Category: Posts EN

Damaging Winter Wind Storm Rakes Tasmania!

Written by Team Morecast

 

Damaging winds continue to slam much of Tasmania and coastal portions of Victoria and New South Wales. Some of the highest gusts in years have knocked down power lines and torn roofs from homes. Another in the series of powerful cold fronts will sweep across the region later on Wednesday.

 

 

Officials in Tasmania were forced to upgrade emergency response units to their highest alert level on Tuesday after numerous reports of wind damage, including roofs ripped from homes. Boats were torn from their moorings and set adrift at Sandy Bay and Dodges Ferry. The Bureau of Meteorology weather station at Ellerslie Road in Hobart reported a gust to 120 kph, the highest from that site in years. Other stations reported even higher gusts, as high as 148 kph at Maatsuyker Island in the south. Not only the maximum gusts but the persistence of high winds has been extraordinary. The Maatsuyker Island station reported gusts exceeding 100 kph continuously for more than 30 hours!

 

 

The region is experiencing a relative lull as of the time of this writing, but winds will likely increase again on Wednesday evening into the overnight. The strongest winds with this surge could affect coastal eastern Victoria and southern New South Wales with gusts up to 130+ kph. The damaging wind threat will only really subside as we head into Thursday afternoon. Lead photo courtesy flickr contributor Martin Lopatka.

Severe Squall Line Whips Across High Plains Tuesday!

Written by Team Morecast

 

High heat and humidity provided plenty of fuel for building storms over the High Plains on Tuesday afternoon. A few isolated supercells eventually coalesced into a raging squall line that slammed south along the Colorado-Kansas border. Destructive winds, tornadoes, and record-breaking hail were the results.

 

 

The atmosphere in the early to mid-afternoon became very unstable thanks to temperatures that soared into the 80s and lower 90s (lower 30s deg C). Isolated storms built quickly into severe supercells. Tornadoes were reported around 3-4 pm CT, including a rare phenomenon, twin tornadoes spinning down from the same storm (see tweeted pics above). Widespread wind gusts up to 80+ mph (130+ kph) blew over dozens of semi-trailers and powerlines along I-70 in northwest Kansas (see tweet pics below). Officials were forced to close the interstate temporarily to allow for clean-up, a rare event outside of blizzard season. Extremely large hail was also reported with this storm, possibly as large as five inches (12 cm) in diameter (see tweet pics at bottom). Once verified, it will be a new Colorado state record. It comes only a day after the old record of 4.5 inches was seriously challenged by four inch hail that fell near Otis.

 

 

Double Typhoon Trouble in the Western Pacific!

Written by Team Morecast

 

Powerful Typhoon Lekima swept into portions of eastern China early Saturday morning. Flooding rains and damaging winds ravaged a region including Shanghai, the world’s most populous city. Fortunately, Lekima is weakening as it skirts the eastern side of the Yellow Sea. Attention now turns to Tropical Storm Krosa, a threat to impact southern Japan later this week.

 

 

 

Typhoon Lekima made landfall near the city of Taizhou, south of Shanghai, around 1 a.m. Saturday morning. Reports of winds to 150 kph have been received, leading to millions of residents losing power. Thousands of flights and train trips have been cancelled, and the Disneyland in Shanghai was forced to close for the first time since opening in 2016. Major flooding and landslides have also occurred. One landslide caused a dam failure in Zhejiang province, catastrophically flooding a rural village of 120 people. At least 22 deaths have been reported from this village alone.

 

 

As the Lekima clean-up begins, forecasters are now watching Tropical Storm Krosa. Krosa has been nearly stationary over the past day or so over the open Pacific, but a northwestward motion will increase shortly (see forecast map above). Krosa’s intensity has been limited by the slow movement, but it will be moving into somewhat more favorable conditions. Some slow intensification is expected, allowing Krosa to regain typhoon status. A landfall over southern Japan appears likely by later this week, perhaps Thursday. Damaging winds, flooding rains, and a significant storm surge will be threats.

Typhoon Lekima Skirts the Ryukyu Islands, Now Targeting Shanghai!

Written by Team Morecast

 

Powerful Typhoon Lekima developed rapidly earlier this week, peaking at category four status yesterday with winds to 200 kph. Around that time, the typhoon passed close to Ishikagi, an island in the Ryukyu group. Reports of wind gusts up to 160 kph were received. The typhoon is now moving northwest over the South China Sea. Coastal China will suffer a landfall in the next day or so with the megalopolis of Shanghai seeing heavy impacts Saturday!

 

 

Some dry air has begun to corrode the cyclone, disrupting the eye and resulting in some weakening. However, conditions remain favorable for a severe typhoon to move close to the coast of China by Saturday morning. Flooding rains, destructive winds, and a deadly storm surge will accompany the storm. The city of Shanghai, the most populous city in the world (pop: 26,000,000+), will see the worst of the storm on Saturday. By the time the typhoon approaches, it should be significantly weaker. However, major impacts are still likely. Lead photo courtesy the UK Dept for International Development.