Hurricanes and Tropical Storms

NEW ORLEANS - A member of the governing body of New Orleans' Sewerage and Water Board was indicted Friday on charges he solicited kickbacks from companies with contracts to inspect damage from Hurricane Katrina. Full Story »

Talk about a party-crasher: Just hours after British billionaire Sir Richard Branson unveiled a gleaming new commercial spaceship in the California desert this week, hurricane-force winds leveled the gala event's tents. But luckily no one – or spaceship – was harmed. Full Story »

FORT COLLINS, Colo. - Colorado State University researchers are predicting a more active Atlantic hurricane season next year, with six to eight hurricanes, at least three of them major. Full Story »

MIAMI (Reuters) - The 2010 Atlantic hurricane season will be "above-average" in activity and produce 11 to 16 tropical storms, including six to eight hurricanes, a leading team of U.S.-based researchers said on Wednesday. Full Story »

NEW ORLEANS - Lawyers for one of several trailer manufacturers accused of supplying the federal government with toxic hurricane shelters said Wednesday they were negotiating a settlement for thousands of claims. Full Story »

MOBILE, Ala. - Allstate Corp. and Alfa Mutual plan to drop wind coverage on an estimated 14,000 homeowner policies in Alabama's two coastal counties over the next 18 months, the latest blow to property owners seeking insurance in an area vulnerable to hurricanes. Full Story »

SAVANNAH, Ga. - The Atlantic hurricane season ended Monday with barely a whimper: Not a single hurricane came ashore in the United States. Full Story »

NEW ORLEANS - A landmark court ruling blaming the Army Corps of Engineers' "monumental negligence" for some of the worst flooding from Hurricane Katrina could lead to a new deluge: billions of dollars in legal action from thousands of storm victims. Full Story »

NEW ORLEANS, Louisiana (AFP) - The deadly levee failures that led to the 2005 flooding of New Orleans during Hurricane Katrina were due to negligence by the US Army Corps of Engineers, a federal judge has ruled. Full Story »

HOUSTON (Reuters) - A U.S. judge ruled on Wednesday the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers was negligent in maintaining a key navigational channel in New Orleans and was liable for some damage caused by massive flooding from Hurricane Katrina in 2005. Full Story »

OCEAN CITY, N.J. - A powerful storm born from the remnants of Tropical Storm Ida began moving out to sea Friday after raking the East Coast for three days, leaving behind it a trail of flooding, damaged buildings, eroded beaches and at least six deaths. Full Story »

GULF SHORES, Ala. - An Atlantic bottlenose dolphin is being treated for dehydration and pneumonia after it was found stranded following Tropical Storm Ida's brush with the Alabama coast. Full Story »

BATON ROUGE, La. - Federal recovery money that remains unused since hurricanes Katrina and Rita should be spent on blight remediation and infrastructure repairs in New Orleans, House Speaker Jim Tucker said Thursday. Full Story »

A lot of the sunniest parts of the U.S. — like Florida and the Gulf Coast — are also prime hurricane country. Full Story »

The remnants of Tropical Storm Ida were expected to continue pushing up the East Coast and leave more wet weather over the Mid-Atlantic and New England on Friday. Full Story »

MIAMI (Reuters) - Rain from Tropical Storm Ida further slowed the cotton, soybean and sweet potato harvest in Mississippi, where crop losses were devastating even before the storm hit, a state agriculture official said on Thursday. Full Story »

MONTGOMERY, Ala. - Tropical Storm Ida may not have done much damage when it hit the Gulf Coast this week, but its wind and rain compounded the misery for Southern farmers already coping with a wet, difficult harvest season. Full Story »

MOBILE, Ala. - Mobile's new cruise ship arrived a day late due to Tropical Storm Ida and prepared for a quick departure for the Mexican coast. Full Story »