Severe Weather Archives

What you do before and during a tornado could mean the difference between life and death

ATLANTA (AP) — Experts say planning before a tornado threatens is key for staying safe. Weather radios, basements and bicycle helmets can all help save lives. Rick Smith of the National Weather Service says a weather radio is something that every home and business should have. There are also other ways of getting warnings, such as a cellphone app. Experts say having multiple, redundant warning methods is important. Smith advises people to seek shelter underground if possible. And recent research shows that closing your exterior and interior doors can be a good strategy to alleviate the high winds somewhat. That’s the opposite of the commonly held misconception that you’re supposed to open things up equalize the air pressure.… Continue Reading

Snowy roads lead to hundreds of Virginia and North Carolina crashes as Arctic air brings record cold

NORFOLK, Va. (AP) — Snowy roads led to hundreds of crashes throughout Virginia and North Carolina, including a series of crashes on an interstate highway involving more than 50 vehicles. Officials continued to ask people to avoid travel on Thursday to allow crews to work on the roads. The North Carolina State Highway Patrol says it responded to nearly 1,200 collisions statewide on Wednesday. Virginia State Police reported early Thursday that there had been nearly 500 crashes statewide since the storm began, including at least 45 involving injuries. An Arctic air mass is bringing widespread, record-breaking cold to the central United States and forecasters expected some locations to experience their coldest temperatures on record this late in the season.… Continue Reading

Although Milton has moved on, at least 8 are dead and millions remain in the dark

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) — Rescue teams are plucking Florida residents from the flotsam of Hurricane Milton after the storm smashed through coastal communities. The storm tore homes into pieces, filled streets with mud and spawned a barrage of deadly tornadoes. At least eight people are dead. Arriving just two weeks after the misery wrought by Hurricane Helene, the system also knocked out power to more than 3 million customers, flooded barrier islands, tore the roof off a baseball stadium and toppled a construction crane. Despite the destruction, many people expressed relief that Milton wasn’t worse. The hurricane spared Tampa a direct hit, and the lethal storm surge that scientists feared never materialized.… Continue Reading

Tampa Bay hasn’t been hit directly by a major hurricane since 1921. Milton may be the one

TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — Fearful Florida residents are streaming out of the Tampa Bay region ahead of what could be a once-in-a-century direct hit from Hurricane Milton. Crews are working furiously to prevent furniture, appliances and other waterlogged wreckage from Florida’s last big storm from becoming deadly projectiles in this one. The preparations marked the last chance for millions of people in the Tampa metro area to prepare for lethal storm surges, ferocious winds and possible tornadoes in a place that has narrowly avoided a head-on blow from a major storm for generations.… Continue Reading

Storm brewing in Gulf of Mexico could intensify into a hurricane, threatening Florida

MIAMI (AP) — Forecasters say a storm brewing in the Gulf of Mexico that is likely to become a tropical storm could intensify into a hurricane that could impact parts of Florida in the coming days. The U.S. National Hurricane Center says tropical depression 14 is currently about 210 miles north-northeast of Veracruz, Mexico. The system is expected to become a tropical storm later Saturday. It is forecast to strengthen into a hurricane and bring the risk of life-threatening impacts to portions of Florida’s West Coast next week. Hurricane and storm surge watches are likely be issued Sunday.… Continue Reading

Hurricanes like Helene are deadly when they strike and keep killing for years to come

A new study says hurricanes in the United States are hundreds of times deadlier in the long run than the government calculates. In fact, the researchers say they contribute to more American deaths than car accidents or all the nation’s wars. Wednesday’s study says the average storm hitting the U.S. contributes to the early deaths of 7,000 to 11,000 people over a 15-year period. That dwarfs the average of 24 immediate and direct deaths that the government counts in a hurricane’s aftermath. Study authors said even with Hurricane Helene’s growing triple digit direct death count, far more people will die in future years in part because of Helene’s effects.… Continue Reading

Search crews with cadaver dogs wade through muck of communities ‘wiped off the map’ by Helene

SWANNANOA, N.C. (AP) — Rescuers are scouring the mountains of western North Carolina for anyone still unaccounted for since Hurricane Helene’s remnants caused catastrophic damage across the Southeast. The death toll Tuesday reached 166 people. Residents in the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina have been lining up for water and food and hunting for cellular signals after the storm deluged the region. In Augusta, Georgia, people waited in line for more than three hours to try to get water from one of five centers set up to serve more than 200,000 people. President Joe Biden plans to survey storm damage on Wednesday.… Continue Reading

Supplies arrive by plane and by mule in North Carolina as Helene’s death toll tops 130

ASHEVILLE, N.C. (AP) — The death toll after Hurricane Helene left a trail of destruction across the U.S. Southeast has reached at least 133. A crisis is unfolding in the mountains of western North Carolina, where water, food and other supplies are being airlifted into places cut off by mudslides and washed-out roads. Officials worry the death toll will rise further as searchers reach isolated areas. Nearly three dozen people have died in the county that includes the tourism hub of Asheville. The city’s water system has been severely damaged. Forecasters are keeping a close eye on Tropical Storm Kirk, which is expected to become a powerful Atlantic hurricane this week.… Continue Reading

How Helene became the near-perfect storm to bring widespread destruction across the South

Hurricane Helene was big, strong and fast, making it a near-perfect storm to bring widespread death and destruction to the American South. The fast-moving Category 4 storm killed at least 64 people and potentially left thousands homeless throughout the southeastern United States as it hammered its way north. Florida, Georgia and both Carolinas all suffered multiple deaths. In Florida, most drownings were caused by storm surge. In Georgia and South Carolina, falling trees were the primary killers. In North Carolina, massive flooding has cutoff Asheville and the surrounding communities.… Continue Reading

At least 56 dead and millions without power after Helene moves across the Southeast

PERRY, Fla. (AP) — Massive rains brought by Hurricane Helene have left many people stranded or homeless as the cleanup begins from the monster tempest that killed at least 56 people. Helene has caused billions of dollars in destruction across a wide swath of the southeast U.S. More than 3 million customers were without power Saturday, and some face a continued threat of floods. Helene blew ashore in Florida’s Big Bend region as a Category 4 hurricane late Thursday and then quickly moved through Georgia, the Carolinas and Tennessee, uprooting trees, splintering homes and sending creeks and rivers over their banks and straining dams. Deaths from the storm have occurred in Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina and Virginia.… Continue Reading