Story Archives of 'Weather'

Officials in the Gulf Coast are assessing damage left by Hurricane Gustav yesterday. Officials were bracing for a repeat of the epic failure of the levy system following Hurricane Katrina three years ago.

Though the levies and flood walls held up this time, Gustav still left plenty of destruction in its wake. Mayor Ray Nagin is asking evacuated residents to stay put while crews work to restore power to the 80,000-plus homes that lost electricity. And Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal is asking the federal government to open up its strategic oil reserve to fuel recovery efforts and to fill the tanks of returning citizens. Jindal says it could be days before oil companies can assess the damage to their operations in the Gulf.

The region handles about 25 percent of the nation’s domestic oil production and about 15 percent of its natural gas output. Any harm to that infrastructure will affect oil prices nationwide. But our next guest says it’s not just the rigs and refineries we have to worry about - it’s the pipelines that pump the product from the Gulf to the mainland that cause more concern. After Hurricane Katrina, about 8 million gallons of oil were lost through the pipes - compare that to 11 million gallons after the 1989 Exxon Valdez oil spill.

Nancy Kinner is co-director of the Coastal Response Research Center at the University of New Hampshire, where she’s also professor of civil and environmental engineering. She joins Word of Mouth to discuss cleaning up the oil damage caused by hurricanes.

(Photo by vphill)

Well, New Hampshire has struggled with all sorts of weather this summer, from tornadoes to torrential rains. Thunder and lightning almost seem a part of the daily weather pattern. Correspondent Sherwin Sleeves has been thinking about the unusually stormy season and files this report:

The tornado that tore a 50-mile path through the state uprooted and damaged hundreds of thousands of trees.

Public meetings begin this week to help landowners figure out what to do with those trees.

As NHPR’s Amy Quinton reports, landowners not only face a daunting and dangerous task of clearing those trees – they may also face a significant economic loss.

It’s been hot in New Hampshire, with temperatures in the 80s this past week. If you’ve been grunting around in the yard, sitting in traffic, or lounging on the beach, you’ve noticed it. And it’s usually not a big deal – you might seek out some shade, an air-conditioned room, or a cool glass of lemonade.

But what if that’s not enough? Our guest, Corrie Pikul, is a research editor for Elle in New York City, and was looking for relief from the heat of the office, streets and subway platforms. She’s a little more adventurous than most of us would be – trying five different anti-sweat techniques that go beyond the norm: clinical strength anti-perspirant, a drionic iontophoresis kit, sage leaves and black tea baths, anti-cholinergic medication, and Botox. Corrie wrote about her experiments for New York magazine.

(Photo by peskymac)

Governor John Lynch is asking President Bush for a major disaster declaration for New Hampshire following last week’s tornado and severe storms. If accepted, that declaration would assist individuals and homeowners as well as provide public assistance for five counties.

The lethal storms tore through 11 communities and affected some 150 homes.

New Hampshire Public Radio’s Amy Quinton reports.