Latest news with #mid-Atlantic
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Climate
- Yahoo
Kentucky Tornado Leaves 1 Dead, Several Injuries, Widespread Damage
At least one person died in Washington County, Kentucky, when a powerful tornado left widespread damage Friday morning. The county's sheriff's office confirmed the death and multiple injuries in a Facebook post at 9:48 a.m. EDT, about two hours after the twister struck the area located about 50 miles southwest of Lexington. "Please be respectful during this time. Prayers are needed for this family and our county," the sheriff's office also said. (MORE: Canada Wildfires To Create Unhealthy Air For Millions In Midwest) The National Weather Service will survey the damage today. According to NOAA's database, this is the 63rd tornado death in the United States in 2025, and the 20th in Kentucky. "The tornado occurred in a supercell thunderstorm that formed ahead of an area of low pressure tracking through Kentucky this morning," said senior digital meteorologist Chris Dolce. "The severe weather risk has ended in central Kentucky, but parts of the mid-Atlantic, Carolinas and Georgia could see storms produce wind damage, hail and an isolated tornado threat the rest of today." For more information on the severe weather threat in the Southeast later today, click here. This is a developing story; please check back frequently for updates.
Yahoo
3 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
Rare tick-borne illness moving south to Maryland, study says
A tick-borne illness typically found in the Northeast is moving farther south, and the Baltimore region is one of Maryland's hot spots, according to a study released last month. Cases of babesiosis, a rare disease most commonly spread by bites from deer ticks, are growing in Maryland and the mid-Atlantic region, according to a study published in the Journal of Medical Entomology, and so is the range of ticks infected with the parasite that causes the disease. While the idea of a new tick-borne disease to watch out for can be worrisome, researchers are aiming to ensure that residents and health care providers are informed about the illness and its growing threat in the area, especially as summer approaches. 'It's not a freak-out issue because we can diagnose it and we have a cure,' said Ellen Stromdahl, an entomologist who worked at the Defense Centers for Public Health's vector-borne disease laboratory in Aberdeen. 'It's an awareness issue.' Stromdahl was one of nearly two dozen researchers who collected and tested ticks in Maryland, Delaware and Virginia, looking for ones that carried the parasite that causes babesiosis. Less than 3% of the deer ticks researchers tested were found to be infected with the parasite, according to the study. Maryland's Eastern Shore and the Baltimore region are hot spots for ticks carrying babesiosis, the study says. Many people with babesiosis don't feel sick or have symptoms, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, but some may experience flu-like symptoms such as a fever, chills, sweating, body aches, appetite loss, nausea or fatigue. Symptoms may start a week after being infected, but typically develop over the course of a few weeks or months. The illness can be worse — even life-threatening — for older people or for those who have weakened immune systems. 'It's rare, but if it's overlooked, the consequences can be really bad,' Stromdahl said. The number of reported cases of babesiosis in Maryland remains low, though data from the Maryland Department of Health show an increase over the past decade. In 2023, for instance, there were 29 reported babesiosis cases in Maryland — a jump from seven cases in 2022 and 13 cases in 2021. Lyme disease, Maryland's most common tick-borne illness, is far more prevalent, with 2,463 probable cases reported in 2023. Some symptoms of Lyme disease can be similar to babesiosis, but the two illnesses are treated differently, Stromdahl said. Doctors generally prescribe antibiotics for Lyme disease. But if you're still sick even after taking antibiotics, it may be time to return to the doctor and ask about babesiosis, Stromdahl said. If you spend time outside in grassy, bushy or wooded areas, wear long pants and a long-sleeved shirt. When you come inside, check your clothing and body for any ticks. And if you find a tick, remove it quickly using tweezers. You can dispose of the tick by putting it in a sealed bag or submersing it in alcohol. If you're bitten by a tick, you can save it to show to a doctor, too, Stromdahl said. Have a news tip? Contact Natalie Jones at najones@
ITV News
4 days ago
- Climate
- ITV News
Summer starts with a soaking as mixed weather to continue
Meteorological summer begins this Sunday, but don't pack away the umbrellas just yet. While warmer, more humid air is on the way, bringing the potential for highs of 25-26C in sunnier spots, a fresh wave of unsettled weather is expected to dampen the start of the season. With rain, brisk winds, and only fleeting sunshine on the cards, it's a summer kick-off that feels more spring than sizzle. After a shift in the weather since the long Bank Holiday weekend, some areas have finally seen some much-needed rain. That said, it hasn't been a washout by any means. Several days have brought sunnier skies, contributing to what has already been a record-breaking month for sunshine hours, both for May and for spring as a whole. Despite brisk winds, showers, and occasional longer spells of rain, it has stayed on the mild side thanks to the moisture in the air. As we approach the end of the month, temperatures are set to rise, potentially reaching 25-26C, or even higher, in any sunshine on Saturday. This is due to warmer, more humid air being drawn up from the Continent. However, it won't be a settled, sunny setup. A westerly breeze and outbreaks of rain are expected, particularly in the north and west. This mixed and changeable weather pattern will continue into the first few days of June. Meteorological summer officially begins at the start of the month (though nature's summer is more often marked by the solstice later in June). With it, we say goodbye to the consistent high-pressure systems that brought dry, sunny conditions through much of spring. Instead, low-pressure systems will move in from the mid-Atlantic, accompanied by brisk westerly winds and rain, again, most frequent in the north and west, much like this past week. Some days will be wetter than others, but there will be a mix of sunshine and scattered showers, all moving through fairly quickly on the westerly flow. Temperatures will feel noticeably cooler at times. After a muggy spell in southern and southeastern areas this week and into the weekend, expect a fresher feel in the days to come. The good news? With the longest days of the year approaching, there are plenty of daylight hours for skies to clear and weather to improve. There's a high chance of clearer, brighter evenings on the horizon. What is meteorological Summer? Summer in the meteorological calendar covers the duration of June, July and August, or by the astronomical calendar it begins around mid-June on a day referred to as the summer solstice.
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Climate
- Yahoo
Storms may cut power, hinder travel in eastern US at week's end
As drier air begins to push in from the north and west, the squeeze will kick up the intensity of severe weather along the East coast by week's end, AccuWeather meteorologists warn. Thunderstorms have been quite active in the southern United States all week. Massive hail has occurred in some cases with stones the size of baseballs, softballs and even larger. Storms will rumble throughout the Southern states into Thursday evening, as they have been most of the week. Locally severe thunderstorms will erupt from the south-central U.S. to the southern East coast and northeastern Gulf coast. Some of the biggest severe weather days of the week could occur on Friday and Saturday. Along with the likelihood of damaging hail with some stones to the size of golf balls and perhaps baseballs each day into Friday evening, the most potent storms will pack strong wind gusts that can snap trees, take down power lines and cause property damage. The strongest storms on Saturday will target the zone in the Carolinas along the Interstate 85 and 95 corridors. The more potent storms will also bring torrential downpours. Incidents of flash urban and small stream flooding can occur. Motorists are advised to exercise caution on secondary roads and highways in the event of sudden high water. A small number of the strongest storms can also trigger brief tornadoes each day. In some cases, the tornadoes can be concealed by heavy rain or may occur after dark. Saturday's storms in the mid-Atlantic zone may not be as intense as those of Friday, but they can reach some of the major metro areas of the Northeast, such as Washington, D.C., Baltimore and the app? Unlock AccuWeather Alerts™ with Premium+ Saturday's storms can still trigger localized urban flooding, small hail, sporadic tree damage and power outages. Those with flights on Saturday afternoon and evening may experience delays until the storms clear the airport vicinity. Showers and thunderstorms will extend farther to the north and west in the mid-Atlantic states on Saturday, while more steady drenching rain is on tap for much of New England. The push of drier air should give many locations over the South Central states a break during the weekend. That dry push will reach much of the Southeast states on Sunday. Temperatures will trend upward in the East as June progresses, but there will still be more rounds of showers and thunderstorms as the busy pattern continues. Rain-free weather is not likely to last more than two or three days in a row. The cycle of severe weather will return next week with the first new round of severe thunderstorms to erupt over portions of the southern Plains. Want next-level safety, ad-free? Unlock advanced, hyperlocal severe weather alerts when you subscribe to Premium+ on the AccuWeather app. AccuWeather Alerts™ are prompted by our expert meteorologists who monitor and analyze dangerous weather risks 24/7 to keep you and your family safer.
Yahoo
7 days ago
- Climate
- Yahoo
US faces another summer of extreme heat as fears rise over Trump cuts
This year's summer months promise to be among the hottest on record across the United States, continuing a worsening trend of extreme weather, and amid concern over the impacts of Trump administration cuts to key agencies. The extreme heat could be widespread and unrelenting: only far northern Alaska may escape unusually warm temperatures from June through August, according to the latest seasonal forecast from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (Noaa). Indeed, summer-like weather has already begun for many parts of the country. Related: Trump pick for workplace safety agency sparks fears heat protections will be derailed In International Falls, Minnesota – the self-proclaimed 'icebox of the nation' – temperatures in the 90s arrived in early May, more than a month before the earliest previously known occurrence. A hundred miles south, the hot and dry weather helped fanned early-season wildfires burn out of control, forcing Governor Tim Walz to call in the national guard. Across the western US, the latest Noaa update reports that a lack of springtime precipitation and very warm temperatures means this winter's ample snowpack is rapidly melting – raising the threat of summertime drought and wildfires. Drier than normal weather has also intensified ongoing drought in Florida and the mid-Atlantic states. Meanwhile, experts fear widespread cuts to staff and reduced funding for federal science, forecasting resources, and disaster response agencies will hamper efforts to keep people safe. In Texas, where Donald Trump's 'department of government efficiency' (Doge) cuts have left the Houston office of the National Weather Service critically understaffed and without any permanent leadership, a record-setting heat continues to intensify and another busy hurricane season is looming. A mid-May heatwave in the Rio Grande Valley briefly made the region hotter than Death Valley. Federal science agencies such as Noaa are now operating at reduced capacity despite the outsized weather threats. Hundreds of meteorologists have left the National Weather Service in recent months, and several offices, including Houston, have had to scale back the services they provide. Related: Texas swelters as record-breaking heatwave sweeps across state That's left state and local officials, university staff and non-profits to try to take charge of public outreach on heat and other extreme weather. Climate scientist Sylvia Dee and her colleagues at Rice University in Houston describe excessive heat as a kind of 'slow violence' that compounds other public health threats, like air pollution and preexisting health conditions. 'There's just so many things that center around heat stress.' 'Extreme heat can hijack our brain's ability to think clearly,' said Adrienne Heinz, a clinical research psychologist at Stanford University. 'Those executive functions like decision-making and inhibition and sequencing tasks, they all become harder. It becomes like walking through mud. It affects your ability to learn if you're a student or your ability to perform if you're an employee. It doesn't leave anything untouched, really.' According to Noaa, excessive heat is already the leading cause of weather-related deaths in the United States, and getting worse. A 2024 study found that the number of heat-related deaths in the US have risen 117% since 1999. For vulnerable populations, such as migrants, prisoners or schoolchildren in under-cooled buildings, the burden of rising temperatures is compounded. 'I feel like Houston is ground zero for climate change,' said Dee. 'I think there's some level of frustration amongst us because, you know, we have been living through these conditions for many years.' The oppressive summer forecast continues a worrying trend fueled by global warming: across the country extreme weather has increasingly become a life-threatening emergency. We're going to have more people in harm's way. We're very overwhelmed and trying desperately to sound the alarm Sylvia Dee, climate scientist 'We're going to have more people in harm's way. The exposure of Houstonians to weather and climate disasters will only increase,' said Dee. 'We're very overwhelmed and trying desperately to sound the alarm.' Indeed, extreme heat can have 'cascading impacts' throughout society, said Heinz. 'These prolonged heat waves affect sleep, the cornerstone of our mental health,' said Heinz. 'Our ability to weather adversity and emotionally regulate is compromised when we're not getting good sleep.' This year's added political uncertainty brings questions on the ability of federal staff to predict, prepare, and respond to heat emergencies and other extreme weather, though for now, weather forecasts continue to be issued. 'It's pretty scary. Summers are only getting hotter, and wildfire seasons have been getting longer and more intense for years,' said a climate scientist with the Department of Energy who wished to remain anonymous for fear of retaliation. 'These disruptions to federal science infrastructure and emergency response capacity come at the worst possible time.' After years of lobbying from frontline groups, the Biden administration instituted a first-ever set of national guidelines to protect vulnerable workers from the rising threat of extreme heat. Related: 'A ruthless agenda': charting 100 days of Trump's onslaught on the environment However, there are concerns Trump's pick to lead workplace safety could undo that progress. That means efforts to prepare and plan for this year's weather and climate extremes will likely fall on local leaders. Over the past year, several heat-prone cities such as Tucson, Arizona, and states including California and Nevada have passed local regulations and ordinances designed to boost planning efforts to combat extreme heat. 'With the health, safety, and economic impacts of extreme weather increasing, mayors know that inaction is not an option,' said Mandy Ikert, the head of climate resilience with C40, an international group of cities working together on climate issues. 'Cities are taking a broad range of approaches to help their residents stay safe during heat season, including investing in cooling centers, increased communication to residents, and new policies to make buildings and the people inside them safer.' Even forward-thinking cities have struggled to keep up with the weather: an internal report from the city of Austin, Texas, showed that local efforts to adapt to higher temperatures have been persistently underfunded.
