The term “Tornado Alley” has become a common term to describe the region in America most affected by twisters, but a closer look reveals that Tornado Alley is actually composed of four extreme wind expressways. The clash of warm, moist air and cooler, dry air coupled with a strong jet stream are the key ingredients […]
Continue ReadingIt’s no mystery why the stretch of America’s heartland from Iowa to Texas became known as Tornado Alley. Every spring, twisters up to two-and-a-half miles wide—wider than Manhattan—churn across flat fields, open roads and, typically, sparsely populated towns, causing hundreds of millions of dollars of property damage each year. In terms of the number of […]
Continue ReadingSAN JUAN, Puerto Rico — Hurricane Maria, an “extremely dangerous” storm, made landfall on the small island of Dominica Monday night as a Category 5 storm, then weakened ever-so-slightly to a Category 4, the U.S. National Hurricane Center (NHC) said early Tuesday. Maria was pummeling Dominica with maximum winds of 155 mph as it surged into […]
Continue ReadingTropical Storm Maria continued to become stronger and better organized overnight and is expected to become a hurricane today as it heads toward islands battered by Irma. Over the next three days, National Hurricane Center forecasters say Maria will likely intensify to a major Category 3 storm with sustained winds topping 125 as it nears […]
Continue ReadingWith Hurricane Irma’s potentially devastating impact on Southwest Florida predicted to begin today, it’s safe to say those of us who live here will always remember Sept. 10 as the day Irma came to town. That date, however, has an additional meaning to longtime Florida residents. On Sept. 10, 1960, Hurricane Donna initially made landfall […]
Continue ReadingHurricane Irma is already one for the record books. On Tuesday, the National Weather Service reported the storm had become a Category 5 with sustained winds of 185 miles per hour. That means Irma now ranks among the most powerful hurricanes (as measured by wind speed) ever recorded. According to the NWS, Irma is the strongest […]
Continue ReadingOk, folks, I am officially concerned, and I usually try to be measured. It is Labor Day, and many people are enjoying the day off. There is a group of professionals, however, that is working very hard today as the increasingly worrisome threat of Hurricane Irma looms. For colleagues at the National Hurricane Center, the peak […]
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