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Deadly Hurricane Ian Heads Towards Florida

Written by Team Morecast

Hurricane Ian, the ninth storm of the 2022 Atlantic hurricane season, is now on a collision course with the central-west coast of Florida. Ian made landfall early on Tuesday morning in the Pinar Del Rio province of western Cuba. The storm roared ashore with winds of 125 mph (201 kph), which toppled power lines and damaged many homes. These winds are also responsible for delivering substantial damage to the heavily prized tobacco crops. The entire nation, or 11 million people, are currently without power in the wake of the storm, as the storm has caused the ailing power grid to fail. Ian is responsible for two deaths across the island so far.

Upon remerging in the Gulf of Mexico after departing Cuba, Ian has now explosively grown into a monster Category 4 storm, packing winds of 140 mph (225 kph). It is certainly possible that further strengthening is possible as Ian churns over water that is extremely warm, ranging from 85-90 degrees F (29-32 C), before a landfall on the west-central coast of Florida later on Wednesday. 2.5 million Floridians have been put under mandatory evacuations as the storm draws near. Ian is expected to bring widespread damaging winds to a large swath of the state, as the storm slows down after landfall. This slowing down will also lead to very high amounts of rain falling. Rainfall amounts between 10-15 inches (254-381 mm), with locally higher amounts of up to 25 inches (635 mm) will cause catastrophic flooding. A storm surge of up to 12 feet (3.6 m) is also possible along the coast.

As a whole, the state of Florida is no stranger to hurricanes, receiving the majority of all landfalls in the United States, however, the central-west coast of the state has been particularly lucky in recent years. Aside from Hurricane Charley, which devastated the Punta Gorda region in 2004, the remainder of the central-west coast has dodged many bullets. Tampa, the second largest city in the state, is a prime example, having not received a direct hit from a hurricane since 1921. It is possible Ian may break that streak, or in the very least bring more damage to the area than seen in quite some time. After leaving Florida in ruins, Ian is forecasted to move northward, and bring flooding rains to Georgia and the Carolinas by the weekend.

When all is said and done, it is very probable that the name Ian will be retired from the list of Atlantic hurricane names, as damages will likely top out in the billions of dollars. If this occurs, it would be the 13th I storm to be retired, falling into the category of most devastating storms in history which include: Ivan,  Irene, and Ida. The letter I has the most retired names associated with it. This is due to it being the ninth letter on the list, which usually coincides with the peak of activity in the season.

Hurricane Fiona Rips Through The Caribbean!

Written by Team Morecast

After a very quiet start to the 2022 Atlantic hurricane season, with August not having a named storm for the first time since 1997, the tropics have suddenly come alive in the last several weeks. Hurricane Fiona has become the first storm of the season to cause widespread damage. The storm formed late last week, and quickly became a tropical storm upon reaching the island of Guadeloupe, where it claimed its first victim. Fiona then emerged into the Caribbean Sea, where she became a hurricane before making her first landfall near Punta Tocon, Puerto Rico on Sunday. A second landfall occurred near Punta Cana, Dominican Republic on Monday. Fiona lashed the islands of Turks And Caicos in the Bahamas with wind gusts up to 115 kph (185 kph) for most of Tuesday.

The brunt of the storm, by far, has been felt across the island of Puerto Rico. At the height of the storm on Sunday, the entire island, inhabited by 3.2 million people, lost power. 80% of the U.S. territory remains without power as of Tuesday evening, while 70% of customers remain without potable water. Damaging wind gusts up to 113 mph (181 kph) are largely responsible for widespread power outages. However, the island’s infrastructure remains in a weakened state since Hurricane Maria pummelled the island in September of 2017, with many power plants failing to hold up during the storm.This is why Fiona, which was a Category 1 storm at landfall, is having similar effects on the island as Maria, which was a high end Category 4 storm at the time of landfall. Many homes still have blue tarps in place for roofs, 5 years post Maria.

Fiona’s winds have proven destructive, but the storm may perhaps be remembered most for the staggering amounts of rain it has produced. These rains have triggered catastrophic flooding and landslides island-wide, with over 1000 water rescues performed since Sunday. The highest rainfall totals have occurred in the southern half of the island, with Ponce, the second largest city, receiving 32 inches (812 mm). Many places have reported higher totals than during Hurricane Maria, while many places flooded during Fiona that did not flood during Maria.With a vast network of rivers and streams across the island, nearly every one of them has spilled over their banks, and many of them have reported record crests. One such example is the Guanajibo River, which crested at 29.2 feet (8.9 meters) on Monday morning, surpassing the record of 28.6 feet (8.7 meters) set during Maria. Current estimates are that damages from Fiona will amount to $10 billion across Puerto Rico.

Four additional deaths to the one in Guadeloupe have been attributed to Fiona, with two in Puerto Rico, and two in the Dominican Republic. It is possible that more may be reported in the coming days. The Dominican Republic and Turks And Caicos have sustained similar damage to that seen in Puerto Rico, although not quite as devastating. Fiona is now moving into the open Atlantic Ocean, with Bermuda and the maritime provinces of Canada in her crosshairs. The storm is likely to reach Category 4 status by Thursday.

Record Heat Continues To Bake Western U.S.

Written by Team Morecast

After a summer filled with scorching temps across the globe, the epicenter of heat has now shifted into the western half of the United States, with the state of California being particularly hit hard. While this region of the world is no stranger to heat, this current heatwave, which has been ongoing since late August, is proving to be exceptional, and in some cases unprecedented. It’s also coming on the heels of a very hot summer, in which many records were already broken. The fact that it is occurring during the month of September makes it even more astounding.

The numbers coming out of the region have truly been staggering. Not only are records for the month of September being obliterated, but so are all time records. The Central Valley of California has been the spot with the most broken records. Case in point, Sacramento, the state’s capital, saw the mercury rise to an all time high of 116 F (46.6 C) on Tuesday. This breaks the previous all time record high of 114 F (45.5 C) was set on July 17th, 1925. Nearby San Jose also set a new record for all time high, coming in at a stifling 109 F (42.7 C).

Shifting to another region of California, Death Valley, which already holds the record for all time highest temperature ever recorded on Earth (134 F, 56.6 C) has broken even more records. On 9/3, the low in Death Valley only dropped to 102 F (38.8 C), making it the highest minimum temperature ever recorded anywhere on Earth during the month of September. Yesterday the high was 125 F (51.6 C), which tied the all time record high for September, while today the high was 122 F (50 C), tying the daily record high set just last year. The first seven days of this month have featured highs at 120 F (48.8 C) or greater. This establishes a new record for September, with the most days reaching 120 F (48.8 C).

And California is not alone in this heat. The state of Utah has also seen records smashed lately. Salt Lake City hit 107 F (40.5 C) on Wednesday, setting a record for the highest temp ever recorded in September, and tying its all time record high. This breaks the previous record of 105 F (41.6 C) set just on Tuesday. In fact, the city known for its proximity to great ski resorts, has topped the century mark 34 times this year. The most ever recorded.

The culprit of this heat wave in the West, has been a stagnant area of high pressure known as a “Heat Dome”, centered over The Great Basin. It has worked in conjunction with the preexisting drought conditions, which have been in place for the better part of this century. The dry ground allows the air to heat much more efficiently, due to less evaporation. Both the heat and drought have set the stage for wildfires to become an increasingly common threat across the West. Another serious threat is rolling blackouts, however, they have not been too prevalent during this heatwave thus far. The good news is that the end of extreme heat is near. This is partly due to Hurricane Kay, currently off the Mexican coast. The storm is poised to move northward in the coming days, bringing clouds and rain to parts of California and Arizona.

Worst Flooding in Decades Leaves Millions Homeless in Pakistan!

Written by Team Morecast

 

A historically wet monsoon season has resulted in catastrophic flooding across much of Pakistan. The provinces of Balochistan and Sindh in the south and west of the country have been particularly hard hit. Five times the normal monsoonal rainfall has fallen there, the most in six decades. More than one thousand people have perished with millions more displaced or homeless.

 

 

 

As recently as June, Pakistan was baking in record-breaking heat and drought. Highs soared to 124 deg F (51 deg C) in the Sindh city of Jacobabad. Then the heavy rains began falling. Typically the monsoon effect peaks in July and begins to diminish in August. However, an unusual surge of tropical moisture has prolonged and enhanced the seasonal flooding. Officials report that more than 400,000 homes and two million acres of crops have been washed away. Terrifying footage of large industrial buildings and hotels collapsing into roaring rivers has been uploaded to social media (see below). Highways and bridges are also destroyed, severely restricting the flow of evacuees and supplies. Most of the telecommunications networks in the worst-hit provinces were down as of Friday evening, an unprecedented break. With the Pakistani economy still reeling from the pandemic and international market turmoil, these additional strains could lead to a food crisis in the coming weeks and months. Lead photo courtesy International Rescue Committee.