GLOBAL WEATHER HIGHLIGHTS

 

JUNE 2013

 

 

UNITED STATES

 

The remnants of a violent storm that claimed 20 lives in Oklahoma on the 2^nd and caused flattened trees and utility poles in parts of northern New England, delayed flights in New York City and caused a tornado to touch down in South Carolina. The weather service issued a rare tornado warning as a line of thunderstorms raced through New Hampshire into western Maine. It said a tornado warning was issued as radar indicated a possible tornado moving from Kingfield, Maine, to Bingham, Maine. In north-western South Carolina, a tornado knocked a home off its foundation and blew part of the roof off. The stormy weather in the New York City region shortened the Boston Red Sox-New York Yankees game to 5½ innings and produced backups at major airports. But by early Monday, delays were down to 15 minutes or less at airports on the east coast.

 

The first named storm of the Atlantic hurricane season smashed rainfall totals across the Northeast U.S. and pushed some streams and creeks over their banks but sped up the Eastern Seaboard without causing major damage. After bringing rain, strong winds and tornadoes to Florida, Andrea lost most of its tropical characteristics late Friday into Saturday. But it brought record rainfall for the date of June 7 for many cities and towns in the Northeast. Andrea dumped 6.64 inches of rain on Gales Ferry, Conn., while 3.5 inches of rain fell at Philadelphia International Airport. Elsewhere, cars were submerged in floodwaters on Long Island, and about 50 residents were displaced by a rising stream in Chester, Pa. The storm was blamed for one traffic-related death in Virginia. In Florida, the weather service estimated that feeder bands from Andrea's remnants dropped more than 9 inches of rain on eastern Miami-Dade County and more than 6 inches of rain on eastern Broward County on Friday.

On the 12th-13^th, two derechos occurred across different areas of the Eastern United States. The initial derecho formed on the afternoon of 12 June and tracked across a large section of the Midwestern United States, the central Appalachians, and the Mid-Atlantic states before moving into the Atlantic Ocean during the morning of the 13th. A second, more widespread and intense derecho occurred on the 13th across the Southeastern United States, resulting in major wind damage across North Carolina, Virginia, and Maryland, among other states. They resulted in at least three deaths and caused extensive damage – resulting from both tornadoes and straight-line winds – from Iowa to South Carolina. 24 tornadoes touched down in Iowa, Illinois, Ohio, Georgia, and Maryland, with about half of the tornadoes occurring from supercells that formed on the 12th before the initial derecho.

 

Some of the warmest weather of the year arrived in Alaska over the weekend and continued through the first part of the week. The heat is also raising the risk of wildfires. Heat challenged records in Fairbanks and Anchorage, Alaska's two most populated cities, over the weekend. The high in Fairbanks on Sunday reached 88F, falling just 1 degF shy of their daily record. Talkeetna was the hot spot in Alaska on Monday, climbing to a scorching 96F. The temperature shattered the highest reading ever recorded for the site. The old record of 91F set on 26 June 1953, was equaled on Sunday. The temperature hit 94F at McGrath and 90F at Cordova. These record-challenging temperatures are due to a northward bulge in winds high in the atmosphere that developed over central Alaska over the past weekend. This particular jet stream pattern will hold its ground through the first part of the week, allowing the above-normal temperatures to continue.

 

NORTHERN HEMISPHERE

 

Much of Europe, the United States, north-west Russia and parts of Japan had a much colder than average spring (1 March to 1 June), which ended with heavy rain in some European countries. By contrast, the Arctic region was considerably warmer than normal, as was a large area covering most of central and northern Africa (except Morocco and western Algeria), the Eastern Mediterranean, southern Russia, and much of China. This climate pattern started already in February, with cold Arctic air moving far to the south over Europe and the U.S. and also wetter conditions over the eastern U.S. and western and southern Europe due to inclusion of the cold air in low pressure circulation. Corresponding sea level pressure anomalies showed higher pressure than usual over the Arctic and lower pressure than usual over mid-latitudes. This is a typical pattern of a negative phase of the Arctic Oscillation. The AO had several phases of outstandingly negative values during the first half of spring. In the second half of the spring, the AO changed to a positive and then to a neutral phase. However, during the cold spell in late May there was still a similar pressure pattern with high pressure over Greenland and low pressure systems to the south, which caused Arctic air masses to flow to western and central Europe.

 

EUROPE

 

Families were plucked from rooftops by helicopters, cars were swept away by raging torrents and levees failed without warning on the 5th as central European flooding continued. Tens of thousands of people had to be evacuated in Germany and the Czech Republic and chemical plants along the mighty Danube and Elbe rivers were hastily shut down. Near the southeastern German town of Deggendorf, two levees broke along the Danube and Isar rivers and their raging waters engulfed nearby houses. A southern German highway disappeared under the muddy floodwaters, cars were swept away and only the top of a few trucks peeked out above the waters. Firefighters said more than 19,000 people were evacuated from the flooding in the Czech Republic. In the eastern German city of Halle, the downtown area flooded despite frantic efforts to protect it with sandbag barriers. Authorities urged 30,000 residents to leave their homes as the Saale river reached its highest level in 400 years. In the Czech Republic, authorities said the water in the Elbe was expected to reach 11 meters early on Thursday in the country's north, almost four times its usual height. After inundating parts of Prague, a surge on the Elbe was now roaring north toward Germany, particularly the eastern city of Dresden, where hundreds were being evacuated. The river, which was expected to crest early on Thursday, was running about 7 meters over normal levels. Overall, 16 people have died since the beginning of the flooding last week, including eight people in the Czech Republic, five in Germany, two in Austria and one in Slovakia. At least four other people were missing in the Czech Republic, according to the interior minister. In villages around Usti nad Labem, a city of 100,000 in the northern Czech Republic, police in boats were handing out drinking water and medicine to those who had not evacuated. In the Czech capital of Prague, Environment Minister Tomas Chalupa said the city's sewage treatment plant - which had to be shut down because of high water - might be operational again in the next 24 hours. Since the shutdown, the city's effluence has gone straight into the Vltava River, which runs through the city. Floodwaters were slowly receding in the hard-hit Bavarian city of Passau after reaching levels not seen in 500 years, leaving behind huge amounts of

debris.

 

The floods in Germany are likely to be even costlier than those in 2002, according to Fitch Ratings. It says that if flooding progresses as it has in the past, economic damage in Germany is likely to be around 12bn euros, with gross insured losses of between 2.5bn and 3bn euros.

 

A withering early summer heat wave has sent temperatures soaring throughout central Europe on the 19th. On Wednesday, excessive heat spread northward from the Alps to nearly all of Germany, where some hot spots topped 35C. For a wide area surrounding the Alps, it was the third straight day of readings hitting 30- 35C. Among the leaders for high temperature, Mulhouse, France, and Hohenems, Austria, reached 36C on Monday. On Tuesday, Sion, Switzerland, hit the 36C mark. However, 38.5C was reported at Ajaccio, Corsica. Frankfurt, Germany, reached at least 35C as did Salzburg, Austria. Readings around Berlin were at least 33C, and Kiel was near 34C.

 

ASIA

 

Some remote Japanese islands were drenched by the spiraling bands of Tropical Storm Yagi as the disturbance passed about 200 miles to the south of Tokyo. Yagi brought locally heavy rain to a long stretch of coastline of Japan’s Honshu Island that included Osaka and metropolitan Tokyo, according to the Japan Meteorological agency. Cold waters just to the south of Honshu were responsible for the storm weakening rapidly and posting a significant threat to only shipping lanes in the far western Pacific.

 

Onset of the southwest monsoon has taken place deep into Pakistan as many as four weeks earlier than usual. Monsoon onset was 13 June 2013, in Delhi, almost two weeks earlier than average. The 15 June onset at Karachi and Islamabad was more like three weeks ahead of schedule. The abnormally early advance of the seasonal weather phenomenon has left unusually early soaking rain in many parts of Pakistan and northwestern India. The characteristic pre-monsoon heat has also been beaten back, thanks to widespread rain-cooled air.

 

The death toll from flooding and landslides triggered by heavy rain in northern India on the 17^th has risen to 70. At least 45 people have died in Uttarakhand state, while flood-related deaths have also been reported in Himachal Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh. Over 150 buildings in Uttarakhand have been damaged, and at least one building washed away. Some 75,000 pilgrims on their way to shrines in the region are stranded. Officials said that heavy rains were continuing in Rudraprayag, Chamoli and Uttarkashi districts, and the Ganges river was flowing above the danger mark. Heavy rains have also been reported in the northern states of Punjab and Haryana.

 

SOUTHERN HEMISPHERE

 

A severe winter storm powered by a cold Antarctic outbreak has lashed New Zealand with severe winds on the 20^th, slashing rain and heavy snow. The weather has disrupted flights and ferries as deep hill country snow on the South Island blocked roads through passes. Gusts to 84 mph were clocked at the Wellington airport amid heavy falling rain. Two-day rainfall of 25-50 mm was widespread over the southern half of the North Island, reaching right southward along the eastern side of South Island, data showed. Temperatures near sea level hovered in the 30s to lower 40s on the eastern South Island, indicating that snowfall was heavy down to 1,000 to 1,500 feet above sea level.

 

Jim G. Munley, jr.
http://www.jimmunleywx.com