As we enter the peak weeks of hurricane season, new University of Georgia research explains why some storms don’t fall apart once they make landfall. Andersen and her co-author, Marshall Shepherd, call the phenomenon the “brown ocean.”
The deadliest storm in Georgia history struck the state 120 years ago Tuesday. The 1893 hurricane killed about 2,000 people. But it also was one of the last big storms to hit Georgia. A forecaster says most coastal residents today have no memory of what a similar storm could do.
State and federal officials are using these final days before the Atlantic hurricane season begins Saturday to urge Georgians at along the coast and beyond to prepare. NOAA forecasters are predicting an above-average season with 13 to 20 named storms and six major hurricanes.
Chatham County residents won't be getting 'voluntary' hurricane evacuations anymore. Emergency management officials there are getting rid of the term 'voluntary' and replacing it with 'early' and 'recommended' evacuations. The meaning hasn't changed. But officials believe the new wording will give residents more urgency as a storm approaches.
Hurricane Irene is moving closer to the U.S. main land. A particularly large weather system, Irene’s impacts will extend well beyond the center of the storm. Coastal flooding and high surf advisories are in effect for coastal Georgia.