Tag Archives: hurricanes

Category 6 Proposed As Hurricanes Get More Powerful

Axios reports: Hurricanes are getting so strong in a warming world that a Category 6 intensity should be added to the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind scale, a new study finds. The paper, published Monday in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, does not represent an official move by the National Hurricane Center to add another hurricane category. Instead, …

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Biden Declares Emergency For Maine As Storm Nears

The Portland Press Herald reports: President Biden has approved an emergency declaration request in Maine ahead of Hurricane Lee’s expected impacts on the state. Gov. Janet Mills declared a state of emergency Thursday in anticipation of the storm and asked Biden to issue the Presidential Emergency Disaster Declaration, which would allow the state to access federal resources and personnel to …

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Warnings Issued For New England As Lee Approaches

Axios reports: Hurricane Lee may pass perilously close to Maine and over the Canadian Maritimes this weekend, and it will swipe eastern Massachusetts on Friday night and Saturday, the National Hurricane Center said. Computer model runs, fed with data from hurricane hunter aircraft, depict the storm moving in a generally northward motion, then hooking closer to the U.S. coast as …

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Hurricane Lee Now Expected To Impact New England

The Weather Channel reports: L​ee is a large and powerful hurricane and will begin to track northward midweek. Its exact track will determine where Lee’s rain, wind and coastal flooding impacts will be felt, potentially including in Bermuda, parts of New England and Atlantic Canada. R​egardless of Hurricane Lee’s exact track, rip currents and high surf will spread from the …

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Hurricane Lee Intensifies To “Monster” Category 5

CNN reports: Hurricane Lee is expected to continue strengthening Friday after quickly morphing into a powerful Category 5 storm that is now packing destructive maximum sustained winds of 165 mph as it spins hundreds of miles east of the Caribbean, the National Hurricane Center said in its 5 a.m. ET advisory. The hurricane was located about 630 miles east of …

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Hurricane Lee Forecast To Reach Category 5 Tomorrow

The Weather Channel reports: Hurricane Lee is rapidly intensifying and is forecast to reach Category 5 intensity by Friday, then pass north of the Leeward Islands, but its future beyond that is uncertain regarding potential impacts later next week in Bermuda, Atlantic Canada and possibly parts of the Northeast Seaboard. Hurricane Lee is centered more than 700 miles east of …

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Home Insurers To Cut Natural Disasters From Coverage

The Washington Post reports: At least five large U.S. property insurers — including Allstate, American Family, Nationwide, Erie Insurance Group and Berkshire Hathaway — have told regulators that extreme weather patterns caused by climate change have led them to stop writing coverages in some regions, exclude protections from various weather events and raise monthly premiums and deductibles. Major insurers say …

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DeSantis Dodges Questions About Property Insurance

Florida Politics reports: Gov. Ron DeSantis claimed Monday that he wanted to do more to reform Florida’s troubled property insurance market than the Legislature sought to do. But on Tuesday in Tallahassee, DeSantis deferred explaining what exactly the House and Senate wouldn’t do that he desired. “We can talk about the policy stuff,” DeSantis said. “I think, right now, we’re …

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Hurricane Idalia Nears Florida Landfall At Category 4

The Weather Channel reports: Hurricane I​dalia is beginning to make landfall as a Category 4 along Florida’s Gulf Coast, where it’s likely to bring catastrophic, life-threatening storm surge, hurricane-force winds and flooding rain. I​dalia will then move quickly inland which will bring significant wind and flooding concerns, as well as the threat of tornadoes, into parts of Georgia, as well …

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Idalia Strengthens To Category 2, Starts Lashing Florida

The Weather Channel reports: Hurricane Idalia is producing bands of heavy rain, gusty winds and coastal flooding in Florida as it continues to intensify over the Gulf of Mexico ahead of its likely landfall at Category 3 strength Wednesday morning. Catastrophic, life-threatening storm surge, hurricane-force winds and heavy rain are all expected along portions of the west coast of Florida …

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DeSantis Warns Of 8-12 Ft Surge: “Run From Water”

The Orlando Sentinel reports: “If this storm hits at high tide, storm surge could and would reach 8 to 12 feet in some areas and so that would be life threatening storm surge,” DeSantis said Tuesday morning. “I know all those areas are under evacuation notices in the low lying and coastal areas. You run from the water and you …

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Idalia Becomes Hurricane As Evacuations Ramp Up

The Associated Press reports: Idalia became a hurricane on Tuesday as it intensified on a path toward Florida’s Gulf coast, with the National Hurricane Center warning of an increasing risk of life-threatening storm surge and dangerous hurricane-force winds in Florida in the next two days. It’s projected to have sustained winds of up to 120 mph (193 kph) as it …

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Florida Officials Forecast Idalia To Become Category 4

The Tampa Bay Times reports: Tropical Storm Idalia is anticipated to strengthen into a Category 4 hurricane as it enters the Gulf of Mexico, Florida’s emergency chief said on Monday morning as he urged Floridians to prepare for impacts. “People need to expect, even though they are well off outside of the cone, that we are going to have power …

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Five Dead In Florida Due To Flesh-Eating Bacteria

Tampa’s NBC affiliate reports: Five people are confirmed dead in the Tampa Bay area due to a rare, flesh-eating bacteria in the waters. According to Florida Health, Vibrio vulnificus is a bacterium that naturally occurs in warm, brackish seawater and requires salt. There are two confirmed deaths in Hillsborough County, one in Sarasota County, one in Polk County, and one …

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California Gets Its First-Ever Tropical Storm Watch

The Verge reports: The National Hurricane Center issued a tropical storm watch for southern California today as Hurricane Hilary barrels toward the US and Mexico. This is the first time this kind of alert has been issued for sunny SoCal, which is more prone to drought and fire this time of year than hurricanes. A tropical storm watch means “that …

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California Braces As Hurricane Hilary Reaches Cat 4

CBS News reports: As of early Friday, Hurricane Hilary was located about 400 miles south of Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, with maximum sustained winds of 145 mph, making it a “major” Category 4, the National Hurricane Center said, adding that it is “large and powerful.” The storm was moving west-northwest at 13 mph, with a turn toward the northwest expected …

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Fifth Major Home Insurer Pulls Out Of Florida Market

CBS News reports: AAA will not renew the auto and home insurance policies for some customers in Florida, joining a growing list of insurers dialing back their presence in the Sunshine State amid a growing risk of natural disasters. “Unfortunately, Florida’s insurance market has become challenging in recent years,” the company said in a statement emailed to CBS MoneyWatch. “Last …

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DeSantis: Insurers Will Return After Hurricane Season

Florida Politics reports: While another insurance company bids the Sunshine State farewell, Ron DeSantis is urging patience for those homeowners stuck in what he calls a “challenging market.” “I think what’s going to happen is because we did those reforms, it now is more economical for companies to come in. I think they’re going to wait through this hurricane season …

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Fourth Major Home Insurer Pulls Out Of Florida Market

CBS News reports: Farmers Insurance said Tuesday that it will no longer offer coverage in Florida, ending home, auto and others policies in the state in a move that will affect tens of thousands of residents. Farmers becomes the fourth major insurer to pull out of Florida in the past year, as the state’s insurance market looks increasingly precarious amid …

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Tropical Storm Bret Forecast To Become Hurricane

CNN reports: A tropical storm named Bret has formed over the central Atlantic Ocean and will likely become a hurricane on Wednesday, the National Hurricane Center said Monday afternoon. The storm now has winds of 40 mph and continues to move quickly to the west, according to the center. The hurricane center first identified the storm as a tropical depression …

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