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Tropical Storm Melissa stationary in the Caribbean as 4 deaths reported and huge rains expected
National
AP Wire

Tropical Storm Melissa stationary in the Caribbean as 4 deaths reported and huge rains expected

  • By DÁNICA COTO, JOHN MYERS JR. and EVENS SANON - Associated Press
  • Updated

Tropical Storm Melissa is nearly stationary in the central Caribbean, with forecasters warning it could soon strengthen and brush past Jamaica as a powerful hurricane. Catastrophic flooding and landslides are likely in southwest Haiti in the coming days. U.S. forecasters said the storm's slow movement will mean days of exposure to heavy rain and strong winds, which will worsen flooding and other dangers. Melissa had 65 mph winds early Friday. It could strengthen into a hurricane Saturday and a major hurricane later in the weekend. Authorities were opening shelters and making other preparations in Jamaica, Haiti and the Dominican Republic.

Alaska airlifting hundreds from storm-devastated coastal villages
National
AP Wire

Alaska airlifting hundreds from storm-devastated coastal villages

  • By BECKY BOHRER and JESSE BEDAYN - Associated Press
  • Updated

Officials say one of the “most significant” airlifts in Alaska history is underway to evacuate hundreds of people from storm-devastated coastal towns. Officials announced the airlifts Wednesday. Some villages on the state’s southwest coast were inundated by the remnants of Typhoon Halong last weekend. The storm slammed into coastal communities, bringing record-high water levels in some areas. Many homes were swept away, some with people still inside. The storm at one point left about 1,500 residents in makeshift shelters. One person died and two are still missing.

Scientists hope underwater fiber-optic cables can help save endangered orcas
National
AP Wire

Scientists hope underwater fiber-optic cables can help save endangered orcas

  • By ANNIKA HAMMERSCHLAG - Associated Press
  • Updated

Scientists from the University of Washington recently deployed a little over 1 mile of fiber-optic cable in the Salish Sea to test whether internet cables can monitor endangered orcas. The technology is called Distributed Acoustic Sensing. It transforms cables into continuous underwater microphones that can pinpoint whale locations and track their movements. If successful, the world’s 870,000 miles of existing undersea cables could become a vast ocean monitoring network. It could provide real-time data on how marine mammals respond to vessel noise, food scarcity and climate change. The breakthrough would be particularly valuable as new marine protected areas are established under the High Seas Treaty in January.

National
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Officials airlift evacuees to safety after the remnants of Typhoon Halong devastate Alaska villages

  • By BECKY BOHRER, CEDAR ATTANASIO and GENE JOHNSON - Associated Press
  • Updated

Officials in Alaska are rushing to find housing for people from tiny coastal villages devastated by the remnants of Typhoon Halong. But the remote location and severe damage are limiting their options as they race against other impending storms and the onset of winter. High winds and storm surge seawater battered low-lying, isolated Alaska Native communities in western Alaska over the weekend. The Coast Guard plucked two dozen people from their homes after the structures floated out to sea in high water, three people were missing or dead, and hundreds of people were staying in school shelters — including one with no working toilets, officials said. Across the region more than 1,500 people were displaced.

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Rare October storm brings heavy rain and possible mudslides to Southern California

  • By JAIMIE DING and HALLIE GOLDEN - Associated Press
  • Updated

Southern California is getting hit by a rare October storm that's pummeling the region with heavy rain and heavy winds. Mudslides are possible Tuesday. Some homes have been ordered evacuated in wildfire-scarred Los Angeles neighborhoods. Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass said during a news conference Monday night that she was very concerned about the weather. Bass said strike teams, rescue teams and helicopters were all ready to respond. The evacuations covered about 115 homes, mostly in Pacific Palisades and Mandeville Canyon. Wildfires can leave hillsides without vegetation to hold soil in place, making it easier for the terrain to loosen during storms.

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Tropical Storm Lorenzo churns over open water in the Atlantic Ocean

  • AP

Tropical Storm Lorenzo is churning in the central tropical Atlantic Ocean but is not threatening land, according to forecasters. On Tuesday, the storm was about 1,330 miles west of the Cape Verde Islands with maximum sustained winds of 60 mph. The U.S. National Hurricane Center in Miami reported it was moving northwest at 15 mph. No coastal watches or warnings are in effect. The storm is described as “poorly organized,” with tropical storm force winds extending up to 175 miles from the center. It is expected to turn northward and then toward the northeast in the coming days.

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Tropical Storm Lorenzo gets slightly stronger in the Atlantic Ocean but isn't threatening land

  • AP

Forecasters say Tropical Storm Lorenzo has gotten slightly stronger in the central tropical Atlantic Ocean but still is not threatening land. The U.S. National Hurricane Center says Monday that the storm was located about 2,005 miles west of the Cape Verde Islands and had maximum sustained winds of 60 mph. It was moving northwest at 13 mph. No coastal watches or warnings are in effect. Forecasters say the storm was expected to turn northward on Tuesday, with some gradual intensification possible by midweek. The forecast track through Saturday shows Lorenzo staying out in the ocean and away from land.

National
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As Tropical Storm Jerry churns in the Atlantic, Priscilla and a nor'easter threaten US with flooding

  • AP
  • Updated

Tropical Storm Raymond has formed in the eastern Pacific Ocean. It is the third system now off the western coast of Mexico. The U.S. National Hurricane Center in Miami says Raymond is about 115 miles south-southeast of Zihuatanejo, Mexico. It has maximum sustained winds of 45 mph and is traveling west-northwest at 14 mph. At the same time, Tropical Storm Priscilla remains off the western coast of Mexico and is bringing rain to the Baja California peninsula. The former tropical storm Octave also churned in the eastern Pacific near Mexico but was downgraded Thursday morning to a post-tropical cyclone and was expected to dissipate soon.