Puerto Rico declares emergency and activates National Guard over water outages
Nearly 180,000 customers were affected at the peak of the outage late last week. As of Wednesday, nearly 3,000 customers were still without water, including nearly a dozen hotels, according to Gov. Jenniffer González .
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3 hours ago
- Yahoo
A key sign of hurricane activity has flipped into high gear
Hurricanes need warm ocean water to form, and water temperatures in a key section of the Atlantic are really starting to warm up. "One of the biggest changes I've observed in recent weeks is a considerable warming of the so-called Main Development Region (MDR) of the Atlantic above its seasonal averages," WPLG-TV hurricane expert Michael Lowry said in late July on a Substack post. That's a big change from earlier this season. "To open the hurricane season in June, waters across this bellwether part of the Atlantic where most of our strongest hurricanes get their start were running average to even below average," he said. The Main Development Region (MDR), located between the Caribbean and Africa, is a region in the Atlantic where many tropical cyclones (tropical storms and hurricanes) form. This area is key because it's where many tropical waves, which can develop into hurricanes, originally form. The warm water in that key region is just one of the reasons hurricane forecasters are warning that hurricane season could soon heat up. Warm water everywhere It's not only the Main Development Region that's warm: Water across the Gulf of America (formerly known as Gulf of Mexico) and the Caribbean Sea area also above average, scientists said. In fact, closer to home, persistent high pressure has led to some notable warming of the shelf waters around Florida, as well as the nearby southwest Atlantic, Andy Hazelton, a hurricane scientist at the University of Miami, pointed out on X on August 1. This included a 90-degree reading at a buoy near Virginia Key, Florida, near Miami. "Water temperatures are pretty much warm enough everywhere in the tropical Atlantic to support hurricane formation," Colorado State Univerisity meteorologist Phil Klotzbach told USA TODAY July 31. "The general consensus is that a temperature of 26.5°C (79 degrees F) is required to get a hurricane to form," he said. University of Miami tropical researcher Brian McNoldy confirmed this, telling USA TODAY in an email August 1 that "looking at sea surface temperature, it's above the commonly-used 26°C isotherm everywhere of interest, so that ingredient is in place from Africa to the Caribbean to the Gulf." So why no hurricanes? So if ocean temperatures across the Atlantic are plenty toasty for hurricanes to form… what's preventing them from forming? "One of the biggest disruptors of the Atlantic hurricane season so far has been unfavorable upper-level winds," Klotzbach told USA TODAY. "Atlantic vertical wind shear is generally westerly. We've had a lot of upper-level westerly winds over the past few weeks, increasing vertical wind shear across the Main Development Region." Wind shear, a change in wind speed with height, is a hurricane killer, the National Weather Service said in an online report. "Strong upper level winds destroy the storms' structure by displacing the warm temperatures above the eye and limiting the vertical accent of air parcels. Hurricanes will not form when the upper level winds are too strong." Shear might be diminishing, though However, the upper-level wind anomalies are likely to flip to easterly in early August, resulting in reduced vertical wind shear and creating conditions much more favorable for Atlantic hurricane activity, Klotzbach said. He said this flip is associated with an eastward-moving Madden-Julian Oscillation, a global climate pattern that affects hurricane formation. "Phases 1-3 of the Madden-Julian Oscillation are the ones that are most favorable for Atlantic hurricane activity, and we should be headed into these phases shortly per the latest long-range forecast from the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts," he said. "So, while things are quiet at the moment (and likely to remain quiet for the next few days), there are signs that things will pick up in about 10 days." Hazelton agreed with this, noting that on X that "shear has already been coming down, and looks to drop even further as the Madden-Julian Oscillation moves over Africa. The Week 2 look on ensembles is about as favorable as you will ever see upper winds in the basin this time of year." "Still, shear is just one part of the equation, and this time of year, moisture and stability can hold things back and prevent development even with low shear. Those issues seem prevalent already this year," Hazelton cautioned. "It will be interesting to see how August goes tropical-cyclone-wise in the Atlantic." This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: A key sign of hurricane activity heats up for August
Yahoo
a day ago
- Yahoo
Heavy rain triggers flash floods and travel chaos on US East Coast
In New York, floodwaters swept through roads and train stations during the evening rush, with commuters wading through submerged platforms at Grand Central Terminal. Videos shared online showed water pouring into city buses and cascading over trains. Firefighters evacuated a Long Island-bound train, and services across Long Island and New Jersey were severely disrupted. Amtrak suspended routes between Philadelphia and Wilmington due to high water over the tracks. States of emergency were declared in New York City and New Jersey.
Yahoo
a day ago
- Yahoo
Several central Utah counties warned of eventual extended power outage: ‘Start planning and preparing now'
RICHFIELD, Utah () — As the Monroe Canyon Fire continues to devastate the area just south of Richfield in Sevier County, officials are warning that transmission lines for power have a high probability of shutting down. Outages have already begun. Garkane Energy said that it de-energized the line that serves Wayne County, Burrville, Koosharem, Antimony, Fish Lake, and other surrounding areas. Garkane Energy later announced that the fire had burned some of their transmission structures, and so power will remain off for Wayne County and surrounding areas until at least Thursday morning, when they will be able to properly assess the situation. 'Please prepare accordingly for the power to be off all night. We will update more in the morning. We understand the inconvenience of not having power, we thank you for your patience as we work with fire officials,' Garkane Energy said in . In a social media post Wednesday morning, the Sevier County Emergency Manager Deputy William C Taufer said the Karkane Power transmission lines running through Bear Valley are likely to be powered down. 'This may not come today, but will eventually come in the foreseeable future. Start planning and preparing now,' said Taufer. Containment drops for Monroe Fire as flames claim another 5,000 acres, now largest fire of the season Who will this impact? According to Taufer, a shutdown of the Garkane Power transmission lines will affect Sevier County, Garfield County, Piute County and Wayne County. Specifically, the town affected will be Burrville, Koosharem, Fishlake Basin, Greenwich, Angle, Antimony and all of Wayne County. Once the lines have been powered down, Taufer said it is unclear how long the power outage will last. He added only that the outage will last an 'extended period.' How to plan for an extended power outage With a power outage likely, it is important to . Rocky Mountain Power said one of the first things to do would be to assemble or restock an emergency kit. Items that should go into your emergency kit include: Non-perishable food for both family and pets Water, at least one gallon per person per day Battery-powered radio and extra batteries A flashlight with extra batteries Blankets A manual can-opener A solar-powered cell phone charger Cash Copies of important documents A First-Aid kit with essential medications Any special items for infants, elderly or disabled family members also recommends including things such as a dust mask, a whistle, and local maps. If you have room, also recommends adding soap and hand sanitizer, matches, personal hygiene products, and any activities such as books, games, puzzles or other activities. Taufer encouraged residents to follow as well as for more information and updates. Latest headlines: Ohio man sentenced to 15 years in prison after kidnapping teenager & being caught in Utah Federal government paying 154K employees not to work: Report Hot, breezy, with a critical fire threat through Thursday evening Harmons chef Maybel Morgan shares the ultimate summertime cucumber salad Daiso moves into Provo – a game changer for budget finds & cute treasures Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Solve the daily Crossword
