Hurricanes

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Hurricane threat looms for Texas-Louisiana coast

Satellite view of Edouard and its lightning on Monday evening. (CIRA/CSU & NOAA)

Tropical Storm Edouard is closing in on the Gulf Coast and is forecast to make landfall near the Texas-Louisiana border today.

A hurricane watch is in effect for multiple communities as the fast-developing storm could bring heavy rainfall and gusty winds capable of toppling trees and causing power outages. Edouard is then expected to move inland over southeastern Texas tonight and rapidly weaken.

September is typically the peak of Atlantic hurricane season, when ocean temperatures are at their warmest and conditions are most favorable for storms to form and strengthen. This year, however, El Niño is helping suppress hurricane activity and is a key reason forecasters have called for a quieter year overall. But dangerous storms can still develop, making it all the more important for people in hurricane-prone areas to stay prepared through the fall.

+ Read more: Hurricane watch in effect as Tropical Storm Edouard’s rainbands sweep ashore in Louisiana

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• 🌀 The National Hurricane Center warns that Tropical Storm Edouard could become a hurricane by tomorrow as it is expected to make landfall in Texas and Louisiana. Get the latest.

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Hawaii hunkers down

Hawaii is bracing for the worst of Hurricane Lowell, with the storm expected to make its closest approach to the islands early today. Lowell is forecast to remain offshore and weaken, but its expanding wind field could bring tropical storm-force winds to the western islands, while more than a foot of rain in some areas raises the risk of dangerous flash flooding and mudslides. Lowell is the third storm in just over three weeks to target Hawaii as El Niño supercharges the Pacific hurricane season. A hurricane warning is in effect for the islands of Kauai and Niihau.

+ Read more: Hurricane Lowell lashing Hawaii with flooding rain and massive waves

+ Video: Meteorologist explains Hurricane Lowell’s path   Hurricane Lowell expected to pass near one Hawaiian island and cause major rains statewide Hawaii Gov. Josh Green closed schools and government offices on the westernmost islands of Kauai and Niihau and on Oahu for Tuesday as Hurricane Lowell was expected to pass nearby, bringing damaging winds, mudslides, possible tornadoes, dangerous rip currents and as much as 24 inches (about 60 centimeters) of rain to some areas on Kauai. https://apnews.com/article/hurricane-lowell-hawaii-schools-516235ba1cedaa7256de8d893c36a752?

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Where have all the Atlantic hurricanes gone? El Nino might bring record slow storm season

The Atlantic is quiet — record quiet — this hurricane season thanks to an enormous El Nino that crushes storms before they get going. Just as El Nino traditionally dampens Atlantic hurricane season, it tends to rev up tropical cyclone activity in the Pacific, with moist air and little wind shear. And so far this year, storm activity in the eastern Pacific is nearly double than normal, with hurricanes lasting much longer than usual. While the Atlantic has had only five small tropical storms, there have been 16 named storms in the eastern Pacific and 20 in the central Pacific. Read more.

RELATED COVERAGE ➤

Tourists should skip Kauai for now as it recovers from Hurricane Lowell, officials say Radio silence amid Lowell reveals critical gap in emergency plan A stronger-than-normal El Nino alarms scientists over Galápagos wildlife and forests   ps:I for am very happy about that! But what I'd like to know is if they knew about el nino than why did they predict a big hurricane season, with a number being C4 or higher??

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All quiet on the Atlantic front

Illustration: Natalie Peeples/Axios This storm season is breaking at least one record: It's the longest the Atlantic has gone in the modern era without a recorded hurricane, Axios New Orleans' Chelsea Brasted reports. That's per meteorologist and hurricane-watcher Michael Lowry, who writes: "None of this is to say that we can't or won't see a week or two before the end of November where a big hurricane breaks through, but for the traditional height of the hurricane season, it doesn't get any better than this." 🌀 This year's hurricane season was expected to be quieter than normal. But experts still predicted eight to 14 named storms and three to six hurricanes. We've had just five named tropical storms so far. National Weather Service meteorologist Christopher Bannan notes that the satellite era began in 1966, ushering in the modern storm-tracking age. Bannan says we know of two prior years without any Atlantic hurricanes: 1907 and 1914. A man watches debris flow along a road in Naalehu, Hawaii, on Aug. 17 after Hurricane Lala brought heavy rain and strong winds. Photo: Stephen Lam/San Francisco Chronicle via Getty Images 🌏 Yes, but: The Central Pacific has been notably active, with five named storms (+3 over the 1991–2020 normal) and two major hurricanes (+2). This year's especially powerful El Niño is fueling storm development in the Pacific while hampering it in the Atlantic, University of Tampa environmental studies professor Nicholas Grondin tells Scientific American. Go deeper ...

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Tropical Storm Fay forms far out in the Atlantic as Odalys strengthens in the Pacific

A new tropical storm formed Sunday in the northern Atlantic Ocean but does not appear to pose a threat to land. Read More.   Tropical Storm Polo forms off southwestern Mexico MIAMI (AP) — Tropical Storm Polo formed late Sunday off southwestern Mexico. https://apnews.com/article/tropical-weather-polo-mexico-d577337f3e70fbf4f0c7dac7902edb4e?

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Category 5 Hurricane Polo is an ‘extremely dangerous’ storm off the coast of Mexico

MIAMI (AP) — Hurricane Polo grew increasingly strong Tuesday and was forecast to gain more intensity as it skirted Mexico’s southwestern coast as a Category 5 cyclone, weather experts said.

https://apnews.com/article/hurricane-polo-mexico-a6c1c226c878a236442a8e1a7f37211b?

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🌊 Hurricane Polo has become one of the strongest storms ever recorded in the Pacific, with its rapid intensification stunning meteorologists. Get the latest.

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Powerful Hurricane Polo drenches Mexico’s coast as Nolo takes aim at Hawaii

MEXICO CITY (AP) — Residents along Mexico’s west coast stacked sandbags to fortify beachfront shops and evacuated their homes, while Hawaii’s Big Island and Maui braced for potentially catastrophic flooding, as separate hurricanes swirled in the Pacific on Thursday.

https://apnews.com/article/hurricane-polo-mexico-nolo-hawaii-a036e08f59c3f3842aaba2ee69bd9d37?

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Hurricane Nolo skirts Hawaii but could still unleash powerful winds, flash flooding

HILO, Hawaii (AP) — Hurricane Nolo just skirted the Hawaiian Islands as it gained intensity on Saturday, but officials said it still posed a risk for flash floods, dangerous winds and extreme surf in areas recovering from previous storms.

https://apnews.com/article/hurricane-nolo-hawaii-5b03b3f9fea549355c55b1edd985907a?

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Hurricane Rachel strengthens to a Category 3 storm off Mexico's Pacific coast

Hurricane Rachel has been upgraded to a Category 3 storm off Mexico’s Pacific coast, according to the National Hurricane Center, as northern Mexico and parts of the U.S. Southwest were reeling from flooding and damage from the remnants of Hurricane Polo earlier this week. Read More.

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Gulf Coast faces hurricane threat

A tropical storm is expected to become Hurricane Isaias and batter parts of the southern US later this week. The system is forecast to turn north toward the Gulf Coast and rapidly strengthen into a Category 2 hurricane with 100 mph winds by Friday, bringing threats of heavy rain, powerful winds and flooding across multiple states. The storm’s exact track remains uncertain, but anyone along the Gulf Coast from Louisiana to Florida’s Big Bend should monitor the forecast closely.

+ Read more: Hurricane Isaias could soon take shape

+ Get live updates and alerts: Download the CNN Weather app

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Residents board up windows and National Guard troops deploy as Hurricane Isaias nears US Gulf Coast Residents boarded up windows and stacked sandbags Thursday while thousands of National Guard soldiers were deploying in anticipation of Hurricane Isaias, which threatened to bring devastating floods when it makes landfall late Friday. Read more.

What to know: The governors of Florida and Alabama declared states of emergency for dozens of counties. The Category 2 hurricane is most likely to strike along the Alabama-Florida state line and bring life-threatening storm surge across Pensacola Bay, according to the National Weather Service in Mobile, Alabama. Isaias had maximum sustained winds of 105 mph, according to the hurricane center. Meanwhile, Hurricane Simon, is forecast to strengthen into a Category 4 hurricane.

RELATED COVERAGE ➤ See our hurricane tracker WATCH: The science behind hurricanes How Waffle House helps Southerners gauge a storm’s severity Atlantic hurricanes starting with ‘I’ typically bring death and destruction. Isaias is up next

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🌀 Tropical Storm Isaias is forecast to become the season's first Atlantic hurricane overnight, with impacts across the Gulf Coast and up into the interior Southeast. It would be the latest-forming Atlantic hurricane in the modern era.

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Gulf Coast braces for Hurricane Isaias

Satellite imagery shows Isaias swirling in the Gulf on Wednesday evening. (CIRA/CSU/NOAA)

Isaias has rapidly intensified into the Atlantic season’s first hurricane, putting the Gulf Coast on alert for dangerous storm surge, damaging winds and flooding rain ahead of an expected landfall by the weekend.

Florida and Alabama have declared states of emergency across dozens of counties, with mandatory evacuations ordered in parts of the Florida Panhandle. Forecasts show Isaias could strengthen into a Category 2 over the Gulf later today, then peak overnight at near Category 3, or major hurricane, intensity.

There’s also an economic threat looming. Isaias is heading toward a region home to some of the nation’s most important oil refineries, just as global fuel supplies are stretched thin and prices are soaring. Any disruption to production could drive gas prices even higher for American drivers.

+ Live updates: See where the storm is headed

+ Video: Shelves empty as shoppers prepare for Hurricane Isaias

+ Read more: A major hurricane could cripple US refining when the world can least afford it

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Residents board up windows and National Guard troops deploy as Hurricane Isaias nears US Gulf Coast

MIAMI (AP) — Residents boarded up windows and stacked sandbags Thursday while thousands of National Guard soldiers were deploying in anticipation of Hurricane Isaias, which packed swift winds and threatened to bring a storm surge with devastating floods to the U.S. Gulf Coast.

https://apnews.com/article/hurricane-isaias-gulf-atlantic-alabama-florida-mississippi-8244ca45b8d4c292350f00adfabb0967?

• 🌊 Forecasters expect Hurricane Isaias to strengthen before making landfall late Friday or early Saturday along the Gulf Coast. Hurricane and storm surge warnings are in effect across the area, and damaging winds could trigger power outages. Latest forecast.

Atlantic hurricanes starting with 'I' typically bring death and destruction. Isaias is up next

Be wary of hurricanes that start with the letter “I.” Read More.

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Hurricane Isaias is expected to make landfall along the US Gulf Coast late tonight or early tomorrow as a Category 2 or higher storm. See updated forecast cone.

The storm, packing sustained winds of 100 mph as of this writing, is expected to strike between Mississippi and the Florida Panhandle, bringing storm surges of up to 7 feet, heavy rainfall, and damaging winds (why the storm’s so-called “dirty side” faces the greatest surge risk). Officials have issued evacuation orders, closed schools, and declared states of emergency in Florida and Alabama. Heavy rainfall is expected to spread inland across the eastern US this weekend. Isaias is the first Atlantic hurricane of the 2026 season, forming more than four months after the season began. Its late arrival is attributed partly to El Niño, a weather pattern that increases wind shear and disrupts hurricane formation.

The storm formed just one day shy of tying a 121-year-old record for the latest first Atlantic hurricane, set Oct. 8, 1905.

 

Isaias makes landfall as hurricane, hammering US Gulf Coast with powerful winds, dangerous flooding

GULF BREEZE, Fla. (AP) — Isaias crashed into the U.S. Gulf Coast on Friday as a dangerous Category 2 hurricane, hammering communities in Alabama and the Florida Panhandle with damaging winds, heavy rain, flooding and life-threatening storm surges.

https://apnews.com/article/hurricane-isaias-landfall-gulf-alabama-mississippi-919a46d4bd705726b4e57f18ce677ac5?

 

• 🌀 Hurricane Isaias strengthened into a major hurricane, with maximum sustained winds of 120 mph. Forecasters are warning of "life-threatening storm surge" from the mouth of the Mississippi River to Suwannee, Florida, plus damaging winds and power outages across the Gulf and inland. Latest forecast.

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Isaias makes landfall as hurricane, hammering US Gulf Coast with powerful winds, dangerous flooding

GULF BREEZE, Fla. (AP) — Isaias crashed into the U.S. Gulf Coast on Friday as a dangerous Category 2 hurricane, hammering communities in Alabama and the Florida Panhandle with damaging winds, heavy rain, flooding and life-threatening storm surges.

https://apnews.com/article/hurricane-isaias-landfall-gulf-alabama-mississippi-919a46d4bd705726b4e57f18ce677ac5?

Puerto Vallarta boards up as Hurricane Simon hits Category 4 strength

PUERTO VALLARTA, Mexico (AP) — Simon has strengthened into a powerful Category 4 hurricane as it barrels toward Mexico’s coast.

https://apnews.com/article/us-extreme-weather-mexico-simon-isaias-florida-1e6f590459e5ee4ead370192f52f9239?