Weird Weather Watch 2007

this week when i talked to my parents they live in texas north of houson by 2 hours. they were reciving snow. weird!!!!!

Here are a few global updates:

Major Storm hits Europe for the second day:

Poland battered by deadly storm

Poland and the Czech Republic are the latest countries to have been hit by a storm that has swept northern Europe leaving at least 43 people dead.
At least six people were reported killed in Poland as winds of more than 200km/h (124mph) were recorded.

Germany, the UK, France, Belgium, and the Netherlands were picking themselves up on Friday after the storm passed.

...

'Hurricane force'

Roads, rail lines and electricity pylons have been taken out of action across northern Europe by falling trees, collapsing walls and flying wreckage.


Chart the storm's progress

In Germany, the 11 dead included an 18-month-old baby killed by a door that was ripped off its hinges in Munich, while a 73-year-old man died in Augsburg when a barn door fell on him.

Meteorologists said the winds reached severe gale force in Britain and were the strongest there since January 1990.

They hit hurricane force in Germany, the worst in nearly a decade.

...

At one point, in the Czech Republic a million people faced power cuts. A million households in Germany also suffered blackouts and tens of thousands of homes in Poland, Austria, northern France and the UK were also hit.

LINK

US:

Winter blast looms again for ice-storm victims

Oklahomans braced Saturday for another round of winter weather that forecasters said could leave a half-foot or more of snow -- or perhaps freezing rain or sleet -- in parts of a state still reeling from a three-day ice storm a week earlier.

Some scattered snowfall was reported early Saturday in western Oklahoma, but most of the state was receiving cold rain as temperatures hovered above freezing, said John Pike, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Norman.

Forecasts for Saturday called for between 4 and 8 inches of snow north of Interstate 44, with accumulations between 3 to 5 inches in the Oklahoma City area and less than one inch in southeast Oklahoma, Pike said.

LINK



I'm noticing a pattern to these storms now too. They seem to hit one after the other. For example: BC and the NW US got hit with storm after storm this fall and winter, Colorado got hit with 3 snow storms, Europe and the US: 2 major storms so far. This is definitly not normal for these magnitude of storms.

What will happen next? Check back for weather updates.

If you experence any strange or unusual weather or see anything on the news, post so we can discuss and stay informed.

-DSO

These are the earthquakes of the day

Indonesia, 7.3
Turkey, 5
Rome, Italy 2.5

Its been close to +10C here in Calgary all week. Looks like the weird weather is starting to hit us now too...

Here are a few weather stories:

Glaciers may vanish from Alps by 2050
VIENNA, Austria -- Add glaciers to the list of things endangered in nature.

Glaciers will all but disappear from the Alps by 2050, scientists warned Monday, basing their outlook on mounting evidence of slow but steady melting of the continental ice sheets.

In western Austria's Alpine province of Tyrol, glaciers have been shrinking by about three per cent a year, meaning their mass decreases annually by roughly a metre, said Roland Psenner of the University of Innsbruck's Institute for Ecology.

And 2050 is a conservative estimate, he said: If they keep melting at that rate, most glaciers could vanish by 2037.

LINK

Nigerian houses swallowed by sand

"We lose houses to the desert every year," he says from the village of Bulamadu in Yobe State.

The fine sand is swallowing up houses and roads every year.

Almost all the villagers in this dusty arid region say they have lost homes and farms to the Sahara Desert which is expanding southwards.

LINK

Winter comes to Spain

The Department for Civil Protection and Emergencies has issued a warning to the governments of ten Autonomous Communities in Spain following the the National Meteorological Institute’s forcast for heavy snow and very low temperatures over the next few days. The extreme weather conditions are predicted to worsen from Wednesday onwards. As a result many cities in Spain are on high alert and as a precaution around 50 mountain passes have been closed to heavy traffic.

Castilla and León, Navarra, Galicia, País Vasco, Cantabria and Asturias, Cataluña, Castilla-La Mancha and Madrid are all on high alert due to heavy snow predicted for the next few days.

Andalucía is on alert for extremely low temperaturas, notably in Granada where temperaturas are predicted to fall to - 4ºC.

LINK

That's it for today.

-DSO

So now that Global Warming has taken effect it gets the recognition it deserves. We have been warned about these events for years now but no one listens until it's too late and the wheels are in motion. People have no one to blame but themselves for all these problems. Instead of writing about it on ATS take a stand and write to people who MIGHT make a difference and think about the things YOU, YOURSELF, are doing to contribute to this problem.

Before dismissing this thread as a total waste of time, think. Part of a good argument is strong evidence, which is what we are trying to present here. If people are going to change their habits, they need to be informed about what is happening in their world.

The climate change solution isn't as simple as everyone driving solar cars or running their homes on geothermal energy. The economy can't handle that kind of blow. Also technology isn't the all saving grace either. At this point in time, only small changes can happen, untill the economy and technology are able to absord the demands placed on them.

There are plenty of threads in regards to climate change, thus please post your theories and opinions on climate change in those threads. This thread is for mostly reporting and discussing unusual weather events only.

-----------

Now for todays Weather News:

Heavy snowfall grounds flights across Europe

Heavy snowfall across Europe grounded passenger planes and forced the closure of several airports, including Prague's international airport, officials said.

About 100 flights were cancelled at Prague international airport as snow continued to fall Wednesday in the Czech capital, airport spokeswoman Eva Krejci said.

In Germany, snow prevented flights from taking off from Stuttgart airport Tuesday, stranding some 1,000 passengers overnight. About 70 flights were cancelled by Wednesday morning, officials said.

...

In Switzerland, more than 30 flights to and from Basel's EuroAirport were cancelled Wednesday, airport spokeswoman Vivienne Gaskell said. EuroAirport also serves the neighbouring French city of Mulhouse and Freiburg in Germany.

The Italian capital, meanwhile, was coping with winds of up to 80 kilometres an hour that forced the cancellation of dozens of flights at the city's main airport.

LINK

A rare snow day in Arizona

A rare snowstorm that surprised Arizona with more than a foot of snow left the state Monday, giving children as far south as Tucson a chance to play in the snow.

One of the strongest of the winter, Sunday's storm brought snow, ice and strong winds to the Plains region, and also to the Southwest, including Texas and New Mexico.

The harsh, frigid conditions were blamed for at least 11 traffic fatalities in the Plains over the weekend.

LINK

Mudslides leave 16 dead in Peru

Floods and mudslides in central Peru have left at least 16 people dead and scores homeless, the authorities say.
Some 20 people are reported missing in the San Ramon district, Junin province, where a state of emergency is in place.

On Monday, rivers burst their banks and mudslides buried villages after a weekend of torrential rains.

LINK

Here are today's weather stories:

Rains drench South; arctic air chills Midwest

Heavy rain spread from Texas through Alabama Saturday, while light snow fell over the Great Lakes.

A blast of arctic air kept temperatures chilly in the Northern Plains and upper Midwest. Single digits were observed in the Dakotas and parts of Minnesota.

In California, a low pressure system pushed some rain showers into the central portion of the state. Rain also fell in the Rockies, but the rest of the West was dry.

LINK

That appears to be a more typical weather pattern for this time of year.

Heavy rain does little to quench drought - Australia

Severe thunderstorms bought torrential rains and damaging winds across parts of Queensland during Thursday and again today.

The storms moved northeast across the northern Gold Coast and into Brisbane causing some localised flooding and resulting in power outages to more than 7000 homes. It brought traffic chaos as it hit commuters setting off home to enjoy the Australia Day weekend.

The storms are said to have given Southeast Queensland their heaviest rain since last summer, with highest totals reported to be at Gold Coast Seaway, where 30mm fell.
...

LINK

Snow in anchorage

While areas of the northeast of the United States are having a relatively mild and snow free winter, Alaska is struggling under the burden of a very snowy winter.

In Alaska’s largest city, Anchorage, more snow has fallen in the past few months than they would normally get in the whole of the winter season, and with another four months of wintry weather on the way, this could well be a record breaking year.
...

LINK

little taste of winter for Europe

Autumn and spring have finally stopped fighting for dominance and let a little bit of winter to come to Europe. Snow and ice has swept through many parts of Europe bringing chaos to Spain and Germany in the last few days.

Snow and ice caused chaos across Germany on Saturday. A man was killed after losing control of his car on the icy roads, while four others were seriously injured in the accident in the town of Kierspe, North Rhine-Westphalia region. Two other people were killed in separate accidents in Rottweil in the southwest.
...

LINK

FWIW, The Hokkaido weather report:

Eastern Hokkaido has had temps more or less in the normal range through january. Where I am that translates to highs of 0 and lows around -10 (Celcius).

The real story is the absence of snow. We`ve had one snowfall worth getting out the shovel for so far this winter. We should have well over a metre on the ground right now. In the snowbelt areas, places in the mountains where they tend to get 3-4 metres in a winter, they`ve got about 1m. The west side of the island (sea of japan coast) has had significantly less snow as well.

I took a drive yesterday from here down to Erimo (the triangle bit at the bottom of Hokkaido) and up to Obihiro (central Hokkaido) and there were areas on the plains where the fields had no snow cover - they usually have a decent metre of snowcover at this point.

The real surprise through 2006 was the increase in thunderstorms out here. We don`t usually get them - maybe about one a year, if that. They`re rare enough that people don`t have conditioning to them: adults will actually comment that they were unable to sleep because of the thunder (in an area that gets a M5 earthquake every 4 months or so, which most people can sleep through). This year, we had over a dozen proper thunderstorms, one of which produced a tornado north of here - the first in living memory in this part of Japan.

check out the oragne snow in russias siberian sector...
it was a recent covering of a huge area and smelled awfull
hope that this is an origonal addition,,if not sorree!
(english.newslab.ru...)......
any comments?perhaps some weapon test?
can anyone make this link work?

Florida is having some bizarre weather:

Governor Declares State of Emergency
19 killed by tornadoes in central Florida

A tornado is seen passing over southern Brazil in 2005 in this handout photo from the United Nations Environmental, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESC). A deadly storm ripped through central Florida, killing 14 people, leveling scores of homes and leaving thousands without power as officials posted tornado warnings.

Originally posted by bergle

check out the oragne snow in russias siberian sector...
it was a recent covering of a huge area and smelled awfull

Here's a link to ITAR-TASS. They say the snow is not radioactive.


Don't eat the yellow snow... (Frank Zappa)

Looks like winter's back:

Lake-effect snow buries upstate New York

While the northern Plains and Northeast shiver in dangerously cold temperatures, the folks in upstate New York are keeping warm shoveling snow -- lots of snow.

Since Sunday, the small towns of Parish and Mexico have recorded more than 6 feet of snow, and forecasters with the National Weather Service say it isn't over yet.

...

Whiteout conditions -- the snow has been falling at a rate of 5 inches an hour at times -- forced state police to temporarily close Interstate 81 between Central Square and Pulaski, a stretch of about 15 miles.

...

The bitter cold and slippery roads have contributed to at least 20 deaths -- five in Ohio, four in Illinois, four in Indiana, two in Kentucky, two in Michigan, and one each in Wisconsin, New York and Maryland, authorities said. Three of them died Tuesday when two SUVs crashed on a slick road in northern Indiana. An autopsy Wednesday determined that an elderly woman found in a New York City building had died of hypothermia.

LINK

Arctic winds sweep over North America
Cold, arctic air and strong west-northwest winds continue to create severe wind chills across north-eastern states of the USA and parts of central southern Canada. Temperatures will struggle into the minus low twenties over parts of Michigan and Wisconsin and the effect of the wind will make the wind chill value even lower – into the minus thirties.

At least four deaths are being blamed on the cold weather experienced in Minneapolis on Sunday.

An intense area of low pressure over northern Canada is forcing this bitter north to northwest wind across the northern Plains, Midwest and the Northeast. The combination of cold air and strong winds will mean dangerously cold wind chill temperatures, especially across northern Maine.
...

LINK

Heavy snow sweeps England and Wales again

England and Wales have been hit by a blanket of snow causing travel chaos. Only two weeks ago London and the southeast suffered travel chaos after heavy snowfalls. For London city centre this is a very unusual sight, especially twice in two weeks.

...

The heavy snowfalls also forced the closure of hundreds of schools in England and Wales, with kids rushing out with their sledges and mother's tea trays to enjoy the rare carpet of snow.

The snow swept into the southwest of the UK during the early hours of Thursday and slowed down as it moved northeastwards dumping the most widespread carpet of snow to fall on England and Wales in about a decade.

LINK


And a story from Southern Asia:

Indonesian Flooding Likely to Escalate
There was no let up in the deluge on Sunday as days of incessant rain left their mark across Indonesia, particularly the capital Jakarta. Severe flooding has resulted in at least 20 deaths and more than 300,000 people having to flee their homes as flood waters rose up to 10 feet in places.

Whilst people in Indonesia are used to heavy rain and associated flooding each year, officials report that this year the flooding is the worst in recent memory. The flooding started after 2 days of heavy rain over Jakarta and the hills to the south, causing rivers to burst their banks and sending muddy waters gushing in to homes and businesses across the city. The flood waters initially were reported to have been up to 6 feet deep in parts of Jakarta, which is home to 12 million people.

...

LINK

I'm actually glad to see some Winter for a change. I mean, it is Winter. We finally got a little bit of snow.

It's been pretty cold, but I don't know that it's really that unusual for this time of the year.

It's when we get 70 degree days, that I really tag it as odd.

Nothing really bizarre in this part of the world, at the moment.

Troy

Originally posted by cybertroy
I'm actually glad to see some Winter for a change. I mean, it is Winter. We finally got a little bit of snow.

I was happy to see some winter weather too, even if it was only for a couple weeks.



Now it's back in low 80's across the Southwest, winter is over and it's spring in February....argh.

That's crazy. It's so odd to go from Winter to 80s.

The weather fluctuations are what bother me most. I mean, I've said it before, what if you are in the middle of the growing season, and bam!, here comes a cold snap with frost and everything?

I have seen a Summer day in the 50s. That was during a drought we had some years ago.

Troy

Here are some of the weather headlines from around the world. Seems like mother nature has been behaving herself (somewhat) over the past few days. Nothing too strange to report but a few interesting articles:

Flooding in Madagascar and Mid-Western USA

Tropical storm Favio, a category 1 cyclone with sustained winds of 40mph/64kph, currently in the Indian Ocean, is threatening Madagascar. It is the seventh tropical storm to hit the island in recent months. Although the storm is weakening, it will bring more heavy rains to an already saturated island.

Nearly 25,000 people in Madagascar are in need of humanitarian aid after the series of tropical storm floods.

Main roads and houses have been covered by the rising flood water, and an estimated 200,000 tonnes of rice has been destroyed.

...

Meanwhile, in mid-western USA, parts of Ohio are facing the threat of flooding as temperatures rise after recent heavy snowfall.

Some parts of the Rocky river have ice two feet deep and as the temperatures rise, the ice is melting and flowing down to more populated areas, threatening homes and properties. Compounding the problem, the melt water from the snow and ice can not be absorbed into the ground as it is still frozen.

LINK

Flooding worsens in Mozambique.

Tens of thousands of people have been forced to emergency camps after Mozambique and neighbouring Zambia were hit by floods. Heavy rains caused the River Zambezi to burst its banks.

Dozens of people have been killed by the floods and over 80,000 people have been made homeless.

...

Vilanculos airport had 141 mm of rain (5.5 inches) in the 24 hours up to 0600 GMT on Monday 19th February. This exceeds the average rainfall for the whole of February.

...

LINK

Flash floods and large hail hit Tasmania

On Friday, Tasmania - to the south of Australia - was hit by massive tropical-style thunderstorms after enjoying a warm afternoon.

Temperatures in Hobart reached 34C, with Scotts Peak reaching 35C on Friday afternoon sparking off the storms which rumbled into the evening.

Large golf ball sized hail damaged cars in the streets and smashed tiles off roofs, while torrents of rain caused flash flooding. The flooding left homes flooded and also trapped motorists in large traffic jams as some roads became impassible.

...

As mother nature put on a frightening light display, with lightning filling the skies, some buildings were struck by the bolts and set alight, keeping fire crews busy across the Australian island state. While the skies were filled with electric sparks, electricity was lost in nearly one and a half thousand homes in Glenorchy and Moonah

LINK

From Newfoundland, Canada

...
Digging Out

The blizzard hit eastern Newfoundland Monday night, lasting into Tuesday morning. It dumped 40 centimetres of snow, driven by winds hitting 110 kilometres per hour.

"Even for St. John's, 30 to 40 centimetres (of snow), with winds gusting to 100 (km/h), is a fairly major event," Dale Foote, a supervising meteorologist with the province's weather office in Gander, told The Canadian Press.

"It was a good, solid winter storm that people will be talking about for the next few days, maybe even weeks."

Schools, businesses, courts and government buildings shut down for the day -- although the Hava Java coffee shop opened up at 7 a.m. as usual. St. John's public transition system also shut down, and Canada Post cancelled mail delivery.
...

LINK

Today's weather related news:

Could El Nino be coming to its end?


The periodic phenomenon known as El Nino, which was blamed for the worst drought to hit Australia in a century has ended, scientists say.
The periodic phenomenon known as El Nino, which was blamed for the worst drought to hit Australia in a century has ended, scientists say.

However, Australian experts believe that there are no guarantees that the country's recent drought will come to an end quickly.

The Australian Weather Bureau said: "While the end of the El Nino would normally be associated with a return to more normal rainfall patterns, it should not be seen as a precursor to drought-breaking rains. “ Although the end of El Nino meant there were reason for people to be a bit more hopeful.

El Nino is a warming of the central and eastern parts of the Pacific Ocean, which generally occurs in cycles of around four to seven years and is blamed for disruptive weather patterns around the globe.

El Nino, while itself being in the Pacific, can make its presence felt in every corner of the earth. During 2006/07 it was blamed for severe flooding in the Horn of Africa and also Bolivia, which claimed hundreds of lives and triggered severe winter monsoons in South Africa and Asia.

With the end of El Nino, the above affected areas should start to return to there more 'usual' weather. However there is a fairly good chance that a La Nina is about to form in the Pacific, which is linked to a cooler than normal eastern Pacific Ocean.

La Nina brings its own problems with Atlantic tropical cyclone activity (hurricanes) enhanced during La Nina. Other effects include abnormally heavy monsoons on the Indian subcontinent, flooding in southeast Asia and wet weather in eastern Australia.

So even though El Nino may have dwindled, much to the relief of some areas of the world, some parts are just gearing up for a possible development of La Nina and their share of weather problems.

LINK

This is very interesting. El Nino wasn't very strong this year, yet we saw the dramatic consiquences. Also La Nina starting up is bad news for those in the path of hurricanes this summer.

Cyclone Favio to make landfall in Mozambique

As if recent weeks of heavy rain and severe flooding were not enough, the approaching cyclone Favio is forecast to make landfall across southern parts of Mozambique later tomorrow adding to the misery of the many thousands already displaced.

As reported over the past week, weeks of torrential rains caused the Zambezi River to break its banks and triggered widespread severe floods along its basin, with Mozambique the hardest hit.

More than a week ago world relief agencies declared the situation a “Category 1” emergency as thousands of Mozambicans were left homeless. Although the floods were severe, they were not thought to be as bad as in 2000 and 2001 when seven hundred people were reportedly killed and a further half a million displaced.

...

Such intense cyclones rarely hit this part of Africa, though funnily it was in 2000 when two hit within a month of each other. The second, Hudah was also a “Very Intense Tropical Cyclone” and together they affected parts of Madagascar and Mozambique causing massive damage.

LINK

Its the attack of the giant sink hole!!!

Giant sinkhole gobbles homes; 3 people missing

GUATEMALA CITY, Guatemala (AP) -- A giant sinkhole swallowed several homes and at least one truck early Friday in Guatemala City, and officials said at least three people had been reported missing.

Hugo Sanchez, Guatemala's national disaster coordinator, said emergency officials couldn't attempt to rescue anyone overnight because the 330-foot-deep hole was very unstable. Loud noises and the smell of sewage rose from the hole, and the earth around it shook.

...

The director of Guatemala's Seismology, Vulcanology, Meteorology and Hydrology Institute, Eddie Sanchez, said the sinkhole was likely caused by a leaky sewer main and recent rains.

LINK

Tropical cyclone slams into flood stricken Mozambique

A massive tropical cyclone struck the shores of southern Mozambique on Thursday afternoon with winds gusting up to 170mph, destroying homes, causing blackouts and injuring many.

Cyclone Favio, the strongest to hit the southern African country continued moving inland and is destined for the Zambezi River valley where it is likely to worsen flooding. Severe flooding in the last few months has already killed at least 40 people and forced thousands to evacuate their homes.
...

LINK

Snowstorm Continues to Disrupt Traffic

A snowstorm sweeping Scandinavia continued to disrupt travel Friday, shutting down bus and train service in Denmark and forcing SAS airline to cancel dozens more flights in and out of Copenhagen, the region's main air traffic hub.

...

Many motorists abandoned their cars after getting stuck in 3-foot-high snow drifts. Rescue services said they have pulled more than 9,000 vehicles out of the snow since Thursday.

...

LINK

Thats about it for news today.

Twister season starting with a vengeance early this year with 75 reported tornadoes so far the month.. There were only 12 confirmed tornadoes in the US in February 2006. Note: reported sitings have to be confirmed, but 75 is a phenomenal number for this early in the year and most are usually confirmed..


Tornado Climatology NOAA
Tornado Charts and Data HPRCC

[edit on 25-2-2007 by Regenmacher]

I'm glad I don't live in a tornado prone area. I would hate to think of what the tornado season would be like if it continued on it's current trend.

We don't usually get anything that violent here.

Troy