Category: Posts EN

Brutal Heat Bakes the Western US, Intensifying the Extreme Drought

Written by Team Morecast

 

A heat wave is pushing temperatures to all-time record marks from the Intermountain West into interior California and the Desert Southwest. Triple digit heat has expanded as far north as Idaho and Montana, and as far east as Iowa and Missouri. Several cities have seen or will see record-shattering temperatures. The high on Tuesday in Salt Lake City was 107 deg F (42 deg C), tying the all-time record. Only twice before (2002 and 1960) has this mark been reached. It’s all the more impressive since these records are being broken in mid-June, typically a significantly cooler month than July and August. Las Vegas nearly matched their all-time record of 117 deg F (47 deg C) on Wednesday afternoon. Billings, Montana saw temps reach 105 deg F (41 deg C) on Tuesday, hottest ever recorded in the month of June. Temperatures may get even warmer for some areas from Thursday into Friday. The forecast for Phoenix, Arizona is for highs to exceed 115 deg F (46 deg C) on four consecutive days, tying the all-time record.

 

 

 

This blast furnace of a heat wave is only exacerbating an already critical drought emergency in the Southwest. The current drought dates back to the fall of 2020. Little to no rainfall has fallen in the past several months. As spring has turned to summer, this has created a vicious cycle of increasingly dry soil contributing to hotter air temperatures, which leads to drier soils, and so on. The crippling drought is putting intense pressure on freshwater supplies. Lake Mead, the largest reservoir in the US, provides fresh water for farms and homes from Nevada to Mexico. Steadily increasing water consumption and climate warming have put a strain on lake levels that dates back at least two decades. However, the recent hot, dry weather has accelerated the process. June is already the peak of irrigation demand for farmland in the Southwest and recently the lake level has been dropping up to a foot per week. It’s currently at 36% of full capacity, the lowest since the lake was originally filled in the 1930s. This has triggered sweeping restrictions on water usage in the Southwest. Federal officials promise even tighter restraints if the lake levels continue to drop as forecasts indicate they will.

Major Winter Storm Smashes Southeast Australia with Flooding Rains, Winds, and Snow

Written by Team Morecast

 

A powerful early winter storm is crawling up the southeast coast of Australia today, bringing abnormally cold and moist air into Victoria and New South Wales. A steady stream of heavy rain has been funneling into the Gippsland region of eastern Victoria since Wednesday. Rainfall totals there have exceeded 200 mm in many areas, leading to serious flooding. Rivers and creeks have risen swiftly overnight with several gauges at major flood levels, the highest in nearly a decade. These surging waters are flooding homes and businesses in many towns, leading to hurried evacuations. The State Emergency Service (SES) has fielded nearly 6,000 calls for assistance. Numerous roads are now closed, and officials are concerned that major arteries like the Princes Highway could be next. Most of the heaviest rainfall has already fallen, but runoff from smaller tributaries could cause significant flooding issues along the region’s bigger rivers in the coming days.

 

 

Winds have also been a widespread hazard late Wednesday into Thursday morning over central and eastern Victoria, including the Melbourne metro. Gusts in the city peaked in the 70-100 kph range, but surrounding higher elevations saw gusts as high as 125 kph. These high winds combined with soil weakened by the heavy rains have led to numerous downed trees and power lines. Hundreds of thousands are reported without power. Flooded roads will only delay repair and power restoration efforts. The story further north in the Dividing Ranges of eastern New South Wales is anomalous low-level snow. Parts of the capital district of Canberra saw unusual snow flurries with a dusting of accumulation on Wednesday. However, surrounding higher elevations are seeing much heavier totals, upwards of 50 cm by week’s end. The heavy snows combined with high winds are causing dangerous blizzard conditions with high drifts and near-zero visibilities. Lead photo courtesy Facebook user Melina Bath.

 

Cyclone Seroja Bearing Down on the Western Australia Coast

Written by Team Morecast

 

Residents of Western Australia are bracing for the arrival of Cyclone Seroja later this weekend. Evacuation orders have been issued for the outer islands. Seroja has been meandering over the Indian Ocean for the past few days, but is expected to turn southeast and pick up speed later today. Seroja will make landfall near Geraldton before racing diagonally across south-central WA.

 

 

 

Seroja affected Timor and Indonesia last weekend as a slow-moving tropical low. Torrential rainfall lead to severe flooding and landslides, destroying numerous homes and roads. As of Friday, the death toll had risen up to 167 in Indonesia alone with dozens more killed in East Timor. Thousands more have been left homeless. The prime minister of East Timor, Taur Matan Rauk, called the floods one of the most devastating natural disasters in decades.

 

 

Cyclone Seroja has intensified this week over the favorably warm waters of the eastern Indian Ocean. Another short-lived cyclone named Odette was recently downgraded just to the northeast. Odette is being absorbed by the larger and more powerful Seroja. Once this process is complete, Seroja will accelerate towards the Western Australia coast, making landfall late Sunday near Geraldton. As it picks up speed, the main threat will increasingly be damaging winds, especially near and north of the track of the cyclone (see graphic above). Gusts up to 150 kph will lead to downed trees and powerlines. Power outages will be common, some long-lived, especially in rural areas. There will be a significant storm surge as well, especially near or just north of Geraldton and up into the Shark Bay region. Heavy rain and freshwater flooding will be less of a concern due to the fast forward motion of the storm, but some minor flooding could occur in poor drainage areas.

Days of Torrential Rain Lead to Major Flooding in New South Wales!

Written by Team Morecast

A persistent pattern of heavy rainfall has led to record-breaking rainfall totals over much of eastern New South Wales in the past week. Although the rain has finally diminished, runoff is filling up rivers, leading to major flooding. Thousands of evacuations have been forced to keep local residents safe from the roiling floodwaters.

 

 

An upper low was nearly stationary over northern New South Wales from late last week through the weekend. Meanwhile, persistent onshore flow brought rich tropical moisture in from the north and east. This combination led to several days worth of abundant rainfall. Some stations in eastern NSW saw 5-day totals approach 1,000 mm (see table above). The station at Redoak tallied 371 mm in one day! These widespread heavy rains have already lead some rivers to rise to major flooding levels. Whole communities have been inundated, forcing at least 18,000 people to evacuate their homes. And humans aren’t the only species fleeing to avoid the rising waters (see tweet below).

 

 

 

Although the rain has come to an end, water will continue to flow into the major rivers with additional rises through the next few days. Additional evacuations are standing by to evacuate as a result. Clean-up is predicted to last for several weeks, if not through April. Agricultural authorities suggest the soaking rains will hamper summertime crop yields, but could prove beneficial in the longer term for wheat and other fall to winter crops.