Severe weather warning for North East with 70mph winds and risk of snow

The countryside on the Cumbria and County Durham border has already seen snow this month.

Published on the 09 December
2014
09:25

Published 09/12/2014 09:25

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THE Highways Agency has issued a severe weather warning as the North East braces itself for strong winter winds.
Drivers are advised to take extra care on the regions’s road network from Wednesday morning, with wind speeds expected to reach 70mph.
Gales are expected to arrive from 8am on Wednesday until 9am on Thursday. Gusts of over 50mph are expected along the coast and over the Pennines from sunrise on Wednesday, with winds strengthening throughout the morning up to 70mph.
Hail, sleet and snow showers are also forecast, especially over the higher Pennine routes, where drivers can expect blizzard conditions.
Visibility will be significantly reduced during the showers and also from the spray.
Andrew Olive, winter services manager at the Highways Agency, said: “We’re expecting high winds across the region from Wednesday morning so we’re urging motorists to allow extra time for their journeys and to drive at appropriate speeds.
“If your journey isn’t essential then it may be better to travel at a different time, especially if you’re driving a lorry, caravan or motorbike as these vehicles are particularly vulnerable in high winds.
“Drivers should also check fuel and fluid levels, electrics and tyres before setting off to make sure their vehicles are as safe as possible.”
There is a particularly high risk that high-sided vehicles, caravans and motorbikes could be blown over in the strong winds. Drivers of these kinds of vehicles are strongly advised to avoid the following roads if at all possible:
• A1(M) J47-J49 between A59 Knaresborough and A168 Dishforth
• A1(M) J58-J65 between A1 and Washington at J65
• A66 between M6 J40 - A1 (Scotch Corner)
• A19 Hylton Bridge over River Wear
• A19 Tees Viaduct
• A19 Leven Viaducthttp://www.shieldsgazette.com/news/local-news/severe-weather-warning-for-north-east-with-70mph-winds-and-risk-of-snow-1-6995006

• A69

Hagupit Rips Through Philippines; More Than 1 Million Flee 'Ruby'

http://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/hagupit-rips-through-philippines-more-1-million-flee-ruby-n263206

More than 1 million people had fled to shelters by the time Hagupit — Filipino for "smash" or "lash" — made landfall Saturday night, Reuters reported. The eye hit the town of Dolores in Eastern Samar around 9:15 p.m. local time (8:15 a.m. ET) on Saturday. After Hagupit hammered Eastern Samar province, part of a region that was devastated by last year's Typhoon Haiyan — which left more than 7,300 people dead or missing — it moved across the island before making a second landfall on the island of Masbate.
Hagupit was expected to make a third landfall in Northern Mindoro on Monday night as it passed near metro Manila, the Star reported.
More than 3,000 people living in a shantytown on the edge of Manila Bay have been evacuated because of possible storm surges. Manila residents were still troubled by the monster storm of Haiyan and were readily moving to safety, said Manila Mayor Joseph Estrada. "That's still very fresh in their minds," he said.

Hagupit triggered mass flooding, power outages and crumpled hundreds of homes over the weekend, but early signs showed the islands appear to have been spared the vast devastation wrought by Haiyan — though officials warned assessments were still underway.
Hundreds of thousands of people started heading home after Hagupit passed over but some were encountering impassable floodwaters. One of those areas was Jipapad, a town of 7,000 in Eastern Samar.
"Our problem is power. Food is a problem because boats cannot leave," Delia Monleon, the town's mayor, told Reuters. "It was flooded yesterday, so we can't leave to look for food."
Disaster relief group Feed the Children said it was expecting as many as 30,000 people would need assistance in the storm's immediate aftermath, and expected Leyte and Samar to be among the hardest-hit areas.
"This is the same location where families were displaced last year" after Haiyan, the organization's Philippines director, Esperanza Abellana, told NBC News. "It could be worse than that, but we'll need about 24 hours before we can make a complete assessment. The power is down; the Internet is not very good."
Power was cut across most of the eastern island of Samar and nearby Leyte province, including Tacloban City, considered ground zero of Haiyan last year.
"I can't penetrate the areas. I can't go north or south because of fallen trees and power lines. Many areas are flooded," Ben Evardone, who represents Eastern Samar in the Philippine Congress, told Reuters from his base in the provincial capital, Borongan.
Army troops were deployed to supermarkets and major roads in provinces in the typhoon's path to prevent looting and chaos and clear debris, all of which slowed the government's response last year, said Gen. Gregorio Pio Catapang, head of the Philippines' 120,000-strong military.

Quake strikes western China, killing at least four people and injuring 54, including schoolchildren hurt in a stampede

Residents stand on a street to stay away from buildings after the earthquake hit Kangding county, Sichuan province. Photograph: CHINA STRINGER NETWORK/REUTERS

Associated Press in Beijing

Sunday 23 November 2014 02.56 EST

A strong earthquake that hit a sparsely populated, mountainous area of western China killed at least four people and injured 54 others, including schoolchildren in a stampede, officials said Sunday.
The US Geological Survey said the magnitude-5.9 quake hit Saturday about 20 miles from the county of Kangding in Sichuan province. China’s seismological agency put the magnitude at 6.3.
The four dead included a woman in her 70s who was struck by a falling window pane, the official Xinhua news agency and state broadcaster CCTV said, citing Chen Yunbing, a doctor at the region’s Ganzi People’s hospital.

A stampede at a primary school in Tagong town during the quake injured 42 children, according to Xinhua.

A total of 30 homes collapsed and 2,630 suffered serious damage, the Sichuan information office said.

Western China is regularly hit by earthquakes, and reports said Saturday’s quake could be felt in the Sichuan provincial capital of Chengdu on the plains below the Himalayan foothills. Sichuan was struck by a magnitude-7.9 quake in May 2008 that left nearly 90,000 people dead, many of them in collapsed schools and other poorly constructed buildings.

Construction standards have been significantly tightened since then, and the country’s disaster response capacity has improved with better equipment and trained rescue teams.

.California Flood Threat: Pineapple Express to Bring Heavy Rain, Sierra Snow, High Winds

Thanks to an atmospheric river known as the Pineapple Express, more soaking rain and mountain snow is on the way for California, the epicenter of the nation's most widespread exceptional drought.
Last week, Los Angeles County dams and spreading ground captured 1.8 billion gallons of water, enough to meet the needs of 44,000 people in one year. That's a relative drop in the multi-year drought bucket, but a start.
While this all sounds like good news, more flooding, rock/mudslides, debris flows and even damaging winds are possible with this upcoming storm. The National Weather Service in Monterey, California, said Monday that this storm is "expected to be one of the strongest storms in terms of wind and rain intensity" since storms in October 2009 and January 2008.

Enlarge

Storm Setup

Forecast depiction of the "Pineapple Express", a plume of deep moisture that will be directed into the West Coast this week.

Setup: An Atmospheric River

What has finally opened the door to drought relief in California?
Last winter, the Pacific jet stream was diverted well to the north of the U.S. West Coast by blocking high pressure in the upper-levels of the atmosphere.
(MORE: 2013 Was California's Record Driest Year)
Now, an energetic Pacific jet stream will point squarely over the West Coast this week. This Pacific jet will tap a narrow, deep plume of tropical moisture over 3,000 miles long known as an atmospheric river.
According to NOAA's Earth System Research Laboratory, these atmospheric rivers (ARs) are important:
- About 30-50 percent of annual precipitation in the West Coast states occurs in just a few AR events.
- The strongest ARs can transport as water vapor up to 15 times the average flow of liquid water at the mouth of the Mississippi River, triggering flooding when stalling or making landfall.
In this case, an AR known as the Pineapple Express, so named due to the origin of the moist plume in the central Pacific Ocean near Hawaii, will slide down the West Coast through the week, wringing out the heaviest rainfall from western Washington to northern California.

Wednesday's Forecast

                   

 

 

Forecast: More Heavy Rain, Flooding

While an initial round of rain will soak primarily parts of western Washington through Tuesday, the bulk of the heavy rain event will arrive on the West Coast beginning Wednesday.
A band of heavy rain accompanying the initial cold front will sweep ashore from western Washington to northwest California during the day Wednesday.
Wednesday night and Thursday, the Pineapple Express will sag slowly south through northern and central California as the southward dip in the vigorous Pacific jet stream swings into the Golden State.
(FORECAST: S.F./San Jose/Oakland | Sacramento)
It's at that time that the heaviest rain and, therefore, highest threat of flash flooding will be in play in those areas.
(MAPS: Weekly Planner Forecast)
Late Thursday night and Friday, the weakening atmospheric river and corresponding southward dip in the jet stream will swing over Southern California, providing a quick burst of rain for the Southland in time for Friday morning's rush hour.
(FORECAST: Los Angeles | San Diego)
Overall, the heaviest rainfall totals are expected from western Washington to northern California, with numerous 3-to 5-inch rainfall totals expected. This includes much of the San Francisco Bay Area and Sacramento. Locally higher amounts of up to 8 inches, or more, can be expected in the Sierra foothills below snow level, the coastal ranges and windward locations of the Olympic Mountains.
Flash flooding, mud/rockslides and debris flows are most likely in these areas, particularly given saturated ground from last week's soaking.
In fact, the National Weather Service in Monterey, California mentioned the last time the city of San Francisco picked up a four-inch-plus rainfall total in two days or less was on Feb. 3, 1998, during a strong El Nino, no less. (There is no El Nino, as yet.)
Over an inch of rain is possible in parts of Southern California late Thursday into Friday, particularly in the L.A. Basin. While these totals are not nearly as impressive, they may be sufficient to produce additional debris flows in burn areas, and may prompt more evacuations.
http://www.weather.com/forecast/regional/news/california-rain-flood-threat-drought-relief-middec2014

A cyclist rides by a police officer in a flooded section of roadway on December 3, 2014 in Mill Valley, California. (Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)

Live Blog: Coastal Flooding Leaves NJ Roadways Under Water

A major storm is set to impact the Northeast through Thursday, bringing substantial snow to inland areas, heavy rain, flooding and tropical storm-force winds to the coast and a wintry mix in between the two.
The storm began early Tuesday morning along the mid-Atlantic coast and will continue to spread inland and northward through Wednesday.
Heavy, wet snow can lead to downed trees and power lines. Meanwhile, interstates in upstate New York and northern New England may become snow covered, making for treacherous travel conditions.http://www.accuweather.com/en/weather-news/live-blog-northeast-roadways-s/38706452

Hagupit to Threaten Vietnam Late Week

Hagupit, now a tropical storm, devastated parts of the Philippines through Tuesday and is expected to target Vietnam late this week with heavy rainfall.
Despite moving across the Philippines and weakening significantly, Hagupit is still considered by AccuWeather.com meteorologists to be a dangerous system while it moves across the South China Sea. Meteorologist Anthony Sagliani said, "The storm will still be intact, likely as a tropical storm."
Interaction with Philippines' numerous islands, some of which are very mountainous, has contributed to the weakening.
Interaction with Philippines' numerous islands, some of which are very mountainous, has contributed to the weakening.

Although Hagupit has emerged from the Philippines in a noticeably weaker state, Vietnam should pay close attention to the path and strength of the storm.
"Hagupit will track slowly across the South China Sea through the week and make landfall on the southern coast of Vietnam towards the end of the week," said Sagliani.
At this point, it does not appear Hagupit will strengthen on its way toward Vietnam, but it may maintain strength as a tropical storm.
The weakened Hagupit will place heavy rain in the forefront of the threats it could bring to Vietnam, but locally gusty winds cannot be ruled out at this point. The greatest threat for life-threatening impacts are expected between the cities of Hue and Ho Chi Minh.
Rainfall of 75-150 mm (3-6 inches) will be common within 50 miles of the coastline with localized amounts over 250 mm (10 inches). Some of these same areas experienced torrential rainfall only a week ago from Tropical Cyclone Sinlaku which will elevate the threat for flooding and mudslides.
Residents and those with interests in southern Vietnam should pay close attention to the progress of Hagupit over the next several days.
http://www.accuweather.com/en/weather-news/hagupit-to-threaten-vietnam-la-1/38552442

Storm of the Year: Four Ferocious Days, 38 Lives Lost

By Erin McClam Last week, forecasters were marveling at how quiet the tornado season was. Zero deaths through mid-April, the safest start to the season in a decade. Zero tornadoes stronger than 135 mph, the first time since 1950. That changed over four hellacious days of wind and water. On Wednesday, a sprawling, lumbering storm system was finally making its way off the East Coast. But not before it shattered homes and families, ripped open cars and churches and whole roads, and ended 38 lives in eight states. Day 1: Sunday The National Weather Service was well ahead of the storm. On Wednesday of last week, it warned of a “significant multi-day severe weather event.” By Sunday, as forecasters refined their predictions, Arkansas was in the crosshairs. That morning, in the Little Rock suburb of Vilonia, Wade Lentz, the pastor of the Baptist church, handed over the keys to a new, donated home to a mother and her disabled son. At another service, Dan Wassom’s little girls fought over who got to sit next to him. That evening, the sky turned a sick gray. Tornado sirens began to wail. TV weather forecasters warned people to take cover immediately. In the town of Mayflower, next to Vilonia, Mark Ausbrooks was standing outside his parents’ house, getting a look at the gathering storm from a carport, when his 79-year-old mother shouted: “Get in the house!” Inside, he heard the roar. The three of them huddled in a closet. He had one arm around each of his parents. They prayed. The storm tore the roof off their house, but they made it alive. Lentz waited the storm out at his parents’ place. He drove home to find his truck flipped on its head, the family dog missing and his home destroyed. Others were not so lucky. Wassom was shielding his girls, 5 and 7, in a hallway in their home when a beam crashed down, hit his neck and killed him. He was one of at least four people killed on his street, Aspen Creek Drive, alone. A father and two daughters were killed in Paron, Ark., and six other children from the same family were hospitalized. One surviving daughter said the family huddled under the stairs before a twister blew the walls away. Cameron and Tyler Smith, brothers 8 and 7 years old, were still getting settled in Vilonia and loved fishing, baseball and God, a family friend said. They were killed when a tornado hit their house. In all, 15 people died on Sunday in Arkansas, two in Iowa and one in Oklahoma. And the storms were just getting started. Facebook | Family Photos Top: Ruth Bennett, Paula Blakemore, Mark Bradley, Jeffrey Hunter, Dennis Lavergne, Glenna Lavergne, Daniel Wassom, BOTTOM: Cameron Smith, Tyler Smith, John Servati, Rebekah Tittle, Rob Tittle, Tori Tittle Day 2: Monday On Monday, the system churned east, but not far. Forecasters warned that the worst was not over, and they were painfully right. The next round was a fusillade of tornadoes, more than 50 reported over 24 hours, that laid waste to parts of Mississippi, Alabama and Tennessee. In Kimberly, Ala., the fire department and the Church of God were demolished. John Servati, a Dean’s List business major and a swimmer for the University of Alabama, died in Tuscaloosa when a retaining wall in his basement collapsed on him. A friend said that Servati had held the wall up long enough for his girlfriend to escape. In Fayetteville, Tenn., a married couple, John and Karen Prince, returned to their mobile home to check for damage. They mistakenly believed the danger was over, and were killed in another storm, neighbors said. “We pulled up, and were in shock seeing our own home,” Tiffani Danner, a neighbor whose own home was destroyed, told The Associated Press. “Then we saw Karen’s father, and he said, ‘John and Karen are gone. They didn’t make it.’” In Louisville, Miss., Ruth Bennett was holding the last child left at her day care center when a tornado struck and tore the building from its foundation. A firefighter later pulled the toddler from her lifeless arms. “It makes you pay attention to life,” Kenneth Billingsley, a neighbor, told the AP. The overall death toll climbed to 35. Day 3: Tuesday On the third day, the storm dealt its fury in water, not wind. Florida and, once again, Alabama got smacked. It rained so hard in Pensacola, Fla., that it broke the National Weather Service rain gauge — at least 11 inches, but nobody knows for sure. Five inches fell in a single hour, more than during all of Hurricane Ivan in 2004. Trucks plunged 40 feet when part of a highway broke clean off. One home rain gauge showed an astonishing 2 feet of rain in 26 hours. “It went on and on and on. It was relentless,” Cheryl Clendenon, who was stranded for a time in her home in Pensacola Beach, told NBC News. “I used to like the sound of rain to help me get to sleep, but this was like Chinese water torture. It just did not stop.” Elsewhere on the low-lying Panhandle, people clambered to their attics to escape rising water. Bill Pearson, a spokesman for Escambia County, said authorities there described it as the worst flooding in a generation. Hundreds of people were stranded in cars and trucks on washed-out roads. At least one didn’t survive: A man in Florida drove into the water and then called for help, but the water was moving too quickly and it was too late. Crews had to pluck people out of stranded cars and trucks in Alabama and North Carolina. Day 4: Wednesday Mercifully, Wednesday was expected to be the last of it. The storm was headed toward the Atlantic coast. The risk for tornadoes was highest in the Carolinas and Virginia. But the day turned deadly before noon. Two people were reported killed in weather-related deaths in Georgia — a woman who crashed her car on a flooded road and another person hit by a tree branch. They were the 37th and 38th people to die in the weeklong storm outbreak. Meanwhile, rescues of the stranded continued in Florida. Brian Hatler, a fire battalion chief in Pensacola, told NBC News that the National Guard was expected to arrive by early afternoon. The flooding was so serious that his department was using a military surplus truck known as a “deuce and a half” — a 2½-ton truck to plow through the high water and conduct rescues. Elizabeth Chuck, Tracy Connor and Carlo Dellaverson of NBC News contributed to this report. First published April 30 2014, 3:10 PM

Thousands Left Without Power in New England After Pre-Thanksgiving Snowstorm

Thousands Left Without Power in New England After Pre-Thanksgiving Snowstorm By Jillian MacMath, AccuWeather.com Staff Writer November 30, 2014; 11:05 PM ET More Sharing ServicesShare| Share on facebookShare on twitter Share on linkedin . Thousands of people across New England had to spend their evening in darkness this Thanksgiving, as a powerful Northeast snowstorm wiped out electricity across the region on Wednesday. As of Sunday night, more than 500 customers served by the Public Service of New Hampshire remained without power, according to the utility. The last of the remaining 200 Unitil customers in the state without service had their power restored by Sunday morning. The pre-Thanksgiving storm across the Northeast downed tree limbs and power lines across the region, knocking out power to thousands. (Twitter/Central Maine Power) "Once the damage assessment phase is complete, we'll have a clear picture as to how long it will take to restore power to all customers, but it is clear we will be working through Thanksgiving in Concord," Unitil Media Relations Manager Alec O'Meara said. RELATED: AccuWeather.com Winter Weather Center Northeast Regional Radar REPORTS: More than 300,000 Without Power in the Wake of Northeast Snowstorm In neighboring Maine, the problem is similar. The combination of heavy snow on power lines and car accidents resulting in downed utility poles had left more than 100,000 people served by Central Maine Power in darkness. By Sunday evening, the utility reported that nearly 500 customers remained without power across the state. "The heavy, wet snow that started around midday has built up on roads, tree limbs and power lines, causing numerous outages across our service area," said Gail Rice, spokesperson for Central Maine Power in a press release Wednesday. "We know people are eager to get power back, or get an estimate on restoration time, so they can move ahead with Thanksgiving plans. But with widespread storm damage, and snow still creating difficult travel and working conditions for crews, we're not able to provide restoration estimates yet," Rice said. Though the snow retreated for most areas early Thursday, temperatures through Saturday will hover at or below freezing, preventing much of the snow from melting. Additional outages may amount as the heavy snow lingers, testing the strength of tree limbs and power lines throughout the region. The chilly air will also make it more of a struggle for residents who rely on electric heat.

Brisbane stunned by severe storm: 'no time to evacuate, no warning'

Brisbane storm damage – in pictures A ‘supercell’ storm hits Brisbane during afternoon peak hour, flooding roads, smashing windows and flipping planes Merran Hitchick Thursday 27 November 2014 17.07 EST Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Share via Email Share on LinkedIn Share on Google+ Comments 17 Facebook Twitter Pinterest expand Two storm cells meet over Brisbane, creating a ‘supercell’ which lashed the city on Thursday. Photograph: Kai Linkerhof A light plane is badly damaged at Archerfield aerodrome in Brisbane’s south. Photograph: Dan Peled/AAP Merran Hitchick Thursday 27 November 2014 17.07 EST Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Share via Email Share on LinkedIn Share on Google+ Comments 17 Facebook Twitter Pinterest expand Two storm cells meet over Brisbane, creating a ‘supercell’ which lashed the city on Thursday. Photograph: Kai Linkerhof Residents are still counting the cost of Thursday’s storm, which left many without power overnight, and others without a roof Brisbane storm - in pictures Why was the storm so bad? Brisbane cleans up A three-story unit block in Toowong, an inner suburb of Brisbane, completely lost its roof and had windows shattered by the storm on Thursday. Photograph: Malena Salinas Joshua Robertson and agencies Friday 28 November 2014 03.55 EST Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Share via Email Share on LinkedIn Share on Google+ Comments 250 The worst hail storm to hit Brisbane in a generation has been declared a catastrophe by insurers and prompted the Queensland government to call in the military to help clean up the damage. Residents left counting the costs had already begun work in darkness overnight. The half-hour squall on Thursday afternoon – dumping up to 70mm of rain and hail as big as tennis balls – punched holes in glass skyscrapers, lifted apartment block roofs and shattered windows in thousands of properties and cars across the city. The Queensland premier, Campbell Newman, told ABC radio the storm was “probably the worst to hit city as a whole since 1985”. Newman said 39 people called ambulances during the storm, but only 12 patients were taken to hospital and none had life-threatening injuries. Malena Salinas came home to find the wreckage of the roof from her three storey unit block in Toowong on the street in front of her. The University of Queensland speech pathology student, originally of Texas, told Guardian Australia that she was “used to seeing hurricanes but this was so quick – and it wasn’t a hurricane, it was just water”. “It was all of a sudden, no time to evacuate, no warning,” she said. “I just feel so bad for [unit] five. They’re students. Everything was destroyed.” Another shaken resident on the third floor took refuge in the bathroom as the roof was peeled off. Facebook Twitter Pinterest expand The roof from the apartment building Malena Salinas lives in was swept into the building’s driveway and the adjacent street by 140km/h winds. Photograph: Malena Salinas “There was no time to leave,” Salinas said, “because you can see the windows shattered and it was pretty dangerous to walk down [the stairwell] and have the glass come down.” Advertisement Sheets of metal roofing fell on a car that Salinas’ landlord was trying to park in the garage to avoid hail damage. She received minor injuries. The rest of the roof wound up in a twisted heap on Coronation Drive, one of the city’s major riverside boulevards. A resident of another apartment block 650m away said she believed some of that metal roofing on Coronation Drive was from her own building. “It matches what’s out front,” said the woman, who asked not to be named. “It was pretty strong winds. It was like a mini cyclone.” The sixth floor apartment which lost its roof above her was about to go to auction, she said. Salinas’ landlord said the normally placid Brisbane river was whipped up into “Noosa surf” like swells, forcing a council catamaran ferry to cut its engine and ride out the storm in the middle of the river. The woman, after a quick visit to the doctor and with family and cleaning equipment in tow, began cleaning up A beat police officer posted to guard another Toowong street with a fallen power line said the roof of a nearby house had also “caved in - but luckily no injuries”. That storm caused just over $2bn damage in today’s money, according to the Insurance council of Australia. The ICA said insurers took 2,000 calls within hours of Thursday’s squall. As of 9am they had received 8100 claims worth an estimated $61m, consisting of 4500 under homes and contents policies and 3600 for motor vehicles. An Ica spokesman said this figure was expected to rise sharply over the next several days.

Five dead and thousands evacuated in severe southern France floods

Among the dead is a 73-year-old who died of heart failure while driving in the Pyrénées-Orientales region

The roofs of flooded cars are seen in the river Berre at Portel les Corbieres, southern France. Photograph: AP

Agence France-Presse in Portel-Des-Corbières

Sunday 30 November 2014 13.21 EST

The worst flooding in years in southern France has claimed five lives and forced more than 3,000 people to evacuate their homes, officials said on Sunday.
The latest victim was a 73-year-old man who died of heart failure in Rivesaltes, in the Pyrénées-Orientales region, while trying to force his car through a dip in a road that was flooded.
Along the banks of the Agly river in the same region, the government said about 2,800 people were evacuated by late afternoon on Sunday.
The flooding was considered more serious than the deadly overflows seen in 1999, with the government saying it would evacuate residents within 200m of the river. Another 560 people had already left their homes in Canet, Argelès-sur-Mer and Barcarès, on the Mediterranean coast.
The prime minister’s office said the flooding was “exceptional” but added the situation was under control.
“I’ve never seen anything like it,” said Kristel Gregori, 42, from Argelès, near the Massane river that often dries up but has turned into a 20 metre-wide torrent, leaving dozens of parked cars stranded.
“When neighbours woke us up at three o’clock, there was already a metre of water in the garage,” she added. “The water level has subsided since but the rain hasn’t stopped.”
The river Berre had also flooded, reaching a metre above the level seen during flooding in 1999 that left 35 people dead and one missing in the region. About 250 people fled Sigean, in low-lying land and lagoons just south of Narbonne.

Topics

• France
• Europe
• Flooding
• Natural disasters and extreme weather

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Drought-stricken California expects welcome rain but fears mudslides

Pacific Coast highway near Malibu already blocked by downpour-induced mudflows from hillsides denuded of vegetation by earlier wildfires

Hillsides and other areas, such as these sandstone cliffs at Solana Beach, will be closely watched as forecasters are expecting heavy rain for drought-stricken southern California over the next few days. Photograph: Mike Blake/Reuters

Associated Press in Los Angeles

Tuesday 2 December 2014 09.17 EST

 

Hopes for much-needed moisture but fears of mudflows marked California as a Pacific storm headed toward the drought-dry state.
Rain was expected to begin falling on Tuesday, although the timing of the heaviest downpours was variable, according to the National Weather Service.
Storm watches were posted for a large swath of the Sierra Nevada, where a huge amount of the state’s water supply is normally stored as snowpack. Significant accumulations were predicted but not enough to be a drought buster.
Any delight over the prospect of beneficial precipitation was tempered by concerns about the threat of debris flows from the many areas of California where wildfires have burned away vegetation that would keep soil stable.
A weak storm on Sunday was enough to block the Pacific Coast highway west of Malibu with a flow of mud from a section of the steep Santa Monica Mountains denuded by a 44-square-mile fire last year.
The muck was cleared but debris basins that overflowed were still full and will keep the highway from reopening anytime soon.
“We’re going to have to wait until the next storm passes,” said Patrick Chandler of the California department of transportation.
Residents placed sandbags to protect properties in foothill cities north-east of Los Angeles, where some communities below steep mountains have long lived with concrete barriers lining streets in hopes of keeping debris flows out of homes.
Glendora resident Cory Hansen piled sand bags around his home.
“Hundreds, hundreds of them,” he told KABC-TV. “We don’t know what’s going to happen in the next few days.”

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http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2014/dec/02/drought-stricken-california-welcome-rain-mudslides

Back-to-back storms are helping some cities in north-west California reach normal rainfall amounts for the year, or even better, but the reservoirs and Sierra snowpack that provide much of the state’s water remain far short of what they should be, after three years of intense drought.
The state department of water resources reported that the Sierra snowpack, which accounts most for the state’s water supply, was at 24% of normal for this time of year.
Rain so far, at this early point in California’s wet season, has yet to make much of an impact on the state’s main reservoirs. Lake Shasta and Lake Oroville have less than 50% of their usual water level for the start of December, while Folsom Lake stands at 59%, said National Weather Service forecaster Eric Kurth.
“The good news is there’s more storms on the way,” Kurth said.

Clear-up goes on 10 months after flooding on Somerset Levels

Residents are starting to move back into homes, but many are frustrated at slow progress of flood defences

Floods in Bridgwater, Somerset, in February. Photograph: Matt Cardy/Getty Images

 

 

 

Ten months since the murky floodwater began retreating from the village of Moorland on the Somerset Levels, the clear-up is still very much ongoing. Builders’ vans line the main drag, teams of volunteers are busy trying to restore order, and those householders lucky enough to be finally back in their stricken homes are still unpacking boxes and redecorating.
“It’s been really tough,” said Bryony Sadler, mother of two young children, who has just moved back into her home, a former rectory that had never before flooded. “We’re glad to be back but there’s still a lot of work to be done to get the place how we want it.”

Bryony Sadler with her daughter Elsa

And lots of work to be done on the area’s flood defences before the likes of Sadler will feel secure again. Like most here, she is pleased that the government does seem committed to making the low-lying area less susceptible to the sort of extraordinary floods that wreaked havoc last winter, but unimpressed with the speed of work. “They seem to spend a lot of time talking about making improvements but they need to just get on with it,” she said.
For example, one of the schemes promised by the government on Tuesday was funding to “complete the appraisal, scheme development and design” for a barrier at nearby Bridgwater – which many residents of the Levels believe will help stop their homes flooding.
The time-scale for this design phase? Five to six years, according to the Environment Agency. “That’s two governments,” said Sadler. “Who knows what will happen in that time? Things seem to take such a long time.”
http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2014/dec/02/clear-up-flooding-somerset-levels

Hurricane Ana Made For A Rainy Weekend In Hawaii

HONOLULU (AP) — A Pacific tempest packing hurricane-force winds brushed Hawaii over the weekend with heavy rain, high surf and strong winds, but the islands rode out the storm with no reports of any serious problems.
Hurricane Ana was downgraded to a tropical storm late Sunday afternoon as it began to pull away from the state's more populated islands.
"The good news is it looks like we've dodged a bullet," Honolulu Mayor Kirk Caldwell said.

After menacing the state for days, the closest Ana got to Hawaii was about 70 miles southwest of the private, sparsely populated island of Niihau on Sunday, leaving the state soaked but largely unscathed.
"It was a fortuitous track," said Chris Brenchley, a meteorologist for the National Weather Service in Honolulu.
A tropical storm watch was canceled Sunday for Oahu, the state's most populous island. But a flash flood warning remained in effect until 8 p.m. as a result of heavy rains. Most areas received 3 to 5 inches as of Sunday afternoon, according to media reports.
And a tropical storm warning for Kauai and Niihau was canceled late Sunday night as Ana moved farther from the main islands. But a hurricane watch was in effect for parts of a few remote northwestern Hawaiian islands, home to a largely uninhabited marine sanctuary.
Ana was 230 miles southwest of Kauai and 305 miles west of Honolulu at 2 a.m. HST Monday and had sustained winds of 70 mph while traveling at west 9 mph. It was expected to trend toward the northwest and gain strength, becoming a hurricane again, the weather service said.
There have been no reports of injuries, deaths or significant damage from the storm. The effects have been limited to heavy rain, large waves and some minor flooding.
Preparations for the storm began last week, with residents stocking up on bottled water, shelters opening and various events being canceled. By Sunday night, the Red Cross announced that all its shelters had closed.
However, officials in some areas asked people to stay home Sunday, avoid rain-soaked roads and keep out of the ocean.
"The ocean is angry today," Honolulu Ocean Safety Chief Jim Howe said, noting that there was plenty of brown water from runoff, which attracts sharks.
Kauai officials remained on alert Sunday. Mayor Bernard Carvalho Jr. said some beaches had been closed due to rain and high surf, but the day was otherwise typical.
A few hundred people on the island experienced power outages, but many had their service restored by Sunday morning. Hawaiian Airlines canceled some morning Kauai flights, leaving about two dozen travelers to wait for an afternoon trip.
There were no reports of problems on the Niihau, a privately owned island that's home to fewer than 100 people.
Ana was the second large storm to bear down on Hawaii recently. Tropical Storm Iselle hit the Big Island in August, leaving the rural Puna region with downed trees and power outages.
"We just lucked out this one," Darryl Oliveira, director of Hawaii County Civil Defense, said of the latest storm.
Kauai had braced for the worst after forecasters said the storm was coming closer than had been predicted. Many there remember the destruction of Hurricane Iniki, which killed six people and destroyed more than 1,400 homes in 1992. Kevin Adkisson, however, wasn't on Kauai for that storm and had mixed feelings Sunday.
"It's kind of a nonevent so far," he said. "I was kind of looking forward to my first hurricane, but I'm glad it didn't tear anything up or hurt anybody."
It was good to be prepared, said Susanna Ferris, of Honolulu, as she watched the waves in Waikiki.
"It didn't turn out to be as bad as we thought it would be," she said.
___
Associated Press writers Audrey McAvoy in Kailua-Kona and Cathy Bussewitz in Honolulu contributed to this report.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/10/19/hurricane-ana-passes-hawaii_n_6011756.html?utm_hp_ref=extreme-weather

Colorado Flash Flooding: How It Happened, How Unusual?

Colorado Flash Flooding: How It Happened,

An M-923 U.S. military logistical transportation vehicle lies on its side in a ditch in Longmont after being washed away by floodwaters as local How Unusual?

In this handout provided by the U.S. National Guard, Colorado Army National Guardsmen respond to flooding, Sept. 12, 2013, in Boulder, Colo. (Sgt. Joseph K. VonNida/U.S. National Guard)

 

 

 

 

 

 

First, the ground was saturated with heavy rainfall both on Sept. 9 and 10. Radar estimates suggest parts of the Front Range, including the Denver metro, picked up well over 1 inch of rain each afternoon and evening. Street flooding was particularly severe Tuesday in the east Denver metro, including Aurora.
The atmospheric setup at right consisted of an upper-level low pressure center over the Great Basin, blocked from moving east or north by a large dome of high pressure aloft over the Pacific Northwest and southwest Canada. Winds aloft were spreading apart, enhancing lift in the atmosphere for rain and thunderstorms.
This low pressure circulation tapped a plume of moisture from the Pacific Ocean off western Mexico into northern Colorado.
Near the surface, winds flowing upslope behind a cold front and also tapping Gulf moisture from the southeast converged on the Front Range.
(BLOG: Dr. Lee Grenci on the Colorado Flood Setup)
According to Dr. Jeff Masters from Weather Underground (blog), the amount of moisture in the atmosphere, or "precipitable water", over Denver as of 6 a.m. MDT Sep. 12 reached record values for the month of September (1.33 inches). Records date to 1948.
Finally, winds 15,000 feet above the ground were generally blowing from southeast to northwest and were light. This means the relatively low-topped rain and thunderstorms could not move off the Foothills and Front Range from west to east, but instead "trained" or lingered along or near the Foothills and Front Range Urban Corridor. This is a classic scenario for major flooding in northern Colorado.

How Unusual?

Enlarge

Rainfall totals map from Sep. 11-13, 2013 over the Front Range and Foothills of northern Colorado.

You can see the staggering rainfall totals from this multi-day event at right. Parts of Boulder County picked up over 17 inches of rain, while parts of the east Denver metro (Aurora) measured over 14 inches of total rainfall.
From the afternoon of September 9 through midday on September 13, 14.62 inches of rain had fallen in Boulder, Colo. This included an incredible 9.08 inches of rain on September 12, alone!
According to the Western Regional Climate Center, the previous all-time record rainfall for any calendar day in Boulder was a 4.80 inch deluge on July 31, 1919., in records dating to 1893. September 12th's total almost doubled the previous record wet day.
Furthermore, the previous wettest September day was only 3.05 inches on Sep. 4, 1909. In fact, only two other September days featured over two inches of rain, none previously since 1938.
The ten previous wettest calendar days in Boulder since 1893 all occurred between early April and early August, according to National Weather Service.
Average September rainfall in Boulder is only 1.63 inches. So, Boulder picked up almost nine times their average September monthly rainfall...in almost four days! The previous wettest single month in Boulder was 9.60 inches in May 1995.
On September 12, a storm total of 11.5 inches came in from Aurora, Colo., an eastern Denver suburb.
The average annual precipitation (rain + liquid from melted snow) in Denver is 14.92 inches. That's over three-quarters of the yearly average precipitation occurring in the span of a day or so!
This brings to mind two major flash flood events in northern Colorado in recent times:

• Ft. Collins Flood (July 28, 1997): 6-10 inches of rain the day after another heavy rain event; $200 million damage; five killed
• Big Thompson Canyon Flood (July 31, 1976): A lone thunderstorm dumped 12 inches of rain in 4.5 hours above the Big Thompson Canyon; $35.5 million damage; 139 killed

(WUNDERGROUND BLOG: Boulder's Notorious Flood History)
Initial analysis from the NWS in Boulder indicates the peak flow on Boulder Creek on September 12 exceeded the 1969 flood, but fell shy of both the 1938 and 1894 flood events.
What's incredible about this event is the scope. Here is a list of heavily impacted Colorado cities from this flood event:

• Boulder
• Jamestown
• Lyons
• Aurora
• Brighton
• Longmont
• Estes Park
• Denver (east side)
• Ft. Collins (north side)
• Loveland
• Commerce City
• Eldorado Springs
• Erie
• Evans
• Evergreen
• Morrison
• Milliken
• Greeley

That's over a dozen cities with significant flash flooding!

 

 

http://www.weather.com/storms/severe/news/colorado-flash-flood-how-it-happened-unusual-20130912

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Philippines on Alert for Strengthening Typhoon Hagupit

The scenario of strengthening Hagupit bringing life-threatening dangers to the Philippines remains a serious concern.
Hagupit strengthened into a typhoon early Tuesday night PHT (Tuesday morning EST) with maximum sustained winds of 130 kph (80 mph).
Conditions are prime for Hagupit to strengthen further, potentially approaching super typhoon intensity over the waters of the Philippine Sea later this week.
Prior to reaching the Philippine Sea, Hagupit will bear down on the island of Yap during the first part of Wednesday night (local time).
Residents of this island should prepare for torrential rain, damaging winds and dangerously rough surf. The weather will begin deteriorating Wednesday afternoon
Beyond Yap, AccuWeather.com meteorologists have identified two scenarios for Hagupit. Both involve Hagupit becoming a powerful and dangerous typhoon. However, the Philippines will either have to brace for life-threatening impacts or will be spared depending on which track unfolds.
The first scenario would be a more westerly track, bringing the typhoon into the southern or central Philippines this weekend and in contact with a much more significant population.

"If the storm takes the track into the Philippines, the impacts will be potentially very severe with widespread flooding, damaging winds, storm surge and pounding surf," stated AccuWeather.com Meteorologist Anthony Sagliani.
The danger for flooding would become extreme and more life-threatening if Hagupit slows its forward movement and crawls through the Philippines, unloading inundating amounts of rain. Mudslides would also be a serious concern.

http://www.accuweather.com/en/weather-news/new-west-pacific-threat-develo/38232221

2014 Forecast: Severe Storm and Tornado Threat to Spike Later Than Usual

Persistent cold air during the first part of the spring is likely to cause severe weather to get off to a sluggish start in a heavily populated part of the nation. However, a marked turnaround is expected later in the spring for 2014.
On average, severe weather gradually ramps up moving forward through the spring. This year, the transition may occur later and may be more dramatic.
A spike in damaging thunderstorms, including some capable of producing tornadoes, is expected during May and June.

Early Season Temperature Extremes

According to AccuWeather Long Range Weather Expert Paul Pastelok, "We expect a southward dip in steering-level winds to occur much of the time over a large part of the Midwest to the Eastern states during March and the first part of April."
This dip of strong winds high in the atmosphere, known as a jet stream trough, will generally keep warm, moist air at bay from near the Mississippi River to the Atlantic coast.

Last year, a similar setup occurred in much of the same area during the spring and led to a much lower-than-average severe weather season for the nation as a whole.
Thunderstorms are fueled by rising warm, moist air. As a general rule, the lower the temperature near the ground, the lower the risk for tornadoes and violent thunderstorms.
"This year, the ground is colder, the Great Lakes have an extensive amount of ice and the Gulf of Mexico waters are starting off colder than average," Pastelok said. "All of these can have a negative impact on temperatures in the lower atmosphere."
Over much of the Southeast, Midwest and Northeast, the tornado risk will be lower than average early on due to the colder-than-average environment expected.
RELATED:
AccuWeather Severe Weather Center
The Difference Between Tornado Watches and Warnings
Spring Severe Storm Season in 2014 May Be Similar to 2013
According to Severe Weather Expert Dan Kottlowski, "As a positive note, we may not see the frequency and violence of severe thunderstorms and tornadoes that typically occur during March and much of April, because of the lingering chill impacting a significant part of the nation."
However, Kottlowski urged caution when comparing overall numbers of tornado and other severe weather incidents to other seasons.
"This is not to say there cannot be a couple of outbreaks of severe weather during the first part of the spring in portions of the Midwest, the South and even the Northeast," Kottlowski said. "People should not let their guard down."
Even during a minor severe weather event, all it takes is one tornado hitting a populated area to bring the potential for great loss of life and destruction.
Strong storm systems can exploit temperature extremes. These storms can allow building warm, moist air to surge in just long enough to trigger an outbreak of severe weather in an otherwise, predominately cool weather pattern.

There is one area where severe weather may get off to an early, typical start with the possibility of frequent severe weather events during March and April.
In portions of Texas, Oklahoma, western Arkansas and western Louisiana, Kottlowski and Pastelok both expect warmth to build quickly relative to the balance of the Central and Eastern states.
The AccuWeather long-range team has concerns for flooding over part of the Tennessee and Ohio valleys with this setup, however. Weakening thunderstorms could unload heavy rain as they move farther east and unwind in the semi-permanent cooler air.

Dramatic Pattern Change Later in Spring

Pastelok and Kottlowski expect the pattern from the Mississippi Valley to the East to change significantly during May and June and correspondingly expect a spike in severe weather incidents to progress northward and eastward.

"We expect a normal to perhaps an above-average amount of severe thunderstorms over the Central states during May and June," Kottlowski said.
Indications are that the jet stream will pull to the north during May and June and hence will allow warm, moist air to flow northward more regularly over the Midwest.
"While warmth combined with drier air may keep a lid on severe weather for a time in the East during May, the air should be thoroughly warm and moist over much of the Midwest and South Central states," Pastelok said.
Areas from the Dakotas and Minnesota to Wisconsin, Michigan, the Appalachians and Atlantic coast should experience surge of severe weather during June and July.
A significant number of severe weather events are likely to continue to occur over the balance of the Midwest and South Central states and expand to along the Rockies as spring draws to a close and summer begins.

• http://www.accuweather.com/en/weather-news/spring-severe-weather-forecast-2014/24012981