Important Takeaways:
- Hurricane Milton tore a coast-to-coast path of destruction across the state of Florida, whipping up a spate of deadly tornadoes that left at least four people dead and millions without power Thursday.
- Sustained hurricane-force winds smashed inland through communities still reeling from Hurricane Helene two weeks ago, before roaring off Florida’s east coast into the Atlantic.
- Florida Governor Ron DeSantis said the storm triggered deadly tornadoes and left more than three million people were without power.
- In a statement on its website, St. Lucie County on the east coast confirmed “four fatalities as a result of these tornadoes.”
- Wind uprooted large trees and ripped apart the roof at the Tampa Bay Rays’ Tropicana Field baseball stadium in St. Petersburg, and sent a construction crane falling onto a downtown building nearby.
- As the eye of the storm exited the peninsula, communities were still contending with strong winds, heavy rainfall, and the risk of flash floods.
- By Thursday morning, Milton weakened to a Category 1 storm but was still registering powerful winds of up to 85 mph (140 kph) , according to the National Hurricane Center.
Read the original article by clicking here.
Important Takeaways:
- Hurricane Milton made landfall on Siesta Key on the Florida Gulf Coast on Wednesday night as a major Category 3 hurricane with 120 mph winds as the state endured an assault of at least 19 tornadoes that resulted in at least five of 10 reported deaths so far.
- It never lost hurricane strength as it crossed the state exiting near Cape Canaveral on Thursday morning.
- Lucie County Sheriff Keith Pearson said the county had more than a dozen confirmed tornado touchdowns, and one destroyed a senior community neighborhood made up of mostly mobile homes.
- “They didn’t stand a chance,” he said. The sheriff’s office announced Thursday that five people had died in the county.
- At 11 a.m., the hurricane was located about 135 miles east-northeast of Cape Canaveral and 205 miles north-northwest of Great Abaco Island, Bahamas with maximum sustained winds of 80 mph. moving east-northeast at 20 mph. Its eye had moved off the coast as of 4 a.m. after spending nearly seven hours crossing the state.
- More than 18 inches of rain and 101 mph gusts were reported in St. Petersburg with multiple areas flooded from rain and storm surge there and up and down the Gulf Coast. A 103 mph gust was reported as deep as Mulberry in Polk County, according to the National Weather Service.
- The 2024 Atlantic hurricane season has had 13 named storms including nine hurricanes, four of which grew to major hurricane strength, and four tropical storms.
- Hurricane season runs from June 1-Nov. 30.
Read the original article by clicking here.
Important Takeaways:
- Tornadoes spawned by Tropical Storm Debby leveled homes, damaged a school and killed one person early Thursday, as the system dropped heavy rain and flooded communities across North and South Carolina.
- One person was found dead in a home damaged by the Lucama tornado, Wilson County spokesman Stephen Mann said in an email.
- North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper said at a briefing Thursday that the state has activated more National Guard troops and added additional vehicles that can rescue people in floods as rains from Debby keep drenching the state.
- The National Hurricane Center said Debby made a second landfall early Thursday near Bulls Bay, South Carolina — about 30 miles (48 kilometers) northeast of Charleston. Debby first made landfall as a Category 1 hurricane early Monday on the Gulf Coast of Florida.
- A state of emergency was in effect for both North Carolina and Virginia. Maryland issued a state of preparedness declaration that coordinates preparations without declaring an emergency.
- At least seven people have died due to the storm.
Read the original article by clicking here.
Important Takeaways:
- The severe weather system swept through northern Illinois and Indiana, bringing the total count of tornadoes to 22.
- A 44-year-old woman from Cedar Lake, Ind., died following the storms, according to the Lake County Coroner’s Office.
- The storms also led to dozens of flight cancelations at O’Hare International Airport and Midway International Airport, thousands of power outages and several reports of storm damage.
- So far, the NWS has confirmed the following tornadoes:
- EF-0: Glen Ellyn to Lombard
- EF-0: Villa Park
- EF-1: Grant Park
- EF-1: Sugar Grove to Aurora EF-1
- EF-0: Crestwood to Blue Island
- EF-1 Flossmoor to Thornton
- EF-0: West Town (Chicago)
- EF-0: Shelby to Wheatfield Township
- EF-0: Peotone (track TBD)
- EF-0: Manteno (track TBD)
- EF-0: Southern Winnebago County EF-0 (exact track still TBD)
- EF-0: Byron
- EF-0: Davis Junction
- EF-0: Sugar Grove to North Aurora
- EF-1: Yorkville to Naperville
- EF-2: Channahon-Manhattan-Frankfort-Matteson
- EF-0: Crest Hill to Lockport
- EF-1 Justice
- EF-1: Chicago; Near West Side to west side of The Loop
- EF-1: Chicago; Chicago Lawn to West Englewood
- EF-1: Cedar Lake to Crown Point
- EF-1: Minooka-Shorewood-Joliet
Read the original article by clicking here.
Important Takeaways:
- Only way to know strength would be through storm surveys by the National Weather Service offices in Binghamton and Albany
- NBC5 meteorologists were able to use long-established radar technology to identify where tornado debris signatures occurred.
- One tornado was in Rome, Oneida County, where significant damage was reported. Pictures show a church destroyed and a B-52 bomber literally moved from its position.
- After that, there was a brief tornado between Old Forge and Inlet, just south of New York Route 28.
- Then, another tornado hit Hamilton County in a remote area near Morehouse.
- Two more hit in the vicinity of Wells, in both Hamilton and Warren counties.
- There may have been a sixth tornado near Edinburg, but the radar data was not beyond a reasonable doubt.
- Separate from these five radar-confirmed tornadoes, the National Weather Service in Albany found evidence of two other tornadoes that did not produce debris on radar.
- Most tornadoes locally are not strong enough, or located near enough to a radar, to produce a debris signature, which makes the five listed above special cases.
Read the original article by clicking here.
Important Takeaways:
- Hundreds of people in a southern Illinois town were ordered to evacuate Tuesday as water rolled over the top of a dam, just one perilous result of severe weather that raged through Midwest overnight with relentless rain and tornadoes and hit the Chicago area especially hard.
- Hundreds of thousands of people lost power, and even weather forecasters had to briefly scramble for safety.
- A woman in Indiana died after a tree fell on a home Monday night.
- Water overtopped a dam near Nashville, Illinois, sending first responders out to ensure everyone got out safely. There were no reports of injuries in the community of 3,000, southeast of St. Louis, but a woman reported water up to her waist in her home, said Alex Haglund, a spokesperson for the Washington County Emergency Management Agency.
Read the original article by clicking here.
Important Takeaways:
- Millions of people along the southern coast of Texas were under severe weather advisories as officials warned of high storm surge, torrential rain and possible tornadoes as Tropical Storm Alberto barreled over northern Mexico.
- Along with sustained winds near 45 mph, the storm is forecast to dump up to 20 inches across parts of northeast Mexico with nearly a foot of rain expected throughout southern Texas.
- Gov. Greg Abbott issued a disaster declaration for 51 counties and activated three platoons of the Texas National Guard, including more than 40 personnel, 20 vehicles and Chinook helicopters.
- National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Director Rick Spinrad said last month that the Atlantic hurricane season is shaping up to be “extraordinary,” with an “85% chance for an above-average year.”
Read the original article by clicking here.
Important Takeaways:
- A deadly outbreak of tornadoes last month caused $4.7 billion in damages across the Southern, Southeastern and Central U.S., making it one of the costliest weather events of the year so far, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said on Monday.
- The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said there had been 11 confirmed weather and climate disaster events so far this year with losses exceeding $1 billion, with the total price tag topping $25 billion. There were more than 165 tornadoes during the May 6-9 outbreak, impacting Oklahoma, Kansas, Nebraska, Michigan, Indiana, Ohio, Kentucky, Tennessee, Alabama, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia and Florida, officials said.
- A southern derecho —a widespread and long-lived wind storm associated with rapidly moving showers or thunderstorms— also caused more than $1 billion in damage in May, according to government data. The May 16-17 storm spanning from Texas to Florida killed at least eight people and caused $1.2 billion in damages. Winds topping 110 mph tore through parts of central and eastern Texas during the storm. The NOAA described May as a “turbulent month.”
- The 2024 Atlantic hurricane season, which is predicted to be above normal, began at the start of June and will last until Nov. 30. Federal forecasters predict 17 to 25 named storms, 8 to 13 hurricanes, and 4 to 7 major hurricanes of category 3 or higher.
- Last year, there were 28 weather events with losses exceeding $1 billion each —surpassing the previous record of 22 in 2020.
- In 2022, there were 18 extreme weather events that caused at least $1 billion in damage each, totaling more than $165 billion.
Read the original article by clicking here.
Important Takeaways:
- The highest tornado threat on Friday will be in Wisconsin, Illinois and Iowa
- On Thursday, there were 21 reported tornadoes in North Dakota, Nebraska, Oklahoma and Texas combined.
- Over Memorial Day weekend, the severe weather will continue from the Plains into the Ohio Valley.
- On Saturday, the highest threat for tornadoes will be in Kansas and Oklahoma.
- On Sunday, cities in the bull’s-eye for tornadoes will be St. Louis, Missouri; Louisville, Kentucky; and Indianapolis.
- The heat index — what the temperature feels like with humidity — could approach or surpass 110 degrees.
Read the original article by clicking here.
Important Takeaways:
- Houston Mayor John Whitmire said strong winds and “some twisters” hit the area, downing power lines, spreading debris and leaving many roads impassable
- The winds reached 100 mph and included some tornadoes
- A widespread 3 to 6 inches of rain fell north of Houston, with one of the highest rainfall totals reported being around 6.90 inches in 24 hours near Romayor.
- In Texas, the night’s destruction was evident even before sunrise, with high winds tearing out windows of high-rise buildings in downtown Houston, and inundating the region with flooding.
- Streets in the area were littered with glass, electrical lines and other detritus strewn by the ferocious storms.
Read the original article by clicking here.
