Major Winter Storm Blasts Southeast Australia to Close the Season!

Written by Team Morecast

 

One of the worst storms on the winter rolled across southeast Australia late Thursday into Friday. Lower elevations saw high winds knock down trees and powerlines, leading to widespread power outages. Heavy snow fell in the mountains, combining with the winds to create dangerous blizzard conditions.

 

 

 

Moderately gusty winds were a widespread hazard across much of South Australia, New South Wales, and Victoria. However, the strongest winds with gusts up to 130 kph (80 mph) were associated with fast-moving storms. These storms moved first across the Adelaide metro on Friday morning. The Bureau of Meteorology even analyzed two tornadoes that ripped through the northern suburbs, not unprecedented but certainly very rare. Numerous trees and powerlines were knocked down and more than 13,000 households lost power in the region. Winds peaked over 100 kph (62 mph) in Melbourne on Friday night.

 

 

Snow has been falling for several days in the Victorian Alps, but the heaviest accumulations occurred as the winter storm came through to end the week. Storm totals up to 77 cm (30 in) have been reported in the highest ranges. These snows combined with wind gusts to 125 kph (78 mph) to create crippling blizzard conditions including near-zero visibilities and drifts of a few meters in spots. Snow levels crashed down as the storm moved through with a light coating as low as 600 m (2,000 ft), just minutes outside of the major cities.

Major Flooding Hits Juneau, Alaska For the Third August in a Row Thanks to Glacial Outburst

Written by Team Morecast

 

The Mendenhall River rose dramatically overnight into Wednesday morning in the Alaskan state capital of Juneau. The river crested at 16.65 feet (5.1 m) late Wednesday morning, a new record. Power was intentionally cut to the area and evacuations were ordered. However, emergency barriers put up in recent days anticipating the flood prevented significant damage to most homes and businesses. The flooding is due to a phenomenon known as a “glacial outburst”, an annual surge of water that has become increasingly dangerous thanks to global warming.

 

 

The Mendenhall Glacier lies about 12 miles (19 km) upstream of Juneau. This glacier has been retreating steadily due to climate change with about 1.75 miles (2.8 km) lost since 1929. The resulting meltwater feeds into Mendenhall Lake and eventually Mendenhall River, which runs through Juneau. It also fills the adjacent Suicide Basin, held back by a temporary ice dam. As temperatures rise into Augusta and the Basin fills up, the ice dam eventually breaks, sending a flooding surge down into the Alaskan state capital. Global warming has led to higher and higher river surges the past three years. The outburst surge in August of 2024 flooded basements and damaged some roads. Fortunately, officials were able to anticipate the surge this season and prevent significant flooding damage. Lead photo courtesy Wikipedia user Ringbang