Storms drench spots on hot, humid D.C. Saturday
Flash flooding occurred in Prince William and Fairfax counties in Virginia, and in Montgomery County in Maryland, according to first reports reaching the National Weather Service. Water overran roads. Trees toppled in spots.
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New York Times
20 minutes ago
- New York Times
Officials in Flooded Texas Defend Response Amid Threats
Kerr County officials said on Monday that they were receiving death threats amid lingering questions about the county's preparation and response to the recent flooding. 'It's sad to see the evil that's out there,' Rich Paces, a Kerr County commissioner, said at the commission's public meeting after disastrous flooding this month left 103 people dead in the county. 'I've been getting death threats. Can you imagine? People cursing us for decisions that we never had a chance to make. They're just playing a blame game.' In a separate meeting Monday morning of the City Council of Kerrville, Brenda Hughes, a council member, lamented 'targeted threats' made to individual staff members and asked for increased security measures. Victims of the flooding included more than two dozen at the Camp Mystic girls camp in the town of Hunt, while another 161 people were still missing across Kerr County. The sprawling rural county in the Texas hill country, with about 50,000 residents, was hit by far the hardest. Local officials have deflected questions for more than a week about why they were not more immediately responsive to warnings issued by the National Weather Service overnight on July 4, as they have grappled with a continuing effort to find bodies and clear debris. Officials at the Weather Service were actively reaching out to emergency management officials in the region after the agency issued a 1:14 a.m. warning of 'life-threatening flash flooding' in the area. But in the first three hours after that, while the Guadalupe River rose 20 feet, local leaders would remain largely unheard from and did not make use of technology that was available to send out warnings. The mayor of Kerrville has said that he was awakened only at 5:30 a.m., despite several more flood warnings that had been automatically sent to cellphones and weather radios. County officials have repeatedly been asked for a timeline of the county's response, but have not provided one, saying their focus is on search and rescue. In a joint statement, the city and county said they 'maintain 24/7 emergency services, which allowed responders to act immediately on July 4th.' They also said they were 'committed to a transparent and full review of processes and protocols.' Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
Yahoo
28 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Palm Beach weather: What town can expect as tropical weather system moves in
A low-pressure system moving west across the state is forecast to drop up to several inches of rain through Tuesday, July 15, in Palm Beach and throughout South Florida, according to the latest updates from the National Weather Service. The tropical disturbance approaching Florida from the Atlantic Ocean will dump between 1 and 3 inches of rain across South Florida with 5 to 7 inches in some isolated areas, the National Weather Service in Miami said in a forecast this morning. The National Weather Service also issued a flood watch for all of South Florida from 2 to 11 p.m. today for a large swath of the coast that includes Palm Beach, while cautioning that there is a marginal risk for severe weather. Palm Beach has not identified any areas for potential flooding with this system, Town Engineer Patricia Strayer told the Daily News via email. More: Flood watch issued for coastal Palm Beach County 2 p.m. through 11 p.m. Monday The town's pump stations were all operational as of this morning, she said. Showers and thunderstorms could bring heavy rain today, and temperatures will be in the low 80s with winds from the southwest at 5 to 10 mph, the National Weather Service said. More thunderstorms are possible overnight into Tuesday afternoon, with south winds at 10 to 15 mph, forecasters said. The low-pressure system has a 30% chance of forming into a stronger tropical cyclone in the next week as it moves off Florida's west coast late Tuesday into the Gulf, the weather service said. Drivers should turn around and not try to drive on flooded roads, the National Weather Service said. Palm Beach has encouraged people to be ready for what forecasters have said will be a busy 2025 hurricane season. "With hurricane season running from June 1 to November 30, the Town of Palm Beach — situated on a vulnerable barrier island — is urging residents, property owners, and visitors to prepare early," Assistant Chief Joe Sekula, Fire-Rescue spokesman, previously told the Daily News. "Hurricanes can bring destructive winds, heavy rain, storm surge, and flooding, so advance planning is essential." In its forecast released May 22, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration predicted a 60% chance of an above-average season. The agency called for between 13 and 19 named storms, with six to 10 forecast to become hurricanes, three to five of which will be major hurricanes at Category 3 or above and with winds of 111 mph or higher. Palm Beach Daily News staff writer Jodie Wagner contributed to this report. Kristina Webb is a reporter for Palm Beach Daily News, part of the USA TODAY Florida Network. You can reach her at kwebb@ Subscribe today to support our journalism. This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Daily News: What Palm Beach can expect as tropical weather system moves in
CNN
an hour ago
- CNN
Extreme rain threatens more flash flooding for millions along the East Coast
FacebookTweetLink Slow-moving summer storms capable of extreme rain are poised to drench the East Coast Monday, threatening millions from North Carolina to New England with even more dangerous flash flooding. Rainfall totals could reach 2 to 4 inches in Monday afternoon and evening's storms, with locally higher amounts greater than 5 inches possible. Flood watches are in effect for more than 44 million people across nine states and the Washington, DC, area. More than 70 million people are in a Level 2 of 4 risk of flooding rain, but a more significant Level 3 out of 4 threat for 20 million people including the Washington, DC, Baltimore and Philadelphia metro areas represents the core of the threat. It's still uncertain exactly where the heaviest storms will bubble up, but showers began developing Monday morning and more will dominate the Northeast by the latter half of the day as temperatures rise. The heaviest storms are likely to arrive by early evening and pose a threat to rush hour commuters. Storms will continue overnight Monday, but most will move off the coast by Tuesday morning. Much of the area inside the flood watch has seen up to 300% of their normal rainfall over the past two weeks. Given that, and the staggering rainfall in parts of central New York and Pennsylvania over the weekend, it won't take much to cause serious flooding in the region. Places along the Berkshires in Massachusetts and Binghamton, New York, recorded as much as 4.5 inches of rain over the past 72 hours. In a typical year, the National Weather Service office in the DC-Baltimore area issues one or two moderate risk rainfall outlooks. This July alone, there have already been three: July 1, 9 and 14. In the past month, there have only been seven days when the DC-Baltimore area wasn't under any excessive rainfall threat. Record-breaking flood events have happened nearly back-to-back in recent weeks, most notably in Texas' Hill Country, where more than 130 people died after catastrophic flooding on July 4. New Mexico, North Carolina and other East Coast states have also seen life-threatening floods and historic rainfall this month. Overwhelming rainfall is becoming more prevalent in a warming world, as rising global temperatures drive weather toward extremes. Hourly rainfall rates have grown heavier in nearly 90% of large US cities since 1970, according to a recent study from the nonprofit research group Climate Central. Storms thrive on warm, moist air, and with the nation approaching peak summer heat, this month has seen the perfect conditions for flooding rain. Heat-driven storms can drop torrential rain and tend to move more slowly and stagnate, as upper-level winds in the atmosphere weaken this time of year. In urban areas, flood risk increases in part due to infrastructure. Many roads, sewers and drainage systems in the US were not designed to handle the kind of extreme rainfall events that are now becoming more common. Concrete and pavement disrupt the natural absorption of water runoff, which keeps rain from soaking into the ground and instead sends it to storm drains that can easily overflow or become clogged with debris.
