Weakened Hurricane Earl Battering Mid-Atlantic
Sept. 3, 2010 – Hurricane Earl has weakened but remains potent as it travels along the Eastern Seaboard tonight and tomorrow on its way to a likely landing in Canada’s maritime provinces.
The storm made its way past North Carolina with sustained wind speeds of about 80 mph after having weakened since yesterday, when the storm had 140 mph winds early in the day while still hundreds of miles out to sea, according to the National Weather Service. The approach of Hurricane Earl forced the evacuation of thousands of residents of island and seaside communities along the Mid-Atlantic region, and the storm is bearing down on Nantucket Island and Martha’s Vineyard in New England, which won’t take a direct hit but will experience a significant amount of high winds and heavy seas. Hurricane Earl is located about 200 miles south-southwest of Nantucket Island and moving northeasterly at about 22 mph, according to federal forecasters.
Although Hurricane Earl isn’t expected to make landfall in the United States, forecasters caution strong currents and high seas will complicate life along the entire East Coast. New York City is under the city’s first tropical storm warning in years. And coastal areas will experience potentially deadly rip currents. Hurricane Danielle passed by the United States even farther out to sea last weekend but still claimed two lives as swimmers drown in the strong rip currents created by the storm along the Eastern Seaboard. Hurricane Bill last year similarly claimed two lives as it bypassed the United States before making landfall in Canada.
Hurricanes Earl and Danielle are the first “major” storms of 2010, and the ongoing oil recovery efforts in the Gulf of Mexico have been spared a direct hit from a tropical storm during what has been predicted to be a busy storm season. Officials for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Climate Prediction Center earlier predicted between 14 and 23 named tropical storms this year – between eight and 14 of which were expected to develop into hurricanes in the Atlantic Ocean. Between three and seven storms were predicted to develop into “major” hurricanes with wind speeds of at least 111 mph.
So far, only two storms have made landfall along the Gulf of Mexico. Tropical Storm Bonnie, the second named-storm of the 2010 Atlantic hurricane season, had sustained winds of 40 mph as it crossed over Miami and southern Florida in late July, bringing heavy rains and localized flooding but causing relatively little damage. Waves of 8 to 10 feet halted oil recovery efforts in the Gulf as the storm passed over. The storm dissipated as it crossed Florida and headed back into the Gulf of Mexico and across the oil cleanup site.
The deadly Hurricane Alex in late June missed Texas, but made landfall in Northeastern Mexico as a Category 2 hurricane with wind speeds of up to 105 miles per hour. The storm dumped nearly three feet of rain in some areas as it moved inland, killing more than 50 people and causing a great deal of flooding in Mexico while forcing the evacuation of thousands of residents. BP officials temporarily shut down surface operations while the Hurricane Alex passed, but undersea drilling of two relief wells continued.
Hurricane Earl Bearing Down On East Coast; Evacuations Underway
Sept. 1, 2010 – Rated a Category 4 storm with sustained wind speeds of at least 135 mph, Hurricane Earl is bearing down on the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States, causing federal officials to issue a hurricane warning for North Carolina and parts of Virginia and tropical storm warnings as far north as Massachusetts.
The National Weather Service today reported Hurricane Earl is located about 725 miles southeast of Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, and is traveling west-northwest at about 17 mph. Federal forecasters expect the storm to gradually turn toward the north tomorrow and come within 100 miles of North Carolina, where voluntary evacuations already have begun. A storm surge of about 5 feet and destructive waves will accompany Hurricane Earl into the warning area as the storm lashes the East Coast with high winds, torrential rains and heavy seas. Forecasters with AccuWeather today reported a 49-foot wave was recorded by a weather buoy as the eye of Hurricane Earl passed over it.
Although Hurricane Earl isn’t expected to make landfall in the United States, forecasters caution strong currents and high seas will complicate life along the entire East Coast. New York City might be placed under the city’s first tropical storm warning in years. And coastal areas will experience potentially deadly rip currents. Hurricane Danielle passed by the United States even farther out to sea last weekend but still claimed two lives as swimmers drown in the strong rip currents created by the storm along the Eastern Seaboard. Hurricane Bill last year similarly claimed two lives as it bypassed the United States before making landfall in Canada.
Hurricanes Earl and Danielle are the first “major” storms of 2010, and the ongoing oil recovery efforts in the Gulf of Mexico have been spared a direct hit from a tropical storm during what has been predicted to be a busy storm season. Officials for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Climate Prediction Center earlier predicted between 14 and 23 named tropical storms this year – between eight and 14 of which were expected to develop into hurricanes in the Atlantic Ocean. Between three and seven storms were predicted to develop into “major” hurricanes with wind speeds of at least 111 mph.
So far, only two storms have made landfall along the Gulf of Mexico. Tropical Storm Bonnie, the second named-storm of the 2010 Atlantic hurricane season, had sustained winds of 40 mph as it crossed over Miami and southern Florida in late July, bringing heavy rains and localized flooding but causing relatively little damage. Waves of 8 to 10 feet halted oil recovery efforts in the Gulf as the storm passed over. The storm dissipated as it crossed Florida and headed back into the Gulf of Mexico and across the oil cleanup site.
The deadly Hurricane Alex in late June missed Texas, but made landfall in Northeastern Mexico as a Category 2 hurricane with wind speeds of up to 105 miles per hour. The storm dumped nearly three feet of rain in some areas as it moved inland, killing more than 50 people and causing a great deal of flooding in Mexico while forcing the evacuation of thousands of residents. BP officials temporarily shut down surface operations while the Hurricane Alex passed, but undersea drilling of two relief wells continued.
Weekend Tornadoes, Storms Kill 12 in Mississippi, Alabama
April 26, 2010 – A massive storm system moving through the Southeastern United States Saturday killed at least 12 people in two states and inflicted a great deal of damage across several states with Mississippi taking the brunt of the damage.
At least 10 people were reported killed and dozens more injured across 13 counties in central Mississippi Saturday, including an infant and two other children killed. State officials said five people were killed in Choctaw County, four in Yazoo County and another in Holmes County. The storm’s death toll might rise as rescue workers sift through rubble and damaged homes today. Another two deaths were reported in Alabama.
The tornado cut a swath of destruction up to a mile wide and some 50 miles in length as it tore through the central section of Mississippi and into neighboring Alabama. The tornado had sustained wind speeds of 160 mph and rated an F3 on the Fujita Scale, according to the National Weather Service.
The tornado was part of a larger storm system that spun off several twisters and destroyed hundreds of homes across the Southeast United States Saturday. Tornadoes also were reported in Arkansas, Louisiana and Tennessee, and the storm system damaged properties in Georgia and South Carolina as it followed a northwesterly course Saturday evening and into Sunday.
The deadly storms were the first to strike the Southeast this year and occurred during the nation’s peak tornado season. Tornadoes generally strike most often during the spring months and particularly in the tornado-prone states of Arkansas, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Missouri, Nebraska and Texas, according to the National Weather Service.
On average, about 1,270 tornadoes touch down in the United States each year. A slightly below-normal 1,156 tornadoes were reported last year with 21 deaths attributed to the violent twisters. A tornado is a violently rotating column of air that extends from storm clouds to the ground ranked along the “Fujita Scale.”
An F0 tornado with wind speeds of between 40 mph and 72 mph is categorized as a “gale” tornado on the Fujita Scale capable of causing light damage to chimneys, snapping tree branches and causing minor damage to signs. An F1 tornado is a “moderate” storm as ranked by the Fujita Scale and would have wind speeds of up to 112 mph and is capable of damaging roofs, pushing vehicles off roadways and destroying small out buildings. An F2 tornado is considered “significant” with wind speeds of up to 157 mph and capable of toppling trees, destroying rooftops and mobile homes and creating deadly missiles from small objects.
An F3 tornado reaching wind speeds of up to 206 mph and is capable of downing wide swaths of trees and destroying multiple homes is considered a “severe” tornado on the Fujita Scale. An F4 tornado with wind speeds of up to 260 mph is considered to be “devastating” and is capable of completely leveling well-built homes, lifting other homes off their foundations and. An F5 tornado is considered an “incredible” tornado with wind speeds of up to 318 mph capable of sending car-sized missiles flying more than 100 yards. An F6 tornado with wind speeds of up to 379 mph is considered “inconceivable” and exists only on the Fujita Scale and cannot be discerned from an F5 tornado.
About 74 percent of all tornadoes reported between 1950 and 1994 were F0 or F1 twisters causing minimal amounts of damage, according to The Tornado Project. About 25 percent of tornadoes were F2 or F3 twisters, and only about 1 percent of tornadoes are the violently destructive and often deadly F4 and F5 twisters. Although F4 and F5 storms accounted for only 1 percent of reported tornadoes between 1950 and 1994, they inflicted about 67 percent of all deaths caused by tornadoes during the same time frame.
U.S. Entering Peak Tornado Season
March 31, 2010 – More tornadoes generally strike most often during the spring months and particularly in tornado-prone states Arkansas, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Missouri, Nebraska and Texas, according to the National Weather Service.
On average, about 1,270 tornadoes touch down in the United States each year, and a slightly below-normal 1,156 tornadoes were reported last year with 21 deaths attributed to the violent twisters. A tornado is a violently rotating column of air that extends from storm clouds to the ground ranked along the “Fujita Scale.”
An F0 tornado with wind speeds of between 40 mph and 72 mph is categorized as a “gale” tornado on the Fujita Scale capable of causing light damage to chimneys, snapping tree branches and causing minor damage to signs. An F1 tornado is a “moderate” storm as ranked by the Fujita Scale and would have wind speeds of up to 112 mph and is capable of damaging roofs, pushing vehicles off roadways and destroying small out buildings. An F2 tornado is considered “significant” with wind speeds of up to 157 mph and capable of toppling trees, destroying rooftops and mobile homes and creating deadly missiles from small objects.
An F3 tornado reaching wind speeds of up to 206 mph and is capable of downing wide swaths of trees and destroying multiple homes is considered a “severe” tornado on the Fujita Scale. An F4 tornado with wind speeds of up to 260 mph is considered to be “devastating” and is capable of completely leveling well-built homes, lifting other homes off their foundations and. An F5 tornado is considered an “incredible” tornado with wind speeds of up to 318 mph capable of sending car-sized missiles flying more than 100 yards. An F6 tornado with wind speeds of up to 379 mph is considered “inconceivable” and exists only on the Fujita Scale and cannot be discerned from an F5 tornado.
About 74 percent of all tornadoes reported between 1950 and 1994 were F0 or F1 twisters causing minimal amounts of damage, according to The Tornado Project. About 25 percent of tornadoes were F2 or F3 twisters and only about 1 percent of tornadoes are the violently destructive and often deadly F4 and F5 twisters. Although F4 and F5 storms accounted for only 1 percent of reported tornadoes between 1950 and 1994, they inflicted about 67 percent of all deaths caused by tornadoes during the same time frame.
With peak tornado season upon the United States, the Insurance Information institute is reminding homeowners to ensure they are fully protected with suitable levels of insurance coverage if living in tornado-prone areas of the United States. With the recent housing market collapse, many homeowners now carry too little insurance protection to fully restore their homes if damaged or destroyed by a tornado. Vehicles can be insured against damages from tornadoes and other weather events through optional comprehensive automobile insurance coverage.
Hurricane Season Ends with Light Damages and Two Lives Lost in U.S.
Dec. 2, 2009 – The 2009 Atlantic hurricane season officially ended yesterday with no major storms landing in the United States and only two lives claimed as Hurricane Bill brushed past the East Coast some 150 miles offshore in August.
A total of nine storms – five of them hurricanes – formed this year, making 2009 the quietest Atlantic Storm season since 2006, when an identical number of storms and hurricanes were counted. The storm totals were the lowest since 1997, when only seven storms and three hurricanes formed. Early forecasts predicted up to 14 storms and seven hurricanes this year.
Storm forecasters cited a strong El Nino event as the primary reason the 2009 Atlantic hurricane season passed without a single major storm or hurricane making landfall in the United States and only moderately affecting other areas where weakened tropical storms landed. An El Nino event is an unusual warming of waters in the Pacific Ocean that creates varying upper-level winds capable of decapitating large tropical storms and preventing hurricanes from forming.
The 2009 storm season was the least active in more than a decade, according to the National Hurricane Center in Miami. Storm forecasters for AccuWeather earlier predicted the 2009 Atlantic storm season would see three storms, at least one of which would be a hurricane, making landfall along the United States coastline – one fewer than the four that made landfall last year. The forecast also predicted a decrease in the number of named storms.
The Atlantic storm season runs from June 1 through Nov. 30 each year, but this year produced only nine named storms. Three developed into hurricanes but either stayed offshore or weakened significantly before making landfall as tropical storms. Just two tropical storms made landfall in the United States, causing only minor, localized flooding.
Tropical Storm Ida landed in Alabama in early November and slowly crept up the East Coast, soaking several Mid-Atlantic states. Tropical Storm Claudette in August landed in the Florida panhandle region but caused little damage. Hurricane Bill in August claimed two lives as it bypassed the United States en route to Canada. Despite not landing in the United States, the hurricane created strong seas that drowned a 7-year-old girl in Maine and a 54-year-old man in Florida who attempted to bodysurf as the storm passed by the Sunshine State.