Tag Archives: Rain

Almost 50 Million Americans Under Tornado Threat Monday

The National Weather Service says that Monday could bring afternoons and evenings of severe weather to almost 50 million Americans.

The predictions for heavy rain, damaging winds and lightning stretches from the deep south through Wisconsin.

The storms struck some parts of the Midwest early Monday as Chicago’s O’Hare airport had to close for a short period during the morning rush hour.  Additional storms are expected through the evening at O’Hare.

Weather Channel lead forecaster Kevin Roth said “quite a few states” will be affected and that while many will not see a tornado, severe thunderstorms with damaging winds could be a distinct possibility.

Straight-line wind damage was seen in Belleville, Wisconsin where a home weather station reported a 74 m.p.h. gust.  At least one roof was taken off a home in that town.  WE Energies reported 30,000 customers without power in the region.

All weather experts reviewed for this story urge anyone who receives a weather warning tonight or tomorrow to seek shelter immediately as the storms are very dangerous.

Storm Death Toll Reaches 19; Dam Break Less Likely

Rains continue to fall across Texas, increasing the massive flood from major weekend storms that have left 19 people confirmed dead.

Meanwhile, engineers believe a dam on the verge of collapse because of the rising waters will be able to hold after pumping out lake water to ease pressure.  A re-evaluation found the dam more stable than believed.

“The previous reports of an imminent breech have now been… we’re standing down basically,” said Captain John Spann with the Midlothian Police Department.

A dam collapse would flood Highway 287 and likely destroy 25 homes according to local officials.

Two more bodies were found in Houston on Wednesday which raised the official death toll to 19.

The flooding in Houston continues to cause major problems.  A waste treatment plant in the city was overrun by flood waters, sending 100,000 gallons of wastewater into the flood water.  Over 700 homes have sustained some kind of damage from the rushing water.

Firefighters have reported over 500 water rescues and over 2,500 stranded vehicles.

Meanwhile, eight people in a family whose vacation home was swept away by the flood waters remain missing.  Local residents say the authorities were neglectful in their alerting residents to the problem of the Blanco river.

“Nobody was saying, ‘Get out; get out; get out,'” said Brenda Morton of Wimberley, who lives three houses down from the home that was swept away. “We’re pretty trained, so we were calculating. We knew the flood plain. People who were visiting or had summer homes, you have company from out of town, you don’t know. You don’t know when that instant is.”

Hays County Emergency Management says phone calls went out to residents and that in some areas law enforcement officers made direct notifications.

“Milky Rain” Across Pacific Northwest

Scientists across the Pacific Northwest are investigating a rain that left a residue on cars in two states.

The “milky rain” fell on both Oregon and Washington states, leaving a powdery resident on vehicles and buildings.  Samples have been collected by the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory and the Benton Clean Air Agency in an attempt to discover what was in the rain.

So far the scientists have competing theories.  One is that a volcanic eruption in Japan has resulted in volcanic ash mixing with clouds to create the rain.  The other is that dust from central Oregon somehow mixed with a storm.

The National Weather Service has taken a mostly impartial view, stating dust storms were the likely cause but it could not rule out volcanic ash.  The NWS says they do not have the equipment necessary to analyze the rain and discover its origin.

Robin Priddy of Benton Clean Air says that air monitoring stations detected nothing during the rain but that they don’t feel it poses a health risk.

“We don’t have any reason to think there’s anything wrong, but there’s no reason not to be cautious if you’re concerned,” she added. “You may want to wash it off your car with water, rather than with your hands, and avoid touching it and breathing it in.”