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Tropical Storm Hone To Hit Hawaii With Fire And Flooding This Weekend 

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Tropical Storm Hone is threatening to deliver severe and dangerous weather conditions to Hawaii this weekend. Hawaii’s Big Island is currently under a tropical storm watch as Hone is on track to pass the state very closely this weekend, delivering heavy rains, strong winds, dangerous sea conditions, and concerns of wildfires, according to reports.

“Tropical activity has been abundant in the Pacific Ocean this year, but none of the seven East Pacific named storms have come close to Hawaii. Hone, the first storm to form in the Central Pacific since 2019, will break that mold,” wrote Mary Gilbert, a meteorologist for CNN.

The storm is set to pass around 150 miles south of the Big Island on Saturday, and will last until Sunday morning. Rain and wind will be consistent throughout the weekend beginning early Saturday morning. 

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Experts are predicting rainfall of 4 to 8 inches on the east and southeast parts of the Big Island, according to the Central Pacific Hurricane Center. Maui could experience about 6 inches of rain and Oahu 2 to 4 inches.

“Winds are expected to be strongest where they blow downslope [on the Big Island] from higher terrain, over headlands and through passes,” the CPHC warned.

The storm’s strongest winds could reach speeds of 73 mph and will last from late Saturday through Sunday. 

There is also major concern over the potential for wildfires from the storm, especially considering Hawaii is still recovering from devastating wildfires that have been named the “most devastating fires in US history,” according to CNN.

“Drier air and windy conditions ahead of Hone could elevate fire weather concerns across leeward areas statewide (Saturday),” the National Weather Service in Honolulu said.

Hone is projected to strengthen late Sunday into Monday, and could even become a hurricane briefly.

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Tropical Storm Hilary Unleashes Flooding On Southern California

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The first tropical storm to hit Los Angeles in more than 80 years has caused major flooding across Southern California, and officials are continuously urging residents to stay safe.

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Hurricane Ian Barrels Toward South Carolina, Leaving Destruction in Its Wake

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After pummeling Florida, Hurricane Ian has its sights set on South Carolina. The death toll from Ian, which made landfall as a category four hurricane in Florida, has now risen to 21. Authorities still have to confirm that the deaths were related to the storm.

Ian downgraded to a tropical storm before strengthening into a category one hurricane on its trajectory toward South Carolina. Meteorologists expect Ian to make landfall again in South Carolina today before moving northeast toward North Carolina and Southwestern Virginia Friday night through Saturday morning. It will be the first hurricane to hit South Carolina since Hurricane Matthew in 2016.

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Florida is still assessing the damage of Hurricane Ian, mostly from flooding. Early estimates say that the damage could cost up to $40 billion. Florida’s former emergency management chief told NYTimes, “Fort Myers Beach and Sanibel Island look like they will need to be 80% rebuilt.” Florida Governor Ron DeSantis said it would be a yearslong recovery.

President Joe Biden said it could prove to be the deadliest hurricane in Florida’s history. Over two and a half million residents who were in the hurricane’s path are without power. Many are left with uninhabitable homes or do not have access to water, such as in Lee County, where a water main line broke.

“My message to the people of Florida and to the country in times like this: America comes together. We’re gonna pull together as one team, as one America. First thing this morning as I talked to Gov. DeSantis and again offered the fullest federal support.”

Kevin Guthrie, director of the Florida Division of Emergency Management, said that Floridians affected by Ian need to rely on their own supplies for food and water for the next day or so. The government advises residents to save enough food and water for seven days before a significant storm. From days 3 to 5 after the storm, the National Guard and local community distribution will serve water and dry food. Hot food distribution will follow shortly after.

Governor DeSantis said 700 rescues had been conducted so far by air. Before the storm hit, the state government asked residents planning to shelter in place to fill out a survey to allow officials to have demographic information.

“Some of the damage was almost indescribable. I would say the most significant damage that I saw was on Fort Myers Beach. Some of the homes were wiped out, some of it was just concrete slabs.”

In 2013, during his time in the House of Representatives, DeSantis was against federal aid for the New York region after the damage of Hurricane Sandy. Now, he is asking for governmental assistance to help his state. He told Tucker Carlson, “when people are fighting for their lives, when their whole livelihood is at stake, when they’ve lost everything — if you can’t put politics aside for that, then you’re just not going to be able to.”

At the time, DeSantis and Ted Yoho were the only House members to oppose the assistance package for Hurricane Sandy.

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President Biden said that the government would provide uninsured people in Florida an assistance of $37,900 for home repairs and another $37,900 for property loss. In Thursday’s speech, President Biden thanked the Federal Emergency Management Agency for their prompt response.

“I’ve seen you in action all across the country from the West Coast of the Northwest and the Northeast, down in Louisiana, all across this country. And just in the last two weeks, you’ve been working 24/7. No matter what, when emergencies happen, FEMA is always there. You deserve the nation’s gratitude and full support.”

South Carolina is already feeling the effects of Hurricane Ian, with 10,000 residents without power. In anticipation of Ian’s arrival, Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina and Virginia declared a state of emergency. The National Weather Service says Hurricane Ian will likely not strengthen beyond a category one hurricane as it approaches South Carolina, sustaining wind speeds of 85 mph.

50 Million Americans Under Flash Flood Warnings As Tropical Storm Elsa Moves Up East Coast

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Tropical Storm Elsa is currently heading north along the East Coast of the US, and is expected to impact all major cities along the way. More than 50 million Americans woke up to flash flood warnings as severe weather conditions have already begun to impact a majority of the coast. 

The center of the storm is projected to go over Dover, Delaware early Friday morning and will make its way towards Boston by the afternoon, according to meteorologist Robert Shackelford. The storm has already caused tornados, multiple injuries, and at least one death in Florida and Georgia this week. 

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In New York, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) was pre-positioning crews and equipment yesterday all throughout Long Island, where the storm is forecast to be the most intense. 

The MTA will also be banning all empty tractor-trailers and tandem trucks from its seven bridges and two tunnels until at least noon on Friday. This ban is due to heavy wind gusts and rain which could cause larger vehicles to be more susceptible to tipping over. 

The National Hurricane Center announced that the storm is currently moving at a rate of 25 mph and has hit a maximum sustained wind speed of 50 mph. Much of the Northeast is expected to see 2 to 4 inches of rainfall by the weekend. 

Once Elsa’s center passes by a given area, residents can still expect to see heavy rainfall and high wind speeds on the outskirts. 

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Some tornadoes were also reported across northern Florida and southeastern Georgia on Wednesday. An EF-2 tornado caused multiple injuries and damage at Naval Submarine Base Kings Bay in Kings Bay, Georgia. 

“Thankfully, there was no loss of life here last night. This tornado that came through could have been a lot worse,” base commanding officer Capt. Chester Parks told local media outlets. 

Parks said that a tornado impacted by the southside of the navy base ended up moving north, hitting the base of an RV park on the way. Twelve recreational vehicles were damaged and nine people were transported to the navy base for medical treatment. 

Elsa initially hit Florida earlier this week, and caused the most damage in both the sunshine state and Georgia. The entire storm system touched down this Wednesday along the Gulf Coast in Taylor County, Florida. 

“Winds starting howling in the middle of the night, and rain starting pounding the windows. Never seen anything like this before in my life,” said Johnathan Riches who was staying at a motel in Cedar Key, Florida when the storm hit.

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Hurricanes Continue To Get Stronger As A Result Of Climate Change, According To New Study

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Climate change is still just as much of an issue as it’s been for the best decade, however, the intensity of concern over our planet’s climate crisis has subsided due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Even so, it’s becoming increasingly evident to scientists around the world that major natural events such as hurricanes, typhoons, and tropical cyclones have the potential to become much more deadly as the planet continues to heat up. 

According to a study performed by researchers at the University of Wisconsin and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the probability of storms reaching a hurricane status of category 3, with winds exceeding 110 miles-per-hour, has consecutively increased every decade for the past 40 years. 

“The change is about 8% per decade. In other words, during its lifetime, a hurricane is 8% more likely to be a major hurricane in this decade compared to the last decade,” said Jim Kossin, author of the study.

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The idea that natural disasters get stronger as climate change worsens is not a new concept, and the data has clearly proven this to be correct within the past four decades. The study states that initially researchers were just looking at data from 25 years ago, however, looking back even further would give them even more evidence as to what aspects of man-made global warming that have had the most detrimental effects on the planet. 

“Almost all of the damage and mortality caused by hurricanes is done by major hurricanes (category 3 to 5). Increasing the likelihood of having a major hurricane will certainly increase this risk. The study reveals that global warming has increased sea surface temperature in regions where tropical cyclones form. The combination of these warm temperatures along with changes in atmospheric conditions, have allowed storms to more easily reach higher intensities,” Kossin said.

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Within the past few years specifically, Kossin and his team have been noticing these trends more in the Northern Indian Ocean, but he believes that’s mostly because data collection in that part of the world isn’t as advanced for this type of research, so the disaster occurrences seem much more random when they’re not. This study in particular neglected to include the past two years as well, which Kossin also knows could have skewed the data. 

The research also concluded that global cyclones should be the planet’s top concern for future natural disasters, as they’ve shown the most evidence for growing in intensity as a direct result of global warming. This is due to our ocean temperatures increasing, which results in stronger hurricanes to build out in the middle of the ocean and grow even larger before they hit land. 

“Here, the authors apply an objective technique on four decades of satellite data to create a consistent record of global tropical cyclone intensity, their results are consistent with the theory that increasing sea-surface temperatures are indeed increasing the intensity (but not frequency) of the strongest storms of at least major hurricane strength,” said Ryan Maue, a private industry meteorologist not involved in the recent research.

There are a multitude of natural reasons why these natural disasters have also increased in intensity, however, the evidence is clear. If we want a shot at a more healthy planet in the future, it’s up to us and our world leaders to fix all the damage we’ve caused.

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Typhoon Hagibis Leaves Japan Devastated With One of The Biggest Storms They’ve Ever Seen

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The tropical storm known as ‘Typhoon Hagibis’ touched down in Japan this past Saturday, and left behind a path of total destruction. The death toll has reached 72 so far, and thousands are still left without any heat, power, or running water. According to CNN, the storm is one of the strongest the country has seen in years, so much so that over 110,000 individuals from the fire department, police, military, etc. have been sent to Japan strictly for search and rescue purposes.

Videos from the horrific scenes near Tokyo, where the Typhoon first hit land, have been shared all around social media showing the devastation. One video shows a family of four clinging to each other while being swept away in a flash flood, another of a massive bridge collapsing, killing many. Typhoons in general aren’t completely uncommon for Japan, however, ones of this magnitude are, hence the name Typhoon Hagibis; Hagibis translates to speed. 

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230,000 individuals were originally evacuated before the Typhoon hit, 5,500 of those people currently still remain in storm shelters, and may have to be there indefinitely. CNN reported almost 10,000 homes were completely flooded, 133,000 were left without running clean water and 34,000 homes currently remain without power. That number is extremely low compared to the original 520,000 households that lost power this past weekend. Government officials made a statement claiming citizens should expect to remain without power for at least a week as search and rescue efforts continue to take priority, but restoring power, water, and heat to homes that can handle it and hold multiple people is also high up on the list. 

The intense rains caused over 45 rivers to burst from their structures, inducing over 130 landslides to wipe out hundreds of homes, killing four. According to Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s office who spoke to CNN, “the typhoon brought record-setting heavy rains and windstorms. Hakone, southwest of Tokyo, received almost 1 meter (3.3 feet) of rain within 24 hours. Many areas received up to 40% of their annual rainfall over two days.” 

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“Typhoon Hagibis is on course to be one of the costliest natural disasters to have hit Japan, with insured losses of more than $9 billion. On Tuesday, at a session of the Upper House Budget Committee the government stated they were planning to designate Hagibis a ‘severe natural disaster,’ in order to make municipalities in affected regions eligible for increased state subsidies for reconstruction work,” according to analysts from investment firm Keefe, Bruyette & Woods quoted by industry publication Reinsurance News.

Many industries and businesses are already suffering from the extensive and expensive damage Hagibis has inflicted on the archipelago. The typhoon has blocked or destroyed almost all means of public transportation, which sets back thousands of businesses, all which are already closed anyway due to the damage. About a third of bullet trains, one of the biggest means of transportation throughout Japan, are submerged in flood waters, (CNN). 

When past typhoons have caused billions in damage to Japan, insurance luckily normally covers half to three quarters of all projected costs. The people of Japan are hoping that’s the case this time around as well. Three Rugby world championship matches have been cancelled, making all aspects of life and culture in Japan hit a full stand still.