Severe storms may lead to flooding from Plains to Midwest
ABC News
(NEW YORK) — Thunderstorms are in the forecast Saturday across parts of the central United States as a summer-like pattern continues to deliver hot temperatures and scattered severe weather.
The highest risk for severe weather on Saturday is along the New Mexico-Texas border, with damaging winds, large hail and a few tornadoes possible between Albuquerque and Amarillo. A Flood Watch has been issued for parts of New Mexico and the Texas panhandle.
There is another area extending from Kansas to Wisconsin that may be producing strong to severe thunderstorms later, with damaging winds being the main threat. Flash flooding could be an issue as well, with 1″-3″ of rain across parts of the Midwest over the next 2 days.
Offshore storm affecting Northeast
A pesky storm system has parked itself off the coast of eastern Massachusetts, drenching Cape Cod and Nantucket with up to 4 inches of rain during the last few days.
Coastal Flood Alerts are in effect for several locations along the east coast, due to the combination of astronomical high tide and the rough surf from this offshore storm.
Minor coastal flooding of 1 to 2 feet is possible this weekend during high tide from the Mid-Atlantic into the Northeast. The storm will slowly pull away by early next week.
In the tropics
The chances for our next tropical system in the Gulf of Mexico are increasing, with a 60% likelihood for development as we head through next week.
The potential storm hasn’t even formed yet, but a storm is expected to take shape around the middle or end of next week, bringing a heavy rain threat to the Gulf Coast.
It is still far too early to determine potential impacts, but residents along the Gulf Coast should be monitoring this over the next several days.
(TAMPA, Fla.) — The fiberglass roof of Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Florida, was left in tatters, a 10,000-square-foot sheriff’s facility was demolished and several people were killed at a senior living community in St. Lucie County. That was among the widespread damage emerging Thursday after Hurricane Milton slammed Florida’s west coast with ferocious wind gusts, torrential rain and at least 36 reported tornadoes the whirling storm spawned even before making landfall, officials said.
Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said Thursday at least 10 people are confirmed dead, likely caused by the tornadoes.
Search and rescue is the “highest priority” at the moment, Mayorkas said.
“Milton may have passed, but the danger it poses has not,” he said. “Downed power lines. Floodwaters, non-potable drinking water and debris are creating deadly conditions. Keep listening to local officials and shelter in place until it is safe.”
Officials said state, county and National Guard search-and-rescue crews had rescued hundreds of people, including more than 400 trapped by high water at an apartment complex in Clearwater.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said earlier that authorities are still assessing damage in hard-hit areas, including Siesta Key south of Sarasota, where Helene made landfall around 8:30 p.m. ET Wednesday as a Category 3 storm packing 120 mph winds.
“Right now, it looks like Sarasota County had the most significant storm surge, likely somewhere between 8 to 10 feet. And remember with Helene, we had 15 to 20 feet up in Taylor County,” DeSantis said at a news conference.
However, DeSantis said the early damage assessment indicates the hurricane, which came on the heels of the devastation wrought by Hurricane Helene less than two weeks ago, “was not the worst-case scenario.”
“The storm did weaken before landfall and the storm surge as initially reported had not been as significant overall as what was observed for Hurricane Helene,” DeSantis said.
The most tornado warnings in state history
About 125 homes were destroyed by suspected tornadoes before the hurricane came ashore, many of them mobile homes in communities for senior citizens, said Kevin Guthrie, the director of the Florida Division of Emergency Management.
At least 36 tornadoes were reported across Florida, and, according to the National Weather Service, there were 126 tornado warnings issued Wednesday across the southern half of the state, the most in any day on record for the state of Florida and the second most of any state in the nation for one day.
The St. Lucie Medical Examiner confirmed Thursday that four people were killed when a tornado ripped through the Spanish Lakes County Club Village, a retirement community in St. Lucie County. No further details were released.
St. Lucie County Sheriff Keith Pearson told ABC News that a twister also demolished his department’s 10,000-square-foot storage facility, which was constructed of red iron.
“Our team was within 50 yards of this structure that got hit,” Pearson said. “And we were actually storing all of our high-water rescue vehicles and our patrol vehicles (were) in this structure to prevent them from damage from the hurricane. Within seconds, a tornado came through and just demolished the structure.”
Sarasota Mayor Liz Alpert told ABC News Thursday morning that the storm toppled numerous trees in her city and pushed several boats onto shore. She said the windows of some high-rises were also broken and that a small bridge leading to Lido Key was compromised.
“Overall, I think we’re doing better than we thought. In the city of Sarasota, believe it or not, we had no calls for rescues,” said Alpert, adding that most residents in the town heeded evacuation warnings.
Roof blows off Tropicana Field, crane collapses on Tampa Bay Times office
Dramatic photos and videos emerged overnight as Milton ripped into Florida. Winds of 90 mph whipped through downtown St. Petersburg, collapsing a crane at a building construction site there, according to city authorities. No injuries were reported, but video from the scene showed damage to nearby buildings.
Wind also tore off a large portion of the translucent fiberglass roof at the Tropicana Field stadium in the city, home of the Tampa Bay Rays baseball team.
“The majority of the roof has been ripped off and is now located south of the stadium,” St. Petersburg City Development Administrator James Corbett said Thursday morning, adding that 14 staff members inside the stadium at the time of the incident were found safe.
The non-retractable dome stadium, built in 1990, was to be used as a staging area for first responders.
The storm also dumped 18 inches of rain on St. Petersburg, causing flooding and serious damage to key infrastructure, including drinking water systems, power lines and sewage facilities, officials said.
Don Tyre, the city’s building official, said a 500-foot section of a T-crane being used to construct a 46-story residential skyscraper in downtown St. Petersburg collapsed due to the high winds, striking a nearby building. However, the remaining 600-foot section was intact and will be inspected by an engineer before it is brought back into service.
There were no reports of injuries from the toppled crane. Part of the crane fell onto the office of the Tampa Bay Times, wrecking the newspaper’s newsroom.
Times’ officials said Thursday morning that its building was closed ahead of Milton’s landfall and no employees were inside the office when the crane collapsed.
Milton also caused a major water main break in St. Petersburg, which is impacting portable water service across the city. The subsequent shutdown of the water main is expected to last until necessary repairs can be completed, officials said.
Tampa-area 7-Eleven store damaged
To the north of Tampa, the Pasco Sheriff’s Office said authorities received more than 140 calls regarding roadway obstructions. First responders “are working to remove these hazards as quickly as possible,” the office wrote on X.
The Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office reported significant storm damage to a 7-Eleven store northwest of Tampa, with Sheriff Chad Chronister warning of downed trees and power lines in the county. Chronister urged residents to stay indoors while responders cleared the damage.
Hundreds of apartment complex residents rescued
Pinellas County Sheriff Bob Gualtieri said his department’s personnel were stationed across the county and responded to several rescue calls.
“We had eight high-water rescue teams ready to assist, and it became necessary to utilize them overnight,” the sheriff said. “Fortunately, there were no serious injuries reported, but we did have significant rescues.”
One notable rescue operation occurred at a Clearwater apartment complex, where rising waters threatened the lives of about 2,000 residents, the sheriff’s office said.
“We rescued approximately 430 people using high-water vehicles and boats,” Gualtieri said. “The water was so high that it reached the second-floor balconies of some apartments, but thankfully, many residents had moved to higher ground.”
Gualtieri added, “We appreciate the cooperation of the residents, especially those on the barrier islands, who evacuated and helped minimize the impact of the storm. We are all working together to rebuild and recover from this challenge.”
ABC News’ Victoria Arancio and Ahmad Hemingway contributed to this report.
(NEW YORK) — The Department of Justice sued the State of Alabama and its top election official on Friday for allegedly removing voters from its election rolls too close to the November election.
Last month, Alabama Secretary of State Wes Allen announced that he had begun inactivating the voter registrations of 3,251 people who had been previously issued noncitizen identification numbers.
The National Voter Registration Act prohibits states from removing voters from rolls within 90 days of a federal election, and Alabama’s voter roll maintenance commenced 84 days ahead of the November election, the Justice Department alleged.
“The right to vote is one of the most sacred rights in our democracy,” Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division said in a statement. “As Election Day approaches, it is critical that Alabama redress voter confusion resulting from its list maintenance mailings sent in violation of federal law.
A Justice Department review of the purge also identified multiple native-born and naturalized citizens who were incorrectly identified as potential noncitizens during the voter purge. A coalition of voting rights groups separately sued Allen earlier this month over the move, alleging he illegally targeted and intimidated naturalized citizens.
The Justice Department seeks injunctive relief that “would restore the ability of impacted eligible voters to vote unimpeded on Election Day,” the department said in a statement.
It also seeks mailings to educate eligible voters concerning the restoration of their rights and “adequate training of local officials and poll workers to address confusion and distrust among eligible voters accused of being noncitizens.”
Alabama Secretary of State Allen declined to comment on the DOJ lawsuit but said in a statement, “I was elected Secretary of State by the people of Alabama, and it is my Constitutional duty to ensure that only American citizens vote in our elections.”
(NEW YORK) — A New York judge on Monday vacated the conviction and dismissed the case against Jon-Adrian Velazquez, who spent more than 20 years in prison for a murder prosecutors now say he did not commit.
“Who am I? I’m a very lucky man. I’m lucky that so many people believed in me,” Velazquez, 48, who was formally released in 2021, said outside of the court.
According to Manhattan District Attorney Alvin L. Bragg’s office, two individuals committed a robbery of a gambling parlor on Frederick Douglass Boulevard in Harlem on Jan. 27, 1998. During the robbery, retired police detective Albert Ward pulled a gun and a struggle ensued with one of the armed robbers, who identified himself as “Tee.”
“Tee” shot and killed Ward, according to Bragg’s office.
The then-22-year-old Velazquez was arrested, along with Derry Daniels, and convicted for Ward’s murder at trial in 1999. He served more than 23 years in prison until his sentence was commuted in 2021. On Sept. 30, 1999, over 18 months after he was arrested, Daniels pleaded guilty to a single count of robbery in the second degree and was sentenced to 12 years in prison as a repeat felon, according to his attorneys. Daniels was released in 2008.
In 2022, the city’s Post-Conviction Justice Unit compared Velazquez’s DNA to a betting slip that “Tee” handled before shooting Ward. Velazquez’s DNA was not found on the slip. This type of DNA comparison was not available at the time of Velazquez’s trial in 1999.
According to Bragg’s office, the reinvestigation into Ward’s murder found that the DNA testing results could have impacted the jury’s consideration of other trial evidence, including Velazquez’s alibi, the lack of evidence connecting him to the crime and inconsistent witness descriptions.
Velazquez was granted clemency in 2021 by then-Gov. Andrew Cuomo and spoke with President Joe Biden as an activist for criminal justice reform.
His case is featured in the 2023 movie, “Sing Sing,” named for the prison, about a wrongfully imprisoned man who “finds purpose by acting in a theatre group with other incarcerated men,” according to A24.
“JJ Velazquez has lived in the shadow of his conviction for more than 25 years, and I hope that today brings with it a new chapter for him,” Bragg said in a statement. The reinvestigation was conducted by the Office’s Post-Conviction Justice Unit and defense counsel for Velazquez.
The creation of the Post-Conviction Justice Unit in 2022 has led to 10 vacated convictions, Bragg said.
“These convictions have deep consequences for individuals and their loved ones, compromise public safety and undermine trust in the criminal justice system, which is why this work is of the utmost importance to me,” Bragg said.
