GLOBAL WEATHER HIGHLIGHTS
DECEMBER 2021
ASIA
At
least 18 people have died or are missing after heavy rains affecting Vietnam
since 26 November, caused severe floods and damage (1st). The death
toll was confirmed by Vietnam Disaster Management Agency. The worst affected was
Phu Yen with 10 fatalities. Nearly 60000 homes were flooded.
Strong
winter pressure pattern continued today to bring strong winds and heavy snowfall
along the coast of the Sea of Japan for the seventh day in a row, disrupting
traffic and stranding many vehicles (28th). At least 10 people were
injured over the past weekend due to blizzard conditions, two of them seriously.
Residents in the affected regions are urged to refrain from all non-essential
outings. In a 24-hour period through early Monday, 27 December, Hikone in Shiga
Prefecture saw 68 cm of snow while Asago in Hyogo Prefecture received 71 cm -
both the most ever since such statistics started being compiled, the Japan
Meteorological Agency (JMA) said. During the same period, Minakami in Gunma
Prefecture received 70 cm and Aizuwakamatsu in Fukushima Prefecture 55 cm. The
deepest snowfall was recorded in Aomori with 200 cm, while snow also accumulated
in the cities of Kyoto, Nagoya, and Hiroshima.
EUROPE
A
powerful deep low-pressure area moving in from the Atlantic Ocean hit Ireland,
bringing severe winds and heavy rain (7th-8th). At the
height of the storm, more than 60000 customers were without power. Storm Barra
was named by Met Eireann, the second named storm of the 2021/22 season. Sherkin
Island recorded a wind gust of 135 km/h and a mean wind speed of 111 km/h on
Tuesday, just shy of its all-time station record of 113 km/h on 12 February
2014. Impacts were felt across the country, with fallen trees nationwide and
reports of spot flooding in areas, power outages for tens of thousands of
customers, and travel disruption with several road closures and delays and
cancellations to bus, rail, air, and ferry services.
Severe
flooding in Spain's Navarre region has submerged cars and houses and killed at
least one person as heavy rains from Storm Barra caused rivers to burst their
banks (10th). Police said one person in the small village of Sunbilla
died this afternoon after a landslide caved in the roof of an outbuilding at
their farmhouse. In the regional capital of Pamplona, people kayaked down a
street, gliding past a bank as rescue workers waded into the waist-deep waters
with pumps. In the centre of Villava, a small town just outside the city, houses
were submerged up to their roofs. After a cold snap sent temperatures plunging
across Spain, Storm Barra has brought torrential rains and thawed snow and ice
at higher altitudes, causing rivers to rise rapidly. Storm Barra has thawed snow
that fell in Roncesvalles, northeast of Pamplona last weekend In France, rivers
overflowed their banks across a large area of the southwest of the country after
heavy rains lashed the region overnight, leading to evacuations of dozens of
residents. Warm southern winds that have melted snowbanks in the Pyrenees
mountains in recent days also contributed to the flooding, which could persist
for several days. Several schools and some roads were closed, while train
services were disrupted and electricity cuts were reported at hundreds of homes
across the region.
Exceptional early-December snowfall was reported across the Alps this week, with
parts of eastern Austria receiving the heaviest snowfall in 9 years (11th).
In Burgenland, up to 30 cm of snow fell overnight on Wednesday, and power
outages impacted several hundred homes in Carinthia in the districts of St. Veit
an der Glan, Spittal an der Drau, and Villach-Land after nearly 40 cm of snow
fell. 20 to 40 cm of snow are reported to have fallen in the Austrian mountains
and 50 to 60 cm in Vorarlberg, East Tyrol, and Carinthia. Austria's Centre for
Severe Weather has issued its highest alerts for Vorarlberg, Tyrol and Carinthia
and snow clearing vehicles have been out in force to keep roads in operation. An
avalanche in the Salzburg region, on the border with Germany, killed 3 people
and injured two while they were skiing off-piste, Austria's Red Cross said on 4
December. The snow buried a group of 8 people up to 4.5 m deep, local emergency
response official Christoph Wiedl told local media.
UNITED
STATES
The
governor of the US state of Kentucky has said that more than 70 people were
killed by tornadoes on Friday night (10th-11th). Andy
Beshear said the figure could rise to more than 100 in what he called the worst
tornadoes in the state's history. Dozens are feared dead inside a candle factory
in the town of Mayfield. At least five people died as tornadoes wreaked havoc in
other states, including one in an Amazon warehouse in Illinois. Mr Beshear has
declared a state of emergency in Kentucky. He said the tornado system was the
deadliest to ever run through the state. Deaths had been reported in several
counties, but the loss of life in the Mayfield factory could exceed that of any
tornado event in a single location in state history, the governor added. More
than 100 people were inside when it hit. Police said the tornado caused
"significant damage" across the western parts of the state. A train was derailed
during extreme winds in Hopkins County, Sheriff Matt Sanderson told WKYT-TV. In
north-eastern Arkansas, one person died, five were seriously injured and 20
people were trapped inside in a nursing home after it partly collapsed, local
official Marvin Day said.
Alaska
has recorded its hottest-ever December day, amid an unusual winter warm spell
(25th-26th). Temperatures soared to a record 19.4C on the
island of Kodiak on the 26th - almost 7C warmer than the state's previous high.
But elsewhere in Alaska temperatures have been plunging to record lows. In the
south-eastern town of Ketchikan, temperatures dropped to -18C on the 25th - one
of the town's coldest Christmas Days in the past century. The fiercest
mid-winter storm since 1937 struck the central city of Fairbanks over Christmas,
dumping more than 10 inches of snow. So much snow fell on Sunday it caved in the
roof of the only grocery shop in the town of Delta Junction, 95 miles south-east
of Fairbanks.
Heavy
storms have battered western states, leaving thousands without power (26th-27th).
Almost 75 cm of snow fell in parts of northern California in 24 hours, causing
blackouts and road closures, including a 100 km stretch of Interstate 80 into
Nevada. Avalanche warnings were in effect across six states. Over the weekend,
southern California was hit by rainstorms, which saw power lines snap and
streets flooded. More than 1.8 inches of rain fell over 24 hours in San Marcos
pass in Santa Barbara county, while Rocky Butte in San Luis Obispo county
recorded 1.61 in. Avalanche warnings were put into effect on Sunday for parts of
Nevada, Utah, Idaho, Montana, Colorado and California, as the storms created
widespread areas of unstable snow. Authorities near Reno said three people were
injured in a 20-car weekend pileup on Interstate 395, amid limited visibility.
Power cuts affected residents in Washington, Oregon and other areas, although
northern California was the worst hit. Power Outage US reported 28,000 power
cuts there in the early hours of Monday local time, mostly in northern coastal
counties and those on the Nevada border.
A
prolonged period of heavy snow falling over the Sierra Nevada mountain range
since 10 December increased its snowpack, and by today piled up to 455 cm at the
UC Berkeley's Central Sierra Snow Laboratory (27th). This broke the
existing December record of 454.6 cm set in 1970, lab officials said, adding
that snowfall rates are still heavy.
RUSSIA
Much
of western Serbia was left without electricity after heavy snowfall hit the
country (12th). Authorities warned residents to postpone unnecessary
travel and to conserve power. Heavy wet snow was reported in the capital
Belgrade, where several trees fell under the weight of heavy snow, damaging cars
and buildings.1 Several people had to be rescued after being trapped in their
damaged vehicles. Several flights from and to the capital's main airport were
cancelled because of the weather conditions and a brief power cut to the main
terminal. In addition, a highway leading to the airport was closed for several
hours because of a traffic jam caused by the snowfall.
AFRICA
Severe
thunderstorms hit the province of Eastern Cape, South Africa over the past
couple of days, claiming the lives of at least 6 people (14th-15th).
The latest areas to be hit by the storms include the municipalities of Amathole,
Raymond Mhlaba, Amahlathi and Buffalo City. The storms hit just as residents of
the OR Tambo district were picking up the pieces after last week's severe
thunderstorms in the region, which left six people dead and 142 others homeless.
With the latest storms on Monday, which brought hail, excessive lighting and
strong damaging winds, the number of damaged homes surpassed 1000.
MIDDLE
EAST
Winter
storm "Carmel" made landfall over Israel on the 20th, bringing record rains,
snow, and strong winds (20th-21st). This is the third
named winter storm named by the newly formed East Mediterranean Storm Naming
Group, composed of Greece, Cyprus, and Israel. Mikve Israel weather station near
Holon saw 175 mm of rain since landfall. Of that, 147 mm fell on the 21st. This
station has been in operation for over 100 years and is one of Israel's oldest
facilities. In its entire history, it recorded similar falls on only two
occasions - 199 mm in November 1938 and 148 mm in December 1954. Ben-Gurion
International Airport registered 153 mm, Moshav Amikam 151 mm and HaKfar HaYarok
youth village 145 mm.
27th
Weeks
of heavy rainfall over the northeastern Brazilian state of Bahia (population 15
million) caused massive floods and damage, leaving at least 18 people dead,
nearly 500,000 affected, and 35,000 displaced. Parts of the state, including
capital Salvador, have already received six times their normal December
rainfall. Heavy rains started affecting the state in early November but the
situation worsened in recent days, when two dams collapsed, flooding already
heavily affected areas.
TROPICAL
Super
typhoon Rai is battering the southern Philippines, forcing thousands of people
to take shelter amid warnings of widespread flooding and destruction (16th).
The storm made landfall in Siargao, a popular tourist island, packing winds of
about 175 km/h. Power and communication lines are currently down on parts of
Siargao, and the UN says 13 million people could be affected by the typhoon.
Flights were cancelled and ports closed because of possible storm surges. Rai is
one of the strongest typhoons to hit the South-East Asian country this year. As
of the 20th at least 375 people were known to have died as a result of the
storm-induced conditions.
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