Tag Archives: Extreme Weather

Messy Weather Disrupting Holiday Travel Plans

Severe weather was impacting the holiday travel plans of many Americans on Thursday morning, and threatening to impact more.

The remnants of the storm system that produced Wednesday’s deadly tornado outbreak were moving across the southeastern United States on Thursday. The National Weather Service said the system had weakened considerably, but it was still capable of producing heavy rainfall and localized severe thunderstorms throughout the Mid-Atlantic and Gulf Coast. The storms were expected to be the worst in Alabama and Georgia, but rain was falling as far north as New Jersey.

According to flight monitoring website FlightAware.com, 201 flights to or from United States destinations were cancelled as of 11:45 a.m. EST on Thursday morning. Another 1,720 were delayed. Both of those numbers had steadily risen throughout the morning.

A large percentage of the delays were the result of heavy storms at Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport, the world’s busiest airport in terms of passenger traffic. FlightAware indicated 111 flights to or from the airport had been cancelled, and another 703 were delayed.

More Americans than ever before are expected to travel this Christmas season. AAA projects that 100.5 million Americans were expected to make a journey of at least 50 miles in the 12-day period that began Wednesday morning. More than 90 percent of people were expected to drive to their destinations, but 5.8 million were expected to fly. That’s an increase of .7 percent over last year, AAA reported.

Regardless of whether they were traveling or not, there’s a good chance Americans would experience record temperatures on Christmas. The National Climate Data Center reported that there have been 3,912 record daily high temperatures this month, and that trend was expected to continue Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.

The Weather Channel reported temperatures in New York City reached 70 degrees early Christmas Eve morning, smashing the previous record of 63 degrees. The forecast was calling for a high of 64 degrees on Christmas, which would tie a 33-year-old record.

Still, some Western parts of the country were expected to see a White Christmas as Winter Storm Goliath arrived Thursday and continued to dump snow throughout Christmas and well into next week.

The National Weather Service had issued winter storm warnings in northern and central California, southeastern Oregon, northern Idaho, eastern Utah and western Colorado. The service had also issued winter weather advisories in parts of those states, as well as Washington, Arizona, Montana and Nevada. The service was also warning of the possibility of avalanches in Idaho, Utah and Colorado.

The Weather Channel reported that the storm could bring more than a foot of snow to higher elevations by Saturday night, though most of the affected areas are expected to see fewer than five inches. However, the channel’s meteorologists say the storm may intensify over the weekend, and early projections show that Goliath could dump up to a foot of snow over the Great Plains before next Tuesday.

Tornado Outbreak Causes 9 Deaths, Widespread Damage

At least nine people were killed when severe storms led to a tornado outbreak across the United States on Wednesday, reports indicate.

According to The Weather Channel, preliminary estimates indicate that roughly 15 tornadoes swept through the nation on Wednesday.

All of the reported deaths occurred in the southeastern United States, where the damage from the storms was said to be the greatest.

Mississippi television station WREG reported that at least six people were killed in the state, including a 7-year-old boy in the town of Holly Springs. The National Weather Service said one tornado touched down south of Clarksdale and left a trail of damage that stretched some 150 miles northeast to Hardeman County, Tennessee. If the storm was continuous, the National Weather Service said it would be the longest December tornado on record in the mid-South.

The Mississippi Emergency Management Agency said tornado damage was reported in seven counties. The powerful storms injured more than 40 people statewide as they knocked down power lines, shut down multiple highways and damaged homes. The agency said there were also reports of some search-and-rescue operations.

On Thursday morning, the Mississippi governor declared a state of emergency in the affected areas.

WREG reported storms demolished an entire Clarksdale subdivision.

The Tennessee Emergency Management Agency declared a Level III State of Emergency after storms led to “isolated damage” in 11 counties. The agency said a man and a woman were killed in Perry County, one of the harder-hit areas, but had no further information. Another person died in Rhea County.

An 18-year-old woman was killed earlier Wednesday when heavy winds sent a tree crashing through a home near Atkins, Arkansas, according to the Pope County Sheriff’s Office. The death occurred in the morning, well before the tornado outbreak was at its height.

While the tornadoes and storms were most destructive in the south, there were reports of tornado damage as far north as central Indiana.

Local television station WTHR reported storms blew the roof off an animal hospital in Greenwood. No person or animal was injured.

The outbreak occurred on a day when many Americans were beginning to travel for the holidays. AAA projected a record 100.5 million Americans are expected to travel in the 12-day period that began Wednesday morning, more than 90 percent of them driving.

Chance of Imminent Tornado Outbreak Rises, Meteorologists Warn

Meteorologists warn that “an outbreak of severe thunderstorms and tornadoes” could imminently impact the Ohio, Tennessee and Mississippi valleys.

The National Weather Service issued a severe weather outlook on Wednesday afternoon, warning that a dangerous storm system capable of producing hurricane-force winds, several tornadoes and sizeable hail was trending across the central United States.

The National Weather Service issued tornado watches for parts of ten states: Louisiana, Iowa, Mississippi, Illinois, Arkansas, Tennessee, Missouri, Kentucky, Alabama and Indiana.

Meteorologists said the outbreak is expected to occur this afternoon and last into tonight. The areas most at risk for “long-tracked tornadoes” are western Tennessee, northern Mississippi and eastern Arkansas.

The news comes on one of the busiest travel days of the year. AAA projects a record 100.5 million Americans would be traveling in the 12-day period that began this morning, more than 90 percent of them driving.

The Weather Channel uses its own index, called TOR:CON, to calculate the risk of a tornado occurring at any given time in a specified area. Initially, meteorologists said the areas most at risk only had a 50 percent chance of seeing a tornado, but that rose significantly Wednesday.

Meteorologists now warn northern Mississippi, northern Alabama and western Tennessee have an 80 percent chance of a tornado occurring within 50 miles. The channel said there was also a 70 percent chance of a tornado within 50 miles of eastern Arkansas, and at least a 50 percent chance of a tornado in a widespread region from the Florida panhandle to Kentucky, North Carolina and Missouri.

High winds were already being blamed for at least one death.

Arkansas television station KTHV reported an 18-year-old girl was killed after high winds uprooted a tree and sent it crashing through a home in Pope County.

Tornado Outbreak Could Disrupt Holiday Travel for Many

Weather experts are warning there’s a chance for a tornado outbreak this week.

The Weather Channel forecasts potent thunderstorms with the ability to generate tornadoes, damaging hail and high winds are expected to develop in the southern United States over the next couple of days. Meteorologists say that tornadoes are most likely to occur on Wednesday.

The Weather Channel uses its own index called TOR:CON to calculate the risk of a tornado at any given time in a specified area. The channel’s severe weather experts predict that there’s a 50 percent chance of tornadoes occurring within a 50-mile radius of any location in Mississippi, Louisiana, western Tennessee, eastern Arkansas and eastern Texas on Wednesday. The experts also warned there’s a chance — albeit a lesser one — of a tornado outside those boundaries.

The National Weather Service had yet to issue any tornado warnings or advisories on Tuesday.

If the forecasts pan out, the thunderstorms and tornadoes could disrupt many Christmas travel plans. Fox News reported that Dec. 23 is traditionally one of the year’s busiest days for air travel, and previous AAA research has indicated the day is also one of the most perilous times to drive.

This year, AAA predicts that a record 100.5 million Americans will make a journey of at least 50 miles between Dec. 23 and Jan. 3. More than 90 percent of them are expected to drive.

Weather Experts Predict 2016 Could Be Hottest Year in History

British meteorologists said Thursday that 2015 is on track to be the warmest year in history, and forecasts indicate that next year could be even hotter.

Britain’s Met Office predicts the average global temperature is expected to be between 1.2 and 1.7 degrees Fahrenheit warmer than a 30-year average, with a “central estimate” of 1.5 degrees.

Temperatures in the first 10 months of this year were about 1.3 degrees hotter than that 30-year average, the Met Office said. If that trend continued, 2015 would be the hottest year on record.

“This forecast suggests 2016 is likely to be at least as warm, if not warmer,” Chris Folland, a research fellow at the Met Office, said in a statement accompanying the forecasts.

The 30-year average the Met Office cites covers global temperatures from 1961-1990. In those years, the average temperature on Earth was 57.2 degrees. But the Met Office said that human-induced climate change, as well as naturally occurring weather phenomena like El Nino, have factored into the recent observed temperatures, along with the forecasts for the future.

“This forecast suggests that by the end of 2016 we will have seen three record, or near-record years in a row for global temperatures,” Adam Scaife, who heads long-range prediction at the Met Office, said in a statement.

The Met Office said the forecast doesn’t include “random events” like volcanic eruptions, which could cause temperatures to cool temporarily. It also said that while it doesn’t expect the run of record-setting years to continue indefinitely, the forecast does indicate how climate change “can combine with smaller, natural fluctuations” to push temperatures to unprecedented levels.

The latest forecast comes on the heels of last week’s landmark COP21 agreement in which nearly 200 countries pledged to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in an attempt to keep average global temperatures from rising to 3.6 degrees Fahrenheit above pre-industrial levels. Scientists have publicly warned that eclipsing that long-feared threshold could yield catastrophic results.

White Christmas? Try A Hot One Instead

If you’re dreaming of a White Christmas, you might get a hot one instead.

Temperatures are expected to be warmer than usual across most of the United States this Christmas, according to forecast maps released this week by the National Weather Service.

Meteorologists are all but guaranteeing it’ll be hotter than usual in the eastern United States, placing the chance that temperatures will be above their historical averages above 90 percent.

The probability of above-average temperatures decreases to about 33 percent the further you travel west, but even states in the Great Plains are expected to see a hotter Christmas than usual.

The only states expected to see cooler-than-usual Christmases are Alaska, Oregon, California, Nevada, Idaho, Montana, Utah and Arizona, as well as parts of Montana, Wyoming, Colorado and New Mexico. Every other state is expected to see average or above-average temperatures.

That’s in line with what the United States has seen for much of December.

According to the National Climate Data Center, more than 2,300 daily high temperature records have been tied or broken through the first 16 days of December. If these new forecasts pan out, that means there’s a chance this Christmas could be the hottest one many people have ever seen.

The forecasts come at a time when a strong El Niño is present in the Pacific Ocean.

Weather experts have noted that this year’s El Niño is on track to be one of the three strongest in the past 65 years. The phenomenon occurs when part of the ocean is abnormally warm, setting off a ripple effect that brings atypical and sometimes extreme weather to all corners of the world.

Rare Tornado Brings Record Winds to Australia

A rare tornado ripped through Sydney on Wednesday morning, reportedly bringing the fastest winds ever recorded in that region of Australia and leaving a wake of destruction in its path.

The Sydney Morning Herald reported the storm featured wind gusts of 132 mph, which smashed the record for the state of New South Wales. The previous high of 106 mph was set back in 1974.

The tornado occurred as the Australian Bureau of Meteorology issued severe thunderstorm warnings for the region surrounding Sydney, Australia’s largest and perhaps most famous city.

Westpac Life Saver, a search and rescue helicopter service in New South Wales, shared photos on social media that showed the damage in Kurnell, a Sydney suburb. The pictures showed numerous downed trees, widespread debris and several homes that were missing roof shingles.

Other photographs shared on social media showed large hailstones, some the size of golf balls.

The Bureau of Meteorology reported the thunderstorms dumped more than three inches of rain in one hour in Nowra, about four hours south of Sydney. The precipitation in Sydney was significant enough to trigger some flash flooding, according to the Sydney Morning Herald.

The BBC reported no one was significantly injured in the tornado, though some properties were so severely damaged that authorities deemed them unlivable. Australian media outlet 9News reported officials are warning of the threat of asbestos in debris, particularly from older homes.

Crews were working to restore power to about 20,000 customers, the Sydney Morning Herald reported.

Winter Storm Echo’s Heavy Snow Shuts Down Flights, Closes Roads

Parts of eight Western states were under winter storm warnings on Tuesday morning as a powerful winter storm continued to travel across the United States.

The National Weather Service issued the warnings in Utah, Montana, Wyoming, Colorado, New Mexico, North Dakota, South Dakota and Nebraska as Winter Storm Echo moved east.

Meteorologists warned the storm would bring more heavy snowfall and high wind gusts, and could spur hazardous travel conditions. It’s already dumped lots of snow in the states it passed.

The National Weather Service reported the storm brought 28.1 inches of snow to Bountiful, Utah, between 6 a.m. Saturday and 7 a.m. Tuesday, and more snow was expected to fall later Tuesday. About 26.3 inches were recorded near Atlanta, Idaho, and 23.3 inches were observed near Corbin, Montana. Double-digit totals were also seen in parts of Colorado and Wyoming.

In some cases, the snowfall totals were record.

The Salt Lake Tribune reported that 6.9 inches of snow fell at the city’s airport Sunday, smashing the previous single-day record of 5.8 inches. The previous mark was set in 1922.

Winter Storm Echo was also snarling travel, including some significant developments.

The snow forced the cancellation of 315 flights to and from Denver International Airport on Tuesday, according to the flight monitoring website FlightAware. Another 212 were delayed.

In Wyoming, the state Department of Transportation shut down a roughly 108-mile eastbound stretch of Interstate 80 between Rock Springs and Rawlins due to “winter conditions.” The road was also closed in both directions between Cheyenne and Laramie, some 50 miles apart.

While the storm was no longer pummeling the West Coast, it certainly made an impact.

The storm’s highest recorded snowfall total was 33 inches in Willamette Pass, Oregon. Echo also deposited 20-plus inches in mountainous California and Nevada, and a foot in Jacob Lake, Arizona. The storm dropped rain on warmer areas, including 8.71 inches in parts of California.

That rain was being blamed for at least two deaths.

In California, CBS San Francisco reported that the parents of two young children died when their car rolled over multiple times and tumbled down an embankment off Interstate 580 on Saturday. Fire officials reportedly said the vehicle might have hydroplaned on slick roads there.

Nearly 725,000 Evacuated as Typhoon Slams Philippines

Nearly 725,000 people were evacuated from their homes as a powerful typhoon brought heavy rain and winds as high as 115 mph to the Philippines on Monday.

Typhoon Melor, known within the Philippines as Typhoon Nona, made landfall at 11 a.m. local time Monday, the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) said.

The NDRRMC reported that 724,839 people had been evacuated ahead of the storm, with 589,235 of them in the Albany province that’s located near where the storm made landfall.

The Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA), which is monitoring the typhoon, reported the storm features 93 mph sustained winds and gusts of up to 115 mph. The weather service forecast “heavy to at times intense” rainfall within a 150-mile radius of the storm, and cautioned of the chance for flash floods and landslides.

For comparison’s sake, 93 mph sustained winds would make the storm a category 1 hurricane.

The storm is expected to weaken as it trends further west over the Sibuyan Sea, according to a PAGASA forecast, but meteorologists were expecting wind gusts could still reach 105 mph on Tuesday and 75 mph on Wednesday. The weather service warned the high winds could damage or destroy buildings in other provinces, as well as impact local banana, rice and corn crops.

The NDRRMC reported that the eastern and northern portions of the island of Samar, as well as the Sorsogon province lacked power because the typhoon brought down transmission lines. Additional outages were possible, PAGASA warned. The weather service also issued flood advisories throughout the central Philippines and warned of the chance for 10-foot storm surges.

The storm was also wreaking havoc on travel, as the NDRRMC reported that 42 flights were cancelled as a result of the typhoon, and some 6,800 would-be sea travelers were stranded because of abnormally rough sea conditions. A host of shipping channels were also disrupted.

Strong El Nino’s Impacts Expected to Stretch into 2016

This year’s El Niño remains on track to be one of the three strongest in the past 65 years, according to an update from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).

El Niño is a weather phenomenon that occurs when part of the Pacific Ocean is warmer than usual. It sets off a far-reaching ripple effect that brings atypical weather throughout the world.

El Niño is already being blamed for Ethiopia’s worst drought in 50 years, for amplifying seasonal rains that brought devastating floods to India and for multiple other cases of extreme weather.

The latest update, published Thursday, indicates that El Niño “has matured,” though its effects are expected to last throughout the winter before ultimately weakening in the summer of 2016.

That backs earlier findings from the Australian Bureau of Meteorology, which reported Tuesday that although water temperatures were still near record values, the weather pattern had shown some signs of easing. But the bureau also forecast El Niño’s impacts would be felt well into 2016.

Generally, NOAA meteorologists expect the South should receive more precipitation than usual, while the North should receive a less-than-normal amount of precipitation. It’s also generally expected to be hotter in the West and North while colder in the Southern Plains and Gulf Coast.

That’s not all-inclusive, though.

A barrage of rainstorms killed two people in Oregon and led the governor of Washington to declare a state of emergency this week. Speaking to the Los Angeles Times, a climate scientist at Stanford University, Daniel Swain, said that the rainfall in that region was off to a record start.

“Of all the years in which there was a strong El Niño present in the tropical Pacific Ocean, this is the wettest start to any of those years that we’ve observed in the Pacific Northwest,” Swain told the newspaper.

The most potent El Niño on record occurred in 1997-98, and CNBC reported the weather pattern had a global economic impact of up to $45 billion that year. Beyond bringing unusual weather, strong El Niños have been known to impact agriculture, fish catches and public health.

The next three-month seasonal outlook for this year’s El Niño is due to be published on Dec. 17.