Tag Archives: Weather

At least 10 dead following Winter Storm Cara, more extreme weather to come

The rain, snow and ice dumped by Winter Storm Cara caused multiple deaths throughout the country, according to media reports, and more extreme weather is forecast for the week ahead.

A USA Today report says at least six people died in ice-storm-related accidents in Oklahoma and Kansas. Flooding in North Texas claimed the lives of at least four more, according to Texas television station WFAA.

The complex and wide-reaching storm dumped more than 20 inches of snow in parts of Nevada, Oregon and California and 14 or more inches in Wyoming, Idaho and Colorado, according to The Weather Channel. An inch or more of ice accumulated on power lines in parts of Oklahoma.

USA Today reported Oklahoma’s governor, Mary Fallin, declared a statewide state of emergency and 100,000 customers did not have power Sunday afternoon. The Weather Channel reported those numbers were down to 58,000 by Monday morning, most of them near Oklahoma City.

Meanwhile, heavy rainfall in Texas helped Dallas break its annual record for precipitation.

USA Today reported Dallas has already received more than 4½ feet of rain this year. The annual total was just shy of 56 inches on Sunday, smashing the 53.54-inch record established in 1991.

WFAA reported “widespread flooding in several areas” of Texas. It said there were 446 car wrecks and 38 water rescue calls between Thanksgiving morning and Sunday evening.

As that storm dissipated, another one was brewing over the Northern Plains.

The National Weather Service has issued winter storm warnings in parts of South Dakota, Nebraska, Iowa, Kansas and Minnesota. Winter weather advisories were also in effect in parts of those states, plus North Dakota and Wisconsin on Monday morning.

CNN is reporting a foot of snow is expected in Minnesota, where the highest totals are forecast.

Winter Storm Cara Bringing Dangerous Mix

Winter Storm Cara will make traveling for Thanksgiving and for those returning home, slow going and in some places quite dangerous for a great deal of the middle of the country. According to the Weather Channel, this strong system will bring a mixture of flooding rain, heavy snow and treacherous icing conditions.  The possibility for black ice is a great concern as well as power outages from freezing rain.

Accuweather has reported that freezing rain has already been reported in the early morning hours of Thanksgiving in parts of northeast Colorado, eastern Wyoming and Nebraska.

The National Weather Service has issued an ice storm warning for portions of the Texas and Oklahoma panhandles, including the city of Amarillo, Texas, as well as parts of southern Kansas. These warnings are valid from Thursday night into Friday or Saturday.

Cities that could experience one or more periods of freezing rain and drizzle include Amarillo, Texas; Gage, Oklahoma; Dodge City, Kansas; Lamar, Colorado; Omaha, Nebraska; and Des Moines, Iowa.

According to AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Dave Bowers, “People traveling either a short or long distance from the eastern slopes of the Rockies to the Plains, Mississippi Valley and Great Lakes region are likely to encounter delays into Friday.”

Snow is expected from the central and eastern parts of Colorado and Wyoming to central Nebraska, northwestern Kansas, northwestern Iowa and southeastern Minnesota. The slushy snow will harden as the temperatures fall so caution is urged.

The most widespread impact on travel will be associated with drenching rain during Thanksgiving Day into Friday.

“Motorists will need to slow down due to patchy fog and blowing spray and to reduce the risk of hydroplaning,” Bowers said.

Enough rain can fall in some locations to cause flash flooding. The greatest risk of flooding  will extend from north-central Texas to southern Missouri.

For those traveling in these areas be sure to check weather conditions before heading out on the road.  

Winter Storm Cara poised to impact Thanksgiving travel

A powerful winter storm is disrupting Thanksgiving travel plans across the United States, bringing ice, snow and rain to those in its path.

Winter Storm Cara pummeled the Pacific Northwest with more than a foot of snow and knocked out power to thousands of people on Tuesday, and the storm appears to be only getting started.

The National Weather Service has issued numerous weather advisories and warnings across the country, ranging from hard freeze and winter storm warnings in Oregon to winter weather and flood watches in Oklahoma. Parts of Wyoming are under a blizzard warning on Wednesday.

There are more concerns of snow, black ice, fog and flooding as the storm continues to move east, according to forecasts from The Weather Channel and AccuWeather.

Those are expected to cause travel delays at airports and on highways from the Rocky Mountains to the Great Lakes into Friday, meteorologist Dave Bowers told accuweather.com.

The latest Weather Channel forecasts call for Cara to dump a foot and a half of snow in parts of the country through Sunday, though most areas are projected to receive less than five inches.

AccuWeather meteorologists also warn of the potential impact of other forms of precipitation.

While they don’t expect freezing rain will be a major issue for most of the country, there is the chance for enough accumulation to bring down power lines and trees in the Great Plains.

They also noted that some areas could experience flash flooding as rain is expected to fall across the Great Plains on Thursday and Friday. The storm is expected to continue east Saturday.

The Weather Channel also warned of the potential for flooding and flash flooding throughout the weekend, as conditions are ripe for torrential rainfall in the south central United States.

The Associated Press reported on Tuesday that parts of Washington had already been without power for nearly a week after a deadly windstorm knocked out the electrical grid in Spokane. Cara’s winds then knocked out power to more than 40,000 Washington residents, KIRO reported.

El Niño may cause global famine, floods and sickness

Experts warn that one of the strongest El Niño patterns in the past 70 years could significantly impact the world’s economy, food supply and weather.

The ongoing phenomenon is expected to continue well into 2016, according to a report in the Wall Street Journal, and its impacts go far beyond the forecast.

El Niño occurs when warm waters in the Pacific Ocean move east, which sets off a ripple effect. The warmer waters create conditions ripe for large storms, according to a Los Angeles Times report, and bring unseasonable weather.

The United Nations World Meteorological Organization said last week that this El Niño is already the strongest in the past 15 years and it is expected to continue to strengthen. It is on track to be one of the three strongest instances of the phenomenon in the past 65 years, according to the organization.

“Our planet has altered dramatically because of climate change, the general trend towards a warmer global ocean, the loss of Arctic sea ice and of over a million square kilometers of summer snow cover in the northern hemisphere,” the organization’s secretary general, Michael Jarraud, said at a news conference last week. “So this naturally occurring El Niño event and human induced climate change may interact and modify each other in ways which we have never before experienced.”

The cyclical weather pattern is known for creating intense droughts in some parts of the world and heavy rains in others. Droughts and floods are currently occurring in the tropics and subtropics, the United Nations World Meteorological Organization said at the news conference in Switzerland.

But the organization noted that the world is more prepared to deal with the phenomenon, as the countries expected to be affected the most are already planning for its impacts on their agriculture, health and economies.

Still, CNBC noted that the weather pattern is expected to impact fish catches (and poultry supplies, which depend on such catches) and natural gas prices.

CNBC reported that the 1997-98 El Niño had an economic impact of up to $45 billion. It’s expected to increase this time as global economies have grown.

The United Nations Children’s Fund, or UNICEF, is expecting that disease, hunger and water shortages could impact up to 11 million children in parts of Africa. Another 2.3 million Central Americans are expected to need food aid because of droughts, according to the United Nations World Food Program.

And this El Niño has been linked to Hurricane Patricia in Mexico, fears of food shortages in Southern Africa and wildfires that have plagued Indonesia.

The Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations warned earlier this month that El Niño-linked rains in parts of Africa and Yemen could also trigger a surge in locust breeding, which would further impact crop harvests.

 

Record snows and storms to affect holiday travels

The first snowfall brought amounts amounts of snow ranging from a few inches to 20 inches from South Dakota through Michigan over the weekend as temperatures plunged southward.

Chicago recorded its second-heaviest snowfall during a single storm in November  causing hundreds of flights to be cancelled and others to be delayed.

According to the National Weather Service, Saturday’s snowfall of 11.2 inches recorded Friday and Saturday was beat only by a snowstorm ending on November 26 in 1895 that saw 12 inches of snow.

For Thanksgiving, a storm system will have a mix of soaking rain, snow, cold winds and possible ice on the central part of the United States.

According to Accuweather, the Thanksgiving Day storm will center itself between warmer air in the Eastern U.S. and brisk cold air in the west as it plunges southward.  Rain and snow with a potential for a narrow zone of ice threatens the central states.

Heavy rain across Oklahoma, Eastern Kansas and Western Missouri lie within this storm zone.  Freezing rain and sleet could develop from portions of southeastern Nebraska to southwestern Kansas and southeastern Colorado on Thanksgiving Day.

Stay tuned to weather reports as you make your plans for the Thanksgiving week and check with your airline for any delays.

Extreme Storms, Tornadoes Expected in the Heartland by Wednesday

An impressive storm over Alaska’s Aleutian Islands has sent a powerful southward dip in the jet stream which will hit the continental U.S. Tuesday and Wednesday, bringing severe weather, including possible tornado threats.

The Weather Channel reports that the cold air mixed with warmer, humid air in the lower levels of the atmosphere could produce severe thunderstorms. They also state that since this weather prediction is a few days early, that it is uncertain to measure the level of the tornadic threat.

The main threat from severe thunderstorms are gusting winds, hail, flash flooding, and the possibility of tornadoes. The tornadic threat level can range depending on how unstable the air mass becomes, which is something that cannot be easily predicted. Winds are expected to pick up in the midsection late Tuesday, with sustained winds of up to 40mph by Wednesday with gusts at 50 to 60 mph or more.

Regions on the northwestern part of the storm will see high winds and snow. Colorado and Kansas were placed under blizzard watches and high wind watches were issued for Texas, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Colorado, and Kansas, according to ABC News.

November has seen its fair share of severe weather in the past. Nearly two years ago, 72 tornadoes made their way through 7 states.

Monday Storm Brings Rain, Snow, Mudslides, and Flash Flooding to California

California and other parts of the western United States – including Sierra, Nevada – saw the first winter-like storm of the season on Monday. the storm brought heavy rain and snow and even caused a 20 car pile up due to gusts of wind bringing up dust. Five people were minorly injured.

San Francisco saw an inch of rain and other Bay Area cities had an inch or more of rain thanks to the cold front from the Pacific Northwest. Traffic accidents and power outages were widespread across the region according to ABC News. Mudslides also blocked roads close to Livermore.

Mountain areas around Lake Tahoe on the California-Nevada border reported a foot of snow. The Sierra Nevada mountain range had storm warnings for heavy snow from Kings Canyon to Yosemite that were in effect until late night hours. Areas above 9,000 feet saw 5 inches of snow by early evening, and snow levels were expected to fall to 5,000 feet.

Yolo, Lake, and Colusa counties were issued flash flood warnings according to the weather service.

The snow in Sierra could help with the drought that has hit California. California counts on snowpack to feed reservoirs. The storm also hit areas that were burned by wildfires earlier this year.

Major Hurricane Drought Reaches Record 117 Months

The continental United States has not been hit with a major hurricane in more than 117 months, a record according to the Hurricane Research Division of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).

NOAA’s tracking of storms dates back to 1851.

A “major” hurricane is defined as a storm of Category 3 or higher.  The last major hurricane was Hurricane Wilma in 2005 which reached Category 5.

The scale does not mean smaller storms could not cause damage, but that major storms are most likely to cause catastrophic damage and significant loss of life.  The most recent storm to cause damage while not being considered a “major” hurricane was Hurricane Sandy, a category 1 storm that was downgraded by the time it made landfall in the northeastern United States.

The streak is not expected to end this Atlantic hurricane season as “El Nino” is especially hot and among the strongest in the last 50 years.  That warm current of air mixed with colder than normal Atlantic Ocean water decreases the possibility of major storms.

“Even if El Niño went away tomorrow, which it won’t do, we would still forecast a below normal season because the Atlantic is so cold,” Phil Klotzbach, a research scientist at Colorado State University told the Miami Herald. “When you get that combination, it’s really lethal for storms.”

Category 4 Hurricane Dolores, currently raging in the Pacific Ocean, is so far off the coastline that forecasters do not believe it will make landfall in Mexico or the United States.

Tropical Depression Bill Causes Flooding

Tropical Storm Bill weakened Wednesday to a tropical depression but is still bringing massive amounts of rain to south Texas.

“Rainfall will result in significant flooding across central and eastern Texas and into southern Oklahoma through Wednesday night,” AccuWeather meteorologist Chyna Glenn told USA Today.

However, Texas is not the only state bearing the brunt of Bill’s wrath.

Southern and eastern Oklahoma have reported more than a foot of rain including just over 13 inches reported at Newport, Oklahoma. Interstate 35 in southern Oklahoma was closed due to flooding and one exit had to be closed because the rain dislodged boulders which rolled into the roadway.

Multiple rivers including the Red River, Trinity River and Washita River are either at flood stage or are forecasted to be reaching flood stage by the weekend.  The National Weather Service said the flooding from the Washita River in Oklahoma could be “catastrophic.”

The storm is moving eastward into Missouri and Arkansas, bringing heavy rain and the possibility of flooding in those states.

Deadly Storms Rage Through Texas and Oklahoma

Officials in Texas and Oklahoma say that at least 11 people are dead and over a dozen missing following a massive storm front that roared through the two states.

Record rainfall fell in many communities and flooding caused mass devastation.

Houston officials say that two people were found Tuesday and that they likely drowned in the massive flooding in the area.  Authorities were telling residents to not leave their homes.   Over 70,000 customers are without power in the Houston area.

The National Weather Service reported 11 inches of rain in six hours throughout southwest Houston.  Over 130 water rescues had to be conducted throughout the city.  The weather was so severe that the Houston Rockets NBA team told the people who came to their playoff game to stay inside the arena in their seats until the passing of the storm.

“We’ve seen flooding before, but not nearly to this extreme,” said Gage Mueller, a Houston resident for the past 40 years and Houston Rockets employee who stayed overnight at the Toyota Center because it wasn’t safe to go home. “It rains and it rains and it rains, and there’s really nowhere for the water to go. … It’s ridiculous.”

Texas Governor Greg Abbott declared disasters in 37 counties.

“You cannot candy coat it. It’s absolutely massive,” Abbott told reporters after he viewed the devastation in the region.

One of the storm’s victims was 18-year-old Alyssa Ramirez, president of the student council at Devine High School who was driving home from her senior prom.  She called 911, she called her father and then the flood waters rose too fast for her to be rescued.

The flooding was so strong that a vacation house next to the Blanco River was pushed off the foundation and rushed downriver into a bridge.  Only parts of the home have been found.  At least one person was killed by the flooding of the Blanco river.

A dam near Highway 71 broke causing the highway to be blocked.