Joe Mario Pedersen

Remnants of a city sign lay on the beach damaged by Tropical Storm Laura in Salinas, Puerto Rico, Saturday, Aug. 22, 2020. Laura began flinging rain across Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands on Saturday morning and was expected to drench the Dominican Republic, Haiti and parts of Cuba during the day on its westward course. (AP Photo/Carlos Giusti)

‘Extremely dangerous’ Category 4 Hurricane Laura up to 150 mph, threatens ‘unsurvivable’ 20 foot storm surge

August 27, 2020 at 9:50 a.m.

Hurricane Laura kept growing into a massive Category 4 storm with 150 mph winds as it's set to slam into the Gulf Coast overnight into Thursday with "catastrophic storm surge,...

Tropical Storm Laura prompts watches in Florida Keys, will likely follow Marco to Louisiana

August 23, 2020 at 12:28 p.m.

Tropical Storm Laura prompted the National Hurricane Center on Saturday night to issue tropical storm watches for the Florida Keys and the Bahamas, while Tropical Storm Marco led the NHC...

Sharks are important for the health of coral reefs because they help maintain the balance of the food chain in these fragile ecosystems.

Florida man is bitten by alligator, then by a shark

August 11, 2020 at 3:26 p.m.

A 38-year-old Florida man is probably one bite shy of a punch card for receiving a free burger somewhere as he was recently bit by an 8-foot-shark, after having previously...

Drivers fuel up at BJ's in Boynton Beach, Fla., as they prepare for Hurricane Isaias on Friday, July 31, 2020. Isaias is forecasted to stay east of the coast but it will bring winds and possible coasting flooding. (South Florida Sun-Sentinel/South Florida Sun-Sentinel via AP)

Hurricane Isaias makes landfall in North Carolina, downgraded to tropical storm

August 4, 2020 at 12:50 p.m.

Hurricane Isaias plowed into North Carolina late Monday and has been downgraded to a tropical storm as of 5 a.m., the National Hurricane Center said. The fast-moving storm is still...

Tropical Storm Isaias is seen on a satellite image off Florida's coast on Saturday night.

Tropical Storm Isaias weakens but packs heavy rain, gusty winds as it approaches Florida coast

August 2, 2020 at 12:24 p.m.

Tropical Storm Isaias has slightly weakened but maintained its tropical status overnight as it approached the southeastern Florida coast early Sunday morning, according to the National Hurricane Center's 5 a.m....

Hurricane Isaias strengthens as Florida’s east coast anxiously watches storm path

August 1, 2020 at 1:08 p.m.

Hurricane Isaias is expected to bring hurricane-force conditions along portions of Florida's east coast late Saturday afternoon and Sunday with strong winds, heavy rains and possible flooding in low lying...

In an image provided by the the Polk County Sheriff's Office, William "Robert" Wiggins, Tony Wiggins and Mary Whittemore, who have been arrested and charged in connection to the shooting deaths of three friends who went for a nighttime fishing trip. The killings shocked Frostproof, Fla., a city of 3,200 people, about 70 miles south of Orlando.

‘Evil in the flesh’: 3 arrested in Polk County massacre of 3 fishing buddies

July 23, 2020 at 6:57 p.m.

Deputies have arrested two men and a woman in a weekend massacre of three fishing buddies in Frostproof, Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd said Wednesday. The best friends were killed...

Electrifying skies over Central Florida as storms move into 4th of July weekend

July 2, 2020 at 7:57 p.m.

There's set to be a lot of light booming above Central Florida during the hot and humid Independence Day weekend, but not all of it from fireworks. Temperatures Thursday are...

A thunderstorm with lightning comes out of almost of out nowhere when there is hot humid days over Miami Beach. The storms quickly move by after their late afternoon appearence, and life on the beach goes back to normal.

Florida still deadliest state for lightning as storms roll into busiest time of year

January 28, 2021 at 3:42 p.m.

While Florida is referred to as the Sunshine State, it could also go by the name of electric reaper given its status as the deadliest state for lightning strikes. It's...

Preparing for the big one: Florida county’s emergency chief balances COVID-19 with hurricane threat

June 22, 2020 at 8:09 p.m.

Orange County's new emergency management division chief has her work cut out for her. Lauraleigh Avery accepted the position on Monday at a time when COVID-19 cases are on the...

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