[mark]

Heavy rains leave Houston soaked
Remnants of Hurricane Alex continue to linger, causing flooding problems and traffic nightmares. And it's not over yet.
By MIKE GLENN
HOUSTON CHRONICLE
July 3, 2010, 1:33PM

The Houston area was pummeled by a second day of heavy rainfall Friday as thunderstorms brought on by the remnants of tropical depression Alex continued rolling through much of Harris and surrounding counties.

And more rain is expected this weekend.

The National Weather Service said Saturday that some thunderstorms and heavy rain was expected throughout the day, tapering off by Sunday. Flood warnings remained in effect for large swaths of the metropolitan area until 7 p.m. Saturday.

Forecasters are pointing to a combination of daytime heating and moisture from Alex as a leading cause for the storms that dropped 12 to 13 inches of rain since Thursday on hard-hit sections of Brazoria County.

"It's been triggering periods of thunderstorms. They keep moving over the same area repeatedly," said Charles Roeseler with the National Weather Service.

Brazoria County — which received 12 to 13 inches of rain since Thursday - could be considered "Ground Zero" for this week's weather headaches, he said.
http://www.chron.com...an/7092451.html

[mark]

denver and the west
Rain brings Front Range the shivers while East Coast broils
By Sarah Horn
The Denver Post

Denver came close in the weather-record-setting race Wednesday.

The Northeast won, busting record highs with triple-digit temperatures while Denver came within two degrees of breaking a 58-year-old record for the lowest high temperature for the day, according to the National Weather Service.

The coldest high temperature recorded for July 7 was 65 degrees, logged in 1952. Denver's near miss Wednesday was a chilly high of 67 degrees.

Cold and moist air from the northwest combined with hot and dry air from the southwest to create a cold front, said Frank Benton, a meteorologist in the weather agency's Boulder office. "Once this one leaves, we will be out of the dark for a while," he said.
The average high temperature for this time of year is in the high 80s, with the record high for July 7 at 102 degrees in 1989 and the record low at 43 degrees in 1952.

http://www.denverpos...ews/ci_15462769

[Suezy]

As always Mark very interesting reading. Dont think it could happen here though with the islands being so narrow - but still you never know these days.

[mark]

Our hotest day temp on record is about 107f.And thanks for your interest Suezy.

[mark]

As you can see, high temperatures have been declining in most of Colorado over the last 80 years.
Note this is raw data.

 cheesmanmax.png (12.81K)
Number of downloads: 11

This post has been edited by mark: 10 July 2010 - 10:07 AM

[rainfan]

Got text from mate in Berlin, Germany. Apparently 38oC there yesterday and 44oC in Frankfurt am Main. He's finding it very hot and uncomfortable. 37oC forecast for Sunday and Monday.

[Suezy]

Gosh Mark that decline in Colorado temps is fairly dramatic seeing we are meant to be going into Global warming.
Rainfan have an old Uncle in England and think I may have to ring him to see how he is as they too are having a heat wave.

[mark]

Yes Suezy i find it odd that when we get 32c or up we dont get into the overseas papers.

[mark]

‘Basyang’ grows into a storm

Signal 1 up over 6 provinces

By Alcuin Papa
Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 18:58:00 07/12/2010

Filed Under: Weather


MANILA, Philippines – “Basyang” intensified into a tropical storm as it neared northern Luzon Monday afternoon and as the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa) raised public storm signal number 1 over six provinces.

According to the agency’s 4 p.m. weather update, the eye of “Basyang,” previously a tropical depression, was estimated at 440 kilometers east northeast of Virac, Catanduanes
The weather disturbance is packing maximum winds of 75 kilometers per hour near the center and gustiness of up to 90 kilometers per hour. It is moving west northwest at 22 kilometers per hour.

Public storm signal number 1 has been raised over the provinces of Cagayan, Isabela, Aurora, Quezon including Polilio Island, Camarines Norte and Catanduanes. Pagasa said residents in low-lying and mountainous areas in these provinces should be on alert for possible flashfloods and landslides.

http://newsinfo.inqu...ws-into-a-storm

[mark]

Philippines raises typhoon alert in rice areas

MANILA (Reuters) - The Philippines raised alerts along coastal and low-lying areas of its main island of Luzon on Tuesday as Conson, the first sizeable typhoon of the season, moved closer to rice-producing areas of the poor Southeast Asian nation.

Conson, a category 1 typhoon with winds of 120 kph (75 mph), was about 90 km north of the central island of Catanduanes and moving at 22 kph westward towards Luzon's central lowlands, chief weather forecaster Prisco Nilo told a media conference.

"We expect strong winds and heavy rains, especially in areas Basyang will pass through," Nilo said, using the local name for the typhoon, saying it was expected to make landfall near Aurora and Quezon provinces late Tuesday or early Wednesday.

http://thestar.com.m...ec=Worldupdates

[Suezy]

Poor things as do hope that all their buildings are more up to it this time round - and the monsoon is so important to them there and their rice fields - it is their livelyhood.

[mark]

‘Basyang’ leaves 18 dead,
throws Luzon into darkness"Basyang," tagged by the weather bureau as an "erratic" weather disturbance, changed course Tuesday night and directly hit Metro Manila for hours till dawn yesterday.

Its strong winds downed transmission lines of the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines, triggering a grid-wide power outage in Luzon that authorities said could last up to Saturday.

Basyang also left 18 people dead as it battered Central Luzon, Southern Tagalog and the Bicol regions. Fifty-seven persons are missing, according to the National Disaster Coordinating Council.

http://www.malaya.co...2010/news2.html

[mark]

At Least 71 Drown in Single Day During Russian Heatwave
Wednesday, July 21, 2010,

At least 71 people drowned in the span of just 24 hours in Russia yesterday as throngs of people headed for lakes and streams to beat the summer heat.
Russia is experiencing its hottest summer in decades with temperatures soaring well above 35 degrees celsius.
The Russian Emergency Ministry says this is a record number of drowning deaths in a single day.
In 2009 2,733 Russians drowned with most most deaths resulting from swimmers who were drunk.
Observers say cases of heavily drinking vodka and swimming are rampant.
In one case six school children drowned because their summer camp counselors were drunk.
Close to 2,500 people already have drowned this year and the death toll is expected to far exceed last year's.

http://www.arirang.c...=Ne2&category=2

[JennyLeez]

71 in one day, unimaginable :(

[mark]

Deadly cold snap hits Latin America
Posted Wed Jul 21, 2010 11:25am AEST

Dozens of people are reported to have died from hypothermia as a cold snap sweeps across several countries in Latin America.

In Argentina, 33 people died as temperatures dropped down to around -14 degrees Celsius in the centre of the country.

Many homeless people are among the victims who died in the capital city Buenos Aires.

Nine people died of hypothermia and another three were killed after inhaling toxic fumes from coal-burning ovens, the health ministry in Paraguay reported.

The Rural Association of Paraguay estimated 1,000 cattle died in the freezing temperatures, mostly in the northern part of the country.

The country's meteorological experts are warning the cold weather and rain are expected to continue for the rest of the week.

South America is at the peak of its winter season, but the temperatures in a number of regions are unusually harsh.

In tropical areas of Bolivia, where temperatures rarely dip below a balmy 20 degrees Celsius, the mercury was recorded to be around freezing, and at least four people were reported dead from the cold.

Parts of Chile are also experiencing unusually heavy snowfall, but no deaths have been reported.

http://www.abc.net.a...?section=justin

[mark]

Record cold but still no snow
Updated: 21/07/2010

Temperatures have dropped to record low levels across the Australian Alps this week but unfortunately for the ski resorts the cold snap has not transpired to snowfalls.

The official snow depth taken by the Snowy Hydro Authority on the upper slopes of the NSW main range is still only 45cm, making it the equal worst start to a season in 19 years. This week promises little improvement with clear skies likely to persist for the remainder of the week as a very large high pressure cell drifts gradually east over Australia's south.

The high is also responsible for the bitter nights of the past few days, as clear skies provide optimal conditions for overnight cooling. Charlotte Pass hit -20C yesterday morning, the coldest temperature ever recorded in Australia during July. This morning brought another bitter frost with Charlotte Pass recording -17C and Perisher Valley -11C.

Away from the Alps severe frost has also engulfed much of northern Victoria and southern NSW. Bombala hit -5C this morning for their coldest temperature in 2 years. Wagga Wagga was not far behind with a low of -3C, also a 2 year low.

Cold and frosty nights will continue across inland NSW for at least another few days.

Tom Saunders
Meteorologist
The Weather Channel

[mark]

Warm and windy. Darwin has its warmest July night on record.
Updated: 25/07/2010
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Darwin experienced its warmest July night on record over the weekend, with the temperature failing to drop below 25.8 degrees during Saturday night and Sunday morning. The previous record of 25 degrees was set back in 1978 and historical weather observations at the airport weather site go all the way back to 1941. The overnight minimum temperature in Darwin was also 7 degrees above the long-term average for this time of year.

The combination of windy conditions, higher than usual humidity levels and an increase in cloud cover all aligned to create this record.

Moisture content in the air and cloud cover both play a role in retaining day-time heat through the lower atmosphere. The windy conditions also prevent a stable layer of air from forming near the cooling ground through the night time hours, which is often the case through the winter months.

Nights have been warmer than usual through the tropics for a number of days, with gusty east to southeast winds pick up moisture as they cross the Coral Sea and Gulf of Carpentaria. Weipa in Queensland has broken it's July minimum temperature record over recent days, with the mercury remaining at 25 degrees or above.

In the Northern Territory, Batchelor broke an 11 year old record for July on Saturday morning, remaining at 25 degrees. On Sunday morning, Groote Eylandt had a minimum of 25 degrees, which is 10 above average and the highest in 10 years of records.

Warmer than usual nights through the Top End should continue until around Wednesday, although easing winds around the middle of the weak will see night time temperatures drop back closer to the average.

Alex Zadnik
Meteorologist
© The Weather Channel

[mark]

More rain for flood-hit China
From: The Australian July 26, 2010 12:00AM Increase Text Size Decrease Text Size Print Email Share Add to Digg Add to del.icio.us Add to Facebook Add to Kwoff Add to Myspace Add to Newsvine What are these? CHINESE weather authorities fear more rain in areas worst hit by floods that have left at least 1100 people dead or missing.

The National Meteorological Centre warned yesterday that parts of the badly hit southwestern province of Sichuan - where 100,000 people have been evacuated from homes - would continue to see torrential downpours.

Other areas such as Yunnan, as well as the eastern provinces of Zhejiang and Fujian would endure heavy rain, it added.

Premier Wen Jiabao warned that the situation was at a "crucial stage", adding there could be worse to come as he toured the flood-hit central province of Hubei, wading knee-deep in Yangtze floodwaters.

In Sichuan, rain-triggered floods and landslides have already killed 13 people and left another 20 missing since Thursday, the official Xinhua news agency reported.
http://www.theaustra...o-1225896745112

[Suezy]

Those poor people will be wondering when it will end - but not in sight at the moment by the look at it. Even this is unusual for them isnt it?

[mark]

Worst floods in a decade in China, 30,000 trapped.

AP foreign, Thursday July 29 2010 CHI-CHI ZHANG

Associated Press Writer= BEIJING (AP) — Floods caused by heavy rains in northeastern China stranded tens of thousands of residents without power Wednesday, as the worst flooding in more than a decade continued to besiege many areas of the country.

Floods this year have killed at least 928 people with 477 missing and caused tens of billions of dollars in damage, the State Flood Control and Drought Prevention office reported. More heavy rains were expected for the southeast, southwest and northeast parts of the country through Thursday.

About 30,000 residents in Kouqian town were trapped in their homes after torrential rains drenched the northeastern province of Jilin on Wednesday, the official Xinhua News Agency reported. Water began flooding the town after the nearby Xingshan Reservoir and the Wende and Songhua rivers overflowed and rescue crews were delivering supplies by boat and moving people to higher ground, state television reported.

Flooding has hit areas all over China. Thousands of workers sandbagged riverbanks and checked reservoirs in preparation for potential floods expected to flow from the swollen Yangtze and Han rivers, an official with the Yangtze Water Resources Commission said Wednesday. He gave only his surname, Zhang, as is common with Chinese officials.
Around China, a total of 875,000 homes have been destroyed, 9.61 million people evacuated, and 22 million acres (8.76 million hectares) of crops ruined in this year's flooding, according to the state flood control office.



http://www.guardian....article/9195329