Free Republic

Six people were confirmed dead in a series of highway collisions Monday in rural Illinois that were blamed on a blinding dust storm, authorities said. More than 30 people, ages 2 to 80, were hospitalized with injuries ranging from minor to life-threatening, Illinois State Police Maj. Ryan Starrick said at an early evening news conference.

Two people were killed by falling branches, and more than 463,000 were left without power as high winds swept through the Puget Sound region. A girl in Federal Way and a man in Gig Harbor were killed in a windstorm Saturday that took down trees and power lines, whipped debris into the streets, and left almost a half-million customers without power

Derechoes have been in the news in Washington as of late. No, that’s not some new breed of super bureaucrat, but it is something from a supercell sized thunderstorm that crossed several states during its lifetime. You may have seen this NOAA image already on a  few news websites:That’s a time lapse radar image capture as the storm progressed from near Chicago to Chesapeake Bay.They’ve been known over a century, and around far longer than that. Wikipedia says that Derecho comes from the Spanish word for “straight”.The word was first used in the American Meteorological Journal in 1888 by Gustavus...

We and many others in our community are struggling to 'name' the big Dec 14 and 15 wind storm we just experienced. Several other big wind storms we've had in the past happened to fall on a significant day or had something distinctive happen such as the Inauguration Day Wind Storm of 1993, the Turkey Day Storm of 1983, or the Hood Canal Wind Storm of 1979. So, what do we call this big blow? We would like to tap the creative minds of our community to help us 'name this wind storm' . We have created an email address...

Thousands of State Farm Lloyds customers along the coast will lose their property insurance starting next year. The state's largest insurer said Thursday it plans to not renew 6,000 personal and commercial policies on properties within 2,500 feet of coastal waters or bays, on a barrier island or peninsula. That means nonrenewals for about 780 policies in Harris County and 3,200 policies in Galveston County, according to company spokeswoman Sophie Harbert. "Reducing our waterfront exposure will allow State Farm to meet the needs of more customers elsewhere in the coastal market that we might not otherwise be able to write...