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| ©El Tiempo |
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Colombia's capital, Bogota, was hit by a freakish hailstorm on the weekend that rendered vehicles immobile. Cars were trapped under a cover of hail that reached up to 1.5 metres in height in some areas.
The threat of serious flooding along England's eastern coast receded Friday after officials said the main tidal peak had passed, although storms were still causing problems elsewhere in Europe.
Hundreds of people who were evacuated from their homes were allowed to return as a spokesman for Britain's Environment Agency said: "The risk of flooding has diminished and the outlook is for tide levels to fall."
Hundreds of people who were evacuated from their homes were allowed to return as a spokesman for Britain's Environment Agency said: "The risk of flooding has diminished and the outlook is for tide levels to fall."
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| ©telegraph.co.uk |
| Giant waves pound the seafront at Walcott near Great Yarmouth. |
WASHINGTON - Yellowstone National Park, once the site of a giant volcano, has begun swelling up, possibly because molten rock is accumulating beneath the surface, scientists report.
SAN FRANCISCO - An oil spill fouled miles of fragile coastline Thursday, sending environmentalists scrambling to save tarred marine life and leaving local officials questioning the Coast Guard's response to the ship collision that triggered the slick.
A storm in the North Sea forced the closure Thursday of oil platforms off the Norwegian coast as well as Europe's largest port as British forecasters warned of the worst swells in 20 years.
Authorities in Rotterdam announced they planned to close the giant barrier that guards access to the Dutch port for the first time since its construction in the 1990s, shutting off sea traffic until at least 0500 GMT on Friday.
The Netherlands also stepped up surveillance of all the seawalls along its coast for the first time since 1976. One third of the Dutch land mass is below sea level.
Authorities in Rotterdam announced they planned to close the giant barrier that guards access to the Dutch port for the first time since its construction in the 1990s, shutting off sea traffic until at least 0500 GMT on Friday.
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| ©MAGELLAN Geographix |
The Netherlands also stepped up surveillance of all the seawalls along its coast for the first time since 1976. One third of the Dutch land mass is below sea level.
Thousands of people have been told to be ready to leave their homes as a tidal surge threatens to batter the east coast, bringing "extreme danger to life and property".
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| ©Telegraph |
Survivors saw relatives swept away by huge waves or buried by debris after a landslide hit a rain-swollen river, triggering what officials called a "mini-tsunami" that wiped a hamlet off the map and left at least 16 people missing.
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| ©Alfredo Estrella, AFP / Getty Images |
| A helicopter pilot surveys the damage to San Juan Grijalva in the Mexican state of Chiapas Monday after a landslide. The area is already reeling from last week's floods. |
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| ©Getty Images |
| Residents have been warned to watch the weather and tides |
A tidal surge in the North Sea has sparked severe flood warnings and evacuations on England's east coast.
Prime Minister Gordon Brown has held an emergency Cobra committee meeting and the Environment Agency has warned of "extreme danger to life and property".
Harmful red tide blooms along Florida's west coast in the fall are spurred when seasonal changes in wind patterns move nutrients east from the Mississippi River, scientists reported Wednesday.
After the warmest summer on record since records were first recorded in 1895, we're moving into to fall with record temperatures as well. Monday, we broke our old record of 92 in 1980 at Phoenix Sky Harbor with a high of 93. A strong area of high pressure will continue to dominate our weather for the rest of the work week, therefore, near, or above record high temps will continue. There is relief in the forecast, by the weekend, as a Pacific storm will bring cooler temps and a chance of rain for parts of the state.
Comment: Amazingly, the story is getting very little international press. This storm ranks at least on par with the recent flooding in Mexico. This video shows how dire the situation was:
(Thanks to SOTT reader, Alejo)
The map below shows the effect of el Nino on precipitation. Since we're now in the la Niña part of the ENSO (El Nino Southern Oscillation) cycle the red indicates increased precipitation and the blue reduced precipitation for September through November. The area around Columbia shows increased precipitation so the event, or its severity, can probably be ascribed to the la Niña.
September-November This season the effects of El Niño are strongest. Almost all of Indonesia, the Philippines and eastern Australia are drier than usual during most El Niño events. Large parts of India are often drier than usual, but the Sri Lanka and some southern states get more rain. East Africa, parts of Central Asia and Spain are also on average wetter than normal during El Niño in this season, as are Chili and Uruguay.
This "La Niña is much better defined than last year -- right up there with the strongest we've ever seen. The ocean temperatures off the South American coast are the coldest since 1950."
The figure below shows the effect of el Nino on precipitation for December through February. Again, reverse the correlation since we're in a la Niña period.
Notice the large blue area in the southeastern part of the US, meaning reduced precipitation. The southeast US is already suffering from an extreme drought which can see Atlanta run out of water within 90 days.
And not just Georgia will be affected: This is bad timing for the southeast US.