Category: Posts EN

Wildfire Near Redding, California Still Raging Thanks to Hot, Dry Weather

Written by Team Morecast

 

The so-called Carr, CA wildfire that was sparked earlier this week has consumed more than 80,000 acres and 500 homes. Tragically, it’s also claimed five lives, including two firefighters and two young children along with their great-grandmother while they were preparing to evacuate. The forecast calls for continued hot, dry weather in the upcoming week. That’s bad news for the thousands of fire-fighting personnel who have only managed to contain five percent of the blaze so far.

 

 

The last few months have been almost totally dry around Redding. The last measurable rainfall recorded at Redding Airport was on May 25-26, and before that you have to go back to April 28th. Adding to that is the above-normal temperatures that have plagued much of the West for weeks. High temperatures in Redding have averaged over 103 degrees in the month of July (see graph above). On only three days was the high less than 96 degrees. The forecast calls for highs well above 100 degrees through the next week under sunny skies (forecast below).

 

 

A fire like the one raging near Redding is so large that it can create its own local weather effects. Pyrocumulus clouds created by large wildfires can tower tens of thousands of feet above the ground, inhibiting fire-fighting efforts and coordination from the air. The tremendous heat generated by large wildfires creates strong inflowing winds. These winds, combined with the updraft created by hot, rising air can cause fire whirlwinds in a process not much different than tornadoes! Lead photo courtesy USAF – Master Sgt. Christopher DeWitt.

 

 

Jongdari To Strengthen And Impact Japan As A Typhoon This Weekend

Written by Meteo Expert Josef Lukas

Jongdari is gathering strength across the West Pacific Ocean this week. The cyclone will take a track toward Japan and it is expected to impact the country this weekend.

Environmental conditions such as low wind shear and warm ocean water temperatures of 30-32C will allow Jongdari to become a formidable typhoon by Friday and Saturday.

Steering winds will take Jongdari toward the northeast through Friday, however, a blocking high pressure system over the north-central Pacific Ocean will then force the cyclone toward the northwest and into Japan on Saturday.

Jongdari Impacts

Wind gusts as Jongdari comes ashore will top out in the 130-160 kph range with isolated higher gusts. These speeds will bring down trees, cause power outages, and cause damage and destruction of some property.

The Tokyo metro area will be on the northern fringe of Jongdari’s wind shield. Gusts to around 70 kph will be possible which can still down trees and power lines and cause minor property damage.

Heavy, tropical rains will accompany Jongdari as the cyclone moves across southern Japan this weekend. Up to 200 mm of rain is expected across communities near the landfall location for Jongdari. Rainfall in the mountains will be locally higher than what is depicted on the rainfall map above.

Japan has been in the midst of a record-breaking heat wave that has been responsible for several dozen fatalities as well as disruptions in power. In addition, at the beginning of the month much of southern Japan was inundated with heavy rain that totaled more than 500 mm in a span of just 3 days. The impending impacts from Jongdari this weekend will not come as welcomed news.

Japan City Sets National All-time Record High

Written by Meteo Expert Josef Lukas

July has turned into an excessively hot month this year across much Japan. The city of Kumagaya has set a new national all-time record high according to the Japan Meteorological Agency. Kumagaya sits about 60 km (37 miles) northwest of Tokyo.

Many other daily and monthly temperature records have been challenged or broken over the last week as oppressive heat has controlled the country. Temperature statistics from a few selected cities on Monday are shown below.

In Nogoya, a city with a population of about 2.3 million people, their July temperature record has been broken 3 separate times this month (18/7, 22/7, & 23/7). Records in Nogoya go back to 1946.

The intense heat across Japan is due to a hot dome of high pressure anchored across the Sea of Japan. The position of this high has also brought extreme heat to the Korean Peninsula over the last week.

There is some relief in sight from the high temperatures as the workweek continues.

The hot dome of high pressure over the Sea of Japan will shift westward into eastern China by this weekend. This movement will open the door to more clouds, precipitation chances, and most importantly relief from the extreme heat later this week.

Deadly Flooding in Northern Vietnam Thanks to Slow-Moving Tropical Storm

Written by Team Morecast

 

A season’s worth of rainfall has fallen over the past week in portions of northern Vietnam. A slow-moving, back-tracking tropical storm has caused severe flash flooding. Many homes and roads have been destroyed in several provinces, and the death toll has risen to at least 20.

 

 

 

 

 

Tropical Storm Son-Tinh developed last week over the Western Pacific. The storm never gained much intensity as it moved west, skirting the northern Phillippines before crossing over China’s Hainan Island. It gained some strength, though, as it crossed the Gulf of Tonkin on 18-July. At the same time it slowed down and performed a three-day loop over northern Vietnam and adjacent Laos. The storm has been persistent and is now moving back over Hainan Island as of Tuesday morning.

 

 

The creeping progress of the storm has meant days of heavy, tropical rains. Above is a map with the storm track and select rainfall amounts (in mm) between 16-July and 22-July. The 466.9-mm total at Vinh is roughly equivalent to their normal rainfall from June, July, and August combined! The worst flooding has occurred in Yen Bai, a province of interior northern Vietnam characterized by steep mountains, increasing the danger of land and mudslides. Fortunately, the heavy rains subsided later on Monday.