Storm

GUYMON -- Oh, what a beautiful evening it is in the Oklahoma Panhandle. The sunset blazes orange, cattle graze on yucca flowers, and prairie grasses wave serenely toward the horizon. At least, on one side of Highway 412. On the other, a massive supercell rotates low over the land. Black and purple, with a bright green heart of softball-sized hail, the circular thunderstorm uncannily resembles a spaceship in the movie "Independence Day. " Vans, Doppler radar trucks, and emergency vehicles zoom along its periphery like ants rimming a giant carousel.

Bud weakened to a tropical storm Friday as heavy rain began to pelt a string of laid-back beach resorts and small mountain villages on Mexico's Pacific coast south of Puerto Vallarta. The National Hurricane Center in Miami, Florida, said that maximum sustained winds that were once blowing at 115 mph (185 kph) had slowed to 70 mph (113 kph) by Friday night. The government of Mexico changed the hurricane warning for the coast of Mexico from Manzanillo to Cabo Corrientes to a tropical storm warning.

With Irene forecast to slam into New England today, here are important websites and phone numbers, as well as tips, to help ride out the storm: ▸ If the city of Boston activates emergency shelters and evacuation routes, information will be available at cityofboston.gov/readyboston. ▸ Statewide emergency information is available at mass.gov/mema. ▸ Subway and bus updates are available from the MBTA at mbta.com/rider_tools/transit_updates. ▸ If you lose power, contact your utility: National Grid at 800-465-1212 or nationalgridus.com/outagecentral.

Tropical Storm Bud is moving northwest off Mexico's Pacific coast with little change in strength. The storm's maximum sustained winds early Wednesday are near 40 mph (65 kph) with some strengthening forecast during the next two days. Bud is centered about 420 miles (675 kilometers) south-southwest of Manzanillo, Mexico, and is moving northwest near 12 mph (19 kph).

ATHOL - Hundreds of thousands of utility customers headed into a third day without power as crews scrambled to repair damage from the bizarre winter storm that left more than 2 feet of snow in parts of the state, and officials warned that many households would not have electricity until Friday. The storm, which over the weekend blanketed much of the Northeast, played a role in at least five deaths. In addition to two highway fatalities in Falmouth and the electrocution of a Springfield man reported earlier, an elderly woman died in a Lunenburg fire, and a person in Hatfield died from carbon...

Governor Peter Shumlin said he doesn’t regret his decision to take a Caribbean vacation and not disclose the destination until he got back. The first-term Democrat’s whereabouts became the subject of speculation after staff members said they either didn’t know where he was or wouldn’t make it public. He left Thursday, spent several days on the island of Dominica, and returned Tuesday night. In his absence, a storm dumped 2 feet of snow on Vermont, forcing schools and most state government offices to close.

As I look at the latest computer models I notice a couple of trends. First, the amount of snow being forecast is down slightly for Boston as compared to the last computer models. When reviewing the models, this trend is a good indication of the final forecast. So I am confident this is not going to be a big storm. However, the outer Cape will likely see a moderate storm. Right now, I like the idea of a 2-6 inches storm across the state. The 6 inches amounts will be across the South Shore, Cape and Islands.

We're told that actress Patricia Kalember , of "Sisters," "Thirtysomething," and the local Ben Affleck movie "The Company Men," was a good sport on Saturday when she got stuck for two hours on a train traveling from Connecticut to Boston during the storm. Barrie Keller of the Jewish Community Centers of Greater Boston says that Kalember made it to town in time for her live performance of the NPR program "Selected Shorts" with New Hampshire native John Shea , and was in a good enough mood to participate in a sing-along with the Newton audience.

Today will be the last day that the town brush dump off Bishop Road will be open from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Thereafter, residents may bring tree limbs and leaves, which must be packaged separately, to the transfer station, 100 Groton-Harvard Road, which is open Wednesdays, Saturdays, and Sundays from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. The Public Works Department can answer specific questions; call 978-772-8240. - Davis Bushnell

Nearly a month after the October nor'easter, the Department of Public Works is still tallying the total response and cleanup cost, which stands at about $40,000, said director Bruce D. Thibodeau. Between $10,000 and $20,000 is for the cost of using outside contractors to help with the cleanup, he said. The storm downed several trees and large limbs, which led to extensive power outages. Selectwoman Rosemary Connelly Smedile said at a recent meeting of the board that cuts to the DPW budget have led to decreased maintenance of trees, making them more susceptible to damage during storms.

COLUMBIA, S.C. - Tropical Storm Alberto hovered off the South Carolina and Georgia coasts Sunday, canceling tourist cruises, producing showers along the coast, and serving as a reminder that the 2012 Atlantic hurricane season is just around the corner. The first storm of the season that officially begins June 1 was not expected to approach landfall on the Carolinas' coast, but it had prompted a tropical storm watch and forecasters warned that it could produce high winds, heavy surf, rip currents, and scattered rain across the region.

BERLIN, Conn. — The new chief executive of Northeast Utilities said New England's largest utility has its work cut out for it following two storms last year that damaged power lines and the company's reputation. Thomas J. May said he is reassuring customers and regulators that Northeast Utilities has learned from problems that resulted from a tropical storm in August and a snow storm two months later. Hundreds of thousands of customers were without power for as long as 11 days after the October storm.

UNCASVILLE, Conn. -- The Seattle Storm are happy to get home, but coach Anne Donovan knows that goes only so far. The Storm need to crack Connecticut's tenacious defense and slow down guard Lindsay Whalen. Seattle dropped the opener of the WNBA Finals Friday before a rowdy, sellout road crowd of nearly 10,000. The Sun harassed league-leading scorer Lauren Jackson, making her work for every one of her 16 points. The Sun had 15 steals and 6 blocks. "She didn't have single coverage or double coverage, she had two or three people swarming at her," Donovan said.

TAMPA -- First-year coach Sidney Lowe and North Carolina State are headed to the Atlantic Coast Conference championship game against rival North Carolina. Gavin Grant scored 20 points, Courtney Fells added 16, and the Wolfpack beat Virginia Tech, 72-64, yesterday for their third upset in as many days. The 10th-seeded Wolfpack (18-14) made 24 of 28 free throws, while the third-seeded Hokies (21-11) were 8 of 19 from the stripe. Grant was 11 of 11. Fells's 3-pointer with 1:33 to play made it a 61-52 game and made N.C. State 6 of 13 from long range.