by tyler | Apr 13, 2023 | CNN, weather
More rain is in the forecast after substantial downpours inundated Fort Lauderdale and parts of South Florida in a 1-in-1,000 year rainfall event, leading to a flash flood emergency in Broward County that has prompted emergency rescues, forced drivers to abandon cars, shuttered schools and shut down the airport through Thursday morning.
While the rain Thursday won’t reach nearly the amounts that fell on Wednesday, it will be problematic and create additional flooding, the National Weather Service said. Gusty winds, small hail and even isolated tornadoes are possible.
A flood warning is in effect for portions of Broward County until noon Thursday. A flood watch is in effect through Thursday evening.
Between 14 and 20 inches of rain have drenched the greater Fort Lauderdale metro area since Wednesday afternoon, according to a Thursday morning update from the National Weather Service office in Miami. The deluge is the “most severe flooding that I’ve ever seen,” one mayor said.
“This amount of rain in a 24-hour period is incredibly rare for South Florida,” said meteorologist Ana Torres-Vazquez from the weather service’s Miami forecast office.
Rainfall of 20 to 25 inches is similar to what the area can receive with a high-end hurricane over more than a day, Torres-Vazquez explained. She described the rainfall as a “1-in-1,000 year event, or greater,” meaning it’s an event so intense, the chance of it happening in any given year is just 0.1%.
Extreme rainfall is a signature consequence of a warming climate, and it is happening more frequently. The deluge in South Florida is just the latest instance after 1-in-1000 year rains struck over the past year in areas including Dallas, St. Louis, eastern Kentucky and Yellowstone.
“Even though the heavy rain has concluded, numerous roads remain closed,” the weather service said, adding that flooding is expected to persist.
Earlier, Fort Lauderdale was “experiencing severe flooding in multiple areas of the city,” Fort Lauderdale Fire Rescue said on social media, warning to stay off the roads as vehicles may become stuck or submerged.
A flash flood emergency – the highest level of flood warning – that was in effect for portions of South Florida, including Fort Lauderdale, expired early Thursday.
“This is a PARTICULARLY DANGEROUS SITUATION,” the weather service warned. “Move to higher ground now! This is an extremely dangerous and life-threatening situation. Do not attempt to travel unless you are fleeing an area subject to flooding or under an evacuation order.”
City crews in Hollywood, Florida, “are doing everything they can” to deploy pumps wherever possible and keep drains clear, Mayor Josh Levy told CNN.
“We’ve recorded over 12 inches of rain since midnight, and that’s on top of consecutive days of seemingly nonstop rain,” Levy said. “The ground was already saturated so there is extensive flooding all over our city and throughout South Florida. Many roadways are impassable. Lots of vehicles got stuck and left abandoned in the middle of our roadways.
“I’ve lived here my whole life. This is the most severe flooding that I’ve ever seen,” he said.
South Florida could get inundated with more even rain as showers and strong storms are in the forecast Thursday.
“After a historic day of rainfall across portions of South Florida that many of us will not soon forget, another potential wet day is ahead for today,” the weather service in Miami said.
There is a slight risk, Level 2 of 5, for severe storms Thursday in parts of Florida, including Fort Lauderdale, Miami and Jacksonville, according to the Storm Prediction Center.
In Fort Lauderdale, airboats and high-clearance buggies have been secured from the county sheriff’s office and the Florida Wildlife Commission as officials activated their emergency operations center and will issue a proclamation of a local state of emergency, they said in a statement early Thursday.
Emergency crews worked continuously overnight responding to rescue calls across South Florida, Fort Lauderdale city officials said.
“City Hall remains closed. The ground floor is flooded, and staff is working to restore power to the building,” said a Thursday morning update.
City officials are asking neighbors to be patient as “flooding conditions remain impactful in the southern areas of the City this morning,” officials said.
“We expect the flooding to subside through the next hours and have seen improvements in certain areas of downtown.”
It’s unclear how many people have been rescued due to flooding.
Officials had asked residents to avoid driving or traveling in Fort Lauderdale amid the storms.
“Public Works staff are clearing drains and operating pumps to mitigate the water as quickly as possible. Efforts have been made to relieve traffic congestion through prioritized signaling to assist individuals leaving the City. We are requesting drivers to stay off the roads and avoid the City of Fort Lauderdale until the water has subsided,” the city of Fort Lauderdale said in a news release on Wednesday evening.
The flooding impacted rush hour traffic Wednesday and led to the closure of a tunnel, the city said.
“The Henry E. Kinney Tunnel is closed. Please avoid the area. The weather conditions combined with rush hour traffic are compounding issues in the downtown area,” the city said.
The Broward Sheriff’s Office said in a statement Wednesday it is “being inundated with non-emergency 911 calls regarding the inclement weather” and asks residents to use 911 only for “true emergencies,” also telling residents to avoid driving and to call a tow truck company if a vehicle is stranded and not in an emergency.
Some local services are shuttering Thursday. The Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport is closed due to ongoing flooding in the vicinity and will reopen at noon, according to an update from the airport. The airport’s departure level reopened to allow people to exit the area, the airport said early Thursday morning.
The Brightline train service has been temporarily suspended between Miami and Fort Lauderdale, the service said on social media.
Additionally, Broward County Public Schools announced the district will close Thursday.
by tyler | Apr 10, 2023 | CNN, weather
This week will be draining in a literal sense, due to rapid snowmelt. A great thaw is set to begin, which will bring the potential for flooding across at least 10 states.
From the West Coast to the Great Lakes, concern is growing about the significant warmup forecast this week and what impact it will have on the near-record snowpack for many regions.
“Between 5,000 feet and 7,000 feet snowpack is currently near to above record levels, with 8 to 15 inches of water contained within this snow,” the National Weather Service office in Billings explained.
Record highs are possible across the Northern Plains and Midwest this week, as temperatures climb into the 60s and 70s.
The sudden warmth combined with heavy rain from an approaching cold front could lead to rapid snowmelt, causing rivers and creeks to flood quickly; something forecasters have been expecting with this year’s blockbuster winter snowpack.
“Minneapolis had their third-snowiest winter on record, so a lot of it was sitting around waiting to melt,” Eric Ahasic, a weather service meteorologist in Twin Cities, said. “We didn’t really add a ton of heavy rain on top of the snowpack while that snow was melting, so that kind of allowed it to progress fairly orderly, but we’re going to have some minor flooding in a lot of rivers.”
He explained the perfect ingredients will exist this week for a rapid melt: warm temperatures, humid air, windy conditions and a strong sun angle.
Ahasic fears areas to his north will have a much more difficult time with all this melting snow. North Dakota and Minnesota could see more significant flooding where the rivers flow to the north.
“As that water flows into the Red River, and then flows north up into Canada, it’s going to run into colder weather and even some ice farther north,” Ahasic explained. “That’s why you usually get some really bad flooding up across that part of the United States and Canada, because the water that’s flowing is running into usually some sort of ice blockage.”
The blockages are often referred to as ice jams, which happen when huge chunks of ice clump together and block the flow of the river, which many times results in rapid flooding.
In portions of the Northern Plains, temperatures could climb to 80 degrees this week, possibly setting records. Any snow left on the ground will melt quickly with temperatures running at least 15 degrees above normal.
“With the ground mainly frozen in the foothills, this water will not be able to soak in and will run off,” the weather service in Billings said. “Water flowing downhill and accumulating in low-lying areas may result in localized flooding.”
The weather service urges people to stay up to date with the flooding situation over the next few weeks, in case any rivers begin to rapidly rise.
In portions of the southern Sierra, the rate of melting snow will also begin to rapidly increase this week, causing rivers to rise and run more swiftly.
The weather service warns people to stay vigilant in the lower elevations and campsites, because of the potential for flash flooding.
“Due to their swift currents and very cold-water temperatures, creeks and streams pose life-threatening dangers,” the weather service office in Las Vegas warned.
While the snow is beginning to melt more quickly this week, it will be something to follow for the next several weeks and even months.
by tyler | Apr 5, 2023 | CNN, weather
A destructive storm system that has spawned at least 11 tornado reports and killed five people in Missouri now threatens millions more from Arkansas to Michigan.
At least five people were killed when a possible tornado struck Bollinger County, Missouri, Sheriff Casey Graham said Wednesday.
The exact number of casualties is not clear because reports are still coming in, Missouri State Highway Patrol Sgt. Clark Parrott told CNN.
“This is an active search and rescue event,” he said.
Across the central US, more than 5 million people are under tornado watches Wednesday – including some in states ravaged by last week’s tornadoes and storms that left 32 people dead.
A tornado watch has been issued for northwestern Mississippi to southwestern Indiana until 4 p.m. CDT, according to the Storm Prediction Center.
Another tornado watch covers parts of northern Kentucky to western Ohio and includes Cincinnati, and stands until 5 p.m. ET.
The current storm system is trekking east across the central US after battering parts of Missouri, Iowa, Illinois and Michigan.
At least nine tornadoes were reported Tuesday, including two in Iowa and seven in Illinois – where several buildings were damaged in the town of Colona and multiple semi-trucks were toppled over along the I-88.
The most notable impact has been large, baseball-sized hail. More than 170 hail reports emerged from Iowa, Illinois, Missouri and Michigan on Tuesday.
Davenport, Iowa, was pummeled with 4-inch hail – larger than a softball.
“Worst hail I’ve ever heard in Davenport. Sounded like bricks hitting the roof,” Davenport resident Paul Schmidt wrote on Facebook.
Farther east in Oswego, Illinois, baseball-sized hail plummeted from the sky.
As twisters threaten the Midwest and South, winter storms are expected to plague the Northern Plains. The region is expected to be hit by a blizzard Wednesday, a day after “blizzard conditions” led to the shutdown of more than 100 miles of Interstate 90.
Widespread heavy snow has fallen across the Rockies and is expected to continue over the Northern Plains, which have been seeing snowfall for several hours.
“Blizzard warnings are in effect for parts of the Dakotas where snow showers and strong winds will cause blowing snow and reduced visibility, which will make travel dangerous,” the National Weather Service’s Weather Prediction Center said Wednesday afternoon.
Parts of eastern North Dakota and northern Minnesota will see several inches worth of snow Wednesday, the center added.
The North Dakota Department of Transportation urged drivers to stay off the roads, warning conditions are too dangerous even for emergency crews.
“If you don’t need to drive, stay off the roads. It’s dangerous for you and emergency crews. If you’re stranded, crews may not be able to reach you,” the transportation department tweeted.
Meanwhile, sleet and freezing rain will impact parts of the Upper Great Lakes and New England, the prediction center said.
“Winter Weather Advisories are in effect for parts of Maine, New Hampshire, and Vermont through early Thursday morning,” the center added, warning of possible power outages and difficult travel conditions.
by tyler | Apr 5, 2023 | CNN, weather
A destructive storm system that has already spawned at least 10 reports of tornadoes and killed multiple people in Missouri now threatens 80 million Americans with dangerous weather Wednesday.
The storm system is trekking east across the central US after battering parts of Missouri, Iowa, Illinois and Michigan.
Multiple deaths and injuries have been reported after a possible tornado struck Bollinger County, Missouri, Highway Patrol Sgt. Clark Parrott told CNN.
The exact number of casualties is not clear because reports are still coming in, Parrott said Wednesday morning.
“This is an active search and rescue event,” he said.
Resources from all across southeast Missouri are assisting local officials, Parrott said.
A new tornado watch was issued for parts of northern Indiana, southern Michigan and northwest Ohio until 4 p.m. ET Wednesday, the Storm Prediction Center said.
The watch covers more than 10 million people and includes the cities of Detroit and Grand Rapids, Michigan, as well as South Bend and Fort Wayne, Indiana.
Potential threats include damaging winds, large hail and possible tornadoes.
At least nine tornadoes were reported Tuesday, including two in Iowa and seven in Illinois, where several buildings were damaged in the town of Colona and multiple semi-trucks blown over along the I-88.
The most notable impact has been large, baseball-sized hail. There were over 100 hail reports mainly across Iowa, Illinois, Missouri and Michigan Tuesday. Davenport, Iowa, was pelted with 4-inch hail – just larger than a softball – while Oswego received smaller, baseball-sized hail.
“Worst hail I’ve ever heard in Davenport. Sounded like bricks hitting the roof,” Davenport resident Paul Schmidt wrote on Facebook.
A tornado warning was issued early Wednesday near Hardy, Arkansas, where the weather service reported the storm had produced “a large and extremely dangerous tornado.” Hardy is about 60 miles northwest of Jonesboro, Arkansas.
“It’s tough to think of the possibility of another round of severe weather in the midst of this recovery, but we must remain vigilant and prepared,” Little Rock Mayor Frank Scott, Jr. said in a statement. “Especially, in our already hard-hit neighborhoods, please have a plan in place to stay save, and avoid staying overnight in damaged structures.”
A separate tornado watch was issued for portions of eastern Oklahoma, western Arkansas, and northeastern Texas until noon, the Storm Prediction Center said. The watch includes Fayetteville and Fort Smith in Arkansas, and Texarkana, Texas.
“Thunderstorms forming along and ahead of two merging cold fronts will pose a threat for all severe hazards: wind, hail and tornado,” the storm center said.
An enhanced risk of severe storms, level 3 of 5, is forecast from northeastern Arkansas to northern Ohio and central Michigan, stretching from Detroit to Memphis, where residents may need to brace for strong tornadoes, damaging wind gusts and large hail.
The greatest threat will be over the Great Lakes region, including Chicago, Detroit and Indianapolis, where strong tornadoes are possible from late morning into the early evening hours.
“Weather conditions in these areas could be life-threatening at times, and those in affected areas should pay close attention to the local NWS Weather Forecast Office for Advisories, Watches, and Warnings,” the weather service warned.
Excessive rainfall totals of 1-3 inches are also possible from eastern Texas to southern Ohio.
Even as twisters threaten the Midwest and South, winter storms are expected to plague the Northern Plains. The region is forecast to be hit by a blizzard Wednesday, a day after “blizzard conditions” led to the shutdown of more than 100 miles of Interstate 90.
Widespread heavy snow totals are expected from the northern Rockies to the northern Plains.
“Some April snowfall records will be challenged in the Dakotas and northwest Minnesota, and the highest totals may locally exceed two feet,” the National Weather Service said.
Heavy snow and strong winds will also combine to create widespread blizzard conditions with near zero visibility, making travel dangerous to impossible.
“Cold temperatures will feel even colder due to the strong winds, and life-threatening wind chills below zero are forecast in the northern Plains,” the National Weather Service said.
The North Dakota Department of Transportation urged drivers to stay off the roads, warning that conditions are too dangerous even for emergency crews.
“If you don’t need to drive, stay off the roads. It’s dangerous for you and emergency crews. If you’re stranded, crews may not be able to reach you,” the transportation department tweeted.
by tyler | Apr 4, 2023 | CNN, weather
Nearly 70 million people from Texas to Michigan are under risk of severe weather Tuesday as another powerful storm system takes aim, threatening to batter states still reeling from deadly tornadoes.
There is a potential for strong, long-track tornadoes across a swath of the central US in the afternoon and particularly dangerous nighttime tornadoes could form in parts of Arkansas, Oklahoma and southern Missouri in the overnight hours.
There are two Level 4 of 5 moderate risk areas highlighted by the Storm Prediction Center Tuesday. The first stretches across eastern Iowa, northwestern Illinois and northeastern Missouri. The second includes southern Missouri and parts of Arkansas and Oklahoma.
Cities in the moderate risk areas include Springfield, Missouri, and Cedar Rapids, Davenport and Waterloo in Iowa.
A Level 3 of 5 enhanced risk area surrounds the moderate risk areas and includes St. Louis, Madison, Wisconsin; Des Moines, Iowa; and Little Rock, Arkansas, which was ravaged by a violent tornado Friday.
The forecast of severe weather comes after tornado-spawning storms over the weekend left 32 dead and dozens of others injured in the Midwest and South as at least 50 confirmed tornadoes touched down across several states, ripping homes apart as they barreled through.
“Many of the areas that got hammered by the last severe weather outlook could be at risk again, so it’s imperative that everyone in this region closely monitor the latest local forecasts and be prepared to take cover if warnings are issued,” the Weather Prediction Center warned.
The storms are expected to come in waves Tuesday, with multiple rounds especially likely across Iowa, Illinois and Missouri. The first round, expected in the afternoon, will bring the threat of very large to giant hail – possibly bigger than a baseball – the storm center said.
In west-central Iowa, there is potential in the afternoon for strong tornadoes, large hail and damaging winds.
“Additional (storms) may develop later (Tuesday) in association with the cold front and move into the region, posing a threat of hail and damaging gusts. A conditional tornado threat will also persist overnight with any sustained supercells,” the storm center added.
And storms are expected to develop overnight across southern Missouri and parts of Arkansas, bringing the possibility of “nocturnal strong tornadoes,” the storm center said. Tornadoes that occur in the overnight hours are more likely to be deadly than those that happen during the daytime, studies show, because people are less likely to receive weather alerts when they are asleep.
“Please remain weather aware, have multiple ways to receive warnings & stay tuned to the forecast for updates,” Missouri State Emergency Management officials warned.
While some states face the threat of tornadoes and hail, about 10 million people from southeastern Arizona to southwestern Iowa are under red flag warnings Tuesday, with some local National Weather Service offices expecting “extreme grassland fire danger,” and calling it a “potentially dangerous situation.”
“Any fires that develop will likely spread rapidly and become very difficult to control,” the weather service said.
There is an “extremely critical,” Level 3 of 3 fire weather risk across portions of eastern New Mexico, western Texas, western Oklahoma and southern Kansas. This area includes Lubbock, Amarillo and Midland in Texas, Woodward in Oklahoma, and Liberal and Hutchinson in Kansas.
“Dangerous fire weather conditions are expected on Tuesday with potential for multiple large, dangerous, and fast moving fires,” the storm center warned. “Extreme caution should be used to avoid sparks and open flames.”
Ongoing severe to exceptional drought conditions, single digit relative humidity values, sustained winds of 35 to 40 mph, and very dry fuels have all combined to make these extreme conditions.
A larger Level 2 “critical” risk encompasses the Level 3 area and extends from the Texas-Mexico border to southern Nebraska, including Oklahoma City and Norman in Oklahoma, Wichita in Kansas, and El Paso, Abilene and Wichita Falls in Texas.
by tyler | Apr 3, 2023 | CNN, weather
The weather pattern has been relentless in recent weeks. There have been more than 160 tornado reports since Friday, March 24, when 26 people were killed in severe storms and the town of Rolling Fork, Mississippi was hit the hardest.
In the past week alone, more than 30 people have been killed by storms. Combined, fatalities over the last two weeks account for more than half the number of tornado deaths we typically see in an entire year. It’s too many. Even one death is too many.
Communities in the South and mid-South have had nights filled with tornado warnings and sirens. Early mornings are filled with wondering about what’s left of their town. Families are forced to regroup and reset quickly before the next round of strong storms threatens.
And this week will be no different.
Tornadoes always feel random. Some towns are spared, and some are hit hard. Within those hard-hit towns, some homes are destroyed, and some are untouched. It is just one of the mysteries of these forces of nature.
The PERiLS project (Propagation, Evolution and Rotation in Linear Storms) is hoping to take some of the guesswork out of which storms will produce tornadoes and which ones will not. The two-year project is currently in its second season, which has been full of opportunities to research storms.
Chris Weiss, a meteorologist and professor at Texas Tech, has been helping to lead the charge on the PERiLS project, not only to improve lead times on storms, but to minimize false alarms when it comes to tornado warnings.
“You want to try to reduce those false alarms as much as possible because when you get repeatedly warned, and an event doesn’t occur, you tend to heed that warning less,” Weiss explained.
He and his crew have traveled more than 3,000 miles this season, placing instruments called “sticknets” out in front of the storms to take measurements and learn why certain storms produce tornadoes and others don’t.
Sticknets are portable weather stations used to sample the atmosphere. They measure temperature, relative humidity, wind speed and direction as well as air pressure. If placed perfectly, they will sample the changing atmosphere as the storm rolls over it.
“I was just thinking back to the Rolling Fork event from a couple of weeks ago. And one thing that struck me in real time there was how quickly the environment changes ahead of these storms,” Weiss explained. “As the storms got closer, you had this rapid destabilization, and the storm just really takes advantage of that. And that’s tricky for a forecaster that has to anticipate that.”
Weiss hopes with the work he and his team are doing, tornadoes will become easier to forecast, resulting in much more lead time for affected communities.
Weiss and his team have been out in some of the strongest storms this season and will be out again this week when severe weather threatens.
Another strong storm system will take aim at the midsection of the country this week, threatening millions.
“Many of the areas that got hammered by the last severe weather outlook could be at risk again, so it’s imperative that everyone in this region closely monitor the latest local forecasts and be prepared to take cover if warnings are issued,” the Weather Prediction Center warned.
There’s a Level 2 “slight” chance of storms today, for portions of the Florida Panhandle and southern Alabama. Popular beach destinations like Pensacola and Panama City need to be on the lookout for storms.
The bigger threat of storms this week will arrive on Tuesday.
The Storm Prediction Center has placed a Level 4 of 5 “moderate” risk of severe weather for portions of the Midwest, including northeastern Missouri, southeastern Iowa and western Illinois. Cities like Davenport, Cedar Rapids and Iowa City will be under the greatest risk.
A tornado watch vs tornado warning
“Moderate risk for severe weather again for our area on Tuesday as a volatile setup looks to be taking shape,” the National Weather Service office in the Quad Cities said. “The environment is primed for significant severe storms.”
The region had dozens of tornado reports Friday, and it could see more activity less than a week later. The weather service urged people to stay alert.
“We must remain vigilant and stay tuned to the forecast again,” the weather service urged.
There are also two areas labeled as a Level 3 of 5 “enhanced” risk of severe weather stretching from East Texas to southern Wisconsin. Cities like Des Moines, Springfield and Little Rock could once again be at risk of severe weather, including strong tornadoes.
Little Rock alone had at least 50 people hospitalized after a tornado swept through on Friday. Preliminary reports estimate the tornado was an EF-3 with winds up to 165 mph. It carved a path 20 to 25 miles long.
While severe weather and the talk of strong tornadoes will dominate the headlines across the southern side of this storm system, blizzard conditions will dominate the northern side as it affects the Rockies, the Plains and Midwest.
“A highly anomalous April snowstorm with blizzard conditions is expected from northwestern Nebraska and across the central Dakotas and then into northern Minnesota,” said the prediction center.
Blizzard warnings are in effect from northern Nebraska to central North Dakota through Wednesday.
The National Weather Service office in Rapid City is forecasting up to 20 inches of snow, along with 60 mph winds, making travel impossible for many.
Wind chills will also fall to near or below-zero for many of the areas experiencing blizzard conditions, which could be life-threatening to anyone who becomes stranded outside.
