Storms
S


Snowflake

Record snowfall blankets Russia


The Moscow Times
Thu, 25 Feb 2021 19:32 UTC
Record snow in Russia
© YouTube/The Moscow Times (screen capture)
A 'snowpocalypse' has engulfed Russia in recent days, with various regions and cities struggling to deal with the freak weather.

In Chelyabinsk, a record-breaking blizzard left 30,000 people without electricity and over 10 districts declared a state of emergency.

In St. Petersburg, the heavy snowfall has prompted over 1,000 workers and cleaning machines to take to the streets to clean up the snow, and in the republic of Dagestan, locals even had to to dig their cows out of snowdrifts.


Comment: Russia's capital Moscow hit with the worst snowfall in decades

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Boat

Families stranded, freight train derails as more than 19 inches of rain lashes New South Wales, Australia

Melissa Martin, Fiona Poole
abc.net.au
Thu, 25 Feb 2021 18:57 UTC
Half of this 1,500-metre-long train derailed
© Fire And Rescue NSWHalf of this 1,500-metre-long train derailed early Thursday morning due to flooding.
Residents have been stranded on the roofs of their homes in the NSW Mid North Coast, after more than 500 millimetres of rain fell in some areas.

The State Emergency Service was inundated with calls about 2:00am, predominantly from Corindi, 36 kilometres north of Coffs Harbour.

"The amount of rainfall just hasn't been able to get away and that entire Corindi floodplain area has come up rapidly and caught a lot of people unawares at that hour of the morning," said SES Coffs Harbour deputy unit commander Martin Wells.

Mr Wells said in one street, there had been eight calls for help.

"We've had families sitting on roofs in Corindi awaiting assistance and it's just been a real challenge to get to everyone."

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Cloud Precipitation

Heavy rain causes deadly landslides in East Java, Indonesia - at least 5 people were killed

Richard Davies
Floodlist
Wed, 24 Feb 2021 19:33 UTC
Landslide damage in Pamekasan Regency, Indonesia, 24 February 2021.
© BPBD Pamekasan RegencyLandslide damage in Pamekasan Regency, Indonesia, 24 February 2021.
Heavy rainfall triggered deadly landslides in Pamekasan Regency, East Java Province, Indonesia, on 24 February 2021.

The landslides struck in the early hours, affecting the villages of Jepun and Bindang in Pasean District. Disaster authorities reported at least 5 people were killed. Two houses are thought to have been buried, while around 20 other homes and a school were also damaged.

Surabaya City recorded 78mm of rain in 24 hours to 24 February, while Semarang City in Central Java recorded 155mm.

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Snowflake

Over 375 inches of snow measured in Snoqualmie Pass, Washington this season - snow banks reaching 12 feet in height

Jennifer Lee
q13fox.com
Wed, 24 Feb 2021 14:49 UTC
snow
This week over 375 inches of snow were measured in Snoqualmie Pass, surpassing the ten-year average, according to the Washington State Department of Transportation.

The snow banks are also reaching heights of up to 12 feet, and stunning people who live near the mountain pass.

"I mean this weather has been pretty crazy," said Glenn Vickery. "We've actually had some really good light snow, but it's been a lot of snow and it's been unique with this pebble-like snow, so it's been a crazy year with a lot of different weather conditions. It's been pretty cool."

Silas Wild is an avid skier and drove down Snoqualmie Pass to North Bend before sunset. "Coming up you could see all the trucks were stopped to chain up and the plows were plowing and causing a little slowdown, so I'm glad I'm going down and not up," said Wild.

Since November, I-90 to Snoqualmie Pass was closed for more than 40 hours due to collisions, spinouts and avalanche control work.

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Attention

Environmental disasters across globe in January 2021


Anadolu Agency
Tue, 23 Feb 2021 18:55 UTC
flood
The first month of 2021 saw a host of environmental disasters, including floods in Malaysia and the Philippines, a volcanic eruption in Indonesia, a massive forest fire in India, landslides in Papua New Guinea and an avalanche in Russia.

Here is a timeline compiled by Anadolu Agency.

Jan. 2:

- Massive forest fire engulfs the picturesque Dzuko Valley located in northeastern India.

Jan. 3:

- The death toll from the landslide in the village of Ask, Norway, on Dec. 30, rises to six.

- Mount Sinabung in North Sumatra, Indonesia, erupts, spewing ash columns up to 1,000 meters high.
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Cloud Lightning

Lightning strikes kill 3, injure 3 others in Malawi

Macmillan Mhone
News 24
Tue, 23 Feb 2021 14:59 UTC
lightning
Three people died while three others sustained injuries after being struck by lightning in two different incidents on Monday in Mangochi.

Both incidents occurred on the evening of February 22, 2021 in the areas of Traditional Authority Bwananyambi and Mponda.

According to Mangochi Police Deputy publicist, Amina Tepani Daudi, in the first incident, John Chicha and Tiyanjane Bakali both 23-years-old were struck by lightning at Masuku Trading Centre.

At the time, it was heavily raining and lightning struck 5 people whereby the two were pronounced dead upon arrival at Mulibwanji Community Hospital. The other three suffered serious burn wounds.
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Cloud Precipitation

South Africa and Zimbabwe - Flash floods in border towns of Musina and Beitbridge

Richard Davies
Floodlist
Tue, 23 Feb 2021 13:33 UTC
Floods in Musina, Limpopo, South Africa,
© Musina Local MunicipalityFloods in Musina, Limpopo, South Africa, February 202.
Flash floods were reported in towns close to the South Africa and Zimbabwe border after a thunderstorm brought heavy rain from 21 to 22 February 2021.

In South Africa, flooding affected parts of Vhembe District, Limpopo Proince, in particular the town of Musina, where roads and homes were damaged along with electricity and water infrastructure. Images shared on Social Media showed a flooded hospital.

Flooding also affected areas the border town of Beitbridge in Matabeleland South, Zimbabwe, damaging roads and some buildings.

Meteorological Services Department of Zimbabwe said Beitbridge recorded 76mm of rain in 24 hours to 22 February. Heavy rainfall was also reported further north in Nyanga, close to the border with Mozambique.

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Cloud Precipitation

Floods worsen in Greater Jakarta Region, Indonesia 5 people reported dead, over 30,000 displaced

Richard Davies
Floodlist
Mon, 22 Feb 2021 19:30 UTC
Floods in Karawang, West Java, Indonesia
© BNPBFloods in Karawang, West Java, Indonesia, February 2021.
The flood situation in Greater Jakarta, Indonesia, has worsened over the last 2 days. As of 22 February as many as 5 people have died, 2 are missing and over 30,000 people displaced.

As reported here, flooding struck in Greater Jakarta from 19 February, prompting 1,300 evacuations mostly in South and East Jakarta and also affecting parts of West Jakarta.

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Arrow Up

Bermuda's hurricanes are twice as strong as they were six decades ago

Harry Baker
LiveScience
Wed, 17 Feb 2021 00:00 UTC
Hurricane Florence
© ShutterstockHurricane Florence off US Coast in 2018
Ocean warming is fueling stronger hurricanes.

Hurricanes are blasting Bermuda with wind speeds that have more than doubled in strength over the last 66 years, due to rising ocean temperatures in the region as a result of climate change, according to a new study.

Within a 62-mile (100 kilometers) radius of Bermuda, the average maximum wind speed of hurricanes increased from 35 to 73 mph (56 to 117 km/h) between 1955 and 2019, the researchers found. This is the equivalent of a 6 mph (10 km/h) increase every decade.

During this time, sea-surface temperatures in the region also increased by up to two degrees Fahrenheit (1.1 degrees Celsius), according to the Bermuda Atlantic Time Series (BATS), a long-running dataset collected by the Bermuda Institute of Ocean Sciences.

Scientists already knew that higher sea surface temperatures fuel stronger tropical cyclones. But the new findings show that temperatures below the sea surface also play a key role in how these storms form.

Comment: See also:

Bad news: Study claims hurricanes' translational speed is slowing down, potentially increasing damage

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Cloud Precipitation

'Pineapple Express' atmospheric river is headed for the rain-soaked US Northwest

Alison Chinchar
The Mercury News
Sun, 21 Feb 2021 18:53 UTC
atmospheric river
© CNNAn atmospheric river event known as the Pineapple Express is forecast to bring a prolonged period of wet weather and the potential for avalanches to Washington and Oregon beginning Sunday.
An atmospheric river event known as the "Pineapple Express" is forecast to bring a prolonged period of wet weather and the potential for avalanches to Washington and Oregon beginning Sunday.

The effects from rain and considerable mountain snow will be felt through early this week. With the ground already saturated from previous storms, flooding is possible even from the few inches of rain the storm is forecast to produce.

Avalanche warnings have been issued for much of the Cascades across Washington ahead of this heavy snow. A "high" avalanche danger warning (level 4 out of 5) has been issued for Sunday by the Northwest Avalanche Center. Large natural avalanches are possible even at lower elevations.

Avalanches have killed 30 people across the United States this winter season, according to the Colorado Avalanche Information Center.

"This will mark the beginning of a wet period across Western Washington, as the southern periphery of the Atmospheric River will affect the region before it shifts southward over the area Monday," the National Weather Service office in Seattle warned Saturday.

Comment: Study reveals atmospheric rivers to double in size

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