Earth Changes and the Pole Shift
Wild Weather, the Wobble Effect
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"We warned at the start of ZetaTalk, in 1995, that unpredictable weather extremes, switching about from drought to deluge, would occur and increase on a lineal basis up until the pole shift. Where this occurred steadily, it has only recently become undeniable. ZetaTalk, and only ZetaTalk, warned of these weather changes, at that early date. Our early warnings spoke to the issue of global heating from the core outward, hardly Global Warming, a surface or atmospheric issue, but caused by consternation in the core. Affected by the approach of Planet X, which was by then starting to zoom rapidly toward the inner solar system for its periodic passage, the core was churning, melting the permafrost and glaciers and riling up volcanoes. When the passage did not occur as expected in 2003 because Planet X had stalled in the inner solar system, we explained the increasing weather irregularities in the context of the global wobble that had ensued - weather wobbles where the Earth is suddenly forced under air masses, churning them. This evolved by 2005 into a looping jet stream, loops breaking away and turning like a tornado to affect the air masses underneath. Meanwhile, on Planet Earth, droughts had become more intractable and deluges positively frightening, temperature swings bringing snow in summer in the tropics and searing heat in Artic regions, with the violence of storms increasing in number and ferocity."
From the ZetaTalk Chat Q&A for February 4, 2012:
The wobble seems to have changed, as the temperature in Europe suddenly plunged after being like an early Spring, Alaska has its coldest temps ever while the US and much of Canada is having an extremely mild winter. India went from fatal cold spell to balmy again. Has the Earth changed position vs a vs Planet X to cause this? [and from another] Bitter cold records broken in Alaska - all time coldest record nearly broken, but Murphy's Law intervenes [Jan 30] http://wattsupwiththat.com/2012/01/30/bitter-cold-records-broken-in-alaska Jim River, AK closed in on the all time record coldest temperature of -80°F set in 1971, which is not only the Alaska all-time record, but the record for the entire United States. Unfortunately, it seems the battery died in the weather station just at the critical moment. While the continental USA has a mild winter and has set a number of high temperature records in the last week and pundits ponder whether they will be blaming the dreaded "global warming" for those temperatures, Alaska and Canada have been suffering through some of the coldest temperatures on record during the last week.
There has been no change in the wobble pattern, the wobble has merely become more severe. Nancy noted a Figure 8 format when the Earth wobble first became noticeable, in early 2005, after Planet X moved into the inner solar system at the end of 2003. The Figure 8 shifted along to the east a bit on the globe between 2005 and 2009, (the last time Nancy took its measure) as Planet X came closer to the Earth, encountering the magnetic N Pole with a violent push earlier in the day. But the pattern of the Figure 8 remained essentially the same. So what changed recently that the weather patterns became noticeably different in late January, 2012?
The N Pole is pushed away when it comes over the horizon, when the noon Sun is centered over the Pacific. This regularly puts Alaska under colder air, with less sunlight, and thus the historically low temps there this January, 2012 as the wobble has gotten stronger. But by the time the Sun is positioned over India, the N Pole has swung during the Figure 8 so the globe tilts, and this tilt is visible in the weather maps from Asia. The tilt has forced the globe under the hot air closer to the Equator, warming the land along a discernable tilt demarcation line.
The next loop of the Figure 8 swings the globe so that the N Pole moves in the other direction, putting the globe again at a tilt but this time in the other direction. This tilt is discernable in weather maps of Europe, again along a diagonal line. Depending upon air pressure and temperature differences, the weather on either side of this diagonal line may be suddenly warm or suddenly cold. The tilt and diagonal line lingers to affect much of the US and Canada, but the Figure 8 changes at this point to be an up and down motion, pulling the geographic N Pole south so the US is experiencing a warmer than expected winter under a stronger Sun. Then the cycle repeats, with the magnetic N Pole of Earth pushed violently away again as the Sun is positioned over the Pacific.
From the ZetaTalk Chat Q&A for April 6, 2013:
Would the Zetas be able to let us know what is causing the early break-up of the Arctic Ice, the ice seems to have taken on a swirling pattern at the same time, would this be wobble related? [and from another] http://www.vancouversun.com/news/national/Canada+Arctic+cracks+spectacular+event/8185609/story.html The ice in Canada’s western Arctic ripped open in a massive “fracturing event” this spring that spread like a wave across 1,000 kilometres of the Beaufort Sea. Huge leads of water – some more than 500 kilometres long and as much as 70 kilometres across – opened up from Alaska to Canada’s Arctic islands as the massive ice sheet cracked as it was pushed around by strong winds and currents. It took just seven days for the fractures to progress across the entire area from west to east. [and from another] http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/IOTD/view.php?id=80752&src=iotdrss A high-pressure weather system was parked over the region, producing warmer temperatures and winds that flowed in a southwesterly direction. That fueled the Beaufort Gyre, a wind-driven ocean current that flows clockwise. The gyre was the key force pulling pieces of ice west past Point Barrow, the northern nub of Alaska that protrudes into the Beaufort Sea.
The Figure 8 formed by the N Pole during the daily Earth wobble has shifted somewhat to the East, due to Planet X positioned more to the right of the Earth during its approach. This was anticipated, and well described in ZetaTalk, the Earth crowding to the left in the cup to escape the approach of Planet X, so the angle between these two planets would change slightly. This shift of the Figure 8 to the East is due to the push against the Earth’s magnetic N Pole occurring sooner each day than prior. Thus instead of occurring when the Sun is high over the Pacific, over New Zealand, it is now occurring when the Sun is high over Alaska. All the wobble points have shifted eastward accordingly.
This has brought a lingering Winter to the western US, and a changed sloshing pattern to the Arctic waters. Instead of Pacific waters being pushed through the Bering Straits into the Arctic when the polar push occurs, the wobble is swinging the Arctic to the right, and then later to the left, creating a circular motion in the waters trapped in the Arctic. Since the Earth rotates counterclockwise, the motion also takes this path. This is yet another piece of evidence that the establishment is hard pressed to explain. They are attempting to ascribe this to high pressure and wind, all of which are not new to the Arctic, but this circular early breakup of ice in the Arctic is new.
Stanislav
New Orleans East tornado was an EF-3 -- the strongest recorded in the city
Aerial photos of homes and businesses located along Chef Menteur Highway in New Orleans following a devastating tornado on Tuesday, February 7, 2017. (Photo by Chris Granger, Nola.com | The Times-Picayune)
8 February, 2017. The National Weather Service confirmed Wednesday (Feb. 8) that the severe damage in New Orleans East Tuesday was indicative of an EF-3 tornado -- the strongest reported in the city since recordkeeping began in 1950.
Survey crews from the Weather Service graded the tornado as EF-3 on the enhanced Fujita scale, which means wind speeds reached 136 to 165 miles per hour.
That's a severe category; the strongest is an EF-5 tornado with three-second wind gusts of more than 200 miles per hour. Jefferson Parish by comparison experienced an EF-0 tornado Tuesday that caused minor roof damage and downed tree limbs, according to preliminary Weather Service data.
At least 33 injuries were reported in the New Orleans area after the tornado hit neighborhoods around Chef Menteur Highway, amid an outbreak of several tornadoes across South Louisiana. New Orleans Mayor Mitch Landrieu's office Wednesday said 300 structures were severely damaged over the 2 to 2.5 mile tornado path. Two injuries were also reported on the North Shore and nine injuries occurred in the Baton Rouge area, the Governor's Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness said.
Before Tuesday, Orleans Parish had 18 recorded instances of tornado outbreaks since 1950, according to National Weather Service data. Those outbreaks only ranged from EF-0 to EF-2, meaning Tuesday's outbreak was the most powerful tornado to hit Orleans Parish since record-keeping began. Of those past events, only one fatality was reported after an EF-2 tornado hit Gentilly in 2007.
"An EF-3 tornado in Orleans Parish is a very, very rare event, fortunately," National Weather Service meteorologist Michael Koziara said. Although meteorologists are still in the process of collecting data on the tornado, Koziara said "yesterday's tornado was longer in path length and wider in path width than the 2007 tornado."
"If it's bigger and wider across a populated area, it's going to chew up and damage and destroy more real estate," he said. See below for a map of all of the tornadoes to hit Louisiana since 1950 that were rated EF-3 through EF-5, provided by Barry Keim, Coryn Collins and the Louisiana Office of State Climatology. Source: nola.com
Feb 12, 2017
KM
https://sputniknews.com/asia/201702131050607694-australian-bushfire...
Hell Unleashed: Australia Battles Bushfires Amid Catastrophic Heatwave
The heatwave that raised air temperatures in Australia to the highest in the history of the continent’s meteorology has led to massive bushfires all across the state of New South Wales.
According to media reports, there are more than 80 out of control bushfires ravaging the state at the moment. The largest of those is some 350 km from Sydney. Firefighters are reportedly going door to door urging residents to evacuate. Thankfully, no loss of life or injury has been reported so far, but there are reports of houses, machinery and other property already lost to fire some 370 km east of Sydney.
The Bureau of Meteorology says the fires that started in the central region and are spreading northeast, producing hot, dry winds that also carry a lot of smoke.
"This will produce widespread severe to catastrophic fire conditions in central and northern districts," the bureau said.
According to NSW Rural Fire Service Commissioner Shane Fitzsimmons, the extremity of fire ratings is "simply off the old conventional scale." He said that current fire conditions are worse than the notorious Black Saturday in 2009, which claimed 173 lives and has been described as one of Australia's worst peacetime disasters.
So far, only three teenagers have called for help from first responders. Despite the heat, they had apparently departed on a walking trip to Marramarra National Park, but ran out of water too fast. They were picked up suffering from heat exposure, but nothing worse. First responders are imploring people to stay out of national parks and woods and generally stay indoors to avoid heat stroke.
As Sputnik reported previously, the residents of Australian cities are urged to switch off all electric appliances when not in use and set their air conditioning systems to the highest temperature setting to reduce energy consumption to prevent blackouts. The beaches in urban areas are reportedly closed due to massive biological contamination of littoral waters, which could cause severe health damage when combined with high water temperatures.
Feb 13, 2017
KM
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-02-14/queensland-storm-clean-up-und...
Queensland storm clean-up underway after lightning, heavy rain lashes south-east
More than 170,000 lightning strikes were recorded during Monday's storms around south-east Queensland, as the clean-up gets into full swing this morning.
After a weekend of record temperatures, the rain set in on Monday afternoon.
Temperatures dropped 14 degrees Celsius in two hours at Gatton, west of Brisbane, as the storm rolled in.
Storm chaser Thomas Hinterdorfer was at Toogoolawah, west of Brisbane, when the storm hit.
"Complete whiteout, absolute carnage," he said.
The State Emergency Service (SES) was called out to nearly 50 jobs around the south-east.
The SES dealt with a number of tree falls and damaged roofs, while 22,000 properties lost power at the height of the storm.
About half the homes affected were in Ipswich, with the city west of Brisbane being hit with strong winds and hail.
Energex spokesman Rob Preston said extra crews had been rostered to repair damaged power lines.
"A lot of our network is overhead so you're having vegetation coming down on power lines and taking lines down, touching lines together," he said.
"But of course the underground network doesn't get off scot-free, either, because you've got to consider things like localised flooding and things like that."
Feb 14, 2017
KM
http://www.euronews.com/2017/02/13/flood-alert-in-hungary
Flood alert issued in Hungary with melting ice causing mayhem
It is the flip side of a rise in temperatures, after weeks of freezing conditions.
Some homes are submerged in the east of the country, with boats and piers also damaged..
When blocks of ice came dangerously close to a power plant, icebreaker vessels were deployed.
On the frozen Tisza River, a ferry was trapped after being swept away by ice floes. Fortunately a military helicopter was at hand to rescue the night watchman on board.
Earlier this month, media reports raised the alarm about the flooding risk.
Hundreds of kilometres of waterways are affected by the flood alert. And while there are no reports of injuries yet, authorities are urging the utmost vigilance.
Feb 15, 2017
KM
http://mainichi.jp/english/articles/20170213/p2a/00m/0na/010000c
Disruptions from heavy snow continue to strike Tottori
TOTTORI -- Disruptions from heavy weekend snow continued in Tottori Prefecture and other areas along the Sea of Japan on Feb. 13, a day after a path was cleared for some 250 vehicles that had been stranded on an expressway and national route.
The Tottori Prefectural Board of Education cancelled classes at 131 public elementary, junior high and high schools.
It continued to snow on and off in many areas of western Japan along the Sea of Japan coast on Feb. 13 as a result of a wintry atmospheric pattern that has brought the coldest air of the season to the region.
As of 9 a.m. on Feb. 13, the Hyogo Prefecture town of Kami had recorded 194 centimeters of snow, followed by 134 centimeters in the Yogocho district of Nagahama, Shiga Prefecture, 124 centimeters in Ono, Fukui Prefecture, 75 centimeters in the city of Tottori and 36 centimeters in the Kyoto Prefecture city of Maizuru, according to the Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA).
The JMA forecasts that it will likely snow in areas along the Sea of Japan coast in the Hokuriku, Chugoku and Kinki regions on Feb. 14.
Fatal accidents have been reported in areas hit by heavy snow.
A 62-year-old man was found dead in a light vehicle at a residence in Miyazu, Kyoto Prefecture, at around 1:45 p.m. on Feb. 11. Police concluded that he died of carbon monoxide poisoning. Local police said snow had accumulated to a height of over 1 meter behind the car. The man was apparently taking a break in the vehicle after having cleared snow from the premises of the residence from the morning of Feb. 11. Investigators suspect that snow that had fallen from the roof blocked the muffler of the vehicle, causing exhaust fumes to flow back inside the car.
Separately, a woman in her 80s was found lying in an irrigation canal in the city of Tottori at around 11:50 a.m. on Feb. 12, bleeding from her head. She was subsequently pronounced dead.
Feb 15, 2017
KM
http://gulfbusiness.com/at-least-one-killed-10-injured-after-saudis...
At least one killed, 10 injured after Saudi’s Asir region hit by floods
The Saudi Civil Defense said it rescued over 280 people from the region
At least one person has been killed and 10 injured after severe floods hit Saudi's Asir region on Wednesday, according to local reports. The Saudi Civil Defense said the agency rescued over 280 people from the region, reported local daily Arab News.
The agency also said it received more than 900 emergency calls in the southern cities of Abha and Khamis Mushayt. Social media was filled with pictures of flooded roads, with several cars completely submerged in water.
A report by Al Arabiya claimed that at least 45 students were safely pulled out of a school bus which drowned in the floods. Many schools were closed and warning sirens were also reportedly launched in the Abha dam area.
Asir governor Prince Faisal bin Khalid has directed the Emergency and Civil Defense Committee to follow up on rescue efforts, Arab News reported. Saad bin Abdullah Al-Thabet, spokesman of the governor's office, urged people in the area to be cautious and avoid going near valleys.
According to weather reports, Saudi capital Riyadh was also hit by rain with thunderstorms on Wednesday.
Feb 16, 2017
KM
http://www.ifrc.org/en/news-and-media/news-stories/asia-pacific/mon...
Red Cross respond as Mongolian herders struggle to survive winter Dzud amidst rising livestock deaths
Mongolian herder Munkhbat Bazarragchaa dragging two recently perished sheeps to a pile of dead animals behind his Ger in northern Mongolia. Mr. Bazarragchaa has already lost ten of his animals due to starvation and cold.
Severe winter conditions in Mongolia, known as Dzud, are threatening the livelihoods of thousands of Mongolian herders in eastern and northern parts of the country. Dzud is caused by the twin impacts of drought in the summer, resulting in insufficient grass in pastures and low production of hay, and harsh conditions in the winter, including heavy snowfall and extremely low temperatures.
More than 157,000 people are affected across 17 of Mongolia’s 21 provinces. Livestock deaths have risen in recent weeks and according to the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), by 7 February over 46,000 animals had perished from starvation and cold.
Today the IFRC launched an International Emergency Appeal to support the Mongolian Red Cross who are responding to the crisis in four of the worst-affected provinces - Uvs, Zavkhan, Khuvsgul and Selenge. The IFRC appeal aims to raise 655,500 Swiss francs (Euros 614,000 Euros, USD 654,000) to target assistance at more than 11,000 people considered to be most at risk.
Herder Uranchimeg Terbish, from Khuvsgul province has already lost dozens of her animals due to starvation and cold.
"Dzud is impacting almost all the herders in this region. Winter started early and we had heavy snowfall already in November. Since January, I've lost 22 cattle and around 30 goats and sheep”, she says.
Uranchimeg Terbish is afraid she will lose even more animals if the cold weather persists in the coming months.
“Most of my livestock are already weak and exhausted. In the spring, when the animals start to give birth, they become even more vulnerable. I don’t have enough hay and fodder to feed them and keep them alive”, she explains.
Under the IFRC appeal, each family will receive an unconditional cash grant of 245,000 Mongolian Tugrik (100 Swiss francs) to be used to purchase food, clothing, fodder for their livestock, or for any other priority they see fit. The appeal will also support a range of health interventions and initiatives designed to prepare herder communities against future Dzuds.
“Livestock is the only source of food, transport and income for almost half of the Mongolian population and we have to act now to help herders survive over the coming months”, explains Madame Nordov Bolormaa, Secretary General of the Mongolian Red Cross.
This is the second successive year in a row that Mongolia is experiencing Dzud. Last year’s disaster caused the death of over one million animals.
“We are concerned that we will see a repeat of last year when many herders sold their animals while they were still alive and oversupply of livestock resulted in very low market prices”, explains Gwendolyn Pang, Head of the IFRC’s Country Cluster Support Team in Beijing.
“Families with fewer animals to sell are particularly vulnerable. Many will lose their livelihoods and will have no choice but to migrate to slum areas on the outskirts of Ulaanbaatar and other urban centres where they will face great social and economic hardship”.
Feb 17, 2017
Gerard Zwaan
Nearly a half of one months rainfall in just one hour causes chaos in Sydney after thunderstorms dumped more than two month's worth of rain on the city.
Records tumble as nearly half of a months rain was dumped on Sydney in just one hour this week
Sydney has experienced a week of extreme rainfall and flooding after thunderstorms dumped more than two month's worth of rain on the city.
In just one hour on Tuesday morning, 48mm of rain fell in Marrickville, 45mm in Canterbury, and 35mm in Sydney's CBD.
This equalled the 48mm total that fell in January, with 32mm between 10.30 and 11am today and more than 50mm has fallen since 9am, making it the wettest day in Sydney since August 4 last year. Flooding was reported in Penrith, Parramatta, Wollongong, Campbelltown and Port Kembla, Marrickville, Zetland, Woollahra and Sydney's CBD. The State Emergency Service had to rescue 13 people trapped by floodwaters, mostly in Marrickville and Zetland.
An apartment building on Ewart Street in Marrickville was in danger of collapsing after a waterhole next to it filled up with water.
Seventeen residents have been evacuated but the threat has since eased and the building will be monitored overnight.
http://www.thebigwobble.org/2017/02/nearly-half-of-one-months-rainf...
Feb 17, 2017
Stanislav
Spring is sprung! Fair weather arrives early for much of the US as Chicago temperatures break 137-year record and Washington experiences highs in the 70s
A pair of anglers navigate the channel that connects the north and south pools of the lake at Shadyside Park in Anderson, Indiana on Saturday. The weather throughout the Midwest was unseasonably warm, and it will remain so through the holiday weekend. Source: dailymail.co.uk
18 February, 2016. The calendar says we are in the middle of February, but unseasonably high temperatures in the Midwest and along the eastern seaboard on Saturday made it feel like spring.
Source: Climate Reanalyzer
Chicago recorded temperatures as high as 67 degrees on Saturday, shattering a 137-year record of 62, according to The Chicago Tribune. Temperatures were even higher throughout Illinois and neighboring Iowa, where residents saw the barometer easily surpass 70 degrees.
USA animation over the past week. Source: coolwx
In Minnesota, one of the coldest states in the country, temperatures reached as high as 57 degrees, which is 34 degrees above normal. Even the Dakotas, which saw temperatures dip to the single digs and below double-digit wind chills during the winter, are enjoying 50- and 60-degree highs. The milder temperatures are expected to last well into the President’s Day holiday weekend, according to The Weather Channel.
Temperature historical ranking 17 February, 2017. Source: Southeast Climate Perspectives Map
The pocket of warmer air stretches from just east of the Rocky Mountains all the way to the East Coast and New England.
Detroit was expecting to see temperatures in the upper 50s to lower 60s, well within range of the 40-year record set in 1976, according to WWJ-TV. <...> Source: dailymail.co.uk
Record-breaking warmth disrupts typical Chicago winter
The warm weather has been the impetus for the restart of architecture tours. Shoreline Sightseeing is beginning its architecture river boat tour Feb. 17, 2017.
17 February, 2017. The unseasonably warm weather broke a century-old record on Friday, drawing Chicago area residents and tourists outdoors — many ditching their coats — as other typical winter activities like ice skating rinks closed shop.
Friday's temperature climbed up to 67 degrees, breaking the 60-degree record for the date set in 1880, said National Weather Service meteorologist Charles Mott.
<...>
"The river is not frozen so we're taking advantage," said Amy Hartnett, Shoreline's director of sales and marketing. "We're certainly hoping for a great crowd."
<...> Source: chicagotribune.com
Baguio, Philippines - coldest in 46 years
Frost blankets portions of vegetable farms in Baguio. Sources: instagram/kiko.pangilinan; ibtimes.ph
16 February, 2017. The mercury here dropped to 7.3 degrees Celsius on Wednesday, from 8 degrees on Valentine’s Day, making it the coldest day so far this year.
It almost matched the 7.1 degrees recorded on Jan. 9, 1971, and qualified as one of the lowest temperatures yet in the city in 46 years. <...> Source: newsinfo.inquirer.net
Denver Smashes 47 Year Old Record High Reaching 75 Degrees!
16 Ferbuary, 2017. After setting a record high temperature in Denver of 67° on Wednesday, the high soared to 75 degrees on Thursday setting yet another record high – breaking the 1970 record of 70 degrees. Source: denver.cbslocal.com
Oklahoma hits 100° in the dead of winter, because climate change is real
<...>
15 Feburary, 2017. Oklahoma just endured a spell of exceptionally hot weather. Mangum, Oklahoma saw temperatures close to 100º F, setting a state record. The average February high in Mangum is 56º F.
It is extremely unusual to see such sweltering temperatures in the dead of winter, but climate change is loading the dice for record-breaking heat. Source: thinkprogress.org
Record-Setting Warmth Settles Over Minnesota
Source: voiceofalexandria.com
18 February, 2017. The National Weather Service reports Friday's high temperature of 63 degree in the Twin Cities broke a record for the date and fell just one degree short of the all-time record for the month of February. <...>
Last year on February 17th, the Minneapolis-St. Paul high temperature was 29 degrees. There have only been four days on record previously when the temperature has reached 60 in February -- in 1896, 1921, 1981 and 2000. The southern part of the state may not have a temperature reading under freezing before next Friday. Source: voiceofalexandria.com
Australia’s new normal … as city temperatures hit 47C people shelter from the deadly heat
Acquired February 7 - 14, 2017. Source: earthobservatory.nasa.gov
19 February, 2017. <...> Australians are no strangers to hot weather. But for the past week large parts of the continent have suffered a heatwave of unusual length and intensity. Temperature records were beaten in cities and rural towns around the country. Shops across Sydney ran out of fans, and New South Wales energy minister Don Harwin urged people to beat the heat by going to the movies. More than 40,000 homes in South Australia experienced blackouts as electricity networks struggled to cope with the increased demand placed on the grid by air conditioners.
<...>
But in the far-western Sydney suburb of Penrith – 60km from the coast – options for getting out of the heat are few. Penrith has the dubious honour of being Sydney’s hottest suburb, with summer daytime temperatures four or five degrees higher than in the inner city. During last week’s heatwave, the suburb sweltered through an unheard-of 46.9°C – a record for the city. “Penrith has had about 12 days above 40 degrees this summer, which is clearly unusual,” says Karl Braganza, climate monitoring manager at the Bureau of Meteorology.
<...>
The heatwave is officially over, but the reality of Australian summers getting hotter is much more serious and far-reaching than a few more hot days each year. Almost every Australian capital city experienced higher-than-average temperatures in January; in Sydney and Brisbane, it was the hottest month on record. That scorching January came after 2016 was the country’s fourth-hottest year on record – a year that, in turn, followed on from 2013, the hottest year the country has ever recorded.
That increasing heat has made an already dry continent even more prone to devastating bushfires. NSW Rural Fire Service commissioner Shane Fitzsimmons describes fire conditions during the heatwave as “the worst possible... they are catastrophic. We haven’t seen this in NSW to this extent, ever.” Fire conditions were even worse than on “black Saturday”, Australia’s worst-ever bushfire disaster, in 2009, in which 173 people died. Less dramatic, but just as worrying, is the rising number of deaths from heat stress, which already kills more Australians than all other natural disasters combined.
<...>
“There’s a clear trend where those extreme hot days across the continent are increasing, and quite dramatically over the past 20 years,” Braganza says. “Regarding fire weather – which includes things like wind speed, humidity, the drought factor – we’ve seen a shift in most of Australia’s fire-prone regions towards a longer fire season and an increase in the frequency and extremity of fire events, as well as fire danger days.” Source: theguardian.com
Feb 19, 2017
Derrick Johnson
'Atmospheric river' drives ANOTHER catastrophic rain storm towards stricken California dam as the state braces for MORE flooding and officials warn residents they could have just 15 minutes to evacuate
Engineers at the stricken Oroville Dam in Northern California have increased the rate at which they are draining water from the reservoir as a powerful rain storm driven by the phenomenon known as an 'atmospheric river' hits the state.
In anticipation of the storm which threatens widespread flooding in many areas, supervisors increased the amount of water being channeled out of the dam to accommodate incoming rain.
The amount of water flowing down the spillway was increased from 55,000 cubic feet a second (cfs) to 60,000 cfs Sunday afternoon. Earlier this week, outflows were at nearly 100,000 cfs.
However, an evacuation warning is still being issued as residents immediately below the dam could be at a major risk if the dam were to abruptly fail - as they would not be able to receive warning quickly enough to evacuate.
As rainstorms return to Northern California, engineers at the Oroville Dam are working on overdrive to ensure that the troubled barrier doesn't overflow
The first outer rain bands from a powerful Pacific storm headed to Northern California on Sunday brought light rain and wind and renewed warnings of possibly dangerous flooding in the already soggy region
In this view looking north, flood water crosses over Interstate 5 at Williams backing up traffic in both north and southbound lanes for hours on Saturday
The National Weather Service has reportedly urged California residents to be ready to leave their homes on a moment's notice
The first outer rain bands from the powerful Pacific storm headed to Northern California brought light rain and wind and renewed warnings of possibly dangerous flooding in the already soggy region on Sunday.
More wet weather is expected on Monday and Tuesday, and officials are preparing for the worst after Southern California was devastated by the strongest storm in decades earlier this week.
The National Weather Service has reportedly urged California residents to be ready to leave their homes on a moment's notice.
Flood water crosses over Interstate 5 at Williams backing up traffic in both north and southbound lanes for hours on Saturday in Williams, Calif. Northern California and the San Francisco Bay Area were facing a weekend return of heavy rain and winds that lashed them earlier in the week before the storm moves out
A discussion post said: 'If you were given less than 15 minutes to evacuate your home would you have everything you need and gas in your vehicle?'
It continued: 'Northern California has become very vulnerable since being hit continuously with storms since early January and we want all residents in our region to plan ahead and be prepared.'
The San Joaquin River at a measuring station near Vernalis remained at 'danger stage,' meaning it keeps approaching the top of levees, said Tim Daly, a spokesman with San Joaquin County Office of Emergency Services.
Northwest of Sacramento, several hundred people were evacuated Saturday as overflowing creeks turned the town of Maxwell into a brown pond, with some homes getting 2 feet of water
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-4240042/Flood-fears-renewed...
Feb 20, 2017
lonne rey
LIVE STORM BLOG: Damage Reported in Multiple Areas of Central Texas as Storms Move Out
http://www.twcnews.com/tx/austin/weather-stories/2017/02/20/live-st...
Energy companies throughout central Texas are working to restore power to the thousands of customers that experienced outages.
Over 50 low water crossings remain closed.
The squall line of storms swept into the Interstate 35 corridor just prior to midnight, then a secondary round of storms blew into the area around 2 a.m.
- Tornado Touchdown Causes Damage in Bexar County --
Storms tore through San Antonio overnight causing significant damage.
A tornado damaged homes in Alamo Heights.
-- Storm Damage in Williamson County --
Williamson County emergency responders are trying to figure out if a possible tornado tore through the southeastern part of the county from Coupland to Thrall overnight.
-- Damage in Travis County --
Clifford Power, a generator equipment and service provider, lost its entire roof on Burleson Road due to storms overnight.
- Water Levels Rising --
ATXFloods reports over 50 low water crossing closures due to last night’s severe weather.
-- Train Derailment in Williamson County --
A train derailed between Thrall and Thronedale in Williamson County at around 1 a.m. Monday morning, reports say.
Feb 20, 2017
SongStar101
Harsh weather in Afghanistan kills dozens in blizzard, rainstorms
http://af.reuters.com/article/idAFL4N1G53I5
KABUL Feb 20 (Reuters) - As many as 50 people have died in storms over the past three days in Afghanistan, including 25 shepherds lost in a blizzard, a government disaster management official said on Monday.
Also among the dead were 11 people killed in separate incidents in roof collapses in heavy rain in Kabul province, said Omar Mohammadi, a spokesman for the Afghanistan National Disaster Management Agency.
Another 44 people were hurt in weather-related accidents.
On Sunday, U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis said the bad weather had forced him to scrap a visit to Afghanistan.
Amid a war that has displaced hundreds of thousands of people, the United Nations estimates that more than 9 million Afghans are in need of humanitarian aid, including basic food and housing.
The deprivation has been exacerbated by bad weather that has taken a heavy toll, especially in remote areas.
"At least 239 people have been killed and 214 wounded during the past two months of heavy snow and rain in 22 provinces of Afghanistan," Mohammadi said.
More than 520 houses were destroyed and about 420 damaged over the same period, he added. (Writing by Josh Smith; Editing by Clarence Fernandez)
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Scores dead in heavy snowfall in Afghanistan, Pakistan
Houses collapse and roads close as massive avalanches hit eastern Afghanistan and northwestern Pakistan.
http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2017/02/scores-dead-heavy-snowfall-af...
Scores of people have been killed in Afghanistan and Pakistan by heavy snow and avalanches that hit mountainous areas in the region, officials said.
More than 100 people have been killed across Afghanistan, including 50 in Nuristan province, officials said Sunday, warning the death toll could rise still further.
At least 54 people were killed in northern and central Afghan provinces, officials told AFP news agency, with massive avalanches destroying 168 houses and killing hundreds of cattle.
Dozens more remain missing, the provincial governor, Hafiz Abdul Qayum, told Al Jazeera on Sunday.
"Most affected are women and children," he said, adding that many houses collapsed, killing at least five people and leaving many families without shelter.
"The area is completely blocked because of snow so it is very difficult for us to send support, but we are trying our best."
Qayum said local rescue operations continued at the site, adding the death toll might increase.
The government declared Sunday, a normal working day in Afghanistan, to be a public holiday to deter non-essential travel and ensure schools were closed.
Avalanches in Pakistan's Chitral
In neighbouring Pakistan, at least 13 people, including three children, were killed early on Sunday morning when an avalanche in the northwestern Chitral district destroyed 22 houses, the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) said in a statement.
"Rescue operations at the site have finished for now," Gul Hammad Farooqi, a local journalist in Chitral, told Al Jazeera.
"They were carried out by the local population, because no one was able to reach the site, even by helicopter."
Roads to the remote Shershal village, where the avalanche occurred, remained blocked due to the snowfall, and rescue crews were forced to rush to the surrounding areas by helicopter, the NDMA said.
In a separate incident in the Chitral region, a paramilitary soldier was killed and six others were injured when their post collapsed under an avalanche in the Pisotan area, Pakistan's military said in a statement.
The surviving soldiers had been rescued, it added.
Parts of the Chitral valley received more than five feet of snow in the previous 24 hours, the Pakistan Meteorological Department said in a statement on Sunday, with scattered snowfall forecast for Monday.
Feb 21, 2017
Stanislav
NOAA Global Analysis - January 2017
The globally averaged temperature over land and ocean surfaces for January 2017 was 0.88°C (1.58°F) above the 20th century average of 12.0°C (53.6°F). This was the third highest January temperature in the 1880–2017 record, behind 2016 (highest) and 2007 (second highest). Separately, the global land surface temperature was also third highest for the month of January at 1.54°C (2.77°F) above the 20th century average of 2.8°C (37.0°F). The first month of the year was characterized by warmer to much-warmer-than-average conditions across much of the world's land surface, with the largest positive temperature departures from average across the eastern half of the contiguous U.S., eastern Asia, and much of Canada where temperature departures were 3.0°C (5.4°F) or greater.
Cooler-than-average conditions were observed across New Zealand, the western half of the contiguous U.S., central and western Australia, northern and southern parts of Africa, western and southern Asia, and much of Europe. The most notable below-average temperature departures from average were observed across the northwestern contiguous U.S. and central Europe (-3.0 °C [-5.4°F] or colder). According to NCEI's Regional analysis, three of the six continents had at least a top six warm January, with South America having its second warmest January since continental records began in 1910, behind 2016. Meanwhile, Europe had its coldest January since 2010.
Select national information is highlighted below:
For the oceans, the globally-averaged temperature departure of +0.65°C (+1.17°F) from the 20thcentury average was the second highest on record for January, behind 2016. Much-warmer-than-average temperatures were present across most of the ocean surfaces, with near- to cooler-than-average conditions across the northern, central, and southern parts of the Pacific Ocean, central Indian Ocean and along the western coast of Australia, and the northern and southern Atlantic Ocean.
According to NOAA's Climate Prediction Center, ENSO-neutral conditions were present during January 2017 and are favored to continue through the Northern Hemisphere spring (March–May) 2017.
References:
NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, State of the Climate: Global Analysis for January 2017, published online February 2017, retrieved on February 21, 2017 from http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/sotc/global/201701. Link: ncdc.noaa.gov
Snow cover duration is declining in northern hemisphere since 1981
Spatial distributions of the (a) 30-year average (1982–2013, excluding 1994 and 1995) of snow cover duration (SCD, in month), (b) 30-year trend of SCD (day/year) in the Northern Hemisphere derived from the long-term satellite-derived SCE, (c) the same as (b) except that only the areas with statistically significant SCD trends (Kendall-Mankind test a > 0.05) are shown, and (d) SCD trend derived from in-situ snow data measured at the ground stations that have complete annual snow depth observation records during the 32-year analysis period.
This article is available under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). s100.copyright.com
Hori, Masahiro, Konosuke Sugiura, Kazufumi Kobayashi, Teruo Aoki, Tomonori Tanikawa, Katsuyuki Kuchiki, Masashi Niwano, and Hiroyuki Enomoto. "A 38-year (1978–2015) Northern Hemisphere daily snow cover extent product derived using consistent objective criteria from satellite-borne optical sensors." Remote Sensing of Environment 191 (2017): 402-18. Web. Link
Feb 21, 2017
Stanislav
Is it summer yet? Balmy temperatures in Edmonton break 100-year-old record (Canada)
It's the hottest it's been on Feb. 15 in more than 100 years. (Sam Martin/CBC)
15 February, 2017. It sure didn't feel like winter at all in Edmonton on Wednesday. In fact, temperatures climbed high enough to break a 100-year-old record. As of 4 p.m., the temperature at Edmonton Blatchford hit 15.4 C. That's 1.5 C higher than the previous record for this day, set in 1916. Edmonton wasn't the only city to experience unusually balmy winter weather on Wednesday — Environment Canada said temperature records were also broken in Banff, Calgary, Grande Prairie and High Level. Source: cbc.ca
Chicago's Unseasonable Warmth Continues to Break Records (US)
19 February, 2017. For the third consecutive day, Chicago’s unseasonably high temperatures broke records on Sunday.
At 1:02 p.m., the temperature at O’Hare International Airport hit 66 degrees, according to the National Weather Service. That balmy number just beat the record of 65 degrees set in 1930 – though temperatures on Sunday continued to climb, meaning the final record could be even higher.
About an hour before that, Rockford saw a temperature of 64 degrees, eclipsing the previous record that was also set in 1930. Source: nbcchicago.com
Snow in Australia's hottest ever summer? It’s happening
19 February, 2017. Source: digitaljournal.com
Snow in FEBRUARY! A touch of frost snaps record heatwave as snow falls on the mountains in Victoria (Australia)
20 February, 2017. The Victorian Alpine region was unexpectedly covered in snow over the weekend. Social media pictures showed wintry landscapes at Mount Hotham, Mount Buller, and Falls Creek.
'The weather in this country is nuts,' a woman commented on a video showing snowfall in Mount Buller.
The Victorian Alpine region was unexpectedly covered in snow over the weekend
Skiers should think twice before rushing over to the High Country, however. The snow is likely to melt away before Monday ends, according to forecasts. Meteorologists said it's not uncommon to see snow in the summer - but the fact that it happens in February is 'a bit rare.'
'We can get cold outbreaks in Victoria any time of the year, but now it happens to be in the middle of summer,' said Bureau of Meteorology forecaster Dean Stewart. Source: dailymail.co.uk
Record-breaking rainfall recorded for the month (Australia)
20 February, 2017. Wet weather has belted Western Australia over the last two weeks with record-breaking rainfall recorded in many parts of the State.
Towns became isolated, roads and bridges were washed away, fences damaged, dams were overflowing, one man was swept away in Esperance floodwaters, and at the time of going to press, the search continued for another man who was missing after an attempted water crossing. Source: esperanceexpress.com.au
Friday breaks Pueblo's all-time high temperature record for February (US)
10 February, 2017. Summer is months away, but Puebloans got a little bit of a taste of it on Friday with an all-time record-breaking temperature for the month.
Temperatures on Friday reached above 80, topping out at 82 degrees just before 2 p.m., making it the hottest February day in recorded history in Pueblo, according to the National Weather Service's Pueblo office.
Previously, the hottest February day ever occurred just last year on Feb. 18 when the temperature got up to 81 degrees. Source: chieftain.com
Mangaluru records all time high temperature for February month (India)
16 February, 2017. The west coast has been witnessing an abnormal increase in day temperature since past few days. On Wednesday, the evening temperature was 38.7 degree C for Mangaluru city, recorded at Panambur Weather Observatory, which is a seven degree C rise in the normal maximum. This, incidentally, is an all-time high record for the February month since Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) started recording temperatures for this region. Source: timesofindia.indiatimes.com
Detroit broke a 133-year high temperature record Sunday
In this May 27, 2012 photo, people take in the warm weather on the Detroit River and Belle Isle in Detroit. A gem to some and wreck to others, Detroit's Belle Isle has become the latest bone of contention between state officials offering to operate the poorly managed park and what some in the city see as too much outside interference. (AP Photo/Detroit News, David Coates)
20 February, 2017. Source: mlive.com
Waterloo's weekend warmth melts a 137-year record (Canada)
There will be spring-like temperatures this week, including a forecasted high of 16 C on Wednesday which could "shatter" records across southern Ontario. (Justin Tang/The Canadian Press)
21 February, 2017. The warm temperatures over the weekend broke one weather record and Wednesday's high of 16 C is set to break another.
Saturday's temperature reached 11.9 C, which broke the record for Feb. 18 of 9.4 C set in 1880, making it the warmest Feb. 18 in Waterloo Region since record keeping began. Source: cbc.ca
Qatar records coldest February since 1962
21 February, 2017. This month is turning out to be the coldest February on record in Qatar since 1962.
The Met department informed in a tweet that the temperatures recorded this month have been lower than the normal range for February by 2-3C, based on a comparison of climate records since 1962. It has been a month of cold spells in the country, marked by temperatures well below 10C at a number of places with strong winds adding to the chill factor.
Early in February, the country was affected by a “cold wave” for a few days due to the extension of a Siberian high-pressure system, accompanied by fresh to strong northwesterly winds. It was during this period (February 5) that the lowest ever temperature – 1.5C – in Qatar’s history was recorded in Abu Samra. The previous record was set in 1964, when the temperature had dropped to 3.8C in Mesaieed. Source: gulf-times.com
Chicago has most 70-degree days in February since 1871
20 February, 2017. The mercury soared to 70 degrees Monday for the second time in three days making it the fourth straight day for rewriting Chicago’s record book. The NORMAL high in Chicago does not reach 70 degrees until May 15th, which underscores how unusual this warmth truly is.
Never before in 146 Februarys dating back to 1871 have there been two 70 degree or warmer days. And, while clouds and light rain Tuesday morning are likely to keep readings a bit cooler than Monday, it appears a third 70 degree or warmer temperature is likely on Wednesday, which would not only break the day’s 95 year old record high of 68 degrees set in 1922, but equal the TOTAL February 70s previously observed here in 146 years! A bit of a reality check arrives this weekend as more typical late February returns to the area. Source: wgntv.com
Feb 21, 2017
Stanislav
America is set for one of the warmest February days in 30 YEARS: Temperature records smashed across the country as the US basks in an early spring
Cities and towns across the continental US have recorded 2,805 record high temperatures so far in February, continuing a trend of higher-than-normal temperatures that began in January
22 Feburary, 2017. Wednesday is set to be one of the warmest February days in the United States in 30 years. Forecasters predicted the average temperature across the country on Wednesday would soar to 59 degrees in the Lower 48 states, well above the average for this time of year.
(Unofficial) Record-breaking temperature across the US. US animation over the past month. Source: (Unofficial) Record-breaking temperature across the Globe - coolwx.com
Ryan Maue, a meteorologist for Weather Bell, said you would have to go back three decades to find a February day as unseasonably warm.
Source: Past 3 weeks historical rankings, mean temperature. Source: Southeast Regional Climate Center
The rise in temperatures came as large parts of the United States continued to bask in an early spring, and the good weather is set to continue.
Daily historical rankings, mean temperature. Source: Southeast Regional Climate Center
Cities and towns across the continental US have recorded 2,805 record high temperatures so far in February.
And the warmth is set to continue throughout the remainder of the week and into the weekend, with more records expected to fall.
The areas where the change is most surprising is the Midwest, where cities like Chicago are experiencing balmy 70-degree days.
Between Friday and Monday, the Windy City recorded record highs on consecutive days.
On Sunday, the barometer read 70 degrees in Chicago – making it just the fourth time the city has been that warm at this time of year since 1871.
Source: Climate Reanalyzer
The warm days are threatening the all-time high temperature Chicago in February – 75 degrees, which was recorded on February 27, 1976.
Record or near-record warmth has also been recorded in other towns in the Midwest, including Milwaukee, Madison, Green Bay, Omaha, Minneapolis, and Detroit.
Minneapolis, which is normally in the grip of Arctic chills at this time of the year, could see temperatures rise to as much as 59 degrees. Even St. Louis is expected to reach the mid-70s several times this week, according to The Weather Channel. The warmer-than-usual February is also being felt in places like Denver, Colorado, and Lincoln, Nebraska. Source: dailymail.co.uk
Feb 22, 2017
KM
http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-san-jose-floods-2017022...
Floodwater surrounds homes in San Jose on Wednesday. Thousands of people were ordered to evacuate their homes as neighborhoods were inundated.
That happened over the weekend, sending massive amounts of water into the Coyote Creek, which runs through the heart of San Jose.
By Tuesday, the creek was overflowing at numerous locations, inundating neighborhoods, flooding hundreds of homes and forcing the frantic evacuations of more than 14,000 residents, who remained out of their homes Wednesday.
The worst flooding to hit Silicon Valley in a century left San Jose reeling and residents angry about why they were not given more warning that a disaster was imminent. Even city officials on Wednesday conceded they were caught off guard by the severity of the flooding and vowed a full investigation into what went wrong.
"If the first time a resident is aware that they need to get out of a home is when they see a firefighter in a boat, then clearly there has been a failure," said San Jose Mayor Sam Liccardo. "There is no question that we'll need to do things differently next time."
Late Wednesday, Assistant City Manager Dave Sykes said officials had learned that the information they had on the capacity of Coyote Creek channel was not accurate. He also said the city was working with the Santa Clara Valley Water District to determine whether debris caused blockages that contributed to flooding.
"The creek spilled over the banks faster and higher than anybody expected," said city spokesman David Vossbrink.
Residents told harrowing stories of water flowing into homes and flooding streets. Many had to be rescued by boat. Some said they were surprised they did not get urgent warnings about the extent of the flooding.
"They didn't say it was going to go up as high as it did," said Louis Silva, 48. He said that his possessions were swallowed up in the flood and that the city should have warned people about the scale of the disaster with a cellphone text alert or by knocking on doors.
"They should've put the footwork in to show the urgency of the situation," Silva said. "It hurt everyone. ... When Mother Nature shows up, she shows up."
Dawn Rogers, 47, said she was in the mandatory evacuation zone but decided to hunker down instead of leave. She watched as firefighters took a boat down the street to rescue residents in homes that were flooded.
By 1 p.m. Tuesday, residents were rushing to fill up their cars with priceless valuables.
"It was scary," Rogers said. "Being in a drought for all these years, you don't ever think you're ever in danger of a flood."
He spent eight hours Monday painstakingly building 3-foot walls of sandbags to protect his newly renovated cottage and his two-story home.
But by Tuesday morning, rising waters burst through the first sandbag wall, wrecking the cottage. Then Souza watched as the water rose to two feet above his home's windowsill.
"It was like I was looking at an aquarium," Souza said.
Then a window broke.
And then, Souza said, "it was all over."
Anderson Reservoir, which is located in Morgan Hill about 22 miles south of downtown San Jose, had been releasing as much water as possible through its main outlet since Jan. 9, said Rachel Gibson, a spokeswoman for Santa Clara Valley Water District. The district was releasing water at a rate of 420 cubic feet per second through the reservoir's outlet.
"We were trying to flood out as much water as we could in advance of any storms," Gibson told reporters. "We have been pummeled by a number of storms since Jan. 9, so Anderson Reservoir was slowly filling up because more water was coming into it than we could practically let out of that outlet."
Santa Clara water's chief operating officer, Jim Fiedler, said his agency had been working in recent days with San Jose city officials on possible flood control options in case of a major event. He said the district had been in regular contact with city officials.
The situation came to a head over the weekend, when another round of heavy rain sent Anderson Reservoir over its tipping point, causing water to spill out of the lake and into Coyote Creek.
Evacuation centers were set up at two community centers, where more than 300 residents stayed overnight. Two high schools were converted into overnight shelters, with dry clothes, food and cots.
Meanwhile, a damaged levee allowed water to flow onto U.S. 101 on Tuesday, forcing its temporary closure.
Coyote Creek slithers its way northwest from the reservoir to San Jose's doorstep, where it proceeded to flood neighborhood after neighborhood, carving a destructive path through the heart of the city.
The creek crested to a height of 13.6 feet at a South San Jose river gauge point on Tuesday evening — nearly four feet above flood stage. The height shattered a previous record that had stood since 1922.
"This is a once-in-a-100-year flood event," National Weather Service meteorologist Roger Gass said, referring to Coyote Creek's surging height in South San Jose.
By Wednesday, the creek was no longer rising, but it was too late for some evacuees.
City officials said some residents could be allowed home as early as Wednesday night, though Liccardo had warned earlier in the day that the water was highly contaminated with fuel, oil and possible sewage and posed a potential health risk.
Officials said that on Thursday they would focus on assessing the damage and getting residents back home.
The approximately 14,000 people under mandatory evacuations hailed mostly from central San Jose. Evacuation advisories were also issued to 36,000 residents in a zone that covered a business and industrial area along a roughly seven-mile stretch of Coyote Creek.
By Wednesday evening, city officials had lifted some mandatory evacuations for homes north of Interstate 280. They also revised the number of residents impacted by evacuation advisories down to 22,000.
"We haven't really had anything quite like this before," Vossbrink said.
Feb 23, 2017
KM
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/capital-weather-gang/wp/2017/02...
500 inches and counting: Snow has clobbered California ski resorts this winter
Scene at Squaw Valley Alpine Meadows ski resort: The snow is so high that it's burying chairlifts, forcing ski resorts to close.
The snow amounts in California's Sierra Nevada mountain range this winter are difficult to wrap your head around. In many cases topping 500 inches, they are some of the highest totals in memory.
At the Squaw Valley Alpine Meadows resort, seven feet fell in just the past week. The snow is so high that it buried chairlifts and ski patrol shacks.
Snow blankets the Squaw Valley Alpine Meadows resort, which has been hit with 565 inches (47 feet) of the white stuff this season.
The resort has received 565 inches (47 feet) this season, including a 45-year record of 282 inches in January. On Thursday, it announced that its ski area would remain open through July 4. Since 1962, it will mark just the fourth instance of Independence Day skiing (the other years were 1998, 1999, and 2011), according to a resort spokesperson.
Other ski areas in the Sierra Nevada also have seen mind-boggling amounts of snow (totals via SnowBrains.com):
The prolific snowfall has resulted from phenomena known as atmospheric rivers, which are essentially rivers in the sky that carry vast amounts of moisture. Like a fire hose, they have bombarded central and northern California, repeatedly.
"We usually see three or four atmospheric rivers in a season," Scott McGuire, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service office in Reno, told the San Francisco Chronicle. "We've already had 10. We've had so much snow to the point where it's getting hard to measure."
California's Natural Resources Agency said Wednesday that the water contained in the state's snowpack is 188 percent of normal.
The mountain snow and low-elevation rain have ended the multiyear drought over large parts of the state. Only 17 percent of California remains in drought, according to the latest U.S. Drought Monitor data.
California's record drought is officially over thanks to record precipitation
More snow and rain are on the way Sunday and Monday as the next Pacific storm system rolls ashore.
Feb 25, 2017
Stanislav
Record-breaking temperature across the Globe. Source: coolwx.com
Source: coolwx.com
It Just Hit 73 Degrees In Boston. That's The Warmest Ever For February
Robyn Wessman, 12, of Belmont, scooped up melting ice water at the Boston Common’s Frog Pond on Friday. By Maddie Kilgannon GLOBE CORRESPONDENT FEBRUARY 24, 2017. Source: bostonglobe.com
24 February, 2017. Some see it as a welcome winter respite. Some might also see it as an unnerving sign of a warming planet.
It hit 71 degrees in Boston just after noon on Friday - the city's warmest temperature ever recorded for the month of February. The temperature ticked all the way up to 73 after 3 p.m.
That surpasses the 70 degrees reached on Feb. 24, 1985. Boston temperature records go back to 1872, according to the National Weather Service.
Worcester on Friday also set an all-time record for February, at 68 degrees. That city's temperature then edged up to 69.
Additionally, the weather service said records were close to breaking in Providence, Rhode Island, and Hartford, Connecticut. The day before, Thursday, reached 68 degrees in Boston - a record for Feb. 23, and now a tie for the third-highest temperature ever recorded in February.
Boston was among many places in the Eastern United States to set a single-day temperature record for Feb. 23. Farther south, a different record was set: the earliest calendar-year occurrence for a 100-degree day in McAllen, Texas. In Massachusetts, the unseasonably warm temperatures continue Saturday, WBUR meteorologist David Epstein forecasts, before more normal readings in the 40s return Sunday. Source: wbur.org
Milwaukee reaches warmest winter temperature ever (US)
22 February, 2017. The 71-degree temperature recorded at Mitchell International Airport shortly before 3 p.m. Wednesday is the warmest temperature ever recorded in Milwaukee during meteorological winter — or December through February — the National Weather Service in Sullivan said. Source: jsonline.com
All-time high temperature for February recorded at Westover (US)
24 February, 2017. If you don’t remember the weather in February being this warm, you are right!
As of 2:00 P.M., the temperature at Westover Air Reserve Base in Chicopee reached 72 degrees. That beats the previous high for this date of 71 degrees, which was set back in 1985.
More than that though, Friday’s record-breaking temperature is actually the highest temperature ever recorded at Westover in the month of February. Source: wwlp.com
Britain enjoys one of the hottest winter days ever as balmy Caribbean air sends temperatures rising to 65F (but snow, gales and rain are on the way)
Daffodils in full bloom at Tenby, West Wales, where visitors arrived in the area as unseasonably warm weather takes hold
20 February, 2017. A balmy Caribbean blast saw temperatures hit an astonishingly mild 65F (18.3C) in Britain today, making some parts of the country hotter than Spain and Greece.
The UK had already recorded its warmest day of the year by 9am, with London being the country's mildest spot this afternoon, and the surprisingly mild weather comes just one week after snowfall on the south coast.
<...>
By this afternoon Kew Gardens in South West London and Northolt in West London had hit 65F (18.3C), making it the hottest February 20 on record. This also made it the seventh warmest winter day on record, based on annual records from December 1 to February 28 going back 160 years. Britons abroad might be wishing they stayed at home, as Alicante reached 59F (14.8C), Menorca 63F (17.1C) and Ibiza 59F (15.1C), MeteoGroup said.
Elsewhere temperatures were 61F (16C) in Athens and Barcelona today, while it was 59F (15C) in Corfu and 57F (14C) in Malta, Rome and Marrakesh.
But the warm UK temperatures were mainly found in London - Edinburgh reached 57F (13.7C), Exeter 56F (13.6C), and Blackpool 50F (10C).
Today's high in London edged towards the highest February temperature since records began - 67F (19.7C) at Greenwich Observatory in South East London, on February 13, 1998. <...> Source: dailymail.co.uk
Feb 25, 2017
lonne rey
Iceland gets record breaking snowfall
http://www.bbc.co.uk/newsbeat/article/39104230/iceland-gets-record-...
The snow in the capital peaked at 51 cm.
Only once in history has this been topped, when snowfall in the city reached 55 cm in January 1937.
Feb 28, 2017
lonne rey
Chicago records no snow on ground in January, February for 1st time in 146 years
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/breaking/ct-no-snow-januar...
"This is occurring against a backdrop of a changing climate," Skilling said. "I think the door is open to additional unusual weather events as we go forward."
Typically, January and February are the snowiest months of the year, said Jim Angel, state climatologist at the University of Illinois' Illinois State Water Survey.
"It's pretty impressive for any place in the northern part of the state to go both January and February with no snow on the ground," he said.
Mar 1, 2017
KM
http://www.thelocal.ch/20170224/switzerland-breaks-records-with-bri...
Switzerland breaks records with brief spring in February
Thursday was exceptionally warm in Switzerland with many places across the country seeing temperatures of around 20 degrees, breaking previous records for the month of February.
The unseasonal weather, due to a mass of dry, hot air moving up from Spain, meant it felt more like the end of April than February, with temperatures on the Swiss lowlands some 12 degrees warmer than usual for this time of year, said MeteoNews.
The cities of Nyon, Sion, Aigle and Neuchâtel all broke their previous February records. In Sion, the mercury rose to 21.2 degrees, smashing its previous record of 19.8 set in 1998. Nyon reached 18.4 degrees and Aigle 19.5.
Cities in German-speaking Switzerland were also affected, with Thun, Interlaken and Basel-Binningen all surpassing 20 degrees. Lucerne wasn't far behind with 19.9 degrees, Zurich reached 19.5 and Bern set a new city record for February with 18.5 degrees.
The temperatures were helped by a strong foehn wind which brought gusts of up to 90km/hr in some places, said MeteoNews. However the brief spring has already disappeared as quickly as it arrived. The arrival of a cold front in the night of Thursday to Friday saw temperatures fall rapidly back to the norm for this time of year.
Mar 1, 2017
Mark
Antarctic temperatures hit unprecedented high of 17.5C as continent's warming accelerates
Researchers record hottest ever reading on Earth's coldest continent where temperatures usually range between -10C and -60C
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/science/antarctica-temperature-hi...
Temperatures in Antarctica have reached a record high, hitting an unprecedented 17.5C, the United Nations weather agency has announced.
An Argentine research base near the northern tip of the Antarctic recorded the temperature in March 2015, new analysis has revealed.
The World Meteorological Organisation (WMO) announced the finding after analysing data from a number of recording stations.
The temperature, more common in the Mediterranean than near the South Pole, is a significant departure from Antarctic averages, which range from -10C on the continent’s coast to -60C in the interior.
The region is made up of ice 4.8 kilometres thick, which contains 90 per cent of the world’s fresh water. If it were all to melt, experts say sea levels would rise by 60 metres.
Mar 2, 2017
KM
http://www.13newsnow.com/news/hawaii-picks-up-8-inches-of-snow-over...
Hawaii picks up 8 inches of snow overnight after blizzard
Do you want to build a snowman in paradise? Hawaii's mountainous peaks picked up 8 inches of snow overnight this week after a blizzard hit the summit of Mauna Kea on the Big Island of Hawaii.
Most of the snow fell late Tuesday into early Wednesday, and a blizzard warning for Mauna Kea and its sister peak Mauna Loa was canceled Thursday. A few additional snow showers were forecast, with no accumulation expected.
While the summits received snow, the rest of the Big Island dealt with heavy rain and thunderstorms that pelted the lower elevations. Both Oahu and Kauai were under flash flood warnings. Temperatures were mild, with highs in the 70s and 80s.
Snow on Hawaii's peaks is not uncommon in the colder months because they are nearly 14,000 feet high. Mauna Kea has a sub-Arctic climate, the weather service said.
“As long as we have deep enough clouds to support ice crystals, and when you have cold enough temperatures at the summit level, you can get snowfall,” said Matthew Foster, a staff meteorologist with the weather service in Honolulu.
Snow fell on both mountains on at least two occasions in December. Mauna Loa and its sister peak of Mauna Kea are both volcanoes. Mauna Kea is the highest point in the state.
The only other area of Hawaii that gets snow with any regularity is the Haleakalā volcano on Maui, which at about 10,000 feet gets snow once every five years or so.
The coldest temperature ever recorded in Hawaii was 12 degrees on Mauna Kea on May 17, 1979, the weather service said.
Mar 4, 2017
KM
http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation-now/2017/03/02/western-sn...
Out West, the snow is so deep that scientists don't have any tools to measure it
California’s wild winter of incredible snowfall has scientists struggling to even measure it. Nathan Rousseau Smith
One sure sign the Sierra Nevada is experiencing a historic winter is the snowpack is getting too deep for devices scientists use to measure it.
It’s a problem that cropped up Wednesday when researchers sought to confirm snow depth at a data site on Slide Mountain at Mount Rose Ski Tahoe near Reno.
“We’re not even close,” hydrologist Jeff Anderson said after jamming an aluminum tube more than 16 feet into the snowpack hoping to reach the ground below.
The snow-measuring snafu provided real life confirmation of what scientific instruments on the site already showed.
New aerial images of Oroville spillway show extent of damage
The Sierra Nevada is wrapping up a historic winter and that’s huge news for Nevada and California, states that have spent the past several years parched in drought.
“Who would have thought this two years ago when we were measuring the worst snowpack on record,” Anderson said.
The snowpack is 212 inches deep at the Slide Mountain SNOTEL site. Water content at the site was 74.6 inches, meaning there’s more than six feet of water in the 17-foot snowpack. It’s a record for March 1 at the site.
The previous record for March 1 snow water equivalent at the site was a little more than five feet in 1997. The overall site record was more than seven feet of snow water equivalent in May 1995.
Since Oct. 1, the first day of what’s referred to as the “water year,” there’s been nearly eight feet of precipitation at the Slide Mountain site. Much of it has been rain but there’s plenty of snow.
Mount Rose Ski Tahoe has measured a total of about 54 feet since the beginning of ski season.
The total precipitation so far makes it the second-wettest year at that SNOTEL site, with seven months remaining in the water year.
An average year at the site sees a little more than four-and-a-half feet of precipitation.
The big numbers aren’t limited to one SNOTEL site.
The overall snowpack in the Truckee River Basin is 207% of normal for the date. The Lake Tahoe Basin snowpack is at 220%. The Carson River Basin is at 210%. The Upper Humboldt Basin, which is an important basin for rural northern Nevada, is at 156%.
California’s March 1 snowpack totals are equally impressive.
At the Phillips snow course site south of Lake Tahoe the water content jumped from 28 inches at the beginning of February to more than 43 inches March 1. Snow depth was more than nine feet.
Tahoe winter deluge will sustain Reno water for years
Statewide, the California snowpack is at an estimated 185% of normal for the date.
In fact, there’s more snow now than there usually is on April 1, when the snowpack tends to peak.
“We busted through April 1 values pretty much at all snow courses throughout the state,” said Frank Gehrke, chief of the California Cooperative Snow Surveys Program.
Although the impressive snowpack has delivered much-needed drought relief the region still faces long term environmental challenges due in large part to global climate change.
Nighttime lows in the Sierra Nevada are trending warmer and the mean freeze level is getting higher. Both trends threaten to make large snowpack winters less frequent in the future.
A greater percentage of precipitation coming in the form of rain instead of snow and irregular snow-melt cycles makes it more difficult for communities to capture water for public use.
“Instead of making its way into our faucets, the snow we have now could be washed away into the ocean,” said Juliet Christian-Smith, senior climate scientist and water expert at the Union of Concerned Scientists, wrote in a statement about the California snowpack. “Even in heavy snow years like this one, global warming is the wild card in our water security.”
Mar 4, 2017
jorge namour
Wave clouds spotted 'breaking' again, this time over Christchurch Airport
NEW ZEALAND
Saturday Mar 4, 2017
Waves looked like they were breaking in the sky above Christchurch Airport last night in the second "wave cloud" formation spotted in as many weeks around the country.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=1...
Wave clouds, were spotted over Christchurch Airport on Friday night. Photo/ Facebook
Just under two weeks ago similar wave clouds were spotted in Palmerston North,
The "breaking wave" cloud formed over the eastern side of Palmerston North nearly two weeks ago. Photo / Carl Gadsby
Mar 4, 2017
Juan F Martinez
Zimbabwe – Floods Leave 246 Dead after an absolutely astonishing shift from a drought condition to an excessive saturation mirroring events in California
An El Nino weather pattern, which ended in May, triggered drought conditions across the southern African region that hit the staple, maize, and other crops and dented economic growth.
Mnangagwa said the last time Zimbabwe experienced such a severe drought was in 1992, adding that the biggest dam in the south of the country was only 9 percent full.
http://www.thebigwobble.org/2017/03/zimbabwe-floods-leave-246-dead-...
Mar 4, 2017
KM
https://watchers.news/2017/03/04/drought-hunger-somalia-2017/
Hundreds dying from hunger as severe drought grips Somalia
110 people have died from hunger in the past 48 hours in just one region of Somalia as severe drought gripped the country, causing hunger crisis. The death toll was announced by prime minister Hassan Ali Khaire today and it comes from the Bay region in the southwest part of the country alone. Humanitarian agencies report worrying similarities to the 2011 famine, in which nearly 260 000 Somalis lost their lives. Somali elders say they have never seen drought as severe as this one.
On Tuesday, February 28, 2017, just a week after his inauguration, President Mohamed Abdullahi Farmajo has declared the drought a national disaster. The declaration comes amid an ongoing war with al-Shabab and is expected to be a trial for all those involved in Somalia's struggles. It will test the international community’s response, the government's ability to assist, and the strength of security provided by the African Union forces, Al Jazeera explains.
In the far north of Somalia, three years with little rain has had increasingly disastrous effects for a population reliant on the land. The parched earth has failed to produce food for the camels and goats that the people depend on for their income, meat, and milk for their children.
Critical health services are needed for 1.5 million people currently affected by drought conditions and a worsening food crisis, according to the WHO.
The humanitarian situation in Somalia continues to deteriorate, the organization said, and there is a high risk that the country will face its third famine in 25 years. More than 6.2 million people – half of the total population – are in urgent need of humanitarian aid, including almost 3 million facing a food security crisis. Nearly 5.5 million people are at risk of contracting waterborne diseases, more than half of whom are women and children under 5 years of age.
Acute drought in many parts of Somalia has reduced the availability of clean water sources, and the food crisis has given way to malnutrition. More than 363 000 acutely malnourished children and 70 000 severely malnourished children are in need of urgent and life-saving support, it said. According to United Nations estimates, if the current situation food and security continues, these numbers are estimated to double in 2017.
Drought conditions have also increased the spread of epidemic-prone diseases such as acute watery diarrhea, cholera, and measles. In the first 7 weeks of 2017, over 6 000 cases and 65 deaths by acute watery diarrhea/ cholera have been reported, and a total of 2 578 cases of suspected measles were reported as of September 2016.
“Somalia is now at a critical point as a result of this drought and environmental hazards and lack of basic services,” said WHO Regional Director for the Eastern Mediterranean Dr. Mahmoud Fikri.
“We named this (2017) drought ‘Odi Kawayn,’ which is Somali for ‘something bigger than the elders.’ None of our elders has ever seen a drought as severe as this one,” said drought victim Halima, as reported by the International Organization for Migration.
Somalia, however, is not the only African country currently dealing with severe hunger crisis, Ethiopia and Kenya are too.
These three countries in the Horn of Africa are currently suffering a severe drought that is threatening the lives of more than 11 million people.
“Unfortunately, the international community is responding very reluctantly. People don't have any reserves left, as in recent years their harvests have failed and animals died because of the lack of water and fodder. Every donation helps us save lives,” said Till Wahnbaeck, Welthungerhilfe chief executive officer.
According to UN figures, more than 20 million people in Africa are dependent on humanitarian assistance for survival.
Mar 5, 2017
KM
http://www.reuters.com/video/2017/03/01/floods-landslides-unleash-h...
Floods and landslides cause havoc across the Andes in Peru
Here in in the greater Lima district of Lunahuana, a landslide crashed down across a highway. Fortunately no vehicles were caught underneath. Close by in the town of Chosica, a ravine collapsed, sending muddy water gushing across the road.
Landslides and floods have left residents desperate for help. In Piura, they're trying to salvage their belongings after rainfall unlike anything they've seen in 30 years. The floods have already killed 26 people across the country and displaced almost 250,000. And it could get worse with more rain predicted.
Mar 5, 2017
KM
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-4285990/Monster-waves-crash...
Deckhand captures stunning images of monster waves crashing into the Manly ferry - as wild weather hit Sydney at the weekend
A Sydney deckhand has captured amazing images of the Manly ferry being swamped by monster waves.
Horrendous conditions on Sydney Harbour over the weekend gave ferry worker Haig Gilchrist the chance to hone his photography skills.
A stunning image he managed to snap amongst the chaos shows a huge wall of water about to crash into the side of the ferry.
Scroll down for video
A Sydney deckhand has captured amazing images of the Manly ferry being swamped by monster waves. One snap shows a huge wall of water about to crash into the side of the ferry
'East Coast Low intensifying,' Mr Gilchrist captioned the photo he shared on Instagram, later commenting: 'Great day to be working.'
The image has taken the internet by storm, with hundreds of commenters praising his talents as a photographer.
Others were more interested in the damage the monster wave had caused.
'Amazing, so what happened next?' one commented.
Another snap taken over the weekend shows the bow of the ferry almost completely disappearing as it travelled through Sydney Heads.
Another image shows the bow of the ferry almost completely disappearing as it travelled through Sydney Heads
The Queenscliff ferry makes the trip across Sydney Harbour from Manly in heavy surf
The monster waves were a result of a developing weather system rolling through the state.
While the Sydney ferries could struggle with more dangerous swell, surfers will embrace 'Big Wednesday,' with massive offshore waves.
The swell is set to peak at three to four metres in some areas, with even larger and stronger conditions further offshore.
The warning comes just days after two men drowned in separate incidents at Bondi and Bellinger, near Coffs Harbour.
'The best advice we can give people is to be aware of their environment and the changing conditions,' Surf Life Saving NSW operations manager Andy Kent said in a statement on Sunday.
Mar 7, 2017
KM
https://watchers.news/2017/03/06/windstorm-zeus-france/
Powerful windstorm batters France, killing 2 and leaving 600 000 homes without power
Severe weather, including snowfalls and hurricane-force winds, has been affecting the central-southern and south-eastern areas of the France over the past 48 hours, causing at least two fatalities. Some 600 000 properties lost electricity, the highest such number since a monster storm in 1999. Severe weather is forecast to continue affecting the country over the next 24 hours. The storm, named Zeus, will then exit into the Mediterranean Sea and rapidly deepen as it moves toward Italy. Severe to extremely severe wind gusts are expected this evening and tonight.
This powerful windstorm was produced by rapidly deepening cyclone coming from the British Isles toward Northern France this morning. An intense sting jet has developed within the cyclone, Severe Weather Europe reports, traveling right across Brittany, NW France.
Meteo France has updated the number of departments on Orange alert to 31 this morning and urged residents to be vigilant, stay off the rooftops and secure objects that are liable to be blown away.
The departments on Orange alert, as of Monday morning, March 6, are: Cantal, Corse-du-Sud, Haute-Corse, Loire, Haute-Loire, Lozère, Puy-de-Dôme, Rhône, Allier, Charente, Charente-Maritime, Cher, Corrèze, Côtes-d'Armor, Creuse, Finistère, Ille-et-Vilaine, Indre, Indre-et-Loire, Loire-Atlantique, Maine-et-Loire, Mayenne, Morbihan, Deux-Sèvres, Vendée, Vienne, Haute-Vienne, Alpes-Maritimes, Dordogne, Gironde, and Var.
The agency said that significant damage could be caused by the wind as well as disruptions to local traffic. There is also a possibility of cuts to electricity and telephone lines, it warned.
The town of Camaret, in Brittany, saw record-breaking winds of 193 km/h (120 mph) during Monday morning. Winds reaching 191 km/h (119 mph) were recorded in Ouessant, 180 km/h (112 mph) in l’Ile de Groix and 170 km/h (105 mph) in Pointe du Raz.
As of 07:00 UTC on March 6, local media reported two deaths, including one in the municipality of Seyne-sur-Mer and one in Marseille (Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur). Two injuries in the Aveyron Department (Occitanie Region) and one person missing in Marseille have also been reported.
Tens of thousands have lost power by 12:00 UTC today. By the end of the day, some 600 000 properties lost electricity, according to power distributor Enedis. It was the highest such number since a monster storm in 1999 that left scores dead and three million households without power.
Over the next 24 hours, severe weather is forecast to continue affecting the country.
The storm will exit into the Mediterranean Sea, redevelop and intensify late March 6 and into March 7 as it moves toward Italy. Severe to extremely severe wind gusts this evening and tonight.
Mar 7, 2017
KM
https://www.rt.com/usa/380056-storms-michigan-outage-1-million-/
High winds in Michigan knock out power to 1mn customers
Crews are working to restore power after high winds hit the state on Wednesday and knocked out electrical service in Michigan and several Great Lake states.
"Near hurricane force sustained winds pounded our state for over 10 hours. This is the largest weather event in DTE’s 100-year history," DTE Energy said during a press conference on Thursday. DTE said 4,000 lines were downed, and they had more than who are working to restore power.
DTE said because of the unusual warm weather, as well as significant rainfall, the ground is very soft and saturated and coupled with the high winds caused many trees to uproot falling on poles and downing power lines causing widespread outages.
Detroit-based DTE Energy Co said 700,000 of its customers lost power in southwest Michigan and more than 670,000 were without service early Thursday. While Consumers Energy Co (CMS_pb.N), another Michigan utility company, said more than 300,000 of its customers were without power too.
The company said the recovery will take days, and 90 percent will have power by Sunday, according to Detroit Free Press.
Strong winds fanned a blaze that killed five people in a Detroit apartment building and pushed a plane carrying members of the University of Michigan basketball team off a runway during takeoff southwest of Detroit.
Michigan Governor Rick Snyder activated the state’s Emergency Operations Center to monitor and share information about the storm damage and power outages across the state.
“As Michiganders are struggling with storm damage and power outages from some of the extreme winds that are blowing through the state, our first priority is the safety and security of residents,” Snyder said Wednesday in a statement. “Utility companies have been spending much of the afternoon just trying to get a handle on how many lines are down and how best to restore power as quickly as possible.”
Gov. Snyder tweeted it was never safe to refuel a generator while it was running.
Michigan State Police issued cautions to residents over non-working traffic lights, and over downed power lines and standing water.
Mar 10, 2017
KM
http://prepforthat.com/weather-events/drone-video-shows-kansas-has-...
"All in all, I'd guess I seen between 300 and 400 dead cattle," he said. "It was just a matter of putting animals out of their misery, doing them a favor. They were going to die anyway.
"It's horrible out there, the things I saw today. The fire was so big, and so much of Clark County burned, I don't see how anything lived through it."
The state of Kansas is burning at unprecedented levels. Parts of it are literally scorched earth at this point. And many people are having to shoot their own cattle in order to avoid the perils from all the smoke and fire. Clark county has been burned almost entirely. An entire county, smoldering in ashes.
According to Randall Spare, co-owner of Ashland Veterinary Center, via Kansas.com.
"Let me put it into perspective: If someone had 500 cattle on their ranch, I'd guess at least 80 to 90 percent were killed in the last day," Spare said. "That's not including the calves; we're really getting into calving season and there was a lot of baby calves on the ground."
The fires have all but taken down the entire county of Clarke.
The combination of severely dried out lands and 60 mph winds has led to a tinderbox in the state.
A drone view shows Meade, Kansas burning into ash and smoldering. This video was taken Monday evening, March 6th 2017 somewhere around Meade, Kansas about 6 miles high. These fires were spread out as far as the eye could see, for dozens of miles. They started in the panhandle of Oklahoma.
Mar 10, 2017
Stanislav
February record warm for 16 states, 145M Americans
8 March, 2017. The USA might not have recorded its warmest winter since data-keeping began more than 120 years ago, but it didn't feel that way for nearly half of Americans whose states sweltered through their warmest February on record.
Overall, the country recorded its 2nd-warmest February since climate tracking started in 1895, and its 6th-warmest winter, federal scientists announced Wednesday. Sixteen states experienced their warmest February ever recorded.
The average U.S. temperature last month soared to 7.3 degrees above average, scientists from NOAA’s National Centers for Environmental Information said. Only February 1954 was warmer.
(Photo: Brendan Smialowski, AFP/Getty Images)
Cities and towns across the nation tallied an incredible 11,743 record highs compared to 418 record lows in February — the highest ratio of highs to lows, meteorologist Guy Walton said.
<...>
Other notable weather anomalies last month included Massachusetts' first February tornado on record and Chicago's third snow-free February, NOAA said.
As for the winter of 2016-17, defined by meteorologists as the months of December-February, it was the nation's 6th-warmest on record. Two states — Texas and Louisiana — experienced their warmest winter.
Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, New Mexico, South Carolina, Tennessee and West Virginia each tallied their second-warmest winter on record.
<...>
The average national winter precipitation total was 8.22 inches, 1.43 inches above average, ranking this winter as the 8th-wettest on record. Rain and snow reached extraordinary levels in the West, especially in Nevada and Wyoming, which both experienced their wettest winter ever recorded.
The onslaught of storms that battered California throughout the winter gave the state its second-wettest winter on record, delivering a near-knockout blow to the state's ongoing drought. When the winter started, about 73% of the state was in a drought. That percentage dropped to about 9% as of the most recent U.S. Drought Monitor released Thursday. Source: usatoday.com
This was the coldest winter in 32 years (Seattle, US)
1 March, 2017. Were you born after 1985? Then you just experienced the coldest winter of your life. The National Weather Service says the Seattle-area has had the coldest winter season since the winter of 1984-1985 and one of the top 20 coldest winters since record keeping began in 1984.
The agency says the average temperatures taken at the Sea-Tac Airport weather station were colder than normal for December, January, and February, with 21 more nights near or below freezing than normal, adds Q13 Fox Chief Meteorologist Walter Kelley.
<...>
Yes, it rained/snowed a lot last month. 2017 was the wettest February in more than 50 years — since 1961 to be exact. Source: q13fox.com
Bermuda Experiences Record Low Temperature
7 March, 2017. Sub-tropical Bermuda has recorded its coldest March 5 since records began more than 50 years ago, the Bermuda Weather Service (BWS) said on Tuesday.
BWS said Sunday’s bone-chilling temperature fell to 47.7 Fahrenheit (8.7 Celsius) at 9.30 p.m., a record low for the date.
The previous low for March 5 was 52F recorded in 1978, the BWS’s deputy director James Dodgson said. The last time the island recorded a low similar to Sunday’s was on February 27, 2006, when it dropped to 47.1F. Source: jamaica-gleaner.com
One of the Weirdest Weather Months in U.S. History Set 20,000+ Records
2 March, 2017. The eastern U.S. experienced a rash of extreme weather in February 2017, from record warmth that has led to the early blooming of trees and plants to severe storms and deadly tornadoes. All of that strange weather brought back memories of one of the weirdest weather months in U.S. history five years ago when similar early-season events unfolded.
Persistent record warmth vaulted March 2012 to the most extreme temperature departure from average for any month on record in the Lower 48. It was 8.91 degrees Fahrenheit above the 1901-2000 average, according to NOAA's National Centers For Environmental Information (NCEI). Twenty-five states, all of them east of the Rockies, recorded their warmest March on record.
<...>
As a comparison, 11,000 warm temperature records were set in February 2017, mainly in the central and eastern states, according to preliminary data from NOAA's National Centers For Environmental Information. A number of cities saw a record or near-record warmest February, but we won't know how the month will rank as a whole for the Lower 48 until later in March.
<...>
A few tornadoes that occurred that month also touched down unusually far north for that time of year. A March 12 tornado in Midland County, Michigan, was the first tornado north of Interstate 96 in that state before March 20 dating to 1950. Source: weather.com
Minnesota Saw Its Record-Earliest Tornadoes During Monday's Severe Weather Outbreak
7 March, 2017. Source: weather.com
Warmest February in over 100 years of records in some Michigan cities
1 March, 2017. Source: mlive.com
Australia's summer broke 205 weather records, climate group says
More than 200 weather records were broken during Australia's most recent summer, a climate group has warned.
The Climate Council report, titled "Angry Summer", said the season was defined by intense heatwaves and bushfires in eastern Australia but heavy rain and flooding in the west.
Australia's summer - key records
It showed climate change was being felt across Australia, the researchers said.
<...>
At least 205 records were broken over the three-month period, the independent body said.
<...> ource: bbc.com
California storms: Wettest Oct-Feb in 122 years
8 March, 2017. Fueled by a parade of “Pineapple Express” storms, California is in the midst of its wettest water year in 122 years of record-keeping, according to federal scientists.
Cars carefully drive through a flooded area on High Street during the morning commute in Oakland, Calif., on Tuesday, Feb. 7, 2017. The High Street near 880 always floods during heavy rain. (Laura A. Oda/Bay Area News Group)
Between October 2016 and February 2017, California averaged 27.81 inches of precipitation, the highest average since such records began being kept in 1895, according to data released Wednesday by the National Centers for Environmental Information, part of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Source: mercurynews.com
Winter 'driest for Northern Ireland in 53 years'
6 March, 2017. Winter was Northern Ireland's driest in more than five decades, according to the Armagh Observatory.
The Observatory has reported that, taking the three winter months together, this winter was very dry, mild and slightly duller than average. Source: itv.com
Where Winter 2016-17 Ranked as One of the Warmest, Coldest, Wettest or Driest on Record
1 March, 2017. Winter 2016-17 was much warmer and wetter than average for parts of the United States, according to preliminary data compiled by the Southeast Regional Climate Center. One region, however, saw much colder temperatures than average, while a few areas reported one of the coldest winters on record.
The dots in orange indicate a top-5 warmest winter (December-February) and the dots in blue are where winter was a top-5 coldest. (Southeast Regional Climate Center)
Temperatures were very mild in much of the eastern half of the U.S., and for many, it didn't feel like winter. Meanwhile, chilly air gripped the Northwest, which gave the region one of its coldest winters on record.
In terms of precipitation, winter will be remembered for the series of storms that brought heavy rain and mountain snow to California.
For all the superlatives below, December through February is considered winter in meteorological record-keeping.
Warm and Cold Extremes
Nights below 50° have been trending down. In 120 years cut in about half. This winter in #Miami? ZERO, a new record. Source: twitter.com/JohnMoralesNBC6
While the East saw a warmer-than-average winter, the Northwest saw conditions that were much colder than average.
One state that really needed rainfall – California – received above-average precipitation this winter. In some locations, this resulted in a top-10 January for rainfall. But this eventually became too much of a good thing and led to flooding, mudslides and rockslides in parts of the state.
Record-Wet Winter
The dots in green indicate a top-5 wettest winter (December-February) and the dots in yellow are where winter was a top-5 driest.
Source: weather.com
Record warm winter on Faroe Islands
Despite its northerly location in the North Atlantic Ocean, temperatures on the Faroe Islands never tend to drop too low thanks to its close proximity to the Gulf Stream. But they have never been this high before!
This past winter has seen the highest average seasonal temperature in its capital Tórshavn since 1890-91, the first year they were recorded. The results were buoyed by a record warm December that doled out an average temperature of 6.9 degrees. Source: cphpost.dk
Today was the coldest March morning in Anchorage since 1999 (Alaska, US)
7 March, 2017. Southcentral Alaska experienced one of the coldest March mornings in nearly two decades. The temperature at Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport dipped to 8 degrees below zero just before 8 a.m. Although that’s nowhere near the daily record of 24 degrees below zero, set in 1971, it is the coldest March temperature observed at the airport since 1999, when the temperature also dipped to 8 degrees below zero. Other parts of the Anchorage bowl were even colder, with the temperature on JBER dropping to 15 degrees below zero and Merrill Field dropping to 13 degrees below zero. Source: ktva.com
Mar 11, 2017
KM
http://floodlist.com/america/brazil-amazonas-floods-march-2017
Brazil – State of Emergency Declared After Floods in Amazonas
The Juruá river in the northern state of Amazonas, Brazil, has overflowed affecting more than 6,000 families in four municipalities.
Civil Defence officials have been monitoring the situation since heavy rainfall in early January. However levels of the river recently increased dramatically and a state of emergency has been declared in the municipalities of Guajará, Ipixuna, Eirunepé and Itamarati.
As of 07 March, 2017, the Juruá river in Guajará reached 16.68 metres where the flood level is 12.64 metres.
Amazonas Civil Defence have started to distribute food and other emergency supplies including medicine, hygiene kit, sleeping equipment and water purification kits.
Elsewhere in the state increasing levels of the Juruá have placed on alert communities in the municipalities of Juruá, Carauari and Envira.
The Solimões river is also rising, causing concern in the municipalities of Tabatinga, Benjamin Contant, São Paulo de Olivença, Amaturá, Santo Antônio do Iça, Tonantins and Atalaia do Norte. No flooding has been reported but Civil Defence officials say the areas are under a “situation of attention”.
Floods in 8 States Prompt Emergency Declarations
Yesterday Brazil’s Ministry of National Integration announced that emergencies had also been declared in other parts of the country after several incidents of flooding.
In Amapá state the Araguari river overflowed and affected families living in the town of Bailique.
Heavy rain and flooding affected Bauru and Bofete in São Paulo. Emergencies were also declared after recent flooding in Água Doce do Norte, Espírito Santo state and Ribeirão Grande, São Paulo state.
A state of emergency was declared due to the flash floods in Trairão (Pará state), Nova Santa Rita (Rio Grande do Sul state), and in Aparecida de Goiânia (Goiás state).
The state of emergency declaration allows the municipalities to request material and financial support from the National Secretariat for Civil Protection and Defense (SEDEC).
Mar 11, 2017
KM
http://www.presstv.ir/Detail/2017/03/11/513891/Madagascar-cyclone-E...
38 killed, 53k displaced in Madagascar cyclone
Nearly 40 people have lost their lives and 180 others sustained injuries since a powerful cyclone battered the island nation of Madagascar in the Indian Ocean mid-last week.
The national disaster management office in Madagascar (BNGC) made the announcement on Friday, saying that 38 people had been killed countrywide by tropical cyclone Enawo and an estimated 53,000 people displaced by storm waters.
More than 32,000 people have been affected in the capital city of Antananarivo alone, the agency said in an emailed statement.
The BNGC agency had issued an earlier toll of four deaths and 10,000 displaced people as Enawo made landfall in Madagascar’s northeastern coast at a speed of 290 kilometers per hour on Tuesday morning, destroying roads and cutting off communications with Antalaha district, which has a population of 230,000 people.
Images and videos in the social media showed trees flattened and roofs ripped apart; however, no clear estimate about the damage was proffered by government officials.
Deploying 500 volunteers to help in the area, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) said up to 700,000 people could be affected by the cyclone, which was the most powerful to strike the island since 2012.
More than 100 Madagascans were killed five years ago when tropical storm Irina and tropical cyclone Giovanna hit the land. Madagascar has been grappling with severe drought and food shortages since 2015, although storms mostly affect the more affluent northern regions.
Mar 11, 2017
KM
http://strangesounds.org/2017/03/durban-giant-wave-monster-storm-su...
Durban hit by tropical cyclone monster storm surge (tsunami) and extreme winds cancelling a cycle race
The giant waves were accompanied by extreme winds that cancelled a popular cycle race.
The videos, captured on Sunday, show people running away from the giant ‘tsunami’ wave, which swept across a promenade.
Many pubs and other shops along the shore have been flooded.
According to local reports, Durban has been experiencing a bout of stormy weather, which also forced the cancellation of the Cape Town Cycle Tour.
They were not able to drive on their bikes! Some even fell down because of the wind force!
Thankfully, no injuries have been reported yet due to the giant waves and the extreme winds.
Another crazy weather anomaly!
Mar 13, 2017
KM
https://watchers.news/2017/03/13/extreme-winds-newfoundland-and-lab...
Extreme winds wreak havoc in Newfoundland and Labrador
Hurricane-force winds wreaked havoc in the Canadian most easterly province of Newfoundland and Labrador on Saturday, March 11, 2017, downing power lines, damaging homes and tipping over cars. It was the fiercest storm the province has seen in more than 10 years, officials said.
The storm produced wind speeds of up to 180 km/h (112 mph) at its peak, causing significant power outages and damage to property. The authorities urged drivers to avoid all non-emergency travel and to clear off the roads while emergency crews deal with the damage.
Environment Canada meteorologist Wanda Batten said peak wind speeds in some areas broke records previously held by hurricane Igor in 2010. "It was the strongest storm we've seen in more than a decade," she said Saturday. "It blew through three-quarters of the island."
The extreme winds on the back of the low brought extensive damage to much of eastern Newfoundland,” the government said. “Reports of damage include: power outages, tipped over trucks and trailers, siding and shingles ripped from buildings. In extreme cases, sheds, roofs, and the top floor to some houses were blown away.”
Powerful winds grounded flights at St. John's International Airport, wreaking havoc on travel plans as the airport measured winds of up to 158 km/h (98 mph), the equivalent of a Category 2 hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale. Ferry crossings in the region were also canceled and several roads closed due to white-out conditions.
In a statement released Sunday night, March 12, authorities at St. John’s International Airport said that the airport has sustained significant damage to its facilities. An electrical component in the Airport’s Terminal Electrical room was damaged, resulting in no electrical feed entering the Terminal Building.
"The Terminal Building is presently operating under backup emergency power provided by two emergency generators as well as reduced normal power. The Airport Authority is reviewing all options to have heat and key operational systems restored as soon as possible," it said.
At the height of the storm, some 70 000 customers were without power, Newfoundland Power said.
No serious injuries have been reported.
Mar 13, 2017
Stanislav
Vermont city records 2nd-biggest snowfall ever
Two men play golf with a tennis ball as a snowstorm sweeps through Times Square, Tuesday, March 14, 2017, in New York. A powerful nor'easter hit the Northeast on Tuesday after a largely uneventful winter, grounding thousands of flights and leading to school and work closures along the coast. Mark Lennihan AP Phot
15 March, 2017. Even as the big storm that pummeled the Northeast winds down it is still setting records: It is now the second largest snowstorm ever recorded in South Burlington, Vermont.
By late Wednesday afternoon the National Weather Service said the storm that began Tuesday had dumped 29.9 inches at the airport in South Burlington, the second most since records began being kept in the late 1800s. The biggest snowfall was 33.1 inches in January 2010.
Other big snow totals in Vermont include 32 inches in Westford in Chittenden County and 34 inches in Jay, along the Canadian border. Portland, Maine, also set a record for the day, receiving 16.3 inches. In New Hampshire, big snow totals included 23.6 inches in Stratham in the south. Source: newsobserver.com
Indio records its highest temperature for March 13 in 101 years (Cal, US)
13 March, 2017. We're still a week away from the official start of the spring season, but cities around the Coachella Valley must be preparing for summer; Indio set a new daily high temperature record and Palm Springs tied its previous high temp for March 13.
KESQ First Alert Meteorologist Haley Clawson said Indio set a new record for March 13 by reaching 98 degrees. The city's previous high temperature for the day was 97 degrees, which was set in 1916. Source: kesq.com
NH city ties record set in 1874 for lowest high temperature
12 March, 2017. Saturday's frigid weather set records for the lowest high temperature in several northern New England cities.
In Burlington, Vermont, the temperature never climbed past 11 degrees on Saturday, the coldest maximum temperature for the day since 1885. The highest temperature in Montpelier was 8 degrees, four degrees colder than the record set in 1960.
Similar records were set in Augusta, Maine, where it got up to 14 degrees, and Portland, Maine, where the high temperature was 17. In Concord, New Hampshire, Saturday's high temperature of 18 degrees tied a record set in 1874. Source: nh1.com
March nor’easter one of the biggest snow storms ever recorded at Westover
15 March, 2017. While it wasn’t officially a blizzard, our March nor’easter was a record breaking snow storm.
According to Tracey Ress, Weather Station Manager at Westover Air Reserve Base in Chicopee, the snowfall total measured 21.7″ for the Tuesday, March 14th, 2017 snow storm.
This snowfall total makes this storm the SECOND biggest snow storm since snowfall measurements were first recorded at Westover in 1945, which is where our lower Pioneer Valley climate records are kept. Source: wwlp.com
Mar 16, 2017
Derrick Johnson
Dramatic footage shows young woman caked in brown sludge fighting to escape being swept away in Peru mudslide
This is the dramatic moment a young woman caked in brown sludge fought to escape being swept away in a devastating mudslide in Peru.
Footage shows the woman battling to survive as a raging torrent of flood water thick with debris ripped through a valley in the district of Punta Hermosa, south of captial city Lima.
Terrified onlookers shouted to try to get her attention but were powerless to intervene as she was carried out towards the heaving brown rapids.
The shocking video emerged after some of the the heaviest rains and hottest temperatures in two decades have battered Peru over the past month as weather linked to El Nino caused flooding and landslides that blocked the country's central highway and forced hundreds from their homes.
Dramatic footage shows a young woman caked in brown sludge trying desperately to escape being swept away in a devastating mudslide in Peru
At one point in the clip, the woman waves to acknowledge she is safe only to be dragged back under one of dozens of wooden pallets swirling in the mudslide.
A man filming shouts 'somebody's down there' to rescuers after losing sight of the woman.
But incredibly, she avoids being dragged under or crushed and reappears, desperately clawing her way out of the water before stepping over floating planks of wood to the shore.
As she reaches the banks of the river, the terrified woman collapses to the ground before rescuers rush in to help her.
While the woman is dragged to safety, farm animals are also seen among the debris and torrents of mud, including a cow and what appears to be a piglet.
It is not known when exactly the video was captured.
It comes after a separate video emerged showing the Peruvian army dramatically rescuing stranded schoolchildren with a helicopter.
A video shows the moment the youngsters were pulled from the water by troops in an Mi-171 chopper.
The army at first rescued 72 people in the district of Pacora, among them 35 children who lived in the villages of La Junta Santa Isabel and Senor de Luren.
In total, over the course of various missions, more than 200 people - 123 of them children - had to be rescued after they became cut off from dry land.
In the video an army officer can be seen up to his waist in water, carrying a little boy over his shoulders.
He can be seen struggling towards the waiting helicopter, which hovers just over the dirty water.
Other soldiers can be seen helping the youngsters get into the helicopter which later flew them to safety.
The Peruvian Ministry of Defence confirmed they had rescued 210 people who had been isolated in their villages after La Leche river overflowed.
It comes after a separate video emerged showing the Peruvian army dramatically rescuing stranded schoolchildren with a helicopter
Eight villages were cut off and more than 30 houses collapsed due to the extreme weather conditions.
The flood was caused by heavy rains over just a few hours in the region of Lambayeque, north-western Peru.
The Ministry of Defence said the remainder were saved from the neighbouring district of Jayaca.
The government department shared a video of the dramatic rescue effort on social media.
Meanwhile at least 15 people were killed when a bus plunged into a ravine in central Peru during heavy rain, authorities said Sunday.
The accident took place Saturday in Yauya district, a remote part of the Ancash region in central Peru, north of Lima.
Fifteen people have been confirmed dead, and the bus was carrying 22, so the toll could rise, police said. Rain and poor visibility were impeding recovery efforts, they said.
Traffic accidents are common and often deadly in this country of 30 million, which rises from coastal desert to the towering Andes and encompasses tropical Amazon basin lowlands.
Earlier this month Peru's weather agency, Senamhi, put the country on alert for even more intense rains the rest of the week after downpours overwhelmed towns along the northern coast and in the central Andes and Amazon.
'We haven't seen this volume of rain since 1997' during the last strong El Nino phenomenon, Agriculture Minister Juan Manuel Benites said.
El Nino is a warming of sea-surface temperatures in the Pacific that can intensify rains and cause drought.
Temperatures in several seaside and jungle towns have also reached 20-year highs, said Nelson Quispe, a Senamhi official.
Several major rivers already carrying twice as much water as usual threatened to wash over shantytowns built in flood zones along Peru's coast.
This season's El Nino has already left 5,000 homeless and impacted an additional 80,000 people, according to Indeci.
The disaster will likely squeeze food prices and could stoke inflation that is already near a four-year high. News channel Canal N reported shortages of some products in wholesale markets.
The government deployed mobile clinics after floods shuttered some hospitals. The education minister said officials were evaluating pushing back the start of the school season in some areas.
Source: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-4320728/Footage-shows-woman...
Mar 17, 2017
Stanislav
Northern Namibia braced for worst flood in memory
17 March, 2017. This year's wet season brings significant flooding to the most densely populated area of the country
Flooding in Namibia's Cuvelai-Etosha catchment area has reached alarming levels in recent weeks, with residents being warned to take the necessary precautions in expectation of the worst possible floods experienced in the region in living memory.
This is according to the Ministry of Agriculture, Water and Forestry; the disaster risk-management division in the prime minister's office; and the Namibia meteorological services.
In a joint statement, the authorities warned that the magnitude of flooding expected in the northern central regions is likely to surpass that of 2011, which saw the highest level of flooding in Namibia's recent history. "The 2017 floods are predicted to become even higher if good rains continue, as they are both in the headwaters of the Cuvelai catchments in southern Angola and in the northern border areas of Namibia within these catchments," the statement said.
The situation is predicted to be made worse by the opening of the sluice gates of the Gove Dam. Water from the dam is expected to flood the Kunene River, which in turn will flood parts of southern Angola and northern Namibia.
Erratic rainfall
Efundja, the annual seasonal flooding of the northern parts of the country, often causes not only damage to infrastructure but also loss of life. The rains that cause these floods fall in Angola, then flow into Namibia's Cuvelai basin and end up filling the flood plains there.
The basin is characterised by an interconnected system of shallow water courses, called oshanas, which are the "life-support system" for the most densely populated area in the country. They are easily prone to flooding through excessive rain or controlled release from dams. Water levels in the oshanas in the Omusati region have been rising since last week, an indication that more water from Angola has been flowing into the country.
Namibia is considered to be one of the most vulnerable countries to the effects of climate change in sub-Saharan Africa. Dry land, a hot and dry climate and erratic rainfall patterns, have traditionally exposed the country to recurrent droughts and wild fires. In Namibia's interior, surface water is available only in the summer months when rivers are in flood after exceptional rainfalls. Luckily, boreholes can be used in about 80 percent of the country. Source: aljazeera.com
Mar 19, 2017
KM
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-4330294/CNN-Host-says-Trump...
Mass evacuations as wildfire threatens Colorado City
The fire broke out overnight and quickly expanded to cover 62 acres, according to the Boulder Office of Emergency Management (OEM). The blaze lies just west of the city of Boulder.
Authorities are struggling to contain the fire and the Denver Post reports that the flames is moving in a southerly direction towards downtown Boulder.
“That is a major concern,” Gabi Boerkircher of the Boulder Office of Emergency Management said. “It looks like it’s going to be very hot and very dry, and potential winds up to 20 mph. Which is not good.”
The office says it has multiple aircraft dropping water and slurry on the inferno. The Denver Channel reports that the blaze is “zero percent contained.”
A further 3,700 homes have been placed on evacuation notice and people have been told to prepare to leave. Large and small animals are also being evacuated to sites away from the path of the wildfire.
High temperatures, low humidity, and a significant breeze mean conditions are perfect for the fire to spread.
It’s not clear yet what sparked the fire. Multiple fire agencies are responding to the blaze and numerous roads have been closed as a result of the fire. There have been no reports yet of damage to homes or other buildings.
Mar 20, 2017
SongStar101
As drought slashes rice harvest, 900,000 face hunger in Sri Lanka
http://www.reuters.com/article/us-sri-lanka-drought-hunger-idUSKBN1...
An unpublished survey conducted by government agencies and relief organizations in February found that both food insecurity and debt were rising sharply among families hit by drought, the WFP office in Sri Lanka confirmed to the Thomson Reuters Foundation.
The country’s rice harvest could be the worst in 40 years, charity Save the Children predicted. The just-completed harvest was 63 percent below normal, it said.
The survey found that over one third of the drought-affected households had seen their income drop by half since September and 60 percent of the households surveyed were in debt.
The average amount of debt was about 180,000 Sri Lankan rupees, or $1,200, WFP said.
The survey findings are expected to be formally released later this month.
Sri Lanka’s government said over 1.2 million people have been affected by the country’s current drought, which began last November and continues despite some occasional rainfall over the last two months.
Save the Children estimates that over 600,000 of those affected – two thirds of the total – are children.
The Western and Northern Provinces have been worst hit, with over 400,000 people struggling with drought in each province.
RICE HARVEST HALVED
Government and WFP assessments suggest Sri Lanka’s 2017 rice harvest could be less than half the 3 million metric tons recorded last year.
According to WFP assessments the island needs 2.3 million metric tons of rice for annual consumption but the overall 2017 rice harvest is projected to yield just 1.44 metric tons.
The government has already taken steps to increase rice imports to stave off shortages, Disaster Management Minister Anura Priyadarshana Yapa said.
“We have a shortfall in the rice harvest. We have been taking action to prevent any shortfalls and will allow for tax-free rice imports until the harvest recovers,” he said.
Worst-affected by the drought have been farmers and those relying on agricultural work for income. The joint WFP and government survey indicated that one out of five farmers and one out of four farm laborers is now classified as food insecure in the drought region.
Preliminary data in the survey also indicated that female-headed households in drought areas were faring worse than others, with almost 20 percent reporting “poor” to “borderline” ability to access enough food as a result of the drought.
Yapa said that the government was devising a plan to help those affected and “we will begin cash assistance very soon”.
The initial plan is to provide 500,000 persons with cash assistance, he said. The government has so far set aside 8 billion rupees ($52 million) for cash-for-work programs in drought-hit areas.
Over 50 million rupees ($300,000) has been allocated to distribute water to affected populations in 22 of the island’s 25 districts, he said.
The drought is expected to continue into April, according to seasonal forecasting by the Meteorological Department.
“The big rains will come with the next monsoon”, which is expected to arrive in late May, said Lalith Chandrapala, director general of the Meteorological Department.
(Reporting by Amantha Perera; editing by Laurie Goering :; Please credit the Thomson Reuters Foundation, the charitable arm of Thomson Reuters, that covers humanitarian news, climate change, resilience, women's rights, trafficking and property rights.
Mar 24, 2017
SongStar101
Lake Tahoe expected to fill up with largest physical rise in recorded history
http://www.sfgate.com/news/article/Lake-Tahoe-fill-full-capacity-le...
Winter's unrelenting storms built up a substantial Sierra snowpack and are expected to fill the lake for the first time in 11 years.
Many low-lying areas that were exposed when the lake level was declining during the drought will be inundated with water. The docks will be bobbing in crystal blue waters once again.
Straddling the California–Nevada border, Tahoe is the sixth largest lake in the United States, an outdoor playground for people around the world, and the main water source for the Reno-Sparks, Nevada, area. The renowned ecological wonder is fed by 63 tributaries that drain 505 square miles known as the Lake Tahoe Watershed. With a vast surface area of 191 square miles, Tahoe requires an immense amount of water to fill, especially because roughly 100 billion gallons of water evaporates annually.
Lake Tahoe's natural rim is at 6,223 feet above sea level. The lake can store an additional 6.1 feet in its reservoir and climbs up to 6,229 feet at full capacity, its legal maximum limit. The only outlet, a dam at Tahoe City, regulates the upper 6.1 feet above the low water mark, and this winter water is being released into the Truckee River as billions of gallons flow into the lake.
Tahoe's water level reached 6,226.84 feet on Wednesday, and the lake needs some 88 billion gallons of water to jump up the 2.26 feet required to be completely full. That's the equivalent of filling more than 133,000 Olympic-size swimming pools.
"We feel really good right now," said U.S. District Court Water Master Chad Blanchard. "We're releasing 500 cubic feet of water per second, and trying to manage the elevation. The elevation has been flat for a couple weeks, but we don't want to get too high because we have two-and-a-quarter feet of room. But we could still have as much as four to five feet of water to come into the lake in next five months. It's a balancing act. We have to fill, but we don't want to overfill. And the forecasts we get are just forecasts. They're not perfect."
Lake Tahoe is feeling the effects of the drought and is at its lowest water level in four years.
Media: tvjsonIf Tahoe reaches full capacity, as Blanchard expects the lake will do at the end of July, it would see its largest physical rise in recorded history going back to 1900.
Since the start of the rainy season on October 1, the lake level has shot up 4.5 feet. If the lake fills, it will rise a total of 6.5 feet, beating the 1995 record when it jumped up six feet in a single season, which runs Oct. 1 to Sept. 30.
This is a huge milestone for a body of water that flirted with record-low levels amid a five-year drought. At the same time last year, the lake level was a full 4.19 feet lower. This was discouraging in an El Niño year when storms expected to bring record-breaking snow and rain delivered only average precipitation, filling some reservoirs but making only a small dent in California's drought conditions overall.
This year is telling a different story as storms ceaselessly battered the Sierra Nevada in January and February. The Lake Tahoe Basin received 10 more inches of precipitation than any year in recorded history, going back to 1910. Because Tahoe has a large surface area, the precipitation alone provides a significant rise.
And then there's the Sierra Nevada snowpack. The range is piled high with the most snow it has seen in decades, and a recent survey on March 1 indicated the snowpack is 185 percent of average. As the weather warms, this snow will melt and pour billions of gallons of water into the rising lake.
And perhaps the most significant milestone is that the drought will be considered over in the Tahoe area.
"In the Truckee basin, drought is defined as water storage in Lake Tahoe," Blanchard said. "Tahoe is the defining factor. If we're full at Tahoe, the drought is over. Typically, we can get three year's worth of water from the reservoir part. Of course, that could vary in some freak extreme."
Mar 24, 2017
KM
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/churchill-blizzard-grocery-s...
Blizzard-bound Churchill awaits supply train: OmniTrax says track cleared
Northern Manitoba town's grocery shelves are bare as residents face another blizzard
Locals say there is hardly any meat left at the one store in Churchill.
Another winter blizzard is hitting the remote northern Manitoba community of Churchill, where people are already desperate for groceries that have been delayed since the last blizzard two weeks ago.
But there could be relief as soon as Monday afternoon, if the train can get all the way through to the town of about 900 residents.
Churchill, Man., is located about 1,000 kilometres northeast of Winnipeg. (Google Maps)
OmniTrax, the Denver-based company that owns the rail line that brings supplies into Churchill, cleared the tracks and is trying to get supplies delivered as soon as possible. A train with supplies departed from the northern Manitoba town of Gillam, about 270 kilometres southeast of Churchill, at around noon Monday.
"A lot of families are suffering because they have young children and they need milk," said local resident Lana Bilenduke.
No bread or vegetables are for sale at the local store and meat is scarce, she said.
"Everyone's in a crisis until we get our groceries in."
The northern Manitoba town is again in the midst of near-zero visibility, wind gusts of 90 km/h and wind chill values in the –40s due to an intense low pressure system over Hudson Bay, according to Environment Canada.
Churchill has been under a local state of emergency since March 10, after the area was hit with 60 cm of snow over three days.
The forecast calls for five more centimetres of snow, on top of the 60 cm that fell over three days during the previous blizzard. The town has been under a local state of emergency since then.
The latest blizzard conditions should ease late Monday afternoon or early in the evening.
Churchill Deputy Mayor Shane Hutchins said a freight train hasn't come into town in nearly three weeks, and people are still digging out from the earlier blizzard.
Deliveries usually come once a week, but shelves are bare at the town's lone supermarket — the Northern Store, he said.
"I've lived here 50 years and no, we've never had anything like this."
Blizzard conditions with near-zero visibility, wind gusts of 90 km/h and wind chill values in the -40s are expected in Churchill on Monday, just two weeks after the above storm slammed the area.
However, the news that OmniTrax has a train loaded with supplies headed that way is welcome news, he said.
"It looks like we should have groceries available to us hopefully some time either late this afternoon or early tomorrow morning," he said, adding: "I don't know what the expiry date of the vegetables or produce is … fingers crossed they are in relatively good shape."
People in Churchill were becoming increasingly frustrated with OmniTrax after what Hutchins described as "nearly non-existent" communication between the company and the town since snow-clearing plows on the line were recently shut down.
Ron Margulis, an OmniTrax spokesperson, said the snow on the rail line to Churchill was abnormal and difficult for crews to get rid of. But as of Monday the crews had accomplished that goal.
Margulis also disputed Hutchins's assertion OmniTrax has not communicated properly with the town.
Margulis said the company had sent notices to communities along the route that were affected by the line's temporary closure.
Mar 24, 2017
jorge namour
Kuwait drowned!
24-3-2017
https://www.facebook.com/arabstorms/videos/1601005639926844/?pnref=...
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Huge electrical storm lights up Qatar’s night skies
MARCH 20, 2017
https://dohanews.co/huge-electrical-storm-lights-qatars-night-skies/
Qatar’s residents have gotten used to rainy weather of late, but last night’s thunder and lightning was still something special.
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Thundershowers continue to pound UAE
March 25, 2017
http://gulfnews.com/news/uae/weather/thundershowers-continue-to-pou...
Dubai: Thundershowers continued across the UAE on Saturday, a day after heavy rain and hailstorm fell on parts of the emirates.
Mar 25, 2017
Stanislav
Is the number of tornadoes increasing in US? ZetaTalk Rights Again?
I made this infographic using D3.js. Tornadoes data taken from here: spc.noaa.gov
Mar 25, 2017
KM
http://www.skynews.com.au/news/top-stories/2017/03/26/qld-residents...
Cyclone Debbie forces evacuations in Qld
Qld's first tropical cyclone in two years is threatening to inflict major damage on the state's north coast.
Tropical cyclone Debbie is expected to slam into Townsville earlier than first forecast, authorities warn.
The Bureau of Meteorology has warned winds of up to 100km/h will develop in the city as early as 4pm on Monday based on Cyclone Debbie's current path, Queensland Police says.
The cyclone was originally forecast to make landfall north of Ayr early on Tuesday.
Residents are being told to take precautions and find shelter.
A decision on evacuations will be made at 5am on Monday.
All schools in Townsville will be closed on Monday.
Evacuations began in coastal areas of the Whitsunday region on Sunday afternoon as tropical cyclone Debbie continued to intensify.
The category 2 storm is expected to become a Category 3 later on Sunday and authorities expect it to be a Category 4 when it makes a forecast landfall some time early on Tuesday.
The system, sitting 450km north east of Townsville in the Coral Sea, is expected to track south-west and make landfall somewhere between Townsville and Proserpine.
More than 1000 emergency services staff plus Australian Defence Force personnel are being deployed to the region in anticipation of the storm's arrival.
Bureau of Meteorology deputy regional director Bruce Gunn says Debbie is potentially far more dangerous than the last cyclones to reach land in Queensland.
'Queensland hasn't seen a coastal crossing for a couple of years now since Marcia or Nathan in 2015 but I think you could probably say that Debbie's the most significant tropical cyclone since Yasi,' Mr Gunn said.
'Not so much because of it's intensity ... mostly because of its size and extent. It's quite a sizable system.'
One man died and the damage bill reached $800 million when Category 5 Yasi tore across north Queensland in February 2011.
The Whitsunday Regional Council on Sunday ordered several low-lying coastal areas to evacuate, with a significant storm tide forecast.
'If you are unable to evacuate, the Cyclone Shelters in Bowen and Proserpine will be opened on Monday as a last resort,' Whitsunday mayor Andrew Willcox said.
'The cyclone shelters have capacity for 800 people each and are only available to those people at highest risk from cyclone effects that have no other option.'
Authorities are concerned some small towns, like Bowen, could be flattened because many buildings were not built to withstand such destructive conditions.
Authorities directed evacuation of residents in Alva Beach, Groper Creek, Jerona, Wunjunga and some areas of Rita Island due to Tropical Cyclone Debbie.
Despite the threats, some people are refusing to leave.
Residents were informed a forced evacuation of the low-lying area had been enacted, but some, including Jan Bridges in Alva Beach south of Townsville, refused to budge.
'I'm staying,' she told officers.
In the Whitsunday Islands gateway town of Airlie Beach several holiday makers are preparing to ride out the storm or even continue their travels across the region.
A local tour operator, who did not wish to be named, said a handful of backpackers were still preparing to head north to Townsville and Cairns and did not appreciate the risk.
Even those well away from the centre of the cyclone are being urged to make preparations with Category 3 winds over 100km/h and flooding expected throughout the region.
'Tomorrow will be too late,' State Disaster Coordinator Michael Gollschewski said.
'Just because they may be some way away from that area that doesn't mean you may not be impacted. People need to be aware of what will be happening in their area.'
Schools between Ayr and Prosperpine will be closed on Monday and Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk didn't rule out further closures as the storm nears the coast.
James Cook University has closed its campuses in Cairns, Townsville Ayr and Mackay for Monday.
The cyclone has grounded Jetstar, Virgin and Qantas flights in and out of Townsville, Hamilton Island and Mackay.
Townsville-based BP petrol station worker Stacey Trainer said people had been 'going crazy' filling jerry cans with fuel and memories of the destructive Yasi put people on notice.
'That's why we're watching it quite closely at the moment,' Ms Trainer told AAP. 'Yasi was quite scary.'
- See more at: http://www.skynews.com.au/news/top-stories/2017/03/26/qld-residents...
Mar 26, 2017
KM
https://www.rt.com/usa/382903-las-vegas-dust-storm/
Las Vegas dust storm uproots trees, knocks down power lines & delays flights
Roughly 40,000 people in the greater Las Vegas area have been left without power as a massive wind storm damaged power grids, knocked down street poles and trees, and caused major air and traffic disruptions.
High winds are being blamed for multiple scattered power outages affecting some 44,000 NV Energy customers in the Las Vegas area, local media reports.
Images from the gambling capital of the world show power poles damaged in the vicinity of the famed Las Vegas Strip, lined with its world famous casinos. Trees and streetlights have also been uprooted in the storm.
Officials have urged the public to stay indoors until the storm passes. Meanwhile, some people wrote that gusty winds of up to 70 mph overturned furniture in their backyards.
The adverse weather is also causing heavy traffic in the area, where the debris is preventing motorists from driving. The Regional Transportation Commission of Southern Nevada has issued a warning to motorists to avoid driving due to low visibility and blowing dust on valley roads.
The Northbound Interstate 15 was forced to shut down for about two hours after large lorries rolled over on the road.
High winds also caused flight delays at Las Vegas McCarran International Airport, forcing the air hub to temporarily place a brief hold on departures.
At least one person suffered a minor injury when a construction wall collapse inside the Monte Carlo Hotel-Casino, Fox 5 News Vegas reported.
A dust storm warning has been issued until 11 pm local time with a wind range up to 70 mph (110km/h).
Mar 31, 2017
KM
https://www.rt.com/usa/382903-las-vegas-dust-storm/
India under intense heat wave: Temperatures soaring to abnormal levels well ahead of the summer season: Maharashtra records record 46.5C (114F)
Bhira, a small village in Maharashtra's Raigad district on Tuesday recorded a maximum temperature of 46.5 degrees Celsius as hot and dry winds from Kutch in Gujarat and central India continued to heat up central Maharashtra and Vidarbha.
In fact, the whole of India is reeling under intense heat wave with temperatures soaring to abnormal levels well ahead of the summer season.
A report in Skymet said that temperature in Bhira town of Mahrashtra's Raigadh district touched a searing 46.5 degrees on Tuesday.
Indian Meteorological Department officials expressed doubts over the unusually high temperature given Bhira is located in the Sahayadri region and is surrounded by mountains with thick forests.
The agency, however, decided to conduct an inquiry into the matter.
The Met said that it recorded 43 degree Celsius on Monday, but on Tuesday, the temperature was not recorded because it happened to be a holiday.
The extreme temperature, perhaps the highest in the country, is quite unusual for a place like Bhira that never crosses the 45 degree Celsius mark.
Officials from Mumbai will visit the observatory in Bhira on Friday to ascertain the reading. According to official data, Bhira was seven degrees above normal on Tuesday.
But, in Less than 24 hours, the maximum temperature dropped to 41 degrees Celsius.
The mean temperature in Bhira for the month of March between period of 1961 and 1990 was 39.3 degrees C, data indicates.
"This is very unusual, especially since the region is in the Konkan belt. Meteorologists would visit the site on Friday to ascertain the reading.
The observatory is a non-departmental observatory that is handled by the government but has a trained official who relays the readings to us," said Sunil Kamble, director in charge, India Meteorological Department, Mumbai.
According to Kamble, the observatory is surrounded by three hills and could have seen unusual heating.
A probe would reveal if the readings recorded were accurate, he said.
"On Wednesday, Bhira's temperature dipped drastically.
We suspect that the hot winds on Tuesday afternoon could have raised the temperature.
However, considering the wind pattern and all the other factors, we will study the observatory," Kamble added.
Bhira houses the third hydropower plant of Tata Power Company Ltd (TPCL), set up in 1927.
With as many as 13 observatories recording maximum temperature above 40 degrees C, weather forecasters believe the areas will experience a hot summer, with the area hotter by about four degrees. IMD issued a warning of continuing heatwaves at a few isolated places over Madhya Maharashtra and Vidarbha until Friday.
According to the IMD data, Malegaon, Nagpur, Chandrpur and Wardha had all recorded 43 degrees and were among the hottest parts of the state.
While Yavatmal and Nanded registered 42 degrees, Parbhani, Aurangabad and Gondia were 41 degrees.
All these places are believed to be experiencing moderate heatwave-like conditions. Mumbai had recorded 38.4 degrees Celsius on Monday but the mercury has since continued to drop and the maximum temperature on Wednesday was 33 degrees.
Last year thousands died from the heat in India where cars and roads began to melt from the heat...
Mar 31, 2017
jorge namour
Biblical Floods in Argentina's Patagonia
31/03/2017
http://terrarealtime.blogspot.com.ar/2017/03/alluvioni-bibliche-nel...
Comodoro Rivadavia MAP:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comodoro_Rivadavia
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APOCALYPTIC FLOOD IN BRAZIL!
31/03/2017
http://terrarealtime.blogspot.com.ar/2017/03/alluvione-apocalittica...
Mar 31, 2017