Blown away: Inside the powerful winds of a hurricane

Blown away: Inside the powerful winds of a hurricane

The Aerodyn Wind Tunnel tests the aerodynamics of racecars but this week, we put one of our Meteorologists in the tunnel to show the power of a major hurricane. MOORESVILLE, N.C. — Hurricane season starts Thursday, June 1, but before the season gets underway, we’re taking a look at the power of hurricanes.  Did you know hurricane season typically peaks from August to October? The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) predicts a near-normal hurricane…

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TROPICS: NASA's new satellites that will improve hurricane forecasts

TROPICS: NASA's new satellites that will improve hurricane forecasts

TROPICS, a constellation of satellites, have been successfully launched ahead of the Atlantic Hurricane Season. NORFOLK, Va. — NASA has launched its newest tool to assist with accurately forecasting during hurricane season. NASA will study tropical cyclones, which will improve the forecasting of hurricanes. The TROPICS satellites —  short for The Time-Resolved Observations of Precipitation Structure and Storm Intensity with a Constellation of Smallsats — have been introduced into our atmosphere and are in orbit. …

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Weather IQ: The Power of a Hurricane

Weather IQ: The Power of a Hurricane

The Aerodyn Wind Tunnel tests the aerodynamics of racecars but this week, we put one of our Meteorologists in the tunnel to show the power of a major hurricane. MOORESVILLE, N.C. — The Power of a Hurricane: As wind speeds increase, the impact they have increases exponentially. A Category 3 Hurricane (Major) can produce 30-60 times more damage than a Category 1. Here are the wind impacts each category has. This is not including storm…

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No kidding: California overtime law threatens use of grazing goats to prevent wildfires

No kidding: California overtime law threatens use of grazing goats to prevent wildfires

4 minutes ago WEST SACRAMENTO, CA (AP) — Hundreds of goats munch on long blades of yellow grass on a hillside next to a sprawling townhouse complex. They were hired to clear vegetation that could fuel wildfires as temperatures rise this summer. These voracious herbivores are in high demand to devour weeds and shrubs that have proliferated across California after a drought-busting winter of heavy rain and snow. “It’s a huge fuel source. If it was left untamed,…

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Houston-area officials unveil $9 million anti-flooding pumps

Houston-area officials unveil $9 million anti-flooding pumps

News // Houston & Texas The pumps aim to protect part of the Houston area where more than 600 homes flooded during Hurricane Harvey. Michael Murney, Chron May 29, 2023 The pumps aim to protect part of the Houston area where more than 600 homes flooded during Hurricane Harvey.  Eric Overton/Getty Images/iStockphoto A Houston-area neighborhood that suffered catastrophic flood damage during Hurricane Harvey in 2017 now has new protections for whenever the next big storm hits….

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Fort Bend County announces million-dollar expansion of pump station to help reduce flooding

Fort Bend County announces million-dollar expansion of pump station to help reduce flooding

Officials said if this expansion would have been in place during Hurricane Harvey, there wouldn’t have been major flooding. FORT BEND COUNTY, Texas — Fort Bend County officials have announced a $9.1 million expansion of the Steep Bank Creek Pump Station in Riverstone. The expansion will add capacity to help mitigate flooding, signaling one of the most significant capital improvements for flood protection for the suburban Houston county since Hurricane Harvey in 2017. During Harvey,…

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New $9 million water pumps in Sugar Land expected to mitigate flooding

New $9 million water pumps in Sugar Land expected to mitigate flooding

Fort Bend County officials held a ribbon-cutting Friday, May 26, 2023, for new water pumps that are designed to help mitigate flooding in the Sugar Land area. New, heavy-duty water pumps to mitigate flooding were unveiled Friday in a Sugar Land neighborhood that saw vast flood damage after Hurricane Harvey. At a ribbon-cutting ceremony in the Riverstone neighborhood, community leaders introduced three new pumps that would nearly triple the area’s water-pumping capacity to around 230,000…

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Flooding risk for Triangle heading into wet, windy holiday weekend

Flooding risk for Triangle heading into wet, windy holiday weekend

Friday, May 26, 2023 11:35AM RALEIGH, N.C. (WTVD) — A coastal storm will start to take shape over the next several days, ensuring that the holiday weekend will be wet across the area when it comes to weather. Friday will be the first of the stormier days as steady rain makes its way inland starting in the afternoon. Winds should also pick up during this time. Gusts may approach 40 mph at the coast but…

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How busy will Atlantic hurricane season be? Depends on who wins unusual battle of climatic titans

How busy will Atlantic hurricane season be? Depends on who wins unusual battle of climatic titans

Two clashing climatic behemoths, one natural and one with human fingerprints, will square off this summer to determine how quiet or chaotic the Atlantic hurricane season will be. An El Nino is brewing and the natural weather event dramatically dampens hurricane activity. But at the same time record ocean heat is bubbling up in the Atlantic, partly stoked by human-caused climate change from the burning of coal, oil and gas, and it provides boosts of…

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Experts predict “near-normal” 2023 hurricane season of 12 to 17 named storms

Experts predict “near-normal” 2023 hurricane season of 12 to 17 named storms

Sign up for The Brief, The Texas Tribune’s daily newsletter that keeps readers up to speed on the most essential Texas news. Texas and the rest of the Gulf and East coasts are most likely to see a “near-normal” hurricane season this year, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Federal forecasters are predicting between 12 and 17 named storms will form this season, the agency announced Thursday. One to four of those storms…

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