Extra clouds will be present this morning with more sunshine by the afternoon. Highs will try to reach 70 today with a little bit of a NE breeze.

Clouds are expected tomorrow morning with sunshine by the afternoon. Highs will be in the mid 70s tomorrow.

Highs will warm to the mid 80s on Wednesday and the upper 80s on Thursday. A cold front is set to move into the region late on Thursday. We could see some scattered showers and storms by Thursday evening/night.

• Today: Partly Cloudy. Highs near 70. Winds: NE 5-15
• Tonight: Partly Cloudy. Lows in the mid 50s. Winds: E 5-10
• Tomorrow: Partly Cloudy. Highs in the mid 70s. Winds: E 5-10

Weather & Health

• Pollen: Mid-High (Grasses, Oak, Birch)
• UV Index: 9 (Very High)
• Air Quality: Good (Code Green)
• Mosquitoes: High

We will dry out and warm up just in time to kick off the work week.

Skies will clear up Monday as the day progresses. Temperatures will warm to the upper 60s, which is about 10 degrees below normal for this time of year.

Expect partly cloudy skies Tuesday with highs in the low 70s.

We’ll finally warm to the low 80s on Wednesday. Skies will be mostly sunny.

Thursday will be the warmest day with highs in the mid 80s. We could see a late-day storm. There is a better chance for scattered showers on Friday with highs near 80.

As an area of low pressure slips by to our south, we can expect more showers and storms to move in during the afternoon and evening.

Our best bet for storms, and possibly even some severe weather, will be across eastern ����APP Carolina, with lower rain chance the farther north you go.

Expect highs today in the low to mid 60s.

It looks like Sunday will start off with showers, with drier weather returning into the afternoon. It’ll be breezy and cool, with highs dropping only into the low-to-mid 60s. And the gusty northeast winds will make it feel even cooler.

Of course, dry and warmer weather will return heading into the workweek.

We’ll be climbing into the 80s by midweek.

According to weather partners at WTKR ����APP 3, an area of low-pressure tracks across the southeast, bringing scattered showers and storms for Saturday and Sunday with mostly cloudy skies. Hampton Roads cities are expected to receive between 1-1.5 inches of rain through Sunday morning, which may cause minor flooding. Closer to the water, temperatures will struggle to get much higher than the upper 60s.

___

Virginia Beach

�����ٳܲԱ�’s 19th Annual Spring Wine Festival scheduled for Saturday was canceled because of weather impacts.

___

James City County

Officials said rain would likely impact setup and activities for this weekend’s Family Fun Fest, so the festival was canceled.

___

Williamsburg

Water Country USA will be closed tomorrow. According to the water park, tickets dated for May 18 may be used through Sept. 15. Operations will resume Sunday at 10 a.m.

This story will be updated as cancellations are announced. Visit PilotOnline.com for updates. 

Eliza Noe, eliza.noe@virginiamedia.com

We can expect building clouds today from partly cloudy to mostly cloudy skies. Highs will drop to the mid 70s today.

Rain returns this weekend as an area of low-pressure tracks across the Southeast. Expect scattered showers and storms for Saturday and Sunday with mostly cloudy skies. Highs will drop to the upper 60s this weekend. The wind will ramp up for Sunday, NE at 10 to 20 with higher gusts.

We will clear out early next week with a warming trend. Highs will start in the 60s on Monday, to the 70s on Tuesday, and near 80 by Wednesday.

Today: Building Clouds. Highs in the mid 70s. Winds: N/E 5-10
Tonight: Mostly Cloudy. Lows in the upper 50s. Winds: E 5-10
Tomorrow: Mostly Cloudy, Showers/Storms. Highs in the upper 60s. Winds: E 5-15

___

Weather & Health

Pollen: Mod-High (Grasses, Oak, Birch)
UV Index: 8 (High)
Air Quality: Good (Code Green)
Mosquitoes: Moderate

HOUSTON (AP) — Power outages could last weeks in parts of Houston, an official warned Friday, after thunderstorms with hurricane-force winds tore through the city, knocking out electricity to nearly 1 million homes and businesses in the region, blowing out windows on downtown high rises and flipping vehicles.

The National Weather Service said it confirmed a tornado with peak winds of 110 mph (177 kph) touched down near the northwest Houston suburb of Cypress in Harris County.

Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo, the county’s top elected official, said crews were still trying to determine the extent of the damage and the number of casualties from Thursday’s storms. Houston Mayor John Whitmire said four people, and possibly five, had died.

“It was fierce. It was intense. It was quick, and most Houstonians didn’t have time to place themselves out of harms way,” Whitmire said at a news conference.

With multiple transmission towers down, Hidalgo urged patience. Thousands of utility workers were headed to the area, where power had already been restored to roughly 200,000 customers. Another 100,000 customers were without power in Louisiana, down from a peak of 215,000.

“We are going to have to talk about this disaster in weeks, not days,” Hidalgo said.

She said she had heard “horror stories of just terror and powerlessness” as the storm came through. The weather service also reported straight-line winds of up to 100 mph (161 kph) in downtown Houston and the suburbs of Baytown and Galena Park.

Noelle Delgado’s heart sank as she pulled up Thursday night to Houston Pets Alive, the animal rescue organization where she is executive director. The dogs and cats — more than 30 in all — were uninjured, but the awning had been ripped off, the sign was mangled and water was leaking inside. With power expected to be out for some time and temperatures forecast to climb into the 90s Saturday, she hoped to find foster homes for the animals.

“I could definitely tell that this storm was a little different,” she said. “It felt terrifying.”

Yesenia Guzmán, 52, worried whether she would get paid with the power still out at the restaurant where she works in the Houston suburb of Katy.

“We don’t really know what’s going to happen,” she said.

The widespread destruction brought much of Houston to a standstill. Trees, debris and shattered glass littered the streets. One building’s wall was ripped off.

School districts in the Houston area canceled classes for more than 400,000 students and government offices were closed. City officials urged people avoid downtown and stay off roads, many of which were flooded or lined with downed power lines and malfunctioning traffic lights.

Whitmire said at least 2,500 traffic lights were out. He also warned would-be looters that “police are out in force, including 50 state troopers sent to the area to prevent looting.”

At least two of the deaths were caused by falling trees and another happened when a crane blew over in strong winds, officials said.

Whitmire’s office posted a photo Friday on the social platform X showing the mayor signing a disaster declaration, which paves the way for state and federal storm recovery assistance.

President Joe Biden later issued a disaster declaration for seven counties in Texas, including Harris, due to severe weather since April 26. His action makes federal funding available to people affected by the storms.

The problems from Thursday’s storms extended to the Houston suburbs, with emergency officials in neighboring Montgomery County describing the damage to transmission lines as “catastrophic.”

High-voltage transmission towers that were torn apart and downed power lines pose a twofold challenge for the utility company because the damage affected transmission and distribution systems, according to Alexandria von Meier, a power and energy expert who called that a rare thing.

“It’s more typical that the damage is just at the distribution system, which is, you know, just not as strong,” von Meier said, referring to power lines that tend to be more susceptible to wind damage.

How quickly repairs are made will depend on a variety of factors, including the time it takes to assess the damage, equipment replacement, roadwork access issues and workforce availability. Centerpoint Energy deployed 1,000 employees on Friday and had a pending request for 5,000 more line workers and vegetation professionals.

One silver lining, von Meier said, is that the damage was localized, unlike what happened in the 2021 statewide freeze, which could allow for other jurisdictions to send resources more readily. Although customers might want an aggressive repair timeline, she cautioned that it must proceed carefully and methodically.

“Because if you try to fix this kind of thing in a hurry and you try to restore power in a hurry, you might injure people. You would be putting the workers at risk. You could be putting other people at risk. You could be blowing up equipment that then is going to take longer to replace,” von Meier said.

The storms also weren’t over Friday. Gulf Coast states could experience scattered, severe thunderstorms with tornadoes, large hail and damaging winds. Heavy to excessive rainfall is possible for eastern Louisiana into central Alabama, the National Weather Service said. Flood watches and warnings remained Friday for Houston and areas to the east.

The Storm Prediction Center’s website showed a report of a tornado in Convent, Louisiana, about 55 miles (89 kilometers) from New Orleans, with multiple reports of trees and power poles down.

A suspected tornado hit the Romeville area of St. James Parish on Thursday night with some homes impacted and trees down, but no injuries or fatalities had been reported, parish officials said in a social media post on Friday morning.

There were wind gusts of 84 mph (135 kph) at Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport and 82 mph (132 kph) at New Orleans Lakefront Airport, according to Tim Erickson, a meteorologist at the weather service’s office for New Orleans and Baton Rouge.

The office for New Orleans and Baton Rouge issued a flash flood warning through Saturday.

Heavy storms slammed the Houston area , leading to numerous high-water rescues, including some from the rooftops of flooded homes.

___

The story has been updated to correct that school districts across the Houston area canceled classes Friday, not just the Houston Independent School District, and also the spelling of Cypress.

___

Associated Press reporters Jamie Stengle in Dallas and Valerie Gonzalez in McAllen contributed.

It will be a step warmer today with highs in the upper 70s. We will see a nice mix of sun and clouds with slim rain chances.

Another nice day is expected tomorrow with more sunshine in the morning and building clouds through the afternoon. Highs in the mid 70s tomorrow.

Rain returns this weekend as an area of low pressure tracks across the Mid-Atlantic. Expect scattered showers and storms for Saturday and Sunday with mostly cloudy skies. Highs will drop to the low 70s this weekend. The wind will ramp up for Sunday, NE at 10 to 20 with gusts to 30 mph.

• Today: Partly Cloudy. Highs in the upper 70s. Winds: N 10-15
• Tonight: Partly Cloudy. Lows in the low 60s. Winds: N 5-10
• Tomorrow: Building Clouds. Highs in the mid 70s. Winds: N/E 5-10

___

Weather & Health

• Pollen: Mid-High (Grasses, Oak, Mulberry)
• UV Index: 8 (High)
• Air Quality: Good (Code Green)
• Mosquitoes: Moderate

The summer of 2023 saw the temperature in the ����APPern Hemisphere soar 3.72 degrees above the average from 1850 to 1900, when modern instrumental recordkeeping began, according to a in the journal Nature. The study focused on surface air temperatures across the extra-tropical region, which sits at 30-90 degrees north latitude and includes most of Europe and ����APP America.

June, July and August last year were also 3.96 degrees warmer than the average from the years 1 through 1890, which the researchers calculated by combining observed records with tree ring records from nine global regions.

Jan Esper, the study’s lead author and a professor of climate geography at Johannes Gutenberg University in Germany, said that he was not expecting summer last year to be quite so anomalous, but that he was ultimately not surprised by the findings. The high temperatures built on an overall warming trend driven by greenhouse gas emissions and were further amplified by the in the tropical Pacific.

“It’s no surprise — this really, really outstanding 2023 — but it was also, step-wise, a continuation of a trend that will continue,” Esper told reporters Monday. “Personally I’m not surprised, but I am worried.”

He said it was important to place 2023’s temperature extreme in a long-term context. The difference between the region’s previous warmest summer, in the year 246, and the summer of 2023 is 2.14 degrees, the study found.

The heat is even more extreme when compared with the region’s coldest summers — the majority of which were influenced by volcanic eruptions that spewed heat-blocking sulfur into the stratosphere. According to the study, 2023’s summer was 7.07 degrees warmer than the coldest reconstructed summer from this period, in the year 536.

“Although 2023 is consistent with a greenhouse gases-induced warming trend that is amplified by an unfolding El Niño event, this extreme emphasizes the urgency to implement international agreements for carbon emission reduction,” the study says.

The sweltering summer temperatures contributed to scores of heat illnesses and deaths, including at least in Maricopa County, Arizona, where Phoenix saw temperatures of 110 degrees or hotter for a record 31 consecutive days.

Wildfires exacerbated by high temperatures raged across Canada and sent hazardous smoke and across the Atlantic. Meanwhile, ocean temperatures off the coast of Florida , the temperature of a hot tub.

Multiple climate agencies, including the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the European Union’s Copernicus Climate Change Service, declared

Notably, Copernicus found that the summer months of June, July and August last year measured than average — still hot, but not nearly as warm as the study’s findings for the ����APPern Hemisphere’s extra-tropical region.

That region was especially hot in part because it is home to so much land, which warms faster than oceans, said Karen McKinnon, an assistant professor of statistics and the environment at UCLA who did not work on the study. (June, July and August are also winter months in the Southern Hemisphere.)

McKinnon said the study’s findings are not unexpected, as there was already good evidence that the summer of 2023 was record-breaking when compared with measurable data going back to the mid-1800s. But by going back 2,000 years, the researchers also helped illuminate “the full range of natural variability that could have occurred in the past,” she said.

She noted that tree rings can serve as a helpful proxy for climate conditions in the past, as trees tend to grow more in a given year if they receive the right amount of warmth, water and sunshine.

But although last year’s heat was undeniable, the study also underscores that the summer temperature in this region was notably higher than the global target of 2.7 degrees — or 1.5 degrees Celsius — of warming over the preindustrial period, which was established by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change in 2015.

It also notes that has found the data used to calculate that baseline may be off by several tenths of a degree, meaning it could need to be recalibrated, with the target landing closer to an even more challenging 1.6 or 1.7 degrees.

“I don’t think we should use the proxy instead of the instrumental data, but there’s a good indication that there’s a warm bias,” Esper said. “Further research is needed.”

McKinnon said there is always going to be some degree of uncertainty when comparing present-day temperatures to past temperatures, but that the 1.5-degree limit is as symbolic as it is literal. Many effects of climate change, including worsening heat waves, have already begun.

“There are definitely tipping points in the climate system, but we don’t understand the climate system well enough to say 1.5 C is the temperature for certain tipping points,” she said. “This is just a policy goal that gives you a temperature change that maybe would be consistent with averting some damages.”

In fact, the study’s publication comes days after a survey of 380 leading scientists from the IPCC revealed deep concerns about the world’s ability to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees. That report, , found that only 6% of surveyed scientists think the 1.5-degree limit will be met. Nearly 80% said they foresee at least 2.5 degrees Celsius of warming.

The report caused a stir among the scientific community, with some saying it focused too heavily on pessimism and despair. But Daniel Swain, a climate scientist with UCLA who participated in the survey, said its findings are worthy of consideration.

“There are many kinds of scientists, myself included, who are very worried and concerned and increasingly alarmed by what is going on and what the data is showing,” Swain said during a . “But if anything, I think that really results in a stronger sense of resolve and urgency to do even more, and to do better.”

Indeed, while scientists continue to weigh in on whether — or how quickly — humanity can alter the planet’s worsening warming trajectory, Esper said he hopes the latest study will serve as motivation for changing outdated modes of energy consumption that contribute to planet-warming greenhouse gases.

“I am concerned about global warming — I think it’s one of the biggest threats out there,” he said.

He added that he is particularly worried for his children and for younger generations who will bear the brunt of worsening heat and other adverse climate outcomes. There is a strong likelihood that the summer of 2024 will be even hotter, the study says.

“The longer we wait, the more extensive it will be, and the more difficult it will be to mitigate or even stop that process and reverse it,” Esper said. “It’s just so obvious: We should do as much as possible, as soon as possible.”

©2024 Los Angeles Times. Visit at latimes.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

Leftover showers early this morning will be moving out. Look for a mix of mostly cloudy to partly cloudy skies today. Scattered showers and storms could move in this afternoon to evening. Strong to severe storms are possible, with the biggest threat in ����APP Carolina. Highs will return to the mid 70s.

Still cloudy on Thursday with a few spotty showers. Highs in the mid 70s. Partly cloudy on Friday with highs in the mid 70s.

Rain returns this weekend as an area of low pressure tracks across the Mid-Atlantic. Expect higher rain chances on Saturday and lower chances on Sunday. Highs will remain in the low to mid 70s through the weekend.

Today: Mix of Clouds, Scattered Showers/Storms. Highs in the mid 70s. Winds: N 5-15
Tonight: Mostly Cloudy. Lows in the low 60s. Winds: N 5-15
Tomorrow: Mix of Clouds. Highs in the mid 70s. Winds: N 10-15

___

Weather & Health

Pollen: Low-Mod (Grasses, Oak, Mulberry)
UV Index: 5 (Moderate)
Air Quality: Good (Code Green)
Mosquitoes: High

Mostly cloudy skies today with showers and storms possible for the afternoon to evening. Highs will reach the mid 70s tomorrow with a south wind at 10 to 15 mph.

Scattered showers and storms will linger for Wednesday with mostly cloudy skies. Highs will return to the upper 70s.

Still cloudy on Thursday with a few spotty showers. Highs in the mid 70s. Another round of showers and storms is set to move in late Friday to Saturday. Highs will remain in the mid to upper 70s through the weekend.

Today: Mostly Cloudy, Showers. Highs in the mid 70s. Winds: S 5-15
Tonight: Mostly Cloudy, Showers/Storms. Lows in the mid 60s. Winds: SE 10-15
Tomorrow: Mostly Cloudy, Showers/Storms. Highs in the upper 70s. Winds: S/W/N 5-15

___

Weather & Health

Pollen: Low-Mod (Grasses, Oak, Mulberry)
UV Index: 2 (Low)
Air Quality: Good (Code Green)
Mosquitoes: High