NewzIsaias strengthened into a major hurricane Friday as it headed toward the U.S. Gulf Coast, where final preparations were underway for potentially life-threatening storm surges and high winds.Meanwhile, Hurricane Simon was headed toward Mexico’s Pacific coast and forecast to strengthen significantly. forecasters issued a hurricane warning for parts of the central and southwest coast, where hurricane-force winds were expected within 36 hours.Tropical storm activity has been above average this season in the Pacific because of a strong El Niño, a natural, temporary warming of parts of the Pacific that warps weather worldwide.
In the Atlantic, El Niño’s decapitating winds and the Gulf of Mexico’s toasty, storm-fueling waters are battling over Isaias’s future strength.Here's the latest:Weaker wind shear during El Niño plays a role in the formation of Isaias in the US GulfThe super El Niño has been a nonstop machine cranking out tropical storms that have seemingly rolled through the Pacific region like rush-hour traffic. Gulf Coast’s turn.Isaias is the ninth named storm of the season. None of the previous ones reached hurricane strength.
A normal hurricane season has 14 named storms, seven becoming hurricanes and three reaching major hurricane level, which is more than 110 mph (177 kph).“The season has been completely dead — and we’re still going to have an impactful storm hitting the northern Gulf,” Colorado State University hurricane expert Phil Klotzbach said Wednesday. “How impactful it is remains to be seen.”El Niño involves a natural, temporary warming of parts of the equatorial Pacific, setting off a chain of unusual weather around much of the world. While it’s one of many factors in play in the formation of Isaias, the current El Niño “still is certainly driving the bus,” Klotzbach said.▶ Read moreUrban search and rescue teams stage ahead of IsaiasTeams from Tennessee, Texas, Indiana and Florida have staged near predicted impact areas, according to a briefing email from the Federal Emergency Management Agency and statements from the Miami-Dade Fire Rescue Department.Florida Task Force 1 is staged in Tallahassee with 88 members, four canine teams and high-water rescue equipment.
The team responded last June to the earthquakes in Venezuela.The U.S. has a network of 28 elite urban search and rescue teams trained in water rescue, emerge… A closed location of the dependable diner chain has come to indicate impending disaster.
The metric is known as the Waffle House Index.What might sound like silly logic has become one of the most reliable ways for Southerners — and even federal officials — to gauge a storm’s severity and identify communities most in need of immediate aid.The restaurant chain’s reputation for remaining open when people desperately needed a place to warm up, charge devices and grab a hot meal became a fairly reliable — albeit amusing — resource to help track recovery efforts. The company even operates its own storm center.▶ Read moreDeSantis requests a…
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