Articles by Brian K. Sullivan

Hurricane Season Is Coming to a Close… Maybe

In 166 years, only 17 tropical storms and six hurricanes have formed in the Atlantic after the official Nov. 30 close of the season, according to the U.S. Hurricane Research Division in Miami. Could it happen again? Conditions across the …

2017 Hurricane Season Ranks as Costliest Ever for U.S.

This year’s U.S. Atlantic hurricane season is officially the most expensive ever, racking up $202.6 billion in damages since the formal start on June 1. The costs tallied by disaster modelers Chuck Watson and Mark Johnson surpass anything they’ve seen …

Ireland Readies for Hurricane Ophelia, One of Its Strongest Storms in 50-Plus Years

Ophelia strengthened into a Category 2 hurricane forecast to strike Ireland, where one of the nation’s strongest storms in half a century threatens everything from farms to a golf course owned by the family of U.S. President Donald Trump. Ophelia’s …

Drought-Ending Rain Built up Fuel to Feed Deadly California Fires

There’s a dark side to the torrent of precipitation that ended California’s long drought earlier this year: Rain and snow pumped life back into bushes, shrubs and grasses and created ideal fuel for infernos. They’ve been raging since Sunday in …

Estimated $2.5 Billion Gulf Coast Damage from Nate Less Than First Feared

Oil companies were heading back into the Gulf of Mexico and working to restore operations after Hurricane Nate fizzled out over the U.S. South on Sunday. While an estimated 93 percent of U.S. oil production in the Gulf was still …

Storm Watch Issued for North Carolina as Puerto Rico, Markets Weigh Maria’s Economic Costs

Storm watches have been issued for North Carolina as the U.S. is threatened by a hurricane for the fourth time in a month. Tropical storm watches, meaning winds of at least 39 miles (63 kilometers) per hour could reach the …

East Coast Watching Effect of ‘Zombie’ Storm Jose on Maria’s Path

Hurricane Maria continued its thunderous roll northward as forecasters struggled to pin down a trajectory. Whether the storm makes landfall again could be determined by a zombie. That’s what former Hurricane Jose will soon be in the meteorological vernacular, a …

Category 4 Hurricane Maria Barrels Into Puerto Rico

Hurricane Maria slammed into southeastern Puerto Rico as a Category 4 storm with the potential to inflict $30 billion in damages just two weeks after Irma ravaged the cash-strapped island. Top winds reached 155 miles (249 kilometers) per hour as …

Weakening Hurricane Jose Could Graze Massachusetts Wednesday

A weakened Hurricane Jose could graze the Northeast as Hurricane Maria tears through the Caribbean, gaining strength and possibly heading toward the U.S. in a week. Jose will probably be downgraded to a tropical storm as it comes close to …

How ‘Bermuda High’ Threw Irma and Damage Estimates Off Course

Twenty miles may have made a $150 billion difference. Estimates for the damage Hurricane Irma would inflict on Florida kept mounting as it made its devastating sweep across the Caribbean. It was poised to be the costliest U.S. storm on …