Winter Weather
Weekend Snowstorm Socks Minnesota (PHOTOS)
Published: Dec 10, 2012, 9:08 AM EST
weather.com
Winona, Minn.
Associated Press
Showing posts with label David H.. Show all posts
Showing posts with label David H.. Show all posts
Monday, December 10, 2012
Area under severe weather threat
Escambia County is under a threat of severe weather today as a cold front approaches from the northwest.“A line of rain and thunderstorms is being pushed ahead of the front,” Escambia County Emergency Management Director David Adams said. “Some of these thunderstorms may be severe. There is a potential of isolated tornadoes in this line of storms. Individual thunderstorms will track to the northeast within this line of storms.”
The National Weather Service is issuing Severe Thunderstorm and Tornado Warnings to the west.
“Expect these warnings to be issued for our area as the day progresses,” Adams said. “The front and associated storms will continue to move to the southwest across our area through today and into this evening.”
Severe Weather Update…Tornado Warning Coosa and Elmore County Until 5:15am… Monday Update 4:40am
Here’s a quick update. Here’s the 1st tornado warning for the day… Tornado Warning for Coosa, Elmore [AL] till 5:15 AM CDT …* AT 435 AM CDT…THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE INDICATED A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM CAPABLE OF PRODUCING A TORNADO. THIS DANGEROUS STORM WAS LOCATED NEAR TITUS…OR 11 MILES WEST OF EQUALITY…AND MOVING NORTHEAST AT 30 MPH.
When can we expect this mess to end? The back edge of the severe weather risk should reach the west Alabama state line around 7am, then I-65 around 10am this morning. After these times, areas west of that line will no longer deal with a threat of these strong to severe storms. With the threat this morning, look for the risk of an isolated tornado or two. These should be short lived, and small.
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Preparing for severe winter weather
With stockpiles of salt, an online information centre and modern
gritting vehicles – Cheshire East Council says it is fully equipped to
cope with the current wintry conditions.
As part of the Cheshire East Council's 'Spread the Warmth' campaign, the authority is reminding residents of its preparations and current actions as the winter weather takes hold.
Councillor Rod Menlove, Cabinet member with responsibility for environmental services, said: "Winter weather can be a worrying time for many people, especially those who need to travel. We aim to be as informative as possible in the event of severe weather conditions.
"I want to reassure residents that we are well equipped to deal with snow and ice in the weeks and months ahead."
Duty officers receive detailed weather reports, around the clock, during the winter months. These officers then decide if gritting vehicles or snow-ploughs are required.
Gritting vehicles can be tracked live as they salt local routes at Cheshire East Council's online Highways Information Centre.
Councillor Menlove continued: "The monitoring of weather conditions here in Cheshire East never stops during the winter months. Gritting vehicles or snow-ploughs can be dispatched in minutes in the event of conditions deteriorating quickly.
"Freezing temperatures usually result in gritting taking place twice a day – once in the early hours of the morning and again in the evening – but this can be increased or decreased according the conditions that day. Crews have been sent out regularly over the past few weeks to salt the roads, particularly on higher ground.
"We cannot guarantee that the route will be completely ice or snow-free – what we can do is ensure that every effort is made to keep salt stocks high, monitor weather conditions and take the appropriate action."
Sean Reynolds, the chair of the local Adult Safeguarding Board, said: "Frozen roads, as well as the extra hours of darkness, bring obvious additional risks such as falls and involvement in road traffic accidents.
"For older people, a relatively gentle fall can result in a serious fracture. For Cheshire East's most vulnerable citizens, winter can also mean increased loneliness and isolation.
"With this in mind, I would urge those feeling vulnerable to ask a friend, family member or neighbour to help them out with simple but important daily routines such as their food shopping or getting rubbish out to their bins."
Cheshire East Council and Age UK Cheshire, in association with their partners and the Local Adult Safeguarding Board, are offering a range of advice and support to residents on how to keep warm, well and safe this winter. Residents can find advice on a wide range of topics from heating, eating and winter safety to school closures and public transport online at www.cheshireeast.gov.uk/winter.
As part of the Cheshire East Council's 'Spread the Warmth' campaign, the authority is reminding residents of its preparations and current actions as the winter weather takes hold.
Councillor Rod Menlove, Cabinet member with responsibility for environmental services, said: "Winter weather can be a worrying time for many people, especially those who need to travel. We aim to be as informative as possible in the event of severe weather conditions.
"I want to reassure residents that we are well equipped to deal with snow and ice in the weeks and months ahead."
Duty officers receive detailed weather reports, around the clock, during the winter months. These officers then decide if gritting vehicles or snow-ploughs are required.
Gritting vehicles can be tracked live as they salt local routes at Cheshire East Council's online Highways Information Centre.
Councillor Menlove continued: "The monitoring of weather conditions here in Cheshire East never stops during the winter months. Gritting vehicles or snow-ploughs can be dispatched in minutes in the event of conditions deteriorating quickly.
"Freezing temperatures usually result in gritting taking place twice a day – once in the early hours of the morning and again in the evening – but this can be increased or decreased according the conditions that day. Crews have been sent out regularly over the past few weeks to salt the roads, particularly on higher ground.
"We cannot guarantee that the route will be completely ice or snow-free – what we can do is ensure that every effort is made to keep salt stocks high, monitor weather conditions and take the appropriate action."
Sean Reynolds, the chair of the local Adult Safeguarding Board, said: "Frozen roads, as well as the extra hours of darkness, bring obvious additional risks such as falls and involvement in road traffic accidents.
"For older people, a relatively gentle fall can result in a serious fracture. For Cheshire East's most vulnerable citizens, winter can also mean increased loneliness and isolation.
"With this in mind, I would urge those feeling vulnerable to ask a friend, family member or neighbour to help them out with simple but important daily routines such as their food shopping or getting rubbish out to their bins."
Cheshire East Council and Age UK Cheshire, in association with their partners and the Local Adult Safeguarding Board, are offering a range of advice and support to residents on how to keep warm, well and safe this winter. Residents can find advice on a wide range of topics from heating, eating and winter safety to school closures and public transport online at www.cheshireeast.gov.uk/winter.
A very active line of thunderstorms associated with a strong
cold front is pushing east into the New Orleans area this morning. A
tornado watch has been issued for a band of Louisiana parishes and
Mississippi counties along the thunderstorms, including St. James,
Washington, Livingston, Tangipahoa, West Baton Rouge, Ascension,
Assumptin, Iberville, East Feliciana and St. Helena parishes.
Strong line of thunderstorms, some severe, is moving into the New Orleans area Monday. morning.
There's a good chance the watch will be extended east to include much of the New Orleans area later this morning.
Tornado warnings have been popping up within this line of thunderstorms, with warnings recently expired for north central Livingston and southeastern St. Helena parishes, including Montpelier and Greensburg; and in northern Washington Parish, including Franklinton and Angie.
A severe thunderstorm warning is in place for Livingston, St. Helena and Tangipahoa parishes until
Read more http://www.nola.com/weather/index.ssf/2012/12/severe_weather_possible_in_new.html
Strong line of thunderstorms, some severe, is moving into the New Orleans area Monday. morning. Tornado warnings have been popping up within this line of thunderstorms, with warnings recently expired for north central Livingston and southeastern St. Helena parishes, including Montpelier and Greensburg; and in northern Washington Parish, including Franklinton and Angie.
A severe thunderstorm warning is in place for Livingston, St. Helena and Tangipahoa parishes until
Making the situation worse for travelers, blizzard conditions are accompanying the snowstorm invading the Upper Midwest today.
Snow will continue to spread eastward across the Upper Midwest into tonight, leaving the Dakotas in the process.
The heaviest snow, totaling 6 to 12 inches, will blanket central Minnesota and west-central Wisconsin. Minneapolis-St. Paul, Minn., and Eau Claire, Wis., lie in the heart of this zone.
Drivers are urged to use caution as the snow is creating slick and treacherous travel throughout the Upper Midwest, including on Interstates 29, 35, 75, 90 and 94.
Along the southern end of the snow zone -- south of I-90 in Minnesota and toward Madison, Wis., and Grand Rapids, Mich. -- the majority of the snow will fall on grassy surfaces with roads becoming slushy.
However, an invasion of bitterly cold air tonight will cause these slushy spots on roads and sidewalks to turn icy.
It is not just falling snow creating hazards for motorists, but also blizzard conditions as biting winds significantly whip the snow around. Visibility will become dramatically reduced as snow drifts form.
Such conditions have unfolded across eastern South Dakota and neighboring southeastern North Dakota, and will develop in a west-to-east fashion across western Minnesota as the day progresses.
Eastern Minnesota, home to the Twin Cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul, and western Wisconsin will be subject to the blowing and drifting snow tonight.
The howling winds will also continue to drive arctic air across the Rockies and Plains today, setting the stage for a second zone of snow to dive southward into New Mexico (including Albuquerque) and West Texas.
Temperatures will plunge 10 to 20 degrees below Saturday's highs from North Dakota to northern Arizona, New Mexico and the Texas panhandle today.
The blustery winds will create even colder AccuWeather.com RealFeel® temperatures.
The cold air will spread across more of the southern Plains and Midwest on Monday as the snowstorm reaches Quebec and severe weather threatens some communities in the South.
After a year of unprecedented warmth – both during the winter and summer months – the great debate over whether or not Old Man Winter will return with a vengeance is on.
Last winter was the fourth warmest for the contiguous 48 since record keeping began in 1895, with 24 states experiencing below-normal precipitation. In fact, California experienced its second driest winter ever. In only 10 states—chiefly across the nation’s midsection— was winter precipitation above normal.
The situation became critical this past spring and summer with broiling hot temperatures across much of the country and the most severe drought conditions the nation has seen in more than 50 years.
For the coming season, we’re predicting that winter will return to some – but not all – areas. We think it will be a “winter of contraries, as if Old Man Winter were cutting the country in half. The eastern half of the country will see plenty of cold and snow. The western half will experience relatively warm and dry conditions. In other words, as in the political arena, the climate this winter will render us a nation divided.
We predict that real winter weather will return to areas from the Great Lakes into the Northeast. Most eastern states – as far south as the Gulf Coast – will see snowier than normal conditions and cooler temperatures.
We are “red flagging” February 12–15 and March 20–23 for major coastal storms along the Atlantic seaboard; storms bringing strong winds and heavy precipitation.
But on the other side of the country, winter will continue its hiatus for another year. The forecast for west of the Continental Divide – the Pacific Northwest, desert Southwest, Pacific Coast – calls for mild temperatures and below-normal precipitation.
For much of the drought-stricken prairie region, an average amount of winter precipitation will bring long awaited relief.
Take a look at the map below to see what we’re predicting for your region, and don’t forget to pick up a copy of the 2013 Farmers’ Almanac for a more detailed long range forecast:
Severe thunderstorms are heating up on the central and southern Plains, producing the threats of damaging winds, large hail and tornadoes. A line of thunderstorms is stretching from the Dallas and Fort Worth area and extending to communities south and west of San Antonio, Texas. Some of storms are severe with indications of strong rotation on radar.
This is a serious storm threat, and you should take cover immediately if a severe storm or tornado-related warning is issued for your area. Keep weather radios on for severe weather and flooding alerts.
The National Weather Service Storm Prediction Center in Norman, OK, is forecasting the development of tornadoes, large hail and damaging winds over parts of the southern Plains. The areas most likely to experience this activity include extreme western Arkansas, southeastern Oklahoma and central and northeastern Texas. Severe storms are possible from south Texas northward to the eastern Dakotas and western Minnesota.
A large upper-level storm system over the Rockies will drift eastward toward the Great Plains through tonight. A very moist and unstable environment is present to the east of ongoing thunderstorms along the I-44 corridor in Oklahoma and northwest Texas. These storms are expected to intensify later this afternoon across north Texas and southeast Oklahoma where the strongest wind are capable of producing few tornadoes.
AccuWeather.com meteorologists are especially concerned about the thunderstorms erupting from Kansas City, Mo., southward will unleash damaging winds, large hail, flooding downpours and destructive tornadoes. The violent thunderstorms will shift northeastward, threatening the corridor from western Missouri to central Texas.
Flash flooding will continue to be a major concern as communities are hit with multiple downpours. Cities that could be left damaged from the powerful thunderstorms or tornadoes include Waco and Tyler, Texas, McAlester, Muskogee and Tulsa, Okla., Springfield, Mo., and Fayetteville, Ark. Thunderstorms will also intensify farther north across portions of Iowa, the eastern Dakotas and southern Minnesota. A few storms will become strong or severe farther east across the Ohio Valley and the Carolinas as well. Hail and strong winds will be the biggest threats of these storms.
Flooding rain has been pouring down with the thunderstorms hammering Oklahoma, from Oklahoma City to Tulsa. Officials have been forced to close roads as a result of flooding.
The price of severe weather: Hailstorms, tornadoes cost local counties more than $300,000,000
By Andrew Snyder, asnyder@starlocalnews.com
Hailstorms and tornadoes have cost Collin and Denton county residents a combined $347,840,000 since 1955, according to a report released by the Insurance Council of Texas (ICT) last week. The report gathered data from around the state on the number of hailstorms and tornadoes and their cost per county over a 57-year period.
“No county has escaped the wrath of Texas weather,” said Paul Yura, a warning coordination meteorologist with the National Weather Service, in a release. “To some degree every county in Texas is susceptible to hailstorms or tornadoes and it can occur during any month of the year.”
The data shows that the northern half of the state is most vulnerable to sever weather, according to Yura.
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“Oftentimes, the focus of severe weather in Texas is on hurricanes or tornadoes, but hailstorms cause the bulk of the damage to vehicles, homes and businesses in our state,” said Mark Hanna, an ICT spokesman. “The data shows that every county has experienced hailstorms and the statewide average is just under three hailstorms a year.”
Harris County, which includes Houston, was the leader in tornadoes with 215 occurrences at a estimated cost of $504,676,000. Collin County had 42 reported tornadoes ($16,406,000) during that time frame, while Denton County had 43 ($3,431,000).
Denton County had 360 hail storms do approximately $6,774,500 in damages during that same period. Collin County had 273 hail storms cause a combined $8,172,500 in damages.
Information for the report was compiled by the National Oceanic and Atmosphere Administration (NOAA). The complete list of hailstorms by county and an interactive map can be found at http://www.insurancecouncil.org/facts/hailstormbycounty.pdf. The tornado map and data tables can be found at http://www.insurancecouncil.org/facts/tornadoesbycounty.pd.
The ICT is a state trade association with approximately 500 members.
The Scottish Government called a weather crisis committee meeting after the first major storm of the autumn as some areas where hit with 2.5in of rainfall in 36 hours.
Homes and businesses were flooded in East Lothian, the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh was closed as trees were damaged across the capital and up and down the east coast, closing a number of roads.
Aberdeen suffered some of the strongest winds and rain, with the most spectacular damage appearing at Footdee, where workers battled through waist-deep foam thrown over the walled defences from the violent North Sea.
Coastguard volunteer Michael Cowlam, of Seacroft Marine Consultants Limited, which is based in the Footdee, said: "It's the first time I've ever seen anything that bad before. We've obviously had sea spray coming over the wall before, but we've never had foam. We knew we were going to get stormy weather, but we didn't think we'd get anything like this."
Elsewhere in Aberdeen a tree hit a bus, and east coast cross-border train services were cancelled at one stage. Ferries were also halted on some routes.
A CalMac ferry carrying 120 passengers from Craignure on Mull to Oban, which normally takes 45 minutes, arrived six hours later after being unable to berth in the high winds.
A CalMac spokesman said: "Due to very strong winds gusting up to 70 mph in and around Oban Bay the MV Isle of Mull was unable to berth at Oban and the conditions also prevented her returning to Craignure."
The ferry eventually berthed at 5.45pm. The firm's spokesman added: "We did everything we could to keep passengers comfortable, including providing meals and drinks, and keeping them fully informed of the situation."
There was widespread disruption on other CalMac routes including Stornoway to Ullapool and Islay and Arran.
The River Tyne burst its banks in Haddington and the Scottish Environment Protection Agency put out flood alerts for much of the Borders. Alerts were also in place for Aberdeenshire, Dumfries and Galloway and Fife.
Extensive damage caused to the assembly hall roof of Portobello High School prompted local MSP and Justice Secretary Kenny MacAskill to call for action. He said: "It is simply unacceptable for over 1300 kids to be taught in a building that is quite literally collapsing around them."
The school was closed while the site was made safe.
About 2000 households across a number of areas, including Tayside and Midlothian, were without power.
Meanwhile, an art exhibition – called the River Inside – at Peter Potter Gallery in Haddington was flooded just days before the official opening on Friday, while East Coast Trains' flagship Flying Scotsman service limped as far as Berwick before being cancelled and reversed. Passengers, who had paid a minimum £92 fare, had to endure a three-hour round trip back to Edinburgh. Veteran banker Sir Angus Grossart was among dozens of passengers arriving back into Waverley Station. He said: "It's a long way to go for a bacon roll."
Transport Minister Keith Brown said: "We have seen a wide range of agencies and organisations react quickly to weather alerts."
We've witnessed the warmest spring since record-keeping began in 1895.
Thirty-one states reached record-high temperatures.
The period between July 2011 and June 2012 was the hottest 12 months on record.
And last year 14 extreme
weather-related events caused an incalculable loss of human life and
cost the U.S. economy more than $55 billion. Understandably, many
Americans are wondering if these events are manifestations of a
longer-term shift in climate.
At present we cannot
definitively link any single extreme event to climate change. But it is
worthwhile to consider whether the apparent increase in some extreme
events has roots in a larger, longer-term trend, since that would
predict a continuation of these events in the future.
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN BIRMINGHAM HAS ISSUED A
* SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING FOR…
EAST CENTRAL DALLAS COUNTY IN SOUTH CENTRAL ALABAMA…
* UNTIL 1100 AM CST
* AT 1026 AM CST…THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE INDICATED A SEVERE
THUNDERSTORM CAPABLE OF PRODUCING DAMAGING WINDS IN EXCESS OF 60
MPH. THIS STORM WAS LOCATED NEAR OLD CAHABA PARK…OR 8 MILES
SOUTHWEST OF SELMONT-WEST SELMONT…AND MOVING NORTHEAST AT 35 MPH.
* LOCATIONS IMPACTED INCLUDE…
SELMONT-WEST SELMONT…TYLER…GARDNER ISLAND…CRAIG FIELD AIPORT
AND SELMA DRAG STRIP.
WINDS OF 60 TO 70 MPH WILL BREAK LARGE TREE LIMBS AND CAUSE SOME
DAMAGE…ESPECIALLY TO SMALLER STRUCTURES.
A TORNADO WATCH REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 300 PM CST MONDAY AFTERNOON
FOR SOUTHWESTERN ALABAMA.
hail, damaging, winds, tornado watches, and strong cell thunderstorms use the links here to monitor severe weather nationally, and internationally:
As more flooding devastates parts of Australia
Channel 4 News asks what is causing such unusual weather. Some experts
believe the extreme conditions could last into the summer.
La Niña is a natural three to six year cycle which results in a cooling phase in the eastern Pacific just off the coast of Peru.
A drop in sea temperatures of only a degree or so can cause a dramatic change in weather patterns around the world.
This year the cooling phase has caused severe rain in parts of Australia which have suffered drought conditions for several years.
The Environment Agency was forced to
issue 19 flood alerts covering East Anglia, the South East, the Midlands
and parts of the North East.
Met Office forecasters said the strong winds and heavy rain will continue today, with sunshine breaking through by tomorrow.
The latest storms follow dreadful weather conditions earlier this week which resulted in more than three inches, or 80mm, of rain falling in just 24 hours, leaving homes and roads flooded.
Firefighters are on flood alert in many parts of the country with crews in the south west - which have seen a huge surge in flooding-related call outs since the start of the week - braced for more this weekend.
Met Office forecasters said the strong winds and heavy rain will continue today, with sunshine breaking through by tomorrow.
The latest storms follow dreadful weather conditions earlier this week which resulted in more than three inches, or 80mm, of rain falling in just 24 hours, leaving homes and roads flooded.
Firefighters are on flood alert in many parts of the country with crews in the south west - which have seen a huge surge in flooding-related call outs since the start of the week - braced for more this weekend.
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| Twister Sighted in Cornwall Scotland |
A drought that settled over more than half of the continental United States in the summer of 2012 was the most widespread in more than half a century. And on the brink of winter, it showed no signs of abating.
More than 62 percent of the continental United States was experiencing moderate to exceptional drought, according to the weekly Drought Monitor report released in early December 2012, compared with just over 29 percent a year previously.
Drought Expected to Last Almost Until Spring
Save for patches of California, Montana and Wyoming, the drought was expected to persist in most of the dry regions west of the Mississippi River over the next three months, according to the Seasonal Drought Outlook, released Dec. 6 by the National Weather Service.
Sunday, December 9, 2012
The unusually wet weather across southeastern China shows no signs of waning, prolonging the threat of deadly flash flooding and mudslides through next week.
According to AccuWeather.com meteorologists, widespread moderate to heavy rainfall is likely from the provinces of Zhejiang to southern Sichuan on southward through the weekend. The heaviest rainfall will shift north of the hardest-hit areas of Fujian, Guangdong and Guangxi.
The Yangtze River basin will likely be the hardest hit this weekend with rainfall of 2-4 inches and local amounts over 5 inches.
While lighter rain in the hardest-hit areas will persist through the weekend, the respite may be short-lived, as heavier rain looks to return next week. In this photo taken Tuesday, June 15, 2010, residents are evacuated after heavy rains caused floods in Huaiji in south China's Guangdong province. China has issued a rainstorm alert for southern China, where 35 people have been killed in flash floods and landslides caused by heavy rains. (AP Photo)
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