GLOBAL WEATHER HIGHLIGHTS

AUGUST 2018

ASIA

A heat wave which has been plaguing the Korean Peninsula since the middle of July brought a national high temperature record to South Korea on the 1^st. Temperatures soared to the highest recorded level since records began in 1907 as the mercury reached 40.7C in Hongcheon, located in the north-east. The previous record was 40.0C, set on 1 August 1942, in Daegu, according to the Korean Meteorological Administration. Since the start of the heat wave, at least 29 people have died from heatstroke and more than 2,300 others have been hospitalized with heat-related illnesses, according to the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Seoul reported its warmest night on record Wednesday (3^rd) and then again on Thursday. The temperature only fell to 30.4C Thursday night into Friday morning.

A slow moving front has sparked days of torrential rainfall across South Korea resulting in flooding across much of the country (28^th). Heavy rainfall from Monday into Tuesday produced flooding across southern and central South Korea. The downpours shifted northward on Wednesday causing flooding throughout northern South Korea, including Seoul. The downpours fell at a rate of 75 mm/h during the worst of the event. The highest rainfall total was reported in South Jello Province where 455 mm accumulated since Monday.

AUSTRAILIA

The tail end of yesterday's strong cold front ripped through much of Western Australia overnight and delivered damaging winds and widespread hail, as well as snow to one of the state's highest peaks (2^nd). Homes and cars have been damaged across the state, with the State Emergency Service receiving almost 80 calls for help with 59 coming from the Perth metro area. Bluff Knoll, 350 kilometers south-east of Perth, attracted snow chasers this morning who were rewarded with a layer of crusty white on the side of the mountain. Bluff Knoll is one of the few places in the state where snow ever falls. Meanwhile wind gusts in excess of 100 km/h tore down trees and power lines across the state, knocking out electricity to more than 9,000 properties at the peak of the storm. The towns of Lancelin, Port Denison, Dongara, Guilderton and Greenough in the northern part of the network were worst-affected.

CANADA

It has been very hot in southern Manitoba; today temperatures reached 40C with a gusty southerly wind (3^rd-11^th). In Carmen, Manitoba, rainfall since early May has been about 20 per cent of normal after a winter with less than half the normal precipitation. On the 3rd a tornado that touched down near Alonsa Friday night killed a 77-year-old man as it virtually destroyed his house. Alonsa is located about 210 kilometers northwest of Winnipeg.

EUROPE

Gusty winds caused a dangerous wildfire to spread across southern Portugal on Tuesday following record heat in recent days (4^th-7^th). More than two dozen record high temperatures were set across Portugal on Saturday and Sunday, including a new all-time high temperatures in Lisbon. The temperature peaked at 44.0C in the capital city on Saturday, breaking the old record of 43.0C from 1981. The highest temperature in the country over the weekend was 46.8C in Alvega, just short of the country's all-time high of 47.4C which was set in 2003. Several wildfires broke out during the heat wave, including a major fire near the town of Monchique in the Algarve region of southern Portugal. More than 1,200 firefighters continued to battle the blaze on Monday. As of Tuesday, at least 44 people have required medical attention due to the fire; however, no fatalities have been reported so far. Dozens of homes have been destroyed by the fire which is burning through rugged and tough-to-access terrain.

Heavy floods have forced the evacuation of 1,600 people - most of them campers - in southern France, officials say (th-10^th). They say a 70-year-old German man who was helping to supervise children at one of the summer camps is missing. The worst-hit areas are Gard, Ardèche and Drome. More than 400 firefighters and police - as well as four helicopters - have been deployed. The flooding comes after southern France - and much of Europe - experienced unusually hot weather. In a statement, the French interior ministry said six departments were placed on a flood alert, while about 17,000 homes were without power in the south-west and north-east. In one summer camp in Saint-Julien-de-Peyrolas, in the Gard region, 119 children were evacuated. The missing German was supervising the children at the camp. Trapped by a fast-flowing torrent, he sought shelter inside his caravan - but the vehicle was swept away, AFP news agency reports. It was later found "empty and in pieces", according to police.

At least 38 people were killed following bridge collapse in Genoa, Italy, during violent thunderstorms (14^th). The Italian news agency ANSA reported that a large section of a raised highway collapsed in the northern port city of Genoa on Tuesday. The collapse occurred around noon, local time. The cause of the collapse remains unclear; however, thunderstorms were affecting the city at the time of the collapse. Wind gusts of 50-65 km/h (30-40 mph) were reported in the area around the time of the collapse. Some witnesses claim to have seen lightning strike the bridge prior to the collapse.

UNITED STATES

Torrential rains triggered flash flooding in parts of central and eastern Pennsylvania, closing down a heavily used interstate and sending water into homes in the mountainous coal regions (13^th). State highway and emergency management officials reported numerous closed roads in a wide swath of the state from Williamsport to the Philadelphia suburbs, and some motorists had to be rescued. The National Weather Service in State College said there were numerous reports of 6 inches of rain or more in Schuylkill and Columbia counties. Meteorologist Aaron Tyburski said the latest downpours followed weeks of a stalled weather pattern that is drawing moisture from the Atlantic Ocean, hitting some communities repeatedly. High water in Port Carbon caused some evacuations and prompted firefighters to launch rescue boats and rafts. Parts of Pottsville were inundated, and three shelters were set up.

Smoke from the raging California wildfires has been drifting across the United States, even stretching as far east as New York City (19^th). The particles are sitting about 1.5 km above the surface, limiting health hazards. However, the smoke has created fiery sunrises and sunsets. Smoke particles work as a filter to allow orange and red colors to pass through the light spectrum, leading to a tinted view of the sun. The smoke has led to health concerns for the Northwest, lowering air quality levels.

Nearly 400 people have died and thousands remained stranded by the worst flooding in the Indian state of Kerala in a century (22^nd). More than one million people have been displaced, many of them taking shelter in thousands of relief camps across the state. As the monsoon rains begin to ease, efforts are being stepped up to get relief supplies to isolated areas. Relief shipments and small commercial aircraft began to arrive at the nearby Kochi Naval Base on Monday as waters continued to recede. Thousands of homes and 32,500 hectares of crops have been destroyed. Officials estimate that more than 10,000 km of roads have been damaged. Initial projections put the total losses from the flooding as high as $3 billion.

Severe thunderstorms swept across part of the north-central United States in the afternoon, bringing another round of damaging winds and flooding downpours to the region (28^th). The worst of the severe weather focused on a zone from central Wisconsin through eastern Iowa with the strongest storms spinning up tornadoes. This is right after severe storms that tracked across the region on Monday. The Iowa City Airport clocked one of the strongest winds of the day with a gust of 83 mph. Over 60,000 electric customers in Michigan, over 40,000 in Wisconsin and over 13,000 in Iowa were left without power for a time on Tuesday evening after storms toppled trees and brought down power lines. Some evening commutes were also slowed due to trees that had fallen across roadways. One person was injured near Thornton, Iowa, after a tractor trailer was blown over on Interstate 35.

TROPICAL

Tropical storm Bebinca weakened as it made landfall in northern Vietnam, flooding some villages in one province but there were no reports of major damage (17^th). Vietnam had put thousands of soldiers on standby, readied evacuation plans and ordered vessels to stay in port on Thursday ahead of the storm. Nghe An province south of the capital Hanoi received up to 280 millimeters of rain, the National Centre for Hydro-Meteorological Forecasting said.

Typhoon Rumbia has been moving northwest inland since it made landfall in Pudong New Area of Shanghai Friday, bringing heavy downpours and causing floods along its route (19^th). The civil affairs department of east China's Anhui Province said that a total of 164,700 people has been adversely affected by typhoon Rumbia, and 2,226 people had been evacuated as of 3 p.m. Saturday. Some 17,000 hectares of crops were inundated in the province, with the economic loss estimated at about $14million. No casualties have been reported. According to the meteorological bureau of central China's Henan Province, the typhoon entered the province around 3 a.m. Saturday. Heavy rain has caused waterlogging in some cities in the eastern part of Henan. Some parts of Henan, Hebei, and Shandong provinces are expected to experience downpours of up to 350 mm within 24 hours, according to forecasts.

Tropical Storm Lane released record-breaking rainfall on Hawaii, triggering devastating flooding and debris flows across Hawaii (24^th). Preliminary rainfall totals of 2-4 feet were reported across the windward side of the Big Island with a few locations recording even higher amounts. There is an unconfirmed report of 58.80 inches on the Big Island. That would be the second-highest rain total from a tropical cyclone in the United States since 1950. Nederland, Texas, holds the record with the 60.58 inches that fell during Hurricane Harvey in 2017. Mountain View received a preliminary total of 52.02 inches. That ranks as the highest rainfall total from a tropical cyclone in Hawaii's recorded history. Hurricane Hiki in August 1950 previously held the record with 52.00 inches.