GLOBAL WEATHER HIGHLIGHTS
JUNE 2021
NEW
ZEALAND
A
severe storm has brought rain and heavy unseasonal snow to parts of Canterbury's
ski fields (1st). As much as 5 m of snow fell at the summit of Mt.
Hutt between Monday and Tuesday. The same weather system brought 2 to 3 months'
worth of rain to the Canterbury region in just 2 to 3 days. NZSki chief
executive Paul Anderson said Mt. Hutt was at the center of the heavy
precipitation event, ensuring a "fantastic opening day" on June 11. The weather
bomb has prompted an avalanche warning across the Southern Alps. Four staff
members were on the mountain undertaking avalanche control and were yet to
examine the access road, where around 340 mm of rain has fallen.
EUROPE
Severe
weather struck parts of western and central Germany, including heavy rain and
hail, causing havoc in the regions (3rd). Firefighters and police
received multiple calls for assistance as traffic was brought to a standstill,
trees were uprooted, and many homes were flooded. Thunderstorms began Thursday
evening, which eventually led to flooding, downed trees, and waterlogged
cellars. In Bottrop, a fir tree was struck by lightning and burst into flames,
but the fires were quickly put out by rains. In the municipality of Laer near
Munster, the police reported flooding across streets and cellars after a brook
overflowed. Meanwhile, in other parts of North Rhine-Westphalia, winds were so
strong that they overturned trees. In Braubach, a parked vehicle was buried
under fallen branches on the onslaught of the storm.
Severe
storms pummeled parts of France over the weekend into Monday, bringing flooding
rain, giant hailstones, and a tornado that resulted in damage (19th-21st).
Around 44,000 lightning strikes were recorded. In Saint-Nicolas-de-Bourgueil, a
tornado inflicted damage to a chuch in Indre-et-Loire village. Fallen stoneworks
collapsed into cars underneath, smashing windscreens. Trees and vines were also
ravaged. In Vercel-Villedieu-le-Camp, hailstones the size of tennis balls
wrecked through car windows. Heavy rains triggered flooding while strong winds
caused material damage in Essonne in Ile-de-France, and in Reims, Grand Est.
Widespread flooding submerged roads in the northeastern city of Reims as
downpours continued. Power outages also occurred in some areas.
Severe
thunderstorms struck parts of Belgium (19th). Heavy downpours also
triggered flooding in portions of Flanders. A tornado reportedly struck the town
of Beauraing in Namur Province, injuring 17 people and leaving as many as 92
houses severely affected, 10 of which were declared unfit for habitation. More
than a dozen cars were damaged.
Violent flash floods swept through Neuchatel Canton in Switzerland, damaging
homes, destroying roads, and sweeping away vehicles (22nd). According
to figures released by MeteoSwiss, Cressier recorded 55 mm of rain, including
34.5 mm within just one hour. This is on top of 34 mm on 21 June. The local
government said ensuing flash floods sent debris into Cressier and Frochaux,
damaging around 75 buildings, destroying roads, and sweeping away vehicles.
A
tornado has swept through several villages in the Czech Republic, killing four
people and leaving more than 100 others injured (24th). Thursday
night's storm blew the roofs off buildings in the south-eastern Breclav and
Hodonin districts, uprooting trees and overturning cars. Wind gustss of at least
219 km/h were recorded and the worst-hit areas were said to look like a war
zone. Hailstones the size of tennis balls were reported, and local officials
said a string of villages had suffered considerable damage along a 25 km stretch
of road heading from Breclav to Hodonin, to the north-east. In the village of
Valtice, on the other side of Breclav, Mayor Pavel Trojan said almost every
building had been damaged by a bombardment of hail.
Severe
storms, including hail, heavy rain, and gale-force winds hit parts of Germany
Switzerland, and France, triggering widespread flooding and damage (28th-29th).
In Germany, several road tunnels were flooded and rail services were suspended
around the city of Stuttgart on Monday night, according to police and rail
operator Deutsche Bahn. Photos and videos of the event showed floodwaters
gushing down the streets, while car windscreens were smashed by huge hailstones.
Emergency services across the southern states of Rheinland-Palatinate and
Baden-Wuerttemberg reported hundreds of emergency calls, including for flooded
cellars, downed trees, and landslides. In the evening, strong winds tore off a
part of the roof of the Stuttgart Opera while roughly 250 people were still
inside after a song recital.
ASIA
India's largest city Mumbai registered a total of 715.3 mm of rain during 8-12
June - the June average is 126.1 mm. Heavy downpours are expected to continue
until June 17. This year, the city may overtake its all-time June record of
1,106.7 mm set in 2015.
Persistent heavy downpours have caused 13 rivers to rise to record levels in
parts of northeastern China (22rd). Several parts of northeastern
China have been hit by incessant heavy rains since last week, prompting
authorities to warn people of flooding as water levels in the region's rivers
reach historic levels. Five rivers, including the Luogu River, a section of the
upper reaches of Heilongjiang and its tributaries, Emur, Pangu, and Dobukur, a
tributary of the Nenjiang River, have all surpassed highs last recorded decades
ago. In some areas, flash flooding swept away bridges and submerged farms along
the riverbanks. According to China News, the current average precipitation in
the Heilongjiang River Basin is reportedly the highest since 1961. Since May,
the average rainfall in the basin has reached 155 mm, which is almost twice the
previous record.
AUSTRAILIA
At
least two people died after a deep low started affecting the state of Victoria,
Australia (9th). Severe weather, including torrential rain, snow, and
strong winds of over 120 km/h, prompted evacuations and rescues across the state
while downed power lines left more than 200,000 homes without electricity.
MEDITERRANEAN
A
major summer storm hit Greece, particularly the municipality of Attica, bringing
extremely heavy rain, lightning, and hail (11th). A month's worth of
rain fell in 40 minutes, causing traffic disruption across Athens and power
outages to wide swaths of the city. "The rainstorm, which produced what is
usually a month's worth of rain in Greece in just 40 minutes, caused major
traffic jams across Athens, and even left large swaths of the city without
power," the Greek Reporter reports. The average June rainfall in this region is
17 mm. Meanwhile, an intense hailstorm hit Psychiko, Agia Paraskevi, and many
areas in the northern suburbs.
SOUTH
AMERICA
Unseasonably low temperatures and snowfall were seen in Cordoba, Argentina (13th).
Snowfall here is a rare sight, with the last snowfall event in July 2007, and
only a few days earlier temperatures peaked at 27C.
ICELAND
Heavy,
unseasonal snow and sleet covered the northern and eastern parts of Iceland
today (13th). The snow was so heavy in some areas that tourists had
to be rescued after getting trapped. Temperatures also plummeted to freezing
levels.
MEXICO
At
least two people have died and around 6,000 people have been impacted in the
region of Isthmus of Tehuantepec in Oaxaca, Mexico, after intense rains caused
flooding and landslides (16th). The national meteorological service
reported that more than 440 mm of rain fell in a 48 hour period; the average
June rainfall is 173 mm.
UNITED
STATES
The
ongoing severe heatwave continues to grip the south-western states, with
temperatures exceeding 40C in a number of cities. Furnace Creek in Death Valley,
California, recorded a maximum temperature of 53.2C, which is a new world record
for the month and only 1.2C off the all-time global temperature record, 54.4C.
The following night also broke June records for the warmest night in North
America, with a low of 40.6C at Stovepipe Wells. Mexicali, in Mexico, also
recorded a high of 50C on 17 June, adding to the growing list of countries that
have hit 50C this year.
At
least 6 people have been injured and 16 homes heavily damaged after a
radar-confirmed tornado swept through suburban Chicago, Illinois at around 2309
LT (20th). The twister touched down near Woodridge and continued
toward Naperville.
Parts
of the US Pacific Northwest have been hit by a sweltering heatwave, with
temperatures in Portland, Oregon, at a record 108F (26th). The
National Weather Service (NWS) has issued excessive heat warnings and watches
across nearly all of Washington and Oregon state. Parts of California and Idaho
are also affected. Multnomah county, in Oregon, has warned of "life-threatening"
heat. Many cities have opened cooling centers for people to take shelter. Shops
have sold out of portable air conditioners and fans and a number of Covid
vaccination drives have been cancelled. NWS said that even hotter temperatures
are forecast on Sunday and Monday throughout the Pacific Northwest and Northern
Great Basin. It warned of "several more days of dangerous heat across the
northwest corner of the country as well as parts of western Nevada and
California". Temperatures in Seattle reached 101F making it the hottest June day
there on record.
MIDDLE
EAST
Severe
weather struck Saudi Arabia and Yemen, with flooding and hail reported in some
areas (17th-18th). On the 17th three people died in
Al-Shamaitin after being swept away by floodwaters. On the 18th the Taif region
was lashed by hailstorms and downward winds, causing traffic disruption and
significant flooding. In Yemen on the 17th, heavy rains triggered flooding in
the district of Al-Shamaitin, Taiz Governorate, in the south-west of the
country. Three children died after being carried away by the waters.
RUSSIA
Moscow
has seen its hottest June day for 120 years after the temperature hit 34.7C with
even hotter weather expected over the coming days (23rd). Russia's
weather service, Roshydromet, which blamed climate change for the soaring
temperatures. The weather service, which has kept records since 1881, is
forecasting temperatures above 35C on Thursday and Friday. Monday was the
hottest June since 1901.
Destructive rains and strong winds hit Moscow, Russia. Powerful gusts uprooted
trees and caused damage to cars on streets, while heavy rains triggered flooding
28th). The metro system halted some lines, while downpours caused
very low visibility. The main building of Moscow State University could not be
seen through the rain from street view. Lightning also caused a fire at a power
station outside the city. The severe weather came after an unusual heat covered
western Russia, causing temperatures to soar to a 120-year record of 34.8C.
BALKAN
A
severe thunderstorm accompanied by very strong winds and up to baseball-sized
hail hit the city of Pozega, Croatia and neighboring towns and villages, downing
trees and causing massive damage to homes, crops, and vehicles (25th).
Elderly citizens say they've never witnessed a hailstorm of this intensity. "The
city is broken, the roofs, the windows, the cars, there is almost no one without
something being damaged. We will propose to declare a natural disaster. It is
clear that help will be needed for all those who suffered these great damages.
The local community is not so financially powerful to fully repair the damage
and we will have to seek help from the national level," said Mayor Dr. Zeljko
Glavic. The storm came from the south and hit the region around 1400 UTC, after
several unusually hot days. It lasted only 15 minutes but the damage it made is
unprecedented. Hailstones ranged in size from 2.5 to 7 cm in diameter, and
larger.
CANADA
Canada
has recorded its highest ever temperature as the country's west and the US
Pacific north-west experienced an unprecedented heatwave (27th).
Lytton in British Columbia recorded 46.6C, breaking an 84-year-old record. A
"heat dome" of high pressure parked over the region has set new records in many
other areas. Lytton, which is about 250 km north-east of Vancouver, surged past
the previous Canadian record. That was set in two towns in Saskatchewan - Yellow
Grass and Midale - back in July 1937 at 45C. Lytton was not alone. More than 40
other spots in British Columbia set new site records.
Dozens
of people have died in Canada amid an unprecedented heatwave that has smashed
temperature records (29th). Police in the Vancouver area have
responded to more than 130 sudden deaths since Friday. Most were elderly or had
underlying health conditions, with heat often a contributing factor. Canada
broke its temperature record for a third straight day - 49.6C in Lytton, British
Columbia. The US north-west has also seen record highs - and a number of
fatalities.
In the
British Columbia village of Lytton the temperature eased slightly on the 31st,
raising hopes that the worst was over. But in the late afternoon, a wildfire
tore through the settlement 153 km north-east of Vancouver. The fire was in the
town and consuming buildings so quickly that residents weren't given advance
notice to evacuate. Residents saw the thick black smoke filling the valley,
grabbed what they could, and escaped. Within hours, most of the buildings had
been consumed by flames. While the unprecedented heat has ebbed slightly, the
people of Canada's western provinces are now confronting the grim effects of the
blistering temperatures including a surge in heat-related deaths and the growing
spectre of wildfires devouring bone-dry forests. The people of Lytton had been
warned of a fire, 123 acres in size, which was burning south of the village.
Officials watched warily as it grew and inched towards the community of 250.
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