Matthieu, Author at A Weather Moment • Page 32 of 39

Elsewhere in Weather News: December 1st, 2012

December 1, 2012April 3, 2015 Matthieu Leave a comment

Typhoon Bopha Takes Aim at the Philippines

A strong typhoon dubbed Bopha has spun up in the Northwest Pacific Ocean this past week and is taking aim at the Philippines. The typhoon is currently located at 4.5°N which means that it’s still located within the Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ). This is an area north and south of the equator where north-east and south-east winds meet and cause daily convectional thunderstorms. Near the equator, there is little Coriolis effect which would explain why tropical cyclones rarely form (lack of spin). Since Bopha will move towards the west north-west, it will hold together. If it were moving towards the equator, it would be less likely that it would maintain form.

Typhoon tracks

All typhoon tracks between 1985 and 2005 with equator and Bopha’s approximate location (pink). (Source: Wiki Images)

Bopha

Bopha’s basic into from Friday night, it’s expected track and strength. (Source: Humanitarian Early Warning Service)

It’s expected that Bopha will strike south of Manila and likely make landfall on the Island of Samar on early on Monday, December 4th. It is likely to be a violent typhoon, bringing severe storm surge, copious amounts of rain to areas that are prone to mudslides and flooding. Winds will almost certainly be a problem as it’s predicted that Bopha will make landfall as a category 3, accompanied by winds around 200km/h. As of Friday evening the storm already had a central pressure of 965mb with sustained winds near 200km/h. On Friday evening, it was quickly intensifying with very cold cloud tops around its centre and a well-defined eye was starting to develop.

Microwave imagery - Bopha

Microwave imagery from Bopha on Friday night. The eye was becoming well defined. (Source: CIMSS)

IR Satellite - Bopha

Infra-red satellite imagery from Bopha as a category 4 hurricane. (Source: CIMSS)

On average, the Philippine Islands see an average of 9 hurricanes make landfall annually, with 1-2 usually developing in the month of December. Their peak season for typhoon activity runs at about the same time as the Atlantic Hurricane Season, though it’s not unusual to see typhoons in that area after November 30th.

Elsewhere in Weather News: November 24th, 2012

November 24, 2012April 3, 2015 Matthieu Leave a comment

Severe Flooding Strikes England

Intense flooding has hit parts of the UK these past couple of days and more is to come this weekend. A strong low pressure system approaching England from the south-west has brought with it plenty of moisture which has already flooded out 300 properties and caused one death.

Flooding

Roads flooded out quickly in South-West England as torrential rains fell this past week, more is to come. (Source: The Guardian)

South-West England is most at risk. Areas including Exeter and Bristol were included in the ‘amber risk’ (second highest level) which was issued by the Met Office as more localised flooding was likely to occur. By Saturday afternoon, it will not be uncommon to see rainfall reports exceeding 50mm in South-West England. This, coupled with ground already saturated to its maximum, will cause flash flood conditions where streams could easily overflow in a matter of hours. In total, 70 flood warnings and 150 flood alerts had already been put in place as of Friday. High winds add to the storm’s grave concern, as gusts of 90km/h are not out of the question for Saturday’s event.

Surface analysis

Surface analysis of the UK on Saturday at 7pm. (Source: Met Office)

Areas of South-West England typically see an average of 16 rainy days and 70mm of rainfall in November. Therefore it’s not unusual to see rain in that area during the month of November but the expected amount to be seen this weekend is on the high end of the spectrum. The highest 24-hour rainfall ever recorded in South-West England (Martinstown) was in 1955 where 279mm, over half of Winnipeg’s annual precipitation, fell!

Elsewhere in Weather News: November 17th, 2012

November 17, 2012April 3, 2015 Matthieu Leave a comment

Wildfire Flare Up in Southern Australia

On Monday the 12th of November, a large wildfire in Southern Australia flared up. Residents had to be evacuated in the region of Tulka as the wildfire threatened houses. Over 100 firefighters battled the blaze but unfortunately they were unsuccessful in their attempt to control it that day. In total, the fire burned nearly 5,000 acres, destroying seven properties. No one was injured, though animals such as koalas that lived in the area where the wildfire took place needed veterinary attention. The fire has been contained since Tuesday.

Wildfire

Picture of the Tulka Wildfire. (Source: Michael Sleep/ABC)

This month, Port Lincoln, a city near Tulka, received only 4.4mm rain in comparison to its 20mm average for the month of November. The lack of precipitation combined with a high of 36.4°C on Sunday November 11th (13°C above the November average) contributed to conditions ripe for wildfires in Southern Australia at this time of the year. Tulka typically receives minimal rainfall in the month of November due to dominant high pressure off the coast of Southern Australia and troughs that sporadically make their way to the region. It is predicted that most of Australia will have a warm and dry summer, having an indirect relation to the weak El Nino that is forecast to develop this winter. If this were the case, it would be an active wildfire season in Australia this summer.

Systems map

Systems map of Australia of next Wednesday, high pressure dominating Southern Australia. (Source: Weatherzone)

Several days prior to this event, a few other wildfires flared up in Western Australia but they were located in a remote area and did not directly affect population.

Wildfire NASA picture

Picture of a wildfire in Western Australia on November 7th, taken by NASA. (Source: NASA)

Elsewhere in Weather News: November 3rd, 2012

November 3, 2012April 3, 2015 Matthieu Leave a comment

Superstorm Sandy

Since last week’s report on Hurricane Sandy, the storm system made landfall in New Jersey and caused damage that will take months to repair. Just prior to making landfall, Sandy transitioned into an extratropical storm. Hurricane-force winds were still experienced just off the Jersey coast and tropical storm-force winds spanned an incredible 1520km. The storm surge associated with Sandy was the most devastating aspect of the storm as areas along the coast suffered from severe flooding, including Manhattan. At The Battery in New York, the storm surge of 13.88 feet shattered previous records by over two feet. The worst case scenario played out as high tide came in at the same time storm surge was maximized. Sandy also disabled power to over 8.9 million residents on the east coast shortly after it made landfall, and 1.2 million of those are still missing power as of Friday night.

Newark subway flooding

Chilling image as the water poured into the subway in Newark, New Jersey.(Source: @TropicalTidbits)

Sandy

Eight feet of sand cover streets in Cape May, brought in by storm surge. (Source: @AliBurnett)

The hardest hit areas appear to be Staten Island where major flooding occurred and houses for streets on-end were completely flooded and inhabitable. In Breezy Point, New York, a large blaze broke out due to downed power lines that were toppled over from the tropical storm-force winds blowing so fiercely; this resulted in 80 houses burnt down to the ground. In the nearby state of New Jersey, towns along the New Jersey Shore were inundated by water and whole amusement parks could be seen partly submerged.

On the backside of Sandy it was a different story, where in West Virginia it was not rain or storm surge that caused damage, it was the snow. After Sandy moved further north-eastward and snow moved out of the region, it was not uncommon to see 60cm of snow and up to 91cm in some areas, as reported in Richwood, West Virginia.

Sandy snow

Snow depth analysis (some areas of 30-40 inches!) done by the National Weather Service. (Source: NWS)

Although it is still very early in the clean-up, damages are expected to be in the tens of billions – one of the worst storms for the Northeast, ever. The death toll has also risen significantly in the last couple of days, where the tally has reached 109 in the US alone, and 175 across the US and Caribbean combined.

The clean-up will continue to be a chilly one for those without power as temperature highs will only be reaching single digits in the states that were hit the hardest.

A Weather Moment

Author: Matthieu