Weather

Elsa Strengthens, Hurricane Alert, Tampa Closes Airport

The Weather Channel reports: Tropical Storm Elsa is gaining strength in the Gulf of Mexico and may scrape Florida’s west coast, including parts of the Tampa-St. Petersburg metro, as a hurricane through early Wednesday with storm surge, high winds, flooding rain and isolated tornadoes. Early Tuesday afternoon, the Air Force Reserve Hurricane Hunters found flight-level winds in Elsa were stronger …

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Florida Braces For Storm Surge As Elsa Approaches

CNN reports: Potentially life-threatening storm surge, heavy rains and damaging winds — including possible isolated tornadoes — are expected to impact southern Florida on Tuesday as Tropical Storm Elsa takes aim at the peninsula. The storm has prompted tropical storm warnings and coastal flood advisories along parts of Florida’s west coast. Search and rescue teams working at the site of …

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Hurricane Center: Elsa On Path Hit FL Tomorrow Night

The South Florida Sun-Sentinel reports: Tropical Storm Elsa is on a path to hit southwestern Florida and the Florida Keys by late Monday, though all of South Florida will likely be subjected to rain bands, sustained tropical-storm-force gusts and the potential for a few tornadoes, the National Hurricane Center said. Tropical-storm-force winds are most likely to arrive in the Keys …

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Elsa Becomes Season’s First Hurricane, Florida In Path

AccuWeather reports: Hurricane Elsa formed over the waters of the Atlantic Ocean early Friday just west of the Caribbean island of Barbados, one day after the system became the fifth-named storm of 2021. AccuWeather forecasters, having expected the cyclone to reach hurricane force, continued monitoring Elsa and predict it will approach the United States next week after it unleashes heavy …

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New Tropical Storm On Track To Menace South Florida

NBC News reports: Tropical Storm Elsa formed over the tropical Atlantic early Thursday morning and is expected to cause heavy rains that may lead to isolated flash flooding and mudslides in the Caribbean before potentially turning its sights on Florida or the Gulf Coast. Elsa is the earliest fifth named storm on record, beating out last year’s Eduardo which formed …

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De Blasio Urges New Yorkers To Reduce Power Usage

The New York Daily News reports: Mayor de Blasio pleaded for New Yorkers to reduce their power use on Wednesday afternoon as the city baked in temperatures approaching triple digits. “We need people to take immediate action,” the mayor said in a news conference after the mercury spiked to 98 degrees at LaGuardia Airport, setting an all-time record for the …

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Records Fall Again In Brutal Northwest Heat Wave

The BBC reports: Dozens of people have died in Canada amid an unprecedented heatwave that has smashed temperature records. Police in the Vancouver area have responded to more than 130 sudden deaths since Friday. Most were elderly or had underlying health conditions, with heat often a contributing factor. Canada broke its temperature record for a third straight day on Tuesday …

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Records Tumble Again In Northwest Heat Wave [Video]

The Washington Post reports: The most severe heat wave in the history of the Pacific Northwest is near its climax. The National Weather Service had predicted it would be “historic, dangerous, prolonged and unprecedented,” and it is living up to its billing as it rewrites the record books. On Monday, Portland, Ore., soared to at least 113 degrees, the highest …

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“Historic Heat Dome” Shatters Records In Northwest

AccuWeather reports: To say it’s hot in the Northwest is an understatement. Temperatures have already soared to levels never been experienced in recorded history in this part of the United States — and AccuWeather meteorologists say the summer sizzle hasn’t even reached its peak. AccuWeather’s team of expert forecasters were describing the then upcoming heat wave as “unprecedented”, “life-threatening” and …

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Saharan Dust Plume Brings Orange Skies To Florida

The Associate Press reports: Sunsets across Florida in the coming days could become even more spectacular, as clouds of dust from the Sahara desert sweep in across the Atlantic coast. The plume is expected to dampen storm activity but worsen air pollution, causing trouble for some people with allergies and other respiratory problems. Some health experts say symptoms could mimic …

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Death Valley Approaches All-Time Global Heat Record

AccuWeather reports: As an intense and record-breaking heat wave continues to roast the American West, AccuWeather forecasters are calling for the highest temperature to occur on Wednesday at the lowest point in North America: Death Valley. The forecast high temperature in Death Valley, California, on Wednesday is 126 degrees, with an AccuWeather RealFeel® Temperature of 129. Death Valley is the …

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Evacuations As Arizona Wildfire Spreads In Record Heat

CNN reports: One of Arizona’s largest wildfires has scorched more than 139,000 acres and continues to spread rapidly as weather conditions are expected to remain hot and dry. More than 1,000 people are fighting to tame the Telegraph Fire, burning east of Phoenix, as it has grown and began merging with the neighboring Mescal Fire. Both fires have charred more …

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Western US Braces For “Dangerous” Heat Wave [VIDEO]

CBS News reports: A punishing mid-June heat wave is set to scorch much of the Southwest and West this week, with Las Vegas potentially eclipsing its highest temperature on record, which stands at 117°F. The heat will build in a region that is experiencing a record drought, leading to dangerous fire weather conditions, high power demands, and causing water supplies …

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TX Gov Signs Bills Mandating Winterizing Power Grid

The Texas Tribune reports: Gov. Greg Abbott signed into law Tuesday two bills meant to improve the state’s main power grid and change the governance of the agency that operates it. Calls for sweeping changes to Texas’ power infrastructure have amplified since February, when a catastrophic winter storm left more than 4.8 million homes and businesses without power for days. …

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TX Fee Will Pass $2.5B Energy Bailout To Consumers

The Texas Tribune reports: An approximately $2.5 billion plan to bail out Texas’ distressed electricity market from the financial crisis caused by Winter Storm Uri in February was approved by the Texas House Thursday. The legislation would impose a fee — likely for the next decade or longer — on electricity companies, which would then get passed on to residential …

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Forecasters: Expect “Above-Normal” Hurricane Season

USA Today reports: After the most ferocious hurricane season on record in 2020, top hurricane forecasters on Thursday said we should expect another active, above-normal season again this year. For the season, which begins June 1, meteorologist Phil Klotzbach and other experts from Colorado State University – among the nation’s top seasonal hurricane forecasters – predict 17 named tropical storms …

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Texas Advances Bill Mandating Winterizing Power Grid

The Texas Tribune reports: Several bills responding to Texas’ February power outages — including one mandating that power plants prepare facilities for extreme weather and another reforming the Electric Reliability Council of Texas board — were advanced by the Texas House State Affairs Committee on Thursday. None addressed the price ERCOT set for wholesale electricity prices during the storm and …

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Third Texas Power Company Declares Bankruptcy

CBS News reports: Griddy Energy, the Texas electricity provider accused of charging customers thousands of dollars during Winter Storm Uri, said today it has filed for bankruptcy. Griddy was a “thriving business with more than 29,000 customers” before the winter storm struck, CEO Michael Fallquist said in a statement. The storm with record-low temperatures sparked a weeklong freeze and left …

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NOAA: Last Month Was Coldest February In 32 Years

NOAA reports: The average temperature across the contiguous U.S. last month was 30.6 degrees F, 3.2 degrees below the 20th-century average, making it the 19th-coldest February in the 127-year record. It was also the coldest February since 1989. Below-average temperatures dominated much of the nation from the Northwest to the Great Lakes and south to the Gulf of Mexico. For …

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Texas Power Operator Overcharged $16B During Storm

The Texas Tribune reports: The Electric Reliability Council of Texas made a $16 billion error in pricing during the week of the winter storm that caused power outages across the state, according to a filing by its market monitor. Potomac Economics, the independent market monitor for the Public Utility Commission of Texas, which oversees ERCOT, wrote in a letter to …

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