• June 2016 Global Weather Highlights

    From jgmunley55@gmail.com@21:1/5 to All on Fri Jul 8 10:25:30 2016
    GLOBAL WEATHER HIGHLIGHTS

    JUNE 2016

    UNITED STATES

    The storms that hit New Jersey in the morning (2nd) brought heavy rains and strong winds that knocked down trees and power lines. No injuries were reported. But the storm knocked the roof off a Camden County College building and caused a partial roof
    collapse at an Atlantic City apartment building. Rides at the Great Adventure amusement park in Jackson were briefly shuttered after the park lost power. And Camden Riverline service was briefly suspended between the Pennsauken Transit Center and Route
    73 in Pennsauken due to a downed tree blocking the tracks. Roughly 30,000 people had no power as of late Wednesday afternoon.

    A very wet spring season continued for parts of the central United States this week resulting in swollen rivers, evacuations, traffic problems and several fatalities. In southeastern Texas, the Brazos River in Richmond reached a record flood stage of 54
    feet. Elsewhere along the river, about 150 people had to be evacuated in Rosenberg, Texas. Unprecedented water levels were observed in the northern part of the town. Nine soldiers were killed after their vehicle overturned at a low-water crossing near
    Fort Hood, Texas on Thursday. The bodies of four missing soldiers were recovered on Friday, according to the Fort Hood Press Center.

    Nearly two dozen people died in West Virginia as a result of extreme flooding that inundated portions of the state on Thursday and Friday (23rd-24th). On Monday (27th), officials announced that the death toll had been lowered to 23 after two people who
    were presumed dead were found alive. A total of 32,170 homes and businesses remained without power, according to the report. "The amount of rain that recently fell on parts of West Virginia and southern Virginia exceeded a once-in-a-century event for the
    specific area and resulted in catastrophic flooding in some communities," according to AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Alex Sosnowski. "Radar estimates indicated 6 to 10 inches of rain fell on some locations in 24 hours," he said. Extensive damage was
    reported and Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin declared a state of emergency for 44 counties, including all but the northern and eastern panhandles. He also authorized the deployment of up to 150 members of the state's National Guard. "The flooding we experienced
    Thursday and into [Friday] is among the worst in a century for some parts of the state," Tomblin said.

    Very hot weather across the Southwest challenged all-time record highs and provided ideal conditions for burgeoning wildfires this week. Highs soared well above 100 degrees Fahrenheit in many cities during the first half of the week. Phoenix recorded its
    fifth highest all-time temperature on Sunday, hitting 118F; Las Vegas (115F) and Death Valley (126F) each set new daily record highs on Monday. Blythe, California, about 200 miles east of Los Angeles, set all-time record highs on consecutive days after
    hitting 124F on Monday and 126F on Tuesday. At least five hikers died while hiking in Arizona as temperatures approached record high levels.

    EUROPE

    At least five people died in flooding across France and Germany (2nd), authorities say. Search teams in the Bavarian town of Simbach am Inn found the bodies of three people who had been trapped in a house and a woman was found dead by a nearby stream. In
    central France an 86-year-old woman lost her life. Dozens of towns have been inundated and people have been saved by helicopter. Forecasters say waters are expected to keep rising for several days. The floods are thought to have caused substantial damage.
    The worst affected area in southern Germany is the district of Rottal Inn, where a disaster centre has been established. In the town of Triftern, rivers and streams burst their banks. Floodwaters dragged along cars, trees and furniture from flooded
    homes. In many places the water reached several metres above street level. The inhabitants, surprised by the sudden flooding, had to be rescued by helicopter. However, 250 children who had been trapped in a school in Triftern over Tuesday night were able
    to leave the building on Wednesday evening, officials said. A further 350 pupils in Simbach am Inn were also brought to safety and a refugee shelter in the town was evacuated. The floods were also declared an emergency in the historic town of Passau, on
    the border with Austria, the scene of massive flooding three years ago. In nearby Pfarrkirchen more than 35 mm fell in the space of six hours on Wednesday, according to DWD. In France, the town of Nemours, near Paris, had to be evacuated. Interior
    Minister Bernard Cazeneuve said emergency workers had carried out more than 8,000 rescue operations over two days between the Belgian border and the Burgundy region. Central France has seen some of its worst flooding in 100 years. The Loiret area
    received the average rainfall of six weeks in three days. The high level of the Seine in Paris led to the closure of many promenades, amid fears the water could rise another meter in coming days. Some 10,000 emergency call-outs have been made by fire
    services nationwide in France since Sunday.

    A house has been struck by lightning and several others flooded during torrential downpours in parts of Scotland (7th). The band of heavy rain also caused travel problems, flooding a number of routes in the Scottish Borders. Firefighters were called to a
    property in Mayfield, Midlothian, after it was hit by lightning. No-one was hurt but the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service sent five appliances to the scene to deal with roof damage. Three people were trapped in their cars after being submerged in flash
    floods in south-east London. Luton Airport warned flash flooding in the local area had hit the power supply to the airport and wider vicinity. The Environment Agency said 1.4 inches (3.5cm) of rain fell in London in one hour. Elsewhere, a man and a boy
    are in a critical condition and a girl is seriously ill after they were struck by lightning in Lisburn, County Antrim, in Northern Ireland. Bedfordshire Police said it was currently only able to respond to life-threatening emergencies in Dunstable town
    centre due to floodwater. In south London, flash floods hit Mitcham, Croydon and Wallington. The road near Wallington Station was under two meters of flood water, the fire brigade said. Firefighters were called to London Road in Croydon after lightning
    struck several buildings. The brigade said it attended a small fire, however, it was out within 30 minutes. Trees, billboards and telephone poles were also set on fire by the lightning. Between 01:00 and 16:00 on Tuesday, the Met Office recorded 47 mm of
    rainfall at Kenley Airfield in Surrey, 29.6 mm in Ravensworth in north Yorkshire and 21.2 mm in Lough Fea in Northern Ireland.

    A massive thunderstorm hit Brabant on Thursday evening (23rd). The southeast of the province bore the brunt of the storm with lightning flashes lighting the night sky and giant hailstones falling from the sky. The size of the hail stones ranged from 3 to
    5 cm in diameter, Omroep Brabant reports. Drivers on the A2 highway in Valkenswaard had to find cover under overpasses. According to the broadcaster, there were reports of damage from numerous municipalities in Zuidoost-Brabant. Roof were tiles blown off,
    cars' windows broken and house windows broken in Lierop, Valkenswaard and Westerhoven, among others. In addition to the massive storm, Brabant also had its first tropical day of the year on Thursday, with afternoon temperatures reaching 32 degrees.

    The most intense June heat wave in more than a decade for some parts of Germany has been replaced with cooler air and no return of heat is in sight. After reaching 35C on Friday and 33C on Saturday, Berlin finally had some relief on Sunday as
    temperatures climbed to only 24C.

    277 mm of rain fell at the Limburg (Netherlands) weather station at Ysselstein, a new national record for the month of June (30th). In the southeast of the country many places recorded over 200 mm of rain.

    AUSTRAILIA

    The death toll from a powerful storm which lashed Australia's east coast and left homes hanging over the edge of the sea rose to four Tuesday, with three people still missing (4th-5TH). Torrential rains caused flooding across New South Wales over the
    weekend, with three people dying after their vehicles were swept away in rising waters. In Sydney, high winds and huge seas caused coastal erosion which washed away beachfront lawns and damaged homes. The storm then swept south to Victoria and the island
    state of Tasmania, where one woman died after her house was inundated and where two other people are still missing after being swept away by floodwaters. In New South Wales, where the rain has eased, waves which on the weekend punched holes into surfside
    buildings and in one case swept an in-ground swimming pool onto the beach, caused further damage. In the northern Sydney suburb of Collaroy, up to 50 meters of the beach had been lost, coastal engineer Ian Turner told AFP, with officials concerned about
    the safety of seven waterfront homes. The Insurance Council of Australia said as of early Tuesday, insurers had received 14,500 claims across Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria and Tasmania, with estimated insured losses of Aus$56 million (US$41.6
    million).

    Parts of Queensland's south-east are mopping up after storms flooded homes, swamped cars and generated a mini-tornado that tore the roofs from two unit blocks (19th). There were no reports of injuries, but the damage bill from Sunday's deluge was
    expected to be significant and the wild weather sparked more than 300 calls for help. People in Mooloolaba's Akeringa Place said a mini-tornado swept through, leaving chaotic scenes in its wake. Police said two unit blocks lost their roofs and power
    poles were snapped bringing live wires down on to the road.

    TASMANIA

    Northern Tasmania is grappling with the most devastating flooding it has experienced in decades after a severe weather system that devastated Queensland and New South Wales hit the state (6th). As night fell, police held grave concerns for two elderly
    people reported missing in the Tasmanian floodwaters, which continue to rise. By Monday night more than 100 people in Latrobe in Tasmania had been evacuated by helicopter and boat, including a family of three rescued from the roof of their car. Residents
    in St Leonards, in Launceston, had also been evacuated. A flood watch is in place for all Tasmanian river basins, with some areas experiencing in excess of 200 mm of rainfall.

    ASIA

    After a delay of almost seven days, Southwest Monsoon on Tuesday finally hit Kerala, marking the official commencement of rainy season in the country, as heavy showers in the southern state left one person dead. It has also advanced into most parts of
    Tamil Nadu, some parts of south interior Karnataka and remaining parts of south Bay of Bengal, according to IMD. Several parts of Kerala have been receiving heavy rains since Monday night which left a 36-year-old man dead due to landslip in Idukki
    district of Kerala. To declare the onset of monsoon over Kerala, the IMD has three important parameters. The 14 stations at which the rainfall is being monitored for declaring the Monsoon onset over Kerala have reported widespread rainfall for the last
    48 hours with more than 60 per cent of stations recording rainfall on June 7 and 8. The Westerly/ West-southwesterly winds of the order of 30-40 kmph were observed upto 600 hPa (approximately upto 4.5 km) over the south Arabian Sea. The satellite (INSAT-
    3D) derived Outgoing Longwave Radiation value was less than 200 W/m2 on June 8. "All these three conditions got fulfilled for the first time today i.e. June 8 since the monitoring was started by IMD from May 10. As a result, the Southwest Monsoon has set
    in over Kerala, Tuesday, June 8, 2016." The usual date for onset of monsoon is June 1. The season is also expected to witness "above normal" rainfall after two consecutive seasons of weak monsoon.

    A powerful tornado and hailstorm has killed at least 78 people on the outskirts of an eastern Chinese city (23rd). Nearly 500 people were injured, 200 of them critically, when the storm hit a densely populated area of farms and factories near Yancheng,
    in Jiangsu province, north of Shanghai. The state broadcaster CCTV showed people carrying the injured to hospitals, cars and trucks lying upside down, streetlamps snapped in half and electricity pylons crumpled and lying on their side. Power and
    telephone communications were knocked out over a broad area and roads were blocked. The reports said the tornado struck at about around 2.30pm and hit Funing and Sheyang counties hardest, with winds of up to 125 km/h.

    Thunderstorms brought heavy rain to Karachi and surroundings parts of Pakistan on Tuesday and Wednesday (29th). Rainfall on Tuesday totaled 1.71 inches, the highest single-day total since September 2011. Additional rain falling on Wednesday brought an
    additional 0.79 of an inch to the city for a total of 2.50 inches in a 24-hour time period. This is more rain than was reported during the entire 2015 calendar year and almost as much as was reported in 2014-2015 combined. The recent rain is responsible
    for at least nine deaths in southern Pakistan, including four in Karachi.

    TROPICAL

    Tropical Storm Colin made landfall near Deckle Beach in Taylor County, Florida, on Monday night. The storm then raced across northern Florida early Tuesday morning. Florida Gov. Rick Scott declared a state of emergency on Monday in preparation for the
    storm. Scott also activated the state's National Guard, with more than 6,000 guardsmen ready for deployment. Portions of the Florida Panhandle received up to 10 inches of rain in under 12 hours on Monday. As Colin rolled ashore, the U.S. Coast Guard
    rescued two people from a sinking houseboat in Bradenton Beach, Florida, according to a local news outlet.




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