Roosevelt Severe & Unusual Weather: Gladys Rodriguez

Showing posts with label Gladys Rodriguez. Show all posts

Monday, December 8, 2014

More stormy weather hits Australia

10,000 homes in the west of Sydney were left without power as a severe thunderstorm caused chaos [AFP]

It may be the start of summer, but for parts of eastern Australia weather conditions are anything but summery. On Sunday, more than 10,000 homes in the west of Sydney were left without power as a severe thunderstorm caused chaos. It was the eighth consecutive day of thunderstorms across New South Wales. Now the brunt of the storm activity has transferred northwards to Brisbane. Less than two weeks after being battered by a supercell storm, the city has again experienced damaging weather.

Although not as serious as the November 27th outbreak, northern Brisbane and central Queensland have been hit by a very large thunderstorm. The country’s Bureau of Meteorology reports that 80mm of rain was recorded at North Burnett. A separate storm caused problems south of the city, and extended into northern New South Wales. 105mm of rain fell in just one hour at Carbrook, south of Brisbane. Damage to property was reported and trees were blown down. More than 10,000 homes and businesses were left without power – almost half of those were along the Sunshine Coast. Parts of central Australia have also experienced unusual weather conditions. A low pressure system, the like of which is usually only seen across the Top End of the Northern Territory has brought thunderstorms to Tennant Creek, Alice Springs and Yulara in recent days.

An active weather front, some 300 to 400km in length, developed to the west of Alice before heading across the town. The first six days of December have yielded as much rain as would typically have been seen during the entire month of December. Although central Australia will see drier weather in the coming days, southeast Australia will experience further unsettled weather with the risk of thunderstorms for several days.

http://www.aljazeera.com/weather/2014/12/more-stormy-weather-hits-australia-20141289819523805.html

Wet Snow for the Northeast; It Could be Heavy in Places

A big storm will bring heavy snow, heavy rain, high winds and thunderstorms.

The development of an intense storm along the coast means heavy rains and gales along the coast and heavy wet snow interior locations. I think the higher elevations of the Northeast from northeastern Pennsylvania on north will see over a foot of snow. Snow mixed with rain at times for valley areas will keep amounts down. Flooding may occur along the coast and parts of southeastern New England may even have some heavy thunderstorms with strong winds.

http://www.accuweather.com/en/weather-blogs/meteomadness/wet-snow-for-the-northeast-could-be-heavy-in-places/38666157

Monday, December 1, 2014

Stormy weather breaks the heat in Australia

Storms have developed across southeastern Australia with hail and thunder. [Getty Images]

Hot winds from Australia’s interior sent temperatures soaring into the mid-40s during the weekend. This inevitably raised the threat of bushfires in the eastern side of the country, but it has now become cooler with storms developing across New South Wales.

During the weekend, firefighters were kept busy dealing with more than 50 wild fires across New South Wales, including two large grass fires which were out of control for some time.
A Rural Fire Service spokesman explained that grass fires can be just as dangerous as bushfires because they can move three times as quickly. There was a total fire ban in parts of the state up until Monday as temperatures soared as high as 45 Celsius over the central west slopes and plains. On Monday, thunderstorms developed across Victoria bringing the threat of severe weather across the state as moist onshore winds feed across the eastern side of the state. These storms are now moving north into New South Wales.

By mid-afternoon, Penrith which is located around 50km to the west of the Sydney central business district received 16mm of rain. Further showers are likely here for much of this week. It is expected to turn drier on Friday, but ahead of that there will be welcome rain and temperatures will be well down on those seen last weekend. Sydney can expect highs around the low to mid 20s over the next few days.

http://www.aljazeera.com/weather/2014/11/stormy-weather-breaks-heat-australia-2014112410353470783.html

UN declares emergency in Gaza over floods

The United Nations has declared a state of emergency in the Gaza Strip after two days of heavy rains and flooding in the war-battered enclave. The UN Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) declared the state of emergency in Gaza City on Thursday, after torrential rain overwhelmed some areas and caused flooding.

"Hundreds of residents in the flooded areas around Sheikh Radwan storm water lagoon have evacuated their homes," the UN agency for Palestinian refugees said, referring to a northern district.

UNRWA said it closed 63 schools and was supplying "emergency fuel to municipalities, water, sanitation and health facilities".

Robert Turner, UNRWA director of operations in Gaza, said the agency was "very concerned about such severe storms this early in the season and on the back of unprecedented damage and destruction" from the war. "Such devastation exacerbates the already poor humanitarian situation for refugees and non-refugees in Gaza, which is dealing with the aftermath of a recent conflict and an acute fuel and energy crisis".

An estimated 100,000 Palestinians remain homeless in Gaza three months after Israel ended its offensive on the Gaza strip.

Gaza's 1.8 million residents have endured daily electricity blackouts, with major pieces of infrastructure, from roads to sewage treatment plants, still seriously damaged.

http://www.aljazeera.com/news/middleeast/2014/11/un-declares-emergency-gaza-over-floods-2014112801026355872.html

Saturday, November 22, 2014

Monster blizzard kills 10 in New York state

At least 10 people are confirmed dead in the monster blizzard that has struck western New York state and the city of Buffalo in particular.

Cars disappeared in snowdrifts two metres deep in places. Skies are not expected to clear until Friday, and more snow is forecast until then. With people saying the storm is the worst in living memory, the authorities are pulling out all the stops.

“This is I believe the largest deployment of its kind ever. Literally thousands of people from across the state coming into help and hundreds of pieces of equipment coming from as far away as Long Island,” said state Governor Andrew Cuomo.

Schools are closed and sports games cancelled, and driving bans are in force on many roads. Such is the weight of snow there are fears for some structures. The thaw could bring problems of its own, as experts say there is a risk of flooding.

http://www.euronews.com/2014/11/21/monster-blizzard-kills-10-in-new-york-state/

2014 Poised to be the warmest year on record

US meteorologists say the world in October continued to set heat records. They say despite a bitter US cold snap, the globe is rushing toward its warmest year on record. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration announced Thursday that last month was the hottest October on record. The 58.43F (14.74C) beat out October 2003.

Five of the last six months have set monthly global heat records. July is the only exception. Nasa and Japan’s weather agency also called it the hottest October on record. NOAA says with only two months left in the year, 2014 has now surged ahead as the warmest year so far, beating 2010 and 1998. So far this year the world is averaging 58.62F (14.78C).

Meteorologists at the NOAA say October was the hottest on record with an average temperature of 58.43F worldwide

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/nov/20/2014-warmest-year-cold-weather-us

Monday, November 17, 2014

Tornado strikes Florida state prison and injures two people

An apparent tornado touched down early Monday at a state prison near Blountstown in Florida’s panhandle, slightly injuring two people and damaging a number of vehicles. The Calhoun county sheriff, Glenn Kimbrel, says the workers were just arriving for their shifts early Monday at the Calhoun correctional institution and hadn’t even gotten out of their vehicles when the storm struck around 4am CST.

Kimbrel says there was “major damage” to between 25 and 30 vehicles in the parking lot and some of the fencing around the prison’s perimeter was knocked down. He said no one escaped from the facility, which has a maximum capacity of 1,354 inmates. The sheriff says a number of sheriff’s deputies and correctional officers were stationed outside the prison after the storm and the Florida highway patrol was also assisting.

http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2014/nov/17/tornado-touches-down-florida-prison

Thursday, November 13, 2014

Italy Swamped by Flash Floods

At least three people are presumed dead in flooding and landslides in northern Italy. Two elderly people are thought to be buried after their home was crushed in a mudslide. Another woman trapped in her home has died of a heart attack. The Mayor of Leivi, Vittorio Centanaro, told reporters: “The situation is really bad; it’s a tragedy. It’s a tragedy for the whole area. Every year we have to face this kind of situation.”The regions affected by the torrential rain and flooding include Tuscany, Lombardy, Liguria and Emilia-Romagna. Some towns are reported to have had more than 20 centimetres of rain in just 12 hours. Heavy rains left the Tuscan city of Carrara submerged on Wednesday, but the situation has improved. Authorities report that two-thirds of the flood water have subsided. Venice was hit by high waters, and people could be seen wading through St Mark’s square. he region’s agricultural association (CIA) said that the deluge had destroyed many orchards and vineyards while livestock such as lambs were drowned. They complained that poor land management had contributed to the disaster. The sector has already been hit hard by the Russian embargo on EU foodstuffs and low prices. Bad weather has already cost farmers around one billion euros this year. Up to 110 mm of rain is forecast for the capital, triggering school closures. Red alerts were also issued for regions stretching from Veneto to Umbria as well as Lazio and Sicily.

http://www.euronews.com/2014/11/06/italy-swamped-by-flash-floods-/

http://www.euronews.com/2014/11/11/at-least-three-people-presumed-dead-in-italian-flooding/

Tuesday, November 11, 2014

Bright spark: Catatumbo claims record

Around the world there are approximately 40 to 50 lightning discharges per second [EPA]

There is a saying that the only things that are certain in life are death and taxes. For those people living in a little village called Catatumbo in Venezuela, they can add lightning to that list – for Catatumbo has been declared the ‘lightning capital’ of the world. Thunderstorms, which produce lightning, can occur almost anywhere. Around the world there are approximately 40 to 50 lightning discharges per second, or nearly 1.5 million each year. Until recently it was thought that the (some would say unenviable) record for the most lightning activity, was Kifuka in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). Kifuka is a small village in the central-eastern mountains of the DRC, five degrees north of the equator, lying at an elevation of 970m. The combination of warm, moist air forced to rise above the mountains, is enough to see an average of 158 lightning discharges per square km each year.
The village of Catatumbo in northern Venezuela, lies on the shore of Lake Maracaibo. It is said to experience as many as 250 discharges per square km each year. That translates into 28 visible flashes in the area every minute. Several factors combine to make Catatumbo so prone to lightning. Lake Maracaibo is a natural amphitheatre, surrounded by mountains. It tends to trap the warm, moist trade winds blowing in off the Caribbean Sea. This warm, moisture-laden air is overlain by cool, dry air which spills in off the Andes to the west. A big decrease in temperature through the atmosphere is one of the main requisites of the cumulonimbus clouds which eventually produce lightning.

When the difference between positive and negative charges within the cloud becomes too great, a discharge takes place from the cloud to the ground, within the cloud, or from the cloud into the surrounding atmosphere.
Catatumbo’s crowning is the result of campaigning by local environmentalist Eric Quiroga who has spent more than 20 years studying the phenomenon.

http://www.aljazeera.com/weather/2014/11/bright-spark-catatumbo-claims-record-201411108362961683.html

Ukraine's pro-Russia vote Pro-Russia leaders' election in Ukraine's east shows bloody conflict is far from a peaceful resolution.
Australia Ebola Critics challenge Canberra's move to refuse visas for West Africans in Ebola-besieged countries.
Latinos concerned at midterm A key issue for Hispanics is the estimated 11.3 million immigrants in the US without papers who face deportation.
Japan's Muslims In 1970, only two mosques existed in the country, but now more than 200 offer sanctuary to Japan's Muslims.
Cambodia journalism Hundreds of the country's reporters eke out a living by finding news - then burying it for a price.

Storm expected to cause unseasonably freezing temperatures across the US

The remnants of Typhoon Nuri are seen in an NOAA satellite image on November 7, 2014. The storm is dissipating but is expected to send temperatures in the lower 48 states plummeting this week. Photograph: NOAA/Reuters

Associated Press

Comments

36A massive storm expected to help push Arctic air toward the lower 48 states was moving slowly eastward after blasting parts of Alaska’s Aleutian chain with hurricane-force windThe tempest fueled by the remnants of Typhoon Nuri was forecast to play a role in generating a high-pressure system that will allow frigid air to blanket the central plains, starting with eastern Montana and the Dakotas on Sunday. The frigid temperatures are expected to spill south into the central plains on MonThe system was centered 220 miles northwest of Adak in the Aleutian chain, David Kochevar, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service, said early Sunday.

Monday, November 3, 2014

Severe Storms Lash Buenos Aires

Violent storms lashed central Argentina producing floods, power cuts and traffic chaos. [EPA]

Torrential rain and violent winds smashed through Buenos Aires and the surrounding region on Wednesday causing widespread disruption. There was some damage to buildings, trees were uprooted and streets flooded in knee-deep water.

Cabinet chief, Jorge Capitanich confirmed that 5,000 policemen were deployed to the 17 damaged areas to deliver provisions and aid those worst affected. In the city of Bragado, 200km from Buenos Aires, tiles were ripped off roofs and power lines were toppled leaving residents without running water and electricity. There was also a report of at least one tornado. Buenos Aires had 139mm of rain on Thursday. The October average is only 86mm so it comes as no great surprise that severe flooding occurred and at one stage the Luján River was rising at around 20cm per hour.

According to the Civil Defense director of Buenos Aires, Daniel Russo, more than 100 trees were brought down across the city. The heaviest rain is now clearing the River Plate, but heavy downpours are still likely to affect Uruguay and southern Brazil this over the next few days.

http://www.aljazeera.com/weather/2014/10/severe-storms-lash-buenos-aires-20141030125342530783.html

Snowstorm Allows Southeast Ski Resorts to Boast Early Opening Day

"We're making lots of snow, lots of it," Sugar Mountain Ski Resort in North Carolina boasted on Sunday, after a storm delivered 8-10 inches of natural snow to the slopes over the weekend.

The bounty of the early snowstorm, paired with ideal temperatures for snowmaking, afforded the resort a head-start into the 2014-2015 winter season, beating the opening days of many competitors farther north.Sugar Mountain officially opened on Nov. 2, the second earliest opening on record, just behind the Oct. 31 record set two years ago. "It's exciting to get the winter season started early," Owner and President Gunther Jochl said. The storm delivered more than a foot of snow to parts of the southern Appalachians, setting a new date for the earliest snowfall in recorded history for Columbia, South Carolina.

"This was unusual because it occurred right at the start of November," AccuWeather.com Lead Long-Range Forecaster Paul Pastelok said. "To get a storm this early that far south is pretty impressive. It's more typical of late November into early December," he said.Sugar Mountain was one of two resorts in the state to take the risk of opening early, despite temperatures forecast to waffle back and forth through the middle of November. Highs could again rise into the 60s at times.

Farther north, two New England resorts also committed to opening this week after double-digit snow totals broke new early-season records in some areas. Sunday River Resort opened a single expert-level trail on Monday, with plans to then close again through Friday in order to make snow for the weekend.Killington Resort in Vermont also opened to season pass holders Monday, with the general public opening on Tuesday. "This is no surprise and we typically see northern New England skiing any time around Halloween," Andrew Davis, media partnerships director for Snocountry Ski Areas Association said. "There is some friendly competition to open first and begin to offer the most open terrain. But a resort will let the weather dictate if they are going to commit the resources to making snow...," he said.

http://www.accuweather.com/en/weather-news/southeast-early-opening-day-ski/36790016

Friday, October 24, 2014

Greece Flooding, Caused By Slow-Moving Remnants of Hurricane Gonzalo, Covers Athens Streets

The storm that just won't quit is hammering Greece, and it won't be going anywhere for at least a couple of days. Heavy rain dumped on Greece Friday, flooding some roadways and creating travel problems in Athens, according to local reports. Word of significant flash flooding began in the Greek capital Friday afternoon. The Greek Reporter says that at least 12 cars were trapped inside a flooded supermarket parking lot after the heavy storms hit. Initial reports state that dozens of households were flooded, and that anywhere from 20-30 cars were swept into a pileup Friday. Shopkeepers say damages from the flood may exceed 100,00 euros or $126,651.

Meteorologists say the rainfall can be tied to the remnants of Hurricane Gonzalo.

"This cutoff low, so-called because it has become detached from the steering influence of the jet stream, contains some of the energy from what was once Hurricane Gonzalo," said weather.com senior meteorologist Jonathan Erdman. "While not necessarily indicative of a continuing, large-scale heavy rain threat, this stubborn upper-level low is forecast to remain swirling over the Aegean Sea and eastern Mediterranean Sea into much of next week."

The tropical system previously known as Gonzalo has tracked across thousands of miles, hitting the Caribbean before making landfall on Bermuda last Friday. Then, it traveled across the Atlantic and hit the United Kingdom, Belgium, the Netherlands and Scandinavia with bouts of rain and high winds. Now, it has sunk southeast and is expected to linger over the Balkan peninsula for several days. The system also dumped feet of snow in the Swiss and Austrian Alps.

http://www.wunderground.com/news/greece-flooding-latest-news-20141024

One of Sao Paulo’s Biggest Reservoirs Is Nearly Dry

Drought is taking its toll on the water system that quenches the thirst of Brazil’s largest city, Sao Paulo, to such a degree that it is visible to orbiting satellites. Sao Paulo is facing water rationing as the worst drought to hit the region in decades reduces reservoirs to muddy waters surrounded by cracked earth. The Cantareira Reservoir System provides about half of the overall water to the city’s 20 million residents. But a series of months with below average rainfall have seen water levels plummet. NASA Landsat 8 images published by theNASA Earth Observatory show the precipitous decline of the Jaguari Reservoir, one of a handful that make up the system, from mid-August last year to early August this year.

Since the images were acquired, the water levels have only dropped further. As of Thursday, Sabesp, Sao Paulo’s water utility, reported that the Cantareira system was operating at only 3 percent of its capacity. That’s essentially considered “dead water,” which Sabesp has only been able to tap after building an extra 2 miles of pipeline to the reservoir’s center.

During the height of last year’s rainy season, which is December-February, the region around Sao Paulo saw deficits in excess of 15 inches according to data from the International Research Institute for Climate and Society (IRI). For this month, the watershed that the system covers has received only 18 percent of its normal monthly rainfall, a worrisome total on the cusp of the rainy season. But there’s a slight glimmer of hope for the peak of rainy season. IRI’s seasonal forecast for December-February shows the odds tipped slightly in favor of wetter conditions in parts of the region, which would help refill reservoirs and ease water restrictions.

In the long-term, climate change could further exacerbate Sao Paulo’s problems. A report released by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change in late 2013 showed that if greenhouse gas emissions continue to rise, September-November are likely to become drier in the region. Some models indicate the rainy season could actually get slightly wetter by century’s end but there’s still a high degree of uncertainty associated with those projections.

http://www.climatecentral.org/news/one-of-sao-paolos-biggest-reservoirs-is-nearly-dry-18225

Monday, October 20, 2014

Flooding Grips Nicaragua

October is one of the wettest months of the year in Nicaragua, so plenty more rain is expected [Reuters]

Torrential rain has poured across Nicaragua over the past few days, triggering widespread flooding and landslides. 24 people have now been killed by the storms and more than 33,000 more have been made homeless. Nine of those who died were in the capital, Managua, on Thursday night when torrential rain caused a wall to collapse, crushing five homes.

Many of those homeless people are now crammed into emergency shelters throughout the country. A number of rivers have overflowed their banks, including the Coco and Prinzapolka, in the east of the country. This has cut off thousands of people, mostly Miskito indigenous people, and the government has provided thousands of food kits to the region. The east coast of the country is one of the wettest parts of Central America.

Between 2,500 and 3,750 mm of rain are expected here every year, which is far higher than many places including London, which expects 558mm, and is even more than Mumbai which receives an average of 2430mm. The rainy season in Nicaragua runs from May to November, and October is one of the wettest months of the year, so plenty more rain is expected in the coming weeks. With the ground already saturated, this raises the risk of more landslides, and there is also a concern that the flood water will lead to an increase in mosquito-borne diseases.

http://www.aljazeera.com/weather/2014/10/flooding-grips-nicaragua-201410209410169478.html

Not Just California: Droughts Extend Across Americas

A dry spell has killed cattle and wiped out crops in Central America, parts of Colombia have seen rioting over scarce water, and southern Brazil is facing its worst dry spell in 50 years.

In the U.S., the few who have taken notice of this wider water scarcity include a former director of the U.S. Geological Survey. Now editor-in-chief of the journal Science, Marcia McNutt last month penned an editorial highlighting what she called “a drought of crisis proportions” across the Americas.

Worst hit has been Central America, where drought has created food shortages for 2.5 million people, most of them “subsistence farmers and families in highly food-insecure areas,” says Miguel Barreto, regional program manager for the U.N.’s World Food Program.

Drought reaches farther south as well:

Panama: The head of the Panama Canal warned that the biggest ships might not be let through in early 2015 if rainfall doesn’t restore water levels at the lakes that feed the canal’s locks.
Colombia: Some northern areas where rain hasn’t fallen in two years have seen riots over water.
Venezuela: Water rationing became mandatory in some areas.
Bolivia: Thousands of forest fires were attributed to the worst drought in 30 years.
Brazil: A third of southern Brazil’s 21 million people face water shortages. Parts of Sao Paulo, Brazil’s biggest city, have been rationing water since February.

http://www.nbcnews.com/science/environment/not-just-california-droughts-extend-across-americas-n220376