Tag Archives: Extreme Weather

Blizzard watch issued ahead of ‘potentially paralyzing’ snowstorm

The National Weather Service on Wednesday issued its first watches for a winter storm that could wreak havoc on the northeastern United States this weekend.

The blizzard watch includes the cities of Baltimore and Washington and surrounding areas in Maryland and Virginia. It will formally go into effect on Friday afternoon and remain valid through Saturday night, the service said.

The National Weather Service said it’s “monitoring the possibility” that a storm could drop 1 to 2 feet of snow along the I-95 corridor this Friday and Saturday.

The stretch includes other major cities like Philadelphia, Boston and New York, though no watches for those areas had been issued as of mid-day Wednesday.

The service’s Weather Prediction Center warned of a “potentially paralyzing winter storm for portions of the Mid-Atlantic,” including possible blizzard conditions in Baltimore and Washington, and said more than a half-inch of ice was possible in Kentucky and North Carolina. Coastal flooding was also possible.

The blizzard watch cautions that the area could receive more than a foot of snow, with a wintry mix possible on Friday night. The storm is also expected to bring 40 mph wind gusts, which could lead to whiteouts and power outages.

“Heavy snow and blowing snow will cause dangerous conditions and will be a threat to life and property,” the watch states. “Travel is expected to be severely limited if not impossible during the height of the storm Friday night and Saturday.”

The blizzard watch encourages people to stock up on necessary items.

The service also issued less-severe winter storm watches for portions of Pennsylvania, West Virginia and Virginia, though still warned that a foot of snow was possible in some areas and said blowing snow could pose travel hazards.

The Weather Channel is calling the potential storm Winter Storm Jonas.

The threat came as another winter storm was moving across the country.

National Weather Service radar showed precipitation falling throughout the south, and winter weather advisories or winter storm warnings were in effect for portions of Ohio, Kentucky, Tennessee, Virginia, Georgia and the Carolinas.

On Tuesday, Georgia Governor Nathan Deal declared a state of emergency for 15 counties affected by winter weather.

It’s official: NOAA, NASA confirm 2015 is warmest year on record

The average global temperatures last year were the warmest on record, two United States agencies announced on Wednesday, officially confirming what had long been anticipated.

NASA and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) both announced that Earth’s average temperatures in 2015 were the highest they’ve been since 1880, which is as far as records date back.

The agencies conducted separate analyses, but both reached the same conclusion.

The NOAA said global temperatures were 1.62 degrees Fahrenheit above the 20th-century average and beat last year’s record by .29 degrees.

It didn’t surprise the agency that 2015 set a new record, since it reported that record-high temperatures were recorded in 10 out of the 12 months of the year.

NASA calculated the temperatures in other ways, and had slightly different values than the NOAA, but agreed that 2015 was the warmest year since 1880.

The NOAA said an unseasonably warm December set some records of its own.

Average global temperatures during that month were 2 degrees above the 20th-century average. Not only was it the warmest December on record, but it was the only time since 1880 that any month has seen temperatures that far above its historic averages.

Though global temperatures reached new highs, not everywhere saw record warmth.

The United States, for example, experienced its second-warmest year on record, the NOAA said earlier this month. The nation’s average temperatures, while still well above average, were just shy of the all-time high established in 2012.

But record-high averages were recorded in parts of Russia, Europe, South America, and the Indian, Atlantic and Pacific Ocean, the NOAA said Wednesday.

The latter is currently the site of one of the strongest El Nino weather patterns on record, which is known for producing extreme weather throughout the world. NASA officials said the phenomenon, paired with human-induced climate change, contributed to the new records.

“Last year’s temperatures had an assist from El Niño, but it is the cumulative effect of the long-term trend that has resulted in the record warming that we are seeing,” Gavin Schmidt, the director of NASA’s Goddard Institute for Space Studies, said in a statement.

Despite the overall increases, the NOAA said some isolated areas witnessed cooler-than-average temperatures, including a swath of ocean near Greenland that posted record cold levels.

Extreme cold weather affects large portions of United States

Large portions of the United States were experiencing dangerously low temperatures on Monday morning, with wind chills poised to hit some 40 degrees Fahrenheit below zero in certain areas.

The National Weather Service issued wind chill advisories in parts of 16 states, warning that gusty winds and low temperatures could lead to frostbite in as little as 20 minutes in some areas.

The warnings covered portions of Montana, North Dakota, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan, Iowa, Missouri, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Virginia, North Carolina, Kentucky and Tennessee. Temperatures were expected to remain below 20 degrees in almost all of the advisory areas, and large portions were expecting sub-zero or single-digit temperatures.

Wind gusts in the high teens drove the perceived temperature down further, the service said. People affected by the extreme cold were advised to dress warmly and cover all exposed skin.

The National Weather Service said the temperatures were “below-normal” and would shift further east over the next two days. Lake effect snow warnings were in effect for portions of Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania and New York, and the service said there was a chance of heavy snow before Tuesday night. Some parts of New York could receive up to 20 inches, forecasts say.

Two killed as tornadoes sweep through Florida

TAMPA, Fla. (Reuters) – Two grandparents were killed and four children injured in Florida early on Sunday when severe storms gusted in from the Gulf of Mexico, spinning off at least two tornadoes, local officials and the National Weather Service said.

Steven Wilson, 58, died when a twister destroyed a mobile home with seven people inside in Duette, Florida, about an hour south of Tampa, the Manatee County Sheriff’s Office said.

Kelli Wilson, 51, escaped with their son and grandchildren. She was later pronounced dead at a hospital, said Dave Bristow, a spokesman for the Manatee County Sheriff’s Office.

She suffered a heart attack, the Bradenton Herald reported.

The four grandchildren – two boys and two girls between the ages of six and 10 – were hospitalized with non-life threatening injuries, according to the sheriff’s office.

One of the children was severely injured, the National Weather Service’s Tampa office reported, confirming that a strong tornado blasting winds up to 127 miles per hour had touched down in the area around 3:30 a.m. ET.

Another tornado was reported further south on Florida’s west coast in Siesta Key, according to the weather service.

The storms dumped heavy rains and blasted strong winds across the state’s central Gulf Coast, but conditions were improving during the day on Sunday.

(Reporting by Letitia Stein; Editing by Ros Russell and Alan Crosby)

Nor’easter could bring 8 inches of snow to parts of New England

A weekend Nor’easter could hit parts of northern New England with up to 8 inches of snow before Saturday afternoon, the National Weather Service warned on Friday morning.

The National Weather Service issued a winter storm watch for northern parts of New Hampshire and Maine, saying a low pressure system off the Atlantic Coast could produce heavy snow in the area. The service said snow was expected to begin falling later tonight and continue through Saturday afternoon, and between 4 and 8 inches were expected to accumulate in those regions.

The National Weather Service also said there was a chance for freezing rain, sleet and rain elsewhere in New England, but had yet to issue any specific warnings as of early Friday. Temperatures in southern New England were expected to remain above the freezing point.

A large storm was bringing rain to the southeastern United States on Friday, and the National Weather Service said it was expected to intensify as it made its way toward New England. But the storm wasn’t expected to bring significant rainfall — forecasts called for a high of about 2 inches in coastal parts of South Carolina. The National Weather Service issued a flash flood watch for those regions.

Separately, the National Weather Service issued winter storm watches for parts of Washington, Oregon and California, as more snow was expected to arrive on Saturday. Snowfall totals were expected to reach 1 to 2 feet on Mount Rainier, according to the National Weather Service, while other mountainous areas of Washington were expected to receive between 6 and 10 inches.

Totals were expected to be lighter in Washington’s valleys, Oregon and California, but still significant. Forecasts were calling for anywhere between 3 and 6 inches of snow in watch areas.

The National Weather Service encouraged people that may be affected by the storm to keep an eye on updated local forecasts.

Alex gusts into first January hurricane in 78 years

TAMPA, Fla. (Reuters) – Hurricane Alex blasted into the record books on Thursday as the first Atlantic hurricane to form during the month of January in more than three-quarters of a century, U.S. weather forecasters said.

The storm, with wind gusts up to 85 miles an hour, was expected to bear down on the Azores islands off the coast of Portugal on Friday, according to the National Hurricane Center in Miami. It did not pose a threat to the United States.

Local authorities issued a hurricane warning for five islands in the central Azores, which could see flash flooding, mudslides and storm surge, said NHC spokesman Dennis Feltgen.

Alex was rated a “Category 1” hurricane, which is the lowest rating on the five-tier Saffir-Simpson hurricane wind scale.

Only two other hurricanes have appeared in January since forecasters began keeping records in 1851, Feltgen said. Hurricane Alice started in December and carried into January in 1955. The last time a hurricane formed in January was 1938.

Still, the early hurricane does not necessarily portend an unusually active storm period during the Atlantic hurricane season from June through November, Feltgen said. That forecast will be determined by weather conditions not yet seen.

“The good news is that even though we have got a hurricane in January, that is not a harbinger of what the 2016 hurricane season will be like,” he said. “It is no reflection.”

(Reporting by Letitia Stein; Editing by Alan Crosby)

New York hit by stretch of lake effect storms, forecasts call for heavy snow

The latest in a stretch of powerful lake effect snowstorms was pummeling upstate New York on Tuesday, with forecasts calling for significant amounts of additional snow in the next two days.

The National Weather Service issued lake effect snow warnings for several counties in western New York, warning that some regions that border Lake Erie and Lake Ontario could see two more feet of snow fall between 10 a.m. Tuesday and 1 p.m. Thursday. Totals were expected to be much lighter further inland, though some communities were expecting about 6 inches of snow.

The latest snow comes on the heels of a lake effect storm that ripped through upstate New York on Monday and dumped 38 inches of snow in Lorraine, a small town about an hour north of Syracuse, according to the National Weather Service. That was the service’s most extreme report of snowfall, though two communities in Erie County reported they received more than foot.

Officials banned all travel in five communities near Buffalo, according to a news release from Governor Andrew Cuomo’s office, as the service called for whiteout conditions this afternoon. Officials also barred unnecessary trips in Erie County and Genesee County, both near lakes.

According to Cuomo’s office, the state Department of Transportation and state Thruway Authority have a combined 793 snow plows, 1,793 employees and more than 188,000 tons of salt available to clear roads. But officials urged motorists to avoid the roads if possible.

While New York was experiencing the most severe storms, it wasn’t the only place impacted by winter weather.

Northern Maine was under a winter storm warning, with the National Weather Service warning that 4 to 8 inches of snow was expected to fall before 10 a.m. Wednesday. Western Michigan was also under a separate winter storm warning with up to 4 inches of snow in Tuesday’s forecast.

The National Weather Service also issued winter weather advisories in parts of Pennsylvania, Ohio, West Virginia, Kentucky, Indiana and Michigan as lighter snow fell across those states.

Another storm in the Pacific Northwest triggered some winter storm warnings and advisories, and National Weather Service forecasts indicated some parts of Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Montana and California could see up to a foot of snow before Thursday evening.

Aid agencies call for funds to save lives in El Nino-hit countries

LONDON (Thomson Reuters Foundation) – An inadequate response to El Nino would put tens of millions of people at risk of hunger, water shortages and disease, a group of leading aid agencies said, calling on donors for funding to save lives in countries hit by the weather phenomenon.

The United Nations launched a record humanitarian appeal in December, asking for $20.1 billion to help 87 million people in 37 national and regional crises in 2016.

But some countries affected by El Nino, including Malawi, Zimbabwe, Papua New Guinea and El Salvador, were not included in the appeal, the humanitarian agencies said.

The aid groups, including Oxfam and World Vision, said “urgently required” funding should go into disaster preparedness, resilience building and crisis response, which would save money in the future.

“According to the United Nations, every $1 that is invested in disaster preparedness and resilience now could save up to $7 in emergency relief if a disaster unfolds over the coming months,” World Vision’s El Nino response director, Kathryn Taetzsch, said in a statement.

El Nino – a warming of sea-surface temperatures in the Pacific – affects wind patterns and can trigger both floods and drought in different parts of the world, leading to reduced harvests.

Ethiopia is one of the hardest hit countries and is experiencing its worst drought in decades. Some 8.2 million Ethiopians – out of a population of nearly 100 million – need food aid.

In Malawi, some 2.8 million people are struggling to feed themselves.

In Asia, poor harvests caused by lower than average rainfall linked to El Nino have hit Papua New Guinea particularly badly.

Central America, particularly El Salvador, Honduras and Nicaragua, along with Haiti and southeastern Brazil, have recorded below average rainfall this year, while heavy rains caused flooding in parts of Argentina and Peru.

According to the World Food Programme, an estimated 2.3 million people in Central America, mostly subsistence farmers, day laborers and their families, will need food assistance because of widespread damage to crops and rising food prices due to a prolonged drought exacerbated by El Nino.

The agencies said it was important to apply lessons learned from the 2011 Horn of Africa drought in which 258,000 died in Somalia alone. They cited a 2012 report which said that the response to the drought in Somalia was “too little, too late”.

“If the world acts now, we can help prevent disaster and suffering for millions of people – rather than waiting for people to start dying,” said Nigel Timmins, Oxfam International’s humanitarian director.

(Reporting by Magdalena Mis; Editing by Ros Russell)

United States sees one of its warmest, wettest and wildest years on record

The continental United States experienced one of its warmest and wettest years in history in 2015, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) announced Thursday.

Temperatures and precipitation totals were well above long-term averages, according to the year-end report published by the NOAA’s National Centers for Climate Information, and the final numbers indicated the nation had its second-warmest and third-wettest year on record.

The nation also was hit by five different types of weather and climate disasters — flooding, droughts, wildfires, extreme cold and severe storms — a variety the NOAA said is not usually seen. There were 10 disasters in total, and each of them caused at least $1 billion in losses.

The NOAA reported the average temperature in the United States last year was 54.4 degrees Fahrenheit, 2.4 degrees above the nation’s 20th-century average, but .88 degrees lower than the record-setting year of 2012. The average precipitation total in the lower 48 states was 34.47 inches, 4.53 inches above the average level, and the influx of rainfall helped reduce the national drought footprint by about 10 percent. The only wetter years on record are 1973 and 1983.

Every single one of the lower 48 states posted above-average yearly temperatures, the NOAA said, and Washington, Florida and Oregon all posted their warmest years on record. The same can be said of southeastern Louisiana and western Montana.

The temperature and precipitation records date to 1895.

The NOAA also said 10 weather and climate disasters occurred across the nation last year, including wildfires and droughts in the west, flooding in South Carolina, Texas and the midwest, a cold wave in the northeast, tornadoes in Oklahoma and Texas, and severe thunderstorms across the Great Plains. Together, the NOAA said the disasters killed 155 people nationwide.

It’s not common, but also not unheard of, for the United States to see that many different kinds of disasters causing $1 billion in losses in a year. According to the NOAA, the nation usually sees three or four kinds of disasters every year, but five have occurred five other times since 1989.

The overall total of 10 billion-dollar disasters was slightly below the nation’s five-year average of 10.8, the report indicates, but it was still nearly double the 35-year average of 5.2.

The NOAA added the United States has now been the victim of 188 billion-dollar weather and climate disasters since 1980, and they have cumulatively caused more than $1 trillion in losses.

California Rattled By Heavy Rains, Snow, Earthquake

Large portions of California were bracing for more heavy rain and snow Wednesday as El Niño pushed powerful storms toward the state, threatening to cause flash flooding and other damage.

The National Weather Service issued numerous flash flood watches along the California coastline and also issued winter storm warnings and winter weather advisories for areas in higher elevations. The service’s office in San Diego also warned of a chance for mudslides, particularly in areas where recent wildfires burned.

National Weather Service forecasts called for 2 to 4 inches of rain to fall across Southern California on Wednesday, accompanied by peak wind gusts of up to 60 mph that could be strong enough to topple trees and power lines. The rain comes a day after 1.42 inches fell at Los Angeles International Airport, smashing a daily rainfall record that stood for more than 36 years. Other parts of California received more than 3 inches of rain, National Weather Service data indicated.

The National Weather Service was calling for 5 to 10 inches of snow in higher elevations on Wednesday, but said mountain peaks could see 18 inches. Near-blizzard conditions were expected in some places. More storms were expected to drop additional precipitation tonight and Thursday.

Meanwhile, the United States Geological Survey reported a magnitude 4.5 earthquake occurred just outside of Banning, California, at 6:42 a.m. local time. The California Highway Patrol’s website indicated it received reports of small rocks and mud across state Route 243 a few minutes after the earthquake, though it wasn’t clear if the earthquake triggered the landslide.

Banning is located about 80 miles east of Los Angeles.

The National Weather Service also issued a flash flood warning for parts of Ventura County, just northwest of Los Angeles, cautioning that heavy rain could cause mud and debris to slide across busy Highway 101.

The storms were being blamed on El Niño, a weather pattern known for producing atypical and extreme weather throughout the world. It occurs when part of the Pacific Ocean is warmer than usual, which sets off a ripple effect that has a wide-reaching result. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has said that the United States is expected to see the effects of this El Niño over the next three months as one of the strongest instances of the phenomenon on record may sway temperatures and precipitation totals across significant portions of the nation.

Los Angeles opened up several shelters to help the city’s homeless population weather the storms.