Storms
S


Cloud Lightning

Massive, 'Life-threatening' Tropical Cyclone Roars Toward Australia's Flood-Ravaged Northeast

Kristen Gelineau
The Canadian Press
Tue, 01 Feb 2011 00:50 UTC
Image
© ReutersTropical cyclone Yasi passing near the Solomon Islands and Vanuatu heading towards the coast of Australia on Jan. 31.
Authorities scrambled to airlift hospital patients from the path of a cyclone roaring toward waterlogged northeastern Australia and urged low-lying communities to evacuate because of potentially deadly flash floods.

Cyclone Yasi was expected to slam into the coast of Queensland state Wednesday as a Category 4 storm and dump up to three feet (one meter) of rain on communities already saturated from months of flooding.

"This storm is huge and it is life-threatening," Queensland Premier Anna Bligh said. "I know many of us will feel that Queensland has already borne about as much as we can bear when it comes to disasters and storms, but more is being asked of us - and I am confident that we are able to rise to this next challenge."

Yasi was barreling toward the Queensland state coast as a strong Category 3 storm with winds up to 137 mph (220 kph), but was expected to turn into a Category 4 storm with wind gusts up to 155 mph (250 kph) by Wednesday.

Bligh said the military would airlift 250 patients from the waterfont Cairns Base and Cairns Private hospitals to Brisbane, the state capital.

Although there were no mandatory evacuation orders yet, residents in waterfront and low-lying areas from the cities of Cairns to Townsville were being advised to leave.
Read More...
Cloud Lightning

Best of the Web: Storm threatens 100 million in US with snow, ice, cold

Mira Oberman
Agence France-Presse
Mon, 31 Jan 2011 17:11 UTC
Image
© Unknown
A mammoth storm threatens to dump mounds of fresh snow, sleet and ice on about 100 million already winter-weary people from the US heartland to the east coast, forecasters said Monday.

Blizzard, winter storm and freezing rain warnings were issued for more than 25 states, from North Dakota and Colorado down to New Mexico, then up through Texas, Kansas and Missouri to the Great Lakes region and across Pennsylvania to New England.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) urged residents to prepare in earnest for the fury of the storm as it barrels eastward across the country.

"A storm of this size and scope needs to be taken seriously," said FEMA Administrator Craig Fugate, who warned that "it's critical that the public does its part to get ready."

Fugate urged residents in storm affected regions to "check on your neighbors, especially the elderly and young children -- those who can be most vulnerable during emergencies."
Read More...
Cloud Lightning

Storm could end dry spell in California


The Washington Post
Mon, 31 Jan 2011 11:12 UTC
A Pacific storm was expected to slam into the West Coast on Sunday, ending a long dry spell in California as it brings rain and snow to the higher elevations.

Winter weather advisories were posted for the western slopes of the Sierra Nevada, where as much as a foot of new snow is expected. Rain could make its way into Southern California late in the day and into Monday.

Farther to the north, snow was expected to fall in Idaho and Montana before creeping into the Dakotas late Sunday. Winter weather advisories were posted for much of the area in anticipation of up to 10 inches of snow and wind gusts as high as 25 mph.
Read More...
Cloud Lightning

Queensland Braces for Worst Ever Storm - Cyclone Yasi

Bonnie Malkin
The Telegraph, UK
Mon, 31 Jan 2011 06:27 UTC
Image
© Commwealth of Australia 2011Cyclone Yasi's predicted path
The state of Queensland, still reeling from the effects of weeks of widespread flooding, is bracing for the arrival of what could be the state's worst cyclone in history.

Tropical Cyclone Yasi, which currently lies northwest of Vanuatu in the Pacific Ocean, is expected to strengthen into a category four storm, the second highest category, before hitting the north coast of the Sunshine State later this week.

In preparation for its arrival, tourist resorts on the popular Whitsunday Islands have been evacuated and several ports along the busy coast have been shut down. Residents in towns from Innisfail to Mackay have been warned to batten down the hatches or consider fleeing before the storm hits early on Thursday morning, while emergency management teams have held meetings across the state's north.

Authorities have also warned locals to stock up on food, water, batteries and other essentials in case they are cut off for a number of days after Yasi strikes.

There are fears that Yasi could whip up the seas and create a storm surge that would cause significant flooding in low-lying areas, just weeks after devastating floods killed more than 30 people and covered an area the size of France and Germany combined.
Read More...
Igloo

More snow? Next storm takes aim at Northeast


msnbc.com
Sun, 30 Jan 2011 22:00 UTC
There's more snow heading to the Northeast and it's expected to impact as many as 29 states. This new snow system is being called one of the more significant systems of the season.

Some state averages and current measured snow fall measures: New York Average 22" currently has seen over 45 inches. Philadelphia Average 19.3", currently seeing over 37 inches. Hartford, average 45.3, current total so far this year 71.2". This is a general trend throughout the North and East of the United States.


Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy
Read More...
Cloud Lightning

Winter Storm: East Coast Battles Another Record Breaking Snowstorm

Sam Champion,Max Golembo and Leezel Tanglao
ABC
Thu, 27 Jan 2011 12:13 UTC
The East Coast is gradually digging out from the record-breaking snowstorm that battered the East Coast Wednesday night, causing power outages and leaving travelers and commuters stranded.

It was the sixth snowstorm to slam into the region in the last 30 days.

Overnight, thundersnow -- the rare phenomenon in which thunder and lightning strike even in the dead of winter -- shocked residents in Sellersville, Pennsylvania, and as far away as central New Jersey. Philadelphia was hit with 17 inches of snow, totals in the Washington D.C. area ranged from 3 to 7 inches and, according to the National Weather Service, parts of New Jersey had to dig out from 19 inches.
Read More...
Igloo

Another Storm Batters Northeast

Anahad O'Connor
New York Times
Thu, 27 Jan 2011 07:11 UTC
Image
© Steve Berman/The New York TimesA limousine, unable to drive uphill going west on 57th Street in Manhattan, was pushed back onto 6th Avenue by passersby.
For at least the fifth time this season, a major snowstorm crawled up the eastern seaboard and swept across the Northeast early Thursday, dumping fresh snow on top of streets already covered in icy slush and disrupting the commutes of millions of people.

The powerful storm, appearing as a giant white smudge over the Northeast on radar maps, arrived in two parts, coating the region with rain and several inches of snow early Wednesday and then dumping up to an additional foot of snow in some places overnight Thursday.

In New York City, the wintry one-two punch caused all non-emergency city government offices to close on Thursday, Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg announced through Twitter. The Department of Education said that all public schools across the five boroughs would be closed for the day.

Across the New York region, hundreds of flights were canceled, and the Port Authority later closed Newark, Teterboro, and John F. Kennedy Airports. The Metropolitan Transit Authority suspended all of its bus services across New York City and Long Island early Thursday. The Long Island Rail Road said it would operate a reduced weekday morning schedule, while the Metro-North Railroad said its Harlem and Hudson lines would run on a Saturday schedule. The Nor'easter created a fresh sense of snow fatigue in a region that has been unusually battered by storms. Trying to prevent a repeat of the problems associated with a late December blizzard, when streets went unplowed for days, New York City sent out more than 2,000 salt spreaders, snow plows and other vehicles to clear the streets.
Read More...
Bizarro Earth

NASA infrared data sees birth of 10th tropical depression in Southern Indian Ocean near Australian coast


EurekAlert / NASA
Tue, 25 Jan 2011 15:56 UTC
Image
© NASA/JPL, Ed OlsenNASA's Aqua satellite captured an infrared image of Tropical Storm 10S on Jan. 25 at 05:53 UTC (12:53 a.m. EST). The image shows most of the coldest cloud tops (-63 Fahrenheit) and strongest thunderstorms over appear (in purple) over the Southern Indian Ocean, and some along the extreme northern coast of Western Australia. The red coloration further south is the heat of the land.
NASA's Aqua satellite captured an infrared image of the very cold clouds that house powerful thunderstorms within the Southern Indian Ocean's newest tropical depression, number 10S. The depression quickly strengthened into a tropical storm and continues to affect the northern coast of Western Australia.

When Aqua passed over the Tropical Storm 10S on January 25 at 05:53 UTC (12:53 a.m. EST), the Atmospheric Infrared Sounder (AIRS) instrument captured an infrared image of the storm's clouds. The image showed that most of the coldest cloud tops (-63 Fahrenheit/-52 Celsius) and strongest thunderstorms over appeared over the Southern Indian Ocean, and some along the extreme northern coast of Western Australia. The infrared image also showed the contrasting heat of the land.
Read More...
Bizarro Earth

Massachusetts, US: Arctic Blast Leaves Many Frozen in Place

Eric Moskowitz
Boston Globe
Tue, 25 Jan 2011 00:00 UTC
Image
© Suzanne Kreiter/Boston GlobeBoston shivered yesterday in the coldest weather to hit the area in six years. Above, Keith Saviano dug out his truck from the roof down in Framingham.
Travel stalls, shelters fill, but warming on way

The coldest weather to strike Boston in six years wreaked havoc on commuters yesterday, freezing car batteries across the region and leaving thousands shivering in the bitter cold on exposed platforms as they waited for MBTA trains that either broke down or were stalled behind those that did.

An Arctic blast drove the officially recorded temperature down to minus 2 at Logan International Airport, minus 9 in Bedford, and minus 24 in the Franklin County town of Orange. Emergency responders said the region appeared to be spared death and serious injury. But hundreds called to seek heating assistance and other help coping with the extreme cold, and homeless shelters were over capacity.

Eleanor Vallier-Talbot, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Taunton, said the minus 2 at Logan was the first sub-zero temperature in Boston in six years and matched the low of Jan. 22, 2005.

The mercury crept back above zero by midmorning and hit 10 at Logan in time for lunch. More normal January temperatures, highs in the 30s and lows in the 20s, are expected today and tomorrow, just in time for a predicted mix of snow, rain, and sleet, courtesy of a storm headed this way from the Gulf of Mexico.

The National Weather Service warned that the storm could bring coastal flooding, as well as the usual winter roadway hazards.
Read More...
Snowman

Disruptive Snow Hitting from Arkansas to the Ohio Valley

Kristina Pydynowski
AccuWeather
Thu, 20 Jan 2011 01:50 UTC
The corridor from Oklahoma, Arkansas and Tennessee to the Ohio Valley has become the target of the latest cross-country snowstorm that will eventually head to the Northeast.





Places in the path of today's snow and plunging temperatures are sure to face disruptions to travel and daily routines.

Roads and sidewalks were a skating rink around Oklahoma City this morning. Freezing rain followed by a coating of snow and temperatures plunging into the teens led to numerous accidents and prompted officials to close schools.

A similar fate with precipitation and plunging temperatures is likely around Little Rock, Ark. this afternoon and Memphis this evening.

Image
© AccuWeather.com
Read More...