Tropical Storm Isaac Expected to become Huricane as it Bears Down on Florida and the Gulf Coast

US National Hurricane Center Issues Hurricane Warnings From Louisiana to Florida Panhandle.

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Tropical Storm ISAAC Public Advisory

Tropical Storm Isaac about to become a hurricane as it crosses the Florida Keys and enters the Gulf of Mexico. As reported at ABC News, Isaac is expected to make landfall somewhere along the Gulf Coast by Tuesday or Wednesday, on the seventh anniversary of Hurricane Katrina. However, Isaac does not appear to be as powerful as the devastating Katrina that reeked havoc on New Orleans, Louisiana and the Gulf Coast. Isaac has made the planner of the Republican National Convention cancel the first day of the event on Monday.

Tropical Storm Isaac barely stirred some Florida Keys residents from their fabled nonchalance Sunday, while the Gulf Coast braced for the possibility that the sprawling storm will strengthen into a dangerous hurricane by the time it makes landfall there.

Isaac was expected to cross the Keys by late afternoon, then turn northwest and strike as a Category 2 hurricane somewhere between the New Orleans area to the Florida Panhandle on Wednesday, the seventh anniversary of Hurricane Katrina.

The storm was predicted to pass west of Tampa, the site of the Republican National Convention, but it had already disrupted the schedule there because of the likelihood of heavy rain and strong winds.

Even before reaching hurricane strength, Isaac caused considerable inconvenience, with hundreds of flights canceled at airports in Miami and Fort Lauderdale. There were scattered power outages from Key West to Fort Lauderdale affecting more than 6,000 customers, and flooding occurred in low-lying areas.

Florida Governor Scott Brown says that Florida is preparing for Isaac. The Florida Keys are going to be hot with tropical force wind and rain. Brown stated that he has canceled his plans to attend the Republican National Convention on Sunday, Monday and Tuesday to deal with issues for the state of Florida and the potential for Isaac to turn into a hurricane.

Life Threatening Tornado Outbreak Across Mid-West & Plains … Storm Hits Iowa Hospital; Tornado Warning for Wichita, KS (UPDATE: 5 Dead in OK)

According to AccuWeather.com, a life-threatening situation will continue into tonight across the central and southern Plains as tornadic-thunderstorms strike the region. Chief Meteorologist Elliot Abrams stated, “The risk is about as high as it gets.” Please take these warnings seriously and take shelter if you are in the areas of this sever weather.

National Weather Service “dangerous situation” and “life threatening situation” continues across the Plains and Mid-West.

A possible tornado struck a hospital Saturday evening in Creston, Iowa, according to a dispatcher with the Union County Sheriff’s Department. A search-and-rescue operation was under way.

“We have been hit. We are triaging and moving patients,” a spokeswoman at Greater Regional Medical Center in the south-central Iowa city confirmed.

Severe Weather and Flash Flood Warnings for NE, TX, IA, KS

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UPDATE I: From the Des Moines Register: Creston hospital being evacuated after storm; 22,000 lack power in central Iowa

UPDATE II: 5 dead, 29 injured in Oklahoma.

Tornadoes raking communities across the Midwest and Plains left five people dead and at least 29 injured in Oklahoma, damaging a hospital, homes and other buildings as a vast severe weather front plunged eastward Sunday across the nation’s midsection.

Oklahoma emergency officials said five people died after a tornado touched down at 12:18 a.m. Sunday in and around the northwest Oklahoma town of Woodward, the high winds damaging homes, toppling trees …

Death and Destruction in the Heartland After Tornodoes Rip through the Mid-West & South (Update: 31 Dead)

Tornadoes, twisters, hail and sever lighting and thunder storms ripped through the Mid-West and the South Friday leaving devastation and many dead it its wake. For those who witnessed the tornadoes and severe storms first hand, if you did not see the 80 to 90 tornadoes that touched down, you witnessed golf ball size hail that fell so fast that it accumulated like snow on the ground. To date, 14 people were killed in Indiana, 12 died in Kentucky and two people were killed in Ohio. The property damage spanned from the Midwest to the gulf coast. Out prayers go out to those affected by these terrible storms.

A swarm of tornadoes tore through the U.S. midsection on Friday, splintering homes, damaging a prison, overturning trucks and killing at least four people in the hard-hit state of Indiana, officials said.

At least one person died in the southern Indiana town of Henryville, where television images showed homes blown apart and vehicles including a school bus thrown into buildings. Three others died elsewhere in the state.

The town of Marysville, IN, population about 1,900, was “completely gone” and nearby Henryville also suffered extreme damage.

UPDATE I: 31 people confirmed dead after the severe weather … 31 victims, 15 were in Indiana, 12 in Kentucky, three in Ohio and one in Alabama.

The tornado outbreak, unusual for this time of year, killed at least 31 people. Saturday began with large swaths of the South still battered by heavy rain and under tornado watches — and a real fear of the death toll rising.

Of the 31 victims, 15 were in Indiana, 12 in Kentucky, three in Ohio and one in Alabama.

Piles of debris littered land where well-built homes once stood. Tall trees bowed to the winds and lay horizontal with the land. Churches turned into shelters and thousands of people began a weekend unnerved bynature’s fury.

Golf ball sized hail in Tennessee

Daily Commentary – Tuesday, December 27, 2011 – Extreme Weather Dominates 2011

• 12 weather related climate disasters in 2011

Daily Commentary – Tuesday, December 27, 2011 Play Download

Global Warming? Halloween Snow Storm Hits Northeast with Record Snow, Millions without Power

HEY AL GORE, DON’T LOOK NOW BUT THE NORTHEAST JUST GOT HIT WITH RECORD OCTOBER SNOW … GLOBAL WARMING?

As kids got their Halloween costumes ready for some Trick or Treating, a funny and historic thing happened in the Northeast on Saturday, record snow fell. Pumpkins have been replaced by record snow amounts as Central Park in NYC saw its largest accumulation of snow since 1869.   According to reports, about 2.3 million customers from Pennsylvania reaching up into New England are  without electricity and may not be restored for days.

A historic October snowstorm is still crushing New England with heavy snow and howling winds before cruising away into Atlantic Canada.

Snow amounts have already topped two feet across portions of New England, while record-shattering snow hammered the major Northeast cities from Washington, D.C., and Philadelphia to New York City and Hartford, Ct.

An additional 3-6 inches of snow will thump across portions of Maine and New Brunswick, Canada, as the potent nor’easter races along. Heavy snow rates of 1-2 inches an hour will be found in this zone with thunder snow a possibility. Bangor, Maine, is included in this zone.

Check out the incredible snow amounts that fell across the Northeast that shattered October records.

Connecticut
--Bristol: 17.0 inches
–East Farmington Heights: 13.0 inches
–Manchester: 9.0 inches

New Hampshire
--Hillsboro: 21.5 inches
--Peterborough: 24.0 inches
–Jaffrey: 31.4 inches

Maine
--Bridgton: 17.5 inches
–Gray: 12.9 inches
–Otisfield: 14.0 inches

Massachusetts
–Plainfield: 30.8 inches
–Ashfield: 25.5 inches
–Worthington: 24.0 inches
–Goshen: 25.0 inches

New York
–Harriman: 16.0 inches
–Armonk: 12.5 inches
–Yankee Lake: 16.5 inches
–White Plains: 7.5 inches
–Yonkers: 7.0 inches

Pennsylvania
–Laurel Summit: 12.2 inches
–Freeland: 13.0 inches
–Mount Cobb: 12.7 inches
–Hazelton: 16.0 inches

New Jersey
–West Milford: 19.0 inches
–North Caldwell: 12.0 inches
–Ringwood: 10.5 inches

UPDATE I: Instupundent asks whether Al Gore is in Jersey, they just declared a snow emergency.