Category: Posts EN

Record-Breaking Arctic Air Chills Midwest, Northeast USA!

Written by Team Morecast

 

A frigid Arctic air mass has settled across the northern tier from the Upper Midwest to the Northeast. Temperatures have plummeted to record-breaking low levels in multiple states. Unfortunately, the cold temperatures have proven deadly in some locations.

 

 

The initial surge was accompanied by gusty winds over the Upper Midwest on Tuesday night into Wednesday. That allowed wind chills to fall below minus 60 °F over a wide area (see map above provided by NOAA’s Weather Prediction Center). As we explained on Tuesday, wind chills of this magnitude will cause frostbite of exposed skin within a few minutes.

Winds diminished Wednesday night into Thursday morning. This reduced the magnitude of the wind chill, but allowed actual temperatures to bottom out. The map below shows Thursday morning low temperatures. At least three sites in Iowa and Illinois reported their lowest temperature readings ever. A trained weather observer in Mt. Carroll, IL reported a low of minus 38 °F. If officially verified, it would be the coldest temperature ever reported in the state of Illinois! The coldest low of the morning was in Cotton, Minnesota, at minus 56 °F, only four degrees from a state record there.

 

 

Some noteworthy impacts of the historic Arctic surge:

  • At least 7-10 deaths have been blamed on the extreme cold. A student of the University of Iowa was found unresponsive behind an academic hall and was later declared dead at the hospital.
  • Populations of the homeless and elderly are particularly vulnerable and the Chicago Transit Authority has turned some of their buses into mobile warming shelters.
  • Rolling power outages affected large portions of the Midwest due to the extraordinary demand on the electrical grid.
  • The governors of Michigan and Wisconsin both declared states of emergency and closed state offices.
  • The U.S. Postal Service suspended delivery operations in some areas.
  • Thousands of flights have been delayed or cancelled, especially in and out of Chicago’s O’Hare International, where Wednesday morning temperatures came within a few degrees of the all-time record low.

Lead photo courtesy flickr contributor Edward Stojakovic

Major Flooding Sweeps Homes, Livestock Away in Townsville, Queensville Region

Written by Team Morecast

 

Incessant heavy rainfall has caused rivers to rise to major flood levels along the northeast QLD coast. Homes have been inundated, forcing residents to evacuate. Some locations have seen a meter of rain in the past several days! Unfortunately, the rain shows no signs of slowing down soon.

 

 

The heavy rain band that caused serious flooding around Cairns and Daintree has shifted south and pounded the Townsville-to-Mackay coastline the past few days. Rainfall rates exceeding 25 mm/hr have been remarkably persistent. Many stations have reported daily rainfall totals exceeding 250 mm. The table above shows stations that have seen more than 700 mm since the weekend. Sandy Plateau is the winner thus far with 1089 mm. However, rainfall amounts for Thursday (31-Jan) are obviously only tallied for the first few hours of the day.

 

 

The graphic above shows the ingredients that have combined to create this near-biblical flood event. A deep, stationary low over northern Queensland is providing favorable wind flow patterns at all levels of the atmosphere. Tropical moisture is being dragged into the coast from the warm Coral Sea. This moist onshore flow is being enhanced by the near-coastal mountain ranges in the region. This pattern is expected to continue through at least Friday if not this weekend and beyond. Additional rainfall of 300-600+ mm is likely through early Saturday with more potentially in the longer range. Lead photo courtesy flickr user Sean Esopenko

Deadly Arctic Surge Expanding from the Upper Midwest to the Great Lakes!

Written by Team Morecast

 

The coldest air mass in decades is pressing east and southeast tonight from the Midwest to the Great Lakes. Temperatures have just fallen below zero °F in Chicago and may not rise back above until late Thursday or early Friday. Wind chills in the Windy City and elsewhere will plummet to life-threatening low levels through the next few days.

A chunk of frigid Arctic air has descended behind a deep upper-level trough from Canada into the central U.S. It will eventually expand to include the Great Lakes and Northeast by Wednesday into Thursday. Widespread snow cover will help temperatures fall well below zero across much of this region, as cold as the minus 40s °F over portions of the Upper Midwest. Low temperatures in Chicago the next two nights will be some of the coldest the city has ever recorded. The all-time record low of minus 27 °F at O’Hare International Airport will be threatened Wednesday night.

 

 

Winds will remain somewhat gusty at least through tonight into Wednesday. The combination of winds and frigid temperatures will plunge wind chills into the minus 50s and 60s (see graphic above from the National Weather Service). The graphic below shows the dangerous health effects associated with this kind of extreme cold. Wind chills in the forecast range of the next few days will lead to frostbite of exposed skin within just a few minutes. Prolonged outdoor activity should be avoided if at all possible! Fortunately, a rapid warm-up will defrost much of the region late in the week and into this weekend.

 

 

Historic Flooding Hammers Northeastern Queensland, Australia

Written by Team Morecast

 

The remnants of a monsoonal low continue to pump tropical moisture into portions of northeastern Queensland. Some stations have reported upwards of 500 mm of rain in the past several days! Unfortunately, the heavy rain will continue along the coast and near-coastal ranges from Townsville to Mackay. Serious flooding will continue to threaten the region (see tweet links below).

 

 

 

 

The tropical low in question is tapping into rich Coral Sea moisture. North to northeast winds are pushing this moisture onto the coast and up into the mountains nearby, enhancing rainfall rates. This process began near Cairns last week and has slowly migrated south. The Daintree area among others has seen record-setting rainfall totals, leading to major river flooding.

 

 

For the next several days, the tropical rain band will pound the coast between Townsville and Mackay, QLD (see map above). This area has already seen 200 to as much as 500 mm. Additional rainfall amounts locally as high as 500-600 mm are likely! Flash flooding will be widespread, and runoff from the rainfall will lead to rapid and dangerous rises in area rivers. Lead photo courtesy flickr user Timothy Swinson.