Tropical Storm Edouard has developed 175 miles southeast of Port Arthur, Texas. Formerly Tropical Depression 5, the system will continue tracking through the northern Gulf. A landfall is expected on Tuesday somewhere between Houston and Lake Charles. Tropical Storm Warnings are in effect for Cameron Parish and points west until Port Bolivar, Texas. No tropical alerts are in effect locally.

The primary impacts from the storm will be concentrated offshore and across the Tropical Storm Warning area. East Texas can expect 3-6” of heavy rainfall, with southwest Louisiana projected to receive 2-3”. Coastal areas within the warning region should also prepare for potential tropical-storm-force wind gusts and a 1-3 foot storm surge at the immediate shoreline.

Notably, this will be a compact system, with peak winds tightly concentrated around the center of circulation. Consequently, direct impacts will be confined to a relatively small footprint. However, such systems often intensify or weaken erratically with little warning.

Locally, expect minimal impacts with only a slight easterly breeze and occasional tropical downpours on Tuesday. Get the latest information in the Storm Station forecast found HERE.

The Storm Station is here for you, on every platform. Your weather updates can be found on News 2, wbrz.com, and the WBRZ WX App on your Apple or Android device. Follow WBRZ Weather on Facebook and X for even more weather updates while you are on the go.

Permalink| Comments

Hurricanes are named through a strict procedure set by an international committee of the World Meteorological Organization. The National Hurricane Center utilizes these names every hurricane season. 

In light of the recent passing of Dolly Parton, many may wonder how a storm could be named "Dolly" so soon after her death. The name lists are determined years in advance and used again every six seasons. The name Dolly was added to the list after the 1990 season, first used in 1996 and has been every six seasons since then. 

Tropical systems get their own names to provide clarity and recognition when multiple storms are active at the same time. One hurricane could be drifting toward the Gulf Coast while another moves rapidly toward the Atlantic Coast. Without clear names, broadcasts warning about one storm have historically been mistaken for warnings about a completely different one hundreds of miles away.

The naming tradition goes back centuries. For hundreds of years, hurricanes in the West Indies were named after the saint's day on which they struck. "Hurricane Santa Ana" hit Puerto Rico with exceptional violence on July 26, 1825 and two separate storms both called "San Felipe" struck Puerto Rico on Sept. 13 in both 1876 and 1928.

An Australian meteorologist named Clement Wragge began giving women's names to tropical systems before the end of the 19 century. The practice spread widely among Army and Navy meteorologists during World War II as they tracked storms across the Pacific Ocean.

In 1953, the United States dropped a two-year-old plan to name storms using a phonetic alphabet like Able, Baker and Charlie. That year, the country switched to female names for storms.

Storms were named exclusively after women until 1978, when men's names were added to the Eastern North Pacific storm lists. Male and female names were added to Atlantic and Gulf of America lists in 1979.

For the Atlantic Basin, there are six lists of names that rotate on a six-year cycle. A name is only removed if a storm is so deadly or costly that reusing it would be considered insensitive. When that happens, the name is retired at an annual committee meeting and replaced with a new one.

In total, 100 names have been retired from the Atlantic list. Melissa was the last name retired, following the 2025 season.

The name lists cover only 21 letters of the alphabet because it is difficult to find six suitable names starting with Q, U, X, Y and Z. Names are drawn from English, French and Spanish to reflect the geographic reach of Atlantic and Caribbean storms and the list is gender balanced.

When the list runs out during an especially active season, supplemental names are used. The Greek alphabet was used twice for this purpose, first in 2005 and again in 2020. Starting in 2021, a separate supplemental list of tropical system names replaced the Greek alphabet system.

Any member nation can request that a name be retired if a storm by that name causes significant casualties or damage. The decision is made by consensus or majority vote during the WMO Regional Association IV Hurricane Committee session that follows the season in question.

The Storm Station is here for you, on every platform. Your weather updates can be found on News 2, wbrz.com, and the WBRZ WX App on your Apple or Android device. Follow WBRZ Weather on Facebook and X for even more weather updates while you are on the go.

Permalink| Comments

Permalink| Comments

Tropical Storm Dolly has formed in the central Tropical Atlantic. Maximum sustained winds are 40 mph, and it is moving west at 24 mph. Dolly will continue to track westward in the coming days, and is no threat to the central Gulf Coast. 

Satellite images show the storm developed a well-defined center along with organized thunderstorm activity. The maximum winds of 40 mph are found in the northeastern quadrant.

Dolly is moving quickly westward at around 24 mph under a strong ridge of high pressure over the central Atlantic. Model guidance points toward a track in the direction of the Leeward Islands.

The storm's environment is expected to become unfavorable for strengthening by tomorrow as southwesterly wind shear increases. Fast forward motion and dry air aloft are also expected to limit any intensification.

All available guidance shows Dolly opening up into a strong tropical wave before reaching the Leeward Islands. Still, gusty winds and heavy rainfall will be possible in that region.

On the name itself, the timing is purely coincidental. Tropical storm and hurricane names for the North Atlantic Basin come from six pre-determined rotating lists established by the World Meteorological Organization.

The name Dolly replaced Diana after the 1990 hurricane season and was first used in 1996.

The Storm Station is here for you, on every platform. Your weather updates can be found on News 2, wbrz.com, and the WBRZ WX App on your Apple or Android device. Follow WBRZ Weather on Facebook and X for even more weather updates while you are on the go.

Permalink| Comments

Hawaii is facing another tropical threat just days after Hurricane Lala battered parts of the islands.

Tropical Storm Moke formed in the Pacific on Friday and is expected to pass south of the Hawaiian Islands this weekend and early next week. The storm is forecast to remain a tropical storm, with maximum winds around 45 mph and gradual weakening expected later in the forecast period.

The storm will still bring periods of heavy rain and gusty winds to portions of Hawaii. The Big Island is expected to see the greatest impacts, particularly southeastern and windward areas that were hit hard by Lala just last weekend.

Rainfall could become especially problematic because the ground remains saturated following Lala. Some areas of the Big Island could receive several inches of rain, with locally higher totals possible. Eastern Maui and other islands could also see periods of heavy rain as moisture from Moke spreads northward. The timing is particularly challenging for Hawaii, where crews and residents are still clearing debris, restoring power and repairing damage from Hurricane Lala. Lala produced widespread flooding, damaging winds and major power outages, with some areas of the Big Island receiving more than 40 inches of rain.

Permalink| Comments

Commentary by Storm Station Meteorologist Dave Baker.

Meteorologists get excited when the weather turns, especially when we get to see the extremes of Mother Nature. I do too, but I don't love disasters. There's a difference. After decades of hurricanes, tornadoes, floods, and other forms of extreme weather, I'm perfectly happy when the atmosphere occasionally gives me something interesting without ruining someone's day. That's probably why my favorite weather event isn't a hurricane. It's the Blizzard of 2025.

But I'll admit it: I hate summer. Miserable. Brutal. Dangerous. Excessive. Eventually, even those words begin to sound like the same forecast. The problem with summer isn't that the heat is unusual. It's that it's becoming monotonous. Fortunately, the FCC and WBRZ keep me in line because I have MANY colorful ways to describe the heat—and I'll bet you do, too.

I did some digging into how folks have described summer heat, including asking a few friends, family members, and former coworkers. Here are seven ways to describe the heat (without using profanity).

1. “It's as hot as Hades.”

As close to profanity as you can get without going over. This was a common line from one of my co-anchors back in the 1990s. I was way younger, and I guess I didn't mind the heat as much. I feel your pain now that I'm in my 50s!

2. “Hotter than blue blazes.”

I'm pretty sure I've heard my grandpa say this one back in the day.

3. “Hotter than a two-dollar pistol.”

I've heard this one a few times, and it goes back to old American English.

4. “It's gonna be another scorcher!”

My mom has used this one, and a former weather team member loves this line, too. Apparently, we can all thank a Sears air-conditioning commercial from the 1990s for this one!

5. “Hot enough to fry an egg on the sidewalk.”

I've never actually tried it, but I've fried my feet on the pool deck enough times to understand the sentiment.

6. “The Dog Days of Summer.”

Wow! Dr. Josh Eachus has a series with this name for pet adoption here at WBRZ!

7. “Ça fait chaud!”

My favorite—and uniquely Cajun.

So this week, I'll once again stand in front of the camera and tell you that temperatures will climb into the upper 90s, the humidity will be oppressive, and the feels-like temperature will be dangerous. I'll probably call it sweltering. Maybe oppressive. Maybe brutal.

But I'm going to try something different. I may say, “It's hotter than a depot stove.” Because after years of Louisiana summers, even a meteorologist needs a new adjective. What's your favorite?

Permalink| Comments

HONOLULU (AP) — Tropical Storm Lala left behind a muddy mess Monday caused by intense rainfall and flooding as it moved past Hawaii's main islands.

Lala weakened from a hurricane to a tropical storm Sunday after lashing the state without making landfall. The storm was projected to continue moving westward and was forecast to become a hurricane again at sea and far from land by Wednesday.

There were no coastal watches or warnings in effect for Hawaii on Monday as cleanup efforts were expected to begin, but life-threatening surf and rip current conditions remained, according to the National Hurricane Center. Saturation caused by heavy rainfall could still cause some landslides, but winds were no longer a threat, National Weather Service meteorologist Patrick Blood said.

“There's no real looming hazards that we're facing now,” he said. “Lala's off to the west.”

Laupahoehoe, on the northeast coast of the Big Island, saw the heaviest recorded rainfall at 43.54 inches (1.1 meters). The highest winds were atop the towering Mauna Kea volcano, where gusts hit 140 mph (225 kph). At the lower elevations, residents all across the island chain experienced tropical storm force winds of 30 to 40 mph (48 to 64 kph) with gusts up to 60 mph (97 kph), Blood said.

The storm felled trees and power lines and caused serious flooding that swept some 100 homes from their foundations on the Big Island, authorities said. Gov. Josh Green said Sunday that no one is believed to have died when the homes washed away.

Permalink| Comments

JAKARTA-A powerful magnitude 7.7 earthquake struck eastern Indonesia early Saturday, killing at least 38 people and causing significant damage across the island of Flores.

The U.S. Geological Survey says the earthquake was centered about 42 miles north-northwest of Ende, Indonesia, at a depth of about 6 miles. The shallow earthquake caused strong shaking, damaged and collapsed buildings, and triggered landslides that blocked roads and made it difficult for rescue crews to reach some communities.

A tsunami warning was issued after the earthquake, sending residents in coastal areas fleeing to higher ground. The warning was later lifted after officials found no significant tsunami threat. Small tsunami waves of less than three feet were reported.

Thousands of people have evacuated their homes, while power outages and communication problems are complicating the emergency response. Officials say the death toll could continue to rise as crews reach areas that have been difficult to access.

A series of powerful earthquakes

The Indonesia earthquake comes just days after a magnitude 7.4 earthquake struck western Colombia on August 10. That earthquake has killed hundreds of people and caused widespread destruction across the country. Rescue crews were still searching for survivors Friday as the death toll continued to climb.

It also follows a magnitude 7.3 earthquake that struck southern Mexico on July 17. That earthquake was centered near the Pacific coast close to the Guatemala border and was felt across a wide area, including parts of Mexico and Central America.

All three earthquakes occurred along or near the Pacific Ring of Fire, a zone around the Pacific Ocean where several tectonic plates meet and earthquakes and volcanic activity are common.

The recent earthquakes are a reminder of how active this part of the world can be. The USGS catalog shows numerous magnitude 6 and larger earthquakes around the Pacific region in recent months, including events in Japan, the Philippines, Indonesia, Mexico and other parts of the Pacific.

Scientists do not consider the recent earthquakes to be evidence that one earthquake caused another. Large earthquakes occur independently as stress is released along different faults and plate boundaries.

Rescue and recovery efforts are continuing in Indonesia as officials work to determine the full extent of the damage.

Permalink| Comments

BATON ROUGE — Eleven people have died from heat-related causes in Louisiana since the start of June, data from the Louisiana Department of Health released Thursday shows. 

The 11 deaths are up from last week's statistic of eight heat-related deaths that WBRZ previously reported.

According to the data from LDH's heat-related deaths dashboard, nine of the reported deaths are people aged 65 or older, while one person who died was between 30 and 49 and another was between 50 and 64. 

From 2023 through 2025, LDH says it recorded 172 heat-related deaths. People 65 and older accounted for 38% of those deaths while making up roughly 19% of the state's population.

Permalink| Comments

BATON ROUGE — The Storm Station is tracking an extended stretch of hot and dry weather headed for the Capital Area, with feels-like temperatures expected to reach between 105 and 110 degrees from Thursday through at least the middle of next week.

Rain chances over the next seven days are low, with daily coverage unlikely to top 20 percent. That combination of heat and limited rainfall is raising concerns about a flash drought developing over the next one to two weeks.

A flash drought is when there's an unusually rapid onset of drought conditions due to hot temperatures and a lack of rain. This time of year, plants and soils are losing roughly an inch and a half to an inch and three quarters of moisture per week, so without rainfall to replenish that, conditions can dry out quickly.

July and August are a typical time for flash drought conditions to develop and accelerate, making the low rain coverage something to watch closely. From backyard gardens to major agriculture, irrigation may become a necessity. 

The Storm Station is here for you, on every platform. Your weather updates can be found on News 2, wbrz.com, and the WBRZ WX App on your Apple or Android device. Follow WBRZ Weather on Facebook and X for even more weather updates while you are on the go.

Permalink| Comments

Tropical Storm Cristobal has formed in the central subtropical Atlantic, well west-southwest of the Azores islands. With maximum sustained winds of 45 mph and clusters of showers and thunderstorms getting better organized, the National Hurricane Center has determined that a tropical storm has developed.  

Cristobal is located pretty far north for a tropical system. It is moving east at about 25 mph. This tropical storm will be very short-lived, given the cooler waters of the central to northern Atlantic. The remnants of this system will pass close to the Azores Islands, but minimal impacts are expected.

This system poses no concerns for the central Gulf Coast. As hurricane season approaches its peak, it's always a good idea to review hurricane season plans and monitor forecasts. 

The Storm Station is here for you, on every platform. Your weather updates can be found on News 2, wbrz.com, and the WBRZ WX App on your Apple or Android device. Follow WBRZ Weather on Facebook and X for even more weather updates while you are on the go.

Permalink| Comments

BATON ROUGE — A stretch of intense heat is building across the Baton Rouge area, with feels-like temperatures expected to climb past 105 degrees through the weekend and into next week, according to the Storm Station Weather Team.

After Wednesday, rain chances drop sharply. Daily coverage Thursday through Saturday will be at 10 percent or lower, with mostly clear skies and high temperatures climbing into the upper 90s.

The driver behind the heat is a large ridge of high pressure building over the Gulf Coast. That system acts like a lid over the region, pushing down on the atmosphere, shutting off rain and trapping heat at the surface.

Some slightly drier air may offer a small buffer during afternoons later in the week, but that relief fades through the weekend. As upper 90s continue into next week with more humidity in the mix, feels-like temperatures are expected to top 108 degrees and heat alerts become likely. WBRZ Chief Meteorologist Dr. Josh Eachus said the danger goes beyond what the thermometer reads.

"Heat danger isn't just about the number on the thermostat — it's about how that heat actually impacts the body," Eachus said. "A jump in feels-like temperature or heat index from 100°F to 110°F might sound like a minor 10-degree shift, but when high humidity is factored in, the body experiences a surge in strain."

Eachus said the effects also build over time. "Heat strain isn't just a single-day event; it's cumulative," he said. "At first, the body works overtime to regulate its internal temperature. Without adequate hydration or breaks from heat, the body becomes less efficient at cooling."

He also pushed back on the idea that heat index readings are an overstatement. "The heat index or feels-like term is not an exaggerated or made up term," Eachus said. "The United States military conceptualized these values to account for the human physiological effects discussed above. A 100 degree air temperature with dry air affects the body much differently than a 100 degree air temperature rich with moisture."

Heat is the leading weather killer in the United States on both a 10 and 30-year basis. There have been 8 heat deaths in Louisiana already this year.

Anyone working or spending time outdoors should take frequent shaded breaks, drink plenty of water and watch for signs of heat exhaustion. Eachus said heat alerts are a reminder to stay hydrated, seek air conditioning and check on vulnerable neighbors.

The Storm Station is here for you, on every platform. Your weather updates can be found on News 2, wbrz.com, and the WBRZ WX App on your Apple or Android device. Follow WBRZ Weather on Facebook and X for even more weather updates while you are on the go.

Permalink| Comments

It’s one of the best meteor showers of the year — the Perseids! Peaking on Wednesday night (Aug. 12-13), this year in particular offers one of the best opportunities to see the bright meteor streaks in action. In the right location, an observer could see 50-100 meteors per hour.

The timing of the shower this year is just right, coinciding with a New Moon at 0% illumination. This will keep skies dark, allowing for even fainter meteors to be visible. This is a stark contrast to last year, when the bright Moon washed away most meteor streaks.

However, city lights also reduce meteor visibility. A typical suburban area should expect fewer meteors per hour. In urban hot spots with tons of light pollution like Baton Rouge or New Orleans, that number drops even more.

Nevertheless, without moonlight polluting the view, a fair number of Perseid meteors may overcome city light pollution. For the best viewing:

• Find a rural area, away from city lights.
• View several hours after sunset. The best window is between midnight and dawn.
• Avoid looking at a phone. Let the eyes adjust to the darkness.
• Be patient! It may take a few minutes, or longer, to see a meteor.

Meteor showers happen when Earth passes through a trail of dust and debris left behind by a comet or asteroid. Specifically in late summer, Earth passes through the Perseid cloud, a stream of debris left behind by the comet Swift-Tuttle. Such debris slices through Earth’s atmosphere at 37 miles per second, burning up as it does so. This produces a streak of light seen on the ground as a meteor. 

The Perseid meteor shower is an annual occurrence, lasting from mid-July to late-August. The peak typically occurs in the second week of August — that's when the dazzling display occurs. Outside of the peak window, visible meteors are few and far between. The shower gets its name because it appears in the general direction of the constellation Perseus.

The Storm Station is here for you, on every platform. Your weather updates can be found on News 2, wbrz.com, and the WBRZ WX App on your Apple or Android device. Follow WBRZ Weather on Facebook and X for even more weather updates while you are on the go.

Permalink| Comments

Both Colorado State University and NOAA have updated their mid-season hurricane outlooks, and both are calling for below-normal activity in the Atlantic basin.

The main driver behind the quieter forecast is a strengthening El Niño. The Storm Station Weather Team has been covering this for weeks and says it's expected to be one of the strongest on record.

El Niño ramps up wind shear across the Atlantic hurricane basin, which tends to tear apart developing storms. Conditions in the Atlantic basin right now mirror other seasons in the past that have been quiet.

Colorado State is forecasting nine named storms, four hurricanes and one major hurricane for the season. NOAA updated its numbers to seven to 13 named storms, two to six hurricanes and up to two major hurricanes.

So far, the season has produced two named storms, Arthur and Bertha, both of which formed in the Gulf. No hurricanes have developed yet. Those two tropical systems are included in the numbers of the recent updates. 

Tropical Storm Arthur formed in mid-June off the Texas coast, bringing record rainfall to parts of Louisiana and spawning tornadoes along the Gulf coast. Bertha formed south of the Florida panhandle and made landfall in St. Bernard Parish, Louisiana.

"Inland rainfall is a major cause of damage from tropical storms and hurricanes, as Arthur demonstrated," said NOAA's National Weather Service Director Ken Graham. "That's why it's important to prepare for every storm that's projected to impact your area, even if it never reaches hurricane strength."

Matt Rosencrans, lead hurricane season forecaster with NOAA's National Weather Service, said El Nino is becoming the dominant factor this season. "When El Nino emerges, it usually becomes the dominant factor in total hurricane season activity and this El Nino continues to get stronger every month," Rosencrans said. "Compared to a mature El Nino, other mechanisms play a smaller role in determining the number and intensity of tropical storms in the Atlantic basin."

It's worth noting that the seasonal outlook covers total activity across the basin, not where storms will actually go. Even a below-average season can be serious for any one location that takes a direct hit.

TRACK THE TROPICS, OUTLOOKS, FORECASTS AND ATLANTIC BASIN CONDITIONS IN THE

STORM STATION HURRICANE CENTER

Colorado State puts the probability of at least one major hurricane making landfall along the entire continental U.S. coastline at 16 percent, compared to the long-term average of 43 percent. NOAA forecasters put a 75 percent chance on below-normal activity, a 20 percent chance of a near-normal season and just a 5 percent chance of above-normal activity. 

The Storm Station is here for you, on every platform. Your weather updates can be found on News 2, wbrz.com, and the WBRZ WX App on your Apple or Android device. Follow WBRZ Weather on Facebook and X for even more weather updates while you are on the go.

Permalink| Comments

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — A drifting SpaceX rocket is on a collision course with the Moon after launching a pair of lunar landers more than a year ago.

The rocket’s upper stage will unintentionally slam into the Moon at approximately 1:35 a.m. CDT Wednesday, carving out a crater and sending up a plume of dust and rubble that scientists are eager to observe.

Space tracking expert Bill Gray predicts an impact speed of 5,400 mph — nearly seven times the speed of sound. While scientists are not too concerned about this particular piece of space junk, it highlights the growing threat as more and more items cram into orbit. “Things are getting crowded up there,” said Gray, who plans to view the aftermath from New Brunswick, Canada.

It was never SpaceX’s intent to hit the Moon. But space experts said the crash could have been avoided if the upper stage had been nudged into orbit around the sun.

It will be the second dead rocket known to crash into the Moon accidentally. A Chinese rocket segment dug out a pair of craters on the lunar far side in 2022.

The impact flash, lasting less than a second, will probably be too dim to see, according to experts. But the stream of ejected material could stretch for several miles into space and remain visible to large telescopes for tens of minutes.

“The gravity on the Moon is low, and there is no wind to blow the dust away,” said Los Alamos National Laboratory’s Benjamin Fernando, who’s encouraging observations by professionals and amateurs alike.

“Part of the reason for our interest in this event is to figure out how much of a hazard debris impacts pose to future astronauts,” he added in an email.

Fernando anticipates an impact crater nearly 90 feet across and 16 feet deep, too small to see from Earth but visible to spacecraft.

NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter and South Korea’s Danuri lunar orbiter will gather before-and-after shots of the crash scene. Danuri will stray within a mile or two of the SpaceX rocket just two minutes before impact, according to Fernando and his team.

The abandoned rocket segment, measuring some 40 feet and weighing around 10,000 pounds, hoisted two private lunar landers on January 15, 2025.

One of them, Firefly Aerospace’s Blue Ghost, became the first private spacecraft to pull off a fully successful lunar touchdown. The other, Japan-based ispace’s lander, wrecked.

With meteoroids and other natural objects offering little if any warning before walloping the Moon, scientists said there’s much to learn by observing well-tracked strikes by human-made objects like the one coming up. NASA hurled rocket sections and lunar modules into the Moon during the Apollo era for seismic measurements. Decades later, in 2009, NASA intentionally crashed its LCROSS spacecraft and upper stage in search of ice near the lunar south pole.

With the Moon as the new travel hot spot, scientists said it’s crucial to improve debris monitoring and traffic control before packs of robots and astronauts arrive.

The United States and China are racing to land astronauts on the Moon in the next few years. Elon Musk’s SpaceX and Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin are vying to provide the lander for NASA’s yet-to-be-named moonwalkers of Artemis IV, who will succeed the 12 Apollo astronauts who strolled the lunar surface.

“This impact will not be a problem,” retired astrophysicist Jonathan McDowell said in an email. “But in a future where there are long-term bases on the Moon, similar impacts would be an issue, and we need not to leave rocket stages in chaotic orbits of this kind.”

The Storm Station is here for you, on every platform. Your weather updates can be found on News 2, wbrz.com, and the WBRZ WX App on your Apple or Android device. Follow WBRZ Weather on Facebook and X for even more weather updates while you are on the go.

Permalink| Comments

BATON ROUGE — The Louisiana summer heat has taken a total of seven lives thus far in 2026, according to the latest Louisiana Department of Health data.

Three of those deaths came in July, and the other four in June. 

The Northshore region has seen three heat-related deaths, the most of any region in Louisiana, according to LDH. Two people died in the northeast region, one in Acadiana and another in the far southeast reaches of the state. 

Understanding the signs and symptoms of heat illness will be important. Heat exhaustion can cause lightheadedness, dizziness, excessive sweating, muscle cramps, and a weak but fast pulse. When noticing these symptoms, it’s time to find some A/C to cool off before the situation becomes a medical emergency.

If heat exhaustion is ignored, it can turn into heatstroke, when the body overheats as its self-cooling mechanisms stop. Signs include a throbbing headache, no more sweating, a strong and more rapid pulse, and even unconsciousness. Anyone experiencing heatstroke symptoms must call 9-1-1 immediately.

Drinking plenty of water and taking breaks from the intense summer heat go a long way in preventing heat illness. Nationwide, heat is the number one weather-related killer over a 30-year average.

Monitor the heat outside with the Storm Station's latest forecasts, on News 2, our website, and the WBRZ WX App on your Apple or Android device. Follow WBRZ Weather on Facebook and X for even more weather updates while you are on the go.

Permalink| Comments

A magnitude 6.8 earthquake struck south of Kumamoto on Japan’s Kyushu Island on Tuesday, July 28. The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) reported that the quake occurred at a shallow depth, significantly increasing the potential for intense ground shaking near the epicenter.

According to the USGS, the quake was triggered by movement along a shallow crustal fault within the Eurasian Plate, rather than along the nearby subduction zone where the Philippine Sea Plate slides beneath Japan. Earthquakes originating at shallow depths often deliver much stronger surface shaking compared to deeper events.

The epicenter lies in the same region struck by a devastating series of earthquakes in April 2016. That sequence featured a magnitude 7.0 mainshock that claimed at least 40 lives, injured over 2,000 people, damaged roughly 12,000 homes, and triggered a major landslide that destroyed the Aso Ohashi Bridge.

Local officials are evaluating the damage from Tuesday’s tremor. Seismologists warn that aftershocks are expected to continue over the coming days.

Permalink| Comments

BATON ROUGE — On Aug. 13, 2016, more than half the state was left underwater after unprecedented rainfall caused waterways like the Amite and Comite rivers to surge and flood much of the Capital Area. 

Now, 10 years later, WBRZ's John Pastorek looks back on the flood that killed more than a dozen people. It was the worst natural disaster in the United States since Hurricane Sandy in 2012.

Tens of thousands of homes and businesses were left under dozens of inches of water, affecting areas that have never flooded before. The 1-in-1,000-year event still affects the Capital Area to this day.

Permalink| Comments

Heat is the big story of the Storm Station's 7-Day Forecast, with some of the hottest temperatures of the year expected in the coming weeks.

Air temperatures are expected to top out in the upper 90s, as high as 98 degrees, a temperature not reached since last August.

Due to high humidity, feels-like temperatures could be dangerously warm, between 108 - 115 degrees on several afternoons. 

The hottest stretch of the year typically runs from July 30 to Aug. 14, with an average high around 93 degrees and an average low around 74 degrees.

That period is what Storm Station Chief Meteorologist Dr. Josh Eachus refers to as the "heat hump," a three or four week stretch that extends into the middle of next month.

Heat alerts are possible, if not likely, ranging from heat advisories to extreme heat warnings during this stretch.

The Storm Station is here for you, on every platform. Your weather updates can be found on News 2, wbrz.com, and the WBRZ WX App on your Apple or Android device. Follow WBRZ Weather on Facebook and X for even more weather updates while you are on the go.

Permalink| Comments

On Wednesday, parts of southeast Louisiana dealt with an unusual combination of extreme heat and tropical storm conditions at the same time, something that has not been documented before in reliable records going back to 2005.

At 4 p.m. Wednesday, the heat index hit 121 degrees in Lake Charles, 115 in Morgan City and 113 in New Roads. Those readings triggered an extreme heat warning across south Louisiana.

At the same time, due to Bertha, tropical storm warnings were also in place along the immediate coastline.

According to The Storm Station, reliable records of warnings going back to 2005 show this is the first time those two types of warnings have overlapped.

Highs in the mid to upper 90s are expected to continue through the middle of next week. Low chances of rain are in the forecast from Friday through that same stretch.

Get the latest 7-day forecast and real-time weather updates HERE.

Watch live news HERE.

The Storm Station is here for you, on every platform. Your weather updates can be found on News 2, wbrz.com, and the WBRZ WX App on your Apple or Android device. Follow WBRZ Weather on Facebook and X for even more weather updates while you are on the go.

Permalink| Comments