Latest news with #AccuWeather
The Herald Scotland
9 hours ago
- Climate
- The Herald Scotland
Storm Tracker: Hurricane forecasters watch disturbance in Atlantic
"Environmental conditions appear marginally conducive for gradual development of this system during the next few days as it moves westward to north-westward around 10 mph," the center, part of the National Weather Service, said in an update. By the middle of next week, conditions are expected to become unfavorable for the system to develop, forecasters said. AccuWeather said the pattern is expected to be met with wind shear approaching the Caribbean Sea, which could limit the system from intensifying. The Atlantic hurricane season officially began on June 1 and will last through the end of November. Active hurricane weather typically peaks between mid-August and mid-October. Atlantic hurricane season storm tracker How do hurricanes form? Hurricanes are born in the tropics, above warm water. Clusters of thunderstorms can develop over the ocean when water temperatures exceed 80 degrees Fahrenheit. If conditions are right, the clusters swirl into a storm known as a tropical wave or tropical depression. A tropical depression becomes a named tropical storm once its sustained wind speeds reaches 39 miles per hour. When its winds reach 74 mph, the storm officially becomes a hurricane. Prepare now for hurricanes Delaying potentially life-saving preparations could mean waiting until it's too late. "Get your disaster supplies while the shelves are still stocked, and get that insurance checkup early, as flood insurance requires a 30-day waiting period," NOAA recommends. Prepare now for hurricanes: Here's what you should do to stay safe before a storm arrives Develop an evacuation plan : If you are at risk from hurricanes, you need an evacuation plan. Now is the time to begin planning where you would go and how you would get there. : If you are at risk from hurricanes, you need an evacuation plan. Now is the time to begin planning where you would go and how you would get there. Assemble disaster supplies : Whether you're evacuating or sheltering-in-place, you're going to need supplies not just to get through the storm but for the potentially lengthy aftermath, NOAA said. : Whether you're evacuating or sheltering-in-place, you're going to need supplies not just to get through the storm but for the potentially lengthy aftermath, NOAA said. Get an insurance checkup and document your possessions : Contact your insurance company or agent now and ask for an insurance check-up to make sure you have enough insurance to repair or even replace your home and/or belongings. Remember, home and renters insurance doesn't cover flooding, so you'll need a separate policy for it. Flood insurance is available through your company, agent, or the National Flood Insurance Program. Act now, as flood insurance requires a 30-day waiting period. : Contact your insurance company or agent now and ask for an insurance check-up to make sure you have enough insurance to repair or even replace your home and/or belongings. Remember, home and renters insurance doesn't cover flooding, so you'll need a separate policy for it. Flood insurance is available through your company, agent, or the National Flood Insurance Program. Act now, as flood insurance requires a 30-day waiting period. Create a family communication plan : NOAA said to take the time now to write down your hurricane plan, and share it with your family. Determine family meeting places, and make sure to include an out-of-town location in case of evacuation. : NOAA said to take the time now to write down your hurricane plan, and share it with your family. Determine family meeting places, and make sure to include an out-of-town location in case of evacuation. Strengthen your home: Now is the time to improve your home's ability to withstand hurricane impacts. Trim trees; install storm shutters, accordion shutters, and/or impact glass; seal outside wall openings. Contributing: Joel Shannon, USA TODAY
USA Today
17 hours ago
- Climate
- USA Today
Storm Tracker: National Hurricane Center watching disturbance in Atlantic
A tropical wave is interacting with a broad low pressure area to produce the showers and thunderstorms in the open Atlantic Ocean. The National Hurricane Center is watching some disorganized showers and thunderstorms east of the Caribbean that have slight odds of forming into a tropical cyclone, a July 19 outlook says. A tropical wave is interacting with a broad low pressure area to produce the showers and thunderstorms in the open Atlantic Ocean, more than 900 miles southwest of the Cabo Verde Islands, off of Africa, forecasters said. 'Environmental conditions appear marginally conducive for gradual development of this system during the next few days as it moves westward to north-westward around 10 mph,' the center, part of the National Weather Service, said in an update. By the middle of next week, conditions are expected to become unfavorable for the system to develop, forecasters said. AccuWeather said the pattern is expected to be met with wind shear approaching the Caribbean Sea, which could limit the system from intensifying. The Atlantic hurricane season officially began on June 1 and will last through the end of November. Active hurricane weather typically peaks between mid-August and mid-October. Atlantic hurricane season storm tracker How do hurricanes form? Hurricanes are born in the tropics, above warm water. Clusters of thunderstorms can develop over the ocean when water temperatures exceed 80 degrees Fahrenheit. If conditions are right, the clusters swirl into a storm known as a tropical wave or tropical depression. A tropical depression becomes a named tropical storm once its sustained wind speeds reaches 39 miles per hour. When its winds reach 74 mph, the storm officially becomes a hurricane. Prepare now for hurricanes Delaying potentially life-saving preparations could mean waiting until it's too late. "Get your disaster supplies while the shelves are still stocked, and get that insurance checkup early, as flood insurance requires a 30-day waiting period," NOAA recommends. Prepare now for hurricanes: Here's what you should do to stay safe before a storm arrives Contributing: Joel Shannon, USA TODAY
Yahoo
21 hours ago
- Climate
- Yahoo
Ex-tropical disturbance could still unleash flooding rains over Louisiana's coast
A former tropical disturbance being watched by hurricane forecasters failed to form into a tropical depression before reaching the Louisiana coast, but it still threatens downpours and flash flooding as it marches inland on July 18, forecasters said. The system, previously called Invest 93L, is already causing thunderstorms and scattered showers just southwest of New Orleans, the Storm Prediction Center said. Flood watches blanket much of the southern half of Louisiana through midday July 19, according to the National Weather Service. The risk for excessive rainfall and flash flooding from this system is highest along the I-10/12 corridor and south of it, the weather service office in New Orleans said. Flooding concerns extend along the coastal plain from Houston, Texas, to Pensacola, Florida, forecasters said. Downpours with rainfall rates of 2 to 3 inches per hour could lead to ponding of water in areas that are low-lying and have poor drainage, leading to flooding of some roads, the weather service said. In areas with the heaviest rainfall, some structures could also become flooded. The risk of rain continues through the weekend, but the flash flooding threat over the weekend will depend on how much total rain falls between July 17 and 18, the weather service in New Orleans said. "Even a poorly organized tropical rainstorm can still produce localized torrential downpours that can lead to incidents of dangerous flash flooding," AccuWeather said. Flooded streets were reported in LaPlace, Destrehan, Luling and New Sarpy, Louisiana, on July 17, according to the National Weather Service. About an inch of water made it into some Luling homes, the preliminary local storm reports said. Video posted to social media showed streets and yards flooded in Luling. The Atlantic hurricane season officially began on June 1 and will last through the end of November. Active hurricane weather typically peaks between mid-August and mid-October. How much rain could fall? Lingering moisture from the weather system will bring rainbands to the Texas and Arkansas borders, impacting the lower and mid-Mississippi Valleys with potential flash flooding this weekend, according to AccuWeather meteorologists. Some parts of southeastern Louisiana have already seen between about 4 and 8 inches of rain in the last 48 hours, with another 1 to 3 inches possible through July 19, AccuWeather said. Here are some recorded rainfall totals for the last 48 hours, according to AccuWeather: 7.91 inches of rain in Pierre Part, Louisiana 6.21 inches of rain in Little Woods, Louisiana 5.94 inches of rain in Desire Area, Louisiana 4.70 inches of rain in LaPlace, Louisiana 4.67 inches of rain in Houma, Louisiana 4.33 inches of rain at University of Louisiana Lafayette 3.99 inches of rain in Prairieville, Louisiana 3.86 inches of rain in Gonzales, Louisiana 3.74 inches of rain in Thibodaux, Louisiana 2.89 inches of rain in Iota, Louisiana Rip currents a threat along Gulf Coast As the system brings heavy rains along the Gulf Coast, dangerous rip currents are also a hazard for swimmers headed to beaches in states along the coast. The National Weather Service office in Mobile, Alabama, said on July 18 that rip current risk is high for several Alabama and Florida beaches but will improve over the weekend. "The best idea... Just stay out of the water," forecasters there said. Rip currents, fast-moving channels of water that flow away from the shore, can drag a swimmer way out into the ocean and exhaust them trying to fight their way out. At least three dozen other people have died so far in 2025 in surf zone-related incidents, with the majority caught by rip currents, according to data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Prepare now for potential hurricanes Experts say it's important to be prepared for potential future hurricanes before the threat is imminent. Delaying potentially life-saving preparations could mean waiting until it's too late. "Get your disaster supplies while the shelves are still stocked, and get that insurance checkup early, as flood insurance requires a 30-day waiting period," NOAA recommends. Stay prepared: Here's what you should do to prep for hurricanes Develop an evacuation plan: If you are at risk from hurricanes, you need an evacuation plan. Now is the time to begin planning where you would go and how you would get there. Assemble disaster supplies: Whether you're evacuating or sheltering-in-place, you're going to need supplies not just to get through the storm but for the potentially lengthy aftermath, NOAA said. Get an insurance checkup and document your possessions: Contact your insurance company or agent now and ask for an insurance check-up to make sure you have enough insurance to repair or even replace your home and/or belongings. Remember, home and renters insurance doesn't cover flooding, so you'll need a separate policy for it. Flood insurance is available through your company, agent, or the National Flood Insurance Program. Act now, as flood insurance requires a 30-day waiting period. Create a family communication plan: NOAA said to take the time now to write down your hurricane plan, and share it with your family. Determine family meeting places, and make sure to include an out-of-town location in case of evacuation. Strengthen your home: Now is the time to improve your home's ability to withstand hurricane impacts. Trim trees; install storm shutters, accordion shutters, and/or impact glass; seal outside wall openings. This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Louisiana sees flash flood risk from former tropical disturbance
Yahoo
a day ago
- Climate
- Yahoo
National Hurricane Center tracking Invest 93L, 3 tropical waves. What's next for Florida?
Invest 93L was moving inland over southeastern Louisiana, according to the 2 p.m. advisory from the National Hurricane Center. Little development is expected while the center remains near the coast this afternoon and tonight, and the systemis expected to weaken as it moves farther inland on Friday. ➤ Track all active storms ➤ Weather alerts via text: Sign up to get updates about current storms and weather events by location Torrential downpours that could trigger dangerous flooding is the main threat for the north-central Gulf Coast as Invest 93L targets Louisiana, according to AccuWeather, which is calling the system of low pressure a "tropical rainstorm." The next named storm of the 2025 Atlantic hurricane season will be Dexter. Historically, the fourth named storm of the Atlantic hurricane season arrives Aug. 15. The last two named storms of the season — Barry and Chantal — developed earlier than normal. Here's the latest advisory from the National Hurricane Center as of 2 p.m. July 17: Invest 93L moving inland over southeastern Louisiana. See path, impacts Satellite, surface, and radar data indicate that the broad low pressure area is moving inland over southeastern Louisiana, and that the associated shower and thunderstorm activity remains disorganized and located mainly to the west and southwest of the center. Little development is expected while the center remains near the coast this afternoon and tonight, and the systemis expected to weaken as it moves farther inland on of development, heavy rainfall could produce localized flash flooding over portions of the north-central Gulf Coast through Friday. Formation chance through 48 hours: low, 10 percent. Formation chance through 7 days: low, 10 percent. Spaghetti models for Invest 93L Special note about spaghetti models: Illustrations include an array of forecast tools and models, and not all are created equal. The hurricane center uses only the top four or five highest performing models to help make its forecasts. Where will Invest 93L go next? Tornadoes, up to 16 inches of rain possible "Regardless of development, heavy rainfall could produce localized flash flooding over portions of the north-central Gulf Coast through Friday," the National Hurricane Center said. "Weak steering breezes will guide the rainstorm westward over southern Louisiana on Thursday (July 17), according to AccuWeather. "At that point, steering breezes may drop off, which could allow the rainstorm to stall and produce downpours over the same area. "It is also possible that more of a northward or westward drift may continue. The former would allow some heavy rain to spread into more of the Mississippi Delta and lower valley region. The latter could allow downpours to spread westward and possibly reach close to Houston. "It is possible that a couple of tornadoes and waterspouts develop near the central Gulf coast as the storm moves inland on Thursday," said AccuWeather Lead Hurricane Expert Alex DaSilva. "A sizable zone where 4-8 inches of rain is forecast to fall extends across much of the southern half of Louisiana and part of southern Mississippi. Within this zone, pockets where 8-12 inches of rain can fall are anticipated with an AccuWeather Local StormMax rainfall of 16 inches." What is an invest? Short for investigation, the National Hurricane Center uses the term invest for areas of low pressure it is monitoring for potential development into a tropical depression or storm. Invests are not tropical depressions or tropical storms. They're usually clusters of showers and thunderstorms, and just because they've been designated as an invest does not guarantee they'll strengthen into a tropical storm or hurricane. Invests run from 90 to 99, followed by a letter: L for the Atlantic basin and E for those in the eastern Pacific. After 99, it starts over again and the next invest would be 90. Once something has been designated as an invest, specialized data sets and computer models can begin, including scheduling Hurricane Hunter aircraft missions and running spaghetti models. Florida weather radar for July 17, 2025 National Weather Service Florida forecast for July 17. Impacts from Invest 93L Pensacola, western Panhandle: Expect some impacts from Invest 93L across the area in the form of heavy rainfall and high surf. Tallahassee, central Panhandle: Localized pockets of heavy rain are possible in the area today. Rip currents are a significant threat along the Florida Panhandle and Big Bend beaches today. Jacksonville, North/Northeast Florida: Warming trend expected into the weekend, with highs in the upper 90s to near 100 inland. Daytona Beach to Stuart, East/Central Florida: Scattered to numerous showers and storms, with highest chances across the interior as warm and humid conditions continue. West Palm Beach to Naples, South/Southwest Florida: One more afternoon of scattered to numerous storms across South Florida. Fort Myers to Sarasota, West/Southwest Florida: Expect a final day of elevated heavy rainfall potential across mainly coastal counties today, with potential flooding in low lying and poor drainage areas this afternoon and evening. ➤ How to set up emergency cellphone notifications for flash flood warnings and safety tips ➤ Excessive rainfall forecast What else is happening in the tropics? The National Hurricane Center is tracking three tropical waves. Tropical wave 1: A far eastern Atlantic tropical wave is along 27W, from 09N to 22N, moving westward at 11 to 17 mph. Tropical wave 2: An eastern Caribbean tropical wave is along 66W-67W, south of 20N, moving westward at 23 mph. Tropical wave 3: A western Caribbean tropical wave is along 79W-80W, south of 20N, moving westward at 23 mph. AccuWeather said there's also a potential for tropical development off the central coast of the U.S. July 22-25. 2025 hurricane season so far An average Atlantic hurricane season has 14 named storms, seven hurricanes, and three major hurricanes. Here's when this year's named storms have developed, compared to historical averages: Tropical Storm Andrea: formed June 24. Average start date: June 20 Tropical Storm Barry: formed June 29. Average start date: July 17 Tropical Storm Chantal: formed July 5. Average start date: Aug. 3. Next up, Dexter: Average state date: Aug. 15, with the average first hurricane forming Aug. 11. Weather watches and warnings issued in Florida Hurricane names for 2025 season Here are the names for the 2025 Atlantic hurricane season, along with how to pronounce them: Andrea (June 24) Barry (June 29) Chantal (July 5) Dexter: DEHK-ster Erin: AIR-rin Fernand: fair-NAHN Gabrielle: ga-bree-ELL Humberto: oom-BAIR-toh Imelda: ee-MEHL-dah Jerry: JEHR-ee Karen: KAIR-ren Lorenzo: loh-REN-zoh Melissa: meh-LIH-suh Nestor: NES-tor Olga: OAL-guh Pablo: PAHB-lo Rebekah: reh-BEH-kuh Sebastien: se-BAS-tee-en Tanya: TAHN-yuh Van: van Wendy: WEN-dee When is the Atlantic hurricane season? The Atlantic hurricane season runs from June 1 through Nov. 30. Ninety-seven percent of tropical cyclone activity occurs during this time period, NOAA said. The Atlantic basin includes the northern Atlantic Ocean, Caribbean Sea and Gulf of America, as the Gulf of Mexico is now known in the U.S. per an order from President Trump. NOAA and the National Hurricane Center are now using Gulf of America on its maps and in its advisories. When is the peak of hurricane season? National Hurricane Center map: See what forecasters watching now Systems currently being monitored by the National Hurricane Center include: Why does NHC say 'tropical cyclone' on its maps instead of hurricane or tropical storm? Tropical cyclone is the generic term used by the National Weather Service, NOAA and the National Hurricane Center for any tropical system, even if it's in the tropical Atlantic basin. To be more precise, a tropical cyclone is a "rotating, organized system of clouds and thunderstorms that originates over tropical or subtropical waters and has closed, low-level circulation," NOAA sadi. Once maximum sustained winds reach 74 mph, what it is called is determined by where it originated: : for storms in the North Atlantic, central North Pacific, and eastern North Pacific. : for storms in the Northwest Pacific. : for storms in the South Pacific and Indian Ocean. Interactive map: Hurricanes, tropical storms that have passed near your city Stay informed. Get weather alerts via text What's next? We will update our tropical weather coverage daily. Download your local site's app to ensure you're always connected to the news. And look for our special subscription offers here. This story has been updated to include new information. This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Hurricane Center tracking Invest 93L. Florida impacts
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Climate
- Yahoo
More tropical activity may brew over Gulf next week
As a belt of high pressure builds over much of the southern United States next week, waters over the northern Gulf to areas along the central Gulf coast will be the zone to watch for tropical development, AccuWeather meteorologists advise. "Basically, a swirl in the shower and thunderstorm pattern, partially associated with the tropical rainstorm that doused Louisiana from Wednesday to Thursday, may be recycled days later," AccuWeather Lead Hurricane Expert Alex DaSilva said. This particular batch of thunderstorms may barely be recognizable as it blends in with existing showers and thunderstorms and travels toward the Ohio Valley this weekend, then off the southern Atlantic coast early next week. From there, winds will guide this swirl, likely containing downpours and thunderstorms westalong the northern Gulf of Mexico. "The area we are watching will be in a zone of higher wind shear (disruptive breezes) when compared to prior areas we have been watching in the northeast Gulf and along the southern Atlantic coast," DaSilva said. "The southern Atlantic area gave birth to Chantal earlier in July." Moderate to high wind shear will limit the development of any tropical rainstorm that organizes over the northern Gulf. At this time, AccuWeather has assigned a low risk of tropical development for next week. "The wind shear will also act as swift steering breezes, quickly taking any such fledgling feature westward across the Gulf with limited time for strengthening," DaSilva said. "Still, a center that tries to form over the open waters of the Gulf instead of bouncing along the upper Gulf coast would have better odds at developing."Have the app? Unlock AccuWeather Alerts™ with Premium+ The steering breezes could carry any moisture west toward Texas and bring at least some uptick in thunderstorm activity along the Texas coast for the middle and latter part of next week. Farther north, under the core of the building heat dome, little to no thunderstorm activity is anticipated in areas such as northern Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas and Kansas. Should a tropical storm develop, the next name on the list for 2025 is Dexter. Want next-level safety, ad-free? Unlock advanced, hyperlocal severe weather alerts when you subscribe to Premium+ on the AccuWeather app. AccuWeather Alerts™ are prompted by our expert meteorologists who monitor and analyze dangerous weather risks 24/7 to keep you and your family safer. Solve the daily Crossword
