Missouri flooding claims 5 with November rainfall smashing previous record

Flash-Floods-Missouri

Important Takeaways:

  • At least five people were killed after torrential rainfall led to flash flooding in central and eastern Missouri, impacting transportation and making it challenging for some voters to reach their polling place on Tuesday.
  • The relentless rain, which shattered November rainfall records, turned streets into rivers, inundated homes and forced widespread closures.
  • According to the St. Louis County Police Department, preliminary investigations revealed that one of the victims, identified as an adult female, drove her car into floodwaters in the area of Interstate 55 and Bayless Avenue in St. Louis Tuesday morning as the worst of the flash flooding was ongoing.
  • The unprecedented rainfall event has also set a new record for the highest 24-hour rainfall total for the month of November. With over 6.4 inches of rain falling since Monday, the airport has shattered the previous record of 3.56 inches set on Nov. 18, 1921.
  • The nearly 7 inches of rainfall in a 24-hour period caused Deer Creek to overflow its banks, submerging major streets in Maplewood, Brentwood and Webster Groves, FOX 2 in St. Louis reported.
  • Drone footage captured the force of the flash floods, showing rapid water surges surrounding homes and businesses in Park Hills.

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Hurricane Milton leaves behind at least 10 reported dead

St. Lucie County Sheriffs Office destroyed

Important Takeaways:

  • Hurricane Milton made landfall on Siesta Key on the Florida Gulf Coast on Wednesday night as a major Category 3 hurricane with 120 mph winds as the state endured an assault of at least 19 tornadoes that resulted in at least five of 10 reported deaths so far.
  • It never lost hurricane strength as it crossed the state exiting near Cape Canaveral on Thursday morning.
  • Lucie County Sheriff Keith Pearson said the county had more than a dozen confirmed tornado touchdowns, and one destroyed a senior community neighborhood made up of mostly mobile homes.
  • “They didn’t stand a chance,” he said. The sheriff’s office announced Thursday that five people had died in the county.
  • At 11 a.m., the hurricane was located about 135 miles east-northeast of Cape Canaveral and 205 miles north-northwest of Great Abaco Island, Bahamas with maximum sustained winds of 80 mph. moving east-northeast at 20 mph. Its eye had moved off the coast as of 4 a.m. after spending nearly seven hours crossing the state.
  • More than 18 inches of rain and 101 mph gusts were reported in St. Petersburg with multiple areas flooded from rain and storm surge there and up and down the Gulf Coast. A 103 mph gust was reported as deep as Mulberry in Polk County, according to the National Weather Service.
  • The 2024 Atlantic hurricane season has had 13 named storms including nine hurricanes, four of which grew to major hurricane strength, and four tropical storms.
  • Hurricane season runs from June 1-Nov. 30.

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Flooding concerns in Hawaii after Cat 1 Hurricane soaked the region with nearly 2 feet of rain

Rain-Totals-Hurricane-Hone

Important Takeaways:

  • Hone continues to weaken and is a strong tropical storm Monday after it blasted Hawaii’s Big Island as a Category 1 hurricane with flooding rain, damaging winds and dangerous waves over the weekend.
  • The Central Pacific Hurricane Center (CPHC) in Honolulu said the storm made its closest approach to the Hawaiian Islands on Sunday morning, passing about 45 miles south-southwest of South Point, Hawaii. Peak winds were estimated to be about 85 mph.
  • The heavy precipitation associated with Hone had a major impact on Hawaii’s Big Island. Many areas picked up well over a foot of rain, sending water rushing down the steep slopes of the mountainous terrain and into low-lying neighborhoods. Because the ground was extremely saturated, there were also concerns about mudslides and landslides.
  • More than 21 inches of rain fell across Hakalau, with Saddle Quarry receiving nearly 20 inches. Keauomo, Nene Cabin and Waiakea Uka each received more than 16 inches of rain.
  • Flash Flood Warnings were issued through Sunday as heavy rain lashed the area, and forecasters estimated rainfall rates of 2 inches an hour.
  • As of early Monday morning, poweroutage.us showed more than 16,500 outage reports on the Big Island.

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Hurricane Beryl moves inland over Houston leaving 1.5 million without power

Hurricane-Beryl-Texas

Important Takeaways:

  • More than 1.5 million Texas households were without power Monday morning as Hurricane Beryl made landfall on the state’s central coast. Beryl’s eye crossed the Texas coastline early Monday near Matagorda, Texas.
  • Texas Division of Emergency Management officials warned that rain bands will lead to flooding in many areas of the state.
  • Shortly before sunrise, Hurricane Beryl made landfall near Matagorda, Texas. National Weather Service updates indicate the storm brought winds of up to 80 mph and a life-threatening storm surge to the coastal area.
  • On Sargent Beach. Forecasters predicted a storm surge of up to six feet in the area.

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South Florida gets a month’s worth of rain in one day

Flooding-Sarasota-Florida

Important Takeaways:

  • Multiple communities across South Florida — including the Miami and Fort Lauderdale areas — flooded Wednesday amid bouts of torrential rain that prompted the state’s governor to declare an emergency and stranded drivers across the region.
  • Along with the heavy rainfall, the storm system also brought an EF1 tornado Wednesday to Hobe Sound, located in Martin County about 35 miles north of West Palm Beach, a National Weather Service damage survey confirmed.
  • The city saw a preliminary rainfall total of roughly 9.58 inches Wednesday, making it Fort Lauderdale’s eighth wettest day on record, according to data from the National Weather Service. That preliminary rainfall total is also just above Fort Lauderdale’s average June rainfall of 9.55 inches – meaning the area saw over a month’s worth in one day.
  • Heavy rainfall over the last 48 hours totaled about 12.8 inches, making it the ninth wettest two-day period for the city.
  • Flood watches are in effect for more than 8 million people in South Florida Wednesday through Thursday night at the earliest.

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Flood-hit Brazil braces for more; nearly 2 million people affected

Horse-stranded-on-roof

Important Takeaways:

  • People in southern Brazil, already reeling from deadly floods, are bracing for more disruption as meteorologists warned of 12 straight hours of heavy rain Friday and more throughout the weekend.
  • The storms have affected more than 1.9 million people in Brazil, and displaced hundreds of thousands, many of whom are staying in temporary shelters. Over 140 people are still missing.
  • Scenes of the devastating weather event have been beamed all over the world, including video footage of a horse that had to be rescued after being stranded for several days on a rooftop.
  • Uruguay has also been flooded by the storms. More than 1,300 people there have been displaced there, while thousands more are without electricity

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Texas storms spawn tornadoes and send rivers surging to Hurricane Harvey levels

Texas-Tornado

Important Takeaways:

  • Powerful storms unloaded flooding rainfall that swept away vehicles and triggered evacuations, delivered hail the size of softballs and spun up at least one damaging tornado in Texas Thursday.
  • Dozens of tornadoes have hit from the Panhandle to the Gulf coast and months of rain has fallen in East Texas in intense spurts, causing rivers to rise to levels not seen since the devastating floods of Hurricane Harvey in 2017.
  • Mandatory evacuations were ordered Thursday in parts of Harris County
  • “We want you out of this area… this is a life-threatening situation,” Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo said at a news conference.
  • Mandatory evacuations due to flooding were also ordered for parts of San Jacinto County and Polk County, with voluntary evacuations for Montgomery County.
  • Several more sites are forecast to experience major flooding by the weekend and could meet or exceed record levels set during Harvey.
  • A “large and extremely dangerous” tornado impacted the towns of Hodges and Hawley – about 10 miles north of Abilene – Thursday evening.

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Unusual Storm dumps rain across the UAE

Flooding-in-Dubai

Important Takeaways:

  • Storm dumps heaviest rain ever recorded in desert nation of UAE, flooding roads and Dubai’s airport
  • Heavy thunderstorms lashed the United Arab Emirates on Tuesday, dumping the heaviest rain ever recorded in the country in the span of hours as it flooded out portions of major highways and Dubai’s international airport.
  • The state-run WAM news agency called the rain “a historic weather event” that surpassed “anything documented since the start of data collection in 1949.” That’s before the discovery of crude oil in this energy-rich nation then part of a British protectorate known as the Trucial States.
  • The rains began late Monday, soaking the sands and roadways of Dubai with some 20 millimeters (0.79 inches) of rain, according to meteorological data collected at Dubai International Airport. The storms intensified around 9 a.m. local Tuesday and continued throughout the day, dumping more rain and hail onto the overwhelmed city.
  • By the end of Tuesday, more than 142 millimeters (5.59 inches) of rainfall had soaked Dubai over 24 hours. An average year sees 94.7 millimeters (3.73 inches) of rain at Dubai International Airport, the world’s busiest for international travel and a hub for the long-haul carrier Emirates.
  • At the airport, standing water lapped on taxiways as aircraft landed. The airport ended up halting arrivals Tuesday night and passengers struggled to reach terminals through the floodwater covering surrounding roads.
  • Dubai International Airport acknowledged Wednesday morning that the flooding had left “limited transportation options” and affected flights as aircraft crews couldn’t reach the airfield.
  • “Recovery will take some time,” the airport said on the social platform X. “We thank you for your patience and understanding while we work through these challenges
  • Rain is unusual in the UAE, an arid, Arabian Peninsula nation, but occurs periodically during the cooler winter month

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Atmospheric River continues to inundate Southern California with “High Risk” flooding conditions

LA-Rain-Chart

Important Takeaways:

  • Catastrophic flooding swamps Los Angeles area as deadly atmospheric river slams California
  • NOAA’s Weather Prediction Center has placed about 14 million people in Southern California, including Los Angeles, under a rare “high risk” of flash flooding as the storm has already dumped several inches of rain, with much more to come.
  • The “high risk” is the highest rung on NOAA’s flash flood threat scale and is only issued under the most dire of flooding forecasts. “Life-threatening flash and urban flash flooding possible in the high risk area,” the WPC said.
  • Los Angeles picked up 4.10 inches of rain on Sunday, which far exceeded the daily rainfall record for that date set in 1927, which was 2.55 inches.
  • California Gov. Gavin Newsom declared a State of Emergency for several counties in California to help support storm response and recovery efforts.
  • The state had mobilized and prepositioned a record 8,500 emergency responders ready to respond to flooding, landslides and travel emergencies, according to the governor’s office.
  • The State of Emergency included Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, San Diego, San Luis Obispo and Ventura counties.
  • The atmospheric river storm had also prompted emergency officials in several areas to order evacuations and open emergency shelters for residents.
  • Several schools in the area were also closed because of the extreme weather event

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Power outage for 400,000 as evacuation orders are in effect for Santa Barbara, Los Angeles, Ventura and Monterey

Atmospheric-River-science

Important Takeaways:

  • A winter storm brought intense downpours and strong winds to California on Sunday, leaving hundreds of thousands without power and flooding roadways across the state.
  • According to Accuweather, up to 37 million people, or about 94% of the state’s population, were at risk for life-threatening floods from the storm.
  • The National Weather Service issued a rare hurricane-force wind warning for the central coast on Sunday as wind gusts up to 92 mph were possible from the Monterey Peninsula to the northern section of San Luis Obispo County.
  • The atmospheric river was the second to hit the state in just a few days, although forecasters said Sunday’s storm would be the season’s most potent, particularly in Southern California.
  • Evacuation warnings and orders were in effect for Santa Barbara, Los Angeles, Ventura and Monterey counties

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