Monitoring Tsunami Impacts Across the Pacific; Air Quality Concerns; Dangerous Heat; Critical Fire Weather for the West

Tsunami impacts continue for portions of the Pacific basin. Wildfire smoke causes unhealthy air in Midwest to Great Lakes. Heat dome spans Mississippi Valley to Mid-Atlantic with excessive heat warnings and advisories. Critical fire weather in Great Basin to Pacific Northwest (dry thunderstorms). Cold front spawns severe storms/heavy rain in Central U.S. today, shifts to East Coast Thursday. Read More >

August 4, 2009
Severe Storms & Flash Flooding

Several rounds of strong thunderstorms moved across parts of southern Indiana, northern Kentucky and southwest Ohio on Tuesday. These storms dropped widespread heavy rains of one to two inches across the region, with some spots receiving more than three inches. This led to numerous reports of flooding across the region, with countless road closures and several high water rescues. Southeast Indiana was the hardest hit, particularly Franklin and Ripley Counties, where police had to rescue several motorists from flooded streets. In Laurel, Indiana, many people had to be evacuated from their homes when creeks went out of their banks and threatened the safety of the town's residents. Luckily, no reports of injuries or fatalities have been received from anywhere in the area. In addition to the flooding, some of the stronger storms dropped large hail up to the size of golfballs.