Category: Posts EN

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.

 

Rare Tornado Strikes Cape Cod, Massachusetts!

Written by Team Morecast

 

For just the fourth time in the past seven decades, a destructive tornado rolled over portions of Cape Cod in southeast Massachusetts. Multiple tornado touchdowns were confirmed by the National Weather Service survey team in Yarmouth and Harwich. Other sections of the Cape saw destructive straight-line winds to 90 mph. Trees and powerlines were flattened, knocking out power to over 50,000 residents and vacationers, most of whom are still in the dark as of Tuesday night.

 

 

The storm responsible for the tornado was observed on regional radar much earlier in the day leaving the coast of New Jersey. It skirted eastern Long Island in the mid-morning, causing some sporadic gusty winds. However, the rotation tightened significantly as the storm crossed the open water south of coastal New England. By noon, it was moving back onshore on Cape Cod with widespread destructive wind gusts of 70-90 mph. Video evidence suggests the tornado itself may have started as a waterspout, only causing significant damage when it came on land. The roof of the Cape Sands Inn was almost totally ripped off (see video tweet below), just a year after it had been completely replaced.

 

 

 

Tornado activity on Cape Cod is generally very rare. This narrow strip of land lies between three relatively cool bodies of water, drastically limiting the opportunity for very warm, unstable air usually necessary for tornadic storm development. Only three other tornadoes have been reported since 1950, the most recent being a relatively weak waterspout that came ashore as an EF-0 at Woods Hole in October of last year. Analysis is ongoing, but preliminary indications are that the Tuesday twister will be rated a “high-end” EF-1 with winds of 110 mph. Lead photo courtesy Wikipedia contributor ShorebreakOz.

Scorching Temps Break Records over the Weekend, but Relief is at Hand

Written by Team Morecast

 

Much of the Midwest and East baked under abnormally hot temperatures that set numerous records this weekend. Heat index values of 110 deg F and higher made it feel much worse. Fortunately, a break is on the way in the form of showers and storms, although a few residents may have to bear the cost of the cooldown with spotty flash flooding likely.

 

Extreme heat warnings lit up much of the central and eastern US in the past several days. The chart at left shows peak temperatures and heat index values for Saturday and Sunday in the mid-Atlantic and Northeast. Keep in mind that heat index values above around 104 deg F can cause serious health impacts. Heat exhaustion becomes likely at these temperatures, and heat stroke is a major risk with prolonged outdoor activity. The demand on electrical supply at one point forced Con Edison, electricity provider for New York City, to shut the power off for several neighborhoods in Brooklyn in order to prevent a much larger outage.

 

 

Not only were afternoon temperatures at dangerously hot levels, overnight lows remained very warm as well. The chart above shows the numerous cities that set warm low temperature records on Saturday morning alone. Note the warmest readings occurred in the major cities, where asphalt retains heat longer than soil. It’s a great example of what’s referred to as the “urban heat island” effect. These sultry overnight temperatures can exacerbate health issues by disallowing any kind of break that the human body needs from hot conditions.

 

 

Fortunately, help is on the way. Already Sunday night, numerous showers and storms were moving along a front settling down into the Midwest and Northeast. This rain threat will continue through Monday. In fact, flash flood watches are in effect for much of this region. After the rain departs, temperatures will settle back down to warm but normal summertime levels.