“The National Weather Service reported Thursday that the overwhelming amount of rain from Hurricane Florence over three days was a 1,000-year event. But these once-rare events are poised to become more common as the climate changes.
“Torrential downpours dropped upward of 50 inches of rain in some areas of the Carolinas as the storm made landfall and weakened. Across North Carolina, Florence dumped about 8 trillion gallons of rain, enough to fill more than 12 million Olympic swimming pools.”
https://www.vox.com/2018/9/20/17883492/hurricane-florence-rain-1000-year
“Jim Fraboni is preparing for the worst as an “unheard” amount of floodwater from Hurricane Florence is slowly flowing through the Carolinas. He and his wife have seen floodwater rush in and damage his home for 22 years — but this time feels different… A week after Hurricane Florence made landfall, the trillions of gallons of water it dumped over the Carolinas are slowly moving toward the sea and leaving a path of destruction behind.”
https://edition.cnn.com/2018/09/21/us/florence-carolinas-flooding-wxc/index.html
“This month’s record temperatures says quite a bit about the heat ending the 2018 summer. If you think it’s been hotter than usual, you’re spot on since temperatures are the hottest average on record for the month of September. A simple data check on the Southeast Climate Perspectives Map shows that dozens of the cities across the southeast United States are averaging the highest day and night temperatures on record for September.”
https://www.news4jax.com/weather/the-hottest-september-due-to-back-to-back-90s
Warmest nights on record for Washington DC and many other major US cities:
“Washington has observed such warm low temperatures a record 85 times this year, compared with the normal of 57.”
“Climate change is causing the deeper waters of Gulf of St. Lawrence and the Scotian Shelf to become warmer and lose oxygen faster than almost anywhere else in the global oceans, according to a new study… The Gulf Stream moving north means more of the deep, deoxygenated water is moving into the Gulf of St. Lawrence… “We also observed that (waters of the Scotian Shelf) are warming very fast, especially over the last six years,” Claret said.”
“More than half a foot of rain has fallen in parts of northern Iowa over the past two days, causing floods and mudslides and forcing evacuations. Not too far away, golf-ball-sized hail shattered windows in Nebraska Wednesday. More severe weather is lurking today in the upper Midwest, potentially including damaging wind, hail and tornadoes.”
https://abcnews.go.com/US/flooding-severe-weather-expected-midwest-northeast/story?id=57954608
“After a seven-hour search, crews with the Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s Office recovered on Thursday afternoon the second body of a man swept away by heavy monsoon flooding in the border cities of Nogales nearly two days before… A strong storm on Tuesday caused heavy flooding in the sprawling, densely packed city on the Mexican side. The uneven terrain drained the heavy floods to the Arizona side, carrying with them the two men.”
“Floods hit the state of Sinaloa, due to Tropical Depression 19-E in the Pacific Ocean. In networks spread the disaster in cities such as Los Mochis and Culiacán, with streams that overflow into the streets. Among the images that have been uploaded show the video of a mother holding onto a pole and holding her son’s hand to get him out of the flow.”
http://www.tiempo.com.mx/noticia/150433-madre_salva_hijo_culiacan_inundacion_sinaloa_desastre/1
“The biggest fire in California’s history burned for three months and torched 1,858 square kilometres (717 square miles) in Northern California before it was fully contained on Wednesday, officials said.
“The staggering size of the burn scar is large enough to cover all of Los Angeles. It’s also more than twice as large as New York City and three times as big as Toronto.”
https://globalnews.ca/news/4468721/california-biggest-wildfire-size/
“Climate change has dramatic consequences for the Wayuu people in Colombia. The lack of water is one of the main reasons behind the 45 deaths of Wayuu children in 2016, in addition to corruption.”
“Residents can expect a rainy weekend with rainfall up to 8 inches in some parts of Guam, the National Weather Service stated in an advisory issued Friday morning…. The Astumbo Gym shelter will be open through the weekend for the 32 remaining families taking shelter after Typhoon Mangkhut damaged their homes. Their homes are likely to be soaked with the new weather system, Dededo Mayor Melissa Savares said.”
“Dozens of people have been buried alive and at least 22 have died after a landslide engulfed two villages in the Philippines, triggered by extreme weather conditions in the aftermath of Typhoon Mangkhut.
“At least 30 houses were crushed under earth and rubble when a hillside collapsed in Naga, Cebu province, on Thursday. About 50 people were reported to be still trapped.”
“As Typhoon Mangkhut slammed Hong Kong last weekend (Sept. 16), it left a trail of destruction in its wake. Not only did it break windows, wash away roads, and crumple scaffolding, but it also destroyed thousands of trees that are a crucial part of the city’s history and identity. “It’s an unprecedented number of trees that’s been toppled by the typhoon,” said Alvin Tang, a certified arborist and a lecturer on tree management at the Baptist University of Hong Kong.”
https://qz.com/1396766/after-typhoon-mangkhut-hong-kong-races-to-save-its-banyan-trees/
“In August 2018, temperatures soared to record highs while precipitation levels fell to its lowest, bringing about drought. The unusual weather spelled trouble for Ma’s family, whose potato yields dropped by 10 percent from a year earlier. Most of those residing in Xihaigu work the land for a living. Potatoes and wheat are their crops of choice.”
https://news.cgtn.com/news/3d3d514d304d7a4d7a457a6333566d54/share_p.html
“As cyclonic storm ‘Daye’ made landfall in Odisha Friday morning, causing heavy rainfall in several parts of the state. Malkangiri district bore most of the brunt of the downpour. It has recorded an average rainfall of 166.25 mm since Thursday and remains virtually cut off from the rest of the state… The storm crossed south Odisha and adjoining Andhra Pradesh coast close to Gopalpur in the early hours of Friday.”
“Four factors — above normal rainfall, extreme rainfall events, over 90% reservoir storage before the rains, and unprecedented extreme rainfall in catchment areas — contributed to the flooding witnessed in Kerala.”
“Seji Saji, deputy head of Ghana’s National Disaster Management Organisation, said the situation was under control and teams were working flat out to reach those affected.
“”In all we have on record 34 deaths and two people missing. The affected people are over 52,000 and we are still assessing the situation,” he added.”
https://phys.org/news/2018-09-ghana-heavy.html
“The raging flood, which has affected at least 12 states across Nigeria, remains worrisome not only to the victims but also the government, as Rivers Niger and Benue continue to rise in volume, according to National Emergency Management Agency… The current flood pattern, which experts say has shown indices of a similar natural disaster of 2012 in many parts of the country, has left hundreds of victims with tales of woes, with many others living in fear.”
http://thenationonlineng.net/12-states-still-in-danger-as-rivers-niger-benue-keep-rising/
“Yes, Donald, climate change is a thing: European potatoes are shrinking and Belgian French fries are likely to be shorter from this year onward, because of declining rainfall in recent years and mounting temperatures. Exported Belgian fries (a.k.a. chips) could be as much as an inch shorter, because potatoes are getting smaller. Potatoes are shrinking because of the heat and relative dryness.”
“Visit the Rhône Glacier in southern Switzerland, and you are more than likely to wander past a small shop. It’s worth a visit: the owners have carved out an ice grotto, and charge tourists for the eerie and beautiful experience of exploring the inside of their glacier’s mass of blue ice.
“Now, though, it’s melting. The grotto is such an important part of their livelihood, some years ago the owners invested 100,000 euros in a special thermal blanket. “It’s kept about 25 metres’ depth of ice from disappearing and has kept the grotto in business,” explains the photographer Simon Norfolk. But a few winters on the mountain have left the blanket in tatters.
““It’s the gesture that fascinates me,” says Norfolk. “There is something insane about trying to reverse the inevitable – a gesture as forlorn and doomed as the glacier itself.””
https://www.newscientist.com/article/2180283-review-when-records-melt-heats-up-the-climate-campaign/
