Posts under ‘Hurricane’

Hurricane Irene may heap billions of dollars of extra costs on the already fragile U.S. economy, but insurance companies are likely to emerge relatively unscathed. Most of Irene’s damage was from flooding, which the government insures, instead of wind, which insurance companies cover, meaning insurers could pay out as little as $1.5 billion by some [...]

  At 5 p.m. PT, midnight UTC, Wednesday, Tropical Storm Adrian became Hurricane Adrian, the first hurricane of the 2011 season, according to an advisory issued by the National Hurricane Center. The storm, centered about 265 miles southwest of Acapulco, Mexico, has reached sustained winds of approximately 75 mph, just topping the 74 mph requirement [...]

Coastal residents and oil-rig workers may soon have longer warning when a storm headed in their direction is becoming a hurricane, thanks to a University of Illinois study demonstrating how to use existing satellites to monitor tropical storm dynamics and predict sudden surges in strength. “It’s a really critical piece of information that’s really going [...]

A tranquil start to March for much of the nation will come to an abrupt end by Friday evening, as dangerous thunderstorms, some capable of spawning tornadoes, threaten lives and property once again. “The ingredients will initially come in place across eastern Oklahoma and northeast Texas for severe thunderstorms to develop Friday evening,” said AccuWeather.com [...]

“The greatest potential for loss of life related to a hurricane is from the storm surge.” Storm surge is simply water that is pushed toward the shore by the force of the winds swirling around the storm. This advancing surge combines with the normal tides to create the hurricane storm tide, which can increase the [...]

While Tomas has long since departed the northern Caribbean Islands and diminished over the western Atlantic, flooding continues in Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands. Tomas pulled away from the northern Caribbean Islands several days ago and slowly weakened due to stronger wind shear (winds high in the atmosphere that weaken the circulation of tropical [...]

Tomas is weakening, but there is growing concern that the now tropical storm will regain strength and target Haiti later this week. Tomas tore through the Windward Islands on Saturday, strengthening in the process and leaving a trail of damage. Tomas was a Category 2 hurricane as it battered the Windward Islands Saturday night.

Typhoon Chaba strengthened to a Category 3 Storm over the Pacific Ocean south of Okinawa and is forecast to gain power as it approaches the Japanese island tomorrow, the U.S. Navy Joint Typhoon Warning Center said. Chaba, the 16th storm of the northwestern Pacific season, was about 500 kilometers (310 miles) south of Naha, Okinawa [...]

Hurricane Richard has roared ashore in Belize this evening about 20 miles south of Belize City, battering the coastline with huge waves, high winds and torrential rainfall. Heavy rain and gusty winds will continue in Honduras and southern Mexico. Richard made landfall around 8:45 p.m. EDT with maximum sustained winds of 90 mph. The hurricane [...]

As it continues to intensify, the tropical storm approaching Philippine territory is threatening to hit Luzon and the Visayas this weekend, state weather forecasters said Friday. The Philippine Atmospheric Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) said Tropical Storm Megi is absorbing a low-pressure area (LPA) off Visayas. “Maaring matamaan ang Visayas, Southern Luzon. Bale, buong [...]