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As the Atlantic hurricane season draws to a close, the most destructive storm of the year was Hurricane Melissa. The Category 5 hurricane walloped Jamaica in late October. It was the strongest storm to ever hit Jamaica, killing dozens and decimating scores of neighborhoods. There was forecast uncertainty in the days before landfall. But one particular model got it exactly right.

As the Atlantic hurricane season draws to a close, the most destructive storm of the year was Hurricane Melissa. The Category 5 hurricane walloped Jamaica in late October. It was the strongest storm to ever hit Jamaica, killing dozens and decimating scores of neighborhoods. There was forecast uncertainty in the days before landfall. But one particular model got it exactly right. Ricardo Makyn/AFP via Getty Images hide caption

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Ricardo Makyn/AFP via Getty Images

As the 2025 Atlantic hurricane season ends, the future of forecasting is AI

Meteorologists are surprised that the weather model that did the best job forecasting hurricanes this year was a new one, introduced by Google. AI may be the beginning of a new era of forecasting.

The future of hurricane forecasting is AI

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In this photo released on Saturday by the Indonesian National Search and Rescue Agency (BASARNAS), rescuers remove a scooter buried in the mud as they search for victims at a village hit by a landslide in Batu Goading, North Sumatra, Indonesia.

In this photo released on Saturday by the Indonesian National Search and Rescue Agency (BASARNAS), rescuers remove a scooter buried in the mud as they search for victims at a village hit by a landslide in Batu Goading, North Sumatra, Indonesia. BASARNAS/AP hide caption

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BASARNAS/AP

Asia

Death toll from floods and landslides in Indonesia tops 300

Improved weather helped rescuers on Indonesia's Sumatra island recover more bodies as they struggled to reach several areas that were hit by landslides and flash floods that left scores missing.

Guillermo Vargas surveys damage to his home, where his garage was swept off its foundation, while cleaning up storm damage after severe weather hit in the Memorial Northwest subdivision, in Spring, Texas, on Monday.

Guillermo Vargas surveys damage to his home, where his garage was swept off its foundation, while cleaning up storm damage after severe weather hit in the Memorial Northwest subdivision, in Spring, Texas, on Monday. Brett Coomer/Houston Chronicle/AP hide caption

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Brett Coomer/Houston Chronicle/AP

National

More than 100 homes damaged by tornado near Houston

More than 100 homes were damaged after a tornado touched down in a residential area outside Houston. Authorities said Monday that no injuries were reported.

In this photo provided by the Malacanang Presidential Communications Office, damaged homes beside Mananga Bridge in Talisay, Cebu Province, central Philippines on Friday Nov. 7, 2025 after Typhoon Kalmaegi devastated the province and claimed lives.

In this photo provided by the Malacanang Presidential Communications Office, damaged homes are shown beside Mananga Bridge in Talisay, Cebu Province, central Philippines on Friday Nov. 7, 2025 after Typhoon Kalmaegi devastated the province and claimed lives. Malacanang Presidential Communications Office/AP hide caption

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Malacanang Presidential Communications Office/AP

Asia

Nearly a million people evacuate as Super Typhoon Fung-wong threatens the Philippines

Super Typhoon Fung-wong, the biggest storm to threaten the Philippines this year, started battering the country's northeastern coast ahead of landfall on Sunday.

A man wades through floodwaters with his dog and belongings from his home flooded by Hurricane Melissa in Santiago de Cuba on Wednesday.

A man wades through floodwaters with his dog and belongings from his home flooded by Hurricane Melissa in Santiago de Cuba on Wednesday. Ramon Espinosa/AP hide caption

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Ramon Espinosa/AP

World

Hurricane Melissa leaves trail of destruction across Cuba, Haiti and Jamaica

Officials say at least 25 people have died across Haiti. In Cuba, officials report collapsed houses and blocked roads, with 735,000 people in shelters. Jamaica faces widespread power outages and communication blackouts.

A man wades through a flooded street ahead of the forecasted arrival of Hurricane Melissa in Old Harbour, Jamaica, Monday, Oct. 27, 2025.

A man wades through a flooded street ahead of the forecasted arrival of Hurricane Melissa in Old Harbour, Jamaica, Monday, Oct. 27, 2025. Matias Delacroix/AP hide caption

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Matias Delacroix/AP

Hurricane Melissa bears down on Jamaica as a Category 5 storm

Forecasters say Melissa will unleash catastrophic flooding, landslides and widespread damage in Jamaica. At Category 5, the system would be the strongest hurricane to hit the island since record-keeping began in 1851.

A coconut tree sways in the wind at the Kingston Waterfront on Ocean Boulevard in Kingston, Jamaica, as Jamaica starts to feel the effects of Hurricane Melissa on Sunday.

A coconut tree sways in the wind at the Kingston Waterfront on Ocean Boulevard in Kingston, Jamaica, as Jamaica starts to feel the effects of Hurricane Melissa on Sunday. Ricardo Makyn/AFP via Getty Images hide caption

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Ricardo Makyn/AFP via Getty Images

Hurricane Melissa threatens catastrophic flooding in Jamaica, Haiti and Cuba

The storm's slow movement is expected to bring a deluge of rain to multiple countries in the Caribbean, and prolong its dangerous impacts over a period of several days.

The remnants of typhoon Halong floated homes off their foundations and washed debris across the Western Alaska village of Kwigillingok on Thursday, Oct. 16, 2025. Residents lost boats, four-wheelers and snowmobiles/snowmachines — some of which scattered miles away from the community.

The remnants of typhoon Halong floated homes off their foundations and washed debris across the Western Alaska village of Kwigillingok on Thursday, Oct. 16, 2025. Residents lost boats, four-wheelers and snowmobiles/snowmachines — some of which scattered miles away from the community. Nat Herz/KYUK hide caption

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Nat Herz/KYUK

Environment

What we know about the devastating storm in Western Alaska

The remnant of Typhoon Halong slammed the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta, an area in Western Alaska hundreds of miles from the U.S. road system. More than a thousand people are displaced.

FILE - In this May 16, 2020 aerial photo released by Xinhua News Agency, Chinese surveyors hike toward a higher spot from the base camp on Mount Qomolangma at an altitude of 5,200 meters.

FILE - In this May 16, 2020 aerial photo released by Xinhua News Agency, Chinese surveyors hike toward a higher spot from the base camp on Mount Qomolangma at an altitude of 5,200 meters. Jigme Dorje/Xinhua/AP hide caption

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Jigme Dorje/Xinhua/AP

Asia

Snowstorm traps hundreds of hikers on Mount Everest during China's national holiday

Rescue workers were helping hundreds of hikers trapped by heavy snow at tourist campsites on a slope of Mount Everest in Tibet, Chinese state media said late Sunday.

According to an update from the National Hurricane Center on Sunday morning, Gabrielle is forecast to miss Bermuda and the U.S. mainland, but both regions could see potentially life-threatening swells.

According to an update from the National Hurricane Center on Sunday morning, Gabrielle is forecast to miss Bermuda and the U.S. mainland, but both regions could see potentially life-threatening swells. National Hurricane Center/National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration hide caption

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National Hurricane Center/National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

Tropical Storm Gabrielle expected to become 2nd Atlantic hurricane of the season

Gabrielle is forecast to pass east of Bermuda, the U.S. mainland, and could rise to the strength of a Category 2 hurricane.

Downed trees and mud along a waterway are part of the aftermath of a landslide in Wrangell, Alaska in November 2023.

This photo provided by the U.S. Coast Guard shows the aftermath of a landslide in Wrangell, Alaska, in November 2023. U.S. Coast Guard via AP hide caption

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U.S. Coast Guard via AP

Climate

Public media stations in rural America say emergency alert funding is in jeopardy

Without congressionally approved funding, public media stations say communities will be left with aging infrastructure amid growing risks from extreme weather.

Public media stations in rural areas say emergency alert funding is in jeopardy

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Last fall, for the first time since Katrina, New Orleans’ school district opened a new school of its own, The Leah Chase School.

Last fall, for the first time since Hurricane Katrina, New Orleans' school district opened a new school of its own, The Leah Chase School. Emily Kask for NPR/‎ hide caption

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Emily Kask for NPR/‎

Hurricane Katrina, 20 years later

20 years after Katrina, New Orleans schools are still 'a work in progress'

WWNO

The city's school system looks almost nothing like it did 20 years ago. People in New Orleans have strong opinions about whether that's good or bad, but the data is hard to argue with.

20 years after Katrina, New Orleans schools are still 'a work in progress'

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