This could vastly improve a seriously fractured landscape, enabling you to easily add and access your cameras on whatever platform you choose. It’s also something that can potentially be delivered in a software update, so some of the cameras you already own might get Matter support.
You may be worrying about limitations, but the supported feature list is impressive, including video and audio streaming, two-way communication, local and remote access, multiple streams, pan-tilt-zoom controls, and both detection and privacy zones. There’s also support for continuous or event-based recording, either locally or to the cloud. What it won’t handle is how that storage is managed, meaning some camera manufacturers will still require you to use their cloud-based subscription models.
Pleasingly, there are no limitations on resolution, unlike Apple HomeKit Secure Video, or restrictions on AI detection features. Matter is using WebRTC technology, with remote access handled via the STUN and TURN protocols, meaning that manufacturers can choose to implement end-to-end encryption for footage. TCP transport support is designed to allow more efficient and reliable transmission of lots of data, like video cameras produce, which should reduce the load on your Wi-Fi and the impact on camera battery life.
While this is very exciting news and the potential backwards compatibility is laudable, there’s no telling when you’ll see it in a camera in your home. The big trio: Apple, Amazon, and Google have yet to announce any plans to adopt Matter in their cameras.
Matter 1.5 isn’t just about cameras, though—it also revamps support for closures, from garage doors to smart window shades, allowing for different motion types and configurations. There’s soil sensor support, too, to measure moisture and temperature and potentially trigger Matter-based water valves and irrigation systems.
Enhanced energy management features are the final addition. Matter 1.5 enables devices to exchange data on energy pricing, tariffs, and grid operation, enabling you to potentially get a picture of the true cost of your gadgets in energy usage, cost, and carbon impact. EV charging has also been bolstered, with state-of-charge reporting and bi-directional charging that could enable vehicle-to-grid schemes in the future.
While the Matter 1.5 spec is now available, it will take developers a while to adopt it and get their devices certified by the CSA. Expect some announcements at CES 2026. —Simon Hill
Google’s Gemini Rolls Out on Android Auto
Google has been gradually replacing its long-lived Google Assistant with the souped-up Gemini AI chatbot on all its platforms for the past year. After deploying it on its Wear OS smartwatches and, more recently, adding it directly to Google Maps, the company is bringing it to Android Auto. Google says the rollout will take place over the coming months for any Android Auto users who have upgraded from Google Assistant to Gemini on their phones.
And, just as with Swatch x You, it’s possible to further customize the watch by choosing indexes or selecting the color of its mechanism. To save on data center power drains and rampant creativity run amuck, you’re only allowed three prompts per day on AI‑DADA, something that Swatch is spinning as a “creative challenge that makes every attempt feel special.”
Ultimately, what we have here, is a new version of Swatch x You that has been plugged with image-generation software supplied by OpenAI, thus letting the general public emblazon its timepieces with whatever graphics they see fit to dream up and deposit on them. What could possibly go wrong here, I wonder?
I asked Roberto Amico, Swatch Group’s global head of digital & ecommerce, what guardrails have been put in place to stop people making, say, their very own Jeffrey Epstein Swatch, or White Power Swatch, or Stormy Daniels Swatch. Or maybe a Swatch with a Rolex logo on it, or something that looks a lot like the Rolex logo.
Amico reassures me Swatch has indeed set guardrails, particularly with logos, for example, alongside the certain restrictions already in place from OpenAI. But interestingly, Swatch Group CEO Nick Hayek Jr. tells me he battled with OpenAI to remove some of its existing guardrails to make AI‑DADA “more liberal, more Swatch.”
Hayek also confessed at the launch event in Switzerland that his first prompts on AI‑DADA all concerned “sex, drugs, and rock’n’roll,” but he was told his own model wouldn’t allow it. Still, you can never underestimate the ingenuity of the general public to get around obvious red flags—such as a ban on the model reproducing nudity or religious iconography—and create something that Swatch might not want to be associated with. Time will tell how bulletproof this model truly is.
Familiar Faces
While Swatch’s image model may be based on OpenAI, it defaults to a data set of more than 40 years of Swatch watches, products, designs, art and street paintings. Like a pattern or color on a particular 1980s Swatch dial or strap? It’s in there. Have a fondness for a Keith Haring or Vivienne Westwood or Phil Collins collaboration, the model has this too. If you ask for a design inspired by something outside of what Swatch has collected together in this archive, only then, Amico tells me, does AI‑DADA go beyond the in-house dataset and mine OpenAI’s data.
You’ve likely seen one. Maybe even worn one. Maybe admired one on the wrist of someone who calls his boat a “tender” and uses “summer” as a verb.
Before it became the uniform of real estate developers and hedge fund whisperers, the Submariner was just a very good idea with very good timing. Rolex released it in 1953, right when recreational diving was becoming a thing people did on purpose, for fun. Jacques Cousteau had written The Silent World, scuba was suddenly accessible, and watches that didn’t flood were useful. The Submariner wasn’t the first dive watch, but it was the first to make being waterproof look refined.
Then James Bond wore one. Sean Connery, in a dinner jacket, flipping up the cuff to reveal a no-crown-guard Submariner on a too small nylon strap in 1964’s Goldfinger, did more for Rolex than any ad campaign could.
That association stuck. Even now, when most divers wear computers, and most Submariners never get wet, the watch carries a kind of licensed danger, like someone who’s polite but used to be very good at bar fights.
Collectors obsess over details the rest of us would need a loupe and a minor in typography to notice: serif versus non-serif fonts, lug widths, bracelet codes, crown guards, no crown guards.
These things signal era, rarity, and whether someone paid five figures for something that once cost less than a good stereo. But the Submariner’s charm is this: it works as well at 300 meters as it does under a French cuff. It’s not flashy, unless you know what you’re looking at. Which, frankly, is the whole point.
Are you an Android user who is constantly looking at Apple Watch owners with envy? You’re in luck, as the Pixel Watch 3 is marked down to just $200 at Amazon in several colors. I spotted three discounted colors of the 45mm aluminum version in matte black, champagne gold, and polished silver.
Photograph: Julian Chokkattu
Photograph: Julian Chokkattu
Photograph: Julian Chokkattu
While Apple users have always had the Apple Watch, it’s taken Google a little while to catch up with its first-party hardware offerings. They’ve come a long way in the last few years, enough that the previous generations of the Pixel Watch are capable enough to recommend, while still seeing significant discounts. This version benefits from a lot of the Wear OS updates of the last few years, while only missing out on a few features of the updated Pixel Watch 4.
The health and fitness tracking on the Pixel Watch have received a number of improvements since Google purchased FitBit back in 2019. This model has improved heart rate tracking and sleep data, and can automatically detect what kind of workout you’re doing. Unfortunately, one of our writers didn’t have the best experience with the AI-powered running coach, but that’s more the fault of AI and less of accurate measurements.
One advantage the Pixel Watch has over the Apple Watch is looks. Round watches tend to look more natural, and the rounded glass face has a unique and elegant look that stands out, although you’ll have to choose from straps made specifically for the Pixel Watch. We were impressed with the battery life on the larger version, which was able to run for around 24 hours on a single charge with one or two tracked activities per day. That should be enough to get you through the day and track your sleep as well, as long as you aren’t working out constantly.
Ultimately, there’s a reason the Pixel Watch tends to stay on top of our list of favorite smartwatches for Android users. It’s uniquely elegant, and particularly good for Pixel smartphone owners, so a healthy discount just makes this an even more appealing choice.
WESH 2’s award-winning First Warning Weather team is monitoring Hurricane Melissa and will continue to provide updates. Melissa has strengthened into a Category 5 storm according to the National Hurricane Center. Rapid intensification is expected to continue over the next few days. The National Hurricane Center expects Melissa to rapidly intensify into a major hurricane by the end of the weekend.Melissa has 160 mph winds and is moving west at about 3 mph as the storm’s center is about 130 miles south-southwest of Kingston, Jamaica.The storm has a minimum central pressure of 917 mb as of the 5 a.m. NHC update.Watches and warnings in effect:Hurricane Warning in effect for JamaicaHurricane Warning in effect for Cuban provinces of Granma, Guantanamo and Holguin, Santiago de Cuba. Hurricane Watch in effect for southeastern and central Bahamas, Turks & Caicos Island. Tropical Storm Warning in effect for Haiti and the Cuban province of Las TunasRainMelissa is expected to bring rainfall of 15 to 30 inches to portions of Jamaica and additional rainfall of 8 to 16 inches for southern Hispaniola through Wednesday.Catastrophic flash flooding and numerous landslides are likely. For eastern Cuba, storm total rainfall of 10 to 15 inches, with local amounts of 20 inches, is expected by Monday into Wednesday resulting in life-threatening and potentially catastrophic flash flooding with numerous landslides. Over the Southeast Bahamas, total rainfall of 4 to 8 inches is expected Tuesday into Wednesday resulting in areas of flash flooding.Hurricane season 2025The Atlantic hurricane season runs from June 1 through Nov. 30. Stay with WESH 2 online and on-air for the most accurate Central Florida weather forecast.>> More: 2025 Hurricane Survival GuideThe First Warning Weather team includes First Warning Chief Meteorologist Tony Mainolfi, Eric Burris, Marquise Meda and Cam Tran.>> 2025 hurricane season | WESH long-range forecast>> Download Very Local | Stream Central Florida news and weather from WESH 2
ORLANDO, Fla. —
WESH 2’s award-winning First Warning Weather team is monitoring Hurricane Melissa and will continue to provide updates.
Melissa has strengthened into a Category 5 storm according to the National Hurricane Center. Rapid intensification is expected to continue over the next few days.
The National Hurricane Center expects Melissa to rapidly intensify into a major hurricane by the end of the weekend.
Melissa has 160 mph winds and is moving west at about 3 mph as the storm’s center is about 130 miles south-southwest of Kingston, Jamaica.
The storm has a minimum central pressure of 917 mb as of the 5 a.m. NHC update.
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.
Watches and warnings in effect:
Hurricane Warning in effect for Jamaica
Hurricane Warning in effect for Cuban provinces of Granma, Guantanamo and Holguin, Santiago de Cuba.
Hurricane Watch in effect for southeastern and central Bahamas, Turks & Caicos Island.
Tropical Storm Warning in effect for Haiti and the Cuban province of Las Tunas
Rain
Melissa is expected to bring rainfall of 15 to 30 inches to portions of Jamaica and additional rainfall of 8 to 16 inches for southern Hispaniola through Wednesday.
Catastrophic flash flooding and numerous landslides are likely.
For eastern Cuba, storm total rainfall of 10 to 15 inches, with local amounts of 20 inches, is expected by Monday into Wednesday resulting in life-threatening and potentially catastrophic flash flooding with numerous landslides.
Over the Southeast Bahamas, total rainfall of 4 to 8 inches is expected Tuesday into Wednesday resulting in areas of flash flooding.
Hurricane season 2025
The Atlantic hurricane season runs from June 1 through Nov. 30. Stay with WESH 2 online and on-air for the most accurate Central Florida weather forecast.
Hurricane Melissa strengthened into a major Category 4 hurricane, unleashing torrential rain and threatening to cause catastrophic flooding in the northern Caribbean, including Haiti and Jamaica, the U.S. National Hurricane Center said.The weather agency added Melissa is likely to reach the southern coast of Jamaica as a major hurricane late Monday or Tuesday morning, and urged people on the island to seek shelter immediately.As of 11 p.m. Sunday, Melissa was producing maximum sustained winds of 145 mph, making it a category 4 hurricane. The storm was located 125 miles south of Kingston, Jamaica and inching west at 5 mph. The latest satellite images show a well-defined eye wall.”Conditions (in Jamaica) are going to go down rapidly today,” Jamie Rhome, the center’s deputy director, said on Sunday. “Be ready to ride this out for several days.” Related video above: Tropical Storm Melissa lumbers through the CaribbeanMelissa was centered about 110 miles (180 kilometers) south-southeast of Kingston, Jamaica, and about 285 miles (460 kilometers) south-southwest of Guantánamo, Cuba, on Sunday morning. It had maximum sustained winds of 140 mph (220 kph) and was moving west at 5 mph (7 kph), the hurricane center said.Melissa was expected to drop torrential rains of up to 30 inches (760 millimeters) on Jamaica and southern Hispaniola — Haiti and the Dominican Republic — according to the hurricane center. Some areas may see as much as 40 inches (1,010 millimeters) of rain.It also warned that extensive damage to infrastructure, power and communication outages, and the isolation of communities in Jamaica were to be expected.Melissa should be near or over Cuba by late Tuesday, where it could bring up to 12 inches (300 millimeters) of rain, before moving toward the Bahamas later Wednesday.The U.S. National Hurricane Center said on Sunday that the hurricane watch for Cuba could be upgraded to a warning later on Sunday.Airports closed and shelters activatedThe erratic and slow-moving storm has killed at least three people in Haiti and a fourth person in the Dominican Republic, where another person remains missing.Jamaica’s government said the main airport in Montego Bay, Sangster International Airport, will shut down at midday local time on Sunday as the island’s national emergency agency activated its level 3 emergency protocol ahead of Melissa.The biggest airport on the island, Norman Manley International Airport in the capital, Kingston, closed at 9 p.m. on Saturday.”With the slow movement of this system, it doesn’t allow you to recover. It’s going to sit there, pouring water while it’s barely moving and that is a significant challenge that we have to be aware of,” warned Evan Thompson, principal director of the Meteorological Service of Jamaica.”There is nowhere that will escape the wrath of this hurricane,” Richard Thompson, acting director general of the Office of Disaster Preparedness and Emergency Management said.He said all members of the National Response Team are now on full alert.More than 650 shelters were activated in Jamaica. Officials said warehouses across the island were well-stocked and thousands of food packages pre-positioned for quick distribution if needed.Communities cut off by rising watersHaitian authorities said three people had died as a consequence of the hurricane and another five were injured due to a collapsed wall. There were also reports of rising river levels, flooding and a bridge destroyed due to breached riverbanks in Sainte-Suzanne, in the northeast.Many residents are still reluctant to leave their homes, Haitian officials said.The storm damaged nearly 200 homes in the Dominican Republic and knocked out water supply systems, affecting more than half a million customers. It also downed trees and traffic lights, unleashed a couple of small landslides and left more than two dozen communities isolated by floodwaters.The Bahamas Department of Meteorology said Melissa could bring tropical storm or hurricane conditions to islands in the southeastern and central Bahamas and the Turks and Caicos Islands by early next week.Melissa is the 13th named storm of the Atlantic hurricane season, which runs from June 1 to Nov. 30.The U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration had predicted an above-normal season with 13 to 18 named storms.———Savarese reported from Sao Paulo.
Hurricane Melissa strengthened into a major Category 4 hurricane, unleashing torrential rain and threatening to cause catastrophic flooding in the northern Caribbean, including Haiti and Jamaica, the U.S. National Hurricane Center said.
The weather agency added Melissa is likely to reach the southern coast of Jamaica as a major hurricane late Monday or Tuesday morning, and urged people on the island to seek shelter immediately.
As of 11 p.m. Sunday, Melissa was producing maximum sustained winds of 145 mph, making it a category 4 hurricane. The storm was located 125 miles south of Kingston, Jamaica and inching west at 5 mph. The latest satellite images show a well-defined eye wall.
“Conditions (in Jamaica) are going to go down rapidly today,” Jamie Rhome, the center’s deputy director, said on Sunday. “Be ready to ride this out for several days.”
Related video above: Tropical Storm Melissa lumbers through the Caribbean
Melissa was centered about 110 miles (180 kilometers) south-southeast of Kingston, Jamaica, and about 285 miles (460 kilometers) south-southwest of Guantánamo, Cuba, on Sunday morning. It had maximum sustained winds of 140 mph (220 kph) and was moving west at 5 mph (7 kph), the hurricane center said.
Melissa was expected to drop torrential rains of up to 30 inches (760 millimeters) on Jamaica and southern Hispaniola — Haiti and the Dominican Republic — according to the hurricane center. Some areas may see as much as 40 inches (1,010 millimeters) of rain.
It also warned that extensive damage to infrastructure, power and communication outages, and the isolation of communities in Jamaica were to be expected.
Melissa should be near or over Cuba by late Tuesday, where it could bring up to 12 inches (300 millimeters) of rain, before moving toward the Bahamas later Wednesday.
The U.S. National Hurricane Center said on Sunday that the hurricane watch for Cuba could be upgraded to a warning later on Sunday.
Airports closed and shelters activated
The erratic and slow-moving storm has killed at least three people in Haiti and a fourth person in the Dominican Republic, where another person remains missing.
Jamaica’s government said the main airport in Montego Bay, Sangster International Airport, will shut down at midday local time on Sunday as the island’s national emergency agency activated its level 3 emergency protocol ahead of Melissa.
The biggest airport on the island, Norman Manley International Airport in the capital, Kingston, closed at 9 p.m. on Saturday.
“With the slow movement of this system, it doesn’t allow you to recover. It’s going to sit there, pouring water while it’s barely moving and that is a significant challenge that we have to be aware of,” warned Evan Thompson, principal director of the Meteorological Service of Jamaica.
“There is nowhere that will escape the wrath of this hurricane,” Richard Thompson, acting director general of the Office of Disaster Preparedness and Emergency Management said.
He said all members of the National Response Team are now on full alert.
More than 650 shelters were activated in Jamaica. Officials said warehouses across the island were well-stocked and thousands of food packages pre-positioned for quick distribution if needed.
Communities cut off by rising waters
Haitian authorities said three people had died as a consequence of the hurricane and another five were injured due to a collapsed wall. There were also reports of rising river levels, flooding and a bridge destroyed due to breached riverbanks in Sainte-Suzanne, in the northeast.
Many residents are still reluctant to leave their homes, Haitian officials said.
The storm damaged nearly 200 homes in the Dominican Republic and knocked out water supply systems, affecting more than half a million customers. It also downed trees and traffic lights, unleashed a couple of small landslides and left more than two dozen communities isolated by floodwaters.
The Bahamas Department of Meteorology said Melissa could bring tropical storm or hurricane conditions to islands in the southeastern and central Bahamas and the Turks and Caicos Islands by early next week.
Melissa is the 13th named storm of the Atlantic hurricane season, which runs from June 1 to Nov. 30.
The U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration had predicted an above-normal season with 13 to 18 named storms.
Hurricane Melissa strengthened into a major Category 4 hurricane, unleashing torrential rain and threatening to cause catastrophic flooding in the northern Caribbean, including Haiti and Jamaica, the U.S. National Hurricane Center said.The weather agency added Melissa is likely to reach the southern coast of Jamaica as a major hurricane late Monday or Tuesday morning, and urged people on the island to seek shelter immediately.As of 11 p.m. Sunday, Melissa was producing maximum sustained winds of 145 mph, making it a category 4 hurricane. The storm was located 125 miles south of Kingston, Jamaica and inching west at 5 mph. The latest satellite images show a well-defined eye wall.”Conditions (in Jamaica) are going to go down rapidly today,” Jamie Rhome, the center’s deputy director, said on Sunday. “Be ready to ride this out for several days.” Related video above: Tropical Storm Melissa lumbers through the CaribbeanMelissa was centered about 110 miles (180 kilometers) south-southeast of Kingston, Jamaica, and about 285 miles (460 kilometers) south-southwest of Guantánamo, Cuba, on Sunday morning. It had maximum sustained winds of 140 mph (220 kph) and was moving west at 5 mph (7 kph), the hurricane center said.Melissa was expected to drop torrential rains of up to 30 inches (760 millimeters) on Jamaica and southern Hispaniola — Haiti and the Dominican Republic — according to the hurricane center. Some areas may see as much as 40 inches (1,010 millimeters) of rain.It also warned that extensive damage to infrastructure, power and communication outages, and the isolation of communities in Jamaica were to be expected.Melissa should be near or over Cuba by late Tuesday, where it could bring up to 12 inches (300 millimeters) of rain, before moving toward the Bahamas later Wednesday.The U.S. National Hurricane Center said on Sunday that the hurricane watch for Cuba could be upgraded to a warning later on Sunday.Airports closed and shelters activatedThe erratic and slow-moving storm has killed at least three people in Haiti and a fourth person in the Dominican Republic, where another person remains missing.Jamaica’s government said the main airport in Montego Bay, Sangster International Airport, will shut down at midday local time on Sunday as the island’s national emergency agency activated its level 3 emergency protocol ahead of Melissa.The biggest airport on the island, Norman Manley International Airport in the capital, Kingston, closed at 9 p.m. on Saturday.”With the slow movement of this system, it doesn’t allow you to recover. It’s going to sit there, pouring water while it’s barely moving and that is a significant challenge that we have to be aware of,” warned Evan Thompson, principal director of the Meteorological Service of Jamaica.”There is nowhere that will escape the wrath of this hurricane,” Richard Thompson, acting director general of the Office of Disaster Preparedness and Emergency Management said.He said all members of the National Response Team are now on full alert.More than 650 shelters were activated in Jamaica. Officials said warehouses across the island were well-stocked and thousands of food packages pre-positioned for quick distribution if needed.Communities cut off by rising watersHaitian authorities said three people had died as a consequence of the hurricane and another five were injured due to a collapsed wall. There were also reports of rising river levels, flooding and a bridge destroyed due to breached riverbanks in Sainte-Suzanne, in the northeast.Many residents are still reluctant to leave their homes, Haitian officials said.The storm damaged nearly 200 homes in the Dominican Republic and knocked out water supply systems, affecting more than half a million customers. It also downed trees and traffic lights, unleashed a couple of small landslides and left more than two dozen communities isolated by floodwaters.The Bahamas Department of Meteorology said Melissa could bring tropical storm or hurricane conditions to islands in the southeastern and central Bahamas and the Turks and Caicos Islands by early next week.Melissa is the 13th named storm of the Atlantic hurricane season, which runs from June 1 to Nov. 30.The U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration had predicted an above-normal season with 13 to 18 named storms.———Savarese reported from Sao Paulo.
Hurricane Melissa strengthened into a major Category 4 hurricane, unleashing torrential rain and threatening to cause catastrophic flooding in the northern Caribbean, including Haiti and Jamaica, the U.S. National Hurricane Center said.
The weather agency added Melissa is likely to reach the southern coast of Jamaica as a major hurricane late Monday or Tuesday morning, and urged people on the island to seek shelter immediately.
As of 11 p.m. Sunday, Melissa was producing maximum sustained winds of 145 mph, making it a category 4 hurricane. The storm was located 125 miles south of Kingston, Jamaica and inching west at 5 mph. The latest satellite images show a well-defined eye wall.
“Conditions (in Jamaica) are going to go down rapidly today,” Jamie Rhome, the center’s deputy director, said on Sunday. “Be ready to ride this out for several days.”
Related video above: Tropical Storm Melissa lumbers through the Caribbean
Melissa was centered about 110 miles (180 kilometers) south-southeast of Kingston, Jamaica, and about 285 miles (460 kilometers) south-southwest of Guantánamo, Cuba, on Sunday morning. It had maximum sustained winds of 140 mph (220 kph) and was moving west at 5 mph (7 kph), the hurricane center said.
Melissa was expected to drop torrential rains of up to 30 inches (760 millimeters) on Jamaica and southern Hispaniola — Haiti and the Dominican Republic — according to the hurricane center. Some areas may see as much as 40 inches (1,010 millimeters) of rain.
It also warned that extensive damage to infrastructure, power and communication outages, and the isolation of communities in Jamaica were to be expected.
Melissa should be near or over Cuba by late Tuesday, where it could bring up to 12 inches (300 millimeters) of rain, before moving toward the Bahamas later Wednesday.
The U.S. National Hurricane Center said on Sunday that the hurricane watch for Cuba could be upgraded to a warning later on Sunday.
Airports closed and shelters activated
The erratic and slow-moving storm has killed at least three people in Haiti and a fourth person in the Dominican Republic, where another person remains missing.
Jamaica’s government said the main airport in Montego Bay, Sangster International Airport, will shut down at midday local time on Sunday as the island’s national emergency agency activated its level 3 emergency protocol ahead of Melissa.
The biggest airport on the island, Norman Manley International Airport in the capital, Kingston, closed at 9 p.m. on Saturday.
“With the slow movement of this system, it doesn’t allow you to recover. It’s going to sit there, pouring water while it’s barely moving and that is a significant challenge that we have to be aware of,” warned Evan Thompson, principal director of the Meteorological Service of Jamaica.
“There is nowhere that will escape the wrath of this hurricane,” Richard Thompson, acting director general of the Office of Disaster Preparedness and Emergency Management said.
He said all members of the National Response Team are now on full alert.
More than 650 shelters were activated in Jamaica. Officials said warehouses across the island were well-stocked and thousands of food packages pre-positioned for quick distribution if needed.
Communities cut off by rising waters
Haitian authorities said three people had died as a consequence of the hurricane and another five were injured due to a collapsed wall. There were also reports of rising river levels, flooding and a bridge destroyed due to breached riverbanks in Sainte-Suzanne, in the northeast.
Many residents are still reluctant to leave their homes, Haitian officials said.
The storm damaged nearly 200 homes in the Dominican Republic and knocked out water supply systems, affecting more than half a million customers. It also downed trees and traffic lights, unleashed a couple of small landslides and left more than two dozen communities isolated by floodwaters.
The Bahamas Department of Meteorology said Melissa could bring tropical storm or hurricane conditions to islands in the southeastern and central Bahamas and the Turks and Caicos Islands by early next week.
Melissa is the 13th named storm of the Atlantic hurricane season, which runs from June 1 to Nov. 30.
The U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration had predicted an above-normal season with 13 to 18 named storms.
Watches, warnings discontinued as Tropical Storm Jerry weakens
CENTRAL FLORIDA IS AGAIN A HURRICANE HOTSPOT THIS YEAR. OH MY GOD. MAKE SURE THAT YOU’RE PREPARING FOR THE POTENTIAL THAT YOU MAY HAVE TO EVACUATE. WE’VE SEEN THE IMPACT OF CATASTROPHIC STORMS. EVERY LOT THAT’S EMPTY WAS SOMEBODY’S HOME FOR 100 YEAR FLOODS. FLOODS THAT AREN’T SUPPOSED TO HAPPEN FOR 100 YEARS HAVE HAPPENED FOUR TIMES IN THE LAST 6 TO 7 YEARS BEFORE, DURING AND AFTER A HURRICANE. THE WESH TWO FIRST WARNING WEATHER TEAM IS HERE TO HELP. WE’RE STICKING TO A BUDGET FOR YOUR HURRICANE KIT AND STAYING IN TOUCH WITH LOCAL LEADERS ABOUT THEIR PLANS TO KEEP YOU SAFE. WE’VE BEEN WORKING ON A PROCESS SINCE MILTON IN ORDER TO BETTER THE SERVICE THAT WE PROVIDE TO THE RESIDENTS. THE TIME TO PREPARE IS NOW. SURVIVING THE SEASON. THE 2020 HURRICANE SPECIAL. AS WE GET INTO THE THICK OF THE 2025 ATLANTIC HURRICANE SEASON, YOU SHOULD BE PREPARED TO TAKE ACTION IF AND WHEN A STORM HEADS OUR WAY. THANK YOU FOR JOINING US. I’M STEWART MOORE AND I’M MICHELLE IMPERATO. WE HAVE A LOT TO COVER WHEN IT COMES TO STORM PREPARATIONS AND WHERE TO GET HELP AFTER A HURRICANE. BUT FIRST, THIS SEASON COMES WITH A LOT OF UNKNOWNS. THE FEDERAL EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT AGENCY, OR FEMA, STRUGGLED WITH BUDGET CUTS AND LAYOFFS THIS YEAR. THE FULL IMPACT REMAINS TO BE SEEN AS THE TRUMP ADMINISTRATION WORKS TO OVERHAUL THE AGENCY. IN JANUARY, PRESIDENT TRUMP FLOATED THE IDEA OF GETTING RID OF FEMA AND SHIFTING FEMA’S RESPONSIBILITIES TO STATES AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTS. THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT ALSO CUT FUNDING FOR THE NATIONAL OCEANIC AND ATMOSPHERIC ADMINISTRATION, OR NOAA, WHICH PLAYS A BIG PART IN WEATHER FORECASTING. AND WHILE THE SITUATION WITH THE GOVERNMENT COULD CHANGE THE STEPS TO PREPARE FOR A HURRICANE ARE TRIED AND TRUE. SO THAT’S OUR FIRST WARNING. WEATHER TEAM IS FOCUSED RIGHT NOW, STARTING WITH CHIEF METEOROLOGIST TONY MAINOLFI. WITH THE 2025 HURRICANE SEASON OUTLOOK. AND HERE WE GO AGAIN. I TELL YOU WHAT, ONCE AGAIN, MICHELLE IT LOOKS ACTIVE. YOU TAKE A LOOK AT THE NUMBERS. NOW NOAA CAME OUT WITH THEIR OUTLOOK 13 TO 19 NAMED STORMS. COLORADO STATE RIGHT AROUND 17. YOU GO TO WESH 16 TO 20 AND THE NUMBER OF MAJOR HURRICANES. NOW GUYS RUNNING BETWEEN ABOUT 3 TO 6. AGAIN, THE NORMAL IS 14, NINE AND THREE. SO JUST ABOVE THE NORMAL THERE OVER THE LAST 20 YEARS, THAT’S SOMETHING WE’RE GOING TO BE WATCHING. THERE’S REALLY THREE MAIN FACTORS WHY WE THINK IT’S GOING TO BE ABOVE AVERAGE SEASON. YOU TAKE A LOOK AT THE WARMER THAN AVERAGE OCEAN WATER TEMPERATURES, ESPECIALLY IN THE GULF AND THE CARIBBEAN. THE FORECAST FOR WIND SHEAR LOOKS LOW. REMEMBER, THE STRONGER THE WINDS, THE GREATER THE SHEAR. THE WINDS DO APPEAR TO BE LOOKING LIGHT, AND THERE’S GOING TO BE MORE ACTION NOW FROM THE WEST AFRICAN MONSOON. THE MORE MOISTURE OFF THE WEST COAST, THE GREATER THE RISK THERE IS FOR THESE TROPICAL WAVES TO DEVELOP. SO WHAT I WANT TO SHOW YOU HERE IS THE NORMAL WATER TEMPERATURES VERSUS VERSUS WHERE WE ARE RIGHT NOW. AND WE ARE RUNNING ABOVE NORMAL IN THE GULF OF MEXICO AND IN THE CARIBBEAN. AND BEFORE JUNE. THIS IS THE AREA THAT WE LIKE TO WATCH. SO WE’LL BE WATCHING THAT INTENTLY, THOUGH FOR NOW WE ARE IN GOOD SHAPE. GUYS, BACK TO YOU. HURRICANE HELENE AND MILTON CAUSED WIDESPREAD DEVASTATION AFTER MAKING LANDFALL ON THE GULF COAST LAST YEAR. THIS DRONE VIDEO SHOWS THE DAMAGE ON ANNA MARIA ISLAND. THE STORMS ALSO PACKED A PUNCH FURTHER INLAND. METEOROLOGIST ERIC BURRIS REMINDS US HURRICANES ARE NOT JUST A CONCERN FOR THE COAST. LAST YEAR WAS A TOUGH LESSON FOR SO MANY THAT STORMS ARE CLEARLY NOT JUST COASTAL EVENTS. HELENE TRIGGERED LANDSLIDES AND FLOODING IN THE CAROLINAS, FAR FROM THE GULF COAST, WHERE IT MADE LANDFALL A FEW WEEKS LATER. DURING MILTON, FLAGLER COUNTY SUFFERED SOME OF THE GUSTIEST WINDS, EVEN THOUGH IT WAS FAR FROM THE CENTER OF THE STORM. THOUSANDS OF PEOPLE LOST POWER, AND ROUGH SURF ENTERED PEOPLE’S BACKYARDS. THERE CAN BE EFFECTS. HUNDREDS OF MILES OUTSIDE OF THAT CONE. FLAGLER COUNTY EMERGENCY MANAGER JONATHAN LORD SAYS MANY PEOPLE HAVE MOVED TO THE AREA IN RECENT MONTHS. HE WANTS NEWCOMERS TO KNOW IF A STORM HEADS ANYWHERE NEAR FLORIDA. THEY NEED TO BE READY. MOSTLY WITH PEOPLE MOVING IN FROM OUT OF STATE. WHO’VE NEVER EXPERIENCED A HURRICANE BEFORE. OR SOMETIMES I’M TOLD THEY HEAR FROM THE REALTORS THAT WE DON’T GET HURRICANES IN THIS PART OF THE STATE. DEFINITELY NOT TRUE. AS WE TRACK THE TROPICS THIS YEAR, THE NATIONAL HURRICANE CENTER IS REMINDING EVERYONE THAT THE CONE, WHICH IS ONLY CONCERNED WITH THE CENTER OF THE STORM, IS JUST ONE PIECE OF THE PUZZLE. THE HAZARDS ARE INCREASINGLY FALLING OUTSIDE OF THE CONE. JAMIE RHOME, THE DEPUTY DIRECTOR OF THE NATIONAL HURRICANE CENTER, SAYS THIS IS ACTUALLY FOR GOOD REASON. THE CONE HAS GOTTEN SMALLER AND SMALLER OVER TIME AS FORECAST ACCURACY HAS IMPROVED. LAST YEAR TO TRY AND BETTER COMMUNICATE IMPACTS COUNTY BY COUNTY. THE NATIONAL HURRICANE CENTER ADDED ADVISORIES OVER TOP OF THE CONE TO INCLUDE THREATS OVER LAND, AS WELL AS COASTLINE. SO IMMEDIATELY WHEN YOU LOOK AT THE CONE, THE FIRST THING YOU SEE IS, IS ALL THIS COLOR AND HOW FAR INLAND IT GOES. SO WE THINK IT’S A BETTER WAY TO COMMUNICATE. YOUR BEST SHOT AT SURVIVING THE SEASON IS TO HAVE A HURRICANE KIT STOCKED AND READY TO GO. METEOROLOGIST KELLIANNE KLASS SHOWS US BEING PREPARED DOES NOT NEED TO BREAK THE BANK EVERY HURRICANE SEASON. WE ALWAYS TELL YOU TO HAVE A HURRICANE SUPPLY KIT, BUT LOCAL EMERGENCY MANAGERS ARE SAYING, LET’S GO AWAY WITH THE 72 HOUR SUPPLY KIT AND GO FOR A DISASTER SUPPLY KIT THAT CAN HAVE YOUR FAMILY BEING FED FOR UP TO FIVE DAYS OR EVEN LONGER. AND THAT CAN GET PRETTY HEAVY ON WALLETS. BUT TODAY WE’RE AT A LOCAL DOLLAR TREE AT 1792, IN FERN PARK TO SEE HOW MUCH WE CAN GET WITH $100, WE HAVE OUR LIST READY, AND NOW WE’RE GOING TO GO SEE HOW MUCH WE CAN GET. LET’S GO SHOPPING. OKAY, SO THE FIRST THING THAT WE’RE GOING TO DO IS STIR KNOWS THEY’RE IN THE PARTY SECTION. AND THESE ARE GOOD UP TO TWO HOURS. SO WE’RE GOING TO GET FIVE IN THIS AISLE WE HAVE TWO OPTIONS FOR LOSS OF POWER. THERE’S YOUR TRADITIONAL FLASHLIGHT. BUT YOU ALSO HAVE THE OPTION OF AN LED LANTERN. EXTRA BATTERIES SHOULD BE ON YOUR DISASTER KIT. AND THE DOLLAR STORE HAD PLENTY OF THEM. I DIDN’T HAVE THIS ON THE LIST, BUT YOU DO NEED A LIGHTER FOR THE STERNO, SO I’M GOING TO ADD THIS TO IT. AND IF YOU NEED CANDLES, THEY DO HAVE TEA, LIGHT CANDLES. IF YOU HAVE CHILDREN, MAKE SURE YOU HAVE ALL OF THEIR SUPPLIES STOCKED UP. WE GRABBED A FEW CHILDREN’S WIPES, WHICH COULD ALSO DOUBLE AS CLEANSING WIPES FOR ADULTS. THE DOLLAR STORE HAD DIAPERS IN STOCK, BUT FOR $6 PER PACKAGE, THE AMOUNT OF DIAPERS PER PACKAGE DEPENDS ON THE CHILDREN’S SIZE. BANDAGES ARE IMPORTANT TO HAVE IN ANY DISASTER KIT. WE PICKED UP SELF-ADHERING BANDAGE WRAP AND ADHESIVE BANDAGES. WE ALSO GRABBED ANTISEPTIC TO HELP CLEAN THE WOUNDS. IBUPROFEN IS GOING IN THE CART AS WELL. NOW WE’RE ON TO NONPERISHABLE FOOD. WE’RE IN THE SNACK AISLE AND NOW IS THE TIME TO GET SNACKS THAT YOU AND YOUR FAMILY MAY ENJOY. PEANUT BUTTER. NOW WE’RE ON TO SHELF STABLE ITEMS, SO THIS IS GOING TO BE YOUR CANNED MEATS, YOUR CANNED VEGETABLES, ANYTHING THAT CAN SIT ON A SHELF IN CASE YOU LOSE POWER. YOU MAY ALREADY HAVE ONE OF THESE A CAN OPENER, BUT THIS IS A REALLY CHEAP AND AFFORDABLE OPTION, AND WE’RE GOING TO BE OPENING A LOT OF CANS, DISPOSABLE PLATES. PLASTIC WARE AND PAPER TOWELS ARE GOOD TO STOCK UP ON TO. HELLO, HELLO. HOW ARE YOU? GOOD. YOU GOOD? TO ONE 1053. WE ENDED UP GOING ABOUT $10 OVER BUDGET, BUT I DID START OUR DISASTER KIT FROM SCRATCH. YOU PROBABLY ALREADY HAVE A LOT OF THESE ITEMS AT YOUR HOME ALREADY. AND I ALSO DID ADD A COUPLE OF ITEMS INTO MY BASKET THAT WERE NOT ON THE LIST. OVERALL, YOU SHOULD TAILOR YOUR DISASTER KIT TO YOU AND YOUR FAMILY’S NEEDS. ADD A GENERATOR TO YOUR SHOPPING LIST IF YOU NEED A BACKUP SOURCE FOR POWER, YOU MIGHT BE IN THE DARK FOR DAYS AFTER A BIG STORM. CHIEF METEOROLOGIST TONY MAINOLFI SHOWS US THE PROPER WAY TO USE A GENERATOR. HURRICANE SEASON IS HERE AND A LOT OF FOLKS ARE GOING TO START RUNNING THESE GENERATORS. WE WANT YOU TO KEEP THEM 20FT AWAY FROM YOUR HOUSE, NOT INSIDE YOUR GARAGE, TO PREVENT CARBON MONOXIDE POISONING. ALL RIGHT. THE NEXT THING IS GENERATOR MAINTENANCE. NUMBER ONE, YOU ALWAYS WANT TO RUN IT A COUPLE TIMES A YEAR TO MAKE SURE THERE’S NO LEFTOVER FUEL IN THERE. THAT’S NEVER GOOD FOR YOUR GENERATOR. AND WHEN YOU’RE DONE USING IT, YOU WANT TO MAKE SURE THERE IS NO FUEL IN THERE. OTHERWISE, YOUR GENERATOR MAY NOT START UP WHEN THE NEXT HURRICANE ARRIVES. AND FOLKS, PLEASE REMEMBER TO ALWAYS HAVE A CARBON MONOXIDE DETECTOR WHEN YOU’RE RUNNING YOUR GENERATOR. TIME AND TIME AGAIN. HURRICANES LEAD TO FLOODING HERE IN CENTRAL FLORIDA AFTER FLOODED AFTER IRMA IN 2017, THE ORLO VISTA COMMUNITY FLOODED DURING IAN IN 2022, AND RISING WATERS FROM MILTON FORCED PEOPLE OUT OF THEIR HOMES INTO LAND LAST YEAR. PROPERTY OWNERS DEALING WITH REPEAT FLOODING ARE READY TO GIVE UP THEIR LAND. METEOROLOGIST CAM TRAN LOOKED INTO A PROGRAM MANY COUNTIES OFFER WITH THE HELP OF FEDERAL DOLLARS, WHAT IS NOW A CORDONED OFF LOT IN SANFORD USED TO LOOK LIKE THIS A TWO STORY HOME BELONGING TO A LOCAL FAMILY. BUT AFTER YEARS OF SEEING THEIR HOME DAMAGED BY FLOODING, THE FAMILY SOLD THE PROPERTY TO SEMINOLE COUNTY. THIS PARTICULAR HOME BACK HERE WAS SEVERE REPETITIVE LOSS, WHICH MEANS THAT IT WAS SUSTAINING FLOOD DAMAGE OVER AND OVER AND OVER AGAIN. FEMA OFFERS GRANTS TO PROPERTY OWNERS WHO EXPERIENCE REPETITIVE DAMAGE FROM FLOODING. THE FUNDING IS DISTRIBUTED TO INDIVIDUAL COUNTIES, INCLUDING SEMINOLE COUNTY, SO THERE’S THREE PROGRAMS. THERE’S BUYBACK. SO WE BUY OUT AN ACQUISITION DEMOLISH. THERE’S ELEVATE. SO WE TAKE THE HOME AS IT IS AND ELEVATE. AND THEN THERE’S ELEVATE RECONSTRUCT. SO ELEVATE RECONSTRUCT WOULD BE A CONCRETE MASONRY BLOCK HOME. YOU CAN’T JUST PICK IT UP. SO IT WOULD REQUIRE US TO PICK IT UP. BUT WHILE WE’RE PICKING IT UP WE’RE CONSTRUCTING WE’RE DOING CONSTRUCTION THAT’S GOING TO COST MORE MONEY. ANY PROPERTY OWNER WHO WANTS TO TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THIS FEMA GRANT WILL NEED TO BE PATIENT. IT CAN TAKE MONTHS, EVEN YEARS, TO GET THAT FEDERAL FUNDING APPROVED. VOLUSIA COUNTY IS CONSIDERING A SIMILAR PROGRAM. IT WAS AWARDED $20 MILLION IN FEDERAL FUNDING TO BUY BACK FREQUENTLY FLOODED HOMES. WE CAN’T BUY THEM ALL, BUT THERE’S SOME THAT WOULD MAKE SENSE. DELAND ON TAYLOR AVENUE, THERE IS A HOME THAT’S ACTUALLY THE HOMEOWNERS COME TO US AND SAID, WOULD YOU WOULD YOU BUY US OUT? AND THEY SAY THAT WITH TEARS IN THEIR EYES. DONNA ROONEY HAD FOUR FEET OF WATER IN HER HOUSE AFTER HURRICANE MILTON. SHE HOPES TO TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THIS BUYBACK PROGRAM. THAT’S WHAT WE WANTED FROM THE BEGINNING. WE HAVE NO INTENTION OF REBUILDING OR REFURBISHING THIS HOME. HUD STILL NEEDS TO APPROVE THE PROGRAM BEFORE IT CAN TAKE EFFECT. NEXT, ON SURVIVING THE SEASON. OUR FIRST WARNING WEATHER TEAM SPENT MONTHS ANALYZING WEATHER PATTERNS AND PINPOINTING THE HOT SPOTS FOR A BIG STORM. PLUS, HOW TO IDENTIFY THE SAFEST PLACE TO HUNKER DOWN DURING A TORNADO AND THE FUNDING STILL AVAILABLE. IF YOUR HOME SUFFERED DAMAGE DURING HURRICANE IAN. NOT A LOT OF PEOPLE ARE ATTENDING THESE MEETINGS OR KNOW ABOUT THE PROGRAM, AND THAT’S A SHAME. ONE NEIGHBOR LOOKING TO REBUILD IS SPREADING THE WORD TO HELP OTHERS JUST LIKE HER. OVER THE PAST YEAR, OUR FIRST WARNING WEATHER TEAM HAS BEEN ANALYZING WEATHER PATTERNS TO PREDICT WHEN WE COULD GET A BIG STORM IN CENTRAL FLORIDA. METEOROLOGIST ERIC BURRIS WAS ABLE TO PREDICT WITH 85% ACCURACY LAST YEAR, WHERE BIG STORMS WENT AND WHEN THEY MADE LANDFALL. HE’S DOING IT AGAIN AND PRESENTS THIS YEAR’S LONG RANGE FORECAST. HEY, THAT’S RIGHT. THE OVERALL PATTERNS THIS YEAR CLEARLY SHOW THE GULF AS THE HOT SPOT FOR ACTIVITY YET AGAIN. BUT THE WAY MY LONG TERM FORECASTING WORKS IS LOOKING AT LONG TERM FORECASTING CYCLES. SO LET’S BREAK IT DOWN. THE FIRST PART OF THE PATTERN THAT WE WATCH IS THE NORTHERN GULF COAST, FOR WHAT SHOULD BE THE SLOW MOVING AREA OF LOW PRESSURE. EARLY JUNE, BUT IN PARTICULAR LATE JULY AND AROUND THE BEGINNING OF SEPTEMBER, THEN ALONG THE NORTHERN GULF COAST YET AGAIN, I’VE OBSERVED AN OVERALL WEATHER PATTERN SHOWING A STORM SYSTEM AGAIN MID JUNE, BUT MOREOVER, LATE JULY AND INTO EARLY SEPTEMBER. BUT TO BE HONEST WITH YOU, INTO THE PANHANDLE AND OUR WEST COAST, THE BIGGEST PART OF THE PATTERN I’M WATCHING FOR THREATS IN THIS AREA IS THIS ONE WITH AN AREA OF LOW PRESSURE THAT SEEMINGLY WANTS TO CROSS THE GULF AND WORK TOWARD OUR WEST COAST. SO WATCH THESE DATES VERY CLOSELY. LATE JUNE, EARLY AUGUST AND MID SEPTEMBER. AND LASTLY, OUT OF ALL THE DATA OVER THE MONTHS AND MONTHS OF GATHERING MY NUMBERS FOR THIS YEAR’S HURRICANE FORECAST, WHILE ABOVE AVERAGE, ARE NOT CALLING FOR A HYPERACTIVE SEASON. EITHER WAY, WE HAVE A CLEAR THREAT TO WATCH FOR, AND THUS WE’LL NEED TO KEEP OUR HEAD ON A SWIVEL. BUT KNOW THIS YOUR FIRST WARNING WEATHER TEAM WILL BE HERE WITH YOU EVERY STEP OF THE WAY. WHEN THERE’S A RISK FOR SEVERE WEATHER. THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE ISSUES WATCHES AND WARNINGS. YOU’LL HEAR OUR FIRST WARNING WEATHER TEAM USE THESE TERMS A LOT. METEOROLOGIST MARQUISE MEDA EXPLAINS WHAT THEY MEAN. THINK OF IT LIKE COOKING PASTA. A WATCH IS WHEN YOU PUT A POT OF BOILING WATER ON THE STOVE. THE HEAT IS ON. CONDITIONS ARE FAVORABLE AND YOU’RE WAITING FOR SOMETHING TO HAPPEN. A WARNING MEANS THAT WATER IS BOILING AND IT’S TIME TO ADD THE PASTA. OR IN WEATHER TERMS, THE EVENT IS HAPPENING NOW AND YOU NEED TO TAKE ACTION IMMEDIATELY. JUST LIKE YOU DON’T WALK AWAY FROM A POT THAT’S HEATING UP, YOU SHOULD IGNORE A WATCH. CONDITIONS. THEY CAN CHANGE QUICKLY AND BEFORE YOU KNOW IT, THAT GENTLE SIMMER CAN TURN INTO A ROLLING BOIL. SO DURING A WATCH, STAY ALERT AND BE PREPARED. BUT IF IT’S A WARNING, BE PREPARED TO TAKE COVER. BECAUSE JUST LIKE A POT OF BOILING WATER, SEVERE WEATHER DOESN’T WAIT. BEFORE MILTON MADE LANDFALL IN FLORIDA LAST YEAR, THE STORM SPAWNED MANY TORNADOES, INCLUDING ONE IN BREVARD COUNTY. THIS VIDEO SHOWS SOME OF THE DAMAGE IT CAUSED. METEOROLOGIST CAM TRAN EXPLAINS WHERE YOU SHOULD TAKE COVER IN A TORNADO. THE SAFEST PLACE TO GO DURING A TORNADO WARNING IS TO THE LOWEST FLOOR OF YOUR HOUSE. MAKE SURE THAT AREA IS NOT CONNECTED TO ANY EXTERIOR WALLS OR WINDOWS. YOUR SAFE ROOM COULD BE A CLOSET, A BATHROOM, OR EVEN A HALLWAY LIKE THIS ONE. BUT IN THIS HOUSE, THE SAFEST ROOM TO BE IN IS ACTUALLY THIS INTERIOR BATHROOM. IT IS AWAY FROM ANY EXTERIOR WALLS OR WINDOW, AND IT’S THE MOST INTERIOR ROOM OF THIS HOUSE. IF YOU LIVE IN AN APARTMENT BUILDING OR YOU’RE WORKING AT AN OFFICE HIGHRISE, SIMILAR RULES APPLY. GO TO THE BOTTOM AND THE LOWEST FLOOR OF YOUR BUILDING. AND IF YOU CAN’T GO TO AN INTERIOR HALLWAY. AS WE PREPARE FOR THE NEXT BIG STORM, MANY HOMEOWNERS ARE STILL TRYING TO RECOVER FROM PAST DISASTERS. CHIEF METEOROLOGIST TONY MAINOLFI SHOWS US A PROGRAM RIGHT HERE IN ORANGE COUNTY THAT’S HELPING FOLKS GET BACK ON THEIR FEET. THE ORANGE COUNTY RECOVERS PROGRAM HAS SET ASIDE $59 MILLION TO HELP RESIDENTS OF ORANGE COUNTY AND ITS MUNICIPALITIES REPAIR, REBUILD AND REPLACE ELIGIBLE HOMES WITH REMAINING DAMAGE FROM HURRICANE IAN. IT IS A GRANT, SO THAT’S GOOD NEWS FOR EVERYBODY. IT’S NOT ALONE. FOLKS ARE ABLE TO APPLY FOR THESE FUNDS AND CAN DO SO UNTIL THE MONEY RUNS OUT. SHERI JILLIAN WITH THE DISASTER RECOVERY TEAM, EXPLAINS WHO’S ELIGIBLE. NUMBER ONE, YOU MUST HAVE OWNED THE PROPERTY AND RESIDED IN THE PROPERTY AS YOUR PRIMARY RESIDENCE, SO OWNED PRIOR TO IAN, AND STILL OCCUPY THE RESIDENCE AS YOUR PRIMARY RESIDENCE, YOU MUST BE A LOW TO MODERATE INCOME INDIVIDUAL, WHICH IS 80% AMI. YOU MUST HAVE A CURRENT MORTGAGE AND TAXES ON THE PROPERTY. ONCE ELIGIBILITY HAS BEEN APPROVED, THE DAMAGE ASSESSMENT WILL BE DETERMINED. FROM THERE, THE HOMEOWNER WILL THEN BE GIVEN SOME MONEY SO THAT THE REPAIRS CAN BE MADE ON THEIR HOME, AND THEY CAN HOPEFULLY GET THEIR LIVES BACK IN ORDER. DEBBY RYAN LIVES IN ORLO VISTA. IT WAS LIKE A RIVER AND IT WAS VERY FAST MOVING AND EVERYTHING. SHE GAVE US A TOUR OF HER HOME WHICH FLOODED DURING HURRICANE IAN IN 2022. THIS WAS ALL WATER. WATER WAS UP TO THAT SECOND STEP AND THAT WAS ON FRIDAY. SO I DON’T KNOW HOW HIGH IT WAS BEFORE THEN AND ALL THAT HIGH WATER DEVASTATED THE INSIDE OF MANY PEOPLE’S HOMES. FLOORING IS COMING APART, PLUMBING FOR LAUNDRY ROOMS IS DAMAGED. THERE’S MOLD INSIDE HOMES AND IN SOME CASES, MOBILE HOMES WERE DESTROYED AND HAD TO BE TAKEN AWAY. RYAN IS APPLYING FOR THE COUNTY’S PROGRAM AND WANTS TO MAKE SURE HER NEIGHBORS KNOW ABOUT IT, TOO. THERE’S 6000 PEOPLE THAT LIVE IN ORLO VISTA. YOU SAW HOW FEW PEOPLE WERE THERE. THEY’RE DOING EVERYTHING THEY CAN TO HELP PEOPLE. THE ONLY CONCERN I HAVE IS THAT NOT A LOT OF PEOPLE ARE ATTENDING THESE MEETINGS OR KNOW ABOUT THE PROGRAM, AND THAT’S A SHAME. THERE ARE TWO WAYS TO APPLY FOR FUNDING. WE POSTED THAT INFORMATION ON OUR WEBSITE, WESH.COM. UNDER THE HURRICANE TAB. TRIM THE TREES, CLEAR YOUR YARD, FILL YOUR GAS TANK. THESE ARE ALL STANDARD THINGS WE DO TO PREPARE FOR A HURRICANE. METEOROLOGIST KELLIANNE KLASS REMINDS US NOT TO FORGET ABOUT THE SMALLER TASKS THAT CAN MAKE LIFE A LOT LESS STRESSFUL. IF YOU LOSE POWER OR ACCESS TO CLEAN WATER. WASH YOUR DISHES AND DO YOUR LAUNDRY. FILL UP ANY PRESCRIPTIONS YOU MAY NEED. IF YOU HAVE A DOG, MAKE SURE TO GET SOME PEE PADS. IT COULD BE A WHILE BEFORE THEY CAN GET OUTSIDE AND MAKE SURE YOU HAVE ENOUGH FOOD, WATER, AND LITTER FOR YOUR PET. CHARGE ANY ELECTRONIC DEVICES AND CHARGE BANKS. WALK THROUGH YOUR HOME AND TAKE VIDEO OF EVERYTHING. IT WILL HELP YOU IF YOU NEED TO MAKE A CLAIM LATER. FILL PLASTIC BAGS WITH WATER AND FREEZE THEM BEFORE THE STORM. OH, AND DON’T FORGET TO COOLER. DON’T WAIT UNTIL A STORM IS COMING TO CHECK YOUR INSURANCE. UP NEXT, THE SPECIFIC PROTECTIONS YOU SHOULD LOOK FOR IN YOUR HOME INSURANCE POLICY. AND SANDBAGS CAN KEEP THE WATER OUT, BUT ONLY WHEN USED CORRECTLY. WE GET OUR HANDS DIRTY, SHOWING YOU THE FASTEST AND EASIEST WAY TO FILL. YOU MAY HAVE HEARD YOU SHOULD CHECK YOUR INSURANCE BEFORE A BIG STORM HITS. FIRST WARNING, METEOROLOGIST CAM TRAN EXPLAINS WHAT SHOULD BE IN THE FINE PRINT. REVIEW YOUR HOMEOWNER’S POLICY BY LOOKING AT THE DECLARATION PAGE. THAT’S WHERE YOU’LL FIND YOUR COVERAGE LIMITS AND DEDUCTIBLES. EXPERTS SAY THE COST OF CONSTRUCTION HAS GONE UP IN RECENT YEARS, SO YOU MAY HAVE A SHORTFALL IN COVERAGE IF YOU HAVEN’T UPDATED YOUR POLICY IN A WHILE. IT’S ALSO HIGHLY RECOMMENDED TO GET FLOOD INSURANCE, EVEN IF YOU DON’T LIVE IN A FLOOD ZONE. THIS IS NOT INCLUDED IN YOUR TRADITIONAL HOME POLICY. EXPERTS HIGHLY RECOMMEND FLOOD INSURANCE EVEN IN CENTRAL FLORIDA, ESPECIALLY AFTER WE SAW SIGNIFICANT FLOODING DURING HURRICANES IAN AND MILTON. YOU MAY ALSO WANT TO GET YOUR INSURANCE POLICIES IN PLACE AS SOON AS POSSIBLE. ONCE A WATCH OR WARNING HAS BEEN ISSUED, YOU CAN NO LONGER ADD OR CHANGE A HOMEOWNER’S POLICY FOR FLOOD INSURANCE POLICY. IT’S EVEN LONGER. IT TAKES 30 DAYS TO TAKE EFFECT. SANDBAGS ARE OFTEN THE FIRST LINE OF DEFENSE IN PROTECTING YOUR HOME FROM RISING WATERS, BUT MANY PEOPLE DON’T KNOW HOW TO FILL THEM UP OR LAY THEM DOWN PROPERLY. FIRST WARNING METEOROLOGIST MARQUISE MEDA SHOWS US THE MOST EFFICIENT WAY TO USE SANDBAGS. EVERY YEAR A STORM SEASON APPROACHES. WE COVER SANDBAG DISTRIBUTION SITES ACROSS THE REGION. HOMEOWNERS LINE UP EAGER TO FILL UP SANDBAGS TO PROTECT THEIR HOME FROM RISING WATERS. SO WE PROVIDE THE BAGS, WE PROVIDE THE SAND. WE PROVIDE THE MECHANISM. THE RESIDENTS HAVE TO PROVIDE THEIR THEIR ENERGY AND AND THEIR THEIR BODY STRENGTH TO DO THIS. I GOT HANDS ON TRAINING WITH THE ORANGE COUNTY PUBLIC WORKS DEPARTMENT. WE ROLLED UP OUR SLEEVES AND GOT TO WORK. IT’S 3 OR 4 SHOVEL FULLS. YOU DO NOT WANT TO FILL THE BAGS ALL THE WAY TO THE TOP. YOU WANT TO LEAVE SOME SPACE IN ORDER TO TIE THEM OFF. SHOVELING INTO THE BAG CAN BE TRICKY. SO THE COUNTY MADE FUNNELS TO HELP OUT. SO THESE ARE OUR OLD SAFETY CONES THAT WE’VE HAD SITTING ON A SHELF. TURN THEM UPSIDE DOWN AND THEY MAKE A WONDERFUL FUNNEL. OFFICIALS SAY FUNNELING SAND TAKES LESS TIME THAN SHOVELING. SO THIS METHOD COULD GET THE LINE MOVING AND PEOPLE CAN GET HOME FASTER. TO MY SURPRISE, THE BAGS WEIGHED LESS THAN I EXPECTED BECAUSE THEY’RE NOT FILLED TO THE BRIM. THEY’RE MUCH EASIER TO PICK UP. THEY ARE ABOUT 10 TO 12 POUNDS EACH. IF YOU FILLED IT CORRECTLY, YOU’LL GET TEN SANDBAGS PER RESIDENT. TEN SANDBAGS CAN DO A LOT. THEY WILL TYPICALLY COVER THE AVERAGE SLIDING GLASS DOOR. THE FRONT OF A GARAGE DOOR. PLACEMENT IS KEY AND SO IS PROPER LAYERING. ONCE YOU PLACE THE SANDBAGS, YOU WANT TO STACK THEM IN 2 TO 3 LAYERS. MAKE SURE THAT NO WATER CAN SEEP THROUGH SO WE OFFSET THEM. WE GO STACK THEM OFFSET. SO YOU LAY YOUR FIRST FOUNDATION DOWN AND THEN YOU OFFSET ON TOP AND OVER ON TOP OF THE OTHER ONE. WHEN THE NEXT BIG STORM HEADS YOUR WAY, YOU CAN EXPECT FREE SANDBAG LOCATIONS TO OPEN IN JUST ABOUT EVERY CENTRAL FLORIDA COUNTY. WESH TWO IS COMMITTED TO HELPING YOU GET READY FOR WHATEVER COMES OUR WAY THIS HURRICANE SEASON. RIGHT NOW ON WESH.COM, YOU CAN FIND OUR 2025 HURRICANE SURVIVAL GUIDE. IT BREAKS DOWN IN DETAIL EVERYTHING YOU SHOULD DO BEFORE, DURING, AND AFTER A BIG STORM. AND IT’S FREE FROM THE WESH TWO NEWS AND FIRST WARNING WEATHER TEAM. THANKS FOR WATCHING. STAY SAFE THIS HURRICANE SEASON.
Watches, warnings discontinued as Tropical Storm Jerry weakens
Tropical Storm Jerry is weakening in the Atlantic, according to the National Hurricane Center. >> Video above: A hurricane special from WESH 2All watches and warnings have been discontinued, the NHC said. Jerry was initially forecast to strengthen into a hurricane; however, the system is struggling and beginning to pull away from the Northern Leeward Islands. For parts of the northern Leeward Islands, the Virgin Islands, and eastern Puerto Rico, Jerry may result in an additional 1 to 2 inches of rain.This rainfall is not expected to cause any additional flash flooding concerns, NHC says. Maximum sustained winds: 60 mphMinimum central pressure: 1004 mb >> Subscribe to the WESH 2 YouTube channel Watches and Warnings All watches and warnings have been discontinued. Hurricane season 2025The Atlantic hurricane season runs from June 1 through Nov. 30. Stay with WESH 2 online and on-air for the most accurate Central Florida weather forecast.>> More: 2025 Hurricane Survival GuideThe First Warning Weather team includes First Warning Chief Meteorologist Tony Mainolfi, Eric Burris, Marquise Meda and Cam Tran.>> 2025 hurricane season | WESH long-range forecast
Tropical Storm Jerry is weakening in the Atlantic, according to the National Hurricane Center.
>> Video above: A hurricane special from WESH 2
All watches and warnings have been discontinued, the NHC said.
Jerry was initially forecast to strengthen into a hurricane; however, the system is struggling and beginning to pull away from the Northern Leeward Islands.
For parts of the northern Leeward Islands, the Virgin Islands, and eastern Puerto Rico, Jerry may result in an additional 1 to 2 inches of rain.
This rainfall is not expected to cause any additional flash flooding concerns, NHC says.
The Atlantic hurricane season runs from June 1 through Nov. 30. Stay with WESH 2 online and on-air for the most accurate Central Florida weather forecast.
While the Apple devout are already chasing the new Apple Watch Series 11, you and I know that a product announcements means great deals on the previous generation. You can snag a Series 10 Apple Watch with GPS and cellular data (8/10, WIRED Recommends) for just $329 from Amazon. As long as you’re OK with the 42 mm in rose gold, you’ll get one of the more premium Series 10 models.
Photograph: Adrienne So
Photograph: Julian Chokkattu
Photograph: Adrienne So
The Series 10 version of the Apple Watch had a number of major improvements to key areas over the previous generation. The biggest change was the display, which is bigger and brighter with better off-angle viewing. Our reviewer Adrienne So noted that people actually asked her about the watch after seeing the more vivid faces. Despite the larger screen, this generation slims down in several dimensions, as well as cutting some weight, for an overall more comfortable experience.
If you’re a swimmer, or just like spending time by the pool, there are new water features. A temperature sensor can tell you how cold the lake is before you dive in, and a tides app can help you figure out the best time to paddle out. It all pairs nicely with Apple’s other health monitoring features, which can track fitness across a variety of activities as well as monitor your sleep.
While the battery life is basically the same as the Series 9, Apple made some improvements to the charging. We were able to fully charge the watch via the new fast charger in just about 20 minutes, which means you can use it for sleep, and then have it ready to go for your day while you get ready.
You could certainly spend more and get the newly announced Apple Watch Series 11 (9/10, WIRED Review) with better battery, and the return of the blood oxygen sensor, but if cellular is a key feature, you’ll save some bucks grabbing the older model. While the Apple Watch is one of our favorite smartwatches, it’s for iPhone users only, so Android owners will want to check out our roundup for alternative options.
Tropical Storm Imelda continues to move away from the U.S coast on Monday — but the region will still see some impacts from the storm. At 8 a.m. Monday, Imelda was moving north at 8 mph. A faster motion to the east-northeastward moving away from the southeastern U.S. is expected by the middle part of this week. On the forecast track, the center of the system is expected to move across the central and northwestern Bahamas Sunday night and then turn east-northeastward, moving away from the southeastern U.S. by the middle part of this week. Maximum sustained winds: 145 mphMinimum central pressure: 993 mb Watches/warnings A tropical storm warning is in effect for portions of the Northwestern Bahamas, including Eleuthera, the Abacos, Grand Bahama Island and the surrounding keys. Possible impactsWIND Tropical storm conditions in portions of the northwestern Bahamas should continue through today. RAINFALL: Tropical Storm Imelda is expected to produce additional rainfall of 2 to 4 inches across eastern Cuba and 4 to 8 inches across the northwest Bahamas through Tuesday. This rainfall will likely produce flash and urban flooding. Mudslides are also possible in areas of higher terrain across eastern Cuba.Storm total rainfall amounts of 1 to 2 inches with local maxima of 4 inches are expected through Tuesday across northeast Florida, coastal South Carolina, and coastal sections of southeast North Carolina. This rainfall could result in isolated flash and urban flooding.As Imelda passes near Bermuda, 2 to 4 inches of rainfall is expected from Wednesday into Thursday.STORM SURGEA storm surge will raise water levels by as much as 1to 3 feet above ground level along the immediate coast in areas of onshore winds in the northwestern Bahamas. Near the coast, the surge will be accompanied by large waves. Minor coastal flooding is possible in areas of onshore winds over the Southeastern U.S. coastline. The water could reach the following heights above ground somewhere in the indicated areas if the surge occurs over the next several high tide cycles: Volusia/Brevard County Line, Florida to the South Santee River, South Carolina…1 to 2 ft SURF Swells generated by Tropical Storm Imelda and Hurricane Humberto are affecting the Bahamas and will spread to much of the east coast of the U.S. early this week. These swells are likely to cause life-threatening surf and rip current conditions. Hurricane season 2025The Atlantic hurricane season runs from June 1 through Nov. 30. Stay with WESH 2 online and on air for the most accurate Central Florida weather forecast.>> More: 2025 Hurricane Survival GuideThe First Warning Weather team includes First Warning Chief Meteorologist Tony Mainolfi, Eric Burris, Kellianne Klass, Marquise Meda and Cam Tran.>> 2025 hurricane season | WESH long-range forecast
Tropical Storm Imelda continues to move away from the U.S coast on Monday — but the region will still see some impacts from the storm.
At 8 a.m. Monday, Imelda was moving north at 8 mph.
A faster motion to the east-northeastward moving away from the southeastern U.S. is expected by the middle part of this week.
On the forecast track, the center of the system is expected to move across the central and northwestern Bahamas Sunday night and then turn east-northeastward, moving away from the southeastern U.S. by the middle part of this week.
Maximum sustained winds: 145 mph
Minimum central pressure: 993 mb
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.
Watches/warnings
A tropical storm warning is in effect for portions of the Northwestern Bahamas, including Eleuthera, the Abacos, Grand Bahama Island and the surrounding keys.
Possible impacts
WIND
Tropical storm conditions in portions of the northwestern Bahamas should continue through today.
RAINFALL:
Tropical Storm Imelda is expected to produce additional rainfall of 2 to 4 inches across eastern Cuba and 4 to 8 inches across the northwest Bahamas through Tuesday.
This rainfall will likely produce flash and urban flooding. Mudslides are also possible in areas of higher terrain across eastern Cuba.
Storm total rainfall amounts of 1 to 2 inches with local maxima of 4 inches are expected through Tuesday across northeast Florida, coastal South Carolina, and coastal sections of southeast North Carolina.
This rainfall could result in isolated flash and urban flooding.
As Imelda passes near Bermuda, 2 to 4 inches of rainfall is expected from Wednesday into Thursday.
STORM SURGE
A storm surge will raise water levels by as much as 1to 3 feet above ground level along the immediate coast in areas of onshore winds in the northwestern Bahamas. Near the coast, the surge will be accompanied by large waves.
Minor coastal flooding is possible in areas of onshore winds over the Southeastern U.S. coastline. The water could reach the following heights above ground somewhere in the indicated areas if the surge occurs over the next several high tide cycles: Volusia/Brevard County Line, Florida to the South Santee River, South Carolina…1 to 2 ft
SURF
Swells generated by Tropical Storm Imelda and Hurricane Humberto are affecting the Bahamas and will spread to much of the east coast of the U.S. early this week. These swells are likely to cause life-threatening surf and rip current conditions.
Hurricane season 2025
The Atlantic hurricane season runs from June 1 through Nov. 30. Stay with WESH 2 online and on air for the most accurate Central Florida weather forecast.
When you buy your Apple Watch, you get to choose which band you get. Skip the rubber bands, which are made from fluoroelastomer. While the company committed to removing PFAS from its products in 2022, we have not gotten confirmation that Apple’s products are PFAS-free.
I find the textile and metal bands to be much more attractive and comfortable than fluoroelastomer bands, which tend to trap sweat and irritate my skin. My favorite of the Apple bands you can choose at checkout this year is the Nike nylon woven Sport Loop. It’s soft, breathable, soaks up sweat, and is infinitely adjustable if your wrists swell when you run. It’s made from recycled polyester, spandex, and nylon, and the yarn is reflective if you’re running at night. It comes in five colors and three sizes, so it’s compatible with the 40-, 44-, and 46-mm watch sizes.
As the company that either invented or popularized the dive watch, the GMT watch, the first water-resistant watch, the first automatic watches, and much more besides, you could hardly downplay Rolex’s influence on watchmaking history. But while its iconic sports watches, like the Submariner, Daytona and GMT-Master are endlessly imitated, Rolex is not seen as a trendsetter, preferring to ignore passing horological fashions. It does its own thing, iterating carefully and minimally on its age-old templates.
Five years ago, however, Rolex introduced a collection so avant-garde that is still influencing creative decisions across the entire watch industry, and it did so in one of its least-heralded models: the Oyster Perpetual. The idea was so simple that we’ve barely noticed it become the industry norm: Instead of slowly rolling out new dial colours one at a time over a period of years—which was standard watch world behavior until that point—Rolex launched a whole set of colored dials in a complementary palette all at once.
The 2020 multi-color Oyster Perpetual collection that started the wave of watch-world bright dials.
COURTESY OF ROLEX
They were bright, bold and almost childlike in their purity: coral red, green, turquoise, pink and yellow. Rolex-watchers immediately hailed them as a tribute to the so-called Stella dial Day-Date watches of the late 1970s and 1980s—equally bright and unexpected, and evocative of a louche, sybaritic age. But there was something more basic, more essential and, at least theoretically, more attainable about the Oyster Perpetual collection.
It sparked imitators left, right and center—and still does. At last week’s Geneva Watch Days 2025, Zenith’s collaboration with Swiss furniture-maker USM would qualify as a textbook example: a full set of bold, block-colour dials in otherwise traditional stainless steel sports watches.
Earlier this year, Oris’s Big Crown Pointer Date hit a similar note. In 2023, arch-rival Omega debuted a collection of Seamaster Aqua Terra models with similar hues to Rolex’s opening salvo; other mid-level brands including Breitling and TAG Heuer have all created multi-colored families of stainless steel, time-only round watches in a similar mold.
For decades, it was the only way to visualize global time and daylight before the internet. Despite the company changing hands and moving from California to Oregon, then to Colorado Springs, Colorado, the Geochron has remained a niche product with a passionate fan base. Only a handful of skilled technicians can craft these complex timepieces, and its limited production has kept it an exclusive item rather than a mass-market success.
Today, Bolan’s passion for the Geochron still shines: He has expanded to digital offerings in the hope of ensuring this anachronistic timepiece stays relevant in a world driven by data and convenience. During the pandemic, Bolan took the show on the road, riding his BMW RT motorcycle around the lower 48 to visit a Geochron owner in every state. That trek let him put faces to purchase orders, giving Bolan better insight into clock’s small but fervent fanbase.
Though the timing didn’t align, one of the potential visits was with the owner of Long Island Watch, Marc Frankel, whose Geochron will look familiar to anyone who views his YouTube videos. Frankel, who trained as an aerospace engineer, is quick to point out not just that he has a Geochron but also the intricacies of a device that accurately captures the sun’s analemma, its figure-eight path in the sky.
Frankel first encountered the clock in a Sharper Image catalog, which was very much in line with the clientele Geochron had targeted for decades. “Then I saw it in Hunt for Red October, and I was like, ‘Oh my God!’—and I know Reagan had one as well,” Frankel says. “I love the map of the sunlight curve and how, over time, through the orbit of the planet, the sun hits it. It just changes, and that’s amazing to me. I looked into getting something that could mimic it, but a screensaver for 99 cents wasn’t mechanical enough for me. So, I ponied up the few grand, and it’s been with me ever since.”
Frankel draws parallels between the Geochron and an automatic watch: While a 99-cent screensaver, or an Apple Watch, can show you all the same information and so much more, the mechanical nature of a Geochron and a self-winding watch tickles some nerdy fiber. To Frankel, that mechanical nervous system keeps the Geochron relevant.
Such is the world of luxury products, that customers for McLaren Automotive’s newly announced $2.6 million W1 hypercar can now order a watch to match.
The fourth watch produced as a result of the long-term partnership between McLaren and luxury watchmaker Richard Mille, the RM 65-01 “McLaren W1 Edition” was announced this week in a press conference at the carmaker’s Woking headquarters.
Billed as something approaching a hypercar for the wrist, the watch, which will cost 320,000 Swiss francs plus taxes ($373,300) is a tribute to the design language of the car, which was revealed to the world last Sunday. With a split-second chronograph movement and a couple of other tricks up its sleeve, it houses what Richard Mille says is the most complicated automatic movement it has ever produced.
The movement, which comprises 480 components, beats at a frequency of 5 Hz, enabling measurement of intervals to the nearest tenth of a second. The split-seconds function allows the wearer to time two concurrent events, so you’ll know with pinpoint accuracy just how much faster you are than just about every other car on the road (or racetrack.) The pushers at 2, 4, and 10 o’clock, shaped to mimic the W1’s exhausts, control the chronograph, with their roles spelled out in McLaren’s “papaya orange” and a high-contrast shade of baby blue, but it’s the fourth pusher in pure orange that will catch your eye.
Start Me Up
This controls a very different function, unique to the RM 65 line. You could call it a “jump start” button—something hopefully the W1 will never require. It’s an instant winding mechanism, designed so that in the rare occurrence that the watch runs out of power, you can fire it up again with a few presses of your thumb.
It activates a rack-and-pinion mechanism that winds the mainspring without taking the watch off your wrist. Richard Mille says that 125 pushes would fully wind the watch, but it’s intended to provide a quick boost rather than be a substitute for the automatic winding system—which itself is highly complex, with a variable rotor that can be adjusted to suit the lifestyle of the wearer, according to the brand. Essentially, if you’re an active sort it’ll be set up to deliver less energy per rotation, and vice versa if you’re more sedentary.
Celebrities partnering with watch brands is nothing new. Sometimes a bona fide watch enthusiast like John Mayer partners with Audemars Piguet, or Ed Sheeran (owner of a unique Patek Philippe, no less) teams up with Casio. Then there’s the other end of the scale, where controversial Barstool Sports founder Dave Portnoy and his own watch company resides.
Now, however, there’s a new nadir: the Trump Watch. Announced this week by former US president Donald Trump, the collection consists of two pieces. One is called “Fight Fight Fight” and is priced from $499, and the other is the “Victory Tourbillon.” The latter is claimed to be made from solid 18-karat gold, with 122 diamonds and a tourbillon automatic movement. It’s priced at a nice, round $100,000—about three times the price of an equivalent Rolex Submariner—and, yes, crypto payment is available.
The watches are claimed to feature “premium, Swiss-Made materials and intricate details,” but so far as we can tell, the Fight Fight Fight uses a movement by Japanese company Seiko, while the Victory Tourbillon has a movement alleged to be partially built from Chinese components.
It gets better. In what quickly starts to resemble the tweet-riddled fever dreams of the extremely online, the watches are produced by a company called TheBestWatchesonEarth LLC, which is based in Sheridan, Wyoming, and, despite no watchmaking history to speak of, has a license agreement to use the Trump name for its timepieces.
“We also accept Bitcoin as payment!”, the GetTrumpWatches website yells, as if handing over actual dollars to a company who admits the images of the timepieces “are for illustration purposes only” isn’t enough to raise an eyebrow.
We’ll come back to the Tourbillon in a moment. For now, let’s look at the cheaper of the two, called the Fighter. At least that’s what the website address suggests it’s called, but it’s also described as the “Fight Fight Fight Watch”—and in the description of the black and gold colorway it’s “The Fight Fight Fight Black Watch.” Either way, it resembles a Rolex Submariner described down a patchy phone line.
But don’t just take our word for it. WIRED Watch expert Tim Barber told us: “Trump evidently has some cut-through among certain watch fans, since the gold sneakers he auctioned earlier this year were bought by Roman Sharf, one of the most prominent gray-market watch dealers, with a sizable YouTube following.” (Incidentally, the companies that made the gold sneakers and the new Trump Watches were established by the same register agent, Andrew Pierce of Cloud Peak Law, Wyoming.)
“Having said that, I doubt these hideous pieces will increase his equity among most watch collectors. As it happens, all-gold watches being very on trend in the luxury market at the moment, he joins Rolex in producing a gold dive watch this year. But I would be less confident of this sharing any other qualities with a Rolex.”
No doubt picking up on the trend of wired 1990s-style earbuds—must-haves for those craving nostalgia tech from an era they may not have been around for—Chanel has dropped a “jewelry watch,” where the bracelet transforms into a necklace that hides a physical connection for earphones.
The Première Sound Watch is a riff on the brand’s Première watch, created in 1987, but with a long sautoir necklace with detachable earphones and a quaint 3.5-mm jack—but, fear not, the set also comes with 3.5 mm to Lightning and 3.5 mm to USB-C adapters, for those who prefer more up-to-date tech in their phones.
The whole “luxury meets Lana Del Rey” creation (available September 2) started two years ago as a sketch by Chanel watchmaking studio director Arnaud Chastaingt, who was fooling around with the concept of shoehorning audio kit into products worn as accessories. While the watch and necklace elements could be taken care of in-house by Chastaingt and his team, Chanel wisely turned to Master & Dynamic—a brand with form when it comes to collaborating with luxury marques, including Louis Vuitton and Celine—for the audio expertise.
Chanel’s Première Sound Watch features removable wired earbuds made by Master & Dynamic.
Photograph: CHANEL
Speaking of which, the headphones feature a 6-mm planar diaphragm and 11-mm beryllium-coated dynamic drivers with a frequency response of 20 Hz to 20 KHz, so not too shabby. The wire itself houses a remote for volume control, play/pause, answer/hang up, and skip forward and skip back, as well as a microphone for taking calls.
Water resistance for the wired buds, however, is just IPX3—so merely splash proof. The 18K yellow-gold-coated quartz watch on the Première (with an octagonal case inspired by the stopper of the No. 5 perfume bottle) fares much better, with a water resistance of 30 meters, should you be foolish enough to go diving with a piece of wearable audio jewelry that costs £12,600 in the UK or $14,700 in the US.
If only Apple had known, when it removed the 3.5-mm headphone jack from the iPhone in 2017, that it was going to start a future backlash where wireless earbuds like the ubiquitous AirPods would be considered so lame, entire Instagram channels would be devoted to young, hip people signaling their youth and hipness by wearing wired earbuds, simultaneously looking cool while shunning convention, better technology, common sense, and general convenience.
You see, you have to suffer for your Y2K nostalgia. After all, how else can you remember what it was like to rock a Walkman or first-gen iPod when you weren’t there in the first place? Well, at least now, Chanel and Master & Dynamic have stepped into the fray, offering a chic option for those growing weary of their impossible cleverness of juxtaposing stylish clothes while rocking cheapo headphones.
That’s the kind of immediately regrettable text you’ll now be able to salvage on Android Messages. This week, Google announced a bunch of new features coming to its Android mobile platform, and perhaps most useful among them is the ability to edit messages after they’ve been sent.
The update is for Google’s default Messages app, and works pretty much the same way the edit option functions in other messaging apps like WhatsApp. Once a text is sent, tap and hold on the message, then when the menu pops up, tap Edit. There, you can fix your frightening textual faux pas and help to cultivate a world of clearer communication.
Courtesy of Google
There are a couple of caveats. You can only edit messages within 15 minutes after sending them (just like in WhatsApp) and once you do a small bit of fine print will appear by the timestamp saying that the message was edited. Of course, the recipient will still see all your embarrassing typos if they are prompt enough to view the message before you can change it.
The other Android updates Google announced this week include better smart home controls, the ability to switch between devices mid-call, and more WearOS controls for devices like Google’s Pixel Watch.
Here’s some other news from around the consumer tech world.
Car Thing Refunds
Spotify says it will refund any of its users who bought a Car Thing, the company’s first and only hardware device that was released in 2022. Spotify discontinued the Car Thing just a few months after its launch, and it announced this month that it would be disabling all the devices by the end of 2024. The company initially said it wouldn’t be offering replacements or refunds for the dashboard-mounted music streaming box, but after significant customer backlash, Spotify relented. Or at least has softened its stance, even though it hasn’t exactly guaranteed refunds for the $90 device. (Instead, the company says customers can contact customer service and request a refund.)
It’s not a great look for Spotify, which is now facing a class action lawsuit from Car Thing users who are frustrated the company decided to stop supporting the device entirely.
Amazon’s Drones Take Off
Amazon’s delivery drone program had all but crashed and burned in recent years, as it has struggled with slow or botched deliveries and an inability to convince the Federal Aviation Administration to let it expand. But the Everything Company’s drones may be able to find some new lift at last, as the company says it has successfully gotten FAA approval to fly some drones out of line of sight of the operator, which could significantly expand their operations.
Amazon’s quest for delivery dominance has caused it to make some questionable ethical decisions, like making it more complicated for users to opt out of Amazon Prime or making its employees work so hard they have to pee in bottles.
Even with this green light for takeoff some problems still exist that may keep the drones grounded, like the fact that there might not even be much customer interest in the program, or the fact that the drones struggle to fly on especially hot days.
Richard Mille Scores an Ace
The new new RM 27-05, a collaboration between Richard Mille and tennis star Rafa Nadal.
Photograph: Richard Mille
Let’s be honest, collaborations between watch brands and celebrities are usually pointless. But no such criticism can be aimed at what Richard Mille and Rafael Nadal have been doing for the last 14 years. The original RM 027, the pair’s collaboration that launched in 2010, started things off as they were destined to continue, showcasing increasingly audacious missions to go ever more lightweight, rugged, and just plain technically crazy. The RM 027 weighed less than 20 grams, then the RM 27-01 just 18.83 grams. In 2015 came a new case architecture. The 2017 RM 27-03 boasted 10,000 gs of shock resistance. Then, in 2020, the RM 27-04 punched this shock resistance up to 12,000 gs.
The new RM 27-05 continues the lightweight battle—remove the straps and it comes in at 11.5 grams. This is thanks in part to the monoblock case made of Carbon TPT B.4, a material previously used in Formula 1 race cars. Compared to normal Carbon TPT, B.4 is denser, the fibers are stiffer, and the resin is around 30 percent tougher. What does this mean? Thinner pieces can be machined, so you get weight reduction without losing rigidity. The manual movement inside has been shaved down to be lighter, too, and is 0.6 millimeters thinner.
Finally, to make sure all was well, the RM 27-05 underwent a series of tests no watch should be subjected to: vertical and horizontal shocks, and 300 g accelerations. Yes, it’s limited to 80 pieces, but when you consider each one costs $1,150,000, Richard Mille should recoup the considerable development costs.
WIRED’s Jeremy White contributed this writeup of the RM 27-05.
Andrew founded Primer in 2008 and brings 15+ years of men’s style expertise. Known for his practical, relatable approach to style and self-development, he has been a recognized speaker at conferences and has styled work for top brands. Off-duty, he loves photography & editing, and enjoys road trips with his dog, Leela. Raised in rural Pennsylvania, educated in DC, and living in LA for nearly 20 years, Andrew’s diverse experiences shape the relatable and real-world advice that has helped millions through Primer. On Instagram: @andrewsnavely and @primermagazine.
You’ve probably owned a chronograph and may have not even realized it. We break down exactly what those dials on your watch are, how to use them, and how Apollo astronauts used them to fly in space.
You’ve seen them: those little dials on a watch. What are they? What purpose do they serve?
Before I knew, I would see the sub-dials on a chronograph-style watch and think: Exploration. Technical proficiency. Professionalism.
Chronographs are downright evocative … they carry an indefinable sense of early aircraft and open-wheel V12 race cars.
The question is, why are they so evocative?
How – in the age of smart watches – do chronographs continue to speak to watch lovers around the world more than 200 years after they were first invented?
Let’s discover how chronographs work, what each of those little dials is for, and the surprising history that makes them so stylish and functional.
What is a Chronograph?
If you have a watch with two to three smaller dials on the face and one or more buttons extending from the case, you might think you’re wearing a watch. In fact, you’re wearing a chronograph.
“Chronograph” is a GRE word for a timer. Chronographs can be utilized as a stopwatch without interfering with the timekeeping ability of the watch, and they can do it on different time spans (like a minute, an hour, or a day – more on that later).
Chronographs Are A Type Of “Complication”
In watch-speak, chronographs fall under the umbrella of complications – watches that perform more than one function.
Common complications include date-keeping, alarms, and – of course – chronographs for keeping different intervals of time.
Luxury watches may add lunar phases and other, well, complicated stuff as flourishes.
Taken together, the second hand and the sub-dials are a watch’s complications, and perform the stopwatch function that gives a chronograph its name.
The question is, where did chronographs come from? And what can their history tell us about why – visually and functionally – they’ve become so desirable?
The Amazing History Of Chronographs
While the origins of chronographs stretch back to the 1800s, it was the dawn of the aviation and automobile age that brought chronographs to wider popularity.
Race car drivers used chronographs to time laps. Pilots used – and still use – chronographs to time their path over the ground and determine airspeed, among other things. For decades, the military has equipped ship captains and submariners with chronographs to use in navigation. Chronographs are tools for jobs that require measuring time, distance, and speed, similar to how how divers use dive watches to track time submerged.
The list of functions a navigator can perform with a chronograph is remarkable, and feels rugged and self-reliant in an era of ubiquitous GPS: Rule-of-three and square root calculations, time, speed and distance calculations, fuel consumption rate, and turn rate, to name a few.
Apollo 13 astronaut Jack Swigert with his chronograph prior to launch
The Most Famous Chronograph Of All Time
The most amazing story of chronographs in action has to be the ill-fated journey of Apollo 13 in 1970.
With their onboard computers fried by an explosion, the astronauts used their chronographs to time a crucial booster burn and avert disaster. Upon their safe return, NASA awarded Omega their prestigious Silver Snoopy Award – given to NASA contractors and employees who make exceptional contributions to flight safety.
Astronaut Jim Lovell recounts the maneuver as written about in Forbes:
(It) was done without our normal navigation equipment. We used the earth as a backline. We could see the earth, we could see the daytime and darkness and that line in between we call it twilight or the terminator,” he said. “We had a crosshair on the window of the lunar module so we could superimpose our crosshair on the earth’s terminator and that positioned the engine of our lunar module so we can make the correct movement to get back into the proper course to make a safe landing back on earth.”
He continued, “We had to burn the engine. Have it on only for a certain length of time: 14 seconds…. We used the (Omega) watch that Jack had on his wrist and I had to control the spacecraft. Jack timed the burn on the engine to make that correction to get back home safely.”
How To Use A Chronograph
Chronographs may look complicated, but using one is simple once you understand how.
Take this (very affordable) Seiko SSB031 for example:
Depressing the upper button starts the timer function.
The three complications – or sub-dials – activate as well, each keeping a different time interval. The dial at 9 o’clock counts up to 60 minutes. The dial at 6 o’clock counts seconds. The dial at 3 o’clock counts up to 24 hours.
It’s worth noting – on this chronograph (and any “real” chronograph) the red “second” hand isn’t for seconds. It’s the timer hand that you use for precise, second-by-second timing.
Depress the lower button to snap the red hand back to 12 o’clock, so you can restart the timing function while the sub-dials continue to count elapsed time.
Nifty, huh?
Keep in mind that every chronograph may operate a little differently or measure different units of time, but in general two push-buttons start, stop, and reset the timing function.
How to Use a Tachymeter on a Watch
One feature of many chronographs you may have noticed is the outermost ring on the bezel, called a tachymeter.
The tachymeter is a scale used to measure speed, distance, or both. Plus, it just looks pro.
How to Measure Speed with a Watch Tachymeter
To measure speed with a tachymeter, you need to know the distance you’re traveling.
Imagine you’re in a car driving down the highway and the speedometer fails, but highway patrol is on the prowl and you want to avoid a speeding ticket.
Take note of the mile markers and the instant you pass by one, press the start button on your chronograph. When you pass the next mile marker, press the stop button and note the number the timer hand is pointing to.
If the timer hand has traveled one full revolution back to 12 o’clock it should be pointing to the “60” on the tachymeter, indicating you’re traveling at 60 mph. If it’s pointing to “80” at the 9 o’clock position, you’re doing a cool 80 mph and better be mindful of the highway patrol.
Note that this function works for both miles per hour and kilometers per hour – as long as you know your unit of distance, the tachymeter will tell you the rate of speed traveled.
How to Measure Distance with a Watch Tachymeter
You can measure distance with a tachymeter by pressing the start hand when you reach a constant, known rate of speed. When the timer hand reaches the number representing your speed on the tachymeter bezel, you know you’ve traveled one mile (or one kilometer, if you’re doing km/h)
For example, imagine you’re driving at a constant, known speed of 70 miles per hour. You pass a known landmark and know you need to travel exactly 1 more mile before your turnoff. Press start on your chronograph and note when the timing hand passes “70” because you’ve just gone one mile.
Do You Need A Chronograph?
If you’re not a racecar driver, horse trainer, or pilot, why might you want such functions?
At any point in your day you need to mark time, a chronograph comes in handy. From resetting your wireless router to getting your peak heart rate to boiling pasta, it’s a useful tool to have on your wrist. Though, you likely have digital tools already at hand that can perform these common functions, also.
From a style perspective they evoke a legacy of discovery, speed, and technical achievement, and the visual complexity and timeless design that give chronographs their enduring appeal.
And, of course, you’ll have a reason to step forward and say, “I can time that for you.”
If you’re not into the airplane instrument aesthetic, luckily, digital watches have become fashionable for the first time since…ever.
Styled with a rugged, field watch band but still a fully functioning chronograph, the clunkily named AT0200-05E is an Eco-Drive – meaning it’s solar powered so you’ll never have to replace the battery. There’s a reason Citizen earned its place in our best watch brands by price guide.
The Bulova Lunar Pilot chronograph, originally designed for the rigors of space travel and famously worn during the Apollo 15 mission in 1971, has etched its place in both horological and space exploration history. Crafted with precision engineering, the watch features a high-performance quartz movement, distinguished by its accuracy and durability. Its sleek, stainless steel case and black dial encapsulate a design that is both functional and stylish, appealing to those who value a timepiece with a storied past and a robust build who are also on a budget. See our full article here.
Closely linked with its most famous wearer Steve McQueen (who raced at Monaco), the square case and two subdials are as iconic now as they were in the 1960s.
Arguably THE chronograph, the Speedmaster is the very watch that saved the Apollo 13 astronauts during their mission critical engine burn to get back to earth.
Of course, it will set you back the cost of a half-decent used car, but hey – you value precision and heritage, right?
The number of smartwatches on the market is staggering. I’ve tested models from Tag Heuer, Citizen, Montblanc, and many other fashion brands, but most of them are simply too expensive for what you get. Here are a few options I like.
Apple Watch Series 8 for $329: If you can find the 2022 Apple Watch Series 8 (8/10, WIRED Recommends) for a good deal less than the Series 9 (under $300), you should snag it. It’s nearly identical to the latest model, especially the health features. Save your cash!
Samsung Galaxy Watch5 for $229 and Watch5 Pro for $380: The 2022 Galaxy Watch5 and Watch5 Pro (7/10, WIRED Recommends) are still great, just make sure you pay less than the price of the new Galaxy Watch6 models. They match the Apple Watch’s accuracy in several health and fitness metrics, from SpO2, sleep, and heart-rate tracking to electrocardiogram measurements (though the latter is exclusive to Samsung phones). The Watch5 Pro is larger and has a battery that lasts roughly two full days, whereas the Watch5 lasts around a day and a morning. The Pro also adds GPX, meaning you can download hiking routes to the watch. They have sapphire crystals protecting the screen, but the Watch5 Pro’s crystal is even more durable, and it has a stronger titanium case versus the standard Watch5’s aluminum.
Casio G-Shock Move DW-H5600 for $299: Want a G-Shock with a heart rate monitor? The DW-H5600’s measurements lined up well with the Apple Watch, but if you’re serious about tracking your health, I think you’re better off buying something from our Best Fitness Trackers guide. The buttons are a bit tough to press, and there aren’t a ton of workouts you can track (running, walking, gym workouts). You can sift through a good amount of data in the app, though I was left wanting more, and battery life lasted me roughly three days with continuous monitoring. It can recharge via solar, but you will need to use the bulky charging clip every few days. I still enjoyed wearing it, even if I didn’t find it as useful as our above picks. You can use it to track different time zones, your movements via the GPS during a workout, and even sleep.
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