Weather Outside Your Window: August 2018

Wednesday, August 29, 2018

Severe Weather Alerts - Dobbs Ferry, NY Heat Advisory Heat Advisory in effect until 9:00 PM EDT. Source: U.S. National Weather Service

NORTHERN WESTCHESTER:

...HEAT ADVISORY REMAINS IN EFFECT FROM 11 AM THIS MORNING TO
9 PM EDT WEDNESDAY...

* HEAT INDEX VALUES...95 to 104.

* TIMING...Late this morning through early this evening and again
late Wednesday morning into early Wednesday evening.

* IMPACTS...Extreme heat can cause illness and death among at-
risk population who cannot stay cool. The heat and humidity
may cause heat stress during outdoor exertion or extended
exposure.

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...

A Heat Advisory is issued when the combination of heat and
humidity is expected to make it feel like it is 95 to 99 degrees
for two or more consecutive days, or 100 to 104 degrees for any
length of time.

To reduce risk during outdoor work, the Occupational Safety and
Health Administration recommends scheduling frequent rest breaks
in shaded or air conditioned environments. Anyone overcome by
heat should be moved to a cool and shaded location. Heat stroke
is an emergency! In cases of heat stroke call 9 1 1.

&&

===================

NORTHERN WESTCHESTER:

...HEAT ADVISORY REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 9 PM EDT THIS EVENING...

* HEAT INDEX VALUES...100 to 104 degrees.

* TIMING...Late this morning into the early evening.

* IMPACTS...Extreme heat can cause illness and death among at-
risk population who cannot stay cool. The heat and humidity
may cause heat stress during outdoor exertion or extended
exposure.

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...

A Heat Advisory is issued when the combination of heat and
humidity is expected to make it feel like it is 95 to 99 degrees
for two or more consecutive days, or 100 to 104 degrees for any
length of time.

To reduce risk during outdoor work, the Occupational Safety and
Health Administration recommends scheduling frequent rest breaks
in shaded or air conditioned environments. Anyone overcome by
heat should be moved to a cool and shaded location. Heat stroke
is an emergency! In cases of heat stroke call 9 1 1.

&&

===================

SOUTHERN WESTCHESTER:

...HEAT ADVISORY REMAINS IN EFFECT FROM 11 AM THIS MORNING TO
9 PM EDT WEDNESDAY...

* HEAT INDEX VALUES...95 to 104.

* TIMING...Late this morning through early this evening and again
late Wednesday morning into early Wednesday evening.

* IMPACTS...Extreme heat can cause illness and death among at-
risk population who cannot stay cool. The heat and humidity
may cause heat stress during outdoor exertion or extended
exposure.

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...

A Heat Advisory is issued when the combination of heat and
humidity is expected to make it feel like it is 95 to 99 degrees
for two or more consecutive days, or 100 to 104 degrees for any
length of time.

To reduce risk during outdoor work, the Occupational Safety and
Health Administration recommends scheduling frequent rest breaks
in shaded or air conditioned environments. Anyone overcome by
heat should be moved to a cool and shaded location. Heat stroke
is an emergency! In cases of heat stroke call 9 1 1.

&&

===================

SOUTHERN WESTCHESTER:

...HEAT ADVISORY REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 9 PM EDT THIS EVENING...

* HEAT INDEX VALUES...100 to 104 degrees.

* TIMING...Late this morning into the early evening.

* IMPACTS...Extreme heat can cause illness and death among at-
risk population who cannot stay cool. The heat and humidity
may cause heat stress during outdoor exertion or extended
exposure.

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...

A Heat Advisory is issued when the combination of heat and
humidity is expected to make it feel like it is 95 to 99 degrees
for two or more consecutive days, or 100 to 104 degrees for any
length of time.

To reduce risk during outdoor work, the Occupational Safety and
Health Administration recommends scheduling frequent rest breaks
in shaded or air conditioned environments. Anyone overcome by
heat should be moved to a cool and shaded location. Heat stroke
is an emergency! In cases of heat stroke call 9 1 1.

Severe weather to rattle eastern Great Lakes, Ohio Valley at midweek

By Renee Duff, AccuWeather meteorologist

August 29, 2018, 5:06:18 AM EDT

In the wake of Tuesday's violent storms in the Midwest, the threat for severe weather will shift into the eastern Great Lakes and Ohio Valley into Wednesday evening.

While areas from Iowa to Michigan that were hit hard with flooding, power outages and even tornadoes will get a chance to dry out and begin cleanup efforts at midweek, residents farther east will need to be prepared for potentially dangerous weather conditions.

On Wednesday afternoon and evening, the threat for heavy, gusty and locally severe thunderstorms will extend from parts of the Ohio Valley to the interior Northeast, according to AccuWeather Meteorologist Brett Rathbun.

“This includes the cities of Louisville; Columbus and Cleveland, Ohio; Erie, Pennsylvania; Buffalo and Syracuse, New York; and Toronto.”

Locally damaging storms could extend as far northeast as western New England and as far south as near Pittsburgh by Wednesday evening.

The storms will be fueled by a sweep of more comfortable air clashing with the sweltering heat and humidity in place.

While Rathbun anticipates that severe weather will be more localized at midweek than prior days this week, this should not cause residents or travelers in the area to let their guard down.

People in the area at risk can face storms capable of producing damaging winds, hail and flooding downpours.

“Travel will be slowed at times on interstates 65, 70, 71, 80 and 90,” Rathbun said.

Tree damage and power outages will be possible.

Securing loose outdoor items can prevent them from becoming projectiles during a gusty storm.

While the heat and humidity ahead of the storms may have people who have yet to go back to school flocking to lakes or swimming pools, anyone outdoors should seek shelter indoors at the first rumble of thunder.

Download the free AccuWeather app on your cellphone or tablet to know exactly when storms will arrive and stay aware of the latest severe weather watches and warnings.

As drier, more comfortable air sweeps across the Great Lakes and Ohio Valley on Thursday, storms will shift into the Northeast’s Interstate-95 corridor.

Thursday’s storms will pose more of a nuisance than a severe weather risk for locations from Washington, D.C., to Boston.

High water rescues, state of emergency follow nearly a foot of rain, flooding in Wisconsin

By Mark Puleo, AccuWeather staff writer

August 29, 2018, 8:25:46 AM EDT

Heavy rain and severe storms led to life-threatening floods over Monday night into Tuesday as parts of southwestern Wisconsin woke up to dangerous conditions for the second time in August. Numerous residents were rescued from floodwaters while roads and highways were closed throughout the region.

Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker declared a state of emergency for Fond du Lac, Juneau, La Crosse, Monroe, Vernon, and Washington Counties on Tuesday in response to the destructive flooding.

Radar showed nearly 12 inches of rain in some areas, according to AccuWeather Meteorologist Isaac Longley.

“It all began after rounds of heavy rain and thunderstorms rolled through the morning hours of Aug. 27,” Longley said. “After a break in the rain during the afternoon, a line of violent thunderstorms erupted over southern Minnesota and advanced eastward into Wisconsin, the same area where heavy rain had fallen just earlier in the day.”

In the early hours of Tuesday morning, two campers in the midst of a canoeing trip were rescued in Rockton after finding themselves in neck-high water levels. The Kickapoo River has flooded to near-record levels, according to the National Weather Service.

As of early Tuesday morning, the water had already reached 20.9 feet, well above the 16-foot flooding state. This is the second time in 2018 that the river has topped 16 feet.

Other rescues were made in La Crosse at the Brookview Mobile Home Park when water reached chest-high levels, and other homes in La Crosse by Highway 35 were also evacuated after flash flood warnings. Widespread evacuations were also carried out in Vernon County, where mudslides were reported. In Juneau County, four highways have been closed due to water flooding over the roadway.

Another round of flooding hit Wisconsin on Tuesday afternoon as severe thunderstorms unloaded torrents of heavy rain across the state. Flooding was reported in Green Bay after storms dropped over an inch of rain in just a few hours.

This is the second time this month residents in the region have faced flooding. Recent flooding in Dane County killed one resident after more than 10 inches of rain fell.

The heavy rains from earlier this month also contributed to the current flooding as much of the ground has remained too saturated to absorb any of the new rain.

Longley said this recent rain can be traced to a source hundreds of miles farther south.

“With ample tropical moisture from the Gulf of Mexico in place over the Upper Midwest, several more rounds of heavy rainfall occurred during the late evening and overnight as the thunderstorms stuck around,” he said. “At this point, flash flooding had started taking place in and around La Crosse, Wisconsin, with some rivers and streams near record levels.”

Longley added that rain is expected to continue falling throughout Tuesday, as another 2 to 4 inches are anticipated. A flood watch for impacted regions will remain in place until Wednesday morning.

Maria death toll estimated at nearly 3,000, study finds

By Ashley Williams, AccuWeather staff writer

August 29, 2018, 5:09:16 AM EDT

In an independent report, researchers at the George Washington University Milken Institute School of Public Health (GW Milken Institute SPH) have estimated that there were 2,975 excess deaths in Puerto Rico as a result of Hurricane Maria’s devastating impacts.

The new report’s findings analyzed death certificates and other mortality data for six months from September 2017 and February 2018. The new death toll is 22 percent greater than the number of deaths that would’ve been expected during that period in a year without the deadly hurricane, according to the report.

Soon after the powerful Category 4 storm pummeled Puerto Rico last year, the United States territory’s government determined that 64 people had died.

However, unofficial reports and independent studies, including an analysis conducted by the New York Times in December 2017, suggested that the official death toll likely exceeded the number released by Puerto Rico’s government.

An Aug. 2, 2018, photo from Yabucoa, Puerto Rico, shows remaining devastation where Hurricane Maria’s eye passed through in September 2017. (AccuWeather Photo/Karuska Matos-Horta)

Puerto Rico Gov. Ricardo Rosselló ordered a recount of the official death toll in light of mounting evidence that the low figure was a "gross misrepresentation” of the fatalities that had occurred, Vox reported.

To obtain a more accurate and rigorous assessment of the number of people on the island that perished during and following Maria, Rosselló commissioned the recent independent study from GW Milken Institute SPH last December.

"The results of our epidemiological study suggest that, tragically, Hurricane Maria led to a large number of excess deaths throughout the island,” said Carlos Santos-Burgoa, M.D., MPH, Ph.D., the project’s principal investigator and a professor of global health at GW Milken Institute SPH, adding in a press release that lower-income citizens and the elderly faced the highest risk.

The study showed that the risk of death during the period from September 2017 to February 2018 was greatest – 60 percent higher than expected – for those living in poorer communities, and that the elevated risk persisted beyond February.

The report also found that older male Puerto Ricans had a “risk of death that was 35 percent higher than expected” during that five-month period. An elevated risk of death for this group also continued past the study observation period.

“We hope this report and its recommendations will help build the island's resilience and pave the way toward a plan that will protect all sectors of society in times of natural disasters,” Santos-Burgoa said.

In early August, the Puerto Rican government stated in an online report that they acknowledged the deaths of more than 1,400 people as a result of Maria.

Nerybelle Perez poses with a portrait of her father, World War II veteran Efrain Perez, who died inside an ambulance after being turned away from the largest public hospital when it had no electricity or water, days after Hurricane Maria passed, in Guaynabo, Puerto Rico, Thursday, June 7, 2018. (AP Photo/Carlos Giusti)

AccuWeather predicted shortly after Maria’s impact that the Puerto Rico death toll would become much higher than initial official number provided by the government.

The latest report, which offered recommendations for Puerto Rico and the mainland U.S. to establish better disaster preparedness and response methods, also identified flaws in mortality surveillance and communications systems.

It showed that the biggest contributors to the incorrect and low number of initially reported deaths included “lack of communication, well-established guidelines and lack of training for physicians on how to certify deaths in disasters.”

"The lessons learned from this report and subsequent studies will help not just Puerto Rico, but other regions in the U.S. and around the world that face the ongoing threat of hurricanes and other natural disasters," said report co-author Lynn R. Goldman, M.D., M.S., MPH, Michael and Lori Milken Dean of the GW Milken Institute SPH. "If enacted, the recommendations of this report could help save lives in Puerto Rico and beyond."

Weather Outside Your Window