Wild Weather, the Wobble Effect

HIGHWOOD RIVER, Calgary (AP) — Water levels from heavy flooding in western Canada were expected to peak around noon on Friday possibly forcing as many as 100,000 people from their homes, officials said.

Torrential rains and widespread flooding throughout southern Alberta on Thursday forced the closure of the Trans-Canada Highway and isolated the mountain resort towns of Banff and Canmore.

The flooding washed out roads and bridges, left at least one person missing and caused cars, couches and refrigerators to float away.

Communities were hit hard just south of Calgary, a city of more than a million people that hosted the 1988 Winter Olympics.

Many downtown neighborhoods were ordered evacuated as the evening went on. Officials said the evacuation would take place in stages over the next few days. The province reported that 12 communities were under states of emergency.

One woman who had been stranded on top of a trailer was missing after it was swept away, STARS air ambulance spokesman Cam Heke said.

Motorists who were trapped overnight Wednesday by water spilling over Canada's main western highway had to be rescued by helicopter, Town of Canmore spokeswoman Sally Caudill said.

"I woke up at about three o'clock in morning to the sound of this kind of rumbling, and it was the creek," said Wade Graham, a resident of Canmore. "At first it was just intense, pretty powerful, amazing thing to watch. As daylight came, it just got bigger and bigger and wider and wider, and it's still getting bigger and bigger and wider and wider."

He added, "I watched a refrigerator go by, I watched a shed go by, I watched couches go by. It's insane."

Bruce Burrell, director of the Calgary Emergency Management Agency, said water levels on the Bow River aren't expected to subside until Saturday afternoon. The Bow River Basin already has been battered with up to 100 mm (3.9 inches) of rain.

"Depending on the extent of flooding we experience overnight, there may be areas of the city where people are not going to be able to get into until the weekend," he told a news conference.

In High River, Mounties asked people with motorboats to help rescue at least a dozen stranded homeowners.

"We have people on their rooftops who were unable to evacuate fast enough," said RCMP Sgt. Patricia Neely.

Environment Canada issued a rainfall warning for the affected areas, estimating as much as 100 millimetres more rain could fall in the next two days.

Comment by lonne rey on June 22, 2013 at 11:30am: Rainstorm wreaks havoc in western Switzerland

A violent storm packing winds of up to 130 kilometres an hour, hail and heavy rain swept through western Switzerland on Thursday uprooting trees, disrupting transport and sparking flash flooding.

Traffic at Geneva’s airport was disrupted and numerous streets were turned into rivers from the heavy rain, the ATS news agency reported.

Skyguide said air traffic at Geneva airport was suspended for 20 minutes while the storm passed through.

Traffic was also delayed on Swiss Federal Railways trains between Geneva and Lausanne.

In 15 minutes, as much as 20 millimetres of rain fell in the Geneva region, the weather service of the Swiss broadcaster SRF reported.

The storm, coming a day before the official start of summer, marked a dramatic change in weather following a four-day heatwave that saw temperatures well above 30 degrees.

Local news media website ArcInfo.ch reported heavy damage in various parts of Neuchâtel from hailstones measuring up to five centimetres in diameter.

Vehicle and building windows were smashed and vineyards were damaged, the website reported.

Trains came to a standstill between Neuchâtel and Chaux-de-Fonds and Neuchâtel and Val-de-Travers following a mudslide.

At least a dozen other municipalities sustained damage from the storm as it tracked toward the French border.

In Biel, in the canton of Bern, dozens of people were injured as strong winds devastated a campsite for the Swiss federal gymnastics festival for the second time in a week, cantonal police said.

Police, firefighters, ambulance attendants and Swiss army members responded to deal with the situation, according to media reports.

The exact number of injured people could not be immediately confirmed.

Tents were thrown in the air and many people were trapped beneath debris, the SDA news service reported.

Last Thursday, strong winds forced cancellation of the opening ceremonies of the festival, involving 60,000 athletes from across the country.

Malcolm Curtis (news@thelocal.ch)

http://www.thelocal.ch/20130620/rainstorm-wreaks-havoc-in-western-s...

Comment by SongStar101 on June 21, 2013 at 3:12pm: Sun bathers, reptiles emerge in Alaska heat as wildfires spread

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (Reuters) - With a heat wave gripping Alaska, strange things have been happening under the midnight sun.

Anchorage residents, who a month ago shivered through an unseasonably cold spring and a surprise May snowstorm, have donned swimsuits and depleted stores of fans to ward off record heat in the state's largest city.

Temperatures have run as much as 20 degrees Fahrenheit above normal, with daytime highs in Anchorage climbing into the 80s in recent days, and the sudden onset of atypical warmth has been blamed for unleashing wildfires and flooding alike.

Moose have been spotted near lawn sprinklers around Anchorage and at least one invaded someone's kiddie pool. Pet reptiles, normally confined to heated indoor spaces because of Alaska's cold outdoors, are making rare public appearances.

Park managers at Goose Lake, one of Anchorage's few outdoor swimming spots, had to eject a pet iguana named "Godzilla," along with some pet snakes and a turtle that patrons brought to the crowded sandy shoreline, said Doreen Hernandez, the city aquatic superintendent who has been working at the site.

Pets are not allowed at Goose Lake for health reasons, although she conceded that the rule is usually applied to dogs.

"We don't have a sign that says `No Snakes,'" she said.

Heat records have been broken around the state, with an all-time record high of 96 degrees reached on Tuesday in Talkeetna, the tiny town famous as the jumping-off site for Mount McKinley expeditions. The previous record high there was 91 degrees.

SIZZLING SOLSTICE

The heat spell has come at the peak of Alaska's summer, just before the solstice, a time of nearly round-the-clock daylight as the sun barely grazes the horizon overnight.

In Valdez, operators of the Trans-Alaska Pipeline marine terminal halted oil-tanker loading for 4 1/2 hours late Monday night and early Tuesday morning as a precaution after temperatures at the terminal hit 92 degrees.

"Our systems aren't used to operating in that heat," said Katie Pesznecker, a spokeswoman for operator Alyeska Pipeline Service Co.

Meteorologists blame the anomaly on rapid shift in atmospheric wind patterns. The system that brought cold air from the north during the spring changed suddenly, sending in hot air from the south and southeast.

The rapid heat-up caused considerable flooding of mountain streams, said Tom Pepe, an Anchorage-based meteorologist for the National Weather Service.

"You get big pieces of ice that jam up small parts of rivers,"

Flooding along the Yukon River late last month caused severe damage in several Native Alaskan villages, most notably the Athabascan community of Galena, where nearly all residents were evacuated by aircraft.

Property damage along the river was estimated at $10 million, said Tony Luiken, a state emergency management spokesman. The governor has declared a disaster.

The heat wave also has stoked numerous wildfires, many ignited by dry-lightning strikes fueled by ample dry brush.

A lightning-sparked wildfire straddling the Tetlin National Wildlife Refuge and Wrangell-St. Elias National Park tripled in size in one day, and was last measured at more than 25,000 acres, the National Park Service said on Wednesday.

Comment by SongStar101 on June 21, 2013 at 2:56pm: Flooding may force 100,000 from west Canada homes

SOURCE-Picture

HIGHWOOD RIVER, Calgary (AP) — Water levels from heavy flooding in western Canada were expected to peak around noon on Friday possibly forcing as many as 100,000 people from their homes, officials said.

Torrential rains and widespread flooding throughout southern Alberta on Thursday forced the closure of the Trans-Canada Highway and isolated the mountain resort towns of Banff and Canmore.

The flooding washed out roads and bridges, left at least one person missing and caused cars, couches and refrigerators to float away.

Communities were hit hard just south of Calgary, a city of more than a million people that hosted the 1988 Winter Olympics.

Many downtown neighborhoods were ordered evacuated as the evening went on. Officials said the evacuation would take place in stages over the next few days. The province reported that 12 communities were under states of emergency.

One woman who had been stranded on top of a trailer was missing after it was swept away, STARS air ambulance spokesman Cam Heke said.

Motorists who were trapped overnight Wednesday by water spilling over Canada's main western highway had to be rescued by helicopter, Town of Canmore spokeswoman Sally Caudill said.

"I woke up at about three o'clock in morning to the sound of this kind of rumbling, and it was the creek," said Wade Graham, a resident of Canmore. "At first it was just intense, pretty powerful, amazing thing to watch. As daylight came, it just got bigger and bigger and wider and wider, and it's still getting bigger and bigger and wider and wider."

He added, "I watched a refrigerator go by, I watched a shed go by, I watched couches go by. It's insane."

Bruce Burrell, director of the Calgary Emergency Management Agency, said water levels on the Bow River aren't expected to subside until Saturday afternoon. The Bow River Basin already has been battered with up to 100 mm (3.9 inches) of rain.

"Depending on the extent of flooding we experience overnight, there may be areas of the city where people are not going to be able to get into until the weekend," he told a news conference.

In High River, Mounties asked people with motorboats to help rescue at least a dozen stranded homeowners.

"We have people on their rooftops who were unable to evacuate fast enough," said RCMP Sgt. Patricia Neely.

Environment Canada issued a rainfall warning for the affected areas, estimating as much as 100 millimetres more rain could fall in the next two days.

Comment by KM on June 20, 2013 at 8:38pm

http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2013/06/20/canmore-flooding-alberta-he...

The town of Canmore is under a local state of emergency as heavy rainfall continues to drench the tiny mountain community.

The rain, which has been falling steadily since Thursday evening, has forced road closures on major highways near Canmore, Banff and Kananaskis.

People living near Cougar Creek have been evacuated, as the swelling river erodes the riverbank and inches closer to homes.

The town says on its website that power is also out across the community

People are being asked to stay away from the river banks of Cougar Creek, as the rising water may have made them unstable.

Several videos and photos from Canmore show homes on the banks of Cougar Creek threatened by the powerful surge.

Parks Canada has closed the Trans-Canada Highway at the Norquay interchange, after heavy rain caused a mudslide around 1:00 a.m. Thursday morning. The slide, which occurred two kilometres west of the interchange, affects westbound traffic only.

According to park officials, no one was hurt by the debris.

The following additional road closures are in effect:

Highway 1 eastbound at Norquay overpass
Highway 1 and 1A in both directions west of Exshaw
Highway 1 at Canmore eastbound and westbound due to flood waters from Cougar Creek
Highway 1 from Highway 1X (exit 114) to Canmore
Bow Valley Trail
Icefields Parkway (Hwy 93 North) is now closed from Lake Louise to the Jasper border
Hwy 40 to Canoe Meadows in Kananaskis is closed due to mud slide

The City of Calgary has issued a state of emergency, as water levels on the Bow and Elbow Rivers climb dangerously high. The city has begun to deploy sandbags and temporary dams.

Calgarians are reminded to stay away from underpasses, which can flood quickly, as well as keeping a safe distance from river banks.

The city projects flood water will exceed levels of the massive flooding in 2005 in Calgary.

An emergency has been declared in Turner Valley due to a sour gas leak.

High River, south of Calgary, has also declared a state of emergency, as the Highwood River rises quickly and begins to overflow.

Residents in the Wallaceville area are being encouraged to evacuate and campers in George Lane Park are being told to leave as well.

A critical alert for flooding has also been issued in Black Diamond by the Government of Alberta, and mandatory evacuations are in effect.

Search and rescue staff are looking for two missing adults south of Black Diamond at Highway 22 and Highway 541, after a trailer collapsed.

The STARS air ambulance responded at 10:30 a.m. and is now on scene.

The City of Lethbridge has also declared a state of emergency, to ensure all resources will be available for the Lethbridge River Valley and area.

Environment Canada has issued a heavy rainfall warning for much of southwestern Alberta, including Canmore, Banff, Calgary, Airdrie, Crowsnest Pass, Nordegg, Okotoks and Rocky Mountain House.

The weather agency says the downpours have already produced over 70 millimetres of rain and another 100 millimetres could fall by Friday.

Comment by Nancy Lieder on June 19, 2013 at 6:35pm: @Wayne,

unfortunately for the elite hunkering down at Atchison, Kansas, this will all be well under water, and likely well before the Pole Shift. Atchison, Kansas is right on the Missouri River, in the part of Kansas destined to be part of the new inland bay in the US.

Comment by Shaun Kazuck on June 19, 2013 at 2:37pm: NBC News just did a 30 second video report on how 63% of polled Americans said that their GPS has led them astray of late. They of course did not even try to explain why that is (wobble) when it is supposed to be so accurate being created and still used by the military. They just said older generations of people still carry maps and an atlas. Good advice for all I'd say!

http://www.nbcnews.com/video/nightly-news/52246284/

Comment by Howard on June 19, 2013 at 8:00am: Baked Alaska: Crazy weather swings from ice to fire

In Alaska, houses are built to keep warm air in and cold air out, not the other way around. So with a record-setting heat wave scorching the state, residents are sweltering amid temperatures soaring past 90 degrees Fahrenheit.

Southcentral Alaska hit four all-time highs yesterday (June 17), ranging between 88 F in Seward to 94 F in Talkeetna, according to the National Weather Service's Alaska forecast office. In the southeastern portion of the state, Skagway, a popular cruise ship port-of-call, reached 83 F, almost as warm as St. Thomas in the Virgin Islands. Just about every part of the state was warmer than average yesterday, the NWS said.

The blazing hot temperatures are just the latest records to fall this year in Alaska. Residents also endured history-making cold temperatures throughout spring and flooding and evacuations caused by the never-ending winter. A mass of Arctic air stuck over the state for weeks this spring was responsible for the chilly weather. It finally fell prey to the warming effects of 18 hours of sunlight at the end of May.

"Eventually, the sun is going to win out, and once it did, boy, did things change in a hurry," said Michael Lawson, a meteorologist with the NWS Alaska forecast office in Anchorage.

Marine layer loses
While Interior Alaska and towns near the Alaska Range regularly see high temperatures in the summer, extreme heat rarely flares up in Alaska's coastal communities, which are cooled by marine breezes. But a high-pressure ridge parked over Southcentral Alaska is pushing refreshing afternoon sea breezes offshore.

"It's really much rarer for places in Southcentral Alaska to get as hot as they've been getting," Lawson told LiveScience. "This ridge has been so strong the sea breeze hasn't been getting a chance to cool us down."

The heat wave will continue for the rest of the week, the NWS forecasts. The unusually strong, high-pressure system is intensifying over mainland Alaska, continuing the heat wave. Interior and Southwest Alaska will reach upwards of 90 F, and Southeast and Southcentral Alaska will see highs in the upper 70s and 80s F.

A year without a spring
Yet just a month ago, Alaska was in the grips of a never-ending winter, with late-season snowstorms and record-low temperatures in mid-May. The wild weather swing has wreaked havoc on the annual ice melt along rivers, causing ice jams and flooding. The town of Galena was evacuated late last month due to flooding from an ice dam on the mighty Yukon River. The Nenana Ice Classic, a betting contest on the Nenana River's ice breakup, set a record for the latest-ever crack and cave in of the ice.

"It was an incredibly rapid transition," Lawson told LiveScience. "Literally, our spring was about five days before we jumped into summer-type weather."

A persistent low-pressure trough that remained stuck over the state brought wave after wave of cold Arctic air into Alaska, Lawson said, keeping temperatures lower than normal for most of the winter.

This week's warm weather could bring more flooding from melting snow and ice at higher elevations, the NWS has warned. A red flag fire warning, which signals dangerously dry air and possible strong winds, was also issued over the weekend for much of the state because of drier conditions caused by the hot air mass. A forest fire broke out east of Fairbanks on Monday evening (June 17), prompting temporary road closures. A 30,000-acre fire is also burning in Southwest Alaska.

Source

http://usnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/06/18/19026098-baked-alaska-cr...

Comment by Mark on June 19, 2013 at 7:55am: Meteorologists continue the cover-up despite the pending announcement: is it arrogance or is the announcement not an open secret in the UK as it is in the US?

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/stand-by-for-another...

After leading meteorologists and scientists met in Exeter to 'discuss the recent extreme weather' (code for discussing the effects of the wobble), they have decided to continue mis-leading the public as to the true cause of climate change by naming the culprit as 'Atlantic multi-decadal oscillations', a natural cycle which has supposedly occurred in the 1950s and 1880s previously.

They then go on to pick a few possible reasons for this out of a hat and such as melting Arctic ice or a disturbed jet stream, before predicting a further 5-10 years of wet summers.

Now, are they truly unaware of the upcoming announcement which will surely leave them with egg on their faces when the public quickly connects the presence of Planet X with today's weather anomalies, or are they maintaining the UK's active participation in the cover-up over the years and is it a co-incidence that their 5-10 year prediction of rain seems to mirror the Zeta information that there will be continuous drizzle after the poleshift, starting to lift only after 5 years?

Comment by lonne rey on June 18, 2013 at 1:29pm: Floods live. 250 evacuees in Haute-Garonne (france), the Lourdes Grotto submerged

The point at 12:30. 250 people were evacuated in Karnataka on Tuesday in the towns of St. Beatus, Bagneres-de-Luchon, rooms Pratviel and Fos. In the latter town, a bridge was washed away, animals have drowned in torrential floods.
Several lines were cut: the RN125 Labroquère to the Spanish border, the RD46, the RD618A and RD27C in Bagneres-de-Luchon. On the A64, the ramp to the RD645 is closed to store trucks. Passes of Ares Menté, Bales, Peyresourde and gate are subject to filtering to restrict traffic to only emergency and residents.
Many schools are closed: the high school and college Luchon, the College of St. Beatus schools Cierp-Gaud, Beatus, Fos and Saint-Mamet.
An emergency device was triggered by the prefecture of Haute-Garonne, which calls for greater vigilance.

In the Hautes-Pyrenees, the Massabielle Grotto in Lourdes was closed, submerged by the waters of the Gave. Hotels in Paradise Avenue closed their terrace. A camp was evacuated in Loures Barousse. A Arreau Neste topped 2.92 meters, flood level reference 1997.

Following strong storm precipitation that falls on the area since Monday, Lourdes was placed Tuesday in flood warning. Camping Luchon, he was evacuated. Several roads were cut.

Authorities fear joint flood Pike and One. Road Superbagnères is cut by a major mudslide.

Translated with google

Source in French

Comment by Kojima on June 17, 2013 at 4:03am: Heavy snow blankets the Siberian town of Nadym a day after the temperatures reached +30 Celsius, forcing residents to swap shorts for fur coats.

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Copyright © 2013 euronews

* http://news.sky.com/story/1103914/siberia-scorching-sun-to-snow-sto...

Just one day after basking in temperatures of 30C, residents of a Siberian town were shocked to suddenly find themselves in the middle of a snow storm.

Nadym had been enjoying days of tropical weather before people were quickly forced to change their t-shirts and shorts for coats and scarves.

Sub-zero conditions are normal for the region through the long winter but are rare for June, when the sun gives people a brief but hot summer.

Amateur footage filmed in the town showed snow pouring down and covering streets, cars and parks - with people wrapped up and battling with the bitter cold.

Temperatures can drop as low as -50C in a Siberian winter, with the town of Oymyakon often recording the lowest numbers.

Weather Report from Nadym (Надым)

Nadym (Надым) weather report provides observations from the weather station, updated hourly. The table features wind speed, dewpoint, visibility and atmospheric pressure measurements as well as a detailed temperature graph. A log of weather variations over the past 18 days is also shown covering separate daytime and nighttime observations. The weather station is near Labytnangi, Russia.