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Yahoo
7 days ago
- Climate
- Yahoo
Did cloud seeding cause Texas floods? Misinformation spreads as severe flooding strikes US
Severe flooding has swept across multiple parts of the U.S. in recent weeks — from Texas, where more than 100 people were killed during deadly flash floods over Fourth of July weekend, to New Mexico's village of Ruidoso which also flooded last year, and North Carolina, which reported multiple fatalities and after Tropical Storm Chantal dumped heavy rains on the state. As the devastation spreads, so have baseless claims: Thousands of social media users have shared conspiracy theories blaming the floods on cloud seeding — a weather-modification practice that experts say is not only unrelated to recent storms but is rarely used in emergencies, especially in the humid, storm-prone South. Even a congressional candidate has alleged that humans manipulated the weather behind the Fourth of July weekend floods in Texas, which left at least 120 people dead and more than 170 still missing. Kandiss Taylor, who is running for Georgia's District 1 seat in the U.S. House, posted on X early Saturday — just one day after flash flooding in the Texas Hill Country swept away 27 girls from the riverside Camp Mystic, and as rising waters in the Austin area killed at least 16 more with 12 missing. 'Fake weather. Fake hurricanes. Fake flooding. Fake. Fake. Fake.' In another post that day she wrote: 'This isn't just 'climate change.' It's cloud seeding, geoengineering, & manipulation,' she added. '"Fake weather causes real tragedy, that's murder. Pray. Prepare. Question the narrative.' But experts say cloud seeding is not to blame for the recent floods across the United States. Instead, the widespread flooding was driven by a convergence of moisture from two tropical systems lingering in the atmosphere. Just days earlier, Tropical Storm Barry made landfall on Mexico's Yucatán Peninsula, while another system stalled over the Gulf, pumping deep tropical moisture into the southern U.S. That moisture fueled the catastrophic floods in Texas Hill Country, where the Guadalupe River surged 30 feet in less than an hour early Friday. Still, as misinformation runs rampant on TikTok and other platforms, meteorologists and climate experts have been quick to debunk false claims. Cloud seeding is a form of weather modification first developed in the 1940s to help boost rainfall or snowfall in drought-prone or arid regions. The process involves injecting a small amount of a chemical — typically silver iodide — into an existing cloud to encourage the formation of larger water droplets or ice crystals, according to ABC13 meteorologist Travis Herzog. Most clouds don't naturally produce rain or snow because the droplets or crystals inside them are too small to fall. But silver iodide acts as a large 'cloud condensation nucleus,' helping water vapor clump together into heavier droplets or crystals that gravity can pull down to the ground, Herzog explained in a Facebook post. It is not allowed on storms that could produce severe weather, tornadoes or flash floods, Herzog wrote. There are both federal regulations and state regulations for cloud seeding and other forms of weather modification. A cloud seeding project took place in Pleasanton, about 150 miles southeast of Kerr County, on July 2, according to reports from Rainmaker, one of the weather modification companies in the U.S. But experts emphasize that the cloud seeding did not trigger the severe weather and sought to bring modest rainfall to the area, which has experienced persistent drought conditions for several years. Once a cloud is seeded, it releases its moisture quickly and does not continue producing rain beyond that initial burst, according to meteorologists. There have been several rounds of rainmaking efforts in South Texas since March, according to data from Rainmaker. "Even though cloud seeding was not responsible for the Hill Country floods, I know there are moral and ethical concerns when it comes to modifying the weather (or any natural Earth system), however small those modifications may be," Herzog wrote, adding, "and the topic is worth more public discourse and scrutiny." This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: What is cloud seeding? Theories spread as major floods strike US
New York Post
03-07-2025
- New York Post
Girl, 9, dies after mom leaves her in car in near 100-degree temps to work an 8-hour shift: cops
A 9-year-old girl died when her mom left her in her car to work an eight-hour shift in Texas as temperatures soared to nearly 100 degrees. The 36-year-old mom alerted police to the horrifying death after returning to the Toyota Camry where she had left the girl in the backseat as she worked a shift from in suburban Houston on Tuesday, ABC 13 reported. She left the girl with water and the windows cracked — but not parked in the shade, despite temperatures soaring to 97 degrees in Galena Park on Tuesday. Advertisement 'I don't know if anyone checked on the child throughout the day,' Harris County Sheriff Ed Gonzalez told a press conference of the mom's shift from 6 a.m. until she found the girl around 2 p.m.. 3 A 9-year-old girl has died after being left in a car in 97-degree sun while her mom went to work. KTRK 'A 9-year-old beautiful little girl has lost her life by no fault of her own.' Advertisement The mother was detained on Tuesday but released the next day as investigators await autopsy results, the sheriff's office told ABC 13, saying that it is continuing to investigate before any charges are filed. 3 Sheriff Ed Gonzalez announced the tragic news. KTRK It was not clear why the mom — who has not been identified — left her daughter in the car while she worked her shift at United States Gypsum on Tuesday, the sheriff said, stressing that there could be no justification. 'It's never acceptable to leave a child in the car,' he said, adding of the mom: 'You can be sympathetic to her situation.' Advertisement It is illegal to leave a child in a car unattended in Texas, one of 21 states that have similar laws in place. 'The point is that the risk of death or harm — there's just no reconciling that in my mind at a personal level. You've got to make other arrangements, whether it be with your employer,' the sheriff said. 'It's just not worth it to put a child at risk like this for any particular reason. If you have hardships, by all means, work with neighbors, family, and social service agencies.' 3 The child was left outside in the sweltering heat for 8 hours with the windows partially done and some water. KTRK Advertisement On average, around 37 children die each year in the US due to heatstroke from being left in hot cars, according to data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. United States Gypsum confirmed that 'a medical emergency occurred … involving the child of an employee.' Our thoughts are with the family of the child and all those impacted,' USG Corp. spokesperson Kathleen Prause said.
Daily Mirror
21-06-2025
- Daily Mirror
Young woman sent boyfriend haunting video just before dying in horror accident
Ashley Gil, 20, was out riding a jet ski with pals and sent a video of herself on the watercraft to her boyfriend - but just hours later, she was killed in a terrible accident A young woman sent a haunting final video to her boyfriend just hours before she vanished and was later found dead in a lake following a freak accident still surrounded in mystery. Ashley Gil, 20, had been riding a jet ski with two other people on Thursday when she fell into Lake Houston in Texas. Earlier that day, she had sent a video of herself on a jet ski wearing a life jacket to her boyfriend, Jason Campos Rodriquez. Authorities said Gill was not wearing the life jacket when she fell, and her body was recovered from the water later that day. Rodriquez told ABC13: "My motive here is understanding everything that happened. [I] kind of right away, right away got a sense something's not right." He claims a man who was out fishing when Gil vanished said there was no urgency from the group she was with to find her. Explaining what the man told him, he said: "To be honest with you, they didn't even pay attention. They didn't even know when they lost her, where they lost her, they looked like they didn't even care." Rodriquez, who described Gil as "'careful and cautious", has been left stunned and puzzled by her sudden passing, receiving the news while out of town for work. He told KHOU: "When you see someone that has so much potential, leave this world. This is just sad in and of itself, and it's hard to you know accept that she's not here anymore." The Office of Commissioner Rodney Ellis confirmed the recovery of her body on Thursday. A statement said: "I am deeply saddened to learn that the young woman who went missing on Lake Houston hear Alexander Deussen Park has been found deceased. My heart goes out to her family, her loved ones, and everyone affected by this tragic loss." Three people were on the jet ski when Gil plunged into the water and didn't return to the surface, Houston Police said. Although she was wearing a life jacket in the clip she sent to Rodriquez, officers believe it was not on when she fell. Alexander Deussen Park closed on Wednesday for searches before reopening on Thursday. Gill's family have since launched a fundraiser to help cover her funeral costs, writing in a post: "It is with heavy hearts that we share the tragic loss of my beloved sister, Ashley Gil, who passed away after a heartbreaking accident on the lake. "Ashley fell from a jet ski and, despite all efforts, she did not survive. Ashley was a bright light in the lives of so many, full of love, laughter, and kindness. She had an incredible spirit that touched everyone around her. Her absence leaves a deep void in the hearts of our family, friends, and all who knew her." It added: "We are starting this GoFundMe to support our family, especially our mother, during this incredibly difficult time. The funds raised will help cover funeral expenses and any additional costs we may face as we grieve and begin to heal. "If you are able to give, any amount—no matter how small—will mean the world to her loved ones. And if you aren't able to donate, please consider sharing this campaign and keeping Ashley's family in your thoughts and prayers."
Yahoo
11-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Houston Anchor Says No to Viewer Who Tells Her to Stop Saying Goodbye in Spanish
ABC 13 (KTRK) evening anchor Mayra Moreno is clapping back over criticism she speaks Spanish during her newscasts. The veteran journalist who joined the Houston ABC owned station in 2015, recently responded on to a viewer who didn't like her nightly sign-off of 'Buenas Noches.' In an email, the viewer wrote: 'I would like to make a suggestion. When you present the news in English you seem to feel we need to know your ethnicity by signing off 'Buenas Noches'. I'm sure you know we have Spanish stations if you need to drop something in Spanish. If you speak in English throughout the show, why do you sign-off in Spanish? With all that's going on with the Latinos, your sign-off sounds like you're teasing the Hispanics. There's no need for this kind of activity to go on.' CHRON 'I say it with pride at the end of my newscast. It's small, but it's meaningful to me. A simple way to share a piece of myself with the people I serve every night,' she responded on Instagram. 'I'm proud of who I am. Proud to be a reflection of my parents who are hardworking, bilingual, and full of corazón.' Moreno said that growing up she faced lots of racism and was made fun of because she had an accent, adding it took me a long time for her not to feel ashamed of her roots. 'So no, I'm not going to stop saying it,' wrote. 'And I'm definitely not going to apologize for being bilingual, bicultural, and unapologetically me. Buenas Noches, Houston.' The Houston Chronicle said that in late 2024, she received widespread support from viewers and fellow journalists alike after defending her accurate pronunciation of Spanish names during newscasts. According to her station bio, Moreno is a proud alum of the University of Houston, where she graduated Magna Cum Laude with a double major in Journalism and Spanish.
New York Post
05-06-2025
- General
- New York Post
Texas woman, 76, flies into violent rage after hearing bagpipes at local park: report
Pipe down! A Texas woman became enraged after hearing a man playing bagpipes at her local park — allegedly assaulting the musician's wife and threatening to sic her judge husband on the couple, according to a report. Eunice Isgur, 76, became inconsolably irate when she heard Scotland native Scott Gibb playing the bagpipes in Houston's Terry Hershey Park on Monday, and confronted him aggressively with her cell phone, KTRK reported. Advertisement 3 A Texas woman is accused of aggressively confronting a bagpipe player and his wife at a park. ABC13 'She said I had no right to play here in this public park,' Gibb told the outlet. 'She said, 'I'm gonna call my husband. He's a federal judge and he's gonna make you stop.'' Isgur has the same last name as US District Bankruptcy Judge Marvin Isgur of the Southern District of Texas, the outlet reported. Advertisement Gibb's wife came upon the fraught scene, spotting Isgur holding her phone inches from her husband's face, and started filming the elderly woman in return, according to KTRK. Isgur then allegedly took a swipe at the bagpiper's wife — hitting her cell phone, the outlet reported. Isgur's husband then showed up at the scene but was not accused of any wrongdoing. However, the couple menacingly followed the bagpiper and his wife as they were leaving the park, video showed. Advertisement 3 Eunice Isgur allegedly stuck her phone in the musician's face and assaulted his wife. ABC13 3 Isgur suffered a black eye after she tripped during the incident. ABC13 'As [my wife] was walking, she was videoing behind her and this big guy and the woman were chasing after her,' Gibb said. During the confrontation, Isgur suffered a black eye after she tripped while attempting to grab Gibb's backpack, the report stated. Advertisement Despite the dreadful encounter, Gibb said the Scottish-isle-born instrument is typically welcomed in the Deep South. 'Texans just love the sound of the pipe,' Gibb told the outlet, stressing this was one of the few negative responses he's received. The 76-year-old was arrested for Assault-Bodily Injury, according to the report.
