Tag Archives: National Weather Service

Water rescues, flooded roads as rains hammer U.S. mid-Atlantic

National Weather Service Rain forecast map for 7-25-18

(Reuters) – Rescuers pulled people from inundated cars on flooded streets near Baltimore on Wednesday as heavy rain soaked the U.S. mid-Atlantic coast for a fifth day, swelling rivers, closing roads and imperiling homes.

Heavy rains fell overnight from central New York state south through eastern North Carolina, where the National Weather Service forecast that a fresh round of downpours could cause more flooding. Eastern Virginia and Pennsylvania were also hard hit.

Emergency workers around Baltimore pulled people from at least three vehicles stuck in floodwater as deep as 3 feet (0.9 meter), Baltimore County’s Police and Fire Department said on Twitter.

“NEVER go into flood waters,” the National Weather Service’s Weather Prediction Center said on Twitter. “It doesn’t take much water to sweep away a person or vehicle, and water can damage or wash away the underlying road — creating unseen hazards.”

Authorities closed highways and roads in parts of Maryland, Pennsylvania and Virginia because of flooding.

“With the rainfall we have seen over the last week, the ground is very saturated, so any additional rainfall we receive, especially heavy, really has nowhere to go, resulting in flooding,” said National Weather Service meteorologist Brandon Fling.

Up to 14 inches (36 cm) of rain has fallen along the U.S. East Coast since Saturday, swelling waterways well above flood levels.

Local news video showed water streaming into homes and businesses in some places and reaching the tops of automobiles as rescue crews worked to save motorists.

“It just happened out of nowhere, and next thing my car was just shut off, and I’m like, ‘What do I do now?'” Zachary Reichert told NBC News after being rescued from his flooded Jeep in Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania. “I can’t swim in the first place, so I wasn’t jumping into those waters.”

Hersheypark, the Pennsylvania amusement park, said it would be closed on Wednesday after the town surrounding it issued a disaster declaration. It also was closed on Monday.

Airports in New York and Philadelphia reported delays of more than an hour, according to Federal Aviation Administration.

The downpours were expected to continue as at least a chance of rain was in the forecast for the area for several more days.

Separately, parts of northwestern Colorado were drenched with rain on Wednesday morning, where officials warned of flash flooding and debris in an area recently scarred by wildfires.

(Reporting by Brendan O’Brien in Milwaukee and Makini Brice in Washington; Editing by Scott Malone and Will Dunham)

Prime wildfire weather is sweeping across western U.S.

The Sierra Hotshots, from the Sierra National Forest, are responding on the front lines of the Ferguson Fire in Yosemite in this US Forest Service photo from California, U.S. released on social media on July 22, 2018. Courtesy USDA/US Forest Service, Sierrra Hotshots/Handout via REUTERS

(Reuters) – Brutally hot temperatures, fierce winds and arid conditions will sweep across the U.S. West on Wednesday, and the weather may contribute to an already deadly wildfire season.

Temperatures above 100 degrees Fahrenheit (37 C), winds gusting up to 50 miles (80 km) per hour and humidity levels in the teens are in the forecast for many parts of Oregon, California, Arizona and Nevada on Wednesday and into Thursday, the National Weather Service said in a series of advisories.

The service warned that the weather could lead to more of the fires in the region, which have killed nine firefighters and destroyed more than 2,500 homes.

One of the largest, the Ferguson Fire, forced the Yosemite Valley and other parts of Yosemite National Park to close on Wednesday as smoke filled the air in the popular tourist destination.

The Ferguson Fire, which has been burning since July 13 and has claimed the life of one firefighter, had charred about 37,795 acres (15,295 hectares) to the south and west of the park. It was 26 percent contained as of Tuesday night, according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection.

The park’s Yosemite Valley, Wawona and Mariposa Grove are to be closed at least through Sunday by the fire operations, the National Park Service said.

More than 3,400 personnel using 16 helicopters and 59 bulldozers have been battling the blaze, which has caused six injuries and led to evacuations in parts of the region.

In all, 73 major wildfires are burning in the United States in an area of about 700,000 acres. Most are in western states, with blazes also in central Texas and Wisconsin, according to the National Interagency Coordination Center.

As of July 24, wildfires had burned through 3.94 million acres this year, above the 10-year average for the same calendar period of 3.54 million acres, it said.

(Reporting by Brendan O’Brien in Milwaukee, editing by Larry King)

Heavy rains in eastern U.S. pose flood risks US-USA-WEATHER

Rain forecast for 7-24-18 by the National Weather Service

By Brendan O’Brien

(Reuters) – Heavy rains pummeled parts of the U.S. Southwest and mid-Atlantic on Tuesday, swelling floods that have forced evacuations, disrupted air travel and cut power.

Downpours were expected to continue for several more days from southern New York to northern South Carolina, with similar patterns seen further west in southeastern Colorado and northern New Mexico, the National Weather Service said.

About 23,000 homes and businesses were without power in a string of states from Pennsylvania to North Carolina early on Tuesday, Poweroutages.us reported.

Around Baltimore, officials had reported flooding after one inch (2.5 cm) of rain, the NWS said. Flood watches were in effect in other parts of Maryland, as well as parts of West Virginia, with minor flooding expected in North Carolina.

Airports in New York, Philadelphia and Washington experienced delays of up to three hours due to thunderstorms on Tuesday, according to the Federal Aviation Administration.

In northern Virginia, close to the nation’s capital, the NWS had briefly issued a tornado warning Tuesday.

Flood waters rushed through the streets in Santa Fe, New Mexico late on Monday, destroying homes and businesses and trapping motorists in vehicles as more than 3 inches (8 cm) of rain fell, the Albuquerque Journal newspaper reported.

Santa Fe opened an evacuation shelter had opened for displaced residents, Mayor Alan Webber said on Twitter late Monday, adding, “In the morning we’ll launch an all-hands effort to clear roads, repair damage, and clean up from floods.”

More storms were expected in New Mexico on Tuesday, and the NWS warned flash flooding remained a concern, particularly in areas that had recently been ravaged by wildfires.

Rescue crews used small boats to save people trapped in flooded vehicles across Pennsylvania, local media reported.

Hersheypark, the chocolate-themed Pennsylvania amusement park, was scheduled to reopen on Tuesday, a day after closing due to three days of heavy rains and flooding.

(Reporting by Brendan O’Brien in Milwaukee, Additional reporting by Makini Brice in Washington; Editing by Scott Malone and Alistair Bell)

Thirteen dead as Missouri storm sinks ‘duck boat’

Rescue personnel work after an amphibious "duck boat" capsized and sank, at Table Rock Lake near Branson, Stone County, Missouri, U.S. July 19, 2018 in this still image obtained from a video on social media. SOUTHERN STONE COUNTY FIRE PROTECTION DISTRICT/Facebook/via REUTERS

By Brendan O’Brien and Andrew Hay

(Reuters) – At least 13 people including children drowned after a tourist “duck boat” sank during a storm on a lake in Missouri, and authorities were set to resume a search on Friday for other missing victims, Missouri Governor Michael Parson said.

The sinking of vehicle, inspired by the amphibious landing craft used during D-Day in World War Two, marked one of the deadliest incidents at a U.S. tourist destination in recent history. Divers were still searching Table Rock Lake, a large reservoir outside the town of Branson, for missing passengers.

Rescue personnel are seen after an amphibious "duck boat" capsized and sank, at Table Rock Lake near Branson, Stone County, Missouri, U.S. July 19, 2018 in this still image obtained from a video on social media. SOUTHERN STONE COUNTY FIRE PROTECTION DISTRICT/Facebook/via REUTERS

Rescue personnel are seen after an amphibious “duck boat” capsized and sank, at Table Rock Lake near Branson, Stone County, Missouri, U.S. July 19, 2018 in this still image obtained from a video on social media. SOUTHERN STONE COUNTY FIRE PROTECTION DISTRICT/Facebook/via REUTERS

Video of the incident showed the hull of the vessel submerging into choppy waters.

“Just a terrible, horrific tragic accident has occurred,” Parson told CNN on Friday, noting that 13 people had been confirmed dead. “The rescue’s still ongoing.”

Seven victims, including two who were critically injured, were being treated at the Cox Medical Center in Branson, the hospital said on Twitter.

Emergency crews responded to the incident shortly after 7 p.m. (0000 GMT) on Thursday after thunderstorms rolled through the area, the fire district said on Twitter.

“There was some heavy wind. It was having problems through the wind,” Stone County Sheriff Doug Rader told reporters at a news conference late on Thursday. “They were coming back toward land. There was actually two ducks. The first one made it out. The second one didn’t.”

Rader told reporters at that time, when the confirmed death toll was 11 people, that five individuals remained missing. His office on Friday referred questions about the incident including the number of people unaccounted for to Ripley Entertainment Inc, which owns the duck tour business. A Ripley representative could not be reached for immediate comment on Friday.

National Weather Service meteorologist Steve Linderberg told the Springfield News-Leader newspaper that winds reaching 63 miles (101 km) per hour were recorded at the Branson airport near the time of the incident.

“We had a line of very strong thunderstorms that caused 74 mph winds here in Springfield,” he told the newspaper, noting that winds were likely stronger on the lake.

Video footage shot by a witness on shore showed strong waves tossing two duck boats side to side. The video clip was posted online by KY3.

Life jackets were on board the boat, Rader said.

The National Transportation Safety Board was sending investigators to the scene on Friday, the agency said on Twitter.

“Our number one priority is the families and our employees that were affected by this tragic accident,” Suzanne Smagala-Potts, a spokeswoman for Ripley Entertainment, said on Thursday.

She could not confirm how many crew members were aboard the boat.

Duck vehicles, used on sightseeing tours around the world, have been involved in a number of fatal accidents on land and in the water in the past two decades.

The company that builds ducks, Ride the Ducks International LLC, agreed in 2016 to pay a $1 million fine after one of the vehicles, which operate on land as well as water, collided with a bus in Seattle, killing five international students.

The company admitted to failing to comply with U.S. vehicle manufacturing rules.

Two tourists died in Philadelphia in 2010 when the duck boat they were riding in was struck by a tugboat in the Delaware River.

Branson, in southwestern Missouri, is a family-friendly tourist destination whose attractions include “Dolly Parton’s Stampede,” a horse show and a Titanic museum with a model of the sunken vessel’s front half.

(Reporting by Andrew Hay in Taos, New Mexico and Brendan O’Brien in Milwaukee, additional reporting by Barbara Goldberg and Gina Cherelus in New York, Writing by Scott Malone; Editing Bernadette Baum and Steve Orlofsky)

Fierce winds, arid conditions threaten to stoke deadly Oregon wildfire

U.S. Forest Service respond to a wilfire in Mariposa County, California, U.S., July 17, 2018 in this still image taken from a social media video obtained July 19, 2018. ERIC STROH/via REUTERS

By Dan Whitcomb

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – Fierce winds and arid conditions threatened to feed a massive wildfire in central Oregon on Thursday, a day after it killed a tractor operator who was trying to clear brush.

More than 900 households in Sherman and Wasco counties have been told to evacuate immediately or to be ready to leave as the so-called Substation Fire grew 40 percent to 50,000 acres (20,200 hectares) on Wednesday, fire officials said on Facebook.

A Red Flag warning from the National Weather Service was in effect for the area on Thursday because of forecast winds of up to 30 miles (48 km) per hour and humidity in the teens.

On Wednesday, crews found a charred tractor and the remains nearby of its driver who was trying to clear brush in Wasco County, sheriff’s officials said on the department’s Facebook page.

The blaze prompted Oregon Governor Kate Brown to declare an emergency in the area.

The United States is facing an unusually active wildfire year, with some 3.4 million acres already charred this year, more than the year-to-date average of about 3 million acres over the past decade.

In California, one firefighter broke a leg and a second was treated for heat-related illness, after fighting the so-called Ferguson Fire burning on the western boundary of Yosemite National Park in the Sierra Nevada mountains, a U.S. Forest Service spokesman said.

The California injuries came as crews made a major push to cut containment lines around the 17,300-acre conflagration before thunderstorms forecast for this week further whip up the flames.

Fire officials issued evacuation orders and advisories for the mountain communities of Jerseydale, Mariposa Pines, Clearing House and Incline while closing State Route 140 and a Yosemite park entrance.

Complicating firefighting efforts was an inversion layer of thick black smoke, visible for miles, that has prevented water-dropping aircraft from flying into narrow canyons.

“While the smoke lifted early, it re-settled in the late afternoon, again hampering visibility and grounding aircraft,” fire officials said in an alert on Wednesday.

A firefighter was killed on Saturday fighting the blaze, according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection.

California has had its worst start to the fire season in a decade, with more than 220,421 acres (89,200 hectares) blackened and six major wildfires burning statewide as of Wednesday.

(Additional reporting by Brendan O’Brien in Milwaukee; Editing by Matthew Mpoke Bigg)

Newborn killed, dozens hurt by North Dakota tornado

Damage from F2 tornado in Watford City, North Dakota, when tornado caused widespread destruction

(Reuters) – A tornado killed a seven-day-old baby and injured more than two dozen people when it ripped through a trailer park in North Dakota and forecasters warned that parts of the Midwestern United States could face more twisters on Wednesday.

The tornado, with wind speeds around 127 miles per hour (204 kph), hit a trailer home park on Tuesday in the southwest part of Watford City, North Dakota, about 180 miles (290 km) northwest of Bismarck, destroying many mobile homes, the National Weather Service said.

A male baby was severely injured when the storm hit his family’s home and later died in hospital, the McKenzie County Sheriff’s Office said in a statement late on Tuesday. The office did not identify the baby.

NWS weather forecaster Marc Chenard warned that tornadoes could hit portions of central and northern Minnesota and portions of western Wisconsin on Wednesday.

“There’s a threat of a few tornadoes and potential of large hail and a threat of flash flooding for the same areas mainly from this evening into early Thursday,” Chenard said.

About 28 trailer park residents were also injured when the storm hit Watford City. They were taken to McKenzie County Hospital, with at least three being transported by aircraft and six listed in critical condition, the sheriff’s office said in a statement.

A representative from the McKenzie County Sheriff’s office did not immediately respond to requests for comment on Wednesday.

Severe wind threats will shift south by Thursday and threats of storms will then impact portions of southern Minnesota, northern Iowa and central Wisconsin. Chenard said that the storm has moved out of the North Dakota area.

North Dakota Governor Doug Burgum visited Watford City on Tuesday to survey areas hit by the tornado. He met with local officials and people who were displaced by the storm and were staying in local shelters, the governor’s office said in a statement.

The NWS rated the North Dakota tornado an EF-2, the second-strongest on the five-step Enhanced Fujita scale.

(Reporting by Gina Cherelus in New York; Editing by Scott Malone and Frances Kerry)

Firefighters gain on California wildfires as weather cooperates

A USGS geologist making observations of the fissure 8 lava channel at sunset is pictured in this July 3, 2018 fisheye lens handout photograph near the Kilauea volcano eruption in Hawaii, U.S. USGS/Handout via REUTERS

(Reuters) – Firefighters are gaining momentum as they battle several wildfires that have destroyed dozens of homes and forced the evacuation of thousands of residents in California.

Across the state, milder weather over the last couple of days has helped firefighters to hold the line against several blazes, allowing them to lift evacuation orders for residents forced to flee their homes.

Temperatures are expected to fall this week in parts of the state, the National Weather Service said, after scorching heat, high winds and low humidity fanned dozens of fires this summer in a particularly intense fire season across the U.S. West.

“The weather is starting to cooperate, so it’s letting firefighters get the upper hand on the fires,” said Lynette Round, a spokeswoman for the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, called Cal Fire.

U.S. wildfires have already burned more than 3.3 million acres (1.3 million hectares) this year, more than the annual average of about 2.6 million acres over the past 10 years, according to the National Interagency Fire Center.

One person has been killed and three firefighters injured in a wildfire on the California-Oregon border. That blaze, the Klamathon Fire, has torched 36,500 acres (14,770 hectares) and destroyed 82 homes since erupting on Thursday.

Shifting wind patterns remained a concern, but that fire was not expected to grow significantly overnight, a spokesman for Cal Fire said.

In western Nevada, a fire weather watch will be in effect on Wednesday as winds up to 50 miles (80 km) per hour and thunderstorms with lightning are expected in the area.

Elsewhere in the U.S. Southwest, dozens of active fires remained burning, including the 107,900-acre Spring Creek Fire, which is on pace to become the second-largest fire in Colorado’s history, according to the Denver Post newspaper.

“Near critical fire weather conditions are possible across portions of eastern Colorado Tuesday afternoon,” the National Weather Service said in an advisory.

Showers and thunderstorms are also in the forecast for parts of the region through Wednesday, the weather service said, warning of lightning and gusty winds that could create and fan wildfires.

(Reporting by Brendan O’Brien in Milwaukee, editing by Larry King)

Tropical Storm Chris to become hurricane on Tuesday: NHC

Tropical Storm Chris is shown off the eastern coast of North and South Carolina, U.S., in this satellite image July 9, 2018 at 16:12 UTC. NOAA/Goes-East Imagery/Handout via REUTERS

(Reuters) – Tropical Storm Chris is expected to develop to hurricane strength on Tuesday, the U.S. National Hurricane Center (NHC) said in its latest advisory.

The storm was about 210 miles (340 km) south-southeast of Cape Hatteras, North Carolina with maximum sustained winds of 70 miles per hour (110 km/h), the Miami-based weather forecaster said.

Chris is expected to gain additional strength on Wednesday, the NHC said.

(Reporting by Karen Rodrigues and Apeksha Nair in Bengaluru)

Some heat relief forecast as California fires rage

Santa Barbara County Firefighter spray water on flames at a home at the site of a wildfire in Goleta, California, U.S., July 6, 2018 in this image released on social media. Mike Eliason/Santa Barbara County Fire/via REUTERS

By Dan Whitcomb

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – California firefighters battling several wildfires that have destroyed dozens of structures and forced thousands of residents to evacuate will get some relief as temperatures cool from scorching levels later this week, the National Weather Service (NWS) said.

“Starting Monday we’re going to see a gradual cool down, as we shave just a few degrees off each day until about midweek it gets to something like normal, in the mid-90s (Fahrenheit) inland and 80s at the coast,” said Jim Hayes of the NWS Weather Prediction Center in College Park, Maryland.

Dozens of blazes have broken out across the western United States, fanned by scorching heat, winds and low humidity in a, particularly intense fire season.

This year’s fires had burned more than 2.9 million acres (1.17 million hectares) through Friday, already more than the annual average of about 2.4 million acres (971,000 hectares)over the past 10 years, according to the National Interagency Fire Center.

The remains of an unidentified person were found on Friday near a home burned to the ground by the Klamathon Fire, which broke out on Thursday near California’s border with Oregon. It marked the first fatality of the fire season in California.

A firefighter was injured battling the blaze but has since been released from the hospital, authorities said at a news conference on Sunday night.

The Klamathon Fire, which has destroyed 81 structures and blackened about 35,000 acres (14,160 hectares), was 25 percent contained on Sunday evening, according to Cal Fire. More than 1,500 people have been affected by the flames.

Authorities said steep terrain and erratic winds have made it difficult for firefighters to fight the Klamathon Fire.

Elsewhere in Northern California, the County Fire has charred more than 90,200 acres (36,500 hectares) in sparsely populated wooded areas of Napa and Yolo Counties.

Some 2,800 firefighters faced with inaccessible terrain, high temperatures and low humidity, were battling the fire, which was 65 percent contained.

In Colorado, officials said fire crews had made “much progress” battling the Spring Creek Fire, which broke out on June 27 and has consumed 106,985 acres (43,295 hectares). It was 43 percent contained on Saturday, the officials said.

(Reporting by Dan Whitcomb in Los Angeles; Additional reporting by Rich McKay in Atlanta, Maria Caspani in New York and Makini Brice in Washington; Editing by Elaine Hardcastle and Andrea Ricci)

New Wildfire erupts in northern California, kills one, forcing evacuations, spreading fast

An air tanker drops retardant on wildfire called "BentonFire" near off Benton Road and Crams Corner Drive in this image on social media in Anza in Riverside County, California, U.S., July 4, 2018. Courtesy California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection/Handout via REUTERS

By Dan Whitcomb and Keith Coffman

LOS ANGELES/DENVER (Reuters) – A wildfire in northern California killed one person, destroyed buildings, forced the evacuation of hundreds of people from nearby communities and prompted the governor to declare a state of emergency.

The Klamathon Fire broke out on Thursday and, within hours, spread from an initial 1,000 acres to 8,000 acres (3,237 hectares), the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection said in an advisory.

One person has died due to the fire, a spokeswoman for the agency said on Friday, without providing any details.

The blaze destroyed an unknown number of structures and forced residents in the small communities of Hornbrook, Hilt and Colestein Valley to flee as flames crossed Interstate 5 near the California and Oregon border, local media reported.

California Governor Jerry Brown declared a state of emergency for the area, allowing state resources to be devoted to fighting the wildfire and keeping people safe.

FILE PHOTO: Fire is seen in El Jebel, Colorado, U.S., July 4, 2018 in this picture obtained from social media. Picture taken July 4, 2018. Kim Doyle Wille/via REUTERS

FILE PHOTO: Fire is seen in El Jebel, Colorado, U.S., July 4, 2018 in this picture obtained from social media. Picture taken July 4, 2018. Kim Doyle Wille/via REUTERS

The Klamathon Fire was one of more than three dozen wildfires that firefighters were battling in California and across the U.S. West during an unusually active fire season.

Fires have razed through more than 2.8 million acres in the United States this year through Thursday, above the average of about 2.4 million acres for the same period over the last 10 years, according to the National Interagency Fire Center.

Firefighting efforts across the region have been hampered by blistering temperatures, low humidity and erratic winds.

CONTAINMENT

Crews in Northern California tried on Thursday to cut containment lines around the County Fire, which has already burned across some 135 square miles. Nine structures have been destroyed and some 100 homes were said to be in danger.

That blaze, which broke out on Saturday in steep, inaccessible terrain about 45 miles northwest of Sacramento and spans more than 88,000 acres, has so far largely burned away from populated areas. It was 37 percent contained early on Friday, officials said.

The weather will become hotter and drier into the weekend, Cal Fire warned.

In Colorado, nine major wildfires have razed through more than 216,000 acres, according to the Rocky Mountain Coordination Center.

Crews battling the Spring Fire got a respite from hot temperatures on Thursday, with rain forecast for the region, although heavy downpours could trigger flash flooding over the burn scar, according to InciWeb, a federal wildfire website.

Near Aspen, the Lake Christine fire has enveloped more than 5,000 acres and destroyed three homes in the town of EL Jebel, the Eagle County Sheriff’s Office said. The fire has not been contained and some 500 people have been ordered to evacuate.

(Additional reporting by Brendan O’Brien in Milwaukee and Makini Brice in Washington; Editing by Larry King and Bernadette Baum)