Instead, New York City emergency management officials have turned high-tech, using drones to warn residents about potential threatening weather.

    With a buzzing sound in the background, a drone equipped with a loudspeaker flies over homes warning people who live in basement or ground-floor apartments about impending heavy rains.

    “Be prepared to leave your location,” said the voice from the sky in footage released Tuesday by the city’s emergency management agency. “If flooding occurs, do not hesitate.”

    About five teams with multiple drones each were deployed to specific neighborhoods prone to flooding. Zach Iscol, the city’s emergency management commissioner, said the messages were being relayed in multiple languages. They were expected to continue until the weather impacted the drone flights.

    Flash floods have been deadly for New Yorkers living in basement apartments, which can quickly fill up in a deluge. Eleven people drowned in such homes in 2021 amid rain from the remnants of Hurricane Ida.

    The drones are in addition to other forms of emergency messaging, including social media, text alerts and a system that reaches more than 2,000 community-based organizations throughout the city that serve senior citizens, people with disabilities and other groups.

    “You know, we live in a bubble, and we have to meet people where they are in notifications so they can be prepared,” New York City Mayor Eric Adams said at a press briefing on Tuesday.

    Adams is a self-described “tech geek” whose administration has tapped drone technology to monitor large gatherings as well as to search for sharks on beaches. Under his watch, the city’s police department also briefly toyed with using a robot to patrol the Times Square subway station, and it has sometimes deployed a robotic dog to dangerous scenes, including the Manhattan parking garage that collapsed in 2023.

    ——-

    This story corrects that 11 people drowned in 2021, not 2011.

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  • Tropical Storm Debby is expected to send flooding to the Southeast. Here’s how much rain could fall

    Tropical Storm Debby is expected to send flooding to the Southeast. Here’s how much rain could fall

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    Northern Florida, the coastal regions of Georgia and South Carolina and parts of North Carolina are bracing for severe rain and catastrophic flooding this week as the Debby storm system moves up and east.

    Debby made landfall as a Category 1 hurricane on the Big Bend coast of Florida early Monday, first hitting the small community of Steinhatchee. It damaged homes and businesses, sent floodwaters rising, caused sweeping power outages across the state and Georgia and led to several fatalities. Debby was downgraded to a tropical storm midday Monday.

    But experts say the worst is yet to come as the storm system is expected to stall over the Southeast region.

    Forecasters say the system could pummel the Southeast with widespread areas of up to 20 inches (51 centimeters) of rain and some totaling up to 30 inches (76 centimeters).

    That would be a record-setting rainfall, shattering the record from a tropical system in 2018’s Hurricane Florence. More than 23 inches (58 centimeters) of rain was recorded in South Carolina after that storm hit the Carolinas.

    Although Debby was classified as a Category 1, “It really is worthy of a Category 3 or 4 rating, if you want to talk about rainfall impacts,” said Jeff Masters, founder of Weather Underground, now with Yale Climate Connections. “That’s going to cause a lot of damage.”

    Northern Florida as well as low-lying areas including Savannah, Georgia, and Hilton Head Island and Charleston, South Carolina, are expected to see the most severe flooding. North Carolina could also be impacted.

    Officials in Savannah warned the area could see a month’s worth of rain in four days if the system stalls. There were also flooding concerns for Tybee Island, Georgia’s largest public beach 18 miles (28.97 kilometers) east of Savannah. On top of any torrential downpours that Debby dishes out, the island could get even wetter from 2 to 4 feet of storm surge, according to the National Hurricane Center.

    “We don’t know how much rain is going to fall. But we have to prepare for the worst,” Hilton Head Island Mayor Alan Perry said on a video posted to Facebook. “If that happens, we will see an event we have never seen on Hilton Head before.”

    Meanwhile, Charleston County Interim Emergency Director Ben Webster called Debby a “historic and potentially unprecedented event” three times in a 90-second briefing Monday morning.

    Few places in South Carolina are as susceptible to flooding as Charleston. Much of the city and surrounding areas founded in 1670 were built on land created by using fill dirt and other debris. Rising sea levels cause a number of minor flooding events even without a storm and like many coastal cities, Charleston can’t drain well.

    The city doesn’t expect a massive amount of flooding from the ocean, but the storm is still dangerous. Heavy rain can back up into the city, also causing flooding.

    Some hurricanes make landfall and move quickly, experts say, while others slow substantially.

    “Really what happened, and why the storm has stalled, is because there’s basically high pressure areas to the west of the storm and to the northeast, and that’s kind of pinned the storm,” said Phil Klotzbach, senior research scientist at Colorado State University’s Department of Atmospheric Science. “With a hurricane you always have wind problems, but when you have a storm moving at 3 to 5 miles an hour, it’s going to be over any specific location for a very long period of time, so flash flooding and just tremendous rainfall totals are going to be very likely.”

    Experts say the warming atmosphere plays a role in the severity of storm surges such as Debby.

    Warming water in the northeast Gulf of Mexico is increasing Hurricane Debby’s heavy rains, as more moisture evaporates from the waters, Masters said. Some research says climate change can impact the forward motion of hurricanes, he added, making them go slower.

    “It’s something we’ve been seeing more of lately,” Masters said.

    The worst of the rain is expected during the first half of the week, but it could last through Saturday, forecasters said.

    ___

    St. John reported from Detroit. Jeffrey Collins contributed from Columbia, South Carolina. Russ Bynum contributed from Savannah, Georgia.

    ___

    Alexa St. John is an Associated Press climate solutions reporter. Follow her on X, formerly Twitter, @alexa_stjohn. Reach her at ast.john@ap.org.

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  • Tropical Storm Debby hits Florida with floods

    Tropical Storm Debby hits Florida with floods

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    HORSESHOE BEACH, Fla. — Tropical Storm Debby slammed Florida on Monday with torrential rain and high winds, contributing to at least four deaths in the state and causing flooding before turning menacingly toward the Eastern Seaboard’s low-lying regions and threatened to flood some of America’s most historic Southern cities.

    Record-setting rain was expected to cause flash flooding, with up to 30 inches possible in some areas, the National Hurricane Center said. Up to 18 inches was forecast in central and north Florida. A flash flood emergency was issued into Monday evening for the Lake City area, where up to a foot rain had fallen and more was expected.

    The potential for high water also threatened Savannah, Georgia, and Charleston, South Carolina.

    Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis warned that just because the storm was moving into Georgia, it didn’t mean the state wouldn’t continue to see threats as waterways north of the border fill up and flow south.

    “It is a very saturating, wet storm,” he said during an afternoon briefing at the state’s emergency operations center. “When they crest and the water that’s going to come down from Georgia, it’s just something that we’re going to be on alert for not just throughout today, but for the next week.”

    Debby made landfall along the Gulf Coast of Florida early Monday as a Category 1 hurricane. It since has weakened to a tropical storm and is moving slowly, covering roads with water and contributing to at least five deaths.

    A truck driver died on Interstate 75 in the Tampa area after he lost control of his tractor trailer, which flipped over a concrete wall and dangled over the edge before the cab dropped into the water below. Sheriff’s office divers located the driver, a 64-year-old man from Mississippi, in the cab 40 feet below the surface, according to the Florida Highway Patrol.

    A 13-year-old boy died Monday morning after a tree fell on a mobile home southwest of Gainesville, according to the Levy County Sheriff’s Office.

    And in Dixie County, just east of where the storm made landfall, a 38-year-old woman and a 12-year-old boy died in a car crash on wet roads Sunday night. The Florida Highway Patrol said a 14-year-old boy who was a passenger was hospitalized with serious injuries.

    In southern Georgia, a 19-year-old man died Monday afternoon when a large tree fell onto a porch at a home in Moultrie, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported.

    Nearly 200,000 customers remained without power in Florida and Georgia on Monday afternoon, down from a peak of more than 350,000, according to PowerOutage.us and Georgia Electric Membership Corp.

    DeSantis said some 17,000 workers were restoring electricity. He warned residents in affected areas to stay off the roads until conditions are safe.

    Airports were also affected. More than 1,600 flights had been canceled nationwide, many of them to and from Florida airports, according to FlightAware.com.

    Sarasota, Florida, a beach city popular with tourists, was one of the hardest hit by flooding.

    “Essentially we’ve had twice the amount of the rain that was predicted for us to have,” said Sarasota County Fire Chief David Rathbun in a social media update.

    Local leaders in Savannah, Georgia, said flooding could happen in areas that don’t usually get high water if Debby stalls out over the city. With winds and rainfall expected to worsen overnight, authorities issued a curfew from 10 p.m. Monday until 6 a.m. Tuesday.

    “This type of rain hovering over us, coming with the intensity that they tell us it is coming, it’s going to catch a whole lot of people by surprise,” said Chatham County Chairman Chester Ellis.

    In South Carolina, Charleston County Interim Emergency Director Ben Webster called Debby a “historic and potentially unprecedented event” three times in a 90-second briefing Monday morning.

    The city of Charleston has an emergency plan in place that includes sandbags for residents, opening parking garages so residents can park their cars above floodwaters and an online mapping system that shows which roads are closed due to flooding. Officials announced a curfew for the city starting at 11 p.m. as some of the heaviest rain is expected to fall overnight.

    North Carolina is also under a state of emergency after Gov. Roy Cooper declared it in an executive order signed Monday. Several areas along the state’s coastline are prone to flooding, such as Wilmington and the Outer Banks, according to the North Carolina Floodplain Mapping Program.

    North Carolina and South Carolina have dealt with three catastrophic floods from tropical systems in the past nine years, all causing more than $1 billion in damage.

    In 2015, rainfall fed by moisture as Hurricane Joaquin passed well offshore caused massive flooding. In 2016, flooding from Hurricane Matthew caused 24 deaths in the two states and rivers set record crests. Those records were broken in 2018 with Hurricane Florence, which set rainfall records in both Carolinas, flooded many of the same places and was responsible for 42 deaths in North Carolina and nine in South Carolina.

    President Joe Biden was briefed on Debby’s progress while at his home in Wilmington, Delaware, the White House said. Biden approved a request from South Carolina’s governor for an emergency declaration, following his earlier approval of a similar request from Florida. Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp said he has asked Biden to issue a preemptive federal emergency declaration to speed the flow of federal aid to the state.

    Vice President Kamala Harris has postponed a scheduled trip to Georgia. Harris’ campaign said her stop planned in Savannah, Georgia, on Thursday, was being put off due to the storm.

    Debby made landfall near Steinhatchee, a tiny community in northern Florida of less than 1,000 residents. It’s not far from where Hurricane Idalia made landfall less than a year ago as a Category 3 storm.

    Sue Chewning lives in Steinhatchee and weathered both storms. In her nearly 73 years of living in the area, she said she doesn’t recall any direct hits from a hurricane — until this one-two punch from Idalia and Debby.

    “Some people may say, ‘I can’t take this anymore’. But I think for the most part … it’s a close-knit community and most of the local people, they’re going to stay, dig down, help each other,” Chewning said.

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    By JEFF MARTIN and CHRISTOPHER O’MEARA – Associated Press

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  • Torrential rains have claimed more than 150 lives in China in the past 2 months

    Torrential rains have claimed more than 150 lives in China in the past 2 months

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    BEIJING — Landslides and flooding have killed more than 150 people around China in the past two months as torrential rainstorms batter the region.

    In the latest disaster, a flood and mudslide in a mountainous Tibetan area in Sichuan province on Saturday left eight people dead with 19 others still unaccounted for, state media said.

    The early morning disaster destroyed homes and killed at least six people in the village of Ridi, the official Xinhua News Agency said. Two more people died and eight are missing there after a bridge between two tunnels collapsed and four vehicles plummeted.

    China is in the middle of its peak flood season, which runs from mid-July to mid-August, and Chinese policymakers have repeatedly warned that the government needs to step up disaster preparations as severe weather becomes more common.

    An annual government report on climate said last month that historical data shows the frequency of both extreme precipitation and heat has risen in China, according to state broadcaster CCTV.

    A heat warning was in effect Monday in parts of eastern China, where temperatures were expected to top 40 degrees Celsius (104 Fahrenheit) in several cities including Nanjing, and 37 C (98 F) in nearby Shanghai on the coast.

    There have been a series of deadly rainstorms since June.

    Days of intense rain from the aftermath of Typhoon Gaemi, which weakened to a tropical storm after making landfall in China about 10 days ago, killed at least 48 people in Hunan province and left 35 others missing last week.

    Authorities said Friday that the death toll from an earlier storm in July that knocked out a section of a bridge in Shaanxi province in the middle of the night had risen to 38 people, with another 24 still missing. At least 25 cars fell into a raging river that washed some of them far downstream.

    In mid-June, at least 47 died from flooding and mudslides after extremely heavy rain in Guangzhou province. Six more people died in neighboring Fujian province.

    Intense rains have also taken hundreds of lives elsewhere in Asia this summer, including devastating landslides that killed more than 200 people in south India last week.

    The remnants of Typhoon Gaemi also drenched northeastern China and North Korea, overflowing the Yalu River that divides them and inundating cities, towns and farmland.

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  • Tropical Storm Debby barrels toward Florida

    Tropical Storm Debby barrels toward Florida

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    TAMPA, Fla. — Tropical Storm Debby was strengthening rapidly Sunday and was expected to become a hurricane as it churned through the Gulf of Mexico toward Florida, bringing heavy bands of rain to that state and with it the threat of devastating floods to the southeast Atlantic coast later in the week.

    The storm was likely to become a strong Category 1 hurricane before making landfall Monday in the Big Bend region of Florida or the Florida Panhandle, the National Hurricane Center in Miami said.

    “Right now, we are trying secure everything from floating away,” said Sheryl Horne, whose family owns the Shell Island Fish Camp along the Wakulla River in St. Marks, Florida, where some customers moved their boats inland. The Big Bend region was hit last year by Hurricane Idalia, which made landfall as a category 3 hurricane.

    “I am used to storms and I’m used to cleaning up after storms,” Horne said.

    Debby was expected to move eastward over northern Florida and then stall over the coastal regions of Georgia and South Carolina, thrashing the region with potential record-setting rains totaling up to 30 inches beginning Tuesday. Officials also warned of life-threatening storm surge along Florida’s Gulf Coast, with 6 to 10 feet of inundation expected Monday between the Ochlockonee and Suwannee rivers.

    “There’s some really amazing rainfall totals being forecast and amazing in a bad way,” Michael Brennan, director of the hurricane center, said at a briefing. “That would be record-breaking rainfall associated with a tropical cyclone for both the states of Georgia and South Carolina if we got up to the 30 inch level.”

    Flooding impacts could last through Friday and are expected to be especially severe in low-lying areas near the coast, including Savannah, Georgia; Hilton Head, South Carolina; and Charleston, South Carolina. North Carolina officials were monitoring the storm’s progress.

    Officials in Savannah said the area could see a month’s worth of rain in four days if the system stalls over the region.

    “This is going to a significant storm. The word historic cannot be underscored here,” Savannah Mayor Van. R. Johnson said during a press conference.

    The hurricane center said in a 5 p.m. update that Debby was located about 120 miles west of Tampa, Florida, with maximum sustained winds of 65 mph. The storm was moving north at 12 mph.

    Debby’s outer bands grazed the west coast of Florida, flooding streets and bringing power outages. Sarasota County officials said most roadways on Siesta Key, a barrier island off the coast of Sarasota, were under water. The hurricane center had predicted the system would strengthen as it curved off the southwest Florida coast, where the water has been extremely warm.

    At a briefing Sunday afternoon, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis warned that the storm could lead to “really, really significant flooding that will happen in North Central Florida.”

    He said it would follow a similar track to Hurricane Idalia but would “be much wetter. We are going to see much more inundation.”

    Debby is the fourth named storm of the 2024 Atlantic hurricane season after Tropical Storm Alberto, Hurricane Beryl and Tropical Storm Chris, all of which formed in June.

    A hurricane warning was issued for parts of the Big Bend and the Florida Panhandle, while tropical storm warnings were posted for Florida’s West Coast, the southern Florida Keys and Dry Tortugas. A tropical storm watch extended farther west into the Panhandle.

    Tropical storms and hurricanes can trigger river flooding and overwhelm drainage systems and canals. Forecasters warned of 6 to 12 inches of rain and up to 18 inches in isolated areas of Florida.

    Flat Florida is prone to flooding even on sunny days, and the storm was predicted to bring a surge of 2 to 4 feet along most of the Gulf Coast, including Tampa Bay, with a storm tide of up to 7 feet north of there in the sparsely populated Big Bend region.

    Forecasters warned of “a danger of life-threatening storm surge inundation” in a region that includes Hernando Beach, Crystal River, Steinhatchee and Cedar Key. Officials in Citrus and Levy counties ordered a mandatory evacuation of coastal areas, while those in Hernando, Manatee, Pasco and Taylor counties called for voluntary evacuations. Shelters opened in those and some other counties.

    Citrus County Sheriff Mike Prendergast estimated 21,000 people live in his county’s evacuation zone.

    Residents in Steinhatchee, Florida, which flooded during Hurricane Idalia, spent Sunday moving items to higher ground.

    “I’ve been here 29 years. This isn’t the first time I’ve done it. Do you get used to it? No,” Mark Reblin said as he moved items out of the liquor store he owns.

    Employees of Savannah Canoe and Kayak in Georgia said they were busy tying down their watercrafts, laying sandbags, and raising equipment off the ground. Mayme Bouy, the store manager, said she wasn’t too concerned about the forecast calling for a potential historic rain event.

    “But we do have some high tides this week so if the rain is happening around then, that could be bad,” Bouy added. “I’d rather play it safe than sorry.”

    Gov. DeSantis declared a state of emergency for 61 of Florida’s 67 counties, with the National Guard activating 3,000 guard members. Utility crews from in and out of state were ready to restore power after the storm, he said in a post on X. Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp and South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster made their own emergency declarations.

    In Tampa alone, officials gave out more than 30,000 sandbags to barricade against flooding.

    “We’ve got our stormwater drains cleared out. We’ve got our generators all checked and full. We’re doing everything that we need to be prepared to face a tropical storm,” Tampa Mayor Jane Castor said.

    Emergency managers in New England and New York were already monitoring the path of the storm for the possibility of remnants striking their states. States including New York and Vermont have been hit by heavy rain and thunderstorms in recent weeks and were still coping with flooding and saturated ground.

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    By KIMBERLY CHANDLER and CHRISTOPHER O’MEARA – Associated Press

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  • DC region under heat advisory, as feels-like temps soar past 100 – WTOP News

    DC region under heat advisory, as feels-like temps soar past 100 – WTOP News

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    Thursday’s highs will be in the upper 90s, with uncomfortable heat index values from 97-107 degrees and some isolated storms. The National Weather Service issued a heat advisory for the entire area from noon to 8 p.m.

    Listen live to WTOP for traffic and weather updates on the 8s.

    The D.C. area is in the grip of yet another oppressive heat wave, with soaring temperatures nearing the century mark — and feels-like temperatures even higher.

    A heat advisory from the National Weather Service lasts until 8 p.m. Thursday night.

    Thursday’s highs will sit in the upper 90s, with uncomfortable heat index values potentially going up to 108, according to 7News First Alert Meteorologist Steve Rudin. There is also the risk of isolated thunderstorms in the evening that could become strong to severe with gusty winds and moderate to heavy rain.

    “It’s going to be slow for those temperatures to drop (in the evening),” said 7News First Alert Chief Meteorologist Veronica Johnson.

    The weather service warns in its forecast to “drink plenty of fluids, stay in an air-conditioned room, stay out of the sun, and check up on relatives and neighbors.”

    There is also a Code Orange air quality alert forecast for the afternoon by Maryland’s Department of the Environment. The department says the “very warm temperatures and a degrading air mass will allow ozone levels to rise” into moderate levels across the state.

    The weather will make the air unhealthy for sensitive groups, especially along and just east of the Interstate 95 corridor and east of Baltimore on the Chesapeake Bay coastline.

    A Code Orange air quality alert is also in effect for suburban D.C., while Northern Virginia is under a moderate air quality alert for particle pollution, according to the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments.

    Thunderstorms later in the day could clear out that higher level of ozone; otherwise, the air quality alert could continue into tomorrow.

    Looking ahead

    Friday will be even hotter, with temperatures reaching 98 and feels-like temperatures between 102 and 108 degrees. 7News First Alert Meteorologist Jordan Evans says the heat alert could stay in place over the weekend as well.

    “Tracking a very hot forecast,” Evans said. “That may continue into Friday, as temperatures also look to be in the upper 90s. Both days will feature shower and thunderstorm chances, some severe weather is possible after we had some gusty winds last night.”

    The NWS has also put a heat advisory into effect for Friday from noon to 8 p.m.

    “Like all other days, (these storms) could pack a punch with some downpours, isolated flooding, as well as some damaging winds that could lead to a few downed trees and power outages. So make sure those devices are ready to go by the mid part of the day tomorrow,” added Johnson.

    The weekend, while more tolerable, will still be uncomfortable, with temperatures staying in the 90s and a heat index value over 100 degrees Saturday.

    The latest heat wave comes after the D.C. region experienced its fourth hottest July on record and the third hottest since 2011, Evans said.

    The D.C. area has already seen 35 days at or above 90 degrees, almost reaching the annual average, which is 40. Last year through July 31, there were 19 days at or over 90 degrees, and for the whole year there were 32.

    Current weather

    Forecast:

    THURSDAY: HEAT ALERT
    Passing clouds, PM storms
    Highs: 95-98
    Heat Index: 100-107
    Winds: Southwest 5-10 mph
    A very hot day in store with high temperatures almost ten degrees above normal. The high humidity will put the heat index above 100 degrees during the afternoon. Afternoon thunderstorms are likely, which may provide some heat relief late in the day. The risk for severe weather is low.

    THURSDAY NIGHT:
    Leftover showers, mostly cloudy
    Lows: 70-80
    Winds: Southwest 5-10 mph
    Any leftover rain should end by midnight. Temperatures remain mild in the upper 70s to near 80 degrees.

    FRIDAY: HEAT ALERT
    Passing clouds, PM storms
    Highs: 95-99
    Heat Index: 102-108
    Winds: South 5-10 mph
    Temperatures are expected to climb a little more, approaching 100 degrees in some areas. Expect the heat index to be around 105 degrees during the afternoon hours. Once again, possible showers and storms may bring some gusty winds, lightning and heavy rain. The risk for severe weather is low.

    THIS WEEKEND:
    More storm chances during the day and temperatures will begin to come down across the area. Chances for rain Saturday and Sunday remain at 50% during the afternoon. The risk for severe weather is low, but strong storms are likely with the heat and humidity. High temperatures should stay closer to average, near 90 degrees.

    Outages:

    WTOP’s Ana Golden and Emily Venezky contributed to this report.

    Get breaking news and daily headlines delivered to your email inbox by signing up here.

    © 2024 WTOP. All Rights Reserved. This website is not intended for users located within the European Economic Area.

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    Ciara Wells

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  • Olympics bet against climate change with Seine swimming. For days, it looked like they would lose

    Olympics bet against climate change with Seine swimming. For days, it looked like they would lose

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    With plans for athletes to swim the Seine River through the heart of Paris, Olympic organizers essentially bet against climate change’s extreme weather. For several days it appeared they would lose — by ditching the swimming portion of triathlon races.

    It wasn’t until early Wednesday, after the men’s race had been postponed a day and test events called off, that organizers announced the most recent tests showed the water met standards to allow swimming.

    Some scientists and engineers said organizers were taking a huge gamble at a time when heavy rains have increased with human-caused climate change, especially in Europe. The rains run off from the urban environment and contribute to higher bacteria levels in the city’s famed river.

    “They just gambled, flipped the coin and hope for a dry season and it turned out to be the rainiest in the last 30 years,” said Metin Duran, a professor of civil and environmental engineering at Villanova University who has researched stormwater management.

    Organizers “had worked through most of the scenarios related to computer hacking and physical threats without fully assessing the implications of extreme events associated with climate,” said University of Arizona climate scientist Kathy Jacobs, who directs the Center for Climate Adaptation Science and Solutions. “It’s definitely time to take climate threats seriously.”

    If any city could be expected to be mindful of the challenges of climate change, it’s Paris. It’s where the most significant climate agreement in history was struck almost a decade ago — to try to limit Earth’s warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 degrees Fahrenheit) above pre-industrial levels. And the Paris games aspire to have half the carbon footprint of earlier games held in London and Rio de Janeiro.

    Paris, like many older cities around the world, has a combined sewer system, which means that the city’s wastewater and stormwater flow through the same pipes. With heavy or prolonged periods of rain, the pipes’ capacity is reached, sending raw wastewater into the river instead of a treatment plant.

    Paris spent 1.4 billion euros ($1.5 billion) to improve the water quality in the Seine, including building a giant basin to capture excess rainwater and keep wastewater from entering the river, renovating sewer infrastructure and upgrading wastewater treatment plants.

    But persistent rains, which dampened the opening ceremonies and temporarily gave way to a heat warning on Tuesday, worked against that. Tuesday’s men’s triathlon was postponed to Wednesday. The city has had at least 80 rainy days in Paris so far this year, about two-and-a-half weeks more than normal, according to the French meteorological office.

    An AP analysis of weather data found that Paris in 2024 had its second-highest number of rainy days since 1950, surpassed only by 2016. There’s been only one weeklong dry spell this year to give the drainage system a break. Normally there’s at least three by this time, the AP analysis shows.

    “Heavy rainfall in the summer has always been a possibility and with a warming climate these heavy rainfall events have only become heavier, said Friederike Otto, a climate scientist at the Imperial College of London. ”Thus, that definitely would need to have gone into the planning.”

    A study last week in the journal Science found a noticeable global increase in the variability — the all-or-nothing quality — of rain and snow in the past 100 years with a big jump starting in 1960. Researchers then did the standard climate attribution analysis to compare what actually happened with what would have been expected in a fictional world without human-caused climate change. They found this increase in heavy rains punctuated by longer dry spells had global warming’s fingerprints on it.

    The study also found three areas — Europe, eastern North America and Australia — had seen much higher jumps in the increase in rainfall extremes.

    The laws of physics dictate that warmer air holds more moisture, which comes down as heavier rain, while climate change then changes weather patterns, making them more stuck in downpours or sunny days without clouds, said study co-author Peili Wu, a climate scientist at the United Kingdom Meteorological Office.

    Organizers said what happened was beyond their control. Aurélie Merle, the Paris 2024 director of sports, noted to reporters Tuesday that previous triathlon competitions had sometimes been pared back to duathlons. That was before the early Wednesday announcement that swimming in the Seine would move forward.

    Duran, the Villanova professor, noted that the acceptable pollution level for the triathlon is nearly four times weaker than the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has for swimmable waterways. Paris’ mayor made a public show of swimming in the river earlier this month, something Duran called a publicity stunt. He said he would not swim in the Seine.

    He called the underground storage basins “the last thing any stormwater expert would suggest as a solution,” Duran said. Few cities use that solution any more because it’s limited and easily gets overwhelmed by the heavier and more frequent rains of climate change. It’s a solution for the era before global warming kicked in heavily, he said.

    Future Olympics sites need to take a wetter world into consideration, Villanova’s Duran said: “The sewer overflow issue is bound to get worse until climate change is addressed.”

    Los Angeles, the host city for the 2028 games, could learn a lesson and work toward more green spaces and fewer private vehicles, Imperial College’s Otto said.

    “Olympic games are a great opportunity to change cities as for some reason people accept that athletes need to have a healthy environment whereas ordinary citizens should live within pollution, traffic, noise and risk their life and health,” Otto said.

    ___

    Read more of AP’s climate coverage at http://www.apnews.com/climate-and-environment

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    Follow Seth Borenstein on X at @borenbears

    ______

    The Associated Press’ climate and environmental coverage receives financial support from multiple private foundations. AP is solely responsible for all content. Find AP’s standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at AP.org.

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  • Body found in Phoenix warehouse 3 days after a storm partially collapsed the roof

    Body found in Phoenix warehouse 3 days after a storm partially collapsed the roof

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    PHOENIX (AP) — Authorities believe they have found the body of a Phoenix warehouse worker missing for three days after a micro cloud burst caused the roof of a commercial building to partially collapse.

    Phoenix police said they’re waiting for the Maricopa County medical examiner’s office to confirm the victim’s identity before his name is released.

    The search for the 22-year-old man began around 10 p.m. Wednesday after a brief, violent storm hit the Freeport warehouse.

    City fire rescue crews worked 12-hour shifts until the body was located around 1 p.m. Saturday.

    “This is not the outcome we wanted,” Phoenix Fire Department Captain Todd Keller said.

    Keller said the missing man had been working in the warehouse for about a year.

    Authorities said he was the only one who didn’t make it out of the building when the severe storm hit the Phoenix area.

    The storm packed gusts up to 70 mph, knocking down trees and power lines and leaving thousands of Phoenix residents without electricity for hours.

    “National Weather Service did say that a microburst did come in, lifted this roof off and we do have a partial roof collapse,” Keller said.

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  • In beachy Galveston, locals buckle down without power after Beryl’s blow during peak tourist season

    In beachy Galveston, locals buckle down without power after Beryl’s blow during peak tourist season

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    GALVESTON, Texas (AP) — Vacuums sucked the water out of the seaside inn run by Nick Gaido’s family in Galveston since 1911 as power was still spotty nearly one week after a resurgent Hurricane Beryl swept into Texas. Blue tarp covered much of the torn off roof. Gaido scheduled cleanup shifts for the hotel and restaurant staff who couldn’t afford to lose shifts to the enduring outages.

    The July Fourth weekend was supposed to kickstart a lucrative tourism season for this popular getaway’s hospitality industry. But just dozens dotted the typically crowded beaches a week later. Gaido felt an urgent need to send the message that Galveston, Texas, is back open.

    “We’ve dealt with storms in late August or in September,” Gaido said. “But when you have a storm that hits in the beginning of July, that’s different.”

    Galveston, about 50 miles (80 kilometers) southeast of Houston, has certainly weathered its share of natural disasters. Etched into its collective memory is the fury of a 1900 hurricane that killed thousands back when the island was emerging as a crown jewel for the state. More recently, Hurricane Ike’s 2008 wrath flooded its historic downtown with storm surge as high as 20 feet (6 meters) and caused more than $29 billion in damage.

    Yet even Greater Houston’s storm-seasoned neighbors got taken off guard by Beryl’s sudden arrival. Crashing unusually early in the calendar, the Category 1 hurricane brought the island’s tourism-based economy to a halt during a time when local restaurants rely on an influx of beachgoers to lift revenues. Despite the widespread power outage, businesses and residents are buckling down.

    In the harder-hit west side of Jamaica Beach, Way West Grill and Pizzeria was still without electricity on Saturday afternoon. Owner Jake Vincent felt stuck in limbo: he had heard power would return by July 19 but had hope that it might come sooner.

    The loss ruined his entire inventory. He said enough mozzarella cheese to fill the back of his truck had gone to waste. Also spoiled was an 8-foot chest full of fries and an estimated 300 pounds (130 kg) of pepperoni.

    Vincent no longer expects much from a year he had anticipated would finally bring “daylight” for his family-run restaurant founded in 2018. He said most of their annual sales come during the three summer months and that “this tourism season is probably done for.”

    “It complicates things,” he said. “You bank all your summer money to get through the winter.”

    Downed cables and orange construction cones could be found along the road linking the touristy strand’s seafood shacks to the west end’s colorful short-term rentals. Crews from Houston-area utility CenterPoint stood atop lifts, sweating as they restored line after line.

    Still without power Saturday morning, Greg Alexander raked debris to the edge of the street in his Jamaica Beach neighborhood. Despite sleeping in a balcony-level room in a house already raised high off the ground, he said water poured into the windows. Beryl’s horizontal winds blew rain right onto his bed.

    It’s just a part of life here for Alexander. His family moved full-time to Galveston in 2017 after he said Hurricane Harvey dumped 38 inches (nearly 1 meter) of water into their Lake City home. Without power, he said they’ve been “appreciating our car’s air conditioning more than ever.”

    He doesn’t plan to leave. He said trials only strengthen the community.

    “People on the west end aren’t like everybody else,” he said.

    Steve Broom and Debra Pease still lacked power on Saturday but had been beating the heat elsewhere. Broom said they’d already booked a hotel in Houston this week so his daughter could use the Galveston beach house where they’ve lived full-time for about five years. They spent only the first night in Galveston and opted to sleep the rest of the week in their nonrefundable room.

    Broom, 72, said he had never seen a hurricane come as early or increase as quickly as Beryl. Still, he joked that just one factor could force him to move off the island where he grew up.

    “If they wipe out all these houses, then we’ll be front row and our property value will probably double or triple,” he said, before clarifying: “No, I hope that doesn’t happen.”

    Anne Beem and her husband come every July from San Antonio to celebrate their birthdays. For her, the aftermath has been far worse than the hurricane itself.

    They enjoyed a nice breeze with the windows open after the storm passed Monday. But she said Tuesday night brought “mosquitogeddon.” Hundreds of bugs filled the house so they slept in their car with the air conditioning blasting.

    She said they also bought a kiddie pool to cool off before the power came back Thursday night.

    “We just tried to look at it as an adventure,” she said. “Each day was some fresh hell.”

    ___

    This story has been updated to correct the estimated amount of spoiled pepperoni at Way West Grill and Pizzeria to 300 pounds, not 3,000 pounds.

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  • AP PHOTOS: From the Caribbean to Texas, Hurricane Beryl leaves a trail of destruction

    AP PHOTOS: From the Caribbean to Texas, Hurricane Beryl leaves a trail of destruction

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    Hurricane Beryl has been barreling through the Atlantic for over a week, fueled by exceptionally warm waters to become the earliest Category 5 hurricane.

    It decimated Caribbean islands like Barbados and Jamaica, with a pair of islands in St. Vincent and the Grenadines almost entirely destroyed. It slammed into Mexico’s Yucatan peninsula on Friday and struck Texas by Monday, each time regaining its strength over water.

    Jackie Jecmenek, right, talks with city worker Bobby Head as she stands in front of her neighbor’s home after Beryl passed, July 8, 2024, in Bay City, Texas. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)

    Texas

    In Texas, where Beryl made landfall as a Category 1 hurricane, the storm unleashed heavy wind and rain, toppling trees and power lines.

    Image

    A vehicle is stranded in high waters on a flooded highway in Houston, July 8, 2024, after Beryl came ashore. (AP Photo/Maria Lysaker)

    Boarded-up windows lined suburbs. Cars were stranded on flooded highways. Residents stayed put inside homes and hotels with no power.

    Image

    A hotel guest navigates the halls after power was lost due to Hurricane Beryl, July 8, 2024, in Bay City, Texas. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)

    After the worst of the storm passed, many residents worked to clear roads from tree branches and other debris.

    Image

    A motorcyclist manuevers a street flooded by heavy rains from Hurricane Beryl, in Tulum, Mexico, July 5, 2024. (AP Photo/Fernando Llano)

    Mexico

    Before it reached Texas, Beryl caused havoc in Tulum, Mexico, where tens of thousands were without power as it swept through the region as a Category 2 hurricane.

    Image

    People walk past a souvenir shop’s storefront boarded up preparation for the arrival of Hurricane Beryl, in Playa del Carmen, Mexico, July 4, 2024. (AP Photo/Fernando Llano)

    Wind and rain whipped the seaside city through Friday. Residents sheltered in schools and hotels, and officials patrolled beaches to evacuate residents and tourists alike.

    Image

    People line up to receive food at an army-provided soup kitchen for those impacted by Hurricane Beryl in Tulum, Mexico, July 5, 2024. (AP Photo/Fernando Llano)

    Those displaced were able to find some respite — and food — at shelters, with the army organizing soup kitchens. Others risked traveling through heavily flooded streets.

    Image

    People stand on a rock during the aftermath of Hurricane Beryl in Tulum, Mexico, July 5, 2024. (AP Photo/Fernando Llano)

    Caribbean

    But Beryl’s heaviest destruction was in the Caribbean, where entire towns — and even whole islands — were left decimated. The Category 5 storm ripped roofs off of homes and destroyed and tangled up boats on shorelines. Waves full of debris crashed onto the sand.

    Image

    Evacuees from Union Island arrive in Kingstown, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, July 3, 2024. (AP Photo/Lucanus Ollivierre)

    In Jamaica’s capital, Kingston, an arena was converted into a shelter with row upon row of thin beds and blankets.

    Image

    People sit on cots in the National Arena that has been transformed into a shelter in the aftermath of Hurricane Beryl, in Kingston, Jamaica, July 4, 2024. (AP Photo/Collin Reid)

    The destruction Beryl left behind will need months, and in some cases years, of rebuilding and recovery.

    Image

    Boats damaged by Hurricane Beryl wade in the water at the Bridgetown Fisheries, Barbados, July 2, 2024. (AP Photo/Ricardo Mazalan)

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    A man looks out of the window of his home, which was destroyed by Hurricane Beryl in Clifton, Union Island, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, July 4, 2024. (AP Photo/Lucanus Ollivierre)

    Image

    A house sits roofless after being damaged by Hurricane Beryl in Portland Cottage, Clarendon, Jamaica, July 4, 2024. (AP Photo/Leo Hudson)

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    Donna Charles, a hotel cook, watches as Hurricane Beryl passes through Bridgetown, Barbados, July 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Ricardo Mazalan)

    ___

    The Associated Press receives support from the Walton Family Foundation for coverage of water and environmental policy. The AP is solely responsible for all content. For all of AP’s environmental coverage, visit https://apnews.com/hub/climate-and-environment

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