Cheryl Nelson

This year has been far from normal, but regardless of a global pandemic hurricane season still comes around every year. The 2020 Atlantic Basin hurricane season is already off to a historically eventful start and meteorologists are expecting the tropics to remain active. As of the August forecast, Meteorologists at NOAA and Colorado State University are now predicting 19-25 named storms in the

On July 10, 1913, the United States experienced the hottest temperature ever recorded at 134.1°F in Death Valley, California. While most of us will never experience a temperature that high in our lifetimes, extreme heat still calls for vital safety measures during the summer. At Cummins, we want you to have the information available to stay safe all season long. What are the dangers of ext

The 2019 Atlantic hurricane season was tied with the 1969 season as being the fourth most active season on record with 20 tropical depressions and 18 named storms (tropical storms/hurricanes).  The most notable storm was Hurricane Dorian which made landfall as a powerful category 5 storm and devastated parts of the Bahamas.  Hurricane Dorian was not only the costliest disaster in Bahamia

Hurricane season begins on June 1 and lasts until November 30. Start a conversation with your family now and develop a plan. To ensure you have everything you need before tropical activity begins, now is the time to think about your natural disaster preparedness kits.  This leads me to... 1: Keep disaster preparedness kits at home, work and in your vehicle You don’t want to g

While the leaves change colors and fall to the ground in some parts of the country, the snowflakes will soon be in the air as cold temperatures push in. Winter is right around the corner and now is the time to ensure you and your family are prepared for winter storms and extreme cold.  Here are five easy ways to be better prepared: 1. Know your risk. How prepared is your region for wint

With some parts of the United States already seeing snow, it’s only a matter of time before we start hearing terms like bomb cyclone, graupel and polar vortex again. But are these weather phenomena as scary as they sound? While these terms are common among meteorologists like myself, the media has started using them more in recent years, causing confusion (and fear) among their audiences.&nbs

Old Man Winter has proven once again to be unpredictable and relentless. From the December storm that brought snow from Texas east to Virginia and the Carolinas to the late season April blizzard that dumped several feet of snow in the Mideast and Great Plains, the 2018-19 winter was one for the books. While all 50 states - even Hawaii - get some measurable snow each year, five states experience

On July 4, a 6.4-magnitude earthquake shook the Mojave Desert – a preview of the 7.1-magnitude quake that came the following evening, triggering power outages, fires, and thousands of aftershocks.  Unlike other natural disasters, earthquakes can hit anytime, anywhere, with no warning. However, most people do not have earthquake insurance because they don’t know they are at risk. While Alas

Labor Day weekend is typically a time for many of us to relax...but not this year. Hurricane Dorian slowed to a crawl as it made landfall in the Bahamas as a devastating Category 5 storm. The storm lurked off the Southeast coast for days, with residents scrambling to make last minute preparations. Although Dorian weakened as it moved northward, the once compact storm expanded, and tropical storm f

After such a catastrophic wildfire, changes were made in the state of California. Regulators now allow utility companies to turn off power to thousands of homes when the wildfire risk is high. Beginning this summer, California utility companies are implementing a wildfire prevention plan that will leave 5.4 million Northern Californians without power for an undetermined amount of time whenever the

One month into summer 2019, and the mercury is rising. A heat wave will impact half of the U.S. over the coming week with temperatures in the 3-digits in some parts of the country. Heat waves of this magnitude are not just an inconvenience, they can be dangerous, even life-threatening, if proper precautions aren’t taken. There were 108 heat-related fatalities in 2018 according to NOAA. Of all n

That was not the only tornado to touch down that day; there were reports of dozens of tornados touching down across the Southeast. While conditions ideal for tornado formation were forecast 24 hours earlier, residents of Lee County weren’t warned of an imminent threat until an hour before destruction was reported.  Tornadoes can occur in all 50 U.S. states year-round, with peak tornado sea