Driver killed in Scotland as gales wreak havoc on road, rail and power networks

At least one person has died, train services have been cancelled and more than 100,000 homes have been left without power as winds of over 100mph battered Scotland and the north of England.

A lorry driver was killed in Bathgate, West Lothian, when his vehicle was blown over on top of two cars. The incident occurred at the Boghead roundabout on the A706 at 8.10am. Transport Scotland subsequently issued a red warning advising motorists not to travel on Scotland's roads.

Train travel has been severely disrupted, with Network Rail closing the entire Scottish rail network. First Scotrail has cancelled all services, leaving passengers stranded on trains stopped at stations across the country.

http://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2013/dec/05/scotland-rail-network-suspended-severe-weather

Force 11 winds whip Whitehaven harbour, Cumbria - video

Strong winds around the harbour at Whitehaven, Cumbria, on Thursday send extreme waves crashing into the shore. Harbour walls were breached, with some flooding during the force 11 gail. Parts of the UK have been hit with extreme weather and have been told to brace for severe floods


http://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/video/2013/dec/05/force-11-winds-whitehaven-harbour-cumbria-video

2013 May 29-June 1 Severe Weather and Flooding Event

Severe thunderstorms developed during the afternoon and evening hours of May 29th over central Oklahoma along a dry line and frontal boundary.  A strong upper-level system was located over the northern plains, and a warm and unstable air mass was east of the front.  The severe storms that developed moved east and northeast into eastern Oklahoma and northwest Arkansas.  Many of the storms became severe, producing strong damaging winds and large hail. Much of northeast Oklahoma northwest of I-44 had1.5”- 4” of rain. The highest totals of 4”-5” occurred in the Skiatook, OK area. The widespread heavy rain resulted in mainstem river flooding along Bird Creek, the Caney River, the Verdigris River, and the Neosho River.

The severe weather continued into May 30th, as the frontal boundary stalled across the region, and conditions across the area remained very unstable.  Additional severe thunderstorms developed over central and eastern Oklahoma, as well as in northwest Arkansas, producing very strong winds and large hail.  Several tornadoes developed, affecting areas near Oilton, Mazie, Murphy, and Broken Arrow.  The tornado that moved through Broken Arrow damaged dozens of homes, several severely, and destroyed outbuildings and several businesses.  Major flooding became an issue as the thunderstorms tracked over the same areas, dropping several inches of rainfall. While rainfall on the 30th was generally 0.75”-2” across northeast Oklahoma north of Highway 412, as well as across northwest Arkansas, additional rainfall of 0.25”-over 2” occurred in southeast Oklahoma. Southern Le Flore County received 3” to over 6” of rain on the 30th into the 31st, with a majority of that rain falling in the 6-hour period from 9pm 5/30 to 3am 5/31. This rain led to extreme flash flooding, with the Emergency Manager reporting 4’-5’ of water in homes, several bridges washed out, and numerous roads and culverts with damage.

http://www.srh.noaa.gov/tsa/?n=weather-event_2013may30-31

2 dead after winds slam Midwest, Northeast; twister hits NY town

At least two people were killed after severe thunderstorms unleashed heavy rain and strong winds across parts of the Midwest and Northeast on Thursday, grounding hundreds of flights and leaving tens of thousands of people without power.

In Brooklyn, N.Y., a  61-year-old man was killed when scaffolding fell on him after lightning struck a church steeple, WNBC reported. Police say the lightning brought down bricks onto some church scaffolding, causing part of it to collapse on the man as he walked by. He was pronounced dead at Long Island College Hospital shortly after the 8 p.m. accident in Cobble Hill.

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The Associated Press reported that a second person, a woman in Pennsylvania, was killed by a falling tree.

http://usnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2012/07/26/12969763-2-dead-after-winds-slam-midwest-northeast-twister-hits-ny-town?lite

Storm victims urged to avoid contact with floodwaters as they return home

Communities affected by the most devastating tidal surge in 60 years along the coast of Britain have been warned to avoid direct contact with floodwater and beware of rats moving into homes.

Thousands of people who were evacuated from their homes will be assessing the damage after being allowed to return to their properties yesterday.

A major clean-up operation is under way after the Environment Agency said 1,400 homes were flooded, including 300 in Boston, Lincolnshire, alone.

In Suffolk, police said there was no further threat from coastal flooding but local authorities warned that people should take precautions around floodwater.

http://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2013/dec/07/floodwater-storm-warning-home

Winter storm threatens US east coast after deep-freeze in the south

A plodding storm that dumped heavy snow on the unsuspecting mid-Atlantic region left roads slippery and slushy in the Northeast for Monday's commute while travel disruptions continued rippling across the country days after the same system first began wreaking havoc in the skies.

The storm that coated parts of Texas in ice struck with unexpected force Sunday on the east coast, blanketing some spots in a foot of snow, grinding highways to a halt, causing power outages and closing schools or delaying start times. The federal government was allowing workers to arrive up to two hours later than normal Monday or take unscheduled leave as freezing rain fell.

"Getting snow and ice off the car was the hardest thing," said Brian Holmes, 63, of Alexandria, Virginia. "I couldn't find my scraper. I had to improvise with my broken snow shovel."

In Washington, cab driver Mahdi Abdi said he had been driving since around midnight and the main roads were clear. But side streets were a different story.

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/dec/09/us-winter-storm-slams-us

Midwest storms: Tornadoes claim at least 5 in Oklahoma

Below are continuing updates of the severe weather in parts of the Midwest. A round of severe weather which included tornadoes, heavy winds and baseball-sized hail has passed through the Midwest late Saturday and early Sunday. Strong thunderstorms are expected as far east as Michigan, but forecasters say the storm system is weakening and additional tornadoes are unlikely. All times are Central Standard.

9:50 a.m. (CST): The Associated Press is confirming there are five dead in the Woodward, Oklahoma area and at least 29 injured. Their report states at least 8,000 are without power in that region.

4:40 a.m. (CST): At least five fatalities have been reported in Oklahoma, including two children, reports CNN. Amy Elliott of the state Medical Examiner's Office said the deaths were in the town of Woodward. Woodward Mayor Roscoe Hill said the he storm that struck the town shortly after midnight, according to CNN.  "Everything is dark. Buildings have been tore up," he told the news outlet. The story said there were at least 88 reports of tornadoes in Oklahoma.

http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/lookout/midwest-storms-tornadoes-severe-storms-threaten-country-midsection-194415173.html

Winter Storm Dion Brings Snow, Ice

Winter Storm Dion is delivering a sloppy winter smorgasbord from the Mid-Atlantic through southeastern Pennsylvania and northern New Jersey.

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The National Weather Service said a high pressure system from North Carolina north to New England is being fed by disturbances from thesouthwest and moist air off the Atlantic. The storm has also caused treacherous travelconditions and numerous flight cancellations and has been a factor in at least one death. 

http://www.weather.com/news/weather-winter/winter-storm-dion-photos-20131208

August 7-8, 2013 Severe Storms and Flooding

A nearly ideal setup for widespread rain and thunderstorms across the Panhandles evolved on August 7 and 8.  Aloft, a series of shortwave troughs moved across the area, providing adequate large scale lift.  At the surface, a stationary front and multiple outflow boundaries also aided in low-level lifting.  With very moist air in place, the amount of lifting easily triggered multiple rounds of convection each afternoon and evening.  Many of the same areas were hit repeatedly, which led to isolated flooding in some spots.

On Wednesday, August 7, severe thunderstorms mainly targeted the Oklahoma Panhandle and the northwestern Texas Panhandle.  Many of the storms produced damaging wind gusts, including a 68 mph wind gust near Goodwell, OK.  Some of the storms initially produced very large hail, including up to baseball size north of Boise City, OK that caused damage to some vehicles.  Additionally, one supercell thunderstorm produced a brief EF-0 tornado near Turpin, OK.  As the storms moved over the same areas, very heavy rain caused flash flooding in Guymon and Beaver, OK.  

On Thursday, August 8, severe thunderstorms were more prevalent across the central and southern Texas Panhandle.  These storms produced a wind gust of 77 mph near Hereford, TX (West Texas Mesonet summary) and golf ball size hail near Fritch, TX.  Although flooding was not as severe as it was the previous night, some street flooding still occurred in Perryton and Shamrock, TX.

http://www.srh.noaa.gov/ama/?n=aug78storms

Lake-Effect Snow to Blast Great Lakes Region

As cold winds blow across the relatively warm waters of the Great Lakes, they are picking up moisture. That moisture, in turn, is being wrung out on the lee side of the lakes in the form of locally intense bands of snow.

For Wednesday and Thursday, very cold air – with temperatures near zero 5,000 feet above the ground – will be crossing the open lakes, where water temperatures are in the mid 30s to low 40s. The temperature difference between the air and water has created instability in the atmosphere, allowing moist air near the lake surface to rise, forming clouds and snow squalls.

(INTERACTIVE: Great Lakes Radar)

"Fetch" is the technical term for the distance over which wind crosses open water. When the wind blows down the long axis of one of the Great Lakes, snowfall potential is maximized on the lee side of that lake. In this case, it looks like three areas will have a favorable fetch:

http://www.weather.com/news/weather-winter/lake-effect-snow-blast-great-lakes-region-20131210

Severe floods in Russia

In August 2013, unseasonably heavy rains brought historic flooding to far eastern Russia and northeastern China. Russia’s Amur and Khabarovsk regions were the hardest-hit areas. They received upwards of 300 millimeters (12 inches) of rain in the first twelve days of August alone.

Forecasters have described the event as the largest-scale flood in Russia’s history. Floodwaters forced more than ten thousand people from their homes, inundated vast swaths of farmland, and swamped numerous roads.

In the city of Khabarovsk, the Amur River had swollen to a record height of 696 centimeters (274 inches) on August 21, according to media reports. If the river height reaches 780 centimeters (307 inches), officials in Khabarovsk will begin mass evacuations of the city, which is home to 575,000 people.

The clouds cleared on August 21, 2013, when the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA’sTerra satellite acquired the top image. The false-color image is made from shortwave-infrared, near-infrared, and red light. In this type of image, water is black or dark blue. Sediment-laden water or muddy ground is pale blue. Clouds are turquoise; plant-covered land is green; and bare earth is tan-pink.

The lower image, taken on August 21, 2008, shows conditions during drier times. The contrast reveals extensive flooding along the Amur and Ussuri rivers. Widespread floods also color many of the tributaries of the two rivers.

http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/IOTD/view.php?id=81900

Midwest Cleans up 2013's Biggest Severe Weather Outbreak; Floods Kill 17 in Sardinia

Damage surveys continue in the Midwest U.S. after a stunning and violent late-season severe weather outbreak swept through on Sunday, killing at least eight people and leaving widespread significant damage. Two violent EF-4 tornadoes and one strong EF-3 tornado hit Illinois, killing six, making Sunday Illinois' deadliest November day for tornadoes in its history. The most widespread damage from Sunday's outbreak occurred in the town of Washington (population 16,000), about 140 miles southwest of Chicago, where a violent EF-4 tornado destroyed or heavily damaged 250 - 500 homes and an apartment complex. NOAA's Storm Prediction Center logged 85 preliminary tornado reports from Sunday, along with 455 reports of high wind gusts and 32 reports of hail. Seventeen of the wind gusts were in excess of 74 mph (hurricane strength.) The grand total of 572 severe weather reports (filtered to remove duplicates) for the day were the most of any day of 2013, surpassing the 538 total reports from June 13. The 85 preliminary tornado reports is also the highest for any day of 2013, surpassing the 62 reports from January 29.

http://www.wunderground.com/blog/JeffMasters/midwest-cleans-up-2013s-biggest-severe-weather-outbreak-floods-kill-

Syrian Refugees Hit Hard By Mideast Snowstorm

Dana Sleiman of the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees says the agency is working "harder than ever" to protect more than 800,000 Syrian refugees in Lebanon from the winter weatherthat hit Wednesday.

The storm pushed temperatures below freezingand dumped snow on northern Lebanon and some areas of the Bekaa Valley, which is dotted with informal refugee settlements.

Sleiman said at least 80,000 Syrians in Lebanon will spend the winter in flimsy tents with often only a plastic sheet covering the ground. She said the Lebanese army is helping distribute emergency kits, including blankets and plastic tarps.

http://www.weather.com/news/weather-winter/syrian-refugees-snowstorm-20131211

Heat-Driven Storm Threat for Upper Midwest, Deep South

The combination of intense heat, humidityand a frontal boundary will once again drive the development of some powerful thunderstorms into tonight.

Some of the same ingredients came together to form Friday night's deadly 'Super Derecho,' and storms over the weekend as well.

Fortunately, a derecho is a relatively rare event. However, complexes of thunderstorms, a few steps lower in intensity than a derecho, are more common. Although less intense, they can cause damage and threaten lives.

While anywhere from the northern Rockies to the Southeast, on the northern and eastern edge of the so-called 'ring of fire', could experience a brief, gusty thunderstorm, severe weather appears most probable in the Upper Midwest and in part of the Deep South.

These two areas will be close to potent atmospheric disturbances that could help turn more ordinary summertime thunderstorms into complexes of intense wind and rain.

South

Cloud cover, slightly lower humidity and/or prior storms have reduced the risk of violent thunderstorms over Carolinas and mid-Atlantic this evening. However, a stray, gusty thunderstorm cannot be ruled-out tonight.

Many of these areas are not only dealing with cleanup and power restoration efforts fromFriday night's derecho, but with additional rounds of storms which rolled through on Saturday and Sunday.

http://www.accuweather.com/en/weather-news/heatdriven-storm-threat-persis/67439

Extreme heat bakes Midwest, parts of East Coast

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Highways buckled across the country, the waters of Lake Michigan were unusually warm for this time of year, and even a minor train derailment outside Washington was blamed on heat as the hot weather gripping much of the country only worsened Saturday.

Temperatures of more than 100 degrees were forecast in Philadelphia and excessive heat warnings were issued for several states in the Midwest as the days of smothering heat piled on, accompanied by severe storms that have knocked out power in spots from Michigan to the East Coast. Most notable was last weekend's sudden and severe storm that drenched the mid-Atlantic region, where thousands remained without electricity a week later. At least 24 deaths have been blamed on the heat and several others on the weather or a combination of the two. Hundreds of thousands remained without power Saturday, mostly in West Virginia, Ohio, and Michigan.

One man figured out a way to beat the heat: stay in the car.

That was the plan for 60-year-old Roger Sinclair of Batavia, Ill., who was headed home Saturday from Detroit, where he'd spent a few days visiting an old friend and catching Friday night's Tigers game.

While he enjoyed the game, a 4-2 Tigers win, the conditions were less than ideal.

"It was 97 at the first pitch and still in the 80s at the time of the last out," he said. "It was tough. There was no breeze."

http://news.yahoo.com/extreme-heat-bakes-midwest-parts-east-coast-132259028.html

Severe weather today in the Midwest, heat the big story later

Heat will soar into the northeast and eastern US the next couple of days as a trough departs and a heat ridge temporarily expands into the lower Mississippi River Valley. This will result in high temperatures in the low to mid 90s today and tomorrow for Boston all the way down into the southeast US. The hottest day will be Tuesday when readings could reach 100 in the Raleigh area and in the 95-98 range from Boston to DC.

Meanwhile a front will push through the northern Plains and Midwest bringing cooler temperatures with highs in the 70s in Minneapolis Tuesday through Thursday and a day of 70s for Chicago on Wednesday. This front will reach the eastern US Tuesday night through Wednesday night bringing cooler temperatures in for late week and the weekend. It will stay hot in Texas with Dallas in the 101-102 range through most of the week. It will also stay cool out west as the Pacific Northwest big cities will stay in the low 70s all well. Las Vegas has also only had a few brief bouts with typical summer heat and they will likely stay around 100 or lower through this week.

There is a moderate risk of severe weather today across areas of the Midwest including Chicago, Indianapolis and Cincinnati. In fact just an hour ago O’hare Airport in Chicago reported a wind gust of 63 mph and gusts up to 75 mph have been reported across parts of northern Illinois.

Day 6-10 Discussion

http://www.examiner.com/article/severe-weather-today-the-midwest-heat-the-big-story-later

Winter 2013-2014: Sea Ice Loss Locks Jet Stream into Severe Winter Storm Pattern For Most of US

It happened to Europe last year. A persistent erosion of Arctic sea ice set off changes to the polar jet stream that locked in place a severe winter weather pattern that pummeled the central and western European countries for much of the winter. Storm after storm piled snow high in locations that typically saw only modest winter precipitation while other areas were simply buried. The US also took a glancing blow from this extreme storm configuration. But now, with a large trough in the polar Jet remaining locked in place for almost a year, the US from the Rockies eastward appears to be in the line of fire for some very severe winter weather.

In other regions from Alaska to Eastern Europe, record or near record warmth and dryness have settled in with a large swath of eastern Europe showing average temperatures more than 6 degrees Celsius above the seasonal average. Over the extreme northern Pacific, adjacent to Alaska and the Bering Sea, seasonal temperature range from 4-12 degrees Celsius above average. And it is this extreme northward invasion of warm air that is displacing polar and Arctic air masses toward the east and south, putting much of the US in the firing line for strange and severe winter weather.

Just this week, the tale was one of record ice storms throughout the central and eastern US with hundreds of flights cancelled, deadly traffic pile-ups, and holiday shopping disrupted. On the east coast, from Virginia to Maine, workers and shoppers alike were treated to three days straight of snow turning to sleet and freezing rain and then turning back again to snow. With storms like these hitting in early December and with the pattern in the Jet Stream taking on such an extreme configuration, it appears possible that the winter of 2013-2014 could be a very, very stormy one indeed.

http://robertscribbler.wordpress.com/2013/12/10/winter-2013-2014-sea-ice-loss-locks-jet-stream-into-severe-winter-storm-pattern-for-most-of-us/

Thousands flee as Cyclone Phailin approaches India’s east coast

Cyclone Phailin is now officially the strongest storm ever measured in the Indian Ocean. It is striking India’s east coast today. Media reports indicate that tens of thousands are fleeing the coast, but that roads are flooding and conditions are extremely hazardous. With sustained winds of 160 mph (260 kph) yesterday, Phailin’s wind speed has tied with the the Odisha cyclone (formerly Orissa) in 1999, which killed more than 10,000 people and caused $4.5 billion in damage.

By the way, what we in the U.S. call hurricanes are called cyclones in India. At least one Indian meteorologist yesterday commented that Phailin has the potential to be “worse than Katrina,” which was the hurricane that devastated New Orleans in 2005. Phailin is already half the size of India, or twice as wide as Superstorm Sandy, which struck the U.S. east coast in 2012.

The International Business Times is reporting that an estimated 260,000 people have already evacuated along the coastline of India, where Cyclone Phailin, aka Tropical Cyclone 02B, will make landfall today.

http://earthsky.org/earth/super-cyclonic-storm-phailin-extremely-dangerous-for-india

Super storm past Palau, will hit the Philippines

Supertyphoon Haiyan continues to tear west-northwest across the Pacific Ocean after bringing roaring winds and rain across parts of Palau yesterday.

It's heading directly for central Philippines, which has renamed the storm Typhoon Yolanda.

Derek Williams, a forecaster with the National Weather Service, yesterday said conditions were improving in Palau, but attention was moving toward the Philippines as the typhoon's next target.

Williams said the storm was expected to hit the Philippine province of Leyte by about 11 a.m. local time today.

"It's gonna barrel through the Philippines," Williams said.

He added that while the storm was expected to decrease in intensity, it's still expected to be a supertyphoon by the time it hits the Philippines.

Yesterday, the storm had maximum sustained winds of about 175 mph, with wind gusts up to 205 mph.

Williams said the eye of the storm passed right over Kayangel in Palau, which bore the brunt of the storm's impact.

Jeff Kenty, a staff member at the Palau Consulate here on Guam said the staff there is "still kind of in the dark" as to the extent of the damage the typhoon left.

Kenty said his office has spoken with government officials in Palau, but they are still assessing any potential damage.

"As of yet, we haven't heard anything," he said.

http://www.guampdn.com/article/20131108/NEWS01/311080008/Super-storm-past-Palau-will-hit-Philippines

Thanksgiving's Seven Most Memorable Storms

While much of the United States will be calm for Thanksgiving Day, there are some trouble spots, including lake-effect snow downwind of the Great Lakes. Mother Nature was not so kind for some Thanksgiving holidays in our country's history.

Below is a list of a few of the nation's most memorable Thanksgiving weather events in chronological order:

1. The Snow Bowl

Two days after Thanksgiving on Nov. 25, 1950, the Ohio State Buckeyes hosted the Michigan Wolverines in Columbus, Ohio, for a collegiate football game that would go down in history.

Now referred to by some as the "Blizzard Bowl," the game is famous for its blizzardlike conditions, as temperatures dropped 10 degrees during the game, accompanied by blowing snow and wind.

http://www.accuweather.com/en/weather-news/thanksgivings-most-memorable-weather-events/20194510