Storms
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Alarm Clock

UK storms: While some FLY in 80 mph winds, others wade through murky water to salvage what little they have left (amazing photos)

Jill Reilly and Wills Robinson
The Daily Mail
Sun, 09 Feb 2014 15:34 UTC
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Neighbourhood: Rows of houses in the village of Moorland have been flooded following the heavy rain.
  • Heavy rainfall of up to an inch forecast, threatening more havoc around already overflowing rivers
  • Storms are expected to be at least as severe as last week which causes chaos across southern England
  • The Environment Agency has issued more than 500 flood warnings and alerts, three of which pose 'a danger to life'
  • The body is facing fresh anger after a senior official hailed its performance during the storms as a 'success story'
  • Ministry of Defence has put 1,600 personnel on standby to assist in southern England if needed
  • The Environment Agency say there is a significant risk of further flooding throughout Devon and Cornwall
  • Flooding has now spread to the Home Counties - Buckinghamshire, Essex, Hertfordshire, Suffolk and Hampshire
  • Calmer conditions and some respite today and tomorrow, but 'deep depression' is likely early hours of Tuesday
  • Much of Somerset has been underwater since December and there is more bad weather coming
  • Records show that England faced the wettest January since 1766
Devastating storms continued to cause misery in Britain yesterday, forcing hundreds of people to be evacuated from their homes, while forecasters warned the bad weather could continue into next week.

But the Environment Agency provoked anger last night after claiming their response to the widespread flooding had been a 'success story', despite thousands of properties being ruined by the rising water levels.

Director of operations David Jordan told a press briefing that the 5,000 homes flooded during the winter storms were 'individual tragedies'.
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Snowflake

Winter storm looms early Tuesday for Charlotte, Carolinas

Steve Lyttle
The Charlotte Observer
Sun, 09 Feb 2014 00:00 UTC
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Road crews and Carolinas residents began preparing Sunday for a double-barreled winter storm expected to bring several inches of snow to Charlotte on Tuesday and Wednesday and sleet and freezing rain in other areas.

The National Weather Service said it expected more than 3 inches in Charlotte from the first system Tuesday. Additional snowfall is likely Wednesday from the second system, forecasters said.

The N.C. Department of Transportation launched its trucks on the road at midday Sunday, when sunshine and southerly winds sent temperatures soaring above 60 degrees in Charlotte. Jen Thompson of the DOT said 22 trucks spread brine on major highways to prepare for the snow, which is forecast to begin late Monday or early Tuesday. By Sunday evening, state crews had progressed to secondary roads.

Sunday's mild weather was expected to end overnight. A cold high pressure system is forecast to bulge southward over the Carolinas, and a pair of low pressure systems then are predicted to track across the Southeast.

While crews were laying a coat of the salt-water mixture on the roads, Charlotte-area residents flocked into grocery stores and hardware stores. An employee at the Lowe's store at Sycamore Commons shopping center in Matthews said Sunday that business had increased in the afternoon for winter-related items.
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Cloud Precipitation

Gales continue to batter southern UK


BBC
Sat, 08 Feb 2014 13:27 UTC
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Work continues on the closed railway line at Dawlish, Devon amid a fresh storm

Gales have continued to batter southern parts of the UK, with coastal areas hit by wind and rain.

Gusts reached 80mph on the coasts of Cornwall, the Bristol Channel and west Wales and the Environment Agency says there is a risk of further floods.

In Surrey, the River Thames has burst its banks at Chertsey, with homeowners warned to expect flooding.

Landslips and floods mean all rail routes into south-west England are now blocked.

First Great Western said a landslip at Crewkerne in Somerset meant there were no services running between Yeovil and Exeter and replacement buses were in operation.
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Snowflake Cold

78,000 still without power after Pennsylvania ice storm as big freeze continues


The Daily Mail, UK
Sun, 09 Feb 2014 13:48 UTC
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Frozen: About 78,000 customers in Pennsylvania and Maryland are still without power, and faced the prospect of yet another day without electric heat or light.
Utility crews restored power to thousands of Pennsylvania homes Saturday and early Sunday, yet some customers in the dark for days after a tree-snapping ice storm may not regain power until early next week.

About 78,000 customers in Pennsylvania and Maryland remained without power early Sunday, and faced the prospect of yet another day without electric heat or light.

The majority of them are in the Philadelphia area, with utility PECO reporting about 77,500 outages, as of 1 a.m., down from about 155,000 earlier Saturday.

The latest outages include nearly 39,000 customers in hard-hit Chester County, or more than one in five customers.
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Cloud Lightning

UK: West Country completely cut off by rail and forecasters say current conditions likely to prevail until next weekend


The Guardian
Sun, 09 Feb 2014 13:33 UTC
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© Mark Kerrison/Demotix/CorbisFlooding from the river Thames at Datchet in Berkshire.
Forecasters have warned of another week of storms as the prime minister prepares to lead the latest emergency meeting about the flooding crisis.

Heavy rain and winds of more than 60mph are predicted to die down throughout Sunday but the brief respite will be broken by another storm arriving Monday night. More storms will continue to batter Britain until next weekend, it is predicted.

In Chertsey, Surrey police are investigating whether flooding was linked to the death of a seven-year-old boy, named in reports as Zane Gbangbola, who died after feeling unwell. An elderly woman was taken to hospital with serious injuries after a tree fell on to her car in Birmingham.

The West Country has been left completely cut off by rail and operators have put on replacement bus services and slashed ticket prices for passengers. Flooding at Athelney and between Taunton and Bridgwater in Somerset means that all mainline routes to the region from London have been closed. The diversionary route via Yeovil is closed at Crewkerne because of a landslip and is expected to remain shut for up to a week.

A stretch of the rail line connecting Cornwall to the rest of the country fell into the sea at Dawlish in Devon when a section of the sea wall was destroyed by high tides and stormy seas.
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Cloud Lightning

Birds found washed up on Sidmouth shore are latest casualties of the storm in UK


Exeter Express and Echo
Thu, 06 Feb 2014 07:57 UTC
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Devon Wildlife Trust: 8 guillemots & this puffin were found dead at Sidmouth
The Devon Wildlife trust has said that nine birds found dead on the East Devon coast could have died from exhaustion due to the current storms.

Eight guillemots and one puffin were found dead on Sidmouth beach earlier today.

It is believed that the puffin, which is expected to be seen out at sea, could have fallen in to the water after becoming exhausted in the wind.

The trust is asking the public to be on the lookout for birds on the shores and contact them if they see anything.

Dan Smith from the trust added "Obviously with the storms remaining in Devon for the next few day we would not recommended the public going to the coast to look for the birds but if anyone sees anything they should get in contact."

He added that that birds have adapted to the storms and it should be nothing to worry about at this point.
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Bizarro Earth

Huge waves and heavy rain flood southern Britain


Sky News
Sat, 08 Feb 2014 18:57 UTC
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© SkynewsNetwork Rail released this image of the flooded rail line at Bridgwater.
The Coastguard warns of "phenomenal" 14-metre waves as 80mph winds hit the coastline of southern England

Southern Britain was on alert as hurricane-force winds and heavy rain combined with high tides threatened more flooding misery.

South Wales and the South West were the first areas to be hit by the storm, which moved over the rest of southern England during the afternoon.

The Coastguard in Brixham, Devon, said waves of up to 46ft (14m) were forecast to hit some areas.

The extreme weather also puts more pressure on inland areas including the crisis-hit Somerset Levels.

Residents there have endured weeks of rain, with many evacuated over the last 48 hours with help from the Royal Marines.

Some 1,500 military personnel remain on standby in case the storm caused significant damage.

An elderly woman was taken to hospital with serious injuries after a tree fell on to the car she was travelling in.

The woman, thought to be in her 70s, suffered a chest injury and a broken leg during the accident in Yardley, Birmingham.

Another female passenger in the car was taken to hospital with neck pain.
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Attention

Huge waves smash into British coastline, swells up to 75 feet recorded off-shore, UK government considers establishing tsunami-warning system

Nathan Rao
Express, UK
Thu, 06 Feb 2014 00:00 UTC
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© GettyPorthcawl, Wales takes a battering from yet another fierce Atlantic storm.
The largest wave ever seen in British waters was recorded at 3.30am yesterday by a buoy operated by the Plymouth Coastal Observatory at Porthleven, Cornwall.

The beast destroyed the previous record British wave of 67ft and forecasters warned it was only the beginning of 72 hours of storm hell.

It came as experts recommended a TSUNAMI warning system be installed in the Atlantic to protect Britain and Ireland from enormous waves they claimed were 'increasingly likely'.

The UK was battered by 90mph winds and torrential rain again overnight - but by far the most violent storm forecast in recent times is yet to hit with widespread damage and disruption expected in the coming days.

Parts of a key railway line were destroyed and nearly 10,000 homes were left without power as the brutal weather wreaked havoc yesterday.

Police helicopters were scrambled to help evacuate 150 properties in the Somerset flooding danger zone as David Cameron set up a £100million emergency fund to assist communities in coping with the crisis.

Winds of 105mph were recorded on the Isles of Scilly, off Cornwall while one pub in Chesil Beach, Dorset was completely submerged by a giant 60ft wave.
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Cloud Lightning

500 flood alerts across England and Wales as southwest UK braces for yet ANOTHER hurricane-force storm


The Guardian
Sat, 08 Feb 2014 11:33 UTC
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© Matt Cardy/Getty ImagesWaves break at high tide in Porthleven, Cornwall, on Saturday as south-west England and Wales braced for more storms and flooding
Somerset, Devon and Dorset at greatest risk of flooding as Environment Agency issues warnings as far north as Hull

Large areas of England and Wales are on flood and storm alert as a new storm is poised to hit the south and south-west with winds of up to 80mph.

The flooded Somerset Levels where many residents have already been forced from their homes after weeks of heavy rain remain at the highest risk of continued flooding on Saturday.

The Environment Agency said there was a risk of flooding along the coast of Devon and Dorset from the combination of high tides and high winds.

There are more than 300 low-level flood alerts and nearly 200 medium-risk flood warnings in place across Wales and southern and central England as far north as Hull.
"Storm was like a freak of nature, I thought it was the end of the world"...
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Shopping Bag

Stores close early as twin Winter storms sock U.S. Northwest


Gulfnews
Sat, 08 Feb 2014 00:40 UTC

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© AP/Register-Guard/Chris PletschEugene, OR
Snow expected to turn to freezing rain in many areas

Northwest residents absorbed the second blow of a 1-2 winter punch Friday by taking a snow day and keeping their cars in the garage.

In downtown Portland, streets coated with a thin layer of packed snow were nearly traffic-free before the first flurries fell in the afternoon. Shops closed early or didn't open at all, office buildings generally packed with workers were quiet, and the city government was closed to all but essential personnel.

It was a similar scene throughout western Oregon and southwest Washington as the region awaited and then received its second winter storm in two days.

The storm was expected to drop a foot or more of snow in mountainous parts of southern Oregon and 2 to 8 inches in western Oregon valleys that got slammed Thursday, the National Weather Service said.

The snow was expected to turn to freezing rain Friday night and Saturday in many areas. That will turn roadways icy and increase the possibility of downed power lines, forecasters warned.

The first storm dropped more than a foot of snow on parts of the Pacific Northwest and left one person dead in an Interstate 5 pileup in southwest Washington. It also closed schools and offices.

The new storm did not lead to any immediate reports of fatal crashes or massive traffic jams.
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