somara is here with more. somara, what can you tell us about this? >> somara: good morning.ong gusty winds, low humidity, and record-breaking heat in the south, this is only further drying out vegetation, and all leading to wildfires throughout parts of the gulf coast, and as firefighters are struggling to contain these fires, they continue to burn through thousands of acres. this morning, firefighters working tirelessly to contain a massive wildfire in southwest louisiana. >> with all the hurricane and the dry weather we have and all the debris that's laying out there, it's major forest fires waiting to happen. >> reporter: multiple fires have burned over 30,000 acres this week in beauregard parish. several communities under mandatory evacuation orders, almost a dozen structures already destroyed. first responders creating fire breaks, and helicopters scooping water to try and stop the spread, but officials say containment of the largest, the tiger island fire, has dropped from 85% to 50% due to shifting winds and hot, dry conditions. >> nobody alive in louisiana has ever s

good morning, somara. >> somara: good morning, janai.ht no real changes to hurricane hilary's track. it's still a category 4 hurricane, anticipated to make landfall in mexico and drive into southern california as a tropical storm as we move into sunday evening and then into monday morning, but let's talk impacts. now, while los angeles will see some flooding, the brunt of this will be the desert. to put this in perspective, i want you to picture a large tub of water falling on a wood floor as opposed to carpet. with such a low absorption rate, it's such a bad combination. flooding will be extreme the farther east you go, and there's a possibility for mudslides, landslides and even a few spinup tornados. i'm concerned about areas like palm springs as well. meanwhile, there is an absence of rain north of california in washington, and wildfires are raging there east of spokane, washington. the gray fire has prompted evacuations and dense smoke. gio? >> gio: all right, somara, we know you'll be tracking it all. thanks so much. >>> we go to m

somara, good morning to you. >> somara: good morning, will. let's start with the heat.istoric heat continuing throughout the gulf coast states. excessive heat warnings from texas into louisiana. new orleans could actually hit 102 degrees. their all-time high for the third time in a week. now it's not just hot on land. it's also hot over the water. the gulf of mexico right now, record average water temperatures is what we're seeing, 88 degrees. that only helps to fuel these storms that develop out there. speaking of which, we could have tropical storm idalia by this afternoon, and it could strengthen to a category 1 hurricane upon landfall in florida. right now that track zone looking anywhere between panama city and tampa. some of the biggest impacts, 3 to 6 inches of rain from tallahassee, florida, into wilmington, north carolina. they have hurricane-force winds as well as storm surge upon landfall. again, a lot of this happening as we head into next week. right now timing on potential landfall would be wednesday. that's a look at the forecast. gio, back to you. >> gio

good morning, somara. >> somara: good morning. right now, here in birmingham things are starting to warm up. but when you factor into the humidity is when you start to feel it. take a look from california to georgia and southern florida. we have heat alerts, excessive heat warnings including heat advisories, and if you look at the temperatures today, these are actual high temperatures that you're looking at right now, triple digits, and i want you to pick a city, any city on the map. i'm going to go for dallas, 107. look what happens when you incorporate that moisture and that humidity. it feels much hotter, like 112 degrees in dallas, 106 in montgomery, alabama, even 106 down towards miami. something interesting is happening here, though. we have the heat to the south. we have some very cool air to the north. 60s and 70s in areas like cheyenne and in mitchell, omaha, nebraska. when we see that heat to the south, that cool air to the north, together, they're coming together to develop that severe weather in the middle, so as we mo

good morning to you, somara. >> somara: good morning, gio. so, let me tell you what's going on right now in maui, still a few fires burning, but one of the main fires in kaanapali yesterday that prompted evacuations, that has now been 100% contained. the driving force behind the fire at the peak of the fires, 70 to 80-mile-per-hour wind gusts. here's some good news. today they're looking at 20 to 30-mile-per-hour wind gusts, which should help in the efforts on the ground for the firefighters. on the mainland we're still dealing with record heat and severe weather, but, of course, we'll talk about that a little later in the show. for now, whit, back to you. >> whit: all right, somara, thank you so much. we'll have much more on the devastation, the relief efforts, and the recovery here all coming up from hawaii in our next half hour. but first let's go back to new york and our top stories. will and janai, back to you. i wish that, you know, we could be coming to you live on much better circumstances from hawaii. it is such a beautiful place. it

out of all these >> somara: and worth noting. >> somara: and worth noting.tlantic hurricane season is going to kick into high gear in the comes months. >> janai: and it's expected to be a busy one. thank you, somara. >>> still coming up here "good morning america," more on maui. frustration building for residents looking to check on their homes and salvage anything that's left, and then damar hamlin's big step toward returning to professional football, taking the field in a preseason game. stick around. rsv can be a dangerous virus... [sneeze] ...for those 60 and older. it's not just a cold. and if you're 60 or older... ...you may be at increased risk of hospitalization... [coughing] ...from this highly... ...contagious virus. not all dangers come with warning labels. talk to your pharmacist or doctor... ...about getting vaccinated against rsv today. cool pants. (slight echo) cool pants. love to hear it, hard to own it, the overthinking begins and bingo bango. you know what, just own it. - thanks, they're old navy. - brilliant. hey, it's me...your skin. some

somara, good morning. >> somara: good morning. here in birmingham it's pretty hot and muggy and that's been the case for much of the south. the heat continues and look at this live shot coming out of dallas, texas, beautiful as the sun rises but you can almost see the heat in the visuals. it stretches from california to mississippi and heat advisories. if you take a look at some temperatures, you can see why triple digits, high temperatures, friend, 107 in dallas, 95 in tampa. 92 in miami but you know you factor in the humidity it feels much hotter. this is a look at the feels-like temperatures. over 110 for the next two days in dallas and we're going to be experiencing just as much heat out west, actual air temperatures in phoenix today, 114 degrees. >> somara: and it's not just here at home that we're experiencing this heat. you know, our planet has had its 32nd day in a row, warmest day in a row on record. tomorrow could mark the 33rd. you guys. >> janai: wow. >> will: whoa, it's a hot summer. >> whit: it sure is. >> janai: sum

. >>> we'll send it over to somara for a check of the weather. hey there. >> somara: hey, will.this. here's something you don't see every day. both ends of a rainbow, no, just kidding, lightning crawling out across the sky behind the rainbow. so we have more severe weather in the forecast. really want to highlight upstate new york, much of pennsylvania, including scranton into middle pennsylvania, you could see tornadoes today with that enhanced risk, but we see that threat sprawling across the south. and then tomorrow, that threat moves into the midwest and cities like kansas city and st. louis and, of course, tracking this heat, two major hot spots down in the south. triple-digit heat anticipated as far as how it will feel and a hot spot in the northwest. that's a look at the weather across the country. let's see what's happening a little closer to home. lisa: good saturday morning. welcome to the weekend. pier 39 waking up slowly. we have coastal fog that is dense. but a warming trend. it is very subtle around the day today but as we get into the next few days, we will warm u

. >> thank you, somara for filling in for ginger. good to have you as part of the family.aking of the gma family, producer sara russell married her rock in philadelphia. you can see both ceremonies were absolutely beautiful. our best wishes to mr. and mrs. nagoswami. yes. congratulations. >> thank you very much for watching. congratulations, sara. have a great day. >> you know we think about everybody out there across america who watches gma every day just like extended family. well now we are looking to celebrate one gma fan.

go back to somara theodore in birmingham, alabama. somara. good morning. >> good morning, whit.some substantial flooding in states like alabama and kentucky and previous days and even in tennessee. take a look at this drone footage from union city, tennessee. we're talking over ten inches of rain that fell and unfortunate that threat still looms for areas like northeast missouri. the flood threat today, flash flood warnings as well as flood watches in parts of missouri saw six inches in six hours just last night. it's not just flooding. we also have a threat for severe weather. the biggest threat for severe weather is going to be through oklahoma and kansas both this morning and tonight, around midnight. but we could see a tornado threat in areas like southern indiana this afternoon. and then tomorrow, that threat shifts a little bit farther east into parts of the ohio and tennessee valley. that's a look >> now to the box office looking pretty in a mushroom cloud of pink the past two weekends. barbie alongside oppenheimer breaking attendance records and raking in hundreds of mil

let's get to somara theodore. tracking it all for us again tonight. what's the latest on this dangerous storm? >> reporter: well, tropical storm certainly has a potential to reach category-2 hurricane status upon landfall. let me bring you up to speed. this system remains narrowly stationary moving to the northeast at about 3 miles per hour. it's still spinning just off the coast of the yucatan peninsula. watches have now been issued for florida's gulf coast and with landfall anticipated on wednesday, rain will reach before that, and with a quick four to six inches falling, flash floods will be a concern. as far as franklin goes, still no direct impact to the u.s., but we will see high surf along the eastern seaboard. now to the heat, which has truly plagued the south. new orleans hit 105 degrees. this is the highest temperature they have ever seen on record. the good news is in the southeast, they will get relief tomorrow as a cold front digs south. however, we are looking at things heating back up again for cities like phoenix and los angeles. rache

now we're going to somara. she's back in the studio in times square. somara? >> good morning, lara.s. looks can be deceiving. they have a rip current risk out there. be careful. things could get choppy in the days to come. that's because the tropics are alive. we've got a close eye on franklin. what's going to happen, it's going to come into its own about cat 2. it's going to skirt between the u.s. and bermuda. it does mean high surf and rip currents for the eastern seaboard. look what happens in the coming days. see this disturbance coming into definition over the yucatan peninsula. it will bring moisture to the west coast of florida and eastern gulf coast states. that's a look at the weather across the country. lisa: lots of low clouds here which is typical, they moved across the bay. look for the afternoon clearing. partly cloudy with a bit of haze from the north bay. otherwise, temperatures comfortable today. 72 in oakland. 76 on the peninsula with 80 in san jose. the accuweather 7-day forecast, slightly warmer over the weekend. ♪ oh, oh, oh, oh oh, oh, oh, oh ♪ >> this music al

somara theodore is in for ginger. good morning. >> i'm so excited to be here.here's so much going on in the world of weather. it's been nonstop. first we have to talk about the heat. it's been something to beat. a lot of us haven't been doing so. st. paul, minnesota, good morning. this is an earth cam from earlier this morning. the sun getting up and getting ready to go straight to work. in minneapolis st. paul international airport, they hit 98 yesterday. that is the hottest august day they've seen since 1988. the record breaking heat continues. we've got expansive alerts stretching from the great lakes down to the gulf coast states. take a look at these cities. the numbers you are seeing is what it's going to feel like. 109 in chicago. st. louis, 115. even down towards new orleans, 111. as we look at the days to come, what's going to happen, the heat migrates south to the gulf coast state. new orleans will be flirting with one of their all time high, which is 102. they could hit that wednesday, thursday or even friday. even in nashville. nashville really hasn

now we're turning to somara theodore who is live with what's coming up on gma. >> good morning, somara. >> good morning, reggie and kamasi. >> so it's so good to be with you all. >> we've got a lot coming up. >> the latest on the story you've all been covering. >> former president donald trump booked turning himself in to face charges he conspired to overturn results of the 2020 election in georgia. the reaction and what happens next and what you need to know about the new covid variant and when updated booster shots will be available. also this morning, blockbuster bargains. how to see some of the biggest movies of the summer for a low price. plus, superstar country singer tim mcgraw is live taking over central park for our summer concert series. that's coming up right here on gma. >> okay, that's fun. >> i really like it when it's in central park. it adds a certain something, something i was wondering if faith hill was going to be there. >> it does a little. yeah, a little. >> i was just thinking about tim mcgraw, which made me think about faith hill, which made me think about how i

. >> now we're turning to somara theodore filling in for ginger with a look at what's coming up on gma. >> good morning, somara. >> good morning, reggie and kamasi. >> it's so great to be with both of you. now coming up, we have a lot to talk about. the latest on the story you've been following. former president trump prepares to surrender in georgia to the countdown to the first gop debate. with a look at the candidates taking the stage. also this morning, the growing concern about retail theft from one major retail chain. as other stores sound the alarm. and shark tank's barbara corcoran joins us live. she's answering your questions about rising mortgage rates and the housing market. and we have tennis star chris eubanks here live ahead of the us open as well as crazy rich asians author kevin kwan. plus, the right stuff is live from minneapolis. that's coming up right here on gma. >> oh, okay. >> good. i really like barbara corcoran. >> have you met these sharks yet in person? >> no, i have not. not as not as of yet. soon come. >> i've been. >> i was afraid of all of them because i'm

let's get over to somara in for ginger.ering, arts, architecture and mathematics. and samarra and for gender. >> good morning robin and cleveland, ohio, i want you to think from flooding in ohio as a result we have flood alerts issued for much of ohio periods you see the severe threat stretching and parts of michigan and airy, we could see damaging wind, large hail, heavy rain and a chance for isolated tornado. that storm system is meandering but here's what happened next. it will start to move to the east coast so i-95 corridor from new england into new york city and as far south as the mid- >> good morning, cleveland. yesterday remember that flooding you saw? we're in for another round of it. we have flood alerts for much of ohio. you see the severe threat stretching into parts of michigan, erie. we could see a chance for of isolated tornado. that storm system the meandering. it's going to st spencer: it's going to be another warm to hot day today across the bay area. warm weather around the bay, with highs in the 80's ho

meteorologist somara theodore joins us now. can you time this out for us? >> reporter: these storms will be moving through during the middle of the night. that's what makes them specifically dangerous. strong storms are likely from texas to tennessee. the primary hazard zone is in southern missouri where there's an elevated risk for tornadoes. tomorrow, that threat then shifts east. communities from kentucky to the mid-atlantic will bree impacted with damaging winds and large hail. meanwhile, the heat continues to plague much of the country, expansive heat alerts from texas to virginia and an extended period of heat in the pacific northwest. many cities reaching the triple digits. in fact, in portland, oregon, they could be looking at 100 degrees or higher for three days in a row. >> unrelenting, thank you. >> linsey: tonight, abc news has obtained video of police raising a small town kansas newspaper. the incident raising first amendment questions. at issue, a tip a reporter received about a story the paper never published. authorities are defending the ra