STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:
Let's get an assessment of the damage from Hurricane Isaias. Environmental reporter Lauren Linahan of WBHM in Birmingham, Alabama, is covering this. Good morning.
LAUREN LINAHAN, BYLINE: Good morning, Steve.
INSKEEP: Where was some of the worst damage?
LINAHAN: So when Isaias made landfall on the Florida Panhandle, that's where you saw those hurricane-force winds, those 100-mile-per-hour gusts. And there was some storm surge that also led to some - not just water damage, but then you had the winds that led to the damage of some buildings. But even farther inland, though Isaias weakened quickly, it did lead to some downed trees and power outages, like here where I am in Birmingham.
But as of this morning, as far as Alabama, less than 1% of customers are still without power. And then in the Florida Panhandle, 30% of customers are still without power. Unfortunately, we've learned four people lost their lives, three of them from falling trees and one from carbon monoxide poisoning from a generator.
INSKEEP: What are you hearing from your neighbors?
LINAHAN: So what we've been hearing from around town - my editor at WBHM, Andrew Yeager - he actually went out to talk with people after the storm this weekend. And he spoke with a woman named Carrie Sweet who was helping her neighbors after a tree fell on their house during the storm. She actually even offered to do their laundry and wash the fiberglass and insulation out of their clothes.
CARRIE SWEET: I am a - an enormous tree lover, so it was really sad to see this one go. But, again, I'm just thankful nobody was hurt.
LINAHAN: And that's what we've been hearing from a lot of people in the inland areas. They're just grateful Isaias wasn't worse.
INSKEEP: What's the weather like as people clean up?
LINAHAN: So this week, believe it or not - I know the calendar says October, and we just had a tropical storm come through - no more tropical storms. But there's actually the potential for record-breaking heat along the Gulf Coast this week. So if you're seeing high temperatures get into the upper 80s and low 90s and you're still without power...
INSKEEP: Wow.
LINAHAN: ...People without AC - that's going to be pretty rough when they're still trying to do cleanup. So the National Weather Service has been recommending working during the cooler hours of the day and even keeping windows open at night to provide some ventilation.
INSKEEP: I want people to know you have a background in meteorology, so I'm going to turn you into a bit of a forecaster here. Can you turn your eyes to the Pacific Coast, which is - faced two storms this weekend? What's going on?
LINAHAN: Yeah. You know, with El Nino, it typically suppresses hurricane activity in the Atlantic. That doesn't mean you couldn't get a hurricane, but it's been much more active on the Pacific coast this year in terms of hurricane season. So, for example, Tropical Storm Rachel actually brought heavy rain and large swells in California over the weekend, and it damaged homes. And in Long Beach, it actually damaged the boardwalk.
Now, the remnant moisture from Rachel has been moving inland, and that's actually helping to fuel a chance for mountain snow in the Sierra Nevada and Rockies. And then today, we have Hurricane Simon along the west central coast of Mexico. It's a Category 3 storm this morning, but that plume of tropical moisture is actually going to be bringing a flood threat to the Great Plains on Tuesday and Wednesday.
INSKEEP: Wow.
LINAHAN: And hurricane season, of course, isn't over yet. It lasts through November 30. So when you have an El Nino, that does help to suppress activity in the Atlantic, but the thing is, the Gulf is still really warm. So if you do get the potential for a system to spin up in the Gulf, that warm water is basically like lighter fluid. So it can really help to make these storms intense, which is what we saw with Isaias before it made landfall. So even despite...
INSKEEP: Yep.
LINAHAN: ...El Nino, there's still plenty of time for more activity to brew in the Atlantic too.
INSKEEP: Lighter fluid. Wow. WBHM's Lauren Linahan. Thanks so much.
LINAHAN: Thank you. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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