severe weather

Stories 721 - 740 | << Prev   Next >>

Texas Boards Up as Ike Nears
 Texas Boards Up as Ike Nears 

Texas Boards Up as Ike Nears

(Newser) - Oil tankers are scrambling to get into the ports of Galveston and Texas City before officials close them in anticipation of Hurricane Ike, set to hit land by Saturday, the Galveston County Daily News reports. The storm is gathering strength and could be a fearsome Category 4 when it lands...

4 Killed as Ike Ravages Cuba
 4 Killed as Ike Ravages Cuba 

4 Killed as Ike Ravages Cuba

Homes, utility lines, cars destroyed as storm rips across island

(Newser) - Hurricane Ike killed 4 people in Cuba and drove 1.2 million from their homes as the savage storm tore a path of destruction through the island, AP reports. Buildings and utility poles toppled and cars were crushed as the storm raced toward Havana. “This critter was angry, really...

Ike Slams Cuba; 600 Dead in Haiti

Hurricane now heading for the US

(Newser) - Hurricane Ike has hit land in northeastern Cuba and is now sweeping across the country with savage 125 mph winds, Bloomberg reports. Over 800,000 people were evacuated before the arrival of the Category 3 hurricane, the second in just over a week to slam the country, AFP notes. “...

East Coast Braces for Storms
 East Coast Braces for Storms

East Coast Braces for Storms

Hanna could become hurricane by landfall; Ike drops to Cat. 3

(Newser) - Tropical storm watches or warnings were extended from Georgia to just south of New York City today as states along the Atlantic braced for Tropical Storm Hanna. Forecasters said Hanna could still become a hurricane before its expected arrival on US shores tomorrow. Meanwhile, disaster planners eyed ferocious-looking Hurricane Ike,...

Bush Surveys Gustav Aftermath
 Bush Surveys Gustav Aftermath 

Bush Surveys Gustav Aftermath

(Newser) - President Bush flew over flooded fields and downed trees today as he kept a close watch on the Hurricane Gustav recovery —in contrast to his administration's bungled response to Katrina 3 years ago. Aboard Air Force One, Bush received a briefing from FEMA director R. David Paulison, who said...

Gustav Now a Cat 3 Hurricane
 Gustav Now a Cat 3 Hurricane 

Gustav Now a Cat 3 Hurricane

Hurricane builds strength as it heads towards Cuba, Gulf Coast

(Newser) - Gustav swelled to a fearsome Category 3 hurricane with winds of 115 mph as it neared Cuba early today, the AP reports. The storm, which killed 71 people in the Caribbean, rolled over the Cayman Islands last night, with fierce winds that tore down trees and power lines, but there...

4 Fla. Counties Declared Disaster Zones

Rising rivers threaten sunshine state

(Newser) - Florida's governor warned today that floodwaters may worsen as President Bush declared four state counties disaster zones, the St. Petersburg Times and the AP report. Gov. Charlie Crist, touring areas hard-hit by Tropical Storm Fay, said cresting Panhandle rivers and water pouring in from Georgia and Alabama could heighten the...

Fay Heads West After 4th Fla. Landfall

Tropical Storm blamed for 11 deaths in Florida, 1 in Georgia

(Newser) - Tropical Storm Fay made a record fourth landfall in Florida today, bringing the state’s death toll to at least 11 before heading west to Georgia and possibly New Orleans, the AP reports. At least one person, a 10-year-old boy, has already drowned in Georgia under Fay's heavy rainfall. Officials...

Fay Sets Course for Florida Panhandle
Fay Sets Course
for Florida Panhandle

Fay Sets Course for Florida Panhandle

6 deaths tied to storm

(Newser) - Tropical Storm Fay is heading west across Florida, having pummeled the southern part of the state with flooding from 20-inch rainfalls and soaked areas farther north, the Tallahassee Democrat reports. Authorities have linked the storm to the deaths of six Floridians, including a 21-year-old woman who drowned while swimming in...

Weakening Fay Soaks Florida
 Weakening Fay Soaks Florida

Weakening Fay Soaks Florida

Feared hurricane fails to develop, but state warns of flood, tornado danger

(Newser) - Tropical Storm Fay made landfall in southwestern Florida early this morning but did not develop into a hurricane as feared, the Miami Herald reports. Heavy rain and 60mph winds have hit the state, but Fay is expected weaken as it moves inland. Officials warn that the storm could spawn flooding...

Hurricane Forecast Gathers Strength

Early start to season could mean more and stronger storms

(Newser) - The 2008 hurricane season could be more intense than originally predicted, forecasters warned yesterday. July saw the earliest hurricane to ever form so far east in the Atlantic, prompting experts to up their season estimates from 15 to 17 named storms and from seven hurricanes to nine. Five of the...

US Seeks to Weaken Hurricanes
 US Seeks to Weaken Hurricanes

US Seeks to Weaken Hurricanes

Scientists propose techniques to modify the weather

(Newser) - The Department of Homeland Security is hoping that weather-altering techniques can lessen the devastation caused by hurricanes, the Daily Telegraph reports. A hurricane reduction program likely to begin in October will devote $64 million to efforts such as spreading tiny salt particles in the storms to drain them of much...

Global Warming Didn't Cause New England Tornadoes

Scientists link extreme events to bad weather 'block'

(Newser) - Two tornadoes have ripped through New England in the last few days, killing a New Hampshire woman and doing serious property damage. But don’t blame global warming for the uncharacteristically violent climate: local climatologists tell the Boston Herald equally extreme weather struck the region in the ‘30s and...

Where's All the Climate-Change Finger-Pointing?
Where's All the Climate-Change Finger-Pointing?
OPINION

Where's All the Climate-Change Finger-Pointing?

No fun to say 'We told you so' amid record heat, deadly floods

(Newser) - With the recent rash of severe and terrifying weather events, Treehugger notes a distinct lack of environmentalists pointing to the changes as evidence of global warming. The green site gives five reasons for the absence, starting with the fact that it's no fun to say "I told you so....

Floodwaters Engulf Iowa's 'Flood-Proof' City

'500-year flood' swamps Cedar Rapids' defenses

(Newser) - The Cedar River has burst its banks and deluged Cedar Rapids, Iowa, the Des Moines Register reports. About 9,000 people have been evacuated—including more than 170 from a hospital—and most of the city's downtown is under water. The river is still rising and is expected to crest...

Levees Crumbling, Midwest Struggles to Stem Tide

Aging infrastructure is barely coping with severe weather

(Newser) - The worst flooding in 15 years has exposed some serious vulnerabilities in the Midwest's aging infrastructure, the Chicago Tribune reports. Levees, bridges, and dams, some a century old, are barely coping with severe storms—while some are collapsing completely. Dikes and levees broke in several states last week after torrential...

Midwest Storms Threaten Worst Flooding in 15 Years

Communities work to repair damage from weekend waters

(Newser) - As climbing rivers knocked out an Iowa bridge and flooded Illinois farms, communities along the Mississippi River are bracing for what could be its biggest overflow in 15 years, the AP reports. The National Weather Service warned of crests of 10 feet above flood stage and higher over the next...

Storms, Floods in Midwest and East Coast Kill 8

Hundreds evacuated as water rises

(Newser) - Storms across the Midwest and East Coast this weekend forced hundreds to evacuate, destroyed homes, and killed 8 people, the AP reports. More than 10 inches of rain in much of Indiana caused flooding; more floods in Iowa were some of the worst in years. Falling trees, high winds, and...

Storms Pummel Midwest, Scare Visitors

Kansas tornadoes smash homes, spook elephants

(Newser) - Severe weather lashed the Great Plains yesterday after forecasters warned of a possible tornado outbreak as bad as the 1974 one that spawned 39 twisters, AP reports. At least four tornadoes touched down in Kansas, causing widespread damage and spooking a pair of runaway circus elephants. Heavy rains caused rivers...

2008 Twister Deaths Highest in a Decade

22 fatalities over weekend make 98 for year

(Newser) - With 22 tornado-related deaths in the South over the weekend, 2008 is shaping up to be the deadliest year for twisters in a decade, USA Today reports. With 98 total fatalities, “we are on a pace that continues a record number” of tornadoes since modern record-keeping began in 1950,...

Stories 721 - 740 | << Prev   Next >>