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In his new book, “Fort Myers Historic Hurricanes” Tom Hall offers a history of severe storms that have impacted southwest Florida dating all the way back to 1841, but he also provides a dire warning about this area’s severe risk from hurricanes and storm surge in general. It opens with a hurricane in 1841 that swept across the region making landfall near Sanibel Island and bringing 14' of storm surge to the U.S. Army fort on Punta Rassa.

Hurricane Ian impacted nearly 5-million acres of farm and grazing land, with about 700-thousand acres receiving Category 4 force winds. According to the University of Florida’s Institute of Food & Agricultural Sciences, or IFAS, early estimates put the economic impact just to agriculture in Florida at somewhere between 786 million and 1.56 billion dollars with citrus and vegetables most affected.

When it comes to gauging how risky it is to live where major hurricanes sometimes make landfall, the most important thing to know is what’s called the ‘return period.’ That is the estimated average time between such storms. But, because historic records only go back so far scientists use other ways to determine how frequent major storms have occurred in the past. One such technique is called paleoclimatology — or more specifically in the case of massive storms like Hurricane Ian, paleotempestology.We meet one of these scientists who is doing this kind of research work right here in Southwest Florida. Dr. Jo Muller is a paleoclimatologist and a Professor in the Department of Marine & Earth Sciences at Florida Gulf Coast University. She studies past tropical cyclone activity by collecting core samples from lagoons and bays behind Southwest Florida’s barrier islands.

In his new book, “Fort Myers Historic Hurricanes” Tom Hall offers a history of severe storms that have impacted southwest Florida dating all the way back to 1841, but he also provides a dire warning about this area’s severe risk from hurricanes and storm surge in general. It opens with a hurricane in 1841 that swept across the region making landfall near Sanibel Island and bringing 14' of storm surge to the U.S. Army fort on Punta Rassa.

As Jan. 13th marks the start of Florida’s 2026 legislative session, we’re exploring bills and issues likely to take center stage over the course of the 60-day session in a conversation with Florida Gulf Coast University Political Science professors Roger Green, Ph.D., Sandra Pavelka, Ph.D, and University of Central Florida Political Science professor Aubrey Jewett, Ph.D.

A new report warns that AI poses a serious threat to children's cognitive development and emotional well-being.

Israel plans to call up 60,000 reservists for its new Gaza City offensive. And, North Carolina's Outer Banks is bracing for the flood and damage that Hurricane Erin could bring.

The FBI is investigating two separate attacks, one in Michigan and the other in Virginia, that happened yesterday. And, the Senate has passed the largest housing bill in decades.

Retired Lt. Gen. Gary Volesky was suspended from his contracting role with the Army and is under investigation after replying to a tweet from first lady Jill Biden on abortion rights.

NPR.org's new interactive scorecard suggests that President Obama may have a somewhat easier path to 270 electoral votes than Mitt Romney, needing to win fewer states. But that's not a given. As you play, you'll be able to come up with plenty of combinations that would get Romney over the top.