Tag Archives: Extreme Weather

Winter Storm Pushes North Pole Temperatures Past Freezing Point

The same storm system that caused widespread flooding and other extreme weather in the United States also pushed temperatures at the North Pole to abnormally high levels, according to a new report from The Washington Post.

The newspaper reported Wednesday that temperatures at the northernmost point on Earth were about 50 degrees warmer than historic averages for late December. The temperature was even above the freezing point of 32 degrees Fahrenheit at one time, according to the report.

To put that in perspective, the Post noted it was actually colder in parts of the United States on Wednesday than it was at the North Pole. Temperatures in parts of Colorado and Wyoming reached 15 degrees below zero on Wednesday, according to the National Weather Service.

Death Toll Rises as Floodwaters Continue to Plague Missouri, Other States

Large portions of the central United States remained under flood warnings on Thursday morning as high waters continued to wreak havoc on dozens of riverside communities.

The National Weather Service issued the warnings for significant swaths of Arkansas, Kansas, Oklahoma and Missouri, where floodwaters reached historic levels following a powerful winter storm, but also issued isolated flood warnings throughout the southeast. The service also issued flash flooding watches in large portions of Florida, Alabama, Georgia and South Carolina.

While floodwaters began to recede in many locations, particularly around hard-hit greater St. Louis, they remained at critically high levels. The National Weather Service warned that towns and cities further south along the Mississippi River could experience “significant river flooding” into mid-January as the massive amounts of water flowed downstream, according to its website.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) reported that 365 river gauges remained at flood stages on Thursday, 44 of which were at “major flooding” levels. The river gauges don’t always consider lakes, creeks or streams, many of which also breached their banks.

Missouri Governor Jay Nixon, who declared a state of emergency and mobilized the National Guard in the wake of the flooding, said the floods are responsible for killing 14 people in the state, according to a news release from his office. The Missouri Department of Transportation said at least 200 roads were submerged statewide early Thursday, according to a news release.

A busy 21-mile stretch of Interstate 44 remained closed near St.Louis, and the statement from Nixon’s office indicated it was the first time floodwaters shut down the road since 1982.

The Meramec River in Valley Park, Missouri, near St. Louis, crested at a record level of 44.11 feet early Thursday, according to the NOAA, which was more than four feet above a 33-year-old record and only the second time the river reached 38 feet in the past century. The river receded slightly to 43.57 feet later Thursday, the NOAA said, but that was still 27 feet above flood stage.

The community ordered those in low-lying areas to evacuate as the waters surged toward historic heights, according to a posting on its Facebook page. The city is protected by a levee, the posting indicates, but there was still “significant flooding” in several portions of the city.

The Meramec River flooding also damaged “hundreds of homes and businesses” in Pacific, Missouri, according to the governor’s office. The city, located upstream from Valley Park, crested just shy of its all-time record, the NOAA said, but that was still 18 feet above flood stage.

As the waters departed Valley Park and Pacific, they arrived further downstream.

NOAA data indicates the Meramec River in Arnold climbed to an all-time high of 47.22 feet on Thursday morning, nearly two feet above the record and roughly 23 feet above flood stage. The city recommended people evacuate because of the danger to residences, according to its website.

The Meramec flows into the Mississippi River, and communities downstream were expected to see waters rise further. In Chester, Illinois, the NOAA said waters were already at 44.26 feet on Thursday, 17 feet above flood stage and its second-highest level ever, and forecasts called for another 3-foot rise this week. Several roads in the city were already closed, its website indicates.

“This historic flooding event will continue to cause significant hazards and disruptions – from Missourians being forced from their homes, to businesses temporarily closing, to traffic congestion and impacts on interstate commerce due to the closure of a major trucking corridor,” Nixon said in a statement. “I thank the many Missourians who are assisting their neighbors by providing rooms in their homes, helping with sandbagging efforts and countless other acts of kindness.”

Missouri wasn’t the only state affected by the extreme weather.

The storm dumped snow, ice and rain throughout Oklahoma, prompting Governor Mary Fallin to extend a state of emergency. The state Department of Emergency Management reported Wednesday evening that five people lost their lives and another 104 were injured in the storm.

Earlier this week, Illinois Governor Bruce Rauner said “significant issues related to flooding” had occurred in seven counties and he issued a disaster proclamation for those areas, according to a news release from his office.

NASA: Potent El Nino Shows No Signs of Slowing

The United States likely will not see the full force of a powerful El Nino until early next year and the weather phenomenon has not shown any sign of slowing down, NASA announced Tuesday.

El Nino occurs when part of the Pacific Ocean is warmer than usual, setting off a far-reaching ripple effect that brings atypical and often extreme weather throughout the world. A variety of weather experts, including those with the United Nations, have said this year’s pattern is shaping up to be one of the three strongest in the past 65 years, but NASA said that the latest satellite images suggest the United States probably has yet to see the worst of the weather.

The images show “a striking resemblance to one from December 1997,” captured during the strongest El Nino on record, according to NASA. While the National Weather Service previously said that the pattern “matured,” NASA said Tuesday that the latest images indicate El Nino “shows no signs of waning,” and the fact that some elements of the Pacific Ocean are different now than they were 18 years ago could mean the weather pattern might actually intensify.

“Although the sea surface height signal in 1997 was more intense and peaked in November of that year, in 2015, the area of high sea levels is larger,” Josh Willis, a project scientist at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, told NASA’s website. “This could mean we have not yet seen the peak of this El Niño.”

The announcement comes in the wake of deadly flooding throughout the central United States that has sent multiple river gauges to historic levels and forced mandatory evacuations. This El Nino has already been blamed for historic flooding in coastal India, widespread wildfires in Indonesia and several crop-damaging droughts and floods across the globe, according to NASA.

NASA says it’s still not clear when El Nino will make its full presence felt in the United States, or the effects it could have. Generally, the National Weather Service has said the southeast is likely to see more precipitation and colder temperatures, while the northwest is expected to see hotter temperatures and less precipitation. However, that’s not an all-encompassing forecast, and NASA noted past El Ninos have been known to produce extreme storms such as a massive ice storm that slammed the northeast United States and parts of Canada in January 1998.

The National Weather Service has said El Nino is likely to linger into early summer.

Scientists Warn of Geomagnetic Storm Affecting Earth

Scientists say parts of the lower 48 states could witness the Northern Lights and some other effects tonight as the aftermath of a powerful explosion on the sun travels toward the Earth.

The Space Weather Prediction Center has issued a G3 (Strong) warning for Wednesday evening, saying a geomagnetic storm could cause the Northern Lights to be seen as far south as Oregon and Illinois. The scientists say recent events on the sun could trigger the storm in the night sky.

According to the Space Weather Prediction Center, the sun underwent a coronal mass ejection on Monday and released a significant amount of plasma and magnetic material into space. That material is expected to impact the Earth’s magnetosphere tonight, according to the scientists, creating conditions ripe for a geomagnetic storm that could possibly linger into Thursday.

Geomagnetic storms involve the disruption of Earth’s natural magnetic elements, according to the Space Weather Prediction Center. The scientists caution storms of this strength can impact satellites, radio transmissions and necessitate some voltage corrections in power supplies.

Historic Floods Continue to Devastate Missouri, United States

Significant portions of the United States remained under flood warnings on Wednesday morning as the fallout from a powerful storm system left their communities waterlogged.

The National Weather Service issued flood warnings in at least 18 states in the Gulf Coast, Atlantic Coast and Ohio Valley. Most of the warnings were concentrated in Illinois, Missouri and Oklahoma, three of the states that received the highest rainfall totals during the recent storm.

According to the National Weather Service, the storm dropped six to 12 inches of rain across those three states and northwest Arkansas, where additional flood warnings were in effect.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) said 379 river gauges across the country were in flood stage Wednesday morning, including 48 that reported “major flooding.” Those were down from Tuesday’s respective totals of 438 and 53, but that decline likely provided little relief to the regions that were still underwater, or where floodwaters were expected to rise.

Those river gauges don’t necessarily include lakes or other smaller bodies of water, like creeks or streams, that were also flooding. The rivers alone reached historic levels in several communities.

According to the NOAA, the Meramec River, which runs just south of Saint Louis, had already surpassed its record crests in two different locations on Wednesday morning. That included a whopping 45.33-foot total near Eureka, which was about 2.5 feet above a 33-year-old record and more than 25 feet above the threshold for what the NOAA considers to be major flooding. The waters were expected to continue to rise, reaching an all-time high of 46.2 feet later Wednesday.

Those rising waters were also forcing some mandatory evacuations and road closures.

City officials in Valley Park, Missouri, ordered residents to leave their homes and seek higher ground as the Meramec River reached 40 feet, according to the city’s Facebook page. The Missouri Department of Transportation shut down a 20-mile stretch of Interstate 44 near St. Louis because of flooding, according to a news release. That road is expected to be closed several days.

The National Weather Service reported that Union, Missouri, received more than a foot of rain in the storm. According to the NOAA, the Bourbeuse River reached a historic height of 34.31 feet on Tuesday before receding to 29.3 feet on Wednesday morning. Still, that was three feet above the threshold for major flooding in the city, located some 55 miles southwest of Saint Louis.

Missouri Governor Jay Nixon has declared a state of emergency and activated the National Guard, according to a news release from his office. The National Guard will assist evacuation efforts, as well as ensure traffic stays away from the numerous closed roads. Floods have killed 13 people in the state alone, according to the governor’s office, 12 of whom died when rushing waters swept vehicles off roads. St. Louis County officials also declared a countywide state of emergency, writing in a news release that the waters trapped people in businesses and homes.

Some locations along the Mississippi River were also expected to see record flooding, according to the NOAA. But even in areas where records weren’t broken, the waters were still very high.

The NOAA indicated there was major flooding along several rivers in Illinois, Missouri, Texas, Oklahoma and Arkansas. Minor or moderate flooding was occurring in parts of the southeast.

Destructive Winter Storm Reaches New England

A powerful and deadly winter storm that brought heavy snow and widespread flooding to the United States continued to travel east on Tuesday morning, leaving more destruction in its path.

The National Weather Service issued winter weather advisories and winter storm warnings in parts of Pennsylvania, New York and New England as the storm was poised to finally exit the country. But the storm’s fury was still being felt across the nation, particularly in the Great Plains and Ohio and Mississippi valleys, where numerous flood warnings remained in effect.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) said 438 river gauges across the nation were in flood stage on Tuesday morning, 53 of which were experiencing “major flooding.” Most of them were clustered in the central United States, though a few were in the southeast. In many locations, floodwaters had already reached or were threatening to surpass historic levels.

Fueled by 10 inches of rainfall in the vicinity, the Illinois River near Tahlequah, Oklahoma, reached an all-time high crest of 30.69 feet on Monday, more than 2.5 feet above the previous record that was set 65 years ago, the NOAA reported. The floodwaters had receded to about 21 feet there on Tuesday morning, though that was still more than three feet above the threshold for what is considered major flooding. The NOAA said parts of Texas, Arkansas and Missouri also saw 10 or more inches of rain, including a storm-high 12.25 inches near Union, Missouri. The storm also packed a powerful punch in Illinois, dumping 9.98 inches of rain near Roxana.

Rising waters prompted the mayor of St. Louis to declare a city emergency. Just south of the city in Arnold, the NOAA reported Meramec River was already experiencing major flooding, and was expected to surpass its all-time high level of 45.3 feet later this week. That water flows into the Mississippi River, and the NOAA projected that the further-south riverside communities of Chester, Illinois, and Cape Girardeau, Missouri, were also expected to tie or break local crest records.

That’s just a sampling of the storm’s flooding, and the 438 river gauges do not necessarily cover the lakes or other water bodies causing floods. In southern Missouri, for example, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers reported that waters at Table Rock Lake rose approximately 17 feet between Monday and Tuesday, fueling a massive release of water into flood-prone Lake Taneycomo. The United States Geological Survey reported that waters at Ozark Beach Dam in Forsyth, some 20 miles away from Table Rock Lake, rose three feet between Monday and Tuesday.

The storm brought more than just flooding and heavy rains.

More than three inches of sleet fell in Iowa and Illinois, the NOAA reported. But an inch was enough to snarl traffic at Chicago O’Hare International Airport, one of the world’s busiest.

Flight monitoring website FlightAware.com reported that 1,366 flights to or from the airport were cancelled on Monday, more than half of the airport’s scheduled traffic. Another 303 flights involving Chicago Midway International Airport were also cancelled, according to FlightAware, and lingering effects of the storm caused an additional 236 cancellations at O’Hare on Tuesday.

According to NOAA data, no place came close to receiving the 41 inches of snow the storm dumped on Bonito Lake, located in a mountain range in New Mexico. But the storm did produce more than nine inches of snow in Oklahoma, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, Wisconsin and Texas.

The storm knocked out power to tens of thousands in Oklahoma, according to utility companies.

While the storm appears seems to have weakened considerably, it’s still packing a punch. According to the National Weather Service, parts of Maine could receive up to a foot of snow.

More Flooding, Tornadoes, Snow Expected to Impact United States

More extreme weather was threatening the United States on Monday morning, as the remnants of the devastating and deadly Winter Storm Goliath continued to move eastward.

The storm system produced the floods and tornadoes that caused at least 43 deaths in recent days, according to Reuters. On Monday, thunderstorms, flooding and winter precipitation was affecting a widespread stretch of the nation, and there were even additional tornado warnings.

The National Weather Service (NWS) issued winter storm warnings in parts of eight states: Michigan, Wisconsin, Illinois, Minnesota, Iowa, South Dakota, Missouri and Kansas. Flood warnings or flash flood watches were in effect in parts of 15 states, and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) reported 378 river gauges were in flood stage nationwide.

There were also active tornado watches in central Alabama and the Florida panhandle as heavy rain and storms continued their push through the area. The more serious tornado warnings had been issued in parts of those states, as well as portions of Mississippi, earlier in the morning.

Most of the 34 gauges with “major flooding” indicated were in the Great Plains, where rainfall was particularly heavy. The NWS reported that certain parts of Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas and Missouri received more than 10 inches of rain between noon Saturday and 8 a.m. Monday.

That’s led to record flooding in some locations.

The NOAA reported the Illinois River near Tahlequah, Oklahoma, was at 29.92 feet, already two feet above its previous record that was set back in 1950. The river was expected to rise to 31 feet.

More rain was expected to fall later in the day, which could spur additional flooding.

The Mississippi River in Chester, Illinois, is expected to see a record crest of 49.9 feet on New Year’s Day. Cape Girardeau, Missouri, is also forecast to hit a record crest of 45.5 feet that day.

In areas with colder temperatures, that precipitation was falling as snow or freezing rain.

The NWS reported that 18 different locations in New Mexico received more than a foot of snow, including a whopping 41 inches near Bonito Lake in the Sierra Blanca mountains. Many roads in the state remained closed Monday and there were “numerous” people still stranded in vehicles.

Governors in Missouri and New Mexico have declared states of emergency.

On Monday, the snow was expected to fall in the northern United States. Some regions of Wisconsin, Minnesota and Michigan could see 10 inches of snow, the NWS said.

Parts of New York, Pennsylvania, New Jersey and New England were under winter weather advisories as the storm was expected to travel there later Monday and into Tuesday.

Christmas time storms, tornadoes kill at least 43 in U.S.

By Lisa Maria Garza

DALLAS (Reuters) – Storms hit the U.S. South, Southwest and Midwest over the Christmas holiday weekend, unleashing floods and tornadoes that killed at least 43 people, flattened buildings and snarled transportation for millions during a busy travel time.

The bad weather, or the threat of it, prompted the governors of Missouri and New Mexico to declare a state of emergency for their states.

Flash floods killed at least 13 people in Missouri and Illinois.

In Missouri, emergency workers have evacuated residents from their homes and conducted dozens of water rescues, Governor Jay Nixon said on Sunday. He said at least eight people had been killed and numerous roadways had been closed.

Nixon declared a state of emergency, saying continued rains would make already widespread flooding conditions worse.

Three adults and two children were near the village of Patoka, Illinois, 85 miles (137 km) east of St. Louis, Missouri, when their car was washed away by floodwaters on Saturday night, according to Marion County Coroner Troy Cannon.

In Texas, at least 11 people were killed in the Dallas area over the weekend by tornadoes, including one packing winds of up to 200 miles per hour (322 km per hour). The twister hit the city of Garland, killing eight people and blowing vehicles off highways.

“It is total devastation,” Garland Police spokesman Lieutenant Pedro Barineau said. “It is a very difficult time to be struck by such a horrible storm the day after Christmas.”

Three other deaths were reported in the Dallas metropolitan area, the United States’ fourth most populous with about 7 million residents. Scores of people were injured in the region and officials estimated some 800 homes may have been damaged.

Powerful tornadoes are a staple of spring and summer in central states but occur less frequently in winter, according to U.S. weather data.

Three tornadoes were reported in Arkansas on Sunday, the weather service said, but there were no initial reports of significant injuries or damage.

The service has issued tornado watches and warnings for areas in that state, as well as in parts of Texas, Louisiana, Oklahoma and Mississippi.

A tornado watch means a storm is likely, while a warning means a storm or storms have been sighted.

The storms came on the heels of tornadoes that hit two days before Christmas, killing at least 18 people, including 10 in Mississippi.

In Texas, Governor Greg Abbott said his office had declared Dallas County and three nearby counties disaster areas. He also warned people to be wary of snow in western parts of the state and rivers spilling their banks in other places.

The National Weather Service issued severe weather advisories for large parts of the central United States, including a blizzard warning for parts of New Mexico, Texas, Oklahoma and a flash flood watch stretching from Texas to Indiana.

New Mexico Governor Susana Martinez declared a state of emergency for the entire state due to a winter storm that had dumped up to two feet of snow by Sunday night.

The New Mexico city of Roswell bested its one-day snowfall record, receiving 12.3 inches by Sunday evening, the Weather Service said.

The bad weather forced the cancellation of nearly 1,500 flights in the nation on Sunday, according to tracking service FlightAware.com. About half of the canceled flights were in Dallas, a major U.S. flight hub.

(Reporting by Lisa Maria Garza and Jon Herskovitz; Additonal reporting by Marice Richter in Dallas and Curtis Skinner in San Francisco; Writing by Jon Herskovitz; Editing by Jonathan Oatis and Paul Tait)

Messy Weather Disrupting Holiday Travel Plans

Severe weather was impacting the holiday travel plans of many Americans on Thursday morning, and threatening to impact more.

The remnants of the storm system that produced Wednesday’s deadly tornado outbreak were moving across the southeastern United States on Thursday. The National Weather Service said the system had weakened considerably, but it was still capable of producing heavy rainfall and localized severe thunderstorms throughout the Mid-Atlantic and Gulf Coast. The storms were expected to be the worst in Alabama and Georgia, but rain was falling as far north as New Jersey.

According to flight monitoring website FlightAware.com, 201 flights to or from United States destinations were cancelled as of 11:45 a.m. EST on Thursday morning. Another 1,720 were delayed. Both of those numbers had steadily risen throughout the morning.

A large percentage of the delays were the result of heavy storms at Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport, the world’s busiest airport in terms of passenger traffic. FlightAware indicated 111 flights to or from the airport had been cancelled, and another 703 were delayed.

More Americans than ever before are expected to travel this Christmas season. AAA projects that 100.5 million Americans were expected to make a journey of at least 50 miles in the 12-day period that began Wednesday morning. More than 90 percent of people were expected to drive to their destinations, but 5.8 million were expected to fly. That’s an increase of .7 percent over last year, AAA reported.

Regardless of whether they were traveling or not, there’s a good chance Americans would experience record temperatures on Christmas. The National Climate Data Center reported that there have been 3,912 record daily high temperatures this month, and that trend was expected to continue Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.

The Weather Channel reported temperatures in New York City reached 70 degrees early Christmas Eve morning, smashing the previous record of 63 degrees. The forecast was calling for a high of 64 degrees on Christmas, which would tie a 33-year-old record.

Still, some Western parts of the country were expected to see a White Christmas as Winter Storm Goliath arrived Thursday and continued to dump snow throughout Christmas and well into next week.

The National Weather Service had issued winter storm warnings in northern and central California, southeastern Oregon, northern Idaho, eastern Utah and western Colorado. The service had also issued winter weather advisories in parts of those states, as well as Washington, Arizona, Montana and Nevada. The service was also warning of the possibility of avalanches in Idaho, Utah and Colorado.

The Weather Channel reported that the storm could bring more than a foot of snow to higher elevations by Saturday night, though most of the affected areas are expected to see fewer than five inches. However, the channel’s meteorologists say the storm may intensify over the weekend, and early projections show that Goliath could dump up to a foot of snow over the Great Plains before next Tuesday.

Tornado Outbreak Causes 9 Deaths, Widespread Damage

At least nine people were killed when severe storms led to a tornado outbreak across the United States on Wednesday, reports indicate.

According to The Weather Channel, preliminary estimates indicate that roughly 15 tornadoes swept through the nation on Wednesday.

All of the reported deaths occurred in the southeastern United States, where the damage from the storms was said to be the greatest.

Mississippi television station WREG reported that at least six people were killed in the state, including a 7-year-old boy in the town of Holly Springs. The National Weather Service said one tornado touched down south of Clarksdale and left a trail of damage that stretched some 150 miles northeast to Hardeman County, Tennessee. If the storm was continuous, the National Weather Service said it would be the longest December tornado on record in the mid-South.

The Mississippi Emergency Management Agency said tornado damage was reported in seven counties. The powerful storms injured more than 40 people statewide as they knocked down power lines, shut down multiple highways and damaged homes. The agency said there were also reports of some search-and-rescue operations.

On Thursday morning, the Mississippi governor declared a state of emergency in the affected areas.

WREG reported storms demolished an entire Clarksdale subdivision.

The Tennessee Emergency Management Agency declared a Level III State of Emergency after storms led to “isolated damage” in 11 counties. The agency said a man and a woman were killed in Perry County, one of the harder-hit areas, but had no further information. Another person died in Rhea County.

An 18-year-old woman was killed earlier Wednesday when heavy winds sent a tree crashing through a home near Atkins, Arkansas, according to the Pope County Sheriff’s Office. The death occurred in the morning, well before the tornado outbreak was at its height.

While the tornadoes and storms were most destructive in the south, there were reports of tornado damage as far north as central Indiana.

Local television station WTHR reported storms blew the roof off an animal hospital in Greenwood. No person or animal was injured.

The outbreak occurred on a day when many Americans were beginning to travel for the holidays. AAA projected a record 100.5 million Americans are expected to travel in the 12-day period that began Wednesday morning, more than 90 percent of them driving.