Currently en Puerto Rico — 25 de agosto, 2023: Inestabilidad por Franklin

El tiempo, currently.

A medida que la tormenta tropical Franklin avanza hacia el este, alcanzará nuestra longitud el viernes, así que será posible que bandas de lluvia afecten a Puerto Rico una vez más. Sea o no el caso, la inestabilidad aumentará el viernes, lo que contribuirá al desarrollo de algunos aguaceros y tronadas sobre la Cordillera Central durante el día que se desplazarán hacia el norte o noreste por la tarde. Las temperaturas estarán por encima de lo normal y, con altos niveles de humedad, los índices de calor deberían superar los 108 grados en algunos municipios del norte, por lo que se emitirá otra Advertencia de Calor para el viernes. La tormenta tropical se alejará de Puerto Rico durante el fin de semana, pero su influencia mantendrá vientos del sur que continuarán atrayendo humedad hacia la región, lo que contribuirá a una actividad típica de lluvia, así como a días cálidos y húmedos.

—John Toohey-Morales

What you need to know, currently.

Houston had its hottest day in history on Thursday, with temperatures climbing as high as 109°F (42.8°C).

Officials in Houston warned that rolling blackouts might be necessary to avoid catastrophic power outages, as demand for air conditioning and electricity was near a record high.

Thursday’s high temperature mark in Houston tied other equally warm days in 2000 and 2011, when Texas emergency rooms filled with patients seeking care from heat related illness and injury. This time around, the city has issued mandatory water restrictions, banning outdoor water use in an attempt to keep up water pressure as reservoir levels fall due to drought.

Meanwhile, in Chicago, Thursday’s high temperature was 100°F — and it felt like 120°F (48.9°C) when you factored in the humidity. That’s the highest heat index in that city’s history. This week’s heat wave in Chicago rivals the one back in July 1995, which was one of the deadliest heat waves in US history.

—Eric Holthaus

What you can do, currently.

The fires in Maui have struck at the heart of Hawaiian heritage, and if you’d like to support survivors, here are good places to start:

The fires burned through the capital town of the Kingdom of Hawaii, the ancestral and present home to native Hawaiians on their original unceded lands. One of the buildings destroyed was the Na ‘Aikane o Maui cultural center, a gathering place for the Hawaiian community to organize and celebrate.

If you’d like to help the community rebuild and restore the cultural center, a fund has been established that is accepting donations — specify “donation for Na ‘Aikane” on this Venmo link.