weather

After a disaster, a common sentiment echoes in the conversations had with Red Cross volunteers: I never thought this could happen to me.

As a Chicago native, the word “hurricane” is as foreign to me as “Tchoupitoulas.” But alas, I made it through my first tropical storm.

This is the story of how we wrote the 2002 Times-Picayune series “Washing Away,” which set the stage for what would happen to New Orleans during Hurricane Katrina. For years, I had tried to convince my editors that we needed to explain to readers what would happen if a catastrophic hurricane hit New Orleans.

The 2019 hurricane season is here. Early forecasts call for a near-average season with nine to 15 named storms, four to eight hurricanes with winds of 74+ miles per hour and two to four major hurricanes.

With hurricane season beginning June 1, now’s the time to get your home and business prepared.

Are you and your business ready for hurricane season? It begins June 1. While most forecasts call for a slightly below normal season, it only takes one to put this region to the test.

A humid place, New Orleans isn’t so humid in the spring when drier air from the north settles in.

Two meteor showers are coming up this spring. The Lyrid meteor shower peaks before dawn on April 23. This modest shower can show 10-20 meteors per hour.

Spring is upon us, and that means lots of activities in the New Orleans area, from French Quarter Fest and Jazz Fest to Easter Sunday and the start of hurricane season.

As we look back at the month of January, it was a warm month at Louis Armstrong International Airport. The average high was 63 degrees, and the average low was around 46 degrees. The mean temperature was 54.5 degrees, which was 1.1 degrees warmer than normal.

During winter and early spring in New Orleans, dense, early morning fog often occurs, making driving difficult for commuters. This happens most often when warm, moist air from the south moves in over land areas that have cooled down during the night.

Taking a look back at the weather in December 2018, the average high temperature was a little over 65 degrees, and the morning low was over 51. The mean temperature was 58.5 degrees. Temperature-wise, December was a warm month.

The 2018 hurricane season’s over, and we finished slightly above average. Our forecast was for slightly below or average, but an expected El Niño did not occur by season’s end.

There’s a second severe weather season for Southeast Louisiana and South Mississippi in the fall/early winter. Nov. 1 was an example of that with most of our area under an enhanced risk of severe weather.

The Climate Prediction Center released its three-month winter outlook for November, December and January. How does it look for NOLA? The outlook calls for near-average temperatures and wetter-than-normal conditions across the Gulf South including New Orleans.

Everyone is starting to think of the holiday season and the corresponding weather. Recently, you may or may not have been happy with the temperatures.

After a long, hot summer in New Orleans, fall is finally here. What can we look forward to as we enter autumn?

Lightning sparks about 22,000 house fires each year in the United States, most often in June, July and August in the late afternoon and evening. Louisiana is fourth in the nation for lightning-related house fires.

Though the 2018 hurricane season is predicted to be a slow one, it’s important to take steps ahead of time to prepare yourself and your home for the possibility of natural disaster. Know your hurricane terminology, purchase emergency supplies like bottled water and batteries, have an evacuation plan in place for yourself and your pets, make copies of important documents, backup electronic devices and know the details of your home and flood insurance policies.

During summer in New Orleans, we hear about the heat index. But what is that exactly?

It’s that time of year when we start hearing a ton of terms about the tropics … but what do they all mean? WWL-TV Meteorologist Alexandra Cranford covers a few of them here.

The 2018 hurricane season officially begins on June 1, but it is never too early to begin preparing. Last year’s hurricane season was more than twice as active as a typical season, with Nate and Cindy impacting south Louisiana. Harvey, Maria and Irma made national headlines with their impact throughout the country.

The early forecasts are out for the 2018 Hurricane Season beginning June 1. Indications are for a slightly above normal season.

Spring is our severe weather season. The threats we could see range from tornadoes to severe thunderstorms, with wind damage and hail, to flooding.

The Bonnet Carre Spillway opened this month to alleviate flooding along the Mississippi River in New Orleans. This is the twelfth time the spillway has opened in its 80-year history.

Believe it or not, this winter ended up being drier and warmer than average.

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