Hurricane Otis now a catastrophic Category 5 storm off Mexico's Pacific coast nearing Acapulco
Hurricane Otis has strengthened from a tropical storm to a dangerous Category 5 storm in a matter of hours as it approaches Mexicoโs southern Pacific coast, where it is forecast to make landfall near the resort of Acapulco early Wednesday.
Hurricane Nicole forms; Florida awaits rare November storm
A Florida-bound storm has strengthened into Hurricane Nicole after pounding the Bahamas and state officials ordered evacuations that included former President Donald Trumpโs Mar-a-Lago club. Itโs a rare November hurricane for storm-weary Florida, where only two hurricanes have made landfall since recordkeeping began in 1853 โ the 1935 Yankee Hurricane and Hurricane Kate in 1985. At 6 p.m. EST, the storm was 105 miles (170 kilometers) east of West Palm Beac h, Florida, the Miami-based National Hurricane Center said. Its maximum sustained winds were recorded at 75 mph (120 kph), and the system was moving west at 12 mph (19 kph).
Caribbean storm likely to gain force, hit Central America
The U.S. National Hurricane Center says a storm that has hurled rain on the southern Caribbean and the northern shoulder of South America is expected to hit Central America as a tropical storm over the weekend and eventually develop into a hurricane over the Pacific.
Tropical storm warning for parts of Florida, Cuba, Bahamas
Much of the Florida peninsula, along with parts of Cuba and the Bahamas, are under a tropical storm warning as a system that battered Mexico moves through the Gulf of Mexico, killing at least two in Cuba and bringing threats of heavy rain and wind for the weekend.
Tropical storm kills 1 in Florida, hurts 10 at Georgia base
Tropical Storm Elsa is carving a destructive and soaking path up the East Coast after killing at least one person in Florida and spinning up a tornado at a Georgia Navy base that flipped recreational vehicles upside-down and blew one of them into a lake.
Bye Alpha, Eta: Greek alphabet ditched for hurricane names
(NOAA via AP)With named storms coming earlier and more often in warmer waters, the Atlantic hurricane season is going through some changes with meteorologists ditching the Greek alphabet during busy years. The Greek alphabet had only been used twice in 2005 and nine times last year in a record-shattering hurricane season. AdMeanwhile, the National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration is recalculating just what constitutes an average hurricane season. STARTING EARLIERMIT hurricane researcher Kerry Emanuel said โthis whole idea of hurricane season should be revisited." So a warming world means the new normal is busy hurricane seasons just like the last 30 years.
Dangerous Hurricane Iota makes landfall on Nicaragua coast
Locals move on street barely cleared from the debris of the last storm, before Hurricane Iota makes landfall in La Lima, Honduras, Monday, November 16, 2020. Hurricane Iota rapidly strengthened Monday into a Category 5 storm that is likely to bring catastrophic damage to the same part of Central America already battered by a powerful Hurricane Eta less than two weeks ago. (AP Photo/Delmer Martinez)MANAGUA โ Powerful Hurricane Iota made landfall on Nicaragua's Caribbean coast late Monday, threatening catastrophic damage to the same part of Central America already battered by equally strong Hurricane Eta less than two weeks ago. Iota already had been hitting the Caribbean coasts of Nicaragua and Honduras with torrential rains and strong winds. Iota came ashore just 15 miles (25 kilometers) south of where Hurricane Eta made landfall Nov. 3, also as a Category 4 storm.
Hurricane Iota heads for already battered Central America
Iota became a Category 2 hurricane late Sunday afternoon, and the U.S. National Hurricane Center warned it would likely be an extremely dangerous Category 4 storm when it approached the Central America mainland late Monday. It was already a record-breaking system, being the 30th named storm of this yearโs extraordinarily busy Atlantic hurricane season. It hit Nicaragua as a Category 4 hurricane, killing at least 120 people as torrential rains caused flash floods and mudslides in parts of Central America and Mexico. Eta was the 28th named storm of this yearโs hurricane season, tying the 2005 record for named storms. The official end of hurricane season is Nov. 30.
Iota threatens second tropical hit for Nicaragua, Honduras
Eta weakened from the Category 4 hurricane to a tropical storm after lashing Nicaragua's Caribbean coast for much of Tuesday, its floodwaters isolating already remote communities and setting off deadly landslides. (AP Photo/Carlos Herrera)ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. โ Tropical Storm Iota was brewing in the Caribbean Sea early Saturday, threatening a second tropical strike for Nicaragua and Honduras, countries recently ransacked by a Category 4 Hurricane Eta. Iota could wreak more havoc in a region where people are still grappling with the aftermath of Eta. Iota is already a record-setting system, being the 30th named storm of this yearโs extraordinarily busy Atlantic hurricane season. Eta was the 28th named storm of this yearโs hurricane season, tying the 2005 record for named storms.
Tropical Storm Iota forms, could follow Eta's deadly path
Hurricane experts were closely watching the Caribbean, where Tropical Storm Iota formed Friday afternoon. The National Hurricane Center in Miami said Iota could bring dangerous wind, storm surge and as much as 30 inches (76 centimeters) of rainfall to northern Nicaragua and Honduras. The storm was located about 350 miles (560 kilometers) south-southeast of Kingston, Jamaica and had maximum sustained winds of 40 mph (65 kph). Iota is a record-setting 30th named storm of this yearโs extraordinarily busy Atlantic hurricane season. Earlier, firefighters in Tampa had to rescue around a dozen people who got stuck in storm surge flooding on a boulevard adjacent to the bay.
Tropical Storm Eta races off Carolinas after soaking Florida
One death in Florida was linked to the storm, along with some scattered flooding and forecasters said the tropical storm was on a path offshore of South Carolina that would eventually take it further out to sea. That came amid a combination of moisture from the Gulf of Mexico being carried up by a cold front that had pushed Eta across Florida earlier. Earlier Thursday, Eta was in the Gulf of Mexico when it slogged ashore near Cedar Key, Florida. Before that first brush with Florida, Eta first hit Nicaragua as a Category 4 hurricane and killed at least 120 people in Central America and Mexico, with scores more missing. A 29th named system, Tropical Storm Theta, was centered late Thursday about 440 miles (705 kilometers) south of the Azores and moving east.
Eta remains a tropical storm as Florida prepares for 2nd hit
Residents clear debris from a flooded street in the Driftwood Acres Mobile Home Park, in the aftermath of Tropical Storm Eta, Tuesday, Nov. 10, 2020, in Davie, Fla. Tropical Storm Eta was squatting off western Cuba on Tuesday after drifting away from South Florida, where it unleashed a deluge that flooded entire neighborhoods and covered the floors of some homes and businesses. Subsequently, a tropical storm warning was issued for the same general area. The storm has been in the Gulf of Mexico since crossing over South Florida on Sunday. Ron DeSantis issued an expanded emergency declaration to include 13 counties along or near the Gulf coast, adding them to South Florida counties.
Eta strikes Florida Keys; expected to become hurricane
A strengthening Tropical Storm Eta cut across Cuba on Sunday, and forecasters say it's likely to be a hurricane before hitting the Florida Keys Sunday night or Monday. The U.S. National Hurricane Center in Miami declared hurricane and storm surge warnings for the Keys from Ocean Reef to the Dry Tortugas, including Florida Bay. Several shelters also opened in Miami and the Florida Keys for residents in mobile homes and low lying areas. On Sunday night, authorities in Lauderhill, Florida, responded to a report of a car that had driven into a canal. South Florida started emptying ports and a small number of shelters opened in Miami and the Florida Keys for residents in mobile homes and low-lying areas.
Hurricane Zeta closes in on resort zone of Mexico's Yucatan
Clouds gather over Playa Gaviota Azul as Tropical Storm Zeta approaches Cancun, Mexico, Monday, Oct. 26, 2020. A strengthening Tropical Storm Zeta is expected to become a hurricane Monday as it heads toward the eastern end of Mexico's resort-dotted Yucatan Peninsula and then likely move on for a possible landfall on the central U.S. Gulf Coast at midweek. Carlos Joaquรญn warned that โnobody should be on the streets ... you shouldnโt go out anymoreโ until the hurricane passed. Zeta broke the record for the previous earliest 27th Atlantic named storm that formed Nov. 29, 2005. There was also a Tropical Storm Zeta in 2005, but that year had 28 storms because meteorologists later went back and found they missed one, which then became an โunnamed named storm."
Winds and rain whip Yucatan resorts as Hurricane Zeta nears
Clouds gather over Playa Gaviota Azul as Tropical Storm Zeta approaches Cancun, Mexico, early Monday morning, Oct. 26, 2020. (AP Photo/Victor Ruiz Garcia)MIAMI โ Hurricane Zeta lashed Mexico's Caribbean coast resorts around Tulum with high winds and rain Monday night as it headed toward the Yucatan Peninsula and then a possible landfall on the central U.S. Gulf Coast at midweek. It was the second time this month that boat captain Francisco Sosa Rosado had to perform the same maneuver, after Hurricane Delta hit the resort in early October. Trees felled by Hurricane Delta barely three weeks earlier still littered parts of Cancun, stacked along roadsides and in parks. There was also a Tropical Storm Zeta in 2005, but that year had 28 storms because meteorologists later went back and found they missed one, which then became an โunnamed named storm."
Weakened Hurricane Epsilon moves north over Atlantic Ocean
MIAMI โ A weakened Hurricane Epsilon moved northward Friday over the Atlantic Ocean, a day after after skirting well east of Bermuda. Epsilon's top sustained winds fell Thursday to 85 mph (140 kph), dropping it from a Category 2 to a Category 1 storm, the U.S. National Hurricane Center said. But large ocean swells could cause life-threatening surf and rip current conditions along the coast of New England and Atlantic Canada during the next couple of days, the hurricane center warned. Earlier in the week, Epsilon had gained 50 mph (80 kph) in wind speed in just 24 hours to become a major hurricane on Wednesday. This year's season has had so many storms that the hurricane center has turned to the Greek alphabet after running out of official names.
Weakened Hurricane Epsilon skirting well east of Bermuda
MIAMI โ A weakened Hurricane Epsilon skirted well east of Bermuda on Thursday night, prompting officials to lift a tropical storm warning for the Atlantic island. The Miami-based center said Epsilon was about 190 miles (300 kilometers) east of Bermuda at 11 p.m as it moved north-northwest at 9 mph (15 kph). Forecasters said the storm would track over the Atlantic Ocean well east of the island in coming hours. Earlier in the week, Epsilon had gained 50 mph (80 kph) in wind speed in just 24 hours to become a major hurricane on Wednesday. This year's season has had so many storms that the hurricane center has turned to the Greek alphabet after running out of official names.
Major Hurricane Epsilon: Tropical storm warning for Bermuda
MIAMI โ Epsilon rapidly gained major hurricane strength on Wednesday afternoon and is expected to skirt east of Bermuda in the coming day, the U.S. National Hurricane Center says. The Category 3 storm is packing top sustained winds of 115 mph (185 kph) and Bermuda remains under a tropical storm warning. Epsilon gained 50 mph (80 kph) in wind speed in just 24 hours, officially qualifying as a rapidly intensifying storm. Epsilon is expected to make its closest approach to the island on Thursday afternoon or evening, according to the U.S. National Hurricane Center. This year's hurricane season has had so many storms that the Hurricane Center has turned to the Greek alphabet for storm names after running out of official names.