Articles by Brian K. Sullivan

Pandemic Hampers World’s Weather Forecasts with Halting of Commercial Flights

The pandemic that has idled scores of commercial flights is having a little-noticed consequence for meteorologists, whose forecasts rely in part on data collected from planes. That means a crucial eye in the sky has weakened just as spring flood …

FEMA Tackles COVID-19 While Also Facing Past Disasters, Spring Flood Season

It wasn’t until Wednesday, five days after President Donald Trump declared a national emergency, that the Federal Emergency Management Agency announced it was “leading the federal coordination” to the Covid-19 pandemic in the U.S. While the disaster-response agency is better …

America’s Farmers Brace for Another Season of Costly River Flooding

For the second year in a row, much of the U.S. is primed to suffer multi-billion dollar flood losses, with farmers already steeling themselves for planting delays. Relentless storms that have marched across the Midwest and into the South this …

‘Rivers in the Sky’ Causing Billions in Flood Damage in U.S.

Climate change is spurring a new, deep dive into a complex, little-studied weather system blamed for creating billions of dollars in flood damage across the western U.S. Atmospheric rivers are narrow ribbons of concentrated moisture that originate in the Pacific …

U.S. Had 14 Weather Disasters of $1 Billion or More in 2019

The U.S. had 14 weather disasters costing $1 billion or more last year, with Midwest flooding accounting for almost half of the total, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Flooding from the Missouri, Mississippi and Arkansas rivers caused …

More Storms. Less Damage. But 2019’s Slow Hurricanes Leave Sense of Foreboding.

The Atlantic Ocean has spawned lots of storms this season while doing much less damage than prior years. But warming waters promise trouble ahead. The 2019 Atlantic hurricane season, which ends Nov. 30, has been the eighth most-active in named …

PG&E Warns of Possible Northern California Blackouts at Mid-Week

PG&E Corp. is warning a quarter-million homes and businesses could lose power in northern California starting Wednesday as high winds return to the region. A fire weather watch has been issued by the National Weather Service for parts of northern …

Wildfire Season Rages on in Southern California as Thousands Flee

A wildfire that erupted overnight near Los Angeles has forced 7,500 people to flee as the tail end of a powerful windstorm takes its a final swing at Southern California. The blaze in Ventura County ripped through more than 8,700 …

California Wildfire Damage at $25.4B and Rising

Damages from the fires ripping across California stand at $25.4 billion, and they’re bound to keep rising. The Kincade fire has cost $10.6 billion, while the tally in Southern California is $14.8 billion mainly from the Tick, Getty and Saddle …

California Braces for Biggest Blackout Yet as Massive Wildfire Burns

As wildfires rage and utilities race to restore power, the worst may be yet to come for California residents. PG&E Corp. has restored power to about 165,000 customers in portions of 18 counties, or about 93% of those affected, the …