With less than a month of hurricane season left, the National Hurricane Center is monitoring multiple areas with tropical potential. Here’s the latest on Potential Tropical Cyclone 18 and more. Potential Tropical Cyclone 18PTC 18 is currently strengthening in the western Caribbean Sea. The NHC expects this system to become a tropical storm Monday, named Rafael.Click here for the latest.Tropical Storm Patty Currently located over the northeastern Atlantic Ocean, the NHC says Tropical Storm Patty is quickly losing its tropical characteristics.Patty is expected to become a post-tropical cyclone late Monday. There are currently no impacts to land in the United States as the system continues to quickly move east north-east.Area of interest in the southwestern AtlanticWhile nothing has formed so far, the NHC says an area of low pressure could form near the northern Leeward Islands in the next few days.After that, the system could develop slowly as it moves generally westward over the southwestern Atlantic. It’s too early to know exactly where this system may head or how strong it will become, but the NHC says formation chances are low for now. Models will become more accurate when or if the low actually forms. Formation chance in the next 48 hours: near 0%Formation chance in the next seven days: 20%> Related: November hurricanes are pretty rare in Florida. See a map of all past landfalls> Related: WESH 2 Hurricane Survival Guide 2024First Warning WeatherStay with WESH 2 online and on air for the most accurate Central Florida weather forecast.RadarSevere Weather AlertsDownload the WESH 2 News app to get the most up-to-date weather alerts.The First Warning Weather team includes First Warning Chief Meteorologist Tony Mainolfi, Eric Burris, Kellianne Klass, Marquise Meda and Cam Tran.
ORLANDO, Fla. —
With less than a month of hurricane season left, the National Hurricane Center is monitoring multiple areas with tropical potential.
Here’s the latest on Potential Tropical Cyclone 18 and more.
Potential Tropical Cyclone 18
PTC 18 is currently strengthening in the western Caribbean Sea. The NHC expects this system to become a tropical storm Monday, named Rafael.
Currently located over the northeastern Atlantic Ocean, the NHC says Tropical Storm Patty is quickly losing its tropical characteristics.
Patty is expected to become a post-tropical cyclone late Monday. There are currently no impacts to land in the United States as the system continues to quickly move east north-east.
Area of interest in the southwestern Atlantic
While nothing has formed so far, the NHC says an area of low pressure could form near the northern Leeward Islands in the next few days.
After that, the system could develop slowly as it moves generally westward over the southwestern Atlantic. It’s too early to know exactly where this system may head or how strong it will become, but the NHC says formation chances are low for now.
Models will become more accurate when or if the low actually forms.
Video above: Latest on the tropicsThe National Hurricane Center is tracking three areas of interest as we enter the final month of hurricane season. PTC 18 in the western Caribbean SeaPotential Tropical Cyclone 18 is a broad area of low pressure in the South Central Caribbean Sea. According to the NHC, the system is expected to become a tropical depression in the next day or two as it moves toward Jamaica, the Cayman Islands, and Cuba. Tropical storm watches or warnings are expected to be issued late Sunday, as heavy rains are expected in these three areas. The system is expected to enter the Gulf of Mexico on Wednesday. However, where the system goes after is still unclear. Air Force Hurricane Hunter aircraft are investigating the system, according to the NHC. The following named storm will be Rafael. Formation chance through 48 hours: 90%Formation chance through seven days: 90%Area of low pressure near the southeastern BahamasA trough of low pressure near the Southeastern Bahamas is producing disorganized showers, thunderstorms and gusty winds, according to the NHC. The system’s slow development is possible the next day as it moves westward toward Cuba and the Bahamas. The system is expected to be absorbed into the low-pressure area in the Caribbean, PTC 18, by late Monday, ending its chance of further development. Heavy rains are possible during the following days across the Greater Antilles and the Bahamas. Formation chance through 48 hours: 10% Formation chance through 7 days: 10% RELATED: November hurricanes are pretty rare in Florida. See a map of all past landfalls Area of low pressure southwestern Atlantic The NHC is monitoring an area of disturbed weather that is expected to develop near the northeastern Leeward Islands around the middle of the week. Slow development is possible as it moves westward over the southwestern Atlantic. Formation chance through 48 hours.: 0%Formation chance through 7 days: 10% Subtropical Storm Patty in North AtlanticSubtropical Storm Patty formed in the Atlantic on Saturday, according to the NHC. The system poses no threat to Florida. As the system moves eastward during the next few days, any additional development into a subtropical or tropical cyclone is expected to be slow. Maximum sustained winds: 45 mphMinimum central pressure: 992 mbRELATED: WESH 2 Hurricane Survival Guide 2024 First Warning WeatherStay with WESH 2 online and on air for the most accurate Central Florida weather forecast.RadarSevere Weather AlertsDownload the WESH 2 News app to get the most up-to-date weather alerts.The First Warning Weather team includes First Warning Chief Meteorologist Tony Mainolfi, Eric Burris, Kellianne Klass, Marquise Meda and Cam Tran.
Video above: Latest on the tropics
The National Hurricane Center is tracking three areas of interest as we enter the final month of hurricane season.
PTC 18 in the western Caribbean Sea
Potential Tropical Cyclone 18 is a broad area of low pressure in the South Central Caribbean Sea.
According to the NHC, the system is expected to become a tropical depression in the next day or two as it moves toward Jamaica, the Cayman Islands, and Cuba.
Tropical storm watches or warnings are expected to be issued late Sunday, as heavy rains are expected in these three areas.
The system is expected to enter the Gulf of Mexico on Wednesday. However, where the system goes after is still unclear.
Air Force Hurricane Hunter aircraft are investigating the system, according to the NHC.
The following named storm will be Rafael.
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Formation chance through 48 hours: 90%
Formation chance through seven days: 90%
Area of low pressure near the southeastern Bahamas
A trough of low pressure near the Southeastern Bahamas is producing disorganized showers, thunderstorms and gusty winds, according to the NHC.
The system’s slow development is possible the next day as it moves westward toward Cuba and the Bahamas.
The system is expected to be absorbed into the low-pressure area in the Caribbean, PTC 18, by late Monday, ending its chance of further development.
Heavy rains are possible during the following days across the Greater Antilles and the Bahamas.
The NHC is monitoring an area of disturbed weather that is expected to develop near the northeastern Leeward Islands around the middle of the week.
Slow development is possible as it moves westward over the southwestern Atlantic.
Formation chance through 48 hours.: 0%
Formation chance through 7 days: 10%
Subtropical Storm Patty in North Atlantic
Subtropical Storm Patty formed in the Atlantic on Saturday, according to the NHC.
The system poses no threat to Florida.
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As the system moves eastward during the next few days, any additional development into a subtropical or tropical cyclone is expected to be slow.
Video above: Latest on the tropicsThe National Hurricane Center is tracking three areas of interest as we enter the final month of hurricane season. Invest 97- L in the Southwestern Caribbean SeaInvest 97- L will likely develop over the southwestern Caribbean Sea during the next day or two.Gradual development is possible after that, and a tropical depression could form over the weekend or early next week while the system drifts generally northward or northwestward over the central or western Caribbean Sea. Regardless of development, locally heavy rains are possible during the next several days across portions of the area from Nicaragua southeastward and eastward to northern Colombia. Air Force Hurricane Hunter aircraft will investigate the system on Sunday, according to the NHC. Formation chance through 48 hours: 80%Formation chance through 7 days: 90% To read more on Invest 97-L, click here.Area of low pressure near Greater AntillesA trough of low pressure near Puerto Rico is producing widespread cloudiness and showers over the Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, the northern Leeward Islands, and the adjacent waters of the Atlantic and the northeastern Caribbean. Slow development of this system is possible during the next 2-3 days as it moves west-northwestward near the Greater Antilles. After that time, this system is expected to be absorbed into the low pressure area over the Caribbean. Regardless of development, locally heavy rains are possible during the next several days from the northern Leeward Islands westward across Puerto Rico and Hispaniola to eastern Cuba and the southeastern Bahamas. Formation chance through 48 hours.: 10% Formation chance through 7 days: 10 % RELATED: November hurricanes are pretty rare in Florida. See a map of all past landfallsSubtropical Storm Patty in North AtlanticSubtropical Storm Patty formed in the Atlantic on Saturday, according to the NHC. Showers and thunderstorms have developed near the center of a storm-force non-tropical low-pressure area located about 85 miles southeast of the Azores.The system poses no threat to Florida. As the system moves eastward during the next few days, any additional development into a subtropical or tropical cyclone is expected to be slow. Maximum sustained winds: 50 mphMinimum central pressure: 989 mbTo read more on Patty, click here.RELATED: WESH 2 Hurricane Survival Guide 2024First Warning WeatherStay with WESH 2 online and on air for the most accurate Central Florida weather forecast.RadarSevere Weather AlertsDownload the WESH 2 News app to get the most up-to-date weather alerts.The First Warning Weather team includes First Warning Chief Meteorologist Tony Mainolfi, Eric Burris, Kellianne Klass, Marquise Meda and Cam Tran.
Video above: Latest on the tropics
The National Hurricane Center is tracking three areas of interest as we enter the final month of hurricane season.
Invest 97- L in the Southwestern Caribbean Sea
Invest 97- L will likely develop over the southwestern Caribbean Sea during the next day or two.
Gradual development is possible after that, and a tropical depression could form over the weekend or early next week while the system drifts generally northward or northwestward over the central or western Caribbean Sea.
Regardless of development, locally heavy rains are possible during the next several days across portions of the area from Nicaragua southeastward and eastward to northern Colombia.
Air Force Hurricane Hunter aircraft will investigate the system on Sunday, according to the NHC.
A trough of low pressure near Puerto Rico is producing widespread cloudiness and showers over the Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, the northern Leeward Islands, and the adjacent waters of the Atlantic and the northeastern Caribbean.
Slow development of this system is possible during the next 2-3 days as it moves west-northwestward near the Greater Antilles. After that time, this system is expected to be absorbed into the low pressure area over the Caribbean.
Regardless of development, locally heavy rains are possible during the next several days from the northern Leeward Islands westward across Puerto Rico and Hispaniola to eastern Cuba and the southeastern Bahamas.
Subtropical Storm Patty formed in the Atlantic on Saturday, according to the NHC.
Showers and thunderstorms have developed near the center of a storm-force non-tropical low-pressure area located about 85 miles southeast of the Azores.
The system poses no threat to Florida.
As the system moves eastward during the next few days, any additional development into a subtropical or tropical cyclone is expected to be slow.
The National Hurricane Center is tracking three areas of interest as we enter the final month of hurricane season. Southwestern Caribbean SeaA broad area of low pressure is likely to develop over the southwestern Caribbean Sea during the next day or two. Gradual development is possible thereafter, and a tropical depression could form over the weekend or early next week while the system drifts generally northward or northwestward over the central or western Caribbean Sea. Regardless of development, locally heavy rains are possible during the next several days across portions of the area from Nicaragua southeastward and eastward to northern Colombia. Formation chance through 48 hours: 30%Formation chance through 7 days: 70% Northeastern Caribbean Sea and Greater AntillesA trough of low pressure near Puerto Rico is producing widespread cloudiness and showers over the Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, the northern Leeward Islands, and the adjacent waters of the Atlantic and the northeastern Caribbean. Slow development of this system is possible during the next 2-3 days as it moves west-northwestward near the Greater Antilles. After that time, this system is expected to be absorbed into the low pressure area over the Caribbean. Regardless of development, locally heavy rains are possible during the next several days from the northern Leeward Islands westward across Puerto Rico and Hispaniola to eastern Cuba and the southeastern Bahamas. Formation chance through 48 hours.: 10% Formation chance through 7 days: 10 % RELATED: November hurricanes are pretty rare in Florida. See a map of all past landfallsNorth AtlanticShowers and thunderstorms have developed near the center of a storm-force non-tropical low pressure area located about 550 miles west of the western Azores. Any additional development into a subtropical or tropical cyclone is expected to be slow to occur as the system moves eastward during the next few days. Formation chance through 48 hours: 20%Formation chance through 7 days: 20%RELATED: WESH 2 Hurricane Survival Guide 2024First Warning WeatherStay with WESH 2 online and on air for the most accurate Central Florida weather forecast.RadarSevere Weather AlertsDownload the WESH 2 News app to get the most up-to-date weather alerts.The First Warning Weather team includes First Warning Chief Meteorologist Tony Mainolfi, Eric Burris, Kellianne Klass, Marquise Meda and Cam Tran.
The National Hurricane Center is tracking three areas of interest as we enter the final month of hurricane season.
Southwestern Caribbean Sea
A broad area of low pressure is likely to develop over the southwestern Caribbean Sea during the next day or two. Gradual development is possible thereafter, and a tropical depression could form over the weekend or early next week while the system drifts generally northward or northwestward over the central or western Caribbean Sea.
Regardless of development, locally heavy rains are possible during the next several days across portions of the area from Nicaragua southeastward and eastward to northern Colombia.
Formation chance through 48 hours: 30%
Formation chance through 7 days: 70%
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A broad low will try to develop over the next day or so. From there a tropical depression will try to develop over the weekend/early next week. pic.twitter.com/HrXEMQMZRU
A trough of low pressure near Puerto Rico is producing widespread cloudiness and showers over the Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, the northern Leeward Islands, and the adjacent waters of the Atlantic and the northeastern Caribbean. Slow development of this system is possible during the next 2-3 days as it moves west-northwestward near the Greater Antilles. After that time, this system is expected to be absorbed into the low pressure area over the Caribbean. Regardless of development, locally heavy rains are possible during the next several days from the northern Leeward Islands westward across Puerto Rico and Hispaniola to eastern Cuba and the southeastern Bahamas.
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We’re not done with hurricane season yet. There are three areas of interest in the tropics. Hurricane season officially ends on November 31st. pic.twitter.com/avJVc0xzZ5
Showers and thunderstorms have developed near the center of a storm-force non-tropical low pressure area located about 550 miles west of the western Azores.
Any additional development into a subtropical or tropical cyclone is expected to be slow to occur as the system moves eastward during the next few days.
HAVANA, Cuba — Hurricane Oscar weakened to a tropical storm after making landfall Sunday in eastern Cuba on Sunday.
Oscar brought heavy rains and winds to Cuba, an island already beleaguered by a massive power outage, late Sunday after brushing the Bahamas.
It made landfall as a Category 1 hurricane with maximum sustained winds of 75 mph (120 kph) in the eastern Cuban province of Guantanamo, near the city of Baracoa, on Sunday evening. Oscar had weakened to a tropical storm with 70 mph (110 kph) winds by late Sunday, the U.S. National Hurricane Center said.
Tropical Strom Oscar path: System weakened after making landfall as a Category 1 hurricane in Guantanamo
The storm was 40 miles (65 kilometers) east of Guantanamo moving west-northwest at 6 mph (10 kph).
Thunderstorms and rain, along with moderate flooding in low-lying areas, were reported in the country’s eastern provinces. Cuban media said 2-meter (6.5-feet) swells were hitting the coast and roofs and walls in Baracoa had been damaged. Authorities have set up 20 centers for evacuees.
The system is expected to move across eastern Cuba on Monday. Forecasters said 6 to 12 inches (15 to 31 centimeters) of rain are expected across eastern Cuba through early Wednesday, with some isolated locations getting up to 18 inches (46 centimeters). A storm surge of up to 3 feet (almost 1 meter) in some areas of Cuba’s north shore in the area was possible, the center said.
This satellite image from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration taken at 6:40pm ET on Sunday, Oct. 20, 2024, shows Hurricane Oscar.
NOAA via AP
Oscar was expected to weaken over eastern Cuba before making a turn to the northeast and approaching the central Bahamas on Tuesday, the center said.
Oscar made landfall on Great Inagua island in the Bahamas earlier Sunday. A storm surge that could cause coastal flooding was forecast, along with heavy rain.
The hurricane‘s arrival comes as Cuba tries to recover from its worst blackout in at least two years, which left millions without power for two days last week. Some electrical service was restored Saturday.
Philippe Papin of the National Hurricane Center said it was somewhat unexpected that Oscar became a hurricane Saturday.
“Unfortunately the system kind of snuck up a little bit on us,” Papin said.
Hours earlier Tropical Storm Nadine formed off Mexico’s southern Caribbean coast. It degenerated into a tropical depression as it moved over land.
Tropical Storm Milton has formed in the Gulf of Mexico and is forecast to strengthen into a hurricane headed toward Florida with possible impacts to its western coast, the National Hurricane Center said on Saturday. Maximum sustained winds are expected to be at 40 mph with higher gusts and Milton is currently moving north-northeast, NHC said in an advisory.
The forecast comes a little more than a week after Hurricane Helene made landfall in Florida and across the Southeast, killing more than 200 people and causing immense destruction. President Biden on Thursday took an aerial tour of Florida’s Big Bend where Helene struck as a Category 4 storm. Hundreds of people are still missing and Mr. Biden said the work to rebuild will cost “billions of dollars” as communities suffer still without power, running water and passable roads.
Tropical Storm Milton forms in the Gulf headed toward Florida, forecasters say.
NOAA
Milton is forecast to move across the southwestern Gulf of Mexico through Sunday night then across the south-central Gulf on Monday and Tuesday before reaching Florida’s west coast by the middle of the week, NHC said. Heavy rain is possible in the region starting Sunday into Monday, CBS Miami reported, and more rain and heavy winds will most likely arrive on Wednesday. Hurricane and storm surge watches will most likely be required for portions of Florida starting Sunday, the National Hurricane Center said.
Along with the heavy rainfall, the hurricane center said to expect risks of flooding.
Residents in the area should ensure they have a hurricane plan in place, the National Hurricane Center said, follow the advice of local officials and check back for forecast updates.
Cara Tabachnick is a news editor at CBSNews.com. Cara began her career on the crime beat at Newsday. She has written for Marie Claire, The Washington Post and The Wall Street Journal. She reports on justice and human rights issues. Contact her at cara.tabachnick@cbsinteractive.com
Tropical Storm Milton formed in the Gulf of Mexico on Saturday afternoon and could pose a threat to Florida by the middle of the week, according to the National Hurricane Center.By early next week, the system is forecast to move faster eastward or northeastward across the central and eastern Gulf of Mexico where additional strengthening is likely. Interests on the Yucatan peninsula of Mexico, the Florida Peninsula, the Florida Keys, and the northwestern Bahamas should monitor the progress of this system. It comes right after Hurricane Helene slammed the Big Bend region as a monster Category 4 storm last week. Many Florida residents are still recovering from intense flooding, damaging storm surge and extreme wreckage from winds topping 140 mph. Other stormsThe NHC is tracking Hurricane Kirk and Hurricane Leslie in the Atlantic, but neither pose a threat to land. Related: WESH 2 Hurricane Survival Guide 2024Related: Surviving the Season | 2024 Hurricane Special from WESH 2First Warning WeatherStay with WESH 2 online and on-air for the most accurate Central Florida weather forecast.RadarSevere Weather AlertsDownload the WESH 2 News app to get the most up-to-date weather alerts.The First Warning Weather team includes First Warning Chief Meteorologist Tony Mainolfi, Eric Burris, Kellianne Klass,
Tropical Storm Milton formed in the Gulf of Mexico on Saturday afternoon and could pose a threat to Florida by the middle of the week, according to the National Hurricane Center.
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By early next week, the system is forecast to move faster eastward or northeastward across the central and eastern Gulf of Mexico where additional strengthening is likely.
Interests on the Yucatan peninsula of Mexico, the Florida Peninsula, the Florida Keys, and the northwestern Bahamas should monitor the progress of this system.
It comes right after Hurricane Helene slammed the Big Bend region as a monster Category 4 storm last week. Many Florida residents are still recovering from intense flooding, damaging storm surge and extreme wreckage from winds topping 140 mph.
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Other storms
The NHC is tracking Hurricane Kirk and Hurricane Leslie in the Atlantic, but neither pose a threat to land.
The number of storm-related deaths climbed past 100 across the Southeast on Sunday as authorities rushed to airdrop supplies, restore power and clear roads after massive rains from the powerful Helene left people stranded and without shelter.
Helene left at least 116 people dead, CBS News has confirmed, and caused widespread destruction.
Thirty fatalities were reported in Buncombe County, North Carolina — in one of the states hit hardest by the storm.
Helene knocked out power to several million customers. More than two million still had no electricity early Monday, according to utility tracker Find Energy.
But But Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said Sunday night that 99% of the state’s homes and businesses had had power restored.
Helene crashed ashore in Florida’s Big Bend area on Thursday night as a dangerous Category 4 hurricane. Helene was the third hurricane to hit that region in the last 13 months.
From there, it quickly moved through Georgia, where Gov. Brian Kemp said Saturday it “looks like a bomb went off” after seeing splintered homes and debris-covered highways from the air.
Weakened, Helene then soaked the Carolinas and Tennessee with torrential rains, sending creeks and rivers over their banks and straining dams.
At least 116 people across multiple states were killed by Helene, a monster storm that caused a path of devastation that stretched over 600 miles.
In North Carolina, 46 people were killed, officials confirmed to CBS News, ranging in age from 4 to 75. One person died in a collision on a flooded road, Gov. Roy Cooper said, while another was killed when a tree fell on a house, according to the Mecklenburg Emergency Medical Services Agency.
At least 25 people were killed in Georgia, according to a spokesperson for the Georgia Emergency Management Agency. A first responder was among the dead, Kemp said earlier Friday.
In South Carolina, 27 people died from the storm, officials confirmed to CBS News. The deaths include two firefighters and two people who were killed when trees fell on residences.
In Florida, 13 people were killed officials confirmed to CBS News, including 10 people who died in Pinellas County. Statewide, crews have conducted thousands of rescue missions.
Downed trees on a home in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene on Sept. 29 in Rutherfordton, North Carolina.
Sean Rayford/Getty Images
“This is an unprecedented tragedy that requires an unprecedented response,” Cooper said at a press conference Sunday. He added that “we know there will be more” deaths as rescuers reach isolated areas.
Four weather-related fatalities were confirmed in Tennessee, one in Johnson County, one in Unicoi County and two in Cocke County.
In Virginia, Gov. Glenn Youngkin confirmed in a Friday news conference that one person was killed.
The National Weather Service on Saturday reported the highest rainfall totals from Helene for each state. The rural northwest North Carolina area of Busick has received the highest overall rainfall, with a staggering 30.78 inches so far.
FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell, who traveled to Florida on Saturday to survey the damage, said on “Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan” that the “historic flooding” in North Carolina has gone beyond what anyone could have planned for in the area.
“I don’t know that anybody could be fully prepared for the amount of flooding and landslides that they are experiencing right now,” she said.
Asheville, North Carolina, was particularly hard hit as rising floodwaters damaged roads, led to power outages and cut off cellphone service.
On Sunday, Cooper asked residents to avoid traveling on roadways in western North Carolina.
“Many people are cut off because the roads are impassable,” he said.
President Biden has issued emergency declarations for Florida, Georgia, Alabama, North Carolina, South Carolina and Tennessee, all of which free up federal resources that will go towards recovery and assistance efforts.
More than 800 FEMA personnel have been deployed to the region to assist in the response, the White House said.
People waiting in line for gasoline in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene on Sept. 29 in Fletcher, North Carolina. Millions are still without power and the White House declared major disasters in North Carolina and Florida, freeing up federal emergency management money for those areas.
Sean Rayford/Getty Images
Moody’s Analytics said it expects $15 billion to $26 billion in property damage. AccuWeather’s preliminary estimate of the total damage and economic loss from Helene in the U.S. is between $95 billion and $110 billion.
In East Tennessee, the flooding was so bad that two dams were at risk of failing. The Cocke County city of Newport was evacuated as a result, but both dams ultimately held.
“Rescues have been made, attempts have been made, some people are stranded on the roofs of their homes and things like that,” Cocke County Sheriff CJ Ball said.
The Gulf Coast community of Keaton Beach, Florida, was still recovering from Idalia and Debby when Helene appeared to deliver the knockout punch. Taylor County officials estimate that 90% of homes in Keaton Beach are gone.
And further south in Cedar Key, officials say it is not safe for residents or rescue workers.
In the waters off Florida’s Sanibel Island, a Coast Guard crew made a daring rescue, saving a man and his dog who were stranded on his 36-foot sailboat.
In the Big Bend fishing village of Steinhatchee, storm-weary residents prayed Helene would miss them, but the waterside docks and restaurants that once stood here though are now gone.
A man crosses a storm surge flooded area on the coast of Gulfport, Florida, as Hurricane Helene passed through the Gulf of Mexico to the west on Sept. 26, 2024.
Thomas Simonetti for The Washington Post via Getty Images
The storm surge shoved buildings off their foundations. Linda Wicker lost the restaurant she had owned for 20 years. She seemed more shaken by what she saw across her village, homes torn apart by the wind and the deep water.
“If you let it play with your mind, you just can’t go there,” Wicker said. “You can’t. It’s horrible.”
On historic Davis Islands in Tampa, streets were under water and boats had washed up on land. One home was gutted by flames. Marie Terry, who lives next door, would have been in the neighborhood unless her daughter had insisted she evacuate.
“I’m just in shock,” Terry told CBS News. “It’s just such a beautiful house, and to see it like this, it’s like, what could have happened?”
In Atlanta, an apartment complex flooded, and neighbors had to rescue each other. Sam Oni, 83, was one of them.
“But I thought I would somehow escape it, but I did not…and I owe a lot to my neighbors,” Oni told CBS News.
A drone view shows a flooded St. Armands Circle after the area was hit by Helene in Sarasota, Florida, Sept. 27, 2024, in this still image obtained from social media video.
Sarasota Police Department via Reuters
Serena Rodriguez was asleep in bed in her Atlanta home when she started floating, but it was not dream.
“It was like all around, the water, it was like an island,” Rodriguez told CBS News. “…A nightmare mostly. Yeah, I was it was insane. Like, I couldn’t believe it. I was in shock all the time. I never experienced anything like it.”
Annie Sloan, who was one of them, told CBS News Miami: “I decided to come to the shelter because I live alone and basically my son came to take me to Georgia, but we discovered the hurricane was going to Georgia also, and I decided to just come here and shelter because my husband passed, and I don’t want to be home alone.”
Most gas stations in the Tallahassee area were shut down or out of gas. CBS News senior weather and climate producer David Parkinson described Helene as a “gargantuan” storm.
NASA shared video of the hurricane as seen from the International Space Station, showing the size of the storm as it churned through the Gulf of Mexico Thursday afternoon.
The International Space Station flew over Hurricane Helene at 2:25 p.m. EDT Thursday, Sept. 26, 2024, as it approached the Gulf Coast of Florida packing winds in excess of 120 miles an hour. pic.twitter.com/J1iU0Iztpx
Record-warm water in the Gulf almost certainly acted like jet fuel in intensifying the storm. Brian McNoldy, senior research associate at the University of Miami Rosenstiel School of Marine, Atmospheric, and Earth Science, recently noted that ocean heat content in the Gulf of Mexico is the highest on record. Warm water is a necessary ingredient to strengthen tropical systems.
This is pretty amazing: the ocean heat content averaged over the Gulf of Mexico is obliterating previous all-time record highs. It’s 126% of average for the date.https://t.co/CdrzWVvKiZpic.twitter.com/rciwFvJ8Zx
Helene is the eighth named storm of the Atlantic hurricane season, which began June 1.
Dustin Holmes, second from right, holds hands with his girlfriend, Hailey Morgan, while returning to their flooded home with her children Aria Skye Hall, 7, right, and Kyle Ross, 4, in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene, Friday, Sept. 27, 2024, in Crystal River, Fla.
Alex Sundby is a senior editor at CBSNews.com. In addition to editing content, Alex also covers breaking news, writing about crime and severe weather as well as everything from multistate lottery jackpots to the July Fourth hot dog eating contest.
RAIN, BUT WE ALSO HAVE TO KEEP IN MIND IT’S HURRICANE SEASON. WE STILL HAVE MONTHS TO GO. JUST HIT THE PEAK LAST TUESDAY AND OUR FRIENDS IN NEW ORLEANS, THEY’RE STILL KIND OF CLEANING UP AFTER FRANCINE, BUT KELLIANNE LOOKS LIKE YOU’RE TRACKING JUST A FEW THINGS RIGHT NOW. TWO AREAS TO WATCH. THE FIRST IS TROPICAL DEPRESSION GORDON IN THE CENTRAL ATLANTIC. IT’S VERY TINY AND IT’S PRODUCING DISORGANIZED SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS. IT HAS WINDS OF 30MPH, AND IT’S GOING TO MAINTAIN ITS TROPICAL DEPRESSION STATUS OVER THE NEXT COUPLE OF DAYS. BUT THEN IT WILL START TO TURN NORTHEAST. AND ONCE IT DOES THAT GOING INTO THE WEEKEND, IT COULD BECOME A TROPICAL STORM AGAIN, CLOSER TO THE UNITED STATES. WE HAVE POTENTIAL TROPICAL CYCLONE EIGHT BRINGING HEAVY RAINFALL TO THE CAROLINAS. THE CENTER OF CIRCULATION OFFSHORE, AND THERE ARE TROPICAL STORM WARNINGS IN EFFECT FROM CHARLESTON, SOUTH CAROLINA, ALL THE WAY UP TO PARTS OF THE OUTER BANKS OF NORTH CAROLINA. BECAUSE IT IS EXPECTED TO BECOME A TROPICAL STORM BEFORE LANDFALL LATER ON TODAY. FROM THERE THEN MOVING INTO PARTS OF THE CAROLINAS AND THEN INTO THE APPALACHIANS. HERE AT HOME, WE’RE NOT GOING TO SEE DIRECT IMPACTS FROM THIS, BUT WE DO HAVE A COASTAL FLOOD ADVISORY BECAUSE THIS IS STIRRING UP A LOT OF ROUGH SURF. SO JUST KEEP THAT IN MIND FOR OUR COASTLINE. THAT COASTAL FLOOD ADVISORY GOES UNTIL 5:00. WE ALSO
Potential Tropical Cyclone 8 looms near Carolinas, expected to make landfall today
Updated: 7:21 AM EDT Sep 16, 2024
As Potential Tropical Cyclone Eight looms off the coast of South and North Carolina, the National Hurricane Center is monitoring its landfall — expected to be on Monday afternoon.Currently located 95 miles east-southeast of Charleston, South Carolina, the NHC says the low pressure system is a little stronger as it approaches the coast.Gusty winds, heavy rains and coastal flooding is forecast to impact the area today.PTC 8 currently has maximum sustained winds of 50 mph and a minimum central pressure of 1006 mb. Little change in strength is expected as the system approaches land, the NHC says, but models show the system potentially becoming a tropical storm.PTC 8 watches, warnings:Tropical storm warning in effect for Edisto Beach, South Carolina northward to Ocracoke Inlet, North CarolinaAfter PTC 8 makes landfall, the system is expected to weaken as it moves inland. By late Wednesday, the system is expected to dissipate.The greatest impacts from PTC 8 include tropical storm force winds, storm surge, rainfall, tornadoes, and rough surf.
As Potential Tropical Cyclone Eight looms off the coast of South and North Carolina, the National Hurricane Center is monitoring its landfall — expected to be on Monday afternoon.
Currently located 95 miles east-southeast of Charleston, South Carolina, the NHC says the low pressure system is a little stronger as it approaches the coast.
Gusty winds, heavy rains and coastal flooding is forecast to impact the area today.
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Potential Tropical Cyclone 8 is bringing a lot of rain to the Carolinas. PTC8 could strengthen to a tropical storm before landfall later today. pic.twitter.com/g80XmryRw1
PTC 8 currently has maximum sustained winds of 50 mph and a minimum central pressure of 1006 mb. Little change in strength is expected as the system approaches land, the NHC says, but models show the system potentially becoming a tropical storm.
PTC 8 watches, warnings:
Tropical storm warning in effect for
Edisto Beach, South Carolina northward to Ocracoke Inlet, North Carolina
After PTC 8 makes landfall, the system is expected to weaken as it moves inland. By late Wednesday, the system is expected to dissipate.
The greatest impacts from PTC 8 include tropical storm force winds, storm surge, rainfall, tornadoes, and rough surf.
Mexico issued a tropical storm warning Saturday along the coast, from Altata to Huatabampito, and has discontinued all watches and warnings for Baja California Sur after rain from Storm Ileana pounded the resort-studded Los Cabos a day before.
Ileana moved northward over the southern Gulf of California at 7 mph, according to the U.S. National Hurricane Center. The storm was about 70 miles (110 km) east of La Paz, Mexico with maximum sustained winds of 40 mph (65 kph), the center said.
Tropical storm warnings have been issued for the coasts of northern Sinaloa and extreme southern Sonola.
On Friday, a warning was in effect for portions of the Baja California Peninsula, including Cabo San Lucas and San Jose del Cabo.
Juan Manuel Arce Ortega, from Los Cabos Civil Protection, said the municipalities of La Paz and Los Cabos were on red alert at the time and urged residents to avoid crossing rivers, streams, and low areas where they can be swept away by water.
All schools in Los Cabos were also suspended Friday due to the storm.
Óscar Cruces Rodríguez of Mexico’s federal Civil Protection said in a statement that residents should avoid leaving their homes until the storm passes and if residents are in an area at risk of flooding to find temporary shelters.
Authorities prepared 20 temporary shelters in San Jose del Cabo and Cabo San Lucas, according to Los Cabos Civil Protection.
At the Hacienda Beach Club and Residences in Cabo San Lucas, valet worker Alan Galvan said the rain arrived late Thursday night and has been constant. “The rain isn’t very strong right now, but the waves are choppy,” he said.
“The guests are very calm and already came down for coffee,” Galvan said. “There’s some flights canceled but everything is ok at the moment.” Galvan said they are awaiting further advisories from authorities.
The rain remained consistent through Los Cabos Friday afternoon, with several roads flooded and some resorts stacking up sandbags on their perimeters. Some people were still walking around boat docks with their umbrellas.
“The priority has to be safety, starting with the workers. We always have to check on our colleagues who live in risk areas,” said Lyzzette Liceaga, a tour operator at Los Cabos.
“We give them the information shared by the authorities — firefighters in risk areas — so that they can go to the shelters if necessary,” she added.
Earlier this week, Francine weakened into a post-tropical cyclone as it moved north across Mississippi, soaking that state and its neighbors in heavy rain after it slammed into the Louisiana coast Wednesday evening as a dangerous Category 2 hurricane. In August, Tropical Storm Ernesto moved away from Bermuda after making landfall on the island as a Category 1 hurricane.
Hurricane activity tends to peak in mid-September, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
Tropical Storm Gordon formed on Friday in the Atlantic Ocean, with forecasters saying it is expected to remain over open water for several days.The storm had maximum sustained winds of 40 mph and was located about 990 miles from the Cabo Verde Islands. It was moving west-northwest at 12 mph, according to the National Hurricane Center in Miami.Gordon formed during the peak of the Atlantic hurricane season that began on June 1 and ends on Nov. 30. It is the season’s seventh named storm.Gordon is expected to strengthen slightly before weakening starting on Saturday as it turns toward the northwest, forecasters said.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.
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico —
Tropical Storm Gordon formed on Friday in the Atlantic Ocean, with forecasters saying it is expected to remain over open water for several days.
The storm had maximum sustained winds of 40 mph and was located about 990 miles from the Cabo Verde Islands. It was moving west-northwest at 12 mph, according to the National Hurricane Center in Miami.
Gordon formed during the peak of the Atlantic hurricane season that began on June 1 and ends on Nov. 30. It is the season’s seventh named storm.
Gordon is expected to strengthen slightly before weakening starting on Saturday as it turns toward the northwest, forecasters said.
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.
A tropical disturbance in the southwestern Gulf of Mexico was shaping up as what could be the season’s next hurricane, the National Hurricane Center said early Monday. It would be called Francine and end a brief lull that hurricane-prone regions were enjoying.
The hurricane center said the system is expected to become a tropical storm Monday and a hurricane before it makes landfall, likely over the northwestern U.S. Gulf shoreline Wednesday, bringing with it an “increasing risk of life-threatening storm surge and hurricane-force winds along the Louisiana and upper-Texas coasts.”
A tropical disturbance forecasters say could become Hurricane Francine within days as seen from a satellite early on September 9, 2024.
NOAA / National Hurricane Center
The system was expected to dump 4-8 inches of rain in many areas and up to a foot in some places, forecasters said.
Tropical-storm-force winds were extending outward up to 185 miles from the system’s center early Monday.
That center was about 295 miles south-southeast of the mouth of the Rio Grande and some 535 miles south of Cameron, Louisiana. It was crawling north-northwest at 5 mph.
The disturbance had maximum sustained winds of 50 mph, well above the 39 mph needed to be officially dubbed a tropical storm but, explains CBS senior weather and climate producer David Parkinson, its center wasn’t defined clearly enough yet to get that classification.
A Tropical Storm Watch was in effect for Barra del Tordo, Mexico to the mouth of the Rio Grande and from there to Port Mansfield, Texas.
The disturbance follows an unusually calm August and early September in the Atlantic hurricane season, which has had five named storms.
Experts had predicted one of the busiest Atlantic seasons ever and, The Associated Press notes, Colorado State University researchers said last week they still expect an above-normal season overall.
Brian Dakss is a longtime New York-based editor and writer for CBS News, at the Radio network and with CBSNews.com. He has written and edited for NBC News, Dow Jones and numerous radio stations and been a radio anchor and reporter.
A tropical storm is expected to deliver strong winds and heavy rain to Hawaii this weekend, particularly to the Big Island and Maui, as it passes south of the island chain.The National Weather Service on Thursday evening issued a tropical storm watch for Hawaii County, which includes all of the Big Island, in anticipation of Tropical Storm Hone.The August storm has evoked memories of the powerful hurricane south of Hawaii that helped fuel a deadly wildfire that destroyed Maui’s Lahaina town last summer, but the weather service said that Hone was not creating the same conditions.Separately, to Hone’s east, Hurricane Gilma was moving west across the Pacific, but it was too early to tell whether it would affect the islands.Hone, which means “sweet and soft” in Hawaiian and is pronounced hoe-NEH, was expected to bring sustained winds of 20 to 30 mph and gusts of 50 mph to Maui and the Big Island. Oahu and Kauai were forecast to get slightly weaker winds.The Big Island’s east coast and southeastern corner were expected to get 4 to 8 inches of rain Saturday night through Sunday night. Maui could get 2 to 4 inches of rain.These predictions could change depending on the storm’s course. Early Friday, the storm was about 670 miles east-southeast of Hilo and about 880 miles east-southeast of Honolulu. It was moving west at 16 mph with maximum sustained winds of 45 mph.The Aug. 8, 2023, Lahaina fire was fueled by powerful winds whipped up by a combination of a hurricane passing some 500 miles to the south and a very strong high pressure system to the north of the islands. The weather service issued a red flag warning at the time, something it does when warm temperatures, very low humidity and strong winds combine to raise fire danger.Laura Farris, a weather service meteorologist in Honolulu, said some drier air was expected to move in to the western end of the state this weekend, which presents some concerns about fire risk.“But it’s not even close to what we saw last year,” Farris said.The pressure system to the north is not as strong now as last year and the tropical system to the south is a storm not a hurricane, said Pao-Shin Chu, a University of Hawaii professor and the state’s climatologist.“We do see something similar but not as dramatic as the Lahaina case we saw last year,” Chu said.Hurricane Gilma was packing maximum sustained winds of 120 mph, making it a Category 3 hurricane. It was slowly moving west. The National Hurricane Center said Gilma was expected to slowly weaken this weekend.The cause of Lahaina blaze, the deadliest in the United States in over a century, hasn’t been determined, but it’s possible it was ignited by bare electrical wire and leaning power poles toppled by the strong winds.To reduce the risk of wildfires, the state’s electric utilities, Hawaiian Electric and the Kauai Island Utility Cooperative, have since started shutting off power during high winds and dry conditions.Last year, Maui County officials failed to activate outdoor sirens that would have warned Lahaina’s people of the approaching flames. They instead relied on a series of sometimes confusing social media posts that reached a much smaller audience.Amos Lonokailua-Hewett, who took over as the new administrator of the Maui Emergency Management Agency on Jan. 1, said in the event of a wildfire threat, his agency would send alerts over radio and television broadcasts, via cellphones and with the sirens.The sirens sound a steady tone and no message.“The outdoor warning siren is typically used when there is an imminent threat to public safety and the situation requires the public to seek more information,” Lonokailua-Hewett said in an emailed statement.
HONOLULU —
A tropical storm is expected to deliver strong winds and heavy rain to Hawaii this weekend, particularly to the Big Island and Maui, as it passes south of the island chain.
The National Weather Service on Thursday evening issued a tropical storm watch for Hawaii County, which includes all of the Big Island, in anticipation of Tropical Storm Hone.
The August storm has evoked memories of the powerful hurricane south of Hawaii that helped fuel a deadly wildfire that destroyed Maui’s Lahaina town last summer, but the weather service said that Hone was not creating the same conditions.
Separately, to Hone’s east, Hurricane Gilma was moving west across the Pacific, but it was too early to tell whether it would affect the islands.
Hone, which means “sweet and soft” in Hawaiian and is pronounced hoe-NEH, was expected to bring sustained winds of 20 to 30 mph and gusts of 50 mph to Maui and the Big Island. Oahu and Kauai were forecast to get slightly weaker winds.
The Big Island’s east coast and southeastern corner were expected to get 4 to 8 inches of rain Saturday night through Sunday night. Maui could get 2 to 4 inches of rain.
These predictions could change depending on the storm’s course. Early Friday, the storm was about 670 miles east-southeast of Hilo and about 880 miles east-southeast of Honolulu. It was moving west at 16 mph with maximum sustained winds of 45 mph.
The Aug. 8, 2023, Lahaina fire was fueled by powerful winds whipped up by a combination of a hurricane passing some 500 miles to the south and a very strong high pressure system to the north of the islands. The weather service issued a red flag warning at the time, something it does when warm temperatures, very low humidity and strong winds combine to raise fire danger.
Laura Farris, a weather service meteorologist in Honolulu, said some drier air was expected to move in to the western end of the state this weekend, which presents some concerns about fire risk.
“But it’s not even close to what we saw last year,” Farris said.
The pressure system to the north is not as strong now as last year and the tropical system to the south is a storm not a hurricane, said Pao-Shin Chu, a University of Hawaii professor and the state’s climatologist.
“We do see something similar but not as dramatic as the Lahaina case we saw last year,” Chu said.
Hurricane Gilma was packing maximum sustained winds of 120 mph, making it a Category 3 hurricane. It was slowly moving west. The National Hurricane Center said Gilma was expected to slowly weaken this weekend.
The cause of Lahaina blaze, the deadliest in the United States in over a century, hasn’t been determined, but it’s possible it was ignited by bare electrical wire and leaning power poles toppled by the strong winds.
To reduce the risk of wildfires, the state’s electric utilities, Hawaiian Electric and the Kauai Island Utility Cooperative, have since started shutting off power during high winds and dry conditions.
Last year, Maui County officials failed to activate outdoor sirens that would have warned Lahaina’s people of the approaching flames. They instead relied on a series of sometimes confusing social media posts that reached a much smaller audience.
Amos Lonokailua-Hewett, who took over as the new administrator of the Maui Emergency Management Agency on Jan. 1, said in the event of a wildfire threat, his agency would send alerts over radio and television broadcasts, via cellphones and with the sirens.
The sirens sound a steady tone and no message.
“The outdoor warning siren is typically used when there is an imminent threat to public safety and the situation requires the public to seek more information,” Lonokailua-Hewett said in an emailed statement.
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico — Hurricane Ernesto dropped torrential rain on Puerto Rico and knocked out power for nearly half of all customers in the U.S. territory Wednesday as it threatened to become a major storm en route to Bermuda.
The hurricane was over open water about 720 miles (1,160 kilometers) south-southwest of Bermuda with maximum sustained winds of 80 mph (130 kph) and moving northwest at 16 mph (26 kph).
A hurricane watch was issued for Bermuda, while tropical storm warnings were discontinued 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 islandwide blackout was reported in St. Croix, and at least six cell phone towers were 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 remained closed in the U.S. and British 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. More than 140 flights 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.”
Flash flood warnings remained Wednesday afternoon because of ongoing rains.
In the north coastal town of Toa Baja, which is prone to flooding, dozens of residents moved their cars to higher areas.
“Everyone is worried,” said Víctor Báez as he sipped beer with friends and watched the rain fall. He only briefly celebrated that he had power. “It’s going to go out again.”
Ernesto is forecast to strengthen into a major hurricane and its center is expected to pass near Bermuda on Saturday.
“Residents need to prepare now before conditions worsen,” Bermuda’s National Security Minister Michael Weeks said. “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.
More than 640,000 customers were without power in Puerto Rico, along with 23 hospitals operating on generators, Gov. Pedro Pierluisi said Wednesday. He added that crews are assessing damage and that it was too early to tell when electricity would be restored.
“We are trying to get the system up and running as soon as we can,” said Juan Saca, president of Luma Energy, the company that operates transmission and distribution of power in Puerto Rico.
Luma Energy said earlier Wednesday that its priority was to restore power to hospitals, the island’s water and sewer company and other essential services. More than 300,000 customers were without water as a result of power outages, Pierluisi said.
Puerto Rico’s power grid was razed by Hurricane Maria in 2017 as a Category 4 storm, and it remains frail as crews continue to rebuild the system.
“It’s just frustrating that this many years later, we continue to see something like a storm cause such widespread outages in Puerto Rico, particularly given the risk that these outages can cause for vulnerable households in Puerto Rico,” said Charlotte Gossett Navarro, the Hispanic Federation’s chief director for Puerto Rico.
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.
Rooftop solar systems are scarce but keep growing in Puerto Rico, where fossil fuels generate 94% of the island’s electricity. At the time María hit, there were 8,000 rooftop installations, compared with more than 117,000 currently, according to the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis.
Ernesto is the fifth named storm and the third hurricane of this year’s Atlantic hurricane season. Since 1966, only four other years have had three or more hurricanes in the Atlantic by mid-August, according to Philip Klotzbach, Colorado State University hurricane researcher.
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.
___
Associated Press journalist Julie Walker in New York contributed.
Tropical Storm Ernesto gained strength on Tuesday morning as it headed toward the Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico, where forecasters said it could bring powerful winds and heavy rain — up to 10 inches in some places — before potentially intensifying into a hurricane.
Ernesto became the fifth named storm of the 2024 Atlantic hurricane season when it formed Monday along a fast-moving path to the Caribbean. The storm comes on the heels of Hurricane Debby, which lashed parts of the southeastern United States last week with disastrous flooding and brewed up a flash of severe weather that ultimately touched much of the East Coast. Ernesto wasn’t expected to strike the mainland U.S., the National Hurricane Center said.
NOAA/National Hurricane Center
Maps charting Ernesto’s path, according to the latest forecasts Tuesday afternoon, suggested the storm would continue on its route toward the U.S. and British Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico, after traveling across portions of the Leeward Islands. Ernesto could either reach or pass over the Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico by the evening, although forecasters said it was possible the system’s track would carry it near the islands instead of over them.
Ernesto could develop into a hurricane after leaving the Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico, which would require its maximum sustained wind speeds to meet or exceed 74 miles per hour. That could happen by Wednesday, forecasters said, although an initial timeline for Ernesto’s strengthening suggested it wouldn’t reach the threshold necessary to warrant hurricane status until early Thursday.
NOAA/National Hurricane Center
As of 2 p.m. ET on Tuesday, the storm was churning in the Atlantic Ocean, about 85 miles east of St. Croix and about 175 miles east-southeast of San Juan, Puerto Rico, according to the hurricane center. It was traveling west-northwestward at 18 mph and packing maximum sustained winds of 60 mph.
Hurricane watches were in effect for the U.S. Virgin Islands, Culebra, Vieques and the British Virgin Islands. Tropical storm warnings were also in effect for those places, as well as in Puerto Rico, St. Kitts and Nevis, Montserrat, and Anguilla, St. Martin and St. Barthelemy and Sint Maarten. Previous tropical storm warnings for Antigua, Barbuda and Guadeloupe were discontinued Tuesday afternoon.
Hurricane watches are issued when hurricane conditions are possible in a given area within 12 hours or so. Tropical storm warnings are issued when forecasters expect tropical storm conditions to impact an area within 36 hours, but meteorologists said at 2 p.m. ET on Tuesday that tropical storm conditions were expected to begin in the Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico by nighttime, and potentially even sooner than that. Powerful winds and other weather conditions typical of a tropical storm were already happening in the Leeward Islands, they said.
Tropical-storm-force winds extended outward up to 105 miles from Ernesto’s center on Tuesday afternoon — a sizable expansion from its 70-mile reach in the morning — according to the hurricane center.
Not unlike Debby, which dumped devastating and, in some instances, historic rainfall on southeastern U.S. states last week, Ernesto’s primary threat was inundation, although slightly less rain was forecast for this week compared with last week’s hurricane.
Ernesto was expected to shower parts of the Leeward Islands and Virgin Islands with 4 to 6 inches of rain, while southeastern Puerto Rico was expected to see 6 to 8 inches, although forecasters warned that as much as 10 inches of rain could fall in certain places.
CBS News senior weather producer David Parkinson said Tuesday morning that even a foot of rainfall could be possible in areas where the terrain might lend itself to that. Northwestern Puerto Rico was forecast to get less rain, between 2 and 4 inches in total.
NOAA/National Hurricane Center
“Heavy rainfall may result in locally considerable flash flooding and mudslides in areas of the Leeward Islands through today, and over the Virgin Islands into Puerto Rico by later today through Wednesday,” the hurricane center said in an advisory Tuesday morning.
Ernesto was also expected to fuel storm surge, between 1 and 3 feet above ground levels, along the eastern coast of Puerto Rico from San Juan, the capital city, to Guayama, and to the islands of Culebra and Vieques. The same peak surge forecast could materialize in the U.S. Virgin Islands, including St. Thomas, St. John and St. Croix, and in the British Virgin Islands. The hurricane center warned that surge would be accompanied by large, destructive waves in coastal regions.
NOAA/National Hurricane Center
By Thursday morning, when Ernesto was forecast to have grown from a tropical storm to at least a Category 1 hurricane, it would likely continue tracking northward over the western Atlantic on a path toward Bermuda, where it could make landfall on Sunday, Parkinson said. He noted that the eastern seaboard of the mainland U.S. could see rip currents and larger waves than usual as an indirect consequence of the storm.
“It is too soon to know what impacts Ernesto could bring to Bermuda late this week,” the hurricane center said Tuesday, adding that “interests there should monitor the progress of this system.”
Emily Mae Czachor is a reporter and news editor at CBSNews.com. She covers breaking news, often focusing on crime and extreme weather. Emily Mae has previously written for outlets including the Los Angeles Times, BuzzFeed and Newsweek.
The National Hurricane Center has upgraded Potential Tropical Cyclone Five to Tropical Storm Ernesto on Monday evening. >> Download the WESH 2 app to stay up-to-date on tropical weatherAccording to the latest advisory from the NHC, the storm is located 530 miles east southeast of San Juan, Puerto Rico.The storm has maximum sustained winds of 40 mph and a minimum central pressure of 1009 mb. Tropical Storm Ernesto is moving west at about 28 miles per hour. After intensification, the NHC says the storm is expected to approach the U.S. and British Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico.A tropical storm warning is in effect for multiple places, including:GuadeloupeSt. Kitts, Nevis, Montserrat, Antigua, Barbuda and Anguilla St. Martin and St. BarthelemySint Maarten British Virgin IslandsU.S. Virgin IslandsPuerto RicoViequesCulebraA tropical storm warning means that tropical storm conditions are expected somewhere in the warning area in the next 36 hours. More: Difference between tropical storm, hurricane watch and warning Impacts may include heavy rainfall, flash flooding, mudslides and landslides. Ernesto is the fifth named storm of the 2024 hurricane season. Many models show the system intensifying to a hurricane by this weekend. We are currently just about a month out from the peak of hurricane season, which is Sep. 10. The end of hurricane season is Nov. 30.More: Where do hurricanes begin?Related: WESH 2 Hurricane Survival Guide 2024First Warning WeatherStay with WESH 2 online and on-air for the most accurate Central Florida weather forecast.RadarSevere Weather AlertsDownload the WESH 2 News app to get the most up-to-date weather alerts.The First Warning Weather team includes First Warning Chief Meteorologist Tony Mainolfi, Eric Burris, Kellianne Klass, Marquise Meda and Cam Tran.
The National Hurricane Center has upgraded Potential Tropical Cyclone Five to Tropical Storm Ernesto on Monday evening.
According to the latest advisory from the NHC, the storm is located 530 miles east southeast of San Juan, Puerto Rico.
The storm has maximum sustained winds of 40 mph and a minimum central pressure of 1009 mb. Tropical Storm Ernesto is moving west at about 28 miles per hour.
After intensification, the NHC says the storm is expected to approach the U.S. and British Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico.
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A tropical storm warning is in effect for multiple places, including:
Guadeloupe
St. Kitts, Nevis, Montserrat, Antigua, Barbuda and Anguilla
St. Martin and St. Barthelemy
Sint Maarten
British Virgin Islands
U.S. Virgin Islands
Puerto Rico
Vieques
Culebra
A tropical storm warning means that tropical storm conditions are expected somewhere in the warning area in the next 36 hours.
This content is imported from Twitter.
You may be able to find the same content in another format, or you may be able to find more information, at their web site.
This content is imported from Twitter.
You may be able to find the same content in another format, or you may be able to find more information, at their web site.
Impacts may include heavy rainfall, flash flooding, mudslides and landslides.
Ernesto is the fifth named storm of the 2024 hurricane season. Many models show the system intensifying to a hurricane by this weekend.
We are currently just about a month out from the peak of hurricane season, which is Sep. 10. The end of hurricane season is Nov. 30.
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You may be able to find the same content in another format, or you may be able to find more information, at their web site.
Just a sidebar that we’re just over a month out from the peak of hurricane season which is September 10th. A long way to go to the end of the season which is November 30th. #WESHwxpic.twitter.com/y5oX7PZClv
NEW YORK (WABC) — Tropical Storm Debby is expected to make a second landfall early Thursday morning in South Carolina before moving up the east coast with flooding rainfall.
The National Hurricane Center warned that isolated areas could see up to 25 inches (64 centimeters) of rain from Debby.
The Eyewitness News AccuWeather team says what remains of Debby will start to pick up some speed and head northeast with some flooding downpours on Thursday night and Friday.
The good news for the New York City metro area is the track is further west than expected.
The bulk of the heavy rain should stay west of I-95 corridor that was hit very hard with flooding fueled in part by Debby on Tuesday.
The storm is also going to pick up enough speed that the remnants and heavy rain should clear our area late Friday night, and most of the weekend should be dry.
Tropical Storm Debby is moving north after dropping huge amounts of rain on parts of the Southeast. President Biden has authorized emergency declarations from the governors of Florida, Georgia and South Carolina. CBS News correspondent Cristian Benavides has the latest from Savannah, Georgia.
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