Storms
S


Snowflake Cold

'Beast from the East' meets Storm Emma, causing UK's worst weather in years

Steven Morris, Matthew Weaver and Nadia Khomami
The Guardian
Fri, 02 Mar 2018 05:40 UTC
Storm Emma UK
© GETTY/WINDYSTORM EMMA: Some places are expecting to see up to 50cm of snow
Snow chaos causes deaths, disrupts travel and closes schools and hospitals across the UK as Met Office issues red alert

Blizzards, strong winds, drifting snow and bitter cold have caused death and disruption as the weather system nicknamed the "Beast from the East" combined with Storm Emma to create some of the most testing weather experienced in the UK for years.

The Met Office issued a red warning - its most severe alert - on Thursday as temperatures plunged and up to 50cm (20in) of snow fell on high ground. Forecasters said the harsh conditions could continue in some places into next week.

Thousands of schools were closed across the UK and hospital operations were cancelled.

On Thursday night, thousands of drivers, who ignored warnings not to go out, or had no option but to brave the snow and ice, were left stranded on roads across the UK in freezing temperatures.

Emergency services, battling to clear heavy snow as well as vehicles that had broken down or crashed, urged people to heed travel advice, with Cumbria police saying that those choosing to travel despite the warnings were putting both themselves and their rescuers in danger. Many rail and air travellers also endured delays and cancellations.

In Looe, Cornwall, a seven-year-old girl died after a car crashed into a house. The child, believed to have been a passing pedestrian, died at the scene.

Read More...
Windsock

Winter Storm Riley to undergo 'bombogenesis', batter US Northeast with flooding, 80mph winds, and three inches of snow

Matthew Wright
Daily Mail
Thu, 01 Mar 2018 21:58 UTC
winter storm wiley
© The Weather ChannelWeather experts said Thursday that Winter Storm Riley will undergo 'bombogenesis', caused by a rapid drop in atmospheric pressure of at least 24 millibars in a period of 24 hours or less
The Northeast is bracing for a 'bombogenesis' that experts say will bring violent 80mph wind, torrential downpour, snow and heavy flooding, resembling the harshness of January's 'bomb cyclone'.

Weather experts said Thursday that Winter Storm Riley will undergo 'bombogenesis', caused by a rapid drop in atmospheric pressure of at least 24 millibars in a period of 24 hours or less.

The drop in atmospheric pressure will force the storm to form into an intense nor'easter into Friday.

A sudden pressure plummet on Friday is expected to hit the Atlantic coast leading into Saturday.

'Please take this storm seriously,' the National Weather Service in Boston said. 'For those living along the coast, this is a LIFE & DEATH situation.'

From Boston down through Rhode Island, two to five inches of snow is expected.

On Thursday night, snow started to spread across the eastern Great Lakes and into upstate New York and northern Pennsylvania.
Read More...
Attention

Tens of thousands evacuate in California as storm brings mudslide risk

Paul Vercammen, Sonya Hamasaki and Steve Almasy
CNN
Fri, 02 Mar 2018 02:27 UTC
California mudslides
Residents in several communities damaged recently by fires and mudslides were told to evacuate.

Tens of thousands of Californians have been ordered to evacuate as an approaching storm brings the risks of "dangerous flash flooding, mud and debris flow," Santa Barbara County Sheriff Bill Brown said Thursday.

Mandatory evacuations of more than 20,000 people in Goleta, Santa Barbara, Summerland and Carpinteria were effective immediately, Brown said.

The order also includes Montecito, the community where at least 21 people were killed and two people were never found after mudflows in January. The evacuations were taking place in areas scorched by December's massive Thomas Fire and two other blazes.

Mark Olson was outside his home Thursday filling up bags with dirt from January's mudflows. He and some friends were putting the bags around the garage and setting other sacks to funnel water away from his property.

"We're putting all the debris that came down to use," he said. "There's a lot of wishful thinking and hope that somehow this time around it's not as devastating as the last (storm in January).

"The National Weather Service office in Los Angeles said 2 to 3 inches of rain could fall through Saturday. A flash flood watch was scheduled to take effect at 9 p.m. PT for parts of Santa Barbara and Ventura County.

Comment: California Mudslides, a Sign of Worse to Come?

Read More...
Snowflake Cold

Heavy snowfall disrupts hundreds of flights, clogs expressways in northeast China (VIDEO)


The Standard (China)
Thu, 01 Mar 2018 19:00 UTC
A cyclist rides against snow in Siping City of northeast China's Jilin Province, Feb. 28, 2018. China's national observatory issued a yellow alert for snowstorm for Wednesday and Thursday as heavy snow continued to hit northeastern China.
© Xinhua/Zhang NanA cyclist rides against snow in Siping City of northeast China's Jilin Province, Feb. 28, 2018. China's national observatory issued a yellow alert for snowstorm for Wednesday and Thursday as heavy snow continued to hit northeastern China.
Heavy snow hit northeast China yesterday, causing flight delays and expressway shutdowns and the suspension of school classes.

As of 5:30 p.m., all sections of expressway in northeastern Jilin Province were shut down due to snow, according to the local expressway authorities, Xinhua reports.

The airport in Changchun, capital of Jilin, was closed. More than 100 inbound and outbound flights were delayed, and some 20 inbound flights have been diverted to other airports.

Rescue workers have been dispatched to clear up snow and ice from roads and at railway stations.

In Liaoning province several sections of 15 expressways were closed or began traffic control due to snow, according to the provincial transportation authorities

Read More...
Snowflake Cold

Red weather warning issued for Ireland as Storm Emma approaches

Harry Manning
The Irish Sun
Wed, 28 Feb 2018 22:50 UTC
A snow plough clears a road at Dublin Airport
© PAA snow plough clears a road at Dublin Airport
The country is braced for the biggest ice blast the Siberian mammoth has to offer with a Status Red alert in place until 3pm on Friday

MET Eireann have issued a Status Red snow-ice weather warning for the entire country as Storm Emma reaches its colossal climax.

The Beast from the East has already wreaked havoc across Ireland with powerful blizzard-like gusts and heavy snowfall - the likes not seen in 36 years.

The country is now braced for the biggest ice blast the Siberian mammoth has to offer with a Status Red snow-ice warning in place for every county in the Republic until 3pm on Friday.

The warning reads: "Further heavy snow showers will bring accumulations of significant levels with all areas at risk.

"Blizzard conditions will develop from the south Thursday afternoon and evening as heavy snow and strong easterly winds bring snow drifts northwards over the country.

"Eastern and southern coastal counties will be worst affected."

Comment: At least 50 dead as 'Beast from the East' blasts Europe (VIDEOS, PHOTOS)

Read More...
Tornado2

Winter tornado sighted on a snowy hill in Brixham, UK (VIDEO)

Chad Seabrook
Sott.net
Wed, 28 Feb 2018 18:45 UTC
winter tornado brixham
As the 'beast from the east' passes over Britain, bringing some of the lowest temperatures in 5 years and some of the heaviest snowfall in decades, coming from the opposite direction is yet another storm - and they have been relentless this winter - named by the Portuguese meteorological office as storm Emma. And Spring officially starts in less than a week.
Read More...
Snowflake Cold

At least 50 dead as 'Beast from the East' blasts Europe (VIDEOS, PHOTOS)


Sputnik
Tue, 27 Feb 2018 12:56 UTC
Rome snow
© EPAThe Colosseum in Rome was blanketed in snow for the first time in years on Monday
A bitterly cold snap, already nicknamed "The Beast from the East," has caused widespread travel disruptions and school closures as far south as Italy, where the mercury dipped as low as minus 4 degrees Celsius on Tuesday morning, according to the local meteorological service, AFP has reported.

At least 50 people have died across Europe as a blast of icy Arctic weather sweeping in from Siberia has dragged temperatures to as low as minus 27 degrees Celsius.

One of Europe's coldest spots is Dolina Campoluzzo in northern Italy, where air temperatures have plummeted to a shivering minus 40 degrees Celsius.

With dozens of people having died across the continent as "The Beast from the East" has sent temperatures plunging and rough sleepers, the elderly being seen as the most vulnerable to the bitterly cold snap, some local authorities in Europe have ordered officials to find shelters for the homeless.

Read More...
Tornado2

Waterspout filmed off Palm Beach, Florida (VIDEO)


Palm Beach Daily News
Tue, 27 Feb 2018 20:01 UTC
Waterspout off Palm Beach
Waterspout off Palm Beach
A waterspout off Palm Beach this afternoon was caught on camera just as the National Weather Service sent out an alert about gusty showers offshore.

Greg Travers said he was on the west side of the Intracoastal waterway in West Palm Beach when he spotted the waterspout near The Breakers Hotel on the island.

At 2:07 p.m. Doppler radar indicated showers offshore that were capable of producing winds to 34 mph, according to the NWS in Miami.

Meteorologists said mariners should expect locally higher wave with the possibility of more waterspouts forming.
Read More...
Tornado2

Waterspout filmed near Gozo, Malta

David Grech Urpani
Lovin Malta
Tue, 27 Feb 2018 19:52 UTC
A video of a 'tornado' forming over Ramla l-Ħamra bay in Gozo earlier today has been uploaded onto YouTube as a partly cloudy Tuesday makes way for a surprisingly fresh night. The clip was uploaded by Mike Fox Photography.

It turns out that the formation in question, which can be seen increasing in height over the short, 23-second clip, is actually a waterspout. A relatively common occurrence especially over Northern Malta, waterspouts are non-supercell tornados which form over water.

Waterspouts can be formed by severe thunderstorms, but are even more commonly associated with developing storm systems. The clouds from which they descend are rarely fast-moving, and that makes waterspouts very easy to spot and film since they are often static.

Read More...
Tornado2

4 tornadoes confirmed as daylight reveals swath of damage in southern US


WKRN
Sun, 25 Feb 2018 19:45 UTC
tornado kentucky 2018
© WHOPLogan County, Ky.
National Weather Service survey teams confirmed 'at least' EF-2 tornado damage with max winds of 120 mph on the east side of Clarksville near I-24 and Rossview Road and in Logan County, Kentucky an EF-2 touchdown with max winds of 135 mph.

The NWS also confirmed another 'high end' EF-1 tornado in southwestern Clarksville near the Dotsonville community.

This powerful line of storms is blamed for at least two deaths, including an elderly woman trapped when her Logan County home was hit by a tornado.

An EF-2 tornado was confirmed in Hopkinsville, Ky. with winds of up to 135 mph.

79-year-old Dallas Jane Combs was inside the home when it collapsed on her. Combs was pronounced dead at the scene. Authorities say Combs' husband was outside and was not seriously injured.
Read More...