Author: Meteo Expert Josef Lukas

Keni Acquires Severe Tropical Cyclone Status; Batters Fiji

Written by Meteo Expert Josef Lukas

Cyclone Keni strengthened into a severe tropical cyclone on Tuesday. Keni is expected to batter Fiji with heavy rain, damaging winds and coastal flooding Tuesday into Tuesday night.

In anticipation of the storm, the Fiji National Disaster Management Office briefed government officials and tweeted out a statement saying they are prepared for the cyclone.

Cyclone Impacts

Keni is expected to drop between 50-100 mm of rain on the northwest side of Fiji’s largest island, Viti Levu. The southeast side of Viti Levu will see less rain because of downsloping winds from the mountains in the middle of the island.

Winds of 80-100 kph are expected across Viti Levu, particularly across the southern part of the island which will be closer to the central of the cyclone.

The good news for Fiji is that Keni will be a quick moving cyclone. On Wednesday, some sunshine will return to the area as Keni marches southeast away from the country.

 

Keni is the seventh named cyclone of the South Pacific cyclone season, which runs from November 1st to April 30th each year.

Severe Storms Damage Hangar At Houston Texas Airport

Written by Meteo Expert Josef Lukas

Severe thunderstorms tore across Texas on Tuesday and Tuesday evening bringing damaging winds and large hail to parts of the state.

Houston’s Hobby airport was hit especially hard with a severe thunderstorm late Tuesday evening. A preliminary storm survey done by the national weather service concluded that winds reached 80 mph (70 kts) at the airport just before midnight.

Satellite imagery from Tuesday evening shows bright white cloud tops moving through Houston, indicating severe thunderstorms

Those wind speeds caused damage to a private hangar on the airport grounds. 8 planes at the hangar suffered damage, and all totaled damage estimates at the airport are expected to be in the millions of dollars.

The severe weather in Houston was part of a larger severe weather outbreak that stretched from Texas to Pennsylvania. There were several reports of tornadoes, as well as hundreds of large hail and damaging wind reports from 16 states.

Large hail up to the size of baseballs balls (7 cm) fell near Pangburg, Arkansas Tuesday afternoon. Many reports of wind gusts ranging from 60-70 mph (52-61 kts) were observed, causing additional damage and even several injuries.

Severe Thunderstorms Targets Southern Plains & Ohio Valley Tuesday

Written by Meteo Expert Josef Lukas

A strong low pressure system will move across the center of the US on Tuesday igniting scattered severe thunderstorms from Texas to Ohio.

Tuesday’s severe weather risk

The risk for severe thunderstorms will begin along a cold front during the midday hours across northeast Texas, southeast Oklahoma, and up into central Missouri. As the cold front tracks eastward, it will move into an air mass that is increasingly favorable for the develop of gusty to severe thunderstorms.

Damaging winds and hail are the primary concerns with the strongest storms, however, frequent lightning and localized flash flooding can accompany almost any storm that develops.

Cities at risk for severe weather during the day Tuesday include: Dallas, Texas; Saint Louis, Missouri; and Indianapolis, Indiana.

The severe weather threat will shift eastward Tuesday evening to include cities such as Columbus, Ohio; Nashville, Tennessee; and Houston, Texas.

By later Tuesday night, most storms will have diminished below severe criteria.

April Snow Targets Mid-Atlantic, NYC

Written by Meteo Expert Josef Lukas

The calendar says April, but some communities across the northern Mid-Atlantic will wake up to snow Monday morning. No April fools joke!

The Details

A cold front crossed the area on Sunday bringing a fresh supply of chilly air from Canada. Meanwhile, a fast moving disturbance will move across Virginia and off the East Coast Monday morning.

A heavy, wet snow is expected to fall to the north of the track of the storm. The heaviest accumulations are expected from Pennsylvania eastward to central New Jersey and southeast New York state.

A map of expected snow totals Sunday night and Monday morning

This includes cities such as Pittsburgh, State College, and New York Sunday night into early Monday.

Most of the accumulations will occur on grassy and non-paved surfaces, however, if the snow comes down hard enough some roadways will become slushy and snow covered.

The snow is expected to affect the Monday morning commute from Philadelphia up to New York and into southern New England. The snow will be long gone by the Monday afternoon and evening commute.

For New York City, measurable April snow can happen, but they are not a common occurrence. Check out this list of the top 7 April snowstorms for New York dating back to 1868.