Extreme Weather Watch

[yield]

Dramatic images show the first floods in the Sahara in half a century

More than year’s worth of rain fell in two days in south-east Morocco, filling up lake that had been dry for decades

www.theguardian.com

 

[frogwoman]

I've been reading a bit recently about extratropical cyclones like Storm Dennis and the 1987 hurricane. I haven't really been able to find much about how these are impacted by climate change, but I guess they must be?

 

[frogwoman]

2hats

 

[frogwoman]

Tropical depression develops over Arabian Sea

A low-pressure system developing over the Arabian Sea has intensified into a tropical depression as of Sunday. If this system further strengthens into a

www.nation.com.pk

Oh no

 

[yield]

Worst drought in century devastates Southern Africa, millions at risk
aljazeera. 15 Oct 2024

Millions of people across Southern Africa are going hungry due to a historic drought, risking a full-scale humanitarian catastrophe, the United Nations has warned.

Lesotho, Malawi, Namibia, Zambia, and Zimbabwe have all declared a state of national disaster in the past months as the drought has destroyed crops and livestock. Angola and Mozambique are also severely affected, the UN’s World Food Programme (WFP) said in a briefing on Tuesday, warning that the crisis is expected to deepen until the next harvests in March or April 2025.

 

[ska invita]

Worst drought in century devastates Southern Africa, millions at risk
aljazeera. 15 Oct 2024

should be front page news, not that that would change anything

 

[frogwoman]

Not that recent I know but I was recently reading about this. Category 4 cyclone/hurricane that struck Bangladesh and killed around 500,000 I was surprised never to have heard of it because it led directly to their war of independence in 1971.

1970 Bhola cyclone - Wikipedia

en.m.wikipedia.org

 

[brogdale]

I've been reading a bit recently about extratropical cyclones like Storm Dennis and the 1987 hurricane. I haven't really been able to find much about how these are impacted by climate change, but I guess they must be?

AFAIK, the basic idea is that increased warmth in the temperate zones increases the thermal/pressure gradients that drive the jet stream. More jet streaks will cause more extra-tropical cyclones to 'bomb' or deepen explosively.

Maybe like this one? Hang on to your hats in the N & W....

 

[frogwoman]

Listening to A Furious Sky at the moment, a book about the history of US hurricanes. The first hurricane research planes actually came about from a bet between US and UK pilots during WWII. The UK pilots had laughed at the Americans for their fear of hurricanes which they believed were just 'bad thunderstorms' and an American pilot made a bet about flying into the eye of what amounted to a Category 1 cyclone. The result showed that a plane could theoretically fly through a hurricane without being damaged and gave rise to the 'hurricane hunters' meteorological aircraft which measured the pressure etc. You would have to be pretty brave/crazy to do such a thing though.

ETA: Apparently hurricane modification conspiracies have been around for a long time. It was attempted to hit a hurricane with silver iodide in hopes of weakening it. Kurt Vonnegut's older brother was actually involved. However, the hurricane actually changed direction rather than weakening although this was nothing to do with the cloud seeding, but not everyone was convinced.

 

[frogwoman]

The latest hurricane may be the smallest on record, hence it wasn't detected by satellites, only when a plane flew directly into it. It hit Cuba, which has already been suffering a nationwide power outage for 3 days, and there are fears that many people who needed to prepare or evacuate may not have done so.

Hurricane Oscar makes landfall in Cuba amid crippling power outage

Oscar is expected to bring heavy rains and storm surge to eastern Cuba, where millions remain without electricity.

www.aljazeera.com

 

[frogwoman]

It was previously only given a 10% chance of becoming a cyclone by computer models, and there is speculation that due to its size, it could have already been one when the prediction was made.

To the astonishment of forecasters, a tiny hurricane just sprang up near Cuba

A hurricane so small that it could not be observed by satellite formed this weekend, surprising forecasters at the National Hurricane Center.

arstechnica.com

 

[ska invita]

The latest hurricane may be the smallest on record, hence it wasn't detected by satellites, only when a plane flew directly into it. It hit Cuba, which has already been suffering a nationwide power outage for 3 days, and there are fears that many people who needed to prepare or evacuate may not have done so.

Hurricane Oscar makes landfall in Cuba amid crippling power outage

Oscar is expected to bring heavy rains and storm surge to eastern Cuba, where millions remain without electricity.

www.aljazeera.com

Never ending US sanctions on Cuba are one of those things that makes my blood pressure go from 0-100 .... and then as if things arent bad enough... ...Haiti another....no justice in this word

 

[frogwoman]

Never ending US sanctions on Cuba are one of those things that makes my blood pressure go from 0-100 .... and then as if things arent bad enough... ...Haiti another....no justice in this word

All those places have been totally exploited by US/UK/French etc colonialism right? And Guantanamo Bay is still in US hands. The Bahamas is still recovering from a hurricane a few years ago iirc

 

[Skinny Ethel]

Spain 51 dead in flash floods. Mmm

 

[ska invita]

Spain 51 dead in flash floods. Mmm

I thought my post had video, bit it didn't so deleted

 

[ska invita]

A years worth of rain fell in some places

 

[teqniq]

Spain 51 dead in flash floods. Mmm

70 dead now, photos from Valencia:







\‘We were trapped like rats’: Spain’s floods bring devastation and despair

 

[Skinny Ethel]

Has this scale of flash flooding happened before in spain.

 

[May Kasahara]

I just got back from Seville today. The rain yesterday was unreal. Thankfully no serious effects in the city centre, that I could see anyway, but still relentless. And continuing today.

 

[hash tag]

I see the death toll is now 158. The cleaner here is from Valencia and he is in pieces. He believes his family is safe. I gather they now have looting to contend with.

Torrential rain brings deadly flooding to Spain – in pictures

Downpours caused Spain’s deadliest flooding in decades. Floodwaters surged through cities, towns and villages, trapping people in their homes, sweeping up cars in their wake and causing significant damage

www.theguardian.com

 

[ID47]

Just four months into office, The President of the Valencia region Carlos Mazón eliminated the disaster response and relief agency. And the alert on citizens' cell phones came after the area had already been overwhelmed by water.

Maybe I've got this wrong but does Spain not have a national 'Civil Protection' organisation like Italy has? They keep mentioning the Fire Brigade, the Police and the military but not specialists needed.

From: Valencia inondata, almeno 95 morti per l'alluvione, politica sotto attacco: allarme tardivo e Unità di Emergenza smantellata

 

[yield]

Climate graphic of the week: Blackouts and water rationing as South American drought worsens
Bogotá limits water use and Quito schedules daily power cuts to cope with historically low rainfall
FT. 26/10/24 https://archive.ph/xED7P

Bogotá in Colombia, typically one of the world’s wetter capitals thanks to its altitude, has suffered scheduled daily water rationing for much of this year.

A study by an independent group of international scientists earlier this year found that climate change was the main cause of the exceptional drought in the Amazon Basin that has prevailed since 2023.

The basin stretches across the entire central and eastern area of South America, as far as Colombia in the north, Peru and Ecuador in the east, Guyana and Suriname to the west, and Brazil and Bolivia in the south.