An air quality advisory has been issued for Thursday, February 2, 2012, for several Northeast Ohio counties due to fine particles. The advisory covers Ashtabula, Cuyahoga, Geauga, Lake, Lorain, Medina, Portage, and Summit Counties.

Fine particle levels will be "Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups" during peak hours. The fine particles, as well as a haze in the atmosphere, will result from continued accumulation of pollutants from motor vehicle exhaust and other local sources. The particles accumulate because of stagnant atmospheric conditions, presence of moisture and temperature inversion.

"Sensitive Groups" includes children, the elderly and those with breathing difficulties.

Tropical Storm Hilary has formed in the Pacific Ocean south of Mexico, and is expected to grow stronger. On Thursday, the storm's maximum sustained winds were near 75mph. According to the U.S. National Hurricane Center, additional strengthening is expected and the storm could become a major hurricane by Friday.

A tropical storm warning is currently in effect for Mexico along the coast from Lagunas de Chacahua
to Punta San Telmo, and a tropical storm watch is in effect for water of Punta San Telmo Manzanillo.

Tropical storm Hilary is centered about 140 miles south-southeast of Acapulco and is moving west-northwest near 10mph.

Meanwhile, Tropical Storm Ophelia in the Atlantic Ocean has winds near 65mph, but the storm is expected to weaken.

On Thursday, 150,000 Pennsylvania residents in low-lying areas were being forced to evacuate their homes due to the risk of flooding from the Susquehanna River. Authorities instructed residents of Wyoming Valley, located in the northeast part of the sate, to leave their homes by 8pm Thursday as incessant rains in the area continued to swell the river and strain the levee system.

At 6am on Thursday, the Susquehanna River was at 29.07 feet and was expected to rise to 39.6 feet by Friday morning. A flash food warning was also in effect for Luzerne county.

Authorities say that the expect the levees to hold, but don't want to take any chances. Emergency Management Coordinator Steve Bekanich said:

"We want to make sure people have ample opportunity to get out of the area that has the potential to be impacted by this near record flooding situation."

Further to the south, Philadelphia was also affected by the unrelenting rains. Transportation in Greater Philadelphia was disrupted and dozens of schools closed as flooding there also increased. Rock slides and heavy rains also prompted the closure of several major roads and train lines, leaving many commuters forced to stay home.

On Thursday, the National Hurricane Center said that a low-pressure system pushing northwest through the Gulf of Mexico has a strong chance of becoming a tropical cyclone in the next two days, which would threaten U.S. states on the northern coast of the Gulf.

The system is currently over the central part of the gulf and has already prompted some major international oil companies to evacuate workers from offshore oil platforms.

The NHC said that the low pressure area was producing a large area of clouds, thunderstorms and gusty winds as it moved towards the northwest. The NHC said:

"This system has a high chance ... 70 percent ... of becoming a tropical cyclone during the next 48 hours ... Interests along the entire northern Gulf of Mexico coast should monitor the progress of this disturbance."

If the storm became a tropical storm it would be called Lee, and would be the 12th named storm of the Atlantic hurricane season. Some computer models show the developing system could pass over the coasts of Texas and Louisiana.

Texas, which is in the midst of a severe drought, would welcome the rains that the storm system could bring.

On Tuesday, Tropical Storm Katia formed and it is now moving quickly across the Atlantic Ocean. The U.S. National Hurricane Center in Miami said that Katia had grown to maximum sustained winds near 45mph, and that further strengthening is forecasted. It added that Katia is expected to be a hurricane by late Wednesday.

The storm's forecast track has Katia moving north of Puerto Rico over the weekend, and becoming a major hurricane with winds in excess of 110mph.

Tuesday morning Katia was located about 630 miles west-southwest of the southernmost Cape Verde Islands, and was moving west-northwest near 18mph.

NHC specialist Michael Brennan said that Katia could affect the Caribbean, but it is too early to tell if it will hit the U.S.

Irene is barreling its way across the Atlantic towards the Northeast, and while no one
knows ultimately its path, it appears that New York may be hit hard. Governor Andrew Cuomo declared a state of emergency in New York on Thursday in preparation for Irene's potential impact this weekend.

By declaring a state of emergency, New York will be allowed to use state resources to assist local governments more effectively and quickly. Cuomo said:

"In this emergency I am activating all levels of state government to prepare for any situation that may be caused by Hurricane Irene. We are communicating with our federal and local partners to track the storm and to plan a coordinated response, and we will deploy resources as needed to the areas expected to be hit the hardest.

I urge New Yorkers to personally prepare for hurricane conditions and to cooperate with emergency officials if needed. By working together, we will all be able to face this storm in a calm and organized manner."

Irene has strengthened over Puerto Rico, building up enough wind become the first hurricane of the 2011 Atlantic season. The U.S. National Hurricane Center said that currently, the hurricane is headed towards the Dominican Republic on a path that may very well take it to Florida.

With maximum sustained winds of 75 miles per hour, Hurricane Irene was located abou 55 miles west-northwest of San Juan, Puerto Rico as of 7am Atlantic Standard Time, and is moving west-northwest at 12mph.

The NHC expects Irene to pass over Puerto Rico this morning and to reach the north coast of the Dominican Republic later today. Irene will then veer northwards over the next few days. It should reach the Bahamas by August 25 and the east coast of Florida by August 26.

The U.S. Federal Emergency Management Agency warned on its website:

“If you’re in south Florida, now is the time to get prepared."

The storm is expected to intensify as it heads towards Florida, and some expect that it could become a Category 3 storm by the time it reaches U.S. soil.

Hurricane Greg is heading out to cool waters and is expected to weaken over the course of the next 48 hours, according to the August 18, 2011 bulletin issued at 8:00pm by the U.S. National Hurricane Center.

Hurricane Greg was last located at about 380 miles Southwest of the tip of Baja, California.

The NHC reports that Greg has maximum sustained winds of 80mph and is moving in the West Northwest direction at a rate of 14mph, with an estimated central pressure of 982 MB, 29 inches.

No watches or warnings have been raised.

2011 has been quite a wet year in terms of precipitation. This past weekend was no exception, and a record was set on Sunday at Cleveland Hopkins International Airport.

Rainfall totals on Sunday at Hopkins Airport measured 3.51", making it the sixth-rainiest since 1900. Rain has also fallen seven of the last fifteen days of August, with a monthly rainfall total at 4.94". The previous record for the same period of time was in early August 1994 with 4.83". As of Tuesday, Cleveland is 3.21" above average rainfall for the month, and it's only halfway overwith.

For the year, Cleveland is 16.92" above normal precipitation.

If you quipped that you hadn't experienced a hotter July in Cleveland than the one we just experienced in your lifetime, you actually wouldn't have been exaggerating too much, if at all. July 2011 was the second hottest July in 140 years of Cleveland weather record keeping, and the fourth hottest month overall since 1871.

The hottest month overall in Cleveland history was July 1955 with an average of 79.1 degrees. In July 2011, the average, which is derived by combining high and low mean temperatures, was 77.6 degrees.

But it wasn't just the hotter than normal temperatures that made Clevelanders so miserable this July; the rain and humidity was also higher than normal. July was 6 degrees above average for temperatures, and nearly 4 inches above normal for precipitation.

Cleveland hit a high of 97 on July 21, the hottest day in about 15 years.