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CBS News
an hour ago
- CBS News
Cold Front Brings Showers to Maryland as Erin Stays Offshore
A cold front moving across Maryland today will bring showers and a few rumbles of thunder before pushing through tonight, setting the stage for cooler, breezier conditions as Hurricane Erin tracks well offshore. Low clouds and drizzle lingered across parts of Maryland this morning, while scattered showers developed in the mountains. As the front edges closer, additional showers and thunderstorms are expected this afternoon and evening. While a couple of storms could briefly turn stronger in western Maryland, widespread severe weather isn't expected. By tonight, showers will spread across much of the state with low clouds and patchy fog developing again. Overnight temperatures will dip into the mid-60s to low 70s, a bit cooler in the higher terrain. Thursday will feel noticeably different as Erin passes offshore. The storm won't make landfall in Maryland, but its wide circulation will send gusty north to northeast winds into the region. Along the Chesapeake Bay and especially at the beaches, gusts could reach 30 to 35 mph. A wind advisory is in effect for the Maryland coastline, where high waves, minor coastal flooding, beach erosion, and dangerous rip currents are expected. Temperatures will also take a step down Thursday, with highs mainly in the mid-70s to low 80s, cooler in the mountains. By Friday, conditions turn drier with more sunshine, lighter winds, and highs edging back toward the upper 70s and low 80s. Looking toward the weekend, high pressure briefly settles in before another cold front approaches. Saturday should stay seasonable and mostly dry, but scattered showers and storms could pop west of the Blue Ridge. Sunday brings the best chance for showers and thunderstorms as the next front arrives, with a few storms potentially turning strong. By early next week, the front clears the state, ushering in a stretch of lower humidity and plenty of sunshine. Highs will hold in the upper 70s to low 80s by Tuesday, but with refreshing dew points dropping into the 50s. For now, the biggest concern remains along the coast, where Hurricane Erin's offshore track will churn up the surf. Beachgoers should expect rough seas and avoid swimming as dangerous rip currents build through Thursday.
CBS News
3 hours ago
- CBS News
Heavy rain falls in parts of North Texas Wednesday morning ahead of another heat advisory
Amid the hottest stretch of weather of the 2025 so far, morning commutes in parts of North Texas were slowed by heavy rain. The rain started to the northwest of the Metroplex and moved south and east, from Wise County into Denton, Tarrant and Dallas Counties. Some highways slowed to a crawl. The rain will keep moving south throughout Wednesday morning. The threat of severe storms is low; areas south of the Metroplex are under a marginal threat, the National Weather Service's lowest level of concern. After the rain moves out, temperatures will increase throughout the day. For the third day in a row, much of North Texas is under a heat advisory until 7 p.m. Feels-like temperatures could reach as high as 109 in some areas.
Yahoo
4 hours ago
- Yahoo
Outer Banks braces for 'sadness and devastation' as Hurricane Erin roars by
The center of Hurricane Erin will roar past North Carolina's Outer Banks at a distance of less than 300 miles, setting up a vulnerable region for an intense battering as forecasters warn of two-story waves towering in the ocean and storm surge rushing inland that could destroy dunes, threaten beachfront houses and flood roads. The ribbon of narrow, barrier islands is home to tens of thousands of permanent residents, but its population swells during the summer and more than 2 million people visit the region yearly. The Outer Banks' remote beaches, dunes and oceanfront houses, are among the "most dynamic natural landscapes occupied by man," U.S. Geological Survey scientists wrote in 2016. As Erin tracked north, surfers took advantage of the building swells and others evacuated along Highway 12, the sole highway that connects the Outer Banks. Officials warned the road – known to flood even during seasonal high tides – could be impassable for days. Long popular with beach dwellers and tourists for its scenic vistas and remote ambiance, the Outer Banks have more recently become known for the homes on eroded beaches that collapse into the ocean during hurricanes, winter nor'easters and other tidal events. But islanders say the videos can't convey the enormous complexities of the challenges their communities face. 85713635007 Connected by the highway, the islands jut out into the ocean along a narrow point of the continental shelf, making them particularly vulnerable to high water, waves and the powerful forces of the ocean. 'It probably gets the highest wave energy on the East Coast south of Nantucket and Cape Cod,' said Rob Young, director of the Program for the Study of Developed Shorelines at Western Carolina University. 'You can capture waves from so many directions.' As the center of Erin passes about 270 miles east of Cape Hatteras, the hurricane is expected to generate large breaking waves of 8 to 20 feet in the surf zone. Those waves could be on top of a sea surging as much as 4 feet above dry ground, causing erosion and coastal flooding that could go on for days. Outer Banks native Danny Couch couldn't remember when they were last hit with 20-foot waves, but he thinks the waves might be comparable to Hurricane Isabel in 2003, a historic storm that made landfall over the North Carolina coast. Nearly a year ago to the day, Hurricane Ernesto followed a similar path, even further offshore. Within weeks, four houses collapsed. In total, six houses were lost last year in Cape Hatteras National Seashore, federally protected land which stretches for miles along the beaches of this island chain. If another house, or two or three, are lost to the sea in Erin's wake, it's sure to stir up another storm among the residents and property owners over how to address this peril from the sea. Challenges like this are "everywhere," not just on the Outer Banks, Young said. For example, he pointed to communities along the Northeast Florida coast, in Flagler and St. Johns counties, which face similar issues with abandoned homes now surrounded by water during high tide events. Systems are 'out of equilibrium with where the shoreline would naturally be," he said. 'Sought after, treasured and costly' Geologist Orrin Pilkey once wrote that barrier islands – 'the most dynamic real estate in the United States – are the most sought after, treasured and costly.' The islands that became the Outer Banks fringing the North Carolina coast first appeared 15,000 years ago, when sea levels dropped and the nation's shoreline migrated inward from the continental shelf, Young said. Couch was just a boy when he first saw a home fall into the ocean. It was 1968, said the real estate agent and former county commissioner. A few more houses collapsed in the early 1970s, Couch said. Since the 1990s, the pace of collapse has picked up. 'It's not an isolated occurrence anymore, it's the new normal," Couch said. "When you're a kid, watching with your friends, it's exciting,' he said. 'But you're watching someone's life savings headed into the ocean.' Eleven homes have collapsed within the national seashore in Rodanthe since May 2020, according to the national seashore. And it's no longer just houses that were built directly on the beach. Dare County property records show some of the now-threatened homes were originally a few houses off the beach. Erosion from both sides 'There's always been shoreline change,' but not nearly as rapid as what we've seen over the last two to three decades," Young said. "That is a result of sea level rise.' 'Changing sea levels drive shoreline change,' he said. But, he adds: 'It's really important to remember the problem is not shoreline change. The problem is us wanting to be in those places.' As the water is likely to demonstrate as Erin batters the coast, the islands face threats not only from the ocean, but also from the large bodies of water to the west, the Albemarle, Pamlico and Currituck Sounds. Water levels also are rising in those waterways. At the Alligator River National Wildlife Refuge, across the sounds from the barrier islands, the land bears visible markers of rising sea levels, such as remnants of a dock that mark where the edge of the land used to be, and scrubby freshwater lowlands that are transitioning to salty coastal marsh. The waterways – also subject to wind and surge – can wash over Highway 12 toward the ocean during storms and high tide events. The islands suffer erosion from both directions, according to a December report from the National Park Service over how to address the impacts of the threatened structures. In some spots, the spit of land that holds the highway can be less than 1,000 feet from sound to sea and shrinking. Officials have been trying to hold the highway in place since it was built, Young said. Protecting it is getting harder and more expensive all the time, he said. Myriad other legal and insurance issues surround decisions about when a private home can be condemned and the rights of property owners and landlords who make money on summer rentals in many of the threatened homes. The issues include debate over whether insurers should pay for a condemned home to be dismantled before it becomes a hazardous waste site with septic lines, siding and shingles washing into the ocean, and conflict over the use of rock revetments and seawalls, which some coastal scientists have concluded make the problems worse in the long run. Shoring up dunes with sand isn't always the solution to beach protection either, and has disrupted natural processes that help to sustain the islands, according to the report. Some communities find their multi-million-dollar beach renourishment projects aren't lasting as long as they'd hoped, Young said. Big storms can wash away tons of sand in a matter of hours. Local, state and federal officials have worked on remedies for decades, including multiple dredging projects and new bridges, but still they wage the battle against sand and sea. Read more: As one home falls into Atlantic Ocean, others at risk Incredible erosion Dare County, home to an estimated yearround population of an estimated 37,000, has paid for its own projects to restore sand to local beaches, Young said. But in Rodanthe, where 11 houses have collapsed in the national seashore since May 2020, he said the county turned down a request to do another beach restoration. 'We're going to have to start having conversations about where we can take a step back from the oceanfront on the Outer Banks," Young said. He makes it clear he's not suggesting the Outer Banks be abandoned. 'It's just that we need to be spending our money in the places that are actually sustainable,' he said, 'and make sure we're not wasting money on places we're going to have to walk away from anyway.' Resident and professional photographer Jenni Koontz documents the change. Through her lenses, she sees the beauty of a glassy ocean and rolling waves and 'the sadness and devastation' that can occur in just one day when rough seas arrive. Some people find it difficult to comprehend the incredible erosion that has taken place and how quickly the sand can disappear, then jump to conclusions when they see viral videos, she said. 'People don't understand the science behind the photos,' she said. She hopes that over time her photos will help bring more attention to the plight of the Outer Banks, and perhaps make a difference for its future. Dinah Voyles Pulver, a national correspondent for USA TODAY, has covered violent weather, the environment, climate change and other news for decades. Reach her at dpulver@ or @dinahvp on Bluesky or X or dinahvp.77 on Signal. This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Hurricane Erin to bring devastating waves, flooding to Outer Banks
