US braces for intense hurricane season as climate agency is gutted
NOAA is forecasting a 60 percent chance of an above-normal season, with between 13 to 19 named storms with winds of 63km/h or higher.
Of those, six to 10 are expected to become hurricanes with winds of 74 mph or higher, including three to five major hurricanes classed as categories three, four, or five, with sustained winds of at least 111 mph.
There is also a 30 percent chance of a near-normal season and a 10 percent chance of a below-normal season, the agency said.
The administration is also seeking to dismantle the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), calling for it to be shut down and its duties instead handed to individual states.
FEMA's acting head, Cameron Hamilton -- who was appointed by the Trump administration -- was fired earlier this month after saying that eliminating the agency was not "in the best interests of the American people."
- Warming oceans -
The forecast cites a confluence of factors: neutral conditions in the El Nino–Southern Oscillation (ENSO) climate pattern, warmer-than-average ocean temperatures, predictions of weak wind shear, and increased activity from the West African Monsoon -- the starting point for Atlantic hurricanes.
"As we witnessed last year with significant inland flooding from hurricanes Helene and Debby, the impacts of hurricanes can reach far beyond coastal communities," said Acting NOAA Administrator Laura Grimm in a statement.
"NOAA is critical for the delivery of early and accurate forecasts and warnings, and provides the scientific expertise needed to save lives and property."
But Rick Spinrad, the former NOAA administrator, told AFP he was deeply concerned about the agency's ability to respond following mass layoffs of meteorologists, technicians and other key personnel, spearheaded by Elon Musk's so-called "Department of Government Efficiency."
"I worry about the ability to fly the aircraft, run the models, answer the phones as these storms start bearing down on the country -- at the same time that the Weather Service is going to have to be dealing with tornadoes, wildfires, floods, extreme precipitation," said Spinrad.
Seawater temperatures have been rising for decades as a result of burning fossil fuels, Spinrad added. "So it's not a surprise, and undoubtedly, climate change has contributed to some of the ocean temperatures that are a major factor in this forecast."
President Donald Trump is seeking to cut NOAA's research operations budget by $1.3 billion next year. Project 2025 -- the conservative blueprint the administration is using to guide its second-term agenda -- has labelled the agency a key driver of "climate alarmism."
Last year, five storms that were big enough that they were assigned names caused economic losses exceeding a billion dollars, adjusted for inflation, according to NOAA.
The deadliest of these was Helene, responsible for 250 US deaths — the most since Hurricane Katrina in 2005.
The Trump administration announced earlier this month it will stop updating its billion-dollar disaster database, which for 44 years illustrated the rising cost of climate destabilisation.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
eNCA
19 hours ago
- eNCA
Downgraded Hurricane Erin lashes Caribbean with rain
SAN JUAN - Offshore Hurricane Erin was downgraded to a Category 3 storm early Sunday, as rain lashed Caribbean islands and weather officials warned of possible flash floods and landslides. The first hurricane of what is expected to be a particularly intense Atlantic season, Erin briefly strengthened into a "catastrophic" Category 5 storm before its windspeeds weakened. It is expected to lash several Caribbean islands with heavy rain and strong winds but not make landfall. Hurricane Erin was located about 225 kilometers north of San Juan, Puerto Rico, at 0600 GMT, when it was gauged as a Category 3 storm with maximum sustained winds of 205 kilometers per hour, according to the Miami-based National Hurricane Center (NHC). "The core of Erin is expected to pass to the east of the Turks and Caicos Islands and the southeastern Bahamas tonight and Monday," the NHC said in its latest report, noting that it anticipated additional fluctuations in the storm's intensity. A tropical storm watch was in effect for Turks and Caicos Islands, while the Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico and the southeast and central Bahamas were advised to monitor its progress. NOAA/AFP | Handout Hurricane Erin had reached the highest level on the Saffir-Simpson scale just over 24 hours after becoming a Category 1 storm, a rapid intensification that scientists say has become more common due to global warming. It could drench isolated areas with as much as 20 centimeters of rain, the NHC said. "Fluctuations in intensity are expected over the next day or two due to inner-core structural changes. Erin is becoming a larger system," the agency said. It also warned of "locally considerable flash and urban flooding, along with landslides or mudslides." - Climate hazard - In Luquillo, a coastal town of Puerto Rico, surfers rode the swells while beachgoers milled about the shore on an overcast Saturday before the storm approached, AFP images show. Swells generated by Erin will affect portions of the northern Leeward Islands, Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico, Hispaniola and the Turks and Caicos Islands during the next couple of days. Those swells will spread to the Bahamas, Bermuda and the US East Coast early next week, creating "life-threatening surf and rip currents," the NHC said. While meteorologists have expressed confidence that Erin will remain well off the US coastline, they said the storm could still cause dangerous waves and erosion in places such as North Carolina. AFP | Ricardo ARDUENGO The Atlantic hurricane season, which runs from June until late November, is expected to be more intense than normal, US meteorologists predict. Several powerful storms wreaked havoc in the region last year, including Hurricane Helene, which killed more than 200 people in the southeastern United States. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration -- which operates the NHC -- has been subject to budget cuts and layoffs as part of US President Donald Trump's plans to greatly reduce the size of the federal bureaucracy, leading to fears of lapses in storm forecasting. Human-driven climate change -- namely, rising sea temperatures caused by the burning of fossil fuels -- has increased both the possibility of the development of more intense storms and their more rapid intensification, scientists say.
eNCA
04-08-2025
- eNCA
17 heat records broken in Japan
Seventeen heat records were broken in Japan on Monday, the weather agency said, after the country sweltered through its hottest ever June and July. Heatwaves are becoming more intense and frequent worldwide because of human-caused climate change, scientists say, and Japan is no exception. The city of Komatsu, in the central region of Ishikawa, saw a new record of 40.3 degrees Celsius on Monday, the Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) said. Toyama city in Toyama prefecture, also in the central region, hit 39.8C, the highest temperature since records began, according to the JMA. Fifteen other locations across cities and towns soared to new highs between 35.7C and 39.8C, added the JMA, which monitors temperatures at more than 900 points in Japan. On July 30, Japan experienced its highest recorded temperature, a sizzling 41.2C in the western region of Hyogo. The rainy season ended about three weeks earlier than usual in western regions of Japan, another record. With low levels of rainfall and heat, several dams in the northern region were almost empty, the land ministry said, with farmers worried that a water shortage and extreme heat could result in a poor harvest. Experts warn Japan's beloved cherry trees are blooming earlier due to the warmer climate, or sometimes not fully blossoming because autumns and winters are not cold enough to trigger flowering. The famous snowcap of Mount Fuji was absent for the longest recorded period last year, not appearing until early November, compared with the average of early October. Japan this year had its hottest June and July since data collection began in 1898, with the weather agency warning of further "severe heat" in the months ahead. The speed of temperature increases across the world is not uniform. Of the continents, Europe has seen the fastest warming per decade since 1990, followed closely by Asia, according to global data from the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).
The Citizen
30-07-2025
- The Citizen
Waves hit Hawaii and California after 1 of Russia's biggest recorded earthquakes
The first waves triggered by a massive 8.8 earthquake off Russia's coast have reached the shores of Hawaii and California in the United States. The earthquake sparked tsunami warnings and evacuations across the Pacific. The BBC, which is tracking the latest developments as the tsunami threat continues to ripple across the Pacific Ocean, says that while there are no reports of any injuries or fatalities in Russia, photos from towns and areas around the far eastern coast show buildings destroyed, ports submerged and people being evacuated by officials. 'Waves generated by the tsunami have started to hit American shores along Hawaii's islands and off the coast of northern California. 'Hawaiian officials have downgraded tsunami alerts to an advisory level, and told residents that they may return home with caution,' the BBC reports. 'Western US states, including Washington, Oregon and Alaska, as well as Canada's British Columbia, are on alert with waves expected to hit in the coming hours; warnings of varied levels have also been issued for Ecuador, Indonesia, Peru, Colombia and Japan,' reports the BBC. Nearly two million people in Japan have been ordered to evacuate in parts of the country. Initial waves reaching Japan have been smaller than predicted, but its meteorological agency says they could grow to 3m. According to NBC News, the Japanese meteorological agency has downgraded some of its tsunami warnings to advisories. 'All areas except for the Pacific Coast of northern Hokkaido island and the northern Tohoku region of Honshu main island have been downgraded to an advisory, Masashi Kiyomoto, an agency official, told reporters today.' The National Weather Service in Los Angeles says the Port San Luis gauge shows a rapid and damaging surge, going from low to high tide in just a few minutes. 'Do not return to inundated areas as waters will recede, but could return multiple times through the next 24 hours, and the first wave may not be the largest,' it warns. According to Sky News, this is the sixth-biggest earthquake on record to hit off Russia, which has now cancelled tsunami warnings for two regions. 'Regional authorities on the Kamchatka Peninsula and the Kiril Islands – the two worst hit areas in Russia – say that the warnings have ended. However, possible aftershocks and further large waves are still possible,' Sky News reports. The Philippines has also cancelled its tsunami advisory. The country's Institute of Volcanology and Seismology says: 'Based on available data from our sea level monitoring stations facing the Philippine Sea, no significant sea level disturbances nor destructive tsunami waves have been recorded since the 07:25 earthquake up until this cancellation. 'With this, any effects due to minor sea level disturbances have largely passed, and therefore, Dost-phivolcs has now cancelled the recommendations issued for this event.' Breaking news at your fingertips… Follow Caxton Network News on Facebook and join our WhatsApp channel. Nuus wat saakmaak. Volg Caxton Netwerk-nuus op Facebook en sluit aan by ons WhatsApp-kanaal. Read original story on
