Category: Posts EN

Powerful Late Winter Cyclone Sweeps Across the Plains!

Written by Team Morecast

 

A large, historically strong winter storm is producing destructive impacts all the way from the Mexican to the Canadian borders. On the cold side, gusty winds are combining with heavy snow to produce a whiteout blizzard, closing numerous highways and interstates. To the south, hurricane-force wind gusts are blowing trees and powerlines over. Heavy rain and melting snow are resulting in flooding for portions of the Upper Midwest as well!

 

 

The storm intensified rapidly overnight Tuesday, rolling into the High Plains by early Wednesday. Numerous observation stations set new records for low pressure, readings usually associated with mature hurricanes. The extreme low pressure came with a surge of Arctic air north and west of the storm, producing very heavy snows up to two feet in spots. Winds also increased rapidly with widespread reports of gusts exceeding 70 mph (see map above). Colorado Springs reported a gust to 97 mph coinciding with heavy snow. The combination of heavy snow and high winds has brought prolonged blizzard conditions with near-zero visibilities and very high drifts. Travel has become virtually impossible with numerous highways and interstates closed from eastern Colorado to western Kansas, western Nebraska, and eastern Wyoming. Denver International Airport was completely closed down for much of the day with thousands of flights cancelled.

 

 

 

 

Gusts up to 100 mph or more have been reported south and east of the storm, blowing over trees, powerlines, and even some high-profile vehicles (see tweet video above). Amarillo, Texas reported wind gusts of 60-80 mph continuously for 8+ hours on Wednesday. Severe storms slammed central Texas from Tuesday afternoon into the overnight. Storm-induced wind gusts of 70-80 mph felled trees, powerlines, and semi trucks across the Dallas-Ft. Worth metro during the pre-dawn hours on Wednesday. A surge of warm Gulf moisture lifted all the way up to the Upper Midwest. Heavy rain showers affected the region on Wednesday, however the abnormally warm temperatures proved more harmful. Rapid snow melt quickly overloaded streams and rivers, resulting in flooding. Ice jams added to the flooding threat.

Deadly Cyclone Idai to Slam Mozambique Later This Week!

Written by Team Morecast

 

Tropical Cyclone Idai rapidly strengthened on Tuesday to Category Three status. It will continue to move over the very warm waters of the Mozambique Channel separating mainland Africa from Madagascar. This dangerous storm is expected to turn towards central Mozambique later in the week, bringing deadly winds, rains, and waves.

 

 

Flooding rains from the same storm system have been soaking portions of Malawi and northern Mozambique for the better part of two weeks. Dozens of lives have been lost already. Unfortunately, additional strengthening could occur in the next 24-36 hours and Idai may be a category four at landfall. That would make it one of the most powerful cyclones in the past 50 years to strike Mozambique. The major coastal city of Beira lies directly in the path of the cyclone. Much of the low-lying city could be inundated by a predicted storm surge of 5-10 feet. Destructive wind gusts up to 150 mph (kph) and flooding rainfall up to (mm) will also be major hazards. A cyclone of this magnitude will likely have devastating effects on Mozambique, whose population and industry is heavily concentrated near the coast. Lead satellite image courtesy NASA’s Earth Observatory.

Mid-South Tornadoes Kill Dozens, Worst Outbreak In Years!

Written by Team Morecast

 

Numerous tornadoes roared across portions of Alabama, the Florida panhandle, Georgia, and South Carolina on Sunday, March 3rd. Almost two dozen people lost their lives to one of the twisters alone, more deaths than were attributed to all tornadoes across the country throughout 2018. The outbreak ended a years-long stretch of relatively harmless tornado activity.

 

 

Seventy-five tornado reports were tallied by the Storm Prediction Center. Based on these reports, National Weather Service survey teams found 34 individual twisters had developed. By far the most significant mowed a path stretching almost 70 miles through parts of Alabama and Georgia. This tornado was at one point nearly a mile wide, boasting winds of 170 mph. It was the first EF4-rated tornado anywhere in the U.S. since one struck the town of Canton, Texas in April 2017. The death toll of 23 made it the deadliest single tornado since the EF5 that devastated Moore, Oklahoma in May 2013.

 

 

 

 

Officials blame the unusually high death toll in part on the prevalence of vulnerable mobile homes in the tornado’s path. Residents had ample warning of the approaching twister, but many had no sufficient sheltering options available. Other factors include the lack of emergency communication channels for some in the poverty-stricken community, and a sense of complacency due to previous unrealized tornado warnings. Lead photo courtesy Wikipedia contributor Matt Putzel.

More Heavy Rain and Mountain Snow for Oregon and Northern California!

Written by Team Morecast

 

A deep Pacific moisture tap continues to slam portions of the west coast. Heavy rain is flooding the lower elevations with crippling snow in the mountains. Rivers have surged to levels not reached in decades, while ski resorts face the unhappy prospect of having too much snow to operate.

The latest storm system dropped heavy snows even in the relatively low-lying Willamette Valley of central Oregon. An Amtrak train was stopped for 37 hours with 183 passengers on board by a downed tree due to the heavy snow just outside Oakridge, OR. Up to 18 inches of snow was reported in Eugene, one of the biggest storms on record. The storm then moved south into the northern half of California. Mt. Shasta reported upwards of 70 inches of accumulation in a 48-hour period. The snow was enough to bury ski lifts, shutting the popular ski resort there down. Similar accumulations pounded portions of the Sierra Nevada range. Squaw Valley ski resort has recorded 300 inches in the month of February, the snowiest month on record. For the season, they’ve seen 557 inches, or more than 46 feet!

 

 

 

The issue for lower elevations has been persistent heavy rain. West-facing foothills and coastal areas of northern California and southwest Oregon saw widespread 6-12 inch rainfall amounts since last week, locally higher (see map above). The Russian River at Guerneville rose from near 10 feet on Monday afternoon to more than 45 feet by Wednesday evening (see graphic below), flooding much of the town and forcing thousands to evacuate. Indeed, all roads in and out of Guerneville and nearby Monte Rio are now impassable, totally stranding any residents who stayed behind. Fortunately, the region will enjoy a few days of dry weather to begin to recover. Lead photo courtesy flickr contributor Peter Stevens.