The National Hurricane Center says Hurricane Milton is intensifying and will likely be a major hurricane before it slams into the storm-ravaged Florida coast, most likely on Wednesday.

Forecasters say Hurricane Kirk has strengthened into a Category 4 storm in the Atlantic Ocean and waves caused by it could cause life-threatening surf and rip current conditions this weekend.

Forecasters say Hurricane Kirk has strengthened into a Category 3 storm in the Atlantic Ocean and is expected to grow rapidly into a major hurricane.

OceanGate co-founder Stockton Rush said the carbon fiber hull used in an experimental submersible that imploded en route to the wreckage of the Titanic was developed with help of NASA and aerospace manufacturers.

A key employee with the company that owned the experimental submersible that imploded en route to the wreckage of the Titanic has pushed back at a question about whether OceanGate felt a sense of “desperation” to complete the dives because of the high price tag.

The co-founder of the company that owned the experimental submersible that imploded en route to the wreckage of the Titanic said he hopes the legacy is a renewed interest in exploration.

Last year, five people hoping to view the Titanic wreckage died when their submersible imploded deep in the Atlantic Ocean.

A paid passenger on an expedition to the Titanic with the company that owned the Titan submersible testified before a U.S. Coast Guard investigatory panel Friday that the mission he took part in was aborted due to an apparent mechanical failure.

Two people who drowned off South Carolina’s Hilton Head Island where rip current warnings related to Hurricane Ernesto were posted have been identified as Ohio men.

Ernesto has regained hurricane status as the storm churns away from Bermuda and heads farther out into the northeastern Atlantic Ocean.

Hurricane Ernesto was being felt this weekend along much of the U.S. Eastern Seaboard, even with the storm hundreds of miles offshore and crossing Bermuda.

Hurricane Ernesto has weakened into a tropical storm as it moves away from Bermuda over open waters of the Atlantic after crossing over the tiny British territory early in the day with heavy rains and strong winds.

Tropical Storm Ernesto is poised to become a hurricane after brushing past Puerto Rico as officials closed schools, opened shelters and moved dozens of the U.S. territory’s endangered parrots into hurricane-proof rooms.

Tropical Storm Ernesto has formed in the Atlantic.

Tropical Storm Debby is still pushing bad weather up the East Coast, but floodwaters are starting to recede in South Carolina.

Forecasters say a tropical depression over Cuba is growing better organized and is likely to bring drenching rain and coastal flooding to much of Florida’s Gulf Coast.

Beryl has grown into a hurricane in the Atlantic and is forecast to strengthen into a major storm as it nears the Caribbean.

There is some activity in the tropics that needs to be mentioned, including a wave which could become the first hurricane of the year in the Atlantic.

Unanswered questions linger a year after the implosion of the Titan submersible during its deep-sea voyage to the wreckage of the Titanic.

Extreme heat alerts are in effect for tens of millions of people in the United States as cities including Chicago break heat records.

The deadly implosion of an experimental submersible en route to the deep-sea grave of the Titanic last June has not dulled the desire for ocean exploration.

Six northern Europe countries bordering the North Sea have signed an agreement to work together to protect underwater infrastructure in the northern part of the Atlantic Ocean from an increased risk of sabotage.

Scientists have confirmed the presence of a whale off New England that went extinct in the Atlantic Ocean two centuries ago.

An abrupt shutdown of Atlantic Ocean currents that could put large parts of Europe in a deep freeze is looking a bit more likely and closer than before as a new complex computer simulation finds a “cliff-like” tipping point looming in the future.

Astronauts from Turkey, Italy and Sweden are back on Earth, ending a private three-week trip to the International Space Station.

A senior Spanish official says the deployment of two Spanish surveillance planes to watch for migrant boats heading on the treacherous route from West Africa to Spain’s Canary Islands has enabled authorities to stop 59 canoes from Senegal and Gambia.

In Florida, this year has been a tale of two states as far as rainfall totals, with the southeast coast deluged by sometimes-record rainfall and much of the Gulf coast facing a major precipitation deficit.

It's been a record-breaking year for sea turtles in Florida.

October was the fifth straight month that Earth set a record for the hottest month in recorded history.

Environmental groups are urging a moratorium on deep-sea mining ahead of an international meeting in Jamaica where an obscure U.N. body will debate the issue amid fears it could soon authorize the world’s first license to harvest minerals from the ocean floor.

Tropical Storm Rina has formed in the Atlantic Ocean on the heels of Tropical Storm Philippe.

Communities along the U.S. East Coast are preparing for the arrival of heavy rain, flooding and high winds from an approaching storm.

Forecasters in Bermuda are warning of dangerous swells and rip currents as Hurricane Nigel spun through open waters in the northern Atlantic.

The outer bands of Hurricane Lee are starting to lash Bermuda as big surf pounded the island, with the Category 2 storm expected to make landfall on the coast of New England or Atlantic Canada over the weekend.

Hurricane Lee is whipping up waves of more than 15 feet as the Category 3 storm cranks through open waters just north of the Caribbean region.

Experts say that Hurricane Lee is rewriting old rules of meteorology.

A Florida man who was attempting to cross the Atlantic Ocean in a man-made hamster wheel is facing federal charges after it took the U.S. Coast Guard five days to bring him ashore.

Hurricane Lee is charging through warm Atlantic waters and threatening to unleash heavy swells across the northeast Caribbean.

Tropical Storm Lee has strengthened into a hurricane as it churns through the open waters of the Atlantic on a path that would take it near the northeast Caribbean.

Four astronauts are back on Earth after a six-month stay at the International Space Station.

Floridians pray that when Idalia hits the Gulf Coast it won’t join the long list of destructive Atlantic Ocean storms whose names started with “I.”.

Texas meteorologists remind residents to make sure they have a plan in the event of a tropical storm

A system of ocean currents that transports heat northward across the North Atlantic could collapse this century, according to a new study.

OceanGate produced a collection of pictures and footage taken from the Titanic wreckage that is narrated by Rory Golden, a Titanic dive veteran and expert.

Record ocean heat has invaded Florida with a vengeance.

Has this ever happened to you? If so, you know what I’m talking about. If not, here’s some advice on how to best deal with ocean tar.

Scorching heat blamed for at least 13 deaths in Texas and another in Louisiana is blanketing more of the Southeast.

Tropical Storm Cindy has formed behind Tropical Storm Bret.

About an hour and a half into its voyage, a missing submersible on an expedition to view the wreckage of the Titanic lost communications.

The CEO of OceanGate Expeditions, Stockton Rush, is on board the missing submersible that vanished during a mission to explore the wreckage of the Titanic, the company said Tuesday.

Tropical Storm Bret is growing stronger as it takes aim at islands in the eastern Caribbean that are bracing for torrential rainfall, landslides and flooding.

A search is underway for a missing submersible that carries people to view the wreckage of the Titanic.

Tropical Storm Bret has formed in the Atlantic Ocean and could threaten the Caribbean.

Deep-sea researchers have completed the first full-size digital scan of the Titanic, showing the entire wreck in unprecedented detail and clarity.

A giant blob of seaweed creeping in the Atlantic Ocean is headed to the Gulf of Mexico. It sounds like something from a horror movie -- except this blob isn’t eating people.

The world's oceans are suddenly considerably hotter than just a month or two ago and well above record levels.

From dressing as Roman soldiers in Antigua, Guatemala, to carrying palm fronds on the streets of Lagos, Nigeria, Christians around the world are celebrating Holy Week.

The federal government says endangered Atlantic salmon can coexist with dams on a river in Maine, dealing a blow to environmentalists who want to remove the dams.

The U.S. military says it has ended its search for airborne objects that were shot down near Deadhorse, Alaska, and over Lake Huron on Feb. 10 and 12.

The foreign affairs committee of China's ceremonial parliament is accusing American lawmakers of trampling on the sovereignty of other nations after the United States passed a measure condemning a suspected Chinese spy balloon's intrusion into U.S. airspace.

A loggerhead sea turtle named Rocky was released into the Atlantic Ocean after spending six weeks rehabbing at Florida’s Loggerhead Marinelife Center.

China says it will enact measures against U.S. entities related to the downing of a suspected Chinese spy balloon off the American East Coast.

British officials and space scientists say they are disappointed but not deterred after the first attempt to launch satellites into orbit from the U.K. ended in failure.

Virgin Orbit says a mission to launch the first satellites into orbit from Western Europe has suffered an “anomaly."

Four astronauts are back on Earth after spending almost six months at the International Space Station.

Some retailers are taking lobster off the menu after an assessment from an influential conservation group that the harvest of the seafood poses too much of a risk to rare whales and should be avoided.

The agency says there’s a 65% chance the Atlantic’s hurricane season will be busier than normal and predicts three to six major hurricanes.

Federal meteorologists say the Atlantic should expect another extra busy hurricane season this year.

Forecasters at NOAA’s Climate Prediction Center, a division of the National Weather Service, have just released their official hurricane forecast, predicting an above-average 2022 season. This would make it the seventh consecutive hurricane season we’ve seen with higher than normal activity.

The above NOAA pic of the Atlantic Ocean skies full of Saharan dust is from 2006 and you can imagine that any tropical showers and storms would have a zero percent chance of forming in that kind of atmosphere. Those dusty skies are dry for one thing and particulates are falling downward toward Earth, suppressing any upward motion required to get tropical storms to build.

The last of a new class of warships has departed a Maine shipyard.

A U.S. Navy warship remains in port at Naval Station Guantanamo Bay in Cuba, with about two dozen sailors — or nearly a quarter of its crew — testing positive for COVID-19, according to U.S. defense officials.

Spanish rescuers have saved and disembarked more than 400 migrants and asylum seekers to the Canary Islands in the past two days as they attempted to reach the Atlantic Ocean archipelago from West Africa on overcrowded and often unsafe boats.

Hundreds of people in Spain’s Canary Islands are fearing for their homes and property after a new lava stream from an erupting volcano threatened to engulf another neighborhood on the island of La Palma.

The volcano on Spain’s La Palma island keeps spewing out endless streams of lava with no signs of ceasing three weeks since its initial eruption.

Spain’s prime minister has vowed to rebuild the island of La Palma, where a volcano eruption has spewed molten lava and a thick cloud of pyroclastic ash for two weeks.

It's going to be a rough weekend in the water for beachgoers along the U.S. east coast.

Hurricane Sam has strengthened again to a powerful Category 4 storm.

Hurricane Sam is a powerful Category 3 storm in the Atlantic but it poses no threat to land as it loops northward in the Atlantic.

The eruption of a long-dormant volcano on a small Spanish island in the Atlantic Ocean forced the evacuation of more than 6,000 people and scientists are warning that more dangers lie ahead.

New Englanders bracing for their first hurricane in 30 years are hauling boats out of the water and taking other precautions as Tropical Storm Henri barrels toward the Northeast coast.

Over the past half century, the Atlantic Ocean has been slowly and relentlessly consuming Atafona, part of the Sao Joao da Barra municipality that is 250 kilometers (155 miles) from Rio de Janeiro’s capital and home to 36,000 people.

Iranian state TV says that an Iranian destroyer and support vessel are now sailing in the Atlantic Ocean in a rare mission far from the Islamic Republic, without offering the vessels’ final destination.

The first named Atlantic storm of the season is posing no threat to land and is expected to dissipate in a few days.

The NOAA is predicting an above-normal 2021 hurricane season in the Atlantic Ocean.

Commemorations of the May 5, 1821 death of Napoleon are going ahead on St. Helena, the remote South Atlantic island where the deposed French emperor died in exile.

(AP Photo/Javier Bauluz)DAKAR – Spain’s foreign minister met Sunday with Senegal's president in the West African country’s capital Sunday to discuss the sudden increase of Senegalese migrants attempting to reach the Canary Islands by boat. Spanish Foreign Minister Arancha González Laya met with President Macky Sall in Dakar to discuss migration and border cooperation between Spain, the European Union and Senegal. Human rights groups have been warning about the reopening of the Atlantic route to the Canary Islands since late 2019, when arrivals began increasing slowly. He participated in the meeting between Spain's foreign minister and Senegalese counterpart Aïssata Tall Sall. Sarr said they would work with Spain to increase legal ways for Senegalese to work in Europe, including circular migration programs.

(AP Photo/Javier Bauluz)MADRID – The Spanish government is ratcheting up its response to the steady build-up of migrant arrivals to the Canary Islands from Africa, including a fresh diplomatic offensive. Moroccans have been the most numerous among recent migrant arrivals to the Spanish archipelago, whose nearest islands lie around 70 miles (110 kms) west of the north African nation. Around half of those arrivals —and most of the deaths— have been in the past 30 days, a spike that has strained resources on the Canary Islands. Spanish Transport Minister José Luis Ábalos, also on the island, pledged more resources to the stretched maritime rescue services. The IOM's Spain envoy, María Jesús Herrera, who was on a field visit in the islands this week, described the situation as “critical."

The establishment of a second temporary migrant processing center on the island of Gran Canaria comes amid increasing criticism from local authorities and human rights groups. A pier on the quiet southwest coast of Gran Canaria has become the center of Spain’s ongoing humanitarian crisis. The new camp opening Wednesday will be able to hold 800 people in tents, according to the Interior Ministry. “The Canary Islands are a powder keg. With at least 493 deaths recorded so far this year, the route to the Canary Islands has seen proportionally more deaths per every arrival than the Central Mediterranean journey from Libya to Italy or Malta.

African migrants after arriving at the coast of Gran Canaria island, Spain on Sunday, Nov. 1, 2020. Crossing the Atlantic Ocean sailing on a wooden boat, a group of 44 migrants arrived at Maspalomas beach. More than half of the 16,000 migrants who arrived this year in the Spanish islands off northwest Africa did so in the last four weeks, a sharp influx worrying international and non-profit organizations. That’s compared to around 1,500 arrivals recorded last year in the archipelago, better known for its vacation resorts popular among northern Europeans. The new migrant focus on the perilous Canary Islands route, first seen in 2006, has come as authorities crack down on previously popular passages across the Mediterranean Sea from North Africa to European Union countries.

(Alexander Gerst/ESA/NASA via AP)Hurricanes are keeping their staying power longer once they make landfall, spreading more inland destruction, according to a new study. Warmer ocean waters from climate change are likely making hurricanes lose power more slowly after landfall, because they act as a reserve fuel tank for moisture, the study found. It found that in the 1960s, hurricanes declined two-thirds in wind strength within 17 hours of landfall. There’s less study of what hurricanes do once they make landfall than out at sea, so Chakraborty said he was surprised when he saw a noticeable trend in decay taking longer. But hurricanes aren’t running out of gas as much, especially in the last 25 years when the trend accelerated, Chakraborty said.

MIAMI – Newly formed Tropical Storm Zeta gradually strengthened Sunday in the western Caribbean and forecasters said it would likely become a hurricane before hitting Mexico's resort-dotted Yucatan Peninsula and the U.S. Gulf Coast in coming days. Zeta was the earliest named 27th Atlantic storm recorded in an already historic hurricane season. The system was centered about 260 miles (420 kilometers) southeast of Cozumel island late Sunday, the U.S. National Hurricane Center said. The government is still handing out aid, including sheet roofing, to Yucatan residents hit by Hurricane Delta and Tropical Storm Gamma earlier this month. The hurricane center said it could make landfall anywhere from Louisiana to the Florida Panhandle.

MIAMI – A weakened Hurricane Epsilon moved northward Friday over the Atlantic Ocean, a day after after skirting well east of Bermuda. Epsilon's top sustained winds fell Thursday to 85 mph (140 kph), dropping it from a Category 2 to a Category 1 storm, the U.S. National Hurricane Center said. But large ocean swells could cause life-threatening surf and rip current conditions along the coast of New England and Atlantic Canada during the next couple of days, the hurricane center warned. Earlier in the week, Epsilon had gained 50 mph (80 kph) in wind speed in just 24 hours to become a major hurricane on Wednesday. This year's season has had so many storms that the hurricane center has turned to the Greek alphabet after running out of official names.

MIAMI – Hurricane Epsilon's maximum sustained winds dropped slightly as it moved northwest over the Atlantic Ocean on a path that should sideswipe Bermuda on Thursday. The Miami-based center said Epsilon was located about 235 miles (375 kilometers) east-southeast of Bermuda and moving to the northwest at 7 mph (11 kph). Forecasters said Epsilon should make its closest approach to Bermuda by Thursday evening. Large ocean swells could cause life-threatening surf and rip current conditions along the coast of New England and Atlantic Canada during the next couple of days, the hurricane center said. This year's season has had so many storms that the hurricane center has turned to the Greek alphabet after running out of official names.

While Mediterranean crossings are down this year, arrivals on the Canary islands across a treacherous part of the Atlantic Ocean are up nearly 700% on the year. But the government has blocked nearly all transfers to the Spanish mainland arguing that many international borders are closed for them to be deported or continue on to other European countries. Beefed-up security in the Mediterranean has reduced migration from Africa to the Spanish mainland and the Balearic Islands in 2020, with 30% fewer arrivals between January and mid-October compared to a year earlier. But the surge in traffic to the Canary Islands comes at a high cost in human lives. Arguing that they lack enough resources, local and regional officials in the Canary Islands have asked the Spanish government for more help, including the use of two military facilities to process the migrants.

HOUSTON – Hurricane Laura made landfall at 1 a.m. Thursday in Cameron, Louisiana. At midnight Thursday morning, Laura’s northern eyewall began moving onshore with 150 mph sustained winds and gusts up to 185 mph, making it a strong Category 4 storm. As of noon, Laura had weakened to a tropical storm with 75 mph sustained winds. It will continue to weaken quickly as it moves inland. Now that Laura is over land, it will speed up and curve eastward into the Mid-Atlantic states, bringing with it heavy rainfall.

HOUSTON – Today, Colorado State University hurricane researchers led by hurricane expert, Dr. Phil Klotzbach, have increased their 2020 hurricane forecast to the following:The new updated July hurricane forecast for 2020We have already had five named storms as of the Fourth of July weekend, so according to the new updated hurricane forecast, we could see an additional 15 named storms before the end of the season! One of the fuels for an active hurricane season is warmer than average Atlantic Ocean waterActive Western Africa monsoon season:The current forecast for the monsoonal season across Western Africa is trending to be a wetter (more active) season than usual. These are important because a generally strong La Niña pattern lends itself to a more active tropical season by history. Conversely, an El Niño pattern generally is seen during less active tropical seasons. We’ll continue to see more updates to the 2020 Atlantic Hurricane seasonal forecast this August as well.

HOUSTON – It’s that time of year when dust from the Sahara Desert in North Africa makes its way across the Atlantic Ocean and is deposited in the Western Hemisphere. When dust is in the air, the skies look milky during the day and sunsets generally look redder than usual. Here is what the dust looked like across the Houston sky:"Ted Bergeron A dusty sunset over Hermann Park" Credit: tbergeron (KPRC 2)"The saharan sunrise from Cinco Ranch" Credit: M&M (KPRC 2)"Saharan sunset - willow fork park, Cinco Ranch." Credit: M&M (KPRC 2)"Pink sunsets on Lake Houston!" Credit: digitalknightproductions (KPRC 2)"The start of the Saharan dust sunsets" Credit: ksalling (KPRC 2)"Saharan dust sunset over Clear Lake!"

(CNN) – The much-anticipated Saharan dust plume is now making its more than 5,000-mile trek across the Atlantic to the United States. If you haven't heard your friends talking about this "mysterious" Saharan dust plume supposedly adding yet another layer to 2020, then you've certainly seen it all over social media this past week. This Saharan dust plume blowing across the Atlantic Ocean from Africa is nothing new, or even special to 2020. Saharan dust can also impact you in several ways once it reaches land. Here's the top 3 ways you'll notice next week's Saharan dust here in the US.

The question: Is there a correlation between Saharan dust storms and tropical activity in the Atlantic Ocean? The answer: Saharan dust, also known as the Saharan Air Layer (SAL), inhibits tropical activity in the Atlantic Ocean. Saharan dust plumes inhibit hurricane formation in various ways. All of these factors make Saharan dust, or the Saharan Air Layer, a hurricanes enemy. And, while these dust plumes happen every summer, sometimes they are more frequent than others.