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CNN-weather/environment

A tornado swirls in New Richmond

Millions under threat of strong tornadoes and violent winds as storm danger increases Friday

CNN By Mary Gilbert, Emma Tucker, Taylor Ward, CNN (CNN) — An incredibly dangerous day of severe thunderstorms including the potential for long-lasting, powerful tornadoes and hurricane-strength wind gusts is underway in the eastern half of the United States. The threat for tornadoes and damaging winds is escalating Friday after the same system already produced

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The National Weather Service forecast office in Brownsville

National Weather Service seeks to fill 155 ‘critical’ vacancies ahead of hurricane season

By Andrew Freedman, CNN (CNN) — The National Weather Service is seeking to fill 155 positions at offices throughout the country by offering reassignment opportunities for qualified National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) employees, who are currently working elsewhere. The scale of the voluntary reassignments illustrates how depleted the nation’s top weather forecasting agency is

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Cars are submerged in a parking lot of Westernport Elementary School as flooding forces the evacuation of the school

Floodwaters sweep away 12-year-old boy in Virginia and force boat rescues of over 200 people from Maryland school

By Cindy Von Quednow, Taylor Ward, Lauren Mascarenhas, Mary Gilbert, CNN (CNN) — Dangerous flash flooding forced search and rescue operations in multiple states Tuesday, including boat rescues at a Maryland elementary school and a search for a 12-year-old boy swept away by floodwaters in Virginia. The boy was caught in rushing water at around

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Hurricane Season Fast Facts

CNN Editorial Research (CNN) — Here’s a look at the Atlantic hurricane season, which runs from June 1 to November 30. Facts The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) defines a hurricane as “an intense tropical weather system with well-defined circulation and sustained winds of 74 mph (64 knots) or higher.” In the western North

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The entrance to the National Weather Service office in Brownsville

Lawmakers want answers after reporting reveals crippling vacancies at hurricane-prone National Weather Service office

By Andrew Freedman, CNN (CNN) — With less than a month until hurricane season, three House Democrats have expressed concerns over staffing shortages, including vacancies in all management positions, at the National Weather Service’s Houston-Galveston forecast office in a letter to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s acting head. The letter follows CNN’s reporting that

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Mount St. Helens Fast Facts

CNN Editorial Research (CNN) — Here’s a look at Mount St. Helens, the most active volcano in the Cascade Mountains in Washington. Facts Mount St. Helens is located in Washington, about 55 miles northeast of Portland, Oregon, and 95 miles south of Seattle. It is administered by the National Forest Service, not the National Park

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A militarized conspiracy theorist group believes radars are ‘weather weapons’ and is trying to destroy them

By Andrew Freedman, CNN (CNN) — National Weather Service offices around the country are on guard after recent threats to agency infrastructure — specifically Doppler weather radars — from a violent militia-style group, emails from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s security office show. The group Veterans on Patrol, which the Southern Poverty Law Center

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US weather forecasting is more crippled than previously known as hurricane season nears

By Andrew Freedman, CNN (CNN) — The National Weather Service is in worse shape than previously known, according to interviews with current and former meteorologists, due to a combination of layoffs, early retirements and preexisting vacancies. The nation’s forecasting agency is in tatters as what could be a destructive hurricane season nears. Several current and

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