Tropical Storm Franklin makes landfall with major flood threats to Dominican Republic and Haiti
Tropical Storm Franklin brings torrential rain to Dominican Republic and Haiti on Wednesday
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Your support makes all the difference.Tropical Storm Franklin was moving inland from the southern coast of the Dominican Republic on Wednesday, bringing torrential rains to the country and neighboring Haiti.
Tropical Storm Harold, which had formed only hours before Franklin, was downgraded to a depression after making landfall in south Texas on Tuesday. The system has since crossed into northern Mexico where it was threatening the region with heavy rains.
The cyclones, which scientists say are being supercharged by the impacts of the climate crisis, are part of a record-breaking pattern unfolding in the Atlantic.
Aside from Harold and Franklin, two other systems formed in the Atlantic - Emily and Gert - in 39 hours, making it the fastest time on record for four named Atlantic storm formations, according to Philip Klotzbach, a Colorado State University Meteorologist.
This weekend, Tropical Storm Hilary wreaked havoc across Mexico, California and Nevada. Hilary, which caused one death in Mexico, was the first tropical storm to hit California in almost a century and deluged cities including Los Angeles and San Diego, leading to widespread flooding and mudslides.
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National Weather Service office in Houston celebrates rainfall
The National Weather Service in Houston shared its relief that rain was falling in Texas’ largest city after going 25 days without measurable rainfall.
The US South has seen record-breaking levels of heat this summer with Texas experiencing weeks of triple-digit temperatures, and drought conditions.
Watch: Preparing for Tropical Storm Harold in Texas
Watch: Satellite captures Tropical Storm Harold making landfall
Tropical Storm Harold has been captured by satellite making landfall in Padre Island, Texas on Tuesday morning.
The vast system was seen moving ashore in southern Texas in satellite imagery shared by the Cooperative Institute for Research in the Atmosphere (CIRA) at Colorado State University.
Alerts issued over Tropical Storm Franklin
Within hours of Tropical Storm Harold making landfall in Texas, the National Weather Service warned of another cyclone hot on its heels.
Tropical Storm Franklin poses a threat to parts of the Caribbean in the coming 36-48 hours.
The government of the Dominican Republic has upgraded the Tropical Storm Watch to a Tropical Storm Warning for the entire northern and eastern coast from the Haiti border eastward and southward to Isla Saona.
Tracking Harold
The National Weather Service shared its 1pm storm tracker for Harold on Tuesday.
The storm made landfall shortly after 10am at South Padre Island in the state.
Harold continues to move inland over south Texas, the NWS said, with increasing coverage of showers and thunderstorms along and south of the I-10 corridor.
Watch: Storm Hilary causes flash flooding and erosion to roads in Southern Nevada
Aerial images show rivers of mud in Palm Springs resort town following Tropical Storm Hilary
Torrential mudflows caused by Tropical Storm Hilary have wreaked havoc across southern California, including in the resort town of Cathedral City where the scale of devastation was captured by aerial footage.
Hilary was the first tropical storm to hit California in almost a century and deluged cities including Los Angeles and San Diego before moving north into Nevada.
Officials in Palm Springs, California, announced that the city had been completely cut off by flooding on Monday. Meanwhile in Los Angeles, power outages led to a major hospital being evacuated in the Boyle Heights neighbourhood.
The clean-up was beginning on Tuesday after rivers of mud and torrential downpours swamped communities including a number of resort towns in the Coachella Valley.
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Aerial images show rivers of mud in Palm Springs resort town following storm Hilary
Widespread power outages impacted the region and led to a major hospital being evacuated in Los Angeles
Before and after: Satellite images reveal the damage to Cathedral City, California
What created the historic Tropical Storm Hilary?
“It was a combination of sort of a perfect situation of everything coming together in a way that made the storm possible,” said University of Albany atmospheric scientist Kristen Corbosiero, an expert on Pacific hurricanes.
The Associated Press
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