Allie Selle

"A triple weather threat loomed Wednesday with storms set to hit parts of the Gulf Coast, Southeast and Hawaii."

"In Florida, where a hurricane watch was issued for parts of the state because of another tropical depression in the Gulf of Mexico, Gov. Rick Scott declared a state of emergency."

"Karins warned of rough surf and dangerous rip currents off of North Carolina as so-called Tropical Depression 8, which had glanced the coastline late Tuesday, headed back out into the Atlantic."

"In the Pacific, Category 1 Hurricane Madeline churned toward Hawaii, promising to bring heavy rain and high winds. Category 4 Hurricane Lester followed roughly Madeline's path and toward the archipelago."

http://www.nbcnews.com/news/weather/severe-weather-looms-florida-north-carolina-hawaii-n640491

NASA Monitors the 'New Normal' of Sea Ice

As scientists are keeping an eye on the Arctic sea ice cover, NASA is also preparing for a new method to measure the thickness of sea ice – a difficult but key characteristic to track from orbit. Research vessels or submarines can measure ice thickness directly, and some airborne instruments have taken readings that can be used to calculate thickness. But satellites haven’t been able to provide a complete look at sea ice thickness in particular during melting conditions, Markus said. The radar instruments that penetrate the snow during winter to measure thickness don’t work once you add in the salty water of the melting sea ice, since the salinity interferes with the radar.

The Ice, Cloud and land Elevation Satellite-2, or ICESat-2, will use lasers to try to get more complete answers of sea ice thickness. The satellite, slated to launch by 2018, will use a laser altimeter to measure the heights of Earth’s surface. In the Arctic, it will measure the elevation of the ice floes, compared to the water level. However, only about one-tenth of sea ice is above the water surface; the other nine-tenths lie below. To estimate the entire thickness of the ice floe, researchers will need to go beyond the above-water height measurements, and perform calculations to account for factors like the snow on top of the ice and the densities of the frozen layers. Scientists are eager to see the measurements turned into data on sea ice thickness, Markus said.

"If we want to estimate mass changes of sea ice, or increased melting, we need the sea ice thickness," he said. "It’s critically important to understanding the changes in the Arctic."

http://www.nasa.gov/feature/goddard/2016/nasa-monitors-the-new-normal-of-sea-ice

http://www.nasa.gov/content/goddard/icesat-2

Tropical Storm Hermine

Mandatory evacuations have been ordered in several parts of Florida as Tropical Storm Hermine pushes closer to landfall. Flooding has already begun in several places along the state's Gulf Coast.

Gov. Rick Scott declared a state of emergency Wednesday in preparation for what was then Tropical Depression Nine. Numerous schools have been closed, and residents up and down the state's western and Gulf coast have been filling sandbags.

Officials closed Dry Tortugas National Park in the Florida Keys as well as parts of Everglades National Park in South Florida as the storm passed to the south of the mainland. It then entered the Gulf of Mexico and strengthened, becoming a tropical storm.

See the slideshow above for the most recent photos from Hermine.

https://weather.com/storms/hurricane/news/tropical-storm-hermine-photos

Kokomo Indiana Tornadoes

Three tornadoes touched down Wednesday afternoon in Indiana, damaging numerous structures in Kokomo and leaving 15-20 people injured, authorities said. The Indiana State Police said the injuries occurred in Kokomo and rural Howard Country. "All of the reported injuries are considered minor at this time," the state police said. "Most of the injuries were the result of flying debris. There are no reported deaths."

Kokomo Mayor Greg Goodnight said the storm caused "pretty severe property damage" and downed many trees. "I am in a residential neighborhood and there is a lot of roof damage, windows out, a roof completely taken off the home, power out," he said. "It is pretty substantial. I have seen damage to about 50 homes so far. We are still looking at the damage." A temporary state of emergency was declared in Howard County and Kokomo, meaning all roads are closed except for public safety and emergency vehicles.

http://www.cnn.com/2016/08/24/us/indiana-tornadoes/