More stories

  • in

    In Hawaii, a Sense of Alertness Without Panic Ahead of Tropical Storm Hone

    Although the storm is not expected to pass directly over the Big Island, forecasters warned of threats including flooding and damaging winds.Debbie Arita, an office manager at a supermarket in Hilo on the Big Island of Hawaii, took stock of the conditions. Tropical Storm Hone was approaching the region, but the scene on Friday was far from chaotic — no frantic rush for supplies, no desperate boarding up of windows.To Ms. Arita, who said she has been through her fair share of hurricanes and tsunamis, the prevailing mood seemed to be alertness without anxiousness.“There’s no sense of panic here,” she said.Hone (pronounced ho-NAY) is expected to deliver a glancing blow to Hawaii as it passes near or south of the Big Island late Saturday into early Sunday. Forecasters have warned of the potential for damaging winds, life-threatening surf and flash floods.Officials and residents largely said they were preparing, but not with alarm. While a landfall of a named storm on Hawaii is rare, storms frequently come close enough to affect the islands’ weather. Mitch Roth, the mayor of Hawaii County, which covers the Big Island, wants residents to remain watchful. “We want people to be prepared for any kind of hazard,” Mr. Roth said. In August 2018, Hurricane Lane drenched the Big Island with 58 inches of rainfall, damaged over 100 buildings and killed one person — despite the eye of the storm passing over 100 miles south of the state.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

  • in

    Heavy Rain and Flash Flooding in Connecticut Leads to Car Rescues

    Heavy rainfall in southwestern Connecticut led to mudslides, washed-out roads and flash flooding on Sunday, while thunderstorms sweeping through New York City disrupted flights and train service.The National Weather Service declared a flash flood emergency or flash flood warning into Sunday evening for parts of Fairfield, New Haven, Litchfield and Hartford Counties, as overfilled rivers crested their banks and additional thunderstorms were predicted. Emergency crews carried out widespread water rescues, especially in the Southbury area, and several mudslides were reported, according to the Weather Service.The New York City area was also getting inundated on Sunday evening, as heavy rains caused all major airports in the region to ground flights. Officials warned of potentially damaging wind gusts. Flash flood warnings were issued in Manhattan, the Bronx, Staten Island and several counties north and west of New York City. Video on social media showed water pouring from the ceiling of Chelsea Market.Chelsea Market in NYC flooding #nyc #storm pic.twitter.com/D3Qt3vuWY3— Haley Morgan Ryger (@hmryger) August 18, 2024

    There was heavy flooding in Central Park, where the New York Police Department said drivers should avoid the 86th Street Transverse. Parts of Harlem River Drive in Manhattan, Major Deegan Expressway in the Bronx and Long Island Expressway in Queens were blocked because of the flooding, the police said.Amtrak and New Jersey Transit said at about 8:20 p.m. that all trains between New York and Philadelphia were temporarily suspended. By 10:25 p.m., services had been restored but delays continued. The New Jersey Turnpike Authority issued a travel alert on closures along the Turnpike and Garden State Parkway.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

  • in

    Deadly Landslides in India Made Worse by Climate Change, Study Finds

    Extreme rainfall made 10 percent heavier by human-caused climate change triggered landslides that killed hundreds, according to a new study.A sudden burst of rainfall on July 30 caused a cascade of landslides that buried hundreds of people in the mountainous Kerala region of southern India.That downpour was 10 percent heavier because of human-caused climate change, according to a study by World Weather Attribution, a group of scientists who quantify how climate change can influence extreme weather. Nearly six inches, or 150 millimeters, of rain fell on soils already highly saturated from two months of monsoon and marked the third highest single-day rain event on record for India.“The devastation in northern Kerala is concerning not only because of the difficult humanitarian situation faced by thousands today, but also because this disaster occurred in a continually warming world,” said Maja Vahlberg, a climate risk consultant at the Red Cross Red Crescent Climate Centre. “The increase in climate-change-driven rainfall found in this study is likely to increase the number of landslides that could be triggered in the future.”In a state that is highly prone to landslides, the Wayanad district is considered the riskiest part. As of Tuesday, at least 231 people had died and 100 remained missing.The Kerala landslides were the second extreme landslide event in July, following one in Ethiopia that killed 257 people. July was the second-worst month on record, after July 2019, with 95 landslide events that caused 1,167 fatalities, according to data maintained by Dave Petley, the vice-chancellor of the University of Hull. Together, they caused roughly one-third of the more than 3,600 deaths resulting from some 429 fatal landslides recorded this year, Dr. Petley said in an email.Already, 2024 is an outlier, Dr. Petley posted to The Landslide Blog on Tuesday. He wrote that he could “only speculate on the likely underlying reasons for this very high incidence of fatal landslides,” but “the most likely cause continues to be the exceptionally high global surface temperatures, and the resultant increase in high intensity rainfall events.”We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

  • in

    How Close Are the Planet’s Climate Tipping Points?

    Right now, every moment of every day, we humans are reconfiguring Earth’s climate bit by bit. Hotter summers and wetter storms. Higher seas and fiercer wildfires. The steady, upward turn of the dial on a host of threats to our homes, our societies and the environment around us. We might also be changing the climate […] More

  • in

    Debby’s Remnants Bring Tornado Alerts and Snarl Some East Coast Air Traffic

    There is at least some risk of tornadoes in New Jersey, eastern Pennsylvania and southeast New York on Friday.The remnants of Tropical Storm Debby were moving up the East Coast on Friday morning, prompting warnings for flash floods and tornadoes and causing airport delays at some of the major Northeast cities.“Unfortunately, even in Debby’s weakened state, dangerous flash flooding and severe weather will continue” through Saturday across portions of the Carolinas, Mid-Atlantic, Interior Northeast and New England, forecasters from the Weather Prediction Center said.The weather was causing delays at some airports in the region.La Guardia Airport in New York issued a ground delay just after 8 a.m. on Friday and flights were delayed by an average of 82 minutes, according to the Federal Aviation Administration. In a post on social media, the airport warned passengers of flight disruptions and advised them to check in with their airlines regarding their flight status.Kennedy International Airport and Newark Liberty International Airport were also experiencing delays ranging between 30 and 60 minutes, the F.A.A. said. In Boston, no delays were reported, but authorities at Logan International Airport warned passengers to check with their airlines before arriving at the airport.In Washington, D.C., flights to and from Ronald Reagan National Airport were facing delays, the F.A.A. said.Overnight, the storm system brought rain once again to coastal Carolina, escalating the flooding situation in the northern suburbs of Charleston, S.C. Some residents who had been thinking the worst had already passed them woke to the surprise of floodwaters in their homes. Showers or thunderstorms could return to coastal Carolina on Friday afternoon.Debby’s remnants on Friday were simultaneously weakening and accelerating northeastward along the spine of the Blue Ridge, forecasters said. As it moves through the region, some storms have been acting like train cars on a track, repeating over the same areas and prompting flood warnings in Virginia, especially around Washington, D.C.Tornadoes spawned by Debby ThursdayLocations of tornado sightings or damage reported by trained spotters. More

  • in

    After Soaking the Carolinas, Debby Will Bring Rain to the Northeast This Week

    Tropical Storm Debby will continue to loiter off the South Carolina coast on Wednesday, moving a little faster than an average human walking while pummeling the region with rain. The storm will then accelerate north, shifting the flood risk to the Northeast later in the week.Here’s how it is forecast to play out.Wednesday: The Carolinas get more heavy rain.Debby appeared to show some modest strengthening early Wednesday morning. But despite opportune conditions, the storm’s structure is likely too ragged at this point for more than mild intensification.The storm’s center was sauntering northeast and should begin to move more to the north later Wednesday, reaching the coast of South Carolina and making landfall, again, near Bulls Bay just after midnight.Rain will persist across portions of northeastern South Carolina and southeastern North Carolina through the day and, in some places, increase in intensity in places that have already been battered with rain.Significant rainfall of four to eight inches will add to the already staggering totals, increasing the risk of flooding. Places like Summerville, S.C., have already measured over 17 inches of rain.The main place for concern, experts said Wednesday, is just inland of Wilmington, N.C. This area, they said, has the opportunity for a two-day rainfall total exceeding 15 inches, leading to the threat of a “prolonged life-threatening flash flood scenario.”

    Forecast risk of excessive rain for Thursday More

  • in

    Tropical Storm Debby Could Bring ‘Historic’ Rainfall to Southeast

    Forecasters are warning of serious flooding in parts of Florida, Georgia and South Carolina this week as the storm moves along the coast.As Tropical Storm Debby moves inland off the Gulf of Mexico this week, it is expected to bring intense rainfall and flooding across northern Florida, Georgia and South Carolina.After making landfall on Monday, the storm is expected to slow significantly and then meander over the Southeast, pounding the region with “potentially historic” amounts of rainfall, according to the National Hurricane Center.The National Weather Service forecast a rare high risk of excessive rain for the region.Widespread flash flooding and river flooding are expected, with 10 to 20 inches of rainfall along the coast. Some areas could get up to 30 inches of rainfall through Friday morning.The most intense rainfall is expected to spread over the area Monday night into Tuesday.“We’re going to be into a catastrophic rain situation,” Kevin Guthrie, the executive director of Florida’s Division of Emergency Management, said at a news conference on Sunday. To the east of where the storm makes landfall in Florida, six to 12 inches of rainfall could drop. As the storm drifts inland, it will move slowly, saturating its path and drawing moisture off the Atlantic Ocean before streaming it into the low country of South Carolina and Georgia.“The heaviest rainfall is likely to remain closer to the coast,” said forecasters with the Weather Service in Charleston, S.C. Extreme flooding could affect areas from Savannah, Ga., to Myrtle Beach, S.C.The actual rainfall totals will largely depend on whether Debby shifts offshore into the Atlantic on Tuesday, where it could restrengthen before moving back inland. More

  • in

    Parts of Florida Under State of Emergency as Storm Moves Toward the Gulf

    The storm, which could become Tropical Storm Debby, is expected to bring significant amounts of rain to the coast.The governor of Florida declared a state of emergency on Thursday as a tropical system moved toward the Gulf of Mexico, threatening to bring heavy rain, gusty winds and the potential for flash flooding.Known currently as Invest 97L, the storm could become Debby if it organizes itself into an official tropical storm. (“Invest” is meteorological shorthand for “investigative area.”)The U.S. National Weather Service warned that heavy rains could cause areas of flash flooding across Florida, Cuba and the Bahamas through the weekend.Florida braces for what could be a ‘major disaster.’With heavy rainfall of at least 12 inches expected over the next seven days, Florida is bracing for the threat of flooding, along with gusty winds and erosion. On Thursday night, Gov. Ron DeSantis declared a state of emergency in more than 50 counties, which gives emergency managers the authority to allocate resources to respond to the fallout of the extreme weather.

    Five-day precipitation forecast

    1

    2

    3

    5

    10+ inches

    Source: National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
    Notes:

     Values are shown only for the contiguous United States and are in inches of water or the equivalent amount of melted snow and ice.
    By Zach Levitt, Bea Malsky, Martín González Gómez and Madison Dong

    The order covers Orange County and Osceola County, and travel could be disrupted for the throngs of summer visitors who go to Orlando and the theme parks at Universal Studios Florida and Walt Disney World.Water tables in some areas are already saturated, the governor said, and the incoming rainfall “will cause significant river flooding that may last for several weeks.” The storm could damage “major interstates and roadways, bridges, airports, schools, hospitals, power grids and other critical infrastructure,” Mr. DeSantis said. It was expected to also cause widespread power outages from downed trees and power lines.The National Hurricane Center said that an aircraft would investigate the storm on Friday if needed, and it warned officials in Cuba and the Bahamas to monitor its progress.Specialists at the National Hurricane Center in Miami, which falls under the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, tracking Hurricane Beryl in July.Joe Raedle/Getty ImagesWe are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More