1. 7 Feb


    A storm of “historic” proportions is set to sweep across the northeastern United States, beginning with light flurries on Thursday night and lasting through Saturday evening. The powerful winter weather system is expected to dump snow, sleet, rain, and hurricane-force winds from Connecticut all the way up to Maine. Start stocking up on food and supplies; things could get pretty ugly out there. Here, everything you need to know about Winter Storm Nemo, 2013’s first nor’easter: How much snow are we talking about?The National Weather Service says that southern New England, which will get the brunt of the storm, could see anywhere from 18 to 24 inches between Friday and Saturday. Suffolk County in New York is under blizzard watch, as are parts of Massachusetts, Connecticut, and Rhode Island,reports The Associated Press. New York City is expecting slightly less snow — somewhere between 4 and 6 inches. The storm could be as bad as the historic blizzard of 1978, which dumped more than 2 feet of snow and blew through New England with hurricane-level winds. A few analysts say Nemo could be one of the 10 most powerful storms in the history of the region. What kind of damage are forecasters anticipating?The area could see “widespread power outages with winds of this force,” says Weather.com. Highways will likely be paralyzed (plan your commute accordingly.) Communities in Massachusetts, Connecticut, and Long Island could see some coastal flooding as well.  Why is it called Nemo?

    A storm of “historic” proportions is set to sweep across the northeastern United States, beginning with light flurries on Thursday night and lasting through Saturday evening. The powerful winter weather system is expected to dump snow, sleet, rain, and hurricane-force winds from Connecticut all the way up to Maine. Start stocking up on food and supplies; things could get pretty ugly out there. Here, everything you need to know about Winter Storm Nemo, 2013’s first nor’easter:

    • How much snow are we talking about?
      The National Weather Service says that southern New England, which will get the brunt of the storm, could see anywhere from 18 to 24 inches between Friday and Saturday. Suffolk County in New York is under blizzard watch, as are parts of Massachusetts, Connecticut, and Rhode Island,reports The Associated Press. New York City is expecting slightly less snow — somewhere between 4 and 6 inches. The storm could be as bad as the historic blizzard of 1978, which dumped more than 2 feet of snow and blew through New England with hurricane-level winds. A few analysts say Nemo could be one of the 10 most powerful storms in the history of the region.

    • What kind of damage are forecasters anticipating?
      The area could see “widespread power outages with winds of this force,” says Weather.com. Highways will likely be paralyzed (plan your commute accordingly.) Communities in Massachusetts, Connecticut, and Long Island could see some coastal flooding as well. 

    Why is it called Nemo?

     

  2. 2 Nov


    This week’s best photojournalism

     

  3. 29 Oct


    Top: Two people reach out to one another as waves crash over a cement barrier in the coastal town of Winthrop, Mass., on Oct. 29.

    Left: Cots are set up in the gymnasium at Roxborough High School, a designated Red Cross shelter, in Philadelphia on Oct. 28, as the city braces for the oncoming torrent of residents forced out of their homes by flood waters and electrical outages.

    Right: Only a few water bottles remain on the shelves at the Waldbaums grocery store in Long Beach, N.Y., on Oct. 28.

    Bracing for Hurricane Sandy: 11 eerily apocalyptic images

    (Source: theweek.com)

     

  4. 29 Oct


    A reader-submitted photo from Ocean City, NJ shows flooding before Hurricane Sandy even officially makes landfall.  More photos and first-hand accounts

    A reader-submitted photo from Ocean City, NJ shows flooding before Hurricane Sandy even officially makes landfall. 

    More photos and first-hand accounts

    (Source: theweek.com)

     

  5. 26 Oct


    Hurricane Sandy is barreling up the Atlantic Ocean toward America’s East Coast on a collision course with an early wintry storm from the west and a frigid blast of air from the north, creating conditions that forecasters warn could create a “perfect storm.” Sandy has already killed at least 31 people in the Caribbean, and could hit the Northeast on the day before Halloween next week as a “Frankenstorm” worse than anything the region has seen in 100 years. “It really could be an extremely significant, historic storm,” says University of Miami researcher Brian McNoldy. How bad will it get? Here’s a brief guide: Are forecasters certain the Frankenstorm will hit?Hurricanes are tricky, and Sandy still has plenty of time to weaken or turn out to sea. Even if it weakens, it could still hit with tree-toppling winds of, say, 60 miles per hour, and a mix of heavy rain and high tides that could cause coastal flooding. That’s the good news. The bad news is that there’s a 90 percent chance the storm will crash into the U.S., says CNN meteorologist Pedram Javaheri. If it takes the most likely path, it could graze North Carolina early Monday, then turn sharply and slam into the Eastern Seaboard somewhere between Delaware and Boston a day later with a mix of high winds, heavy rain and even snow, along with coastal flooding.  How bad will it be?Meteorologists say conditions are similar to those that produced 1991’s “perfect storm,” which inspired a book and blockbuster movie. Despite its force, that storm, in which Hurricane Grace combined with a high pressure system and a cold front, caused only about $200 million in damages because it hit a relatively sparsely populated part of New England. Current forecasts suggest that Hurricane Sandy is most likely to slam into New Jersey and New York before pressing on toward Ohio, meaning it will hit some of the most densely populated pockets of the country. Making matters worse, it will hit during a full moon, when tides are highest, increasing chances of major flooding. If that happens, damages could reach $5 billion or more. Keep reading…

    Hurricane Sandy is barreling up the Atlantic Ocean toward America’s East Coast on a collision course with an early wintry storm from the west and a frigid blast of air from the north, creating conditions that forecasters warn could create a “perfect storm.” Sandy has already killed at least 31 people in the Caribbean, and could hit the Northeast on the day before Halloween next week as a “Frankenstorm” worse than anything the region has seen in 100 years. “It really could be an extremely significant, historic storm,” says University of Miami researcher Brian McNoldy. How bad will it get? Here’s a brief guide:

    • Are forecasters certain the Frankenstorm will hit?
      Hurricanes are tricky, and Sandy still has plenty of time to weaken or turn out to sea. Even if it weakens, it could still hit with tree-toppling winds of, say, 60 miles per hour, and a mix of heavy rain and high tides that could cause coastal flooding. That’s the good news. The bad news is that there’s a 90 percent chance the storm will crash into the U.S., says CNN meteorologist Pedram Javaheri. If it takes the most likely path, it could graze North Carolina early Monday, then turn sharply and slam into the Eastern Seaboard somewhere between Delaware and Boston a day later with a mix of high winds, heavy rain and even snow, along with coastal flooding.
       
    • How bad will it be?
      Meteorologists say conditions are similar to those that produced 1991’s “perfect storm,” which inspired a book and blockbuster movie. Despite its force, that storm, in which Hurricane Grace combined with a high pressure system and a cold front, caused only about $200 million in damages because it hit a relatively sparsely populated part of New England. Current forecasts suggest that Hurricane Sandy is most likely to slam into New Jersey and New York before pressing on toward Ohio, meaning it will hit some of the most densely populated pockets of the country. Making matters worse, it will hit during a full moon, when tides are highest, increasing chances of major flooding. If that happens, damages could reach $5 billion or more.

    Keep reading…

     

  6. 27 Aug


    Change of plans: A lonely screen above the floor at Tampa’s Republican National Convention venue tracks the projected path of Tropical Storm Isaac. More photos from the campaign trail

    Change of plans: A lonely screen above the floor at Tampa’s Republican National Convention venue tracks the projected path of Tropical Storm Isaac.

    More photos from the campaign trail

     

  7. 23 Aug


    What happens if Tropical Storm Isaac hits the GOP convention? — As of early Thursday, Isaac was churning in the Caribbean, 250 miles southeast of Puerto Rico. It’s moving slowly toward the Dominican Republic and Haiti, then Cuba, and could reach the Florida Keys early Monday, the opening day of the convention, and the start of a week of parties and speeches leading up to the official nomination of Mitt Romney as the GOP’s presidential candidate. The storm could reach Tampa by that night or the next morning. There’s a remote chance Isaac could veer west into the Gulf of Mexico, gather strength over its warm waters, then curve back to hit just north of Tampa as a major storm, says meteorologist Alex Sosnowski of Accuweather. If Isaac were to hit as a Category 4 storm, with winds of 130 mph to 156 mph, it could send 20 feet of water over the convention site, says Masters of Weather Underground. Even if it hits as a weaker Category 2, with 96- to 110-mph winds, the area would have to be evacuated. The bottom line, says Tampa Mayor Bob Buckhorn, is that if things get dangerous, “we’re prepared to call it off. I mean, human safety and human life trumps politics. I think the RNC recognizes that.” More… Photo: Joe Raedle/Getty Images

    What happens if Tropical Storm Isaac hits the GOP convention? — As of early Thursday, Isaac was churning in the Caribbean, 250 miles southeast of Puerto Rico. It’s moving slowly toward the Dominican Republic and Haiti, then Cuba, and could reach the Florida Keys early Monday, the opening day of the convention, and the start of a week of parties and speeches leading up to the official nomination of Mitt Romney as the GOP’s presidential candidate. The storm could reach Tampa by that night or the next morning.

    There’s a remote chance Isaac could veer west into the Gulf of Mexico, gather strength over its warm waters, then curve back to hit just north of Tampa as a major storm, says meteorologist Alex Sosnowski of Accuweather. If Isaac were to hit as a Category 4 storm, with winds of 130 mph to 156 mph, it could send 20 feet of water over the convention site, says Masters of Weather Underground. Even if it hits as a weaker Category 2, with 96- to 110-mph winds, the area would have to be evacuated. The bottom line, says Tampa Mayor Bob Buckhorn, is that if things get dangerous, “we’re prepared to call it off. I mean, human safety and human life trumps politics. I think the RNC recognizes that.”

    More…

    Photo: Joe Raedle/Getty Images

     

  8. 3 Feb



    The cheese wall is hammered, bread’s kind of hammered, milk’s kind of low.
    — Aaron McFadden, a manager at a King Soopers store in Denver, Colorado. The National Weather Service says snow is falling at two inches an hour on Colorado’s Eastern Plains, and that up to two feet of snow could fall before Saturday morning.
     

  9. 26 May


    Men search for bodies, using ropes to pull away house debris, in September 1900, after a deadly category 4 hurricane hit the southeast Texas coast. The hurricane is still considered the deadliest weather system in U.S. history. Storm tides as high as 15 feet ripped into Galveston Island, killing an estimated 8,000 residents, and causing approximately $30 million in property damage. The Joplin tornado and 9 other deadly U.S. storms: A visual history PHOTO: CORBIS

    Men search for bodies, using ropes to pull away house debris, in September 1900, after a deadly category 4 hurricane hit the southeast Texas coast. The hurricane is still considered the deadliest weather system in U.S. history. Storm tides as high as 15 feet ripped into Galveston Island, killing an estimated 8,000 residents, and causing approximately $30 million in property damage.

    The Joplin tornado and 9 other deadly U.S. storms: A visual history

    PHOTO: CORBIS

     

  10. 2 Feb


    This is the massive size of the Australian cyclone Yasi, relative to the size of the entire U.S. (image from the Herald Sun). The Category 5 cyclone is one of the biggest — and likely most catastrophic — storms ever to hit Australia. It’s 310 miles in diameter and expected to have wind speeds at 186 mph. More info on the storm here.

    This is the massive size of the Australian cyclone Yasi, relative to the size of the entire U.S. (image from the Herald Sun).

    The Category 5 cyclone is one of the biggest — and likely most catastrophic — storms ever to hit Australia. It’s 310 miles in diameter and expected to have wind speeds at 186 mph. More info on the storm here.