Expect a hot, smoky summer in much of America. Here's why you'd better get used to it
Forecasters say the only break much of America can hope for anytime soon from eye-watering dangerous smoke from fire-struck Canada is brief bouts of shirt-soaking sweltering heat and humidity from a southern heat wave that has already proven deadly.
The Latest: Appleby cleared to play for Florida
(AP Photo/Michael Conroy)The Latest on the second round of the NCAA Tournament (all times Eastern):___7:45 p.m.Florida guard Tyree Appleby has been cleared to play and was in the starting lineup for No. 1 seed in the second round for a third time, joining the 2000 team against Arizona and the 2017 squad against Villanova. Sister Jean Delores Schmidt gave an inspirational pregame prayer to her Loyola Chicago team before the eighth-seeded Ramblers met top-seeded Illinois in Sundayโs second round. UCLA and Abilene Christian face off Monday, assuring that at least one double-digit seed will reach the Sweet 16. This is the first time four teams seeded 13th or worse made it to the second round.
Forecasting change: Spring is getting warmer
For most of us in Florida, spring does not hold the same allure as it does for our friends and relatives up north or in the Midwest, but spring is coming, and it is changing in Florida. During the past 50 years, the average spring temperature has been on the rise. Average spring temperatureAcross the country, 96% of cities are reporting an increase in the number of above-normal spring days. The graphic below shows that we have increased our โwarm daysโ by almost 11 days. Warm spring daysThis means shorter winters, hotter days, more air conditioning, more pests and bugs and longer pollen seasons that make allergy sufferers miserable.
Nothing to sneeze at: Global warming triggers earlier pollen
In this undated photo provided by Atlanta Allergy & Asthma, Dr. Stanley Fineman looks through a microscope at Atlanta Allergy & Asthma Center in Atlanta to examine the pollen. Just look at cherry blossoms opening several days earlier in Japan and Washington, D.C., he said. The South and southern Midwest are getting pollen season about 1.3 days earlier each year, while itโs coming about 1.1 days earlier in the West, he said. The northern Midwest is getting allergy season about 0.65 days earlier per year, and itโs coming 0.33 days earlier a year in the Southeast. But since the 2000s, about 65% of earlier pollen seasons can be blamed on warming, he said.
Surging virus cases get a shrug in many Midwestern towns
It's not that people in Nebraska, South Dakota, North Dakota, Iowa and elsewhere don't realize their states are leading the nation in new cases per capita. โThey donโt think itโs real," she said. Like most people, Jay Stibbe, 52, of Fargo, North Dakota, said he and his family are respectful of COVID-19 protocols and wear masks where required. However, Stibbe said he doesnโt see enough โconcrete informationโ about the virus to stop him from going about his normal life, even though North Dakota leads the nation in the number of virus cases per capita. ___Associated Press writers David Pitt in Des Moines, Iowa, and Dave Kolpack in Fargo, North Dakota, contributed to this story.
Historical Armistice Day Blizzard Has Lasting Impacts
This Veteranโs Day marks 80 years that the Armistice Day blizzard roared through the Midwest, killing over 150 people, changing forecasting efforts forever. Nov. 11, 1940: Nearly 150 deaths were blamed on the Armistice Day Blizzard, which left a path of devastation 1,000 miles wide through the country and generated snowdrifts up to 20 feet tall. Chicago was the forecast hub for the Tri-State area, but after the Armistice Blizzard, the need for more monitoring hours and branch offices was apparent. Twenty-four-hour weather coverage was implemented. All of these changes resulted in more accurate, localized coverage of major weather events in order to ultimately save more lives.
Florida reports nearly 4,300 coronavirus cases 1 week from Election Day
Meanwhile in Florida, as the Department of Health reported nearly 4,300 new cases on Tuesday state health officials also announced changes to the information that appears on the COVID-19 daily reports and interactive dashboard. [READ YESTERDAYโS REPORT: Florida reports 3,377 new COVID-19 cases as talks continue on second round of stimulus checks]Below is a breakdown of the most recent data provided by the Department of Health. CasesThe Florida Department of Health reported 4,298 new cases on Tuesday, bringing the stateโs overall total to 786,311 cases since March. As of Tuesdayโs coronavirus report, 16,709 deaths across the state have been related to the coronavirus, a number that includes 204 non-resident deaths in Florida. The past four days the AHCA dashboard has shown increases in current COVID-19 hospitalizations.
Hereโs what the CDC has to say about small gatherings
If there is one thing we all know about the coronavirus pandemic, itโs that large gatherings are a no-no. Well, turns out small gatherings may be just as bad. One question still remains, how many people constitute a small gathering? As of this publication, the CDC has not put a specific number on the group size. To keep up with the latest news on the pandemic, subscribe to News 6โฒs coronavirus newsletter and go to ClickOrlando.com/coronavirus.
GOP governors in spiking states strain for silver linings
But that's not the message coming from a number of Republican governors in the region, who are working to find silver linings in the ominous health data as outbreaks surge in their states. North Dakota's governor has called his state's test positivity rate an achievement, even though its rate of new cases tops the nation. Kim Reynolds, however, has defended the state's decision to reopen bars and send students back into classrooms without masks required. Some governors are even pushing back against Trump's own advisers for giving blunter assessments of their states' situations. Hutchinson has continued resisting calls to roll back some of the state's reopening, saying he's relying more on personal responsibility.
Cristobal remnants bring thunderstorms, flooding to Midwest
Erin Shaw, left, and Brittany Schanzbach stand near crashing waves near the seawall of Lake Pontchartrain from a storm surge in New Orleans, Sunday, June 7, 2020, as Tropical Storm Cristobal approaches the Louisiana Coast. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)MILWAUKEE The remnants of Tropical Storm Cristobal were moving out of the Midwest on Wednesday and into Canada, with gusty winds and heavy rain leaving behind flooding in Wisconsin, Missouri and Iowa. Scattered severe thunderstorms were possible Wednesday from Ohio and Michigan into parts of the Northeast, forecasters said. In western Wisconsin, the rain from remnants of Cristobal washed out portions of some roads. Cristobal's remnants moved into the Midwest after lashing the South.