National Weather Service is not getting rid of wind chills

Dec. 8, 2011   Leave a Comment  

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STATE COLLEGE, Pa. — AccuWeather.com — Rumors have been spreading that the National Weather Service (NWS) is getting rid of wind chill values, which describe how cold it feels with wind factored in. The truth is NWS offices in the Dakotas and Minnesota are not eliminating wind chills; they are changing the way they warn [...]

Monster “Snowicane” hitting Alaska

Nov. 10, 2011   Leave a Comment  

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STATE COLLEGE, Pa. — AccuWeather – A powerful storm that resembles a hurricane with snow, a “snowicane”, continues to pound western Alaska. “The potentially historic ‘superstorm’… is making ‘landfall’ in Alaska today with a pressure equivalent to a Category 4 Hurricane,” said AccuWeather.com’s Jesse Ferrell. Part of this fierce storm will dive into the contiguous [...]

Is Another Dust Bowl in the Works?

Oct. 21, 2011   2 Comments  

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STATE COLLEGE, Pa. — AccuWeather — A number of sizable dust storms, ongoing drought and intense heat this past summer have many wondering if another Dust Bowl is in the works. The Dust Bowl Era was a series of drought years spanning the early and middle 1930s, which was made worse by wind storms that [...]

Winds over 40mph threaten more dust storms, fires in Texas

Oct. 18, 2011   1 Comment  

STATE COLLEGE, Pa. — AccuWeather.com — Whipping winds will threaten more dust storms and fires across Texas through the middle of this week. Gusts greater than 40 mph across much of Texas will follow a potent cold front, keeping the threat high for these dangers. The howling winds will help pick up dust due to [...]

Hope in sight for rain-weary Northeast

Oct. 3, 2011   Leave a Comment  

STATE COLLEGE, Pa. — AccuWeather.com — A sluggish storm will bring a chilly rain to many parts of the Northeast through early this week, but hope for rain-weary people is in sight. The jet stream, a river of high winds aloft that steers storms across the country, is positioned well to the north over Canada. [...]

Public Health Emergency in Pa., Toxins in Flood Waters

Sept. 9, 2011   Leave a Comment  

STATE COLLEGE, Pa. — AccuWeather.com — Heading in soon to clean up the mess in your home following the record flooding from Lee? There are some things to consider first. Take it from a pro who has been there and done that. When an area is flooded, there is other damage in addition to just [...]

Irene leaves record flooding in her wake

Aug. 29, 2011   Leave a Comment  

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STATE COLLEGE, PA — AccuWeather.com – Although Irene is now history, she won’t be forgotten in the minds of millions of Easterners who dealt with her wrath this past weekend. At least 21 deaths have been attributed to Irene, which is now barreling across southeastern Canada as a post-tropical storm. Wind gusts above 100 mph, rainfall totals north [...]

Kentucky miners trapped by heavy rains

June 20, 2011   Leave a Comment  

STATE COLLEGE, Pa. — AccuWeather — Thunderstorms that moved through Middlesboro, Ky. overnight caused part of a mine to collapse, trapping three miners inside. The miners are reported to be safe inside the mine. Rainfall since midnight measured in Middlesboro was 4.74 inches, and in 24 hours, 4.84 inches of rain fell. The bulk of [...]

More tornadoes could hit Midwest

June 20, 2011   Leave a Comment  

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STATE COLLEGE, PA — AccuWeather — A wound-up storm rolling out of the Rockies has potential to bring the worst tornado outbreak since May to parts of the Plains into tonight. The combination of very warm, humid air at the surface, shifting of winds with height, and a strong jet stream overhead has the atmosphere [...]

Planning for the next “Katrina”

June 17, 2011   Leave a Comment  

Even before the effects of global warming started to kick in, the vast majority of America’s coastlines were reeling from threats including habitat destruction, sewage outflows and industrial pollution. Pictured: Flooded area of northwest New Orleans and Metairie, Louisiana in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. (Coast Guard photo)

Is the government doing enough?

Minnesota to New York at Risk for Severe Storms

June 7, 2011   Leave a Comment  

STATE COLLEGE, Pa. — Severe thunderstorms will ride over the northern rim of heat expanding into the Midwest and the Northeast. A storm system shifting eastward across the northern Plains will produce a trigger for the storms, while the hot, muggy air will act as the fuel. Communities from northern Minnesota to western New York [...]

Rush hour tornadoes kill at least two near Oklahoma City

May 24, 2011   Leave a Comment  

DALLAS — Several tornadoes hit Oklahoma City and nearby communities during the busy afternoon rush hour Tuesday, leaving at least two people dead and seriously hurting several children. Canadian County, Okla. County emergency director Jerry Smith told the Associated Press that the storm hit the communities of El Reno and Piedmont, just west of the [...]

Weather Service: Joplin tornado was EF-5

May 24, 2011   2 Comments  

The National Weather Service has determined that the devastating tornado that directly hit Joplin, Mo. was in fact an EF-5, the highest classification of tornadoes. This means that Joplin, a city of more than 100,000 people, was battered by winds in excess of 200 miles per hour. Tornadoes rarely strike cities directly and are much [...]

Joplin tornado is deadliest ever

May 23, 2011   2 Comments  

The death toll from the tornado that destroyed Joplin, Mo., on Sunday has reached 116 according to a city official, putting it in a tie for the single deadliest twister to hit American soil since the National Weather Service began keeping records 61 years ago. The last time a tornado caused this much human loss [...]

At least 116 dead as Tornado ravages Joplin, Mo.

May 22, 2011   4 Comments  

Wreckage at the Joplin Walmart (found via Twitter). (Media credit/KOAM TV via Twitter)

A tornado struck the city of Joplin, Mo., on Sunday, killing at least 116 people and causing catastrophic damage. Nearly a quarter of Joplin has been destroyed — not damaged, but removed from the earth. A massive search and rescue operation has been going on in Jasper County, with temporary morgues going up in the [...]

Snow on top of snow will fall in the Northeast

March 23, 2011   Leave a Comment  

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STATE COLLEGE, Pa. — Accuweather reports that as if the 6 to 12 inches of snow was not enough for portions of New York and Pennsylvania, more snow is coming from the same storm system. There is plenty of energy and moisture left with the storm and it appears that cold air will hold its [...]

Flooding risk from 2011 thaw outlined

Feb. 17, 2011   Leave a Comment  

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STATE COLLEGE, Pa. — AccuWeather — The risk of major flooding across the nation remains rather low into early next week, but there will be some minor problems and ice jam concerns. Most rivers across the nation were below flood stage as of Thursday morning, February 17, 2011, but an increasing number of rivers were [...]

More snow coming! Groundhog Day storm may affect 100 million people

Jan. 28, 2011   Leave a Comment  

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STATE COLLEGE, Pa. — AccuWeather.com — The latest indications continue to point toward a large storm forming amidst a building temperature contrast over the middle of the nation. Precipitation and strong cold air/warm air circulation around that storm will affect many millions of people from the interior West to the Atlantic Coast as next week [...]

A Blast intern’s commute in the nor’easter

Jan. 12, 2011   1 Comment  

The first thing I saw when I woke up today was a window plastered white. I left the house at 7 a.m. and stepped out into the second major snowstorm of this Boston winter. It’s exactly 2.44 miles from my apartment in Allston to Johnnie’s Fresh Market in Brookline. I have to go to my [...]

Breaking news: It’s a blizzard now

Jan. 11, 2011   Leave a Comment  

It looks like The Blizzard of 2010 will be followed immediately by the Blizzard of 2011 The National Weather Service in Taunton has issued a Blizzard Waning for the entire East Coast of Massachusetts, including Cape Cod, Boston, and up to Gloucester. The warning goes from 2 a.m. all the way to 8 p.m. on [...]