Tropical Storm Emily to impact the Caribbean. A tropical storm warning is in effect for: Desirade, Les Saintes, and Marie Galante, Guadeloupe…Vieques and Culebra, Puerto Rico…and the Dominican Republic. Track forecasts call for the storm to begin moving over Cuba toward southern Florida later in the week.
Tropical storm conditions are expected in south Texas by late today. A storm surge will raise water levels by as much as 1 to 2 feet above ground level, mainly along the immediate coast near and to the northeast of where the center makes landfall. Near the coast, the surge will be accompanied by large and damaging waves
A tropical storm watch is in effect for Texas coast from the mouth of the Rio Grande northward to west of San Luis pass.
The National Hurricane Center has begun issuing advisories on newly-formed Tropical Storm Arlene, the first named storm of the 2011 Atlantic season. As of 8:00 PM EDT Tuesday, Arlene was located about 280 miles east-southeast of Tampico, Mexico, and moving to the west-northwest at 7 mph, with maximum sustained winds of 40 mph. Arlene is expected to produce total rainfall accumulations of 4 to 8 inches over the Mexican states of Tamaulipas and Veracruz, with possible isolated maximum amounts of 12 inches over mountainous terrain
The National Hurricane Center has issued a tropical weather outlook indicating a 50 percent chance of a broad area of low pressure currently over the Bay of Campeche becoming a tropical cyclone during the next 48 hours as it moves west-northwest at 5 to 10 miles per hour. An Air Force reserve unit hurricane hunter plane is scheduled to investigate the area this afternoon if necessary.
The NWS National Hurricane Center has joined Twitter just in time for hurricane season. The NHC will “tweet” tropical weather updates via two new Twitter feeds for the Atlantic and Eastern North Pacific basins.
The National Weather Service Storm Prediction Center has issued severe thunderstorm and tornado watches for the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast, including Washington, D.C., much of New England and southeastern New York and Pennsylvania, including New York City.
The death toll has climbed in Joplin, Mo., with 116 people now confirmed dead. It’s now the deadliest single tornado to strike the U.S. since the June 8, 1953, tornado that hit Flint, Mich., also claiming 116 lives.
Yesterday, the NWS Springfield, Mo., Weather Forecast Office issued an early warning with around 30 minutes lead time prior to the devastating tornado that struck Joplin. NWS experts from Springfield and NWS Central Region Headquarters in Kansas City, Mo., are on the ground in Joplin surveying the damage. Springfield is keeping the public updated on their Facebook and Web pages.
The NWS Storm Prediction Center in Norman, Okla., received more than 1,000 reports of severe weather from across parts of the Plains, Midwest and Ohio Valley over the weekend, including more than 700 reports on Sunday. Many tornadoes hit parts of Minnesota, Wisconsin, Iowa and Missouri Sunday afternoon and evening. Hardest-hit were the Minneapolis, Minn., and Joplin, Mo., areas.
