Latest news with #storm
Yahoo
11 hours ago
- Climate
- Yahoo
Fairmont State hosts housing fair for those displaced by Sunday's flooding
Jun. 19—FAIRMONT — Bella, a demure border collie mix, is a proper lady. The polite pup always lets people know when she needs to go outside. That's why Teresa Snyder was surprised when she saw the water on the floor. "Bella, that's not like you, girl, " Snyder remembered saying. Then she saw the actual source—water was coming in under her door. When she looked in the hallway, she saw it pouring down the walls, which she was trying to process, just as her ceiling began giving way at the same time. "We had to get out of there, " said Snyder, who lived on the ground floor of Fairmont Village Apartments. "The whole place was coming down all around us." Water on the flat roof of the apartment was pooling so fast — it rained about three inches in 30 minutes — that the resulting pressure from the build-up caused a back wall to blow out. The sloped parking lot wasn't much better. Call it a fish bowl laced with white-water rapids, said Snyder's friend, Van Clark. "I know it was at five feet, " Clark said. "Yeah, and I don't swim, " Snyder added with a shiver. Clark made sure an agitated Bella was secure on her leash as he hoisted Snyder to a window. She suffered bruises and cuts to her feet that required a tetanus shot for good measure. "Well, we were lucky and we know it was worse for a lot of other people, " she said. "I feel bad for them. It's a tragedy." Snyder was referring to Ohio County in the Northern Panhandle, which was hit harder than Fairmont and Marion County. The storm that raged Saturday night to the north unspooled in north-central West Virginia the next day. To date, eight people have died in the Ohio County floods. Gov. Patrick Morrisey declared a state of emergency for both counties earlier this week, saying disaster relief from the Federal Emergency Management Agency is on its way. Hopefully, the governor said. Which was why, in part, that Snyder, Clark and Bella, too, were waiting at the Fairmont State University Falcon Center student union on Thursday afternoon. The university was hosting a housing fair for displaced Fairmont Village residents. Representatives of the state Housing Development Fund and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development were there, along with the West Virginia Coalition to End Homelessness. Tygart Valley United Way had a table and a computer terminal, as did the American Red Cross and the Marion County Emergency Operations Center. The idea, said Brian Selmeski, Fairmont State's chief of staff, is to get people back under a permanent roof, while launching the paperwork so that can eventually happen. A Fairmont State social worker was also there to help those residents who were roiled emotionally by the deluge. In the hours after Sunday's storm, the university opened part of the Falcon Center for emergency lodging. That shelter will remain open for as long as needed, Selmeski said. "We're here for our community, " the chief of staff said. "This is what we're supposed to be doing." As people were still queuing up, more heavy rain could be witnessed on the other side of the large glass windows of the complex Thursday. Rain lashed and trees were bent by the brief storm that blew through campus. "Yeah, I hope that doesn't get too interesting, " one man said.
CTV News
11 hours ago
- Climate
- CTV News
Environment Canada explains timing of Essex tornado alert, as experts weigh in
A storm prompted a tornado warning on June 5 at 12:32 a.m., which many residents say came after the worst of the weather had passed. Following concerns from Essex residents about the timing of a tornado warning earlier this month, Environment Canada is explaining the science behind how and when such alerts are issued. It comes as the Town of Essex formally moves forward with a request for answers, approving a motion this week to ask Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC) to clarify how its alerts are triggered and whether southern Essex County has adequate radar coverage. The June 5 storm prompted a tornado warning at 12:32 a.m., which many residents say came after the worst of the weather had passed. According to ECCC, that alert followed a severe thunderstorm warning issued at 12:03 a.m., when the storm was over Harrow and tracking northeast. 'Tornado Warnings are issued by ECCC when there is evidence that a tornado has developed or may form imminently,' said spokesperson Hannah Boonstra in a statement to CTV News. She said meteorologists 'always strive to provide the best lead-time possible with all warnings and use all available observation data to inform their decisions.' Boonstra explained that Essex County is primarily covered by radar in Exeter, Ontario, with additional data used from neighbouring U.S. radar systems to help forecasters monitor developing storms. 'ECCC is continually enhancing its weather services,' she added, 'taking full advantage of the latest technology to upgrade the tools used to predict and relay information about the weather to Canadians.' Essex Mayor Sherry Bondy says the storm and the delayed alert have reinforced the need for timely communication in the region. 'We know Windsor-Essex County; we're surrounded by water. We're surrounded by the Great Lakes, the river,' said Bondy. 'We know that there's storms here that can be quite volatile, and we need accurate information.' She says she's hopeful the town's outreach will lead to more than just a written response. 'Maybe there's a relationship where in Essex we offer some municipal property for them to use to put more infrastructure,' said Bondy. 'One of the hardest things' to forecast CTV News also spoke with David Sills, director of Western University's Northern Tornadoes Project, who said tornado warnings are notoriously difficult to issue with precision. 'Tornadoes are very difficult to warn for,' he said. 'Every second counts when it comes to tornado warnings.' Sills said his team evaluates the performance of Environment Canada's warnings each year, and while they've improved slightly, there's still room to grow. 'They've been improving the last few times we've done the report card,' he said. 'But, you know, there's a lot of work left to do.' He noted that the target lead time for a tornado warning is only about ten minutes — making fast, accurate alerts a constant challenge for forecasters. 'It's really one of the hardest things as a forecaster, dealing with tornadoes and tornado warnings,' he said. Tornado risk remains high in Ontario In 2024, Ontario led the country in tornado activity, with 60 tornadoes confirmed across the province, according to the Northern Tornadoes Project. Among them was Canada's first tornado of the year — an EF0 landspout that touched down in Malden Centre, right in Essex County, on March 16, 2024. It tied a record for Ontario's earliest confirmed tornado on record. The rising number of verified tornadoes in recent years is due in part to improved radar coverage and enhanced investigations by the Northern Tornadoes Project, which uses satellite imagery, drone surveys and ground reports to confirm and classify events. While most tornadoes are weak and short-lived, Bondy says they still present serious risk and require timely communication tools. 'We haven't yet heard back [from Environment Canada], but I've heard back from residents that they need to do more,' she said. 'We need to have a good working relationship with Environment Canada so that we can trust and rely.'
Yahoo
13 hours ago
- Climate
- Yahoo
2 tornadoes touched down in Indiana on June 18, NWS says. Here's where
Two tornadoes touched down near Lafayette as part of a line of storms that swept across several states June 18, the National Weather Service's Indianapolis office has concluded. The strong thunderstorms that knocked out power across Indiana the afternoon of June 18 spawned two EF0 tornadoes west and northwest of Lafayette as they skipped along a path across much of Tippecanoe County, the NWS said June 19. Most of the damage in the county was from straight-line winds, but the two tornadoes damaged trees and caused minor damage to two houses, according to the weather service. The tornadoes were a third to half a mile in length with estimated maximum winds of 75-80 mph, the NWS said. This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Tornadoes touched down near Lafayette, Indiana, on June 18, NWS says
CBS News
14 hours ago
- Climate
- CBS News
Child injured after tree falls in Philadelphia's East Oak Lane neighborhood
Tree gets knocked down in North Philadelphia after storms hit region Tree gets knocked down in North Philadelphia after storms hit region Tree gets knocked down in North Philadelphia after storms hit region A child was injured after they were trapped under a tree in Philadelphia's East Oak Lane neighborhood as severe storms hit the region on Thursday. The tree fell in the area of the 6400 block of North 11th Street at around 5:45 p.m. According to crews on the scene, the child was rescued and taken to Einstein Medical Center. The child's condition isn't known at this time. The tree was knocked over as severe weather moved through the Delaware Valley on Thursday evening. A tornado warning was briefly in effect for parts of New Castle County in Delaware and Chester and Delaware Counties in Pennsylvania, but that was canceled. A thunderstorm watch is in effect for the Philadelphia region until 9 p.m.
Yahoo
16 hours ago
- Yahoo
Florida man's fateful decision to hide under truck from storm has tragic consequences
A man in Florida was run over and killed while he was sheltering from a storm beneath a vehicle in a parking lot, according to local police. Daniel Hodge, 53, was killed early on Monday after he hid beneath a parked vehicle to escape the rain. Police are not pursuing criminal charges against the driver related to Hodge's death, ClickOrlando reports. "The investigation into the death of Daniel J Hodge, which occurred on Monday, June 16, 2025, has concluded. No criminal charges are being pursued in this incident," police said in a statement. Police said that Hodge climbed beneath a commercial vehicle in the overnight hours between Sunday and Monday. About an hour after her slipped under the vehicle, the driver arrived at the parking and loaded into the vehicle. The driver pulled out of the parking lot unaware that Hodge was hiding beneath the vehicle's trailer. Hodge reportedly sustained fatal injuries as the vehicle was pulling out of the parking lot, according to police. Two days prior, another tragic accident claimed a life on a Florida roadway. In Orange County on Saturday, a 30-year-old trying to run across the Florida Turnpike was hit by two vehicles, according to the Florida Highway Patrol. The crash happened around 9pm near SR 417, according to state troopers. The man reportedly sprinted from the woodline directly into the southbound lanes of the Turnpike. He was hit by a Toyota Highlander and a Chevy Silverado, FOX 35 reports. The man was from Hollywood, Florida. Police have not released his name or a reason why he might have rushed out into busy turnpike traffic.
