At least eight people including two Britons were killed as heavy rain and flash floods hit the Spanish island of Mallorca late on Tuesday, authorities said.
At least 12 people have been killed in violent storms which lashed southwest France in some of the deadliest flooding in years.
Local authorities revised the official death toll downwards from the previous total of 13, which had earlier been issued by the interior ministry.
Two more people are still missing, with eight seriously injured.
President Emmanuel Macron offered "the sympathy and solidarity of the entire nation for the victims of the Aude flooding and their families".
The flooding swept away cars, gutted streets and battered buildings and bridges.
With so many roads being impassable, helicopters were deployed to rescue those who were still stranded.
The floodwaters have climbed to some 156 centimeters, or a little more than 5 feet, above normal, according to city statistics ― the highest recorded water level since December 2008. The tide is expected to be several feet above normal for much of this week, Venice officials said.
Italy is dealing with a spate of foul weather, and at least six people have been killed nationwide as flooding and heavy winds buffet the region, downing trees and causing widespread mayhem. Schools and popular tourist sites were also closed in Rome, including the Colosseum and the Roman Forum.
Newfie wrote:PlAnt, do you know if they operated the flood gates at the Lido? I understand they would do no good for rain, but I thought the main bit of flooding was because of storm surge.
Ah, never mind, I looked it up. It seems the project has been built but not “completed” whatever that means. It sounds like they have tested the system but did whatever reason it has not been put into operation. In fact it was designed for just such events as this one. They are now saying 2020. With no definition of what needs to be done. Perhaps statue of limitations to run out?
Alfred Tennyson wrote:We are not now that strength which in old days
Moved earth and heaven, that which we are, we are;
One equal temper of heroic hearts,
Made weak by time and fate, but strong in will
To strive, to seek, to find, and not to yield.
I am always careful when writing this type of piece because there is usually some contrarian hanging out on Twitter waiting to pounce on statements like “It’s the ______est year ever.” To avoid cliche trolling, it is important to use the word “on record.” With that out of the way, let’s discuss the U.S. experiencing its wettest 12-month stretch on record (in this case 1895 to 2019). Deke Arndt, a climatologist at NOAA’s National Center for Environmental Information (NCEI), tweeted:
In case you missed it, the last 12 months (May ’18 through Apr ’19) is the wettest 12-month stretch on record for the US. A warmer world turns up the hydrology dial. When we are sent the bill for climate change, it comes in the context of our water.
Here are the meteorological and climatological reasons why this likely happened as well as further explanation of the last sentence of Arndt’s Tweet.
NOAA
The graphic [below] shows how abnormally it was in the U.S. from May 2018 to April 2019, particularly in the upper Midwest and the eastern U.S. By the way, if you live in the region shaded orange-brown, resist the urge to say “but it was drier where I live” so climate change is a hoax. Your local experience doesn’t define the global experience.
Before I discuss climate connections, it is important to discuss meteorological connections first. The inevitable “it has always rained” or “climate changes naturally” is lurking in someone’s head right now. My placeholder response is that grass on your lawn grows naturally too, but it you put fertilizer on the soil, it grows differently. I will provide a more robust discussion later in the article.
Several places, including Washington, D.C, broke records for wettest 12-month stretch. Jason Samenow wrote an outstanding article in the Washington Post Capital Weather Gang explaining the meteorological context for the period. I summarize Samenow’s key points:
• A persistently high-pressure pattern east of the U.S. transported Atlantic Ocean and Gulf of Mexico moisture into the eastern half of the country.
• Another persistently high-pressure pattern near Alaska allowed storm-tracks to be directed into the upper Midwest and East by the jet stream
• Possible jet stream modifications due to the emerging El Nino (warm central Pacific sea surface temperatures). ...
Return to Environment, Weather & Climate
Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 102 guests