Hurricane Lee is moving slowly in the southern Atlantic approaching the Leeward Islands. [NHC DATA HERE] Residents on the Southeast coast of the USA should monitor. Lee is expected to become a major hurricane later tonight as it moves toward the west-northwest over the next few days.

Hurricane Lee is still a long distance from presenting any immediate risk, but prudent checks and evaluations of your situation should take place.  Keep an eye on the National Hurricane Center for updates.  The storm is not anticipated to be a major focus until mid-week next week.

At 1100 AM AST (1500 UTC), the center of Hurricane Lee was located near latitude 16.4 North, longitude 50.0 West. Lee is moving toward the west-northwest near 15 mph (24 km/h), and this motion is expected to continue through Friday. A slower motion toward the west-northwest is forecast over the weekend. On the forecast track,the core of Lee will move north of the northern Leeward islands during the next few days. (link)

Obviously, this is currently a long way from the eastern U.S.  However, coastal residents should keep an eye on Lee and evaluate their pre-existing preparedness plans.

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The time for preparations and/or evacuation decisions is past.  This is pure hunker down time right now.  Those in the immediate impact zone of Hurricane Idalia will see rapidly deteriorating weather conditions over the next few hours.  Landfall expected at sunrise Wednesday.

Idalia will remain at hurricane strength throughout Georgia and likely into South Carolina.  There will be a large swath of area impacted.  There will be power outages and severe disruptions in all three states throughout the day today.

At 200 AM EDT (0600 UTC), the center of Hurricane Idalia was located near latitude 28.3 North, longitude 84.5 West. Idalia is moving toward the north near 15 mph (24 km/h). A northward to north-northeastward motion is expected through morning, with Idalia’s center forecast to reach the Big Bend coast of Florida this morning. After landfall, Idalia is forecast to turn toward the northeast and east-northeast, moving near or along the coasts of Georgia, South Carolina, and North Carolina late today and Thursday.

Hurricane Hunter aircraft data indicate that maximum sustained winds have increased to near 120 mph (195 km/h) with higher gusts. Idalia is a category 3 hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Scale. Additional strengthening is forecast, and Idalia is forecast to become a category 4 hurricane before it reaches the Big Bend coast of Florida this morning. Idalia is likely to still be a hurricane while moving across southern Georgia, and possibly when it reaches the coast of Georgia or southern South Carolina late today. (more)

What follows is the #1 requested information by those who nervously anticipate the arrival of their first Hurricane experience.

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Information from the National Hurricane Center [DATA HERE] indicates currently slow-moving Tropical Storm Idalia will likely speed up quickly tomorrow and form a Hurricane in the Gulf of Mexico on Tuesday.  The current cone of uncertainty puts the Northern and Western portion of Florida at greatest risk.

At 100 PM CDT (1800 UTC), the center of Tropical Storm Idalia was located near latitude 20.0 North, longitude 85.8 West. Idalia is moving toward the north near 2 mph (4 km/h), and it is likely to meander near the Yucatan Channel through tonight. A faster motion toward the north is expected on Monday, bringing the system over the eastern Gulf of Mexico.

Maximum sustained winds remain near 40 mph (65 km/h) with higher gusts. Strengthening is forecast, and Idalia is expected to become a hurricane by Tuesday.

Idalia will come fast, most likely making landfall at a category 2 hurricane.  Those in the cone of uncertainty should pay attention, and people in the Tampa and St Pete region who have really lucked out in the past 30 years, should pay very close attention.

I hope you will understand why my proactive tips, advice and planning have modified since our experience with the September 2022 Hurricane, Ian. {Go Deep} Thankfully Idalia is not expected to be anything similar to Ian.  However, for those in the Tampa/St Pete area, do not be complacent.   This is a large metropolitan area with a similar demographic to the impact zone of Ian.

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Two good facets for Southern California as Hilary arrives.  First, she’s losing power and has dropped into strong tropical storm strength.  Second, she’s moving north very fast at 25 mph, which is contributing to the weakening.  The storm event should be complete for the state in less than 24 hours. That said, the rain and flooding look to be the biggest issue for the region. [NHS Information]

Six to ten inches of heavy rain with sustained winds of 40 mph+, with higher gusts, can create major issues for an area of hard soil that doesn’t generally get large amounts of rain in a short period of time.  Washed out roads, fallen trees, flash flooding and other significant risks associated with this scale of rain are the major concern.  As with most storms of this type, if you are in higher elevation areas the wind will be much stronger.

Hurricane Center – {…] At 800 AM PDT (1500 UTC), the center of Tropical Storm Hilary was located near latitude 29.7 North, longitude 115.9 West. Hilary is moving quickly toward the north-northwest near 25 mph (41 km/h). Hilary is expected to accelerate even more as it moves north-northwestward to northward during the next day or so. On the forecast track, the center of Hilary will move near or over the northern portion of the Baja California Peninsula during the next few hours, and then move across southern California this afternoon. (more)

All preparations should be completed and everyone in the zone of largest impact should remain indoors for the next 24 hours.  Power failures are highly likely as the storm will knock out electricity throughout the region. [Good luck to those with EV’s] In the hours immediately following the storm, do not travel.  Stay close to home as the emergency service and first responders will activate to the areas of greatest issue.

We have quite a few Treepers in this area.  Check in when you can and if you need anything send us an email or drop a comment, I will be checking throughout.  The biggest issue I would foresee is the potential for weakened infrastructure, roads, bridges and systems that perhaps have not encountered high pressure or stress for many years.

Always take these things seriously, but do not alarm yourself with dark imaginings.  Be prudent, be wise and be safe. Focus on the immediate area around your home, pull your family in close, watch out for each other and mitigate risks from a 100-foot perspective.  [If “it” (a risk or threat) is within 100′, that’s your focus.]

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We loaded a CERT toolbox trailer yesterday that is heading to Mississippi to assist as recovery efforts get underway.  Samaritan’s Purse is now on the ground in two locations, Rolling Fork and Armory [Register to Volunteer Here]  Any Treepers in the impact zone check in and feel free to provide updates on the ground events that relate to your area.

(Via Fox News) – Help began pouring into one of the poorest regions of the U.S. after a deadly tornado tore a path of destruction for more than an hour across a long swath of Mississippi, even as furious new storms Sunday struck across the Deep South.

At least 25 people were killed and dozens of others were injured in Mississippi as the massive storm ripped through more than a half-dozen towns late Friday. A man was also killed in Alabama after his trailer home flipped over several times.

“Everything I can see is in some state of destruction,” said Jarrod Kunze, who drove to the hard-hit Mississippi town of Rolling Fork from his home in Alabama, ready to help “in whatever capacity I’m needed.”

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The Mississippi Emergency Management Agency (MEMA) reported earlier today that at least 23 people were killed last night as a massive tornado hit multiple small towns. Their latest statement reads, “Unfortunately, these numbers are expected to change.”  Search and recovery efforts are underway.

All Treepers in the region please check in and let us know your status in the comment section.

(Via ABC) – At least 23 people died as a “destructive” tornado and strong thunderstorms swept across Mississippi late Friday, leaving a trail of damage for more than 100 miles, local and federal authorities said.

Search and rescue operations were underway in Sharkey and Humphreys counties, Mississippi’s Emergency Management Agency said late Friday. The agency issued a series of tornado warnings in counties throughout the state.

[…] Thirteen people died in Sharkey County, Coroner Angelia Easton told ABC News, adding that she could not yet confirm their ages. Carroll County Coroner Mark Stiles said three people had died. Another two were dead in Monroe County, Coroner Alan Gurley said. Jose Watson, a Mississippi Highway Patrol trooper, said one person died in Silver City, in Humphreys County. (read more)

It looks like the town of Rolling Fork has been hit hard. Rolling Fork is a small Mississippi town of about 2,000 people in Sharkey County. It was the birthplace of the blues singer Muddy Waters and sits between the Mississippi and Yazoo rivers. Silver City also looks to have taken a direct hit and the area damage is described as catastrophic.

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Their names will not make national headlines, and generally everyone has moved on, but to their families and friends Ilonka Knes and James Hurst mattered.  As CTH readers may remember, in the aftermath of Hurricane Ian we shared that many missing people would be found in the months after the storm, and unfortunately many more will likely never be found.

The body of Mrs Ilonka Knes (82) was found in the mangroves and back bay salt marsh near Fort Myers Beach and has been positively identified. The body of her husband Robert was found in the days immediately following Hurricane Ian.

Additionally, the sailboat “Good Girl” was found submerged with human remains believed to be the body of James ‘Denny’ Hurst (73).

Mrs. Knes and Mr Hurst bring the total number of Hurricane Ian victims in Lee County, Florida, to seventy-five.  Mr. Hurst was the final “official” missing person on the local list; however, there are many more yet unaccounted that were not from this immediate area.   The physical devastation is widespread, but the emotional toll on the families and friends of the missing has been beyond imagining.  Tonight, two more families have answers.

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Buffalo New York is known for its extreme snow and cold weather as an outcome of Lake Erie and the ‘lake effect’ snow created.  However, the current arctic storm is making even normally bad Buffalo even more dangerous.

Up to twelve people have been killed after they were trapped in their vehicles and currently rescue operations are underway at the airport to recover air traffic controllers who were stranded in the control tower.

(Reuters) – A deadly blizzard paralyzed Buffalo, New York, on Christmas Day, trapping motorists in their cars, knocking out electricity to thousands of homes and raising the death toll from a severe winter storm system that has chilled much of the United States for days.

At least 30 people have died in U.S. weather-related incidents, according to an NBC News tally, since a deep freeze gripped most of the nation, coupled with snow, ice and howling winds from a storm that roared out of the Great Lakes region late last week.

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Extreme winter weather, such as subzero temperatures, wind chills and heavy snow, is impacting much of the U.S. this Christmas holiday weekend and is expected to heavily impact travel.  Major parts of the U.S. electricity grid are very vulnerable, particularly as a result of Biden energy policy, steering investment away from coal, oil and natural gas.

Places across the northern Rockies, northern Plains and upper Midwest are experiencing temperature drops by tens of degrees in minutes.  The extremely cold airmass is expected to hit at least 24 other states along the Gulf Coast and in the eastern U.S.  The National Weather Service has a Detailed Warning HERE.

The potential for severe consequences as an outcome of this winter storm has the political minders of Joe Biden worried.

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(Via NWS) – A major and anomalous storm system is forecast to produce a multitude of weather hazards through early this weekend, as heavy snowfall, strong winds, and dangerously cold temperatures span from the northern Great Basin through the Plains, Upper Midwest, Great Lakes, and the northern/central Appalachians.

At the forefront of the impressive weather pattern is a dangerous and record-breaking cold air mass in the wake of a strong arctic cold front diving southward across the southern Plains today and eastward into the Ohio/Tennessee Valleys by tonight.

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Hurricane conditions are expected from Boca Raton to Flagler/Volusia County line along the coast in Florida tonight.  However, do not focus only on the center of the storm. Hurricane winds extend 25 miles from center, tropical storm winds 400+ miles from center, and massive rain are anticipated over central Florida with significant flooding north of Lake O.  Residents along coastal and inland waterways should be fully prepared for this storm.  Overnight conditions will deteriorate rapidly.

At 1000 PM EST (0300 UTC), the center of Hurricane Nicole was located near latitude 27.0 North, longitude 78.9 West. Nicole is moving toward the west-northwest near 13 mph (20 km/h). A turn toward the northwest is expected on Thursday, followed by a turn toward the north and north-northeast on Friday.

On the forecast track, the center of Nicole will move onshore the east coast of Florida within the hurricane warning area late tonight or early Thursday. Nicole’s center is then expected to move across central and northern Florida into southern Georgia Thursday and Thursday night, and into the Carolinas Friday.

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