Man drowns after pushing two kids to safety from strong river currents
(NEW YORK) — A 39-year-old man has drowned after pushing two children to safety from a river before succumbing to the current himself, officials said.
The incident occurred on Monday afternoon in Bushkill, Pennsylvania, when authorities received a call at approximately 1:45 p.m. to reports of a possible drowning in the Delaware River, according to a statement from the National Park Service.
Rescue team members were on the scene within minutes but were unable to find the currently unnamed 39-year-old New Jersey man until 3:07 p.m. when crews recovered his body about 20 to 30 feet from shore in approximately 7 feet of water, officials said.
“According to witnesses, the man had been swimming in the Delaware River with his family when two children in the party began to struggle in the current,” NPS said in their statement following the accident on Monday. “He was able to get the children to safety before succumbing to the current himself.”
National Park Service rangers and dive team members from Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area, Upper Delaware Scenic and Recreational River and rescue teams from Bushkill, Dingmans and Westfall Fire Departments and Lehman Township EMS all responded to the call for help on Monday from Pike County Dispatch regarding the drowning, authorities said.
This is the second drowning in Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area this summer. The first occurred on June 29 when a 24-year-old man drowned in the waters of the Delaware River near Milford Beach within Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area, according to authorities.
The investigation into the latest drowning accident remains open.
(NEW YORK) — The time of year that typically sees the most tropical systems forming in the Atlantic Basin is almost here.
The past three weeks in the Atlantic Basin have been notably quiet with no named storm formations since Ernesto on Aug. 12.
The last time the Atlantic had no named storm formations between Aug. 13 and Sept. 3 was in 1968, Philip Klotzbach, senior research scientist at Colorado State University, told ABC News. There has not been a named storm anywhere in the Atlantic Basin for more than two weeks.
The peak of the Atlantic hurricane season is Sept. 10, according to the National Hurricane Center. Historically speaking, about two-thirds of all storm activity occurs between Aug. 20 and Oct. 10.
Earlier this year, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration predicted a very active Atlantic hurricane season for 2024.
One of the explanations for the lack of storm systems forming in the Atlantic Basin in recent weeks is due to the Saharan Dust moving across the Atlantic Ocean, scientists say. Large Saharan dust outbreaks brought widespread, intense plumes of dust and lots of dry air across the tropical Atlantic during July and much of August, Ed Nowottnick, an atmospheric scientist at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, told ABC News.
Tropical waves have been exiting the African continent so far north that they have been pulling in lots of dust and dry air, limiting their chances for development, according to researchers and tropical weather experts at Colorado State University.
While the frequency of these dust plumes has been around average, they have been more intense and widespread in nature, Nowottnick said.
The timing and location of any dust plumes and large areas of dry air play a big role in tropical development, Nowottnick said. Dust levels are trending down, closer to average for this time of the year, which should begin to minimize its role as an inhibiting factor in the coming weeks.
Unfavorable conditions in the upper atmosphere and a northward displaced storm track across West Africa are also playing a role, experts said.
The northward displaced storm track across West Africa has brought abnormal rainfall to portions of Africa outside the typical setup amid the monsoon season, Dan Harnos, a meteorologist at NOAA’s Climate Prediction Center, told ABC News.
Disturbances crossing this region are then entering the Atlantic over relatively cooler waters and with greater exposure to dry air from the mid-latitudes, which hinder the chances of a storm developing.
What to expect for the rest of the Atlantic hurricane season
Below-average activity remains likely over the next two weeks, according to tropical weather experts at Colorado State University. However, the seasonal forecast remains on track to be above average in the end, after a couple more weeks of usually quiet conditions, they said.
Towards the middle of the month, large-scale environmental conditions look to become more favorable for tropical cyclone activity in the Atlantic Basin.
Three tropical disturbances are currently being monitored for potential development in the Atlantic Basin. But the latest update from the National Hurricane Center indicates that they all have a low chance of development over the next seven days.
There are still no major concerns or threats at this time.
A tropical disturbance moving westward across the Caribbean Sea has a 30% chance of development in the next seven days and a 0% chance in the next two days, forecasts show. This system will bring heavy rain and gusty winds to Nicaragua and Honduras this weekend and then to the Yucatan Peninsula of Mexico early next week.
Another tropical disturbance, located off the coast of Africa, has a 20% chance of development in the next week.
A third tropical disturbance has just a 10% of development over the next week as it sweeps across the central Atlantic Ocean.
At this point, it looks like the U.S. is in the clear for the foreseeable future.
Looking ahead to mid-September, NOAA’s Climate Prediction Center’s long-range Global Tropical Hazards Outlook calls for a slight to moderate chance of new tropical development over the Central Atlantic Ocean.
While this isn’t a strong signal for activity ramping up, it highlights that changes are likely coming in a few weeks that support more activity.
NOAA’s hurricane outlook for the 2024 season calls for 17 to 24 named storms, with eight to 13 of them becoming hurricanes, and four to seven of those reaching major hurricane strength. So far, there have been five named storms in the 2024 season, with three hurricanes.
The history of peak hurricane season
The top two busiest Atlantic hurricane seasons on record are 2020 and 2005, respectively, records show. Both years had around half the total number of named storms for the season occurring after Sept. 3.
By Sept. 3, 2020, there had already been 15 named storms, up to the letter “O,” with 15 more named storms to follow through the end of the season, on Nov. 30.
In 2005, there had already been 13 named storms by Sept. 3, up to the letter “M,” with 14 more named storms to follow that year.
The average number of named storms in the Atlantic Basin during one season is 14, with seven hurricanes on average.
Numerous factors play an important role in tropical cyclone activity and a seasonal outlook. This year, the end of El Niño giving way to a developing La Niña event in the equatorial eastern Pacific, near-record warm ocean temperatures across much of the Atlantic Basin, and above-average African monsoon activity were all primary reasons for this forecast.
(WINDER, Ga.) — Colt Gray, the 14-year-old accused of opening fire at his Georgia high school, made his first court appearance on Friday, where the judge informed him of the charges against him and ordered him held without bond.
Gray is charged with four counts of felony murder for allegedly shooting and killing two teachers and two students at Apalachee High School on Wednesday.
Another seven students and two teachers were injured. All of the injured victims are expected to make full recoveries, Barrow County Sheriff Jud Smith said.
More charges against Gray are expected, the GBI said.
The 14-year-old will be tried as an adult, authorities said.
A motive has not yet been determined and it is unknown if the victims were targeted, investigators said.
Gray’s aunt, Annie Brown, said her nephew was “begging for help from everybody around him.”
Investigators believe that Gray received the AR-style gun used in the shooting as a Christmas present from his father, according to sources.
The teen’s father, Colin Gray, 54, was arrested Thursday and charged with four counts of involuntary manslaughter, two counts of second-degree murder and eight counts of cruelty to children, the GBI said.
Colin Gray is accused of “knowingly allowing his son, Colt, to possess a weapon,” GBI Director Chris Hosey said Thursday.
Colin Gray is also expected to appear in court on Friday.
(NEW YORK) — The mother of Colt Gray, the 14-year-old suspected of opening fire at his Georgia high school, said she last heard from her son the morning of the shooting when he texted her, “I’m sorry, Mom.”
“His dad had actually gotten texts from him that basically said the same thing already that morning, about 15 minutes prior,” Marcee Gray told ABC News. “One said, ‘I’m sorry,’ and one said, ‘You’re not to blame for this.'”
Marcee Gray said she was “petrified” by the texts to her husband and called the school, and that’s when she received the “I’m sorry, Mom,” message.
“My concern for him had been building,” she said.
Marcee Gray said she’d called her son’s school six days earlier because “I wanted Colt to be admitted to an impatient treatment. … Colt was on board with it.”
Colt Gray is accused of killing two students and two teachers, and injuring nine others, at Apalachee High School on Wednesday.
Marcee Gray said when she first heard about the shooting, she “fell to the ground and just started screaming. … I knew what had happened, I just knew in my gut.”
Nearly one week later, she said her feelings range from “debilitating anxiety” to “guilt” to “disgust.”
“I still can’t believe it happened,” she said.
Marcee Gray said she wants the victims’ families to know “how horrible I feel.”
“What happened to them and their sweet, innocent babies is just unfathomable,” she said. “If I could take their place, I would. I would in a heartbeat.”
Marcee Gray said if she had the chance to talk to her son now, she’d tell him, “I love him,” and, “It’s not your fault.” She did not say who she places the blame on.
Colt Gray is charged with four counts of felony murder. More charges will be filed, prosecutors said.
The teen’s father, Colin Gray, is charged with four counts of involuntary manslaughter, two counts of second-degree murder and eight counts of cruelty to children, the GBI said. He is accused of “knowingly allowing his son, Colt, to possess a weapon,” GBI Director Chris Hosey said.
Investigators believe Colt Gray received the AR-style gun used in the shooting as a Christmas present from his father, according to sources.
“I knew that my husband had numerous guns, but I didn’t know that one was a specific Christmas present,” Marcee Gray said. “It wasn’t until after the shooting that I knew it was specifically Colt’s gun. … I was shocked.”
The father and son both made their first court appearances on Friday. Neither has entered a plea and both are set to return to court on Dec. 4.