Weather

A lightning strike from Thursday's storm apparently sparked a Post Falls mobile home fire. Photo by Craig Buck/The Spokesman-Review

A man walks past an overturned house tipped over by Hurricane Luis on a road outside St. John's, Antigua. Photo by Associated Press

Commuters sail home through the Hamilton and Trent intersection. Photo by Sandra Bancroft-Billings/The Spokesman-Review

Carrying winds gusting to 160 mph, Hurricane Luis roared west Monday toward the Caribbean, where nervous islanders boarded up buildings and frightened tourists jammed airports trying to escape. The 700-mile-wide storm, with sustained winds of 140 mph, could be the most destructive storm in the Caribbean in a half-century - even worse than Hurricane Hugo in 1989.

The Carolinas mopped up, scraped up mud and chased out wildlife Monday after a weekend of flooding caused by the leftovers of Tropical Storm Jerry in which at least seven people drowned. Hundreds of people had been forced to evacuate after the region was swamped by as much as 15 inches of rain. And while streams receded Monday in the foothills and mountains, rising rivers caused new flooding in low-lying areas downstream.

The rainy remains of Tropical Storm Jerry chugged north Friday into Georgia, leaving behind streams for streets in Florida and residents fearing that storms behind it could flood them again. Meteorologists said the skies in Jerry's wake should clear, at least for the weekend, offering some respite to Naples, which was inundated with 16 inches of rain, and the Gulf Coast island of Sanibel, which received 15.

Two hurricanes and a tropical storm formed in the Atlantic in 12 hours Wednesday, making 1995 one of the most active hurricane seasons on record. Tropical systems were lined up like ducks from the mid-Atlantic to the Florida peninsula. The number of named storms this season climbed to 10, with the most active part of the June-through-November period just beginning. Never before have there been so many storms this early in the season; the old record was nine storms by Aug. 22 in 1936. The highest number of storms in an entire season is 21, a record set in 1933. Humberto became a hurricane Wednesday morning when it reached the threshold of 75 mph winds less than halfway across the Atlantic between Africa and the Caribbean. At 8 a.m. PDT, tropical storm Iris formed 920 miles to the west, several days away from any land. By 2 p.m., it had become a hurricane with 80 mph winds. Tropical storm Jerry emerged off the east coast of Florida by 11 a.m. and moved over land, bringing heavy rain, surf and 40 mph winds to the Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach area. Up to 8 inches of rain were forecast.

When Hurricane Felix brushed past Bermuda last week, it downed trees and power lines and swept fishing boats out to sea. Now, officials warn, it may be coming back. "He's not welcome," said Christine Barritt, 33, who operates a small guest house near the capital, Hamilton. "I'm just finishing cleaning up from the first hit."

High waves from a raging sea pounded the south shores of Bermuda late Monday, knocking yachts loose from their moorings and battering oceanfront hotels as Hurricane Felix drew near. Residents battened down their oceanfront homes in driving rain and nearly 70-mph winds and fled inland to wait out Felix, an especially large hurricane with top wind speeds approaching 85 mph. Some brave souls gathered to gawk at the waves.

Temperatures in the upper 90s killed two more people in the Chicago area, bringing to 570 the number of people who have died from the heat this summer. A 37-year-old man and an elderly man whose age was not disclosed were found dead Saturday.

The highway from Ethiopia's capital to ports in neighboring Eritrea and Djibouti has been swamped by an overflowing lake following torrential rains, according to news reports Saturday. Ethiopia News Agency said about 500 trucks, buses and fuel tankers have been stranded since Friday on either side of a submerged section of highway, about 155 miles northeast of Addis Ababa. The 545-mile road goes to the Eritrean port of Assab on the Red Sea and also branches off to Djibouti on the Gulf of Aden.

Felix, the most powerful Atlantic hurricane in two years, intensified Saturday and headed for Bermuda, where forecasters warned it could cause serious damage beginning Sunday night. Felix's top winds grew to 125 mph, and its eye was winding tighter, to a compact 18 miles wide - a sign of further strengthening, according to the National Hurricane Center in Miami.

Tropical Storm Helen lashed the Hong Kong area with 55 mph winds Saturday, leaving two people dead and dozens injured. Driving wind and rain closed most shops and businesses, including gold and currency exchanges. At the height of the storm, bus and ferry services were suspended, and at least 78 flights were delayed, diverted or canceled at Hong Kong's airport.

A storm with wind gusting to 76 mph dumped hail and more than 3 inches of rain on Tucson, causing flash floods that killed at least one person and left 11 motorists stranded in raging waters. The storm that spun off Hurricane Flossie struck during the afternoon rush hour.

Not even bees have been safe from the sweltering temperatures that have been roasting much of Spain this summer. Temperatures of more than 104 degrees since late July have melted the wax honeycombs inside some 4,000 beehives in the provinces of Cordoba and Seville. Thousands of queen bees and bee colonies have been destroyed and losses were estimated at $168,000, said Juani Fernandez, spokeswoman for the Association of Small Farmers, on Friday.

Tropical storm Dean whipped the Texas coast with 45 mph winds and much-needed rain Sunday after picking up some punch just offshore in the Gulf of Mexico. The tropical depression was upgraded to a storm about 5:30 p.m. when its winds topped 39 mph.

Chelsea Shumway, 7, cools off in Culpeper, Va., where the temperature reached the 90s Saturday. Photo by Associated Press

A tropical depression in the Gulf of Mexico was expected to strengthen into a tropical storm over the next two days, forecasters said Saturday. The depression, about 365 miles southeast of Galveston, Texas, was moving west at about 7 mph with sustained winds of about 35 mph, the National Weather Service said. The storm was moving so slowly that it might change direction.

The death toll from Chicago's heat wave two weeks ago rose to 529 Thursday as the city braced for another weekend of high heat and humidity. Thirty-two bodies counted from hospitals and funeral homes raised the number of deaths, said Dan Collins, an investigator for the Cook County Medical Examiner's Office.