As Florida continues to recover from the impacts of a particularly brutal hurricane season, the National Hurricane Center (NHC) in Miami has identified a new area of concern in the Eastern Tropical Atlantic. According to the latest update, a low-pressure system located a few hundred miles west of the Cabo Verde Islands has shown diminishing…
On Sunday, President Joe Biden announced $94 million in federal funding to strengthen Florida’s electrical grid in the aftermath of Hurricanes Milton and Helene. The funding is part of a broader $612 million initiative aimed at improving grid resilience across the southeastern U.S. The decision to direct taxpayer money to highly profitable utility companies, such…
A new study published in Nature suggests that we may be overly optimistic about our ability to reverse global warming after exceeding key temperature thresholds. The study, conducted by a team of international scientists, warns that surpassing the 1.5°C goal set by the Paris Agreement could lead to long-lasting and possibly irreversible climate impacts, even…
Josephine County Commissioners have put a 320-acre tract of forestland known as “Pipe Fork” up for auction, a move that has alarmed environmentalists and dashed hopes of preserving the land through a previously arranged conservation deal. The Williams Community Forest Project, a local conservation group, had secured over $2 million from the Conservation Fund, along…
As Hurricane Milton, a powerful and potentially catastrophic storm, approaches Florida’s Gulf Coast, several jails and prisons located within mandatory evacuation zones will not evacuate incarcerated individuals. This decision has sparked growing concerns for the safety of thousands of incarcerated residents in the state’s correctional facilities. Among the jails refusing to evacuate is Manatee County…
As Florida braces for Hurricane Milton, projected to be a Category 3 or 4 hurricane at landfall, the potential financial impact looms large, with insured losses estimated to reach $100 billion. Analysts from Morningstar DBRS and RBC have played crucial roles in these projections, suggesting that the losses would be substantial. Citizens Property Insurance Corp.,…
Hurricane Milton’s structure has started to change due to the onset of strong southwesterly shear, which the University of Wisconsin’s Cooperative Institute for Meteorological Satellite Studies (UW-CIMSS) is analyzing to be between 30 and 35 knots. The cloud canopy has become more asymmetric, with dry air infiltrating the western side of the circulation. The eye…
As Hurricane Milton barrels toward Florida, the state faces more than just immediate damage from one of the most powerful storms in recent history. Governor Ron DeSantis’ recently enacted anti-camping law, designed to curb unsheltered homelessness by criminalizing outdoor encampments, could leave hundreds of thousands of newly homeless Floridians in a precarious legal situation. The…
In a historic ruling, the U.S. Supreme Court has abolished the Chevron deference, a foundational legal doctrine that has shaped federal regulatory authority since 1984. This decision will severely impair the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) ability to combat climate change, resulting in more frequent and intense hurricanes. Chevron deference, stemming from the case Chevron U.S.A.,…
Hurricane Milton continues to intensify as it approaches Florida, bringing with it the potential for catastrophic damage to condos and other coastal structures already under pressure from the state’s new inspection laws. Recent microwave images and data from Hurricane Hunter aircraft reveal that Milton completed an eyewall replacement overnight. The new, more powerful eyewall has…
