By GUY ELLIS
The Associated Press

CASTRIES, St. Lucia - Hurricane Dean roared into the eastern Caribbean on Friday, tearing away roofs, flooding streets and causing at least three deaths. Winds hit 150 mph as it headed on a collision course with Jamaica and Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula, where it is forecast to become a Category 5 storm.

The Atlantic season’s first hurricane built to a powerful Category 4 storm Friday night after crossing over the warm waters of the Caribbean. The National Hurricane Center in Miami forecast that Dean would become a Category 5 storm - with winds surpassing 155 mph - as it approaches Yucatan on Monday.

Dean could threaten the United States by Wednesday, forecasters said, and Texas Gov. Rick Perry’s office suggested people get ready.

On tiny St. Lucia, fierce winds tore corrugated metal roofs from dozens of houses and a hospital’s pediatric ward, whose patients had been evacuated hours earlier. Police said a 62-year-old man drowned when he tried to retrieve a cow from a rain’swollen river.

The government on Dominica reported that a woman and her 7-year-old son died when a hillside soaked by Dean’s rains gave way and crushed the house where they were sleeping.

French authorities on the nearby island of Martinique said a 90-year-old man had died of a heart attack during the storm but it was unclear whether it was a factor.

read more HERE

Hurricane Dean: (going to be one bad mofo wherever it goes. Pressure already down to 987)

Now forecast to mushroom into a Category 4 with 135 mph sustained winds, Dean became a hurricane early Thursday and was still in position to easily attack the U.S. East Coast as it plowed west across the Atlantic.

On the other hand, the forecast track was being steadily adjusted to the south, and the storm was predicted to pass south of Cuba. If so, it would remain about 500 miles from Florida.

Those projections could change. Forecasters were growing more confident, however, that a high-pressure area north of Dean’s forward track would keep the storm on a westerly course and prevent a northward turn toward Florida.

Tropical Storm Erin:

Some vacationers packed up while others vowed to wait out Tropical Storm Erin and its torrential rainfall as it headed for flood-weary Texas early Thursday.
Meanwhile, Hurricane Dean formed in the open Atlantic and headed toward the Lesser Antilles in the Caribbean, forecasters said.

Erin was not expected to gain hurricane strength before making landfall Thursday morning, which was why some said they wouldn’t abandon long-planned trips to Texas’ coast.

You can track these storms here

PERU HIT WITH MASSIVE EARTHQUAKE, 337 DEAD
Tsunami warning was issued for Peru, Chile, Ecuador and Colombia ( I just heard on the news the tsunami warning has been cancelled.)

A massive earthquake hit Peru on Wednesday evening and officials said hundreds of people were killed in the rubble of collapsed homes and a church as rescuers searched for victims early on Thursday.

Peru’s Health Minister Carlos Vallejos said 115 died in the 7.9-magnitude quake. But the nation’s civil defense agency, which leads rescue efforts, said more than 330 perished.

A view of a building on fire after an earthquake struck Rimac district in Peru, August 15, 2007. The massive earthquake hit Peru on Wednesday evening and officials said hundreds of people were killed in the rubble of collapsed homes and a church as rescuers searched for victims early on Thursday. (REUTERS/Andina/Handout)
Hundreds were injured and forced to sleep outside.

“Unfortunately we have official numbers,” Luis Palomino, the head of the agency, told Reuters. On its web site, the agency said 337 people died and 827 were injured.

Emergency workers said the coastal province of Ica south of Lima was the hardest hit region.

ALMOST 300 DEAD IN NORTH KOREA FLOODING

Almost 300 people are dead or missing in floods in North Korea, an aid agency said Thursday, as the communist state painted a grim picture of inundated crops and homes, flooded mines and washed-out roads.

The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) said 214 were killed and 80 are missing in what it has called the worst floods to hit the impoverished country in a decade.

The acting head of the IFRC delegation in Pyongyang, Terje Lysholm, told Agence France-Presse by phone that the figures — the first detailed casualty count — came from the government.

Although the Atlantic hurricane season starts June 1st, August through October is the prime time. G has been predicting we’d get hit some time around August 15th with the first one. Looks like he may be right on that one. Of course, I’m supposed to fly out of here August 23rd, so it will probably be then that we get it. Airports closed. Keeping fingers crossed here……..and shutters at the ready. There’s a system they’re watching in the Gulf of Mexico, also. You can track the Atlantic and Gulf here.

Tropical Depression 4 formed in the far eastern Atlantic Ocean and another depression could form in the Gulf of Mexico over the next day or so, the U.S. National Hurricane Center said on Monday.

In an outlook issued at 11 a.m. EDT, the NHC said the center of the Tropical Depression 4 was located about 520 miles west’southwest of the southernmost Cape Verde Islands and about 2,000 miles east of the Lesser Antilles.

Tropical Depression 4 is moving toward the west near 21 miles per hour with maximum sustained winds near 35 mph.

The NHC forecast the Tropical Depression 4 could strengthen into a tropical storm (winds of 39-73 mph) during the next 24 hours. The NHC will name the next tropical storm Dean.

More at Reuters

By GRAHAM BOWLEY and JOHN HOLUSHA
from The New York Times

Powerful thunderstorms swept through the New York metropolitan area this morning, tearing up trees and damaging cars and homes, and creating havoc during the morning commute.

Subway stations were flooded, forcing commuters out onto the streets and into taxis and buses, and bringing traffic in many areas to a standstill. The region’s three major airports - La Guardia, Kennedy and Newark - all reported flight cancellations and delays.

No subway line was unaffected by the heavy rains and winds, according to the M.T.A. For the time being, the M.T.A. was advising commuters to stay at home.

Train delays and cancellations were reported on the Long Island Railroad and Metro-North, and train and bus delays and cancellations were reported on New Jersey transit. As the storm knocked down power lines, thousands of homes were without power.

An M.T.A. spokesman said train and bus services were expected to return to normal by about noon.

Meteorologist Brian Ciemnecki of the National Weather Service said an investigator would be sent to the scene to determine if a tornado was responsible, The Associated Press reported.

But Jeff Warner, a meteorologist at Penn State University, said no tornados formed or touched down. He said 1.7 inches of rain fell in Central Park between 6 and 7 a.m., and recent hot, humid weather powered clusters of thunderstorms over Pennsylvania and lower New York State that moved through the metropolitan area.

read more HERE

Rumors has it that staffers were required to sign the petition by higher ups in Washington DC. After speaking out about Washington’s decision of directing $2million for a NOAA public relations campaign rather than funding a new hurricane satellite it was over for Proenza. I guess Bush didn’t like that. Loyalty…..it’s all about loyalty. Competence doesn’t matter…..as long as you’re loyal!! I do have to say, though, that I love Ed Rappaport. I wondered why he wasn’t named director when Max Mayfield resigned. I figured he didn’t want the job, and it looks like that’s the case, since he’s been named the “acting director.” I imagine they offered him the job and he said no. But that’s just my guess. Living on the South Florida coast, this is an important issue for me. I was devastated when Max Mayfield retired, and I think he did so because no one in the Bush administration listens. He was disgusted after Hurricane Katrina.

From Reuters:

by Jim Loney

The director of the U.S. National Hurricane Center, a critical government agency that issues hurricane and tropical storm forecasts, was ousted on Monday after a staff mutiny.

Bill Proenza, who was appointed to the top hurricane job about six month ago, was embroiled in controversy after criticizing his Washington bosses for spending money on public relations while an aging weather satellite needed replacement.

After vowing not to be silenced, Proenza faced a revolt at the Miami hurricane center last week, when 23 staff members, about half the work force, issued a petition calling for him to resign.

They said Proenza had “poisoned the atmosphere” at the hurricane center, which also issues weather information widely used by nations throughout the Caribbean basin.

“We need to move forward,” NHC spokesman Dennis Feltgen said. “Effective immediately, Ed Rappaport will serve as acting director on an interim basis.”

Rappaport, a veteran hurricane forecaster, was the center’s deputy director.

Read more »

By MATT GOURAS
Associated Press Writer

HELENA, Mont. - If a record-breaking heat wave doesn’t lift soon, cattle rancher Sharon McDonald may see her hay crop turn to dust. Oppressive temperatures eased a bit Friday in some parts of the West, but McDonald’s central Montana ranch baked under triple-digit heat. Forecasters reported little relief in the days ahead, saying the weather system that brought the high temperatures could last well into next week.

Extreme heat plagued much of Idaho, Nevada, Utah, Oregon and Washington state.

In Montana, temperatures above 100 degrees are usually not seen until August. The normal July high in Helena is 83 degrees - not the high 90s seen Friday. Triple-digit records were set or tied in several Montana cities, including Great Falls and Billings at 104 degrees each. The mercury reached 105 in the north-central Montana town of Havre and at the Gallatin Field Airport near Bozeman.

Boise, Idaho reached 105 degrees Friday, and some found it too hot to play at a public water fountain.

Temperatures were expected to ease slightly in Southern California. Phoenix saw a modest drop, a somewhat cooler 112 degrees compared to 115 on Thursday.

Heat remained an issue along the border. The bodies of six suspected illegal immigrants have been found since Monday in southern Arizona deserts, all likely victims of heat illness while trying to walk into the U.S. from Mexico.

In eastern Oregon, which set 15 record highs on Thursday, temperatures largely dropped to the high 90s. In the center part of the state, population growth and a burgeoning demand for air conditioning meant a rise in electricity demand. T

The National Forest Service reported at least 16 fires over 500 acres in size burning throughout the West, including three new ones that sparked Thursday.

Fire danger was most extreme in Arizona, California, Oregon and Utah - although a “red flag” warning was posted for much of the West.

In California, heat was mostly confined to inland regions, with triple-digit readings in the Sacramento and San Joaquin valleys.

The mercury topped 100 in the Woodland Hills area of Los Angeles’ San Fernando Valley and in the high desert cities of Lancaster and Palmdale, while out east by the Colorado River, the little city of Needles sweltered in 115-degree heat.

But temperatures in most of Los Angeles and the populous Southern California coastal zone were in the 70s and low 80s, while San Francisco and Monterey Bay cities were even cooler.

But the heat will hover over most of the far West through at least the end of next week, said Kelly Redmond, a regional climatologist for the National Weather Service. He said it could migrate further inland and cover more of the West, including Colorado, as the week goes on.

read more at YAHOO! NEWS

His bosses responded by slapping Proenza with what amounted to a reprimand, saying he may have misinformed the American public. They also expressed displeasure that he had gone to the media to state his case, making them look bad in the process.

Ahhhhh I think you do a real good job of making yourselves look bad. As is always the case, do your job and do it right…..and you won’t have to worry about looking bad, now will you?

By Ken Kaye
South Florida Sun-Sentinel

He hasn’t even dealt with his first serious threat as new director of the National Hurricane Center. Yet Bill Proenza already is in the eye of a storm, one raging not in the atmosphere but in the federal bureaucracy.

Proenza touched off a heated exchange when he publicly protested that his superiors in the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration have failed to plan a replacement for QuikSCAT, a doomed satellite considered crucial for tropical weather forecasts.

His bosses responded by slapping Proenza with what amounted to a reprimand, saying he may have misinformed the American public. They also expressed displeasure that he had gone to the media to state his case, making them look bad in the process.

But members of Congress, meteorologists and ordinary people who live in hurricane-threatened areas swiftly came to Proenza’s aid, saying it took guts for him to confront the brass at NOAA, a huge federal agency not used to being prodded or questioned from inside.

“He spoke up when someone needed to speak up. This problem has been percolating for a while,” said U.S. Rep. Ron Klein, D-Boca Raton.

“By identifying these issues, Dr. Proenza was upholding the highest standards of public service,” U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson, D-Florida, wrote to the U.S. Department of Commerce, which oversees NOAA.

More at the Sun Sentinel

He intends to let the American people know what’s going on. Well we can’t have that!!!

By Ken Kaye
South Florida Sun-Sentinel

DEERFIELD BEACH Bill Proenza is hunting for a new home in South Broward County. That’s because he intends to remain the director of the National Hurricane Center in Miami-Dade County for at least five years, he said Wednesday.

Yet during a news conference, he was besieged by questions as to whether he might be fired after receiving a stern letter last week from a top National Weather Service official, saying he had violated a number of federal protocols.

Among those, was publicly criticizing his superiors in the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration for failing to plan a replacement for the QuikSCAT satellite, which has helped provide accurate storm forecasts but is doomed to die soon.

On Wednesday, Proenza said he has no fear of losing his job.

He said he has the support of several members of Congress - including U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson, D-Fla., - as well as the general public.

“I’m encouraged,” he said, adding that he plans to continue his public campaign to get a next-generation weather satellite launched as soon as possible. “I intend to be very upfront and make sure the American people know what’s going on.”

More at the Sun Sentinel

yah….let’s work on a Star Wars defense and forget about anything else that matters.

MIAMI (AP) - An aging weather satellite crucial to accurate predictions on the intensity and path of hurricanes could fail at any moment and plans to launch a replacement have been pushed back seven years to 2016.
In a letter obtained by The Associated Press, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s chief said the failure of the QuikScat satellite could bring more uncertainty to forecasts and widen the areas that are placed under hurricane watches and warnings.

If the satellite faltered, experts estimate that the accuracy of two- day forecasts would suffer by 10 percent and three-day forecasts by 16 percent, which could translate into miles of coastline and the difference between a city being evacuated or not.

“We would go blind. It would be significantly hazardous,” said Wayne Sallade, emergency manager in Charlotte County, which was hit hard by Hurricane Charley in 2004.

In the letter to a Florida congressman, NOAA Administrator Conrad Lautenbacher blamed the delays on technical and budget problems. Scientists said if QuikScat failed, they may have to rely on less accurate satellites.

Bill Proenza, director of the National Hurricane Center in Miami, said authorities “may have to err on the side of caution” in future forecasts.

That means “more people disrupted, and more impact on the economy,” Proenza said. “On the other hand, we have to err on the side of the protection of life. And that’s how we would handle it.”

More at Breitbart.com

Deep cracks cover the bottom of what should be five-feet deep Lake Okeechobee near Okeechobee, Fla. in early May. On June 1, the lake broke a record for its all-time low water level.

Drought, a fixture in much of the West for nearly a decade, now covers more than one-third of the continental USA. And it’s spreading.

As summer starts, half the nation is either abnormally dry or in outright drought from prolonged lack of rain that could lead to water shortages, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor, a weekly index of conditions. Welcome rainfall last weekend from Tropical Storm Barry brought short-term relief to parts of the fire’scorched Southeast. But up to 50 inches of rain is needed to end the drought there, and this is the driest spring in the Southeast since record-keeping began in 1895, according to the National Climatic Data Center.

California and Nevada just recorded their driest June-to-May period since 1924, and a lack of rain in the West could make this an especially risky summer for wildfires.

More at USA Today

BEIJING (Reuters) - Rain storms and floods have killed at least 23 people across southern China in recent days and made thousands homeless, Xinhua news agency said on Saturday.

“Millions of people are suffering,” it said.

Storms killed seven people and left four missing in the southern province of Guizhou on Friday and Saturday. Nearly 20,000 hectares (77 sq miles) of cropland were flooded and 3,000 houses destroyed, Xinhua said.

In Guangdong province, bordering Hong Kong, heavy rain triggered landslides killing three people and destroying 788 houses and about 1,120 hectares of cropland, Xinhua said.

Storms cut off a railway link between Meizhou and Shantou in Guangdong leaving about 1,100 passengers stranded on Friday.

In neighboring Guangxi, two people were killed in torrential rain that destroyed 610 homes, Xinhua said, citing flood control authorities.

In Guangxi, high school students sitting all-important university entrance exams on Thursday and Friday had to be evacuated as heavy rain submerged their classrooms, Xinhua said.

Storms also broke 29 reservoirs, 362 embankments, 165 roads and forced 59 factories to suspend production, Xinhua quoted Chen Rundong, deputy head of the regional flood control office, as saying.

Here we go…… 3 1/2 weeks before the hurricane season begins.

From CNN

MIAMI, Florida (AP) — Subtropical Storm Andrea formed Wednesday off the Southeastern U.S. coast, more than three weeks before the official start of the Atlantic hurricane season, forecasters said.

The year’s first named storm had top sustained winds near 45 mph (72 kph) and was centered about 140 miles (225 kilometers) southeast of Savannah, Georgia, at 11 a.m. ET, the National Hurricane Center said.

Subtropical systems are hybrid weather formations that are usually weaker than hurricanes and tropical storms.

They share characteristics of tropical systems, which get their power from warm ocean waters at their centers, and more typical bad weather that forms when warm and cold fronts collide.