Lakewood High grads celebrate commencement in Clearwater
After Hurricane Milton damaged Tropicana Field, the traditional venue for Pinellas County Schools graduations, changes were necessary.
This year's graduating classes will hold ceremonies at Clearwater's Baycare Sound and Ruth Eckerd Hall, and Tampa's Yuengling Center.
Lakewood was one of four schools holding commencement ceremonies on Wednesday at the Sound.
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2 hours ago
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2025 hurricane season could see degraded forecasts because of weather service cuts
South Florida plunges deeper into the 2025 hurricane season with its National Weather Service office in Miami down five meteorologists, a deficit that gives it the highest vacancy rate among Florida's five weather forecasting offices. According to the National Weather Service Employees Organization, Key West has four meteorologist positions that are unfilled. Tallahassee is down three. Melbourne and Tampa have two empty seats each. The shortages have some experts worried that public services and forecasts may suffer this hurricane season, which is expected to again have above-normal activity. 'They won't have as much time to monitor what is going on at the local level, especially with short-fused warnings,' said James Franklin, former branch chief of the Hurricane Specialist Unit at the National Hurricane Center about the local forecast offices. 'When they are short-staffed, two people have to do the job of three.' While the National Hurricane Center forecasts the big picture for tropical cyclones — path, strength and size — the weather forecasting offices focus on the details for local communities. And those details are critical, such as when Hurricane Milton shredded the state with 45 tornadoes in October, leaving six people dead in the Spanish Lakes Country Club Village mobile-home community in Fort Pierce. The Miami NWS office forecasts for seven counties, including Palm Beach County. The meteorologists in weather forecasting offices are also responsible for working directly with county officials, translating the forecasts into the impacts and hazards that could be felt by individual communities. Sometimes they embed in emergency operations centers to better help local officials decide when and who to evacuate as a storm approaches. 2025 hurricane season : New forecast calls for above normal season but questions remain 'It's not so much that the National Hurricane Center won't be able to get a forecast out, they will, but the local services will be degraded,' Franklin said. It's unclear yet how many of the vacancies at the nation's 122 local forecast offices are a direct result of the Trump administration's Department of Government Efficiency budget cuts. Tom Fahy, legislative director of the National Weather Service Employees Organization, said his office is working now to parse out that information from the 600 positions that were lost across the country this year. About half of those were voluntary early retirements, while 108 were fired probationary employees. The remainder were voluntary deferred resignations, Fahy said. The NWS has since announced it wants to hire 126 people, and it's asking for current employees to transfer to offices in need of critical positions including meteorologists, science and operations officers and warning-coordination meteorologists. Miami and Key West are on that list as offices in need. 'The National Weather Service is doing their very level best to fill the critical vacancies ASAP, but when that will happen is to be determined,' Fahy said. 'We have hurricane season, but in California wildfire season has started, so we have two different weather disasters.' Ken Graham, director of the NWS, said in May that local offices will get additional resources where needed during emergencies. 'Every warning is going to go out,' Graham said. Although Graham, and the U.S. Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick, have said that the National Hurricane Center is fully staffed, Fahy said there are five openings at the Miami-based hurricane center. Those include a hurricane specialist, who forecasts the track, intensity and size of storms, a marine forecaster, and positions that maintain and update operational software. More: Hurricane hunters save lives, but NOAA plane breakdowns, staffing shortages put them at risk Franklin said it's typical for there to be a small number of vacancies at any given time at the NHC, and that while it is not fully staffed, 'they are reasonably well staffed.' 'I don't think that is true with the weather forecast offices,' Franklin said. Fahy said Miami's NWS office has a 38% vacancy rate among its meteorologists. Key West was second highest at 30%. There are six offices nationwide — none in Florida — that have shuttered their typical 24-hour operations between 11 p.m. and 6 a.m., Fahy said. Others have reduced their twice-daily weather balloon launches, which are important for measuring temperature, humidity and pressure in the atmosphere, as well as tracking wind speed and direction. The Washington Post previously reported that since March 20, 17% of balloon launches nationwide that should have occurred didn't because of staffing losses. A weather balloon that fails to launch in the Great Plains may not seem like it could hinder hurricane forecasts, but the lack of information on upper air movements — steering winds — can leave blind spots. 'I think it's safe to say that because of the reduction in weather balloon launches, that some forecasts this summer for hurricanes will be degraded,' Franklin said. 'The problem is it will be difficult to predict when those degradations might occur, how large they might be, and even after the fact, we might not now whether a particular forecast is bad because some launches didn't happen.' Jeff Masters, a meteorologist who writes for Yale Climate Connections, said he believes the loss of balloon data could mean the hurricane forecast cone will be too small this season, 'giving people overconfidence in the accuracy of the hurricane forecasts.' 'Such overconfidence can result in delayed evacuation decisions and failure to take adequate measures to protect lives and property,' Masters said. Kimberly Miller is a journalist for The Palm Beach Post, part of the USA Today Network of Florida. She covers real estate, weather, and the environment. Subscribe to The Dirt for a weekly real estate roundup. If you have news tips, please send them to kmiller@ Help support our local journalism, subscribe today. This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Hurricane Season 2025 forecasts could be hurt by Trump budget cuts
Yahoo
10 hours ago
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Lake Bonny residents brace for new hurricane season after Milton's devastating flooding
The Brief The flood water remained in neighborhoods for nearly a month, destroying homes and lives. Earlier this year, residents created a petition calling for an independent investigation into flooding after Milton. A watershed study is being done to identify possible flooding sources and potential flood relief options. LAKELAND, Fla. - Lake Bonny residents are gearing up for another hurricane season, nearly nine months after Hurricane Milton caused devastating flooding. What they're saying Nicki Aldahonda-Ramirez has made progress rebuilding her home on Honey Tree Lane, but it's still under mid-construction. Follow FOX 13 on YouTube "It is nice to have an actual bathroom that's completed," she said. "All of the walls are new. The floors are new." In the middle of the night during Milton, she, her roommate and their dogs had to escape out the front window after water from Lake Bonny, five feet high, rushed inside. "I have night terrors now that the water's coming in," said Aldahonda-Ramirez. "I scream at night when I'm asleep." The backstory The flooding lasted for weeks until state officials and the Army Corps of Engineers brought in industrial pumps to help move water into Lake Parker. Earlier this year, frustrated residents created a petition calling for an independent investigation into the flooding and how the city, Polk County, and the Southwest Florida Water Management District (SWFTMD) plan to prevent it from happening again. Homeowners also demanded disclosure of drainage system maintenance records, and long-term mitigation efforts, including the formation of a citizen oversight committee. "We're asking for [the city] to have a more open line of communication, not just with us, but with Polk County and SWFTMD, because everybody has to work collaboratively for this to work," said Aldahonda-Ramirez. Additionally, neighbors are asking the city for a dedicated phone number for them to report when water levels get too high and for city officials to communicate when flooding is expected. The other side In regard to their concerns, city spokesperson, Kevin Cook, declined FOX 13's request for an interview. Big picture view A positive of this nightmare, Aldahonda-Ramirez says, is that her neighbors have become stronger than the storm. "The neighborhood came together. Who has this or that? I have toilets and electricity. We went from not knowing each other just by going past and waving to actually coming together as one," she said. What's next A watershed study is being done to identify possible flooding sources and potential flood relief options. Cook said it's now expected to be completed by August. The Source The information in this story was gathered by FOX 13's Carla Bayron. WATCH FOX 13 NEWS: STAY CONNECTED WITH FOX 13 TAMPA: Download the FOX Local app for your smart TV Download FOX Local mobile app:Apple |Android Download the FOX 13 News app for breaking news alerts, latest headlines Download the SkyTower Radar app Sign up for FOX 13's daily newsletter
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10 hours ago
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Hay bales on Bradenton Beach safeguard sea turtles
The Brief The 2024 hurricane season washed away sand dunes, sea oats and other vegetation which helped protect nesting sea turtles. Hay bales are now used to help block light and keep turtles on the right track. A female loggerhead sea turtle was recently rescued from inside a swimming pool after bypassing two fences. BRADENTON BEACH, Fla. - Bradenton Beach saw extreme damage from hurricanes Helene and Milton. Not only were homes and businesses destroyed, but were the beach dunes and all the vegetation that helps protect the coastline and the animals that visit the beach, including sea turtles. Right now, as Florida enters peak nesting season, Manatee County came up with a unique idea to protect nesting. OTHER NEWS: Turtle nests delay temporary fix to Manasota Key Road Hurricane Helene's storm surge washed away dunes, sea oats and local vegetation. All played a role in protecting sea turtles and their hatchlings from light that can disorient or confuse them. What they're saying "We were all trying to find out about what we could do to help the turtles so we could keep them from getting into the road. We wanted to be proactive, we wanted to be preventative and make sure the turtles were safe," said Kristen Mazzarella, the Executive Director of the Anna Maria Island Turtle Watch and Shorebird monitoring. The backstory Manatee County Natural Resources came up with the idea. Crews went to work and staked organic, seed-free hay as barriers for the turtles. Seed-free hay ensures nothing will take root on Bradenton Beach that doesn't belong there and helps keep the beach as natural as possible. The Anna Maria Island Turtle Watch was pleased with the idea. "The hay bales are here blocking the rock revetments, so the hatchlings can make their way into the rock revetments. Also, it's blocking the adult turtles from getting into the road. There's a lot of areas they'd have direct access into the road, and it's turning them to a different direction," said Mazzarella. With the hay bales now in place, Manatee County and the Anna Maria Island Turtle Watch are asking visitors to keep their hands off and let the hay do its job. In keeping the turtles safe through another nesting season with a few new challenges. What's next As of June 5, 2024, the Anna Maria Island Turtle Watch documented 149 turtle nests along the beaches of Anna Maria Island. If you find a sea turtle in distress (adult or hatchling), call AMITW at 941-301-8434 or FWC at 888-404-3922. The Source Information was gathered by FOX 13's Kimberly Kuizon. STAY CONNECTED WITH FOX 13 TAMPA: Download the FOX Local app for your smart TV Download FOX Local mobile app: Apple | Android Download the FOX 13 News app for breaking news alerts, latest headlines Download the SkyTower Radar app Sign up for FOX 13's daily newsletter Follow FOX 13 on YouTube
