Oklahoma Twister A Top-Of-The-Scale EF-5

Map of Oklahoma highlighting Cleveland County (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

MOORE, OK (AP) — The National Weather Service says the tornado that hit Moore, Okla., was a top-of-the-scale EF-5 twister with winds of at least 200 mph.

Spokeswoman Keli Pirtle said Tuesday the agency upgraded the tornado from an EF-4 on the enhanced Fujita scale to an EF-5 based on what a damage assessment team saw on the ground.  The weather service uses the word “incredible” to describe the power of EF-5 storms.

The weather service says the tornado’s path was 17 miles long and 1.3 miles wide.

Pirtle says Monday’s twister is the first EF-5 tornado of 2013.

For more stories and video directly from Oklahoma, click here: http://newsok.com/oklahoma-twister-a-top-of-the-scale-ef-5/article/3828315

More New Jersey Shore Residents, Students Return

Map of New Jersey highlighting Ocean County (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

The slow process of recovery from Hurricane Sandy continues in New Jersey.

Students were reportedly back at school this morning on Long Beach Island, where residents were allowed to return Saturday and stay, if conditions permitted.

Power is back on for 99.8 percent of the 2.7 million who lost power after the Oct. 29 superstorm.  Still in the dark this morning were about 4,400 Jersey Central Power & Light customers, and only about 80 between PSE&G and Atlantic City Electric.

Traffic backed up this morning heading into Seaside Heights, in northern Ocean County, as residents were allowed to return to assess damage from Hurricane Sandy.

Read more:

http://www.philly.com/philly/news/breaking/20121112_More_Shore_residents__students_return.html

Nor’easter Expected To Hit This Week

With Superstorm Sandy barely in the rear-view mirror, the east coast is the path of a nor’easter expected to arrive mid-week.

Fortunately for those still reeling from the effects of Sandy, the storm shouldn’t be anywhere near as dangerous, Accu-weather senior meterologist Alan Reppert said.

Storm conditions will begin Wednesday and continue overnight into Thurday.  The Lehigh Valley could see wind gusts of 40 mph and about an inch of rain, Reppert said.  The Poconos may see snow, depending on the storm’s track.

Read more: http://www.mcall.com/news/local/mc-allentown-weather-noreaster-20121104,0,6026030.story?obref=obinsite

Bedford, Blair, Center And Huntington Counties Brace For Hurricane Sandy

Map of Pennsylvania highlighting Blair County (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

As Hurricane Sandy continued to batter the East Coast and mid-Atlantic states, county officials in central Pennsylvania moved Monday to enact emergency disaster declarations ahead of the storm’s expected turn toward the area.

Bedford, Blair, Centre and Huntingdon counties issued emergency disaster declarations, and other Pennsylvania counties are expected to follow suit.

The declarations mean emergency management officials and first responders have greater access to resources necessary for relief efforts without the “red tape” of soliciting bids or other typical government procedures, Bedford County Director of Emergency Services Dave Cubbison said.

“We’re definitely going to have water,” Cubbison said.

Read more: http://www.altoonamirror.com/page/content.detail/id/565622/Counties-brace-for-Hurricane-Sandy.html?nav=742

City Of Lock Haven Asks For Cooperation During Superstorm

Map of Pennsylvania highlighting Clinton County (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

LOCK HAVEN – Hurricane Sandy has this region buzzing about the potential loss of power, high winds and even high water.

City officials are aware of the situation and ask everyone to cooperate to get through the next few days as the remnants of the superstorm blow through the region.

The city does not have enough temporary stop signs to cover every intersection with traffic signals, so if the electricity goes out and the signals go dark, drivers will have to use care, City Manager Richard W. Marcinkevage said.

“Use common sense and the rules of the road,” he advised.

Read more: http://www.lockhaven.com/page/content.detail/id/541754/City-asks-for-cooperation-during-superstorm.html?nav=5009

School Closings, Bradford County Gets Ready For Sandy’s Approach

Map of Pennsylvania highlighting Bradford County (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

With the expected onslaught of Hurricane Sandy looming, shoppers on Sunday in Bradford County stocked up on groceries and the county commissioners signed a Declaration of Emergency.

“We’re taking the position that we don’t want to underestimate any part of this storm, and we’re trying to be very proactive at getting in front of this incident so everything is in place before we need it,” said John Ambrusch, the county’s emergency manager.

“Our public information officer is pushing out the information to all media outlets, and has made contact with all EMS officers and staff.”

In a prepared statement, the county warned the public that winds will gradually pick up during the day today and “are expected to become very damaging, at their peak intensities from Monday night into Tuesday morning.”

Read more: http://thedailyreview.com/news/school-closings-county-gets-ready-for-sandy-s-approach-1.1395302

Worst Of Hurricane Sandy Expected In Western Pennsylvania Tonight

Locator map of the Greater Pittsburgh metro area in the western part of the of . Red denotes the Pittsburgh Metropolitan Statistical Area, and yellow denotes the New Castle Micropolitan Statistical Area, which is included in the Pittsburgh-New Castle CSA. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Pennsylvania utility companies are reporting that more than 30,000 people are already without power around the state, in the first wave of what are expected to be an increasing number of outages because of Hurricane Sandy.

At 3:15 p.m. Monday PECO was reporting over 15,000 customers without power, mostly in the Philadelphia area.  First Energy reports more than 8,000 and PPL about 8,000, including some in the Harrisburg area.

The utilities have lined up extra repair crews, but they still say some people could be without power for days.

Larger numbers of people are already without power in New Jersey.

Read more: http://www.post-gazette.com/stories/local/region/hurricane-sandy-impacts-beginning-to-be-felt-into-western-pennsylvania-659697/#ixzz2AjIf57gf

Montgomery County Public Safety Department Provides Public Inquiry Lines

Map of Pennsylvania highlighting Montgomery County (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

NORRISTOWN, PA (COURTHOUSE) — As Hurricane Sandy bears down on Montgomery County, residents can turn to county public safety officials for information about the hurricane.

The Montgomery County Public Safety Department announced Monday morning that staffers are manning phone lines to answer residents’ questions about the storm. Residents with questions about what is happening in their area can call 610-631-9700.

John A. Corcoran, deputy director of external affairs for the Montgomery County Public Safety Department, stressed the phone lines are for general questions, not emergencies.

“They should call 911 if they have an emergency and call their utility if they have a power outage,” Corcoran explained.

Read more: http://www.timesherald.com/article/20121029/NEWS01/121029520/montgomery-county-public-safety-department-provides-public-inquiry-lines&pager=full_story

Rain Falling Harder In Lancaster County; First Power Outage Reported

Map of Pennsylvania highlighting Lancaster County (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Roads are empty.

Schools are dark.

The mall is closed.

Emergency workers are at their posts.

Skies darkened and rain began falling hard as the county hunkered down, waiting for Hurricane Sandy to howl through here with its full power later today.

“Get out now,” said Mayor Rick Gray,  urging residents to evacuate in flood-prone areas of the city.  ”If it doesn’t flood, thank God.  If it does flood, you’re safe.  We don’t want to be in a position to put our police officers and our firefighters in harm’s way because you didn’t evacuate.”

The first significant power outage hit late this morning, when about 600 people lost their electricity in the Elizabeth Township area, after power lines were reported down along Route 322 there.

But for most of the county, the morning was the calm before the Frankenstorm as local residents, who had days to buy flashlight batteries, stock up on water and clean out their gutters, waited for the storm.

Read more: http://lancasteronline.com/article/local/766797_UPDATED–Rain-falling-harder-in-county–first-power-outage-reported–.html#ixzz2AhhYq6Ia

Governor Corbett Makes Disaster Declaration In Preparation For Frankenstorm

Map of Pennsylvania, showing major cities and roads (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Predictions for the hybrid storm bearing down on the Northeast keep worsening and the tone of the coverage is growing ever more strident, so it’s no wonder the phone at Ice Cream World has been ringing off the hook.

No one’s looking to stock up on ice cream. The South Whitehall Township ice cream parlor across from Dorney Park has long been a supplier of dry ice for power outage emergencies.

A block of the frozen compressed gas can preserve the food in a powerless refrigerator for days.  And with the storm dubbed “Frankenstorm” predicted to rampage from Sunday to Wednesday with powerful winds and flooding rain, power outages are a virtual certainty.

“For years people have known we’re one of the centers for dry ice,” owner Kim MacIver said Friday. “We’ve had people show up, but we’re asking them to wait.”

Read more: http://www.mcall.com/news/breaking/mc-allentown-frankenstorm-latest-20121026,0,5655788,full.story

Berks County Braces For Hurricane Early Next Week

Map of Pennsylvania highlighting Berks County (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Almost a year after a freak Halloween snowstorm buried Berks County, utility companies are preparing for the possibility of more rare weather: a hurricane that forecasters say could cause trouble here early next week.

Hurricane Sandy was still a long way off northeast of Cuba on Thursday, but it seemed to be heading this way with strong winds and heavy rain that could bring flooding, property damage and power outages, AccuWeather said.

There could be wind gusts of at least 50 mph and several inches of rain, meteorologist Tom Kines said.

The worst case is that it continues on its current northward track, while the best case is that it heads east out to sea, resulting in only a normal rainstorm, he said. If severe weather comes, it will most likely arrive Monday night or early Tuesday.

Reading Eagle: http://readingeagle.com/article.aspx?id=423464

‘Frankenstorm’ Threatens East Coast

WASHINGTON — An unusual nasty mix of a hurricane and a winter storm that forecasters are now calling “Frankenstorm” is likely to blast most of the East Coast next week, focusing the worst of its weather mayhem around New York City and New Jersey.

Government forecasters today upped the odds of a major weather mess, now saying there’s a 90 percent chance that the East will get steady gale-force winds, heavy rain, flooding and maybe snow starting Sunday and stretching past Halloween on Wednesday.

Meteorologists say it is likely to cause $1 billion in damages.

The storm is a combination of Hurricane Sandy, now in the Caribbean, an early winter storm in the West, and a blast of arctic air from the North. They’re predicted to collide and park over the country’s most populous coastal corridor and reach as far inland as Ohio.

Read more: http://readingeagle.com/article.aspx?id=423263

Isaac Steers Clear Of Direct Blow On New Orleans

Location of Orleans Parish in Louisiana (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Hurricane Isaac sidestepped New Orleans on Wednesday, sending the worst of its howling wind and heavy rain into a cluster of rural fishing villages that had few defenses against the slow-moving storm that could bring days of unending rain.

Isaac arrived exactly seven years after Hurricane Katrina and passed slightly to the west of New Orleans, where the city’s fortified levee system easily handled the assault.

The city’s biggest problems seemed to be downed power lines, scattered tree limbs and minor flooding.  Just one person was reported killed, compared with 1,800 deaths from Katrina in Louisiana and Mississippi.  And police reported few problems with looting.  Mayor Mitch Landrieu ordered a dusk-to-dawn curfew just to be sure.

But in Plaquemines Parish, a sparsely populated area south of the city that is outside the federal levee system, dozens of people were stranded in flooded coastal areas.  The storm pushed water over an 18-mile levee and put so much pressure on it that authorities were considering intentionally puncturing the floodwall to relieve the strain.

Read more: http://thetimes-tribune.com/news/isaac-steers-clear-of-direct-blow-on-new-orleans-1.1365207

Isaac Becomes Category 1 Hurricane Near Gulf Coast

(Updated at 1:13 p.m.) MIAMI — Isaac became a hurricane Tuesday that could flood the coasts of four states with storm surge and heavy rains on its way to New Orleans, where residents hunkered down behind levees fortified after Katrina struck seven years ago this week.

Shelters were open for those who chose to stay or missed the chance to get away before the outer bands of the large storm blow ashore ahead of a forecast landfall in southeast Louisiana on Tuesday night or early Wednesday.  However, with the exception of some low-lying areas, officials had not ordered mass evacuations.

The U.S. National Hurricane Center in Miami said Isaac became a Category 1 hurricane Tuesday with winds of 75 mph.  It could get stronger by the time it’s expected to reach the swampy coast of southeast Louisiana.

In Houma, a city southwest of New Orleans, people filled a municipal auditorium-turned-shelter.  However, in the bayou country of Terrebonne Parish off Highway 24, storms pose a perennial dilemma for those living a hardscrabble life.

Read more: http://www.pottsmerc.com/article/20120828/NEWS04/120829390/updated-isaac-becomes-cat-1-hurricane-near-gulf-coast&pager=full_story

Tropical Storm Isaac Slogs Toward U.S. Gulf Coast

NEW ORLEANS (Reuters) – Tropical Storm Isaac churned across the Gulf of Mexico on Monday, disrupting U.S. offshore energy production and threatening to hit Louisiana on the anniversary of devastating Hurricane Katrina in 2005.

The storm swiped south Florida on Sunday before moving into warm Gulf waters, where it is expected to strengthen into a hurricane.

On its current track, Isaac was due to slam into the Gulf Coast anywhere between Florida and Louisiana by Tuesday night or early Wednesday, the seventh anniversary of Katrina hitting New Orleans, the U.S. National Hurricane Center said.

“The weather is going to go downhill well in advance of that and that’s why today is the day of preparation,” said NHC director Richard Knabb.

Read more: http://www.mcall.com/business/sns-rt-us-storm-isaacbre87l0ph-20120822,0,2605372.story

Nearly 7,000 Still Without Power In NEPA

Map of Pennsylvania highlighting Wayne County (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Nearly 7,000 PPL Electric Utilities in Northeast Pennsylvania are still without power this morning due to Thursday’s thunderstorms.

A total of 6,737 PPL customers in Lackawanna, Wayne, Pike, Monroe, Susquehanna and Luzerne counties were still without power as of 8:30 a.m., according to the utility’s outage website.

Wayne County had greatest number of customers still without power this morning with 2,701 customers out, though an additional 1,040 had already been restored.

Read more: http://thetimes-tribune.com/news/nearly-7-000-still-without-power-in-nepa-1.1349415

Related story: http://thetimes-tribune.com/news/storms-cause-damage-power-outages-throughout-nepa-1.1349069

Potter County Woman Among 2 Dead After Intense Storms

Map of Pennsylvania highlighting Potter County (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

PHILADELPHIA, PA (AP) — Authorities say a woman has been killed by a tree felled by powerful storms that left tens of thousands of customers without power, mostly in western and central Pennsylvania.

The Potter County coroner says 66-year-old Linda Button was killed Thursday evening in Genesee Township. That’s about 150 miles northeast of Pittsburgh, near the New York border.  State police in Coudersport expect to release more details later Friday.

First Energy Corp. reported about 70,000 customers without power on Friday morning, with the worst problems in Butler County, north of Pittsburgh, and Cambria County, east of the city.  Thousands more outages were reported by PPL Corp. in central Pennsylvania.

In New York City, the storm is blamed for killing a 61-year-old man who was struck by collapsing scaffolding outside a Brooklyn church.  Police say lighting brought bricks down onto the scaffolding.

Read more: http://www.pennlive.com/midstate/index.ssf/2012/07/storms_in_pennsylvania.html#incart_river_default

Bicyclist Hit By Tree On Thun Trail During Last Night’s Violent Storm

Map of Pennsylvania highlighting Berks County (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

A man riding his bicycle on the Thun Trail next to the Schuylkill River was hit on the head and knocked down by a falling tree Thursday night as a powerful thunderstorm roared through Berks County, felling trees, power lines and even street signs.

The rider, a middle-aged man who was not identified by emergency personal, managed to call 9-1-1 for help from under the large tree, which shattered his helmet and mangled his mountain bike.

The accident happened at 7:20 p.m. as the storm knocked down trees and wires across Berks. Transformers blew up, alarms went off in homes and commercial buildings and the lights flickered in the city.

County emergency dispatchers were able to direct city firefighters to a general area along the trail after using cell towers to triangulate the location of the injured man’s cellphone.

Read more: http://readingeagle.com/article.aspx?id=403839

Irene Leaves More Than Two Dozen People Dead In U.S.

Irene claimed 27 lives in eight states according to CBS.

New York’s Metropolitan Transit Authority has begun rebooting their massive system which was entirely shut down for the first time in its history due to weather.

13,000 flights were cancelled, nearly 5 million homes and business lost power at some point during the storm and damage is estimated at $7 billion dollars.

Already people are pointing fingers and crying overreaction.  I say better to overreact and save lives.  Things could have been much worse and we should be thankful for that.

Irene Causes Damage In The Hylton State Forest aka Pottstown

Sixth Ward Councilor and Man of the People Jody Rhoads was out and about this morning assessing storm damage in our fair borough.  Here are some photos Jody took around Pottstown showing the tree damage caused by Hurricane Irene.  Some of it is extensive.  Notice the curb tree damage.  Many thanks to Councilor Rhoads for sharing his photographs with our readers!