Weather and Critical Events

Barge rates for moving grain on the Mississippi have continued to rise as water levels remain low.

Hurricanes can destroy key infrastructure for freight transportation. Emergency freight can demand thousands of truck drivers. 

Operations temporarily ceased in limited areas of CSX’s network as Hurricane Idalia swept through Florida and Georgia.

Supply chains are in good shape, and Hurricane Idalia mostly spared key supply nodes, according to the executive director of the American Logistics Aid Network. 

Hurricane Idalia briefly intensified into a dangerous Category 4 storm early Wednesday morning before making landfall as a high-end Category 3 on Florida’s west coast.

Several tractor-trailers loaded with critical disaster-relief supplies provided by the nonprofit group Convoy of Hope are en route to staging areas Tuesday as Hurricane Idalia barrels toward Florida’s Gulf Coast.

Even as city, state and federal officials urge residents to flee ahead of high winds and flooding, truck drivers answer the call to haul Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) loads to areas where hurricanes are expected to strike.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has declared a state of emergency as Tropical Storm Idalia nears the Gulf Coast.

The scarred areas of Maui remain an active incident area, ALAN’s Kathy Fulton says.

Union Pacific is seeking to bring operations back to normal at two of its California subdivisions that were hit by Tropical Storm Hilary.

Union Pacific’s Mojave and Yuma subdivisions are out of service due to high waters and mud over the tracks caused by Tropical Storm Hilary; electrical outages at some terminals are also impacting operations.

Spam is making donations to those in need after the fires in Maui, Hawaii, building on its more than 75-year close relationship with the state.

ALAN has expanded its website to include information about recovery needs in Hawaii.

NOAA now says there is double the chance for above-normal Atlantic hurricane activity from May forecasts.

Tomorrow.io’s satellite constellation will transmit near-real-time scans of precipitation, ocean and atmospheric profiles for any point on Earth.

Canadian railway CN is monitoring wildfires across several provinces and is adjusting operations as needed.

The capacity at Amazon’s Atlanta facility has doubled to 2.4 million disaster relief items ready for shipment.

At least six people are dead and dozens more injured after a dust storm caused several pileups on Interstate 55 in Illinois on Monday.

Increasingly volatile weather threatens safety and efficiency throughout transportation. Tomorrow.io’s weather intelligence is finally allowing teams to focus on drivers, not manual weather monitoring.

Weather has a significant impact on retailers, but most still rely on manual forecasting. Tomorrow.io’s advanced weather intelligence is changing the game.

Amid recession fears, industry experts reveal freight’s most untapped differentiator— next-generation weather technology.

Markets along the East Coast in the path of Tropical Depression Nicole are seeing relatively normal fluctuations in rejections in volume compared to previous severe storms.

Nicole is forecast to move through Florida to Georgia on Thursday and then to the Carolinas on Friday.

Hurricane Ian has not left any diesel fuel shortages in its wake and prices are steady. That’s not the case in California, where diesel is not as crazy as the gasoline market.

Here’s the latest on Ian’s supply chain impact from FreightWaves’ team of reporters and market experts.

Hurricane Ian is forecast to take a northwest turn Thursday night and make a second landfall along the South Carolina coast on Friday.

Major carriers are temporarily suspending service in some Florida ZIP codes as downgraded storm rages on.

Hurricane Ian came ashore in Fort Myers, Florida, just before noon Wednesday. Transportation is starting to feel the impact, with road and port closures in effect.

Ian came ashore as the fifth strongest hurricane to hit the United States, tied Laura and Ida.

“The Waffle House Index” illustrates the severity of damage in areas affected by extreme weather.

A nonprofit trucking group is partnering with a volunteer-run disaster-relief organization to collect and deliver critical supplies as Hurricane Ian intensified into a Category 4 system and is expected to pound Florida’s southwest coast late Wednesday morning.

Hurricane Ian could slash the flow of Florida products to companies and consumers in the United States and abroad.

Hurricane Ian has shifted its track slightly east, with landfall now expected to be south of the Tampa Bay area.

Port officials and carriers prepare for hurricanes and other emergency situations year-round.

FEMA released a list of the first steps it is taking to prepare for relief efforts tied to Hurricane Ian.

Atlanta is seeing a sharp rise in outbound volume, and markets in Florida, southern Georgia and Alabama increase inbound volume in preparation for the hurricane.

Amid threats like Hurricane Ian, shippers should consider inventory positions, risk tolerance for specific commodities, transit times and associated costs.

The U.S. Coast Guard has closed three key ports around the Tampa Bay area in anticipation of Hurricane Ian’s landfall.

Two key diesel prices came in Monday at levels that hadn’t been seen since March.

As the trucking industry prepares for Hurricane Ian, FreightWaves CEO Craig Fuller offers advice to truckers interested in hauling FEMA loads.

The hurricane could hit central Florida later this week, causing Tampa-area port facilities to brace for Ian’s impact.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis is waiving trucking restrictions as Hurricane Ian tracks into Florida.

ALAN begins mobilizing effort for Ian’s projected arrival.

Hurricane relief trucking is filled with chaos and disruptions to normal operations and requires specialists that can handle the massive surges and lack of forward planning.

Hurricane Ian could bring a 10-foot storm surge into Florida’s Tampa Bay area.

The ports of Halifax and Saint John are taking steps to protect operations as Hurricane Fiona approaches Atlantic Canada.

The ports of Halifax and Saint John could be affected by Hurricane Fiona.

The Port of Manzanillo has resumed operations after a 7.7 magnitude earthquake rocked Mexico’s Pacific Coast region Monday.

A 7.7 magnitude earthquake rocked Mexico’s Pacific Coast region, where the country’s largest container port is located.

Crowley Maritime’s Isla Grande Terminal suffered no significant damage when Hurricane Fiona hit Puerto Rico on Sunday.

The worst may be over for low water levels on the Rhine, but the impact on the supply chain will take time to fully ease.

Convoy and FreightWaves experts discuss the effects that extreme weather conditions such as flash flooding have on truckers.

Forecasters calling for more severe weather this weekend in areas of the country already hit the past few days (video forecast included).

CFI driver Zach Yeakley “wasn’t really expecting anything out of it” when he was recognized for helping pull six crash victims from fiery cars.

Truckers will continue to hit delays from North Dakota into Minnesota as flooding persists along the Red River of the North (video forecast included).

Forecasters are calling for wind gusts in excess of 50 mph in the Four Corners region and other parts of the Southwest (video forecast included).

Truckers will have to dodge gusty winds, large hail and possible tornadoes this week as severe storms target the heartland (video forecast included).

Truckers face elevated risks of low visibility and rollovers as fire weather conditions increase across the Southwest (video forecast included).

Thousands of people will be heading into improving weather as The Future of Supply Chain kicks off in Northwest Arkansas.

President Joe Biden signed an emergency declaration that would free up federal resources for New Mexico wildfire victims.

Truckers may have to keep detouring around flooded areas of North Dakota and Minnesota for a few more weeks (video forecast included).

Forecasters are saying severe storms and potentially strong tornadoes could return to the Plains on Wednesday (video forecast included).

Truckers will have to keep taking detours in the Upper Midwest as flooded roads remain closed (video forecast included).

A private pilot and former IT consultant says the weather app he developed for truckers has been a “huge win” for him, as well as the drivers.

Truckers will run into a sustained severe weather threat Monday across the Plains after a weekend of destructive storms (video forecast included).

Forecasters are calling for an elevated risk of tornadoes and large hail this weekend in several states (video forecast included).

Trucker Grant Quinton was “choked up” after being recognized for pulling a man and his grandson from their flipped vehicle.

Truckers will probably have to chain up Friday as a late-season storm dumps heavy snow in the northern Rockies.

The EF Scale was developed following two particularly devastating tornadoes — Jarrell, Texas, in 1997 and Moore, Oklahoma, in 1999.

The governor of New Mexico has secured funding to help fight 20 early-season wildfires burning in the state (video forecast included).

Due to flooding, truckers will run into road closures the next couple of days from North Dakota to Minnesota (video forecast included).

A second late-season snowstorm shut down interstate travel over the weekend in parts of the Dakotas (video forecast included).

A trucker is “lucky to be alive” after a tornado flipped his tractor-trailer, a fellow driver who helped him says.

A blizzard has been dumping record snowfall in parts of the Plains. A large section of Interstate 94 remains closed (video forecast included).

As a blizzard continues in the northern Plains, officials have shut down a large section of Interstate 94 (video forecast included).

Forecasters at Colorado State University say 2022 will see an above-average number of hurricanes and tropical storms.

Truckers face the risk of severe storms and tornadoes Tuesday and Wednesday from the Plains to the South (video forecast included).

Supply chains could be severely disrupted this week due to a two-day blizzard from the Rockies to Canada (video forecast included).

Winter storm damage and inflation have some transportation-sector nonprofits scrambling for disaster relief supplies.

Truckers will hit periods of heavy snow and high winds this weekend in the Cascades and northern Rockies (video forecast included).

Truckers face an elevated risk of rollovers Thursday in the Plains with forecast winds of 60 to 70 mph (video forecast included).

Truckers face potential early season triple-digit heat the next few days in parts of Southern California (video forecast included).

The National Weather Service is predicting good odds for tornadoes across the South the next two days (video forecast included).

Strong winds and more than 2 feet of snow are likely through Tuesday in the mountains of the Northwest (video forecast included).

The severe storm threat is fading after two days of destruction in the Southern and Eastern U.S. (video forecast included).

After severe storms damaged parts of the South on Wednesday, the threat moves to the East Coast on Thursday (video forecast included).

FreightWaves talked with trucker James Card about two extreme weather events that impacted his career.

Truckers need to be on high alert across several states, with strong tornadoes possible Wednesday (video forecast included).

More than 50 cars and tractor-trailers were involved in a deadly pileup Monday on Interstate 81 during a snowstorm in eastern Pennsylvania.

For the second week in a row, truckers face another threat of tornadoes in the Plains and South (video forecast included).

Truckers, especially over-the-road drivers, will hit all kinds of disruptive weather this week from California to the Carolinas

Truckers may hit delays this weekend as roads remain slick and slushy from the Great Lakes to the Northeast (video forecast included).

Rebuilding tornado-damaged areas of the South could add stress to flatbed capacity in the coming months.

Truckers will run into delays as roads become slick and slushy across the Northeast (video forecast included).

A container fire at the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach has led to a Coast Guard investigation of four companies for possible shipping violations.

AskWaves looks to the mid-21st century, which may hold more El Nino extreme weather events, “regardless of any significant mitigation actions” to reduce emissions.

Truckers face another day of dicey winter weather from Minnesota to Michigan (video forecast included).

Severe storms are heading to the Deep South after doing extensive damage Monday in the Plains.

Wind-driven wildfires continue across Texas during elevated drought conditions (video forecast included).