Here's why Hurricane Erick is quickly strengthening into dangerous storm

WASHINGTON — Having doubled in strength in less than a day and still expected to grow further, Hurricane Erick on Wednesday chugged through the ideal environment to power up quickly as it approached Mexico's southern Pacific Coast.
This type of rapid intensification has become more common in a warmer climate , especially in the Atlantic and near the United States , which is not where Erick is now, scientists said. Last year, there were 34 incidents of rapid intensification — when a storm gains at least 35 mph in 24 hours — which is about twice as many as average and causes problems with forecasting, according to the National Hurricane Center.

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Learn with AIFact CheckingText to SpeechAI Summary

Related Articles

Washington Post

6 hours ago

• Washington Post

How to cope with grief and find wonder as Earth's climate changes

Over the next two weeks, extreme levels of humidity are forecast to hit about 40 states. Across the country, around 170 million people will experience temperatures above 90 degrees. (Photo by Bonnie Jo Mount/The Washington Post) Kate Marvel watches the world end all the time. She's a physicist who works with climate models, so it's her job to run experiments in computer simulations, watching sea levels rise and temperatures climb. But climate change isn't happening just in models. It's happening here, and now – and Marvel has some feelings about it. In her new book Human Nature: Nine Ways to Feel About Our Changing Planet, Marvel explores the many emotions she has been feeling surrounding climate change – grief, fear and anger, of course, but also hope, wonder and love. In today's Post Reports, she explains how we can all feel a little more empowered and motivated to change the world. Today's show was edited by Ariel Plotnick and mixed by Sean Carter. Subscribe to The Washington Post here.

Yahoo

12 hours ago

• Yahoo

Southern Utah fire destroys 12 homes; hundreds remain evacuated

PINE VALLEY, Washington County — A fast-growing wildfire burning near Pine Valley has now destroyed at least a dozen structures, while hundreds more remain threatened. Firefighters said all 12 structures in the Forsyth Fire were primary or secondary homes. The Washington County Sheriff's Office is recommending that anyone who has not yet evacuated the Pine Valley area leave as soon as possible, as crews continue to battle a wildfire that has grown due to strong winds and other 'critical' fire weather conditions. 'If you have family up in Pine Valley, please tell them to evacuate,' the agency said in a post to Facebook Friday afternoon. About 400 to 500 people were evacuated from Pine Valley, as well as the Pine Valley Campground, U.S. Forest Service spokeswoman Jenny Plecki said in an earlier update. She estimated that 450 homes were evacuated, half of which were occupied by full-time residents. The evacuation was ordered as flames started moving downslope toward the community, Chad Walker, incident commander for the U.S. Forest Service, told KSL-TV. Kelly Cannon, one of the residents forced to evacuate, said she saw the fire get very close to homes on her way out. 'I think the scariest thing was not knowing ... if it was going to come down on our street,' she said. 'We didn't know how far the fire had spread, but we could definitely see — I think the flames were like 3 feet high.' About 150 firefighters have been dispatched to battle the fire, Plecki added. The fire was last listed as about 1,500 acres in size, according to Utah Fire Info, an information source operated by state and federal fire agencies. It remained 0% contained as of 5 p.m. Friday. Police have also closed off Pine Valley Road several miles from where the fire is burning as a safety precaution. The cause of the fire is still being investigated, but authorities say it appears that the fire was caused by lightning. The fire was reported not long after a strike Thursday evening. Strong wind gusts in the area helped fan the fire closer to the Pine Valley community. The update comes as heat, wind and low relative humidity remain in the forecast Friday, prompting the National Weather Service to list most of the state in a red flag warning. 'Critical' fire weather conditions may remain across most of the state through Saturday evening. 'With the red flag conditions that we've had over these last few days, it made engaging the fire extremely difficult,' Walker said. The agency also issued a wind advisory for parts of western Utah, where gusts of up to 45-55 mph were forecasted for Friday ahead of a cold front that is forecast to lower temperatures this weekend. Meanwhile, Rocky Mountain Power, Utah's largest power provider, says it is monitoring the conditions and may temporarily cut power in parts of central and southern Utah until fire weather conditions improve. While the Forsyth Fire began Thursday evening, a large fire burning near Bryce Canyon National Park also grew as wind and other factors 'significantly' increased fire activity in the area. The France Canyon Fire, Utah's largest wildfire so far this season, has now scorched 9,575 acres, doubling in size over the last few days, according to the U.S. Forest Service. Wind gusts of up to 30 mph fanned flames and forced firefighters to take a 'tactical pause,' the agency reported on Friday. Red flag conditions forecast for Friday and Saturday could pose additional problems. Over 500 personnel are assigned to battle the wildfire, which remains 5% contained, but a complex incident management team has now been called in to bring more resources. The lightning-caused fire was first reported within Dixie National Forest on June 11. All Forest Service land south of state Route 12 within the Powell Ranger District remains closed. The Bridge Creek Fire, which is burning near the Utah-Arizona border east of Lake Powell, hasn't grown quite as much. It's now listed at 1,413 acres in size after experiencing 'minimal growth' on Thursday, the Northern Arizona Type 3 Incident Management Team reported on Friday. State and federal firefighters reported over a dozen new wildfires have started since Thursday; most were contained quickly. A fire that sparked in Salt Lake County late Friday also led to an I-80 closure. With strong wind gusts in the forecast through Saturday, Rocky Mountain Power says it may shut off power in some areas to prevent sparking new wildfires. It issued a 'Public Safety Power Shutoff Watch' for parts of southern and central Utah, extending up toward the southern end of the Wasatch Front. Communities like Dixie, Enterprise Valley, Cedar City, Milford, Panguitch, Richfield and Santaquin are mentioned in the advisory. Rocky Mountain Power officials say the outages are most likely to take place in those areas between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m. on Saturday. 'Community safety and reducing wildfire risk are our top priorities,' said Pete Singh, the company's incident commander, in a statement. 'We take the decision to turn off power very seriously. Public Safety Power Shutoffs will be targeted, precise and guided by real-time data from conditions on the ground.' While the U.S. Drought Monitor no longer lists any part of Utah in extreme drought for the first time in months, all parts of the state are now listed as 'abnormally dry' or in some level of drought, highlighting the potential fire danger. Contributing: Alex Cabrero

Yahoo

14 hours ago

• Yahoo

Weather pattern flips hit Canada's summer for July and August

Summer weather has been sporadic so far across Canada. Parts of the country have already experienced record heat, drought, devastating wildfires and widespread smoke. Meanwhile, other areas are still waiting for consistent warm weather. However, mid-June has featured a dramatic pattern reversal. Much cooler spring-like conditions have returned to areas that have already endured record breaking heat. Meanwhile the areas that have been waiting for warmth are seeing a sudden flip to mid-summer-like heat. Will summer continue to play hide and seek, with dramatic but temporary appearances or will we finally settle into a more consistent pattern? Please read on for an update on what we expect during the months of July and August across Canada. RELATED: The official first day of summer is Friday June 20th. However, the first week of summer will be a tale of two seasons across Canada. The graphic below shows the temperature anomalies that we expect for the first official week of summer. The various shades of blue highlight cooler than normal temperatures, which will be widespread from southern B.C. to Labrador. This region will feel more like spring for several days with single-digit high temperatures for parts of the Prairies this weekend and substantial snow for alpine regions in the Rockies. However, across northwestern Canada and from the Great Lakes to the Maritimes, hot weather will dominate during the first week of summer. This will include a couple of days of record-breaking heat and humidity across southern and northeastern Ontario and southern Quebec. However, this pattern will be temporary. During the final days of June and the first week of July, we expect that the focus of heat will slowly shift back to western Canada, while Ontario, Quebec, and Atlantic Canada will trend cooler—closer to seasonal. While the weather will still be changeable at times, we expect that this will become the dominant pattern for most of July and August and even into the first half of September. So, despite the chilly start to the season, we still expect a very hot summer across the Prairies and the interior of B.C. From Ontario to Atlantic Canada, temperatures will be more changeable, with some hot days, but there will be periods of cooler weather as well. We certainly can't rule out another heat wave later in the summer, but we do not expect consistent heat during July. Daytime temperatures are expected to balance out to near normal, but warmer nights (due to higher than normal humidity) will cause parts of the region to tip warmer than normal overall. The more changeable conditions across eastern Canada will also be associated with a more frequent threat of showers and thunderstorms, which should result in near-normal or above-normal precipitation totals for most of the region. While western Canada is seeing much-needed (and even excessive) rain during June, we expect that a much drier pattern will return for July and August. Keep in mind that below-normal precipitation does not mean that there won't be any rain or storms. Thunderstorms with localized torrential rain will still occur, but the storms will be less frequent and less widespread than what we typically see during summer. Unfortunately, below-normal rain totals in combination with warmer-than-normal temperatures can have a negative impact on agriculture and result in an increasing wildfire danger. And, as we have already seen this year, smoke from wildfires can spread across most of Canada and impact places that are experiencing a much cooler and wetter summer. Click here to view the video