“Five south-east Queensland towns have sweltered through their warmest March day on record as the mercury surpassed 41 degrees during the heatwave peak Tuesday.
“It comes after the town of Gatton broke the 40-degree barrier on Monday, which was the first time a part of south-east Queensland reached 40 degrees on a March day.
“On Tuesday, the Ipswich suburb of Amberley reached 41.3 degrees just after 3pm, smashing its previous record for the warmest March day, which was 38.9 degrees in 1965.
“Gatton, about 90 kilometres west of Brisbane, hit 41.1 degrees, surpassing its previous warmest March day, which occurred on Monday when the mercury reached exactly 40, Weatherzone meteorologist Kim Westcott said.”
“Queensland farmers are nervously watching the skies as summer crops fail and winter crops look increasingly less likely to be planted. For many, this winter crop will be the second in a row they will miss, for others it will be their third.
“Dam levels also have farmers worried with the state’s second largest storage, Fairbairn Dam, hitting its lowest ever point.”
“Tropical cyclones are likely to form north of New Zealand over the next ten days, bringing the potential for severe weather closer to the country, a forecaster says. Storms are likely to develop around the Solomon Sea, Coral Sea and the Pacific between New Zealand and Fiji.”
“Record numbers of warm-water sea creatures fled north following a marine heatwave that struck the Pacific Ocean between 2014 and 2016. ‘The Blob’ and El Niño caused water temperatures to soar by up to 7°F (3.9°C) throughout the event and scientists noticed creatures normally only found in Mexico as far north as California and Oregon.
“The ‘unprecedented’ migration of these warm-water animals included jellyfish, crabs, fish, molluscs, dolphins and sea turtles.”
“At least 11 people, including a 1-year-old baby, have been killed by flooding brought on by heavy rainfall in and around São Paulo, Brazil. Heavy rain began falling Sunday night and more is expected.
“São Paulo’s fire department said at least 155 trees fell in São Paulo. Several roads are blocked.”
https://weather.com/news/news/2019-03-11-sao-paulo-flooding-kills-11-in-brazil
“Bluebonnets are a regular feature of spring in Texas, but this year they might be blooming at their fullest later than predicted, according to horticulture specialist Andrea DeLong-Amaya.
“Last week saw record low temperatures, according to KXAN meteorologists. They previously predicted that the warmer winter would lead to earlier blooming, but their predictions changed when the cold snap was detected.”
http://www.dailytexanonline.com/2019/03/11/wildflower-season-impacted-by-record-low-temperatures
“High water on the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers is snarling barges loaded with grain, chemicals and fuel, and forecasters are worried things will get worse once the snow starts to melt.
“The looming U.S. spring could bring a sudden rise for temperatures and downpours across the Upper Midwest, where deep snows already cover the ground that was saturated before it froze over winter. That’s all adding up to worry along the banks of the Mississippi River, from its headwaters near the Canadian border to the Gulf of Mexico.”
“As it sweeps across Kansas, the system could challenge low-pressure records for the region if model simulations are correct.”
“Every long-term snow monitoring site in the state [of Oregon] received above average February precipitation
…with many sites reporting more than 200 percent of the normal amount, according to recent data from the Natural Resources Conservation Service’s Snow Survey.”
“Serious drought across northern Kenya has resulted in a million people in need of food aid.
“It is the end of the dry season and we are waiting for the rains. But all across the world, hot weather seems more extreme than usual.”
https://www.the-star.co.ke/opinion/leader/2019-03-12-we-need-long-term-solutions-to-drought/
“Devastated farmers who received aid praised the programme called the Namibian Farmers Drought Aid as one of the most successful and commendable efforts ever undertaken to bring instant relief to farmers on their knees now from persistent drought since 2013.”
https://allafrica.com/stories/201903110675.html
“Zimbabwe – Despite a dry year, Sazini Moyo’s maize crop had been pushing up tassels and she anticipated a decent harvest – until her farm outside Bulawayo sweltered through a record five-day heatwave in late February and early March. Now she fears almost her entire parched crop is a write-off.”
http://news.trust.org//item/20190312090216-7biwh/
“The number of people killed and the damage caused to homes and properties in Malawi following the recent floods is expected to rise, according to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.
“In a statement, UN Secretary-General António Guterres extended his condolences to the Malawi government and families of flood victims across the country after reports that the flooding had affected approximately 115 000 people…”
https://www.iol.co.za/news/africa/death-toll-damage-expected-to-rise-in-malawi-flood-19826443
“The strongest tropical cyclone in at least a decade is expected to make landfall in Mozambique at the end of the week, bringing devastating winds and floods to the central coastline. The storm, named Idai, has already strengthened to the equivalent of a Category 3 storm, the third-most severe level on the Saffir–Simpson scale, with maximum sustained wind speeds of more than 111 miles per hour…”
“Heavy rain and flooding in parts of KwaMashu, Inanda, Verulam and Ntuzuma in KwaZulu-Natal have left a number of homes flooded and damaged.
“Disaster management teams have been dispatched to the affected areas. Hlengiwe Dladla said they feel hopeless after water entered their house and damaged their furniture.”
https://www.iol.co.za/mercury/news/look-flood-destroys-homes-in-kwamashu-19811261
“More than 10,000 households have been displaced following the latest heavy floods in Afghanistan’s southern and western provinces, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs reported on Tuesday.
“”Across eight provinces and Kandahar city, 1,855 houses have been destroyed and 2,841 houses have been partially damaged by flooding,” according to the agency.”
http://www.xinhuanet.com/english/2019-03/12/c_137889103.htm
“An “enormous” solar storm that struck ancient Earth has provided a stark warning another event of this size could be around the corner.
“Revealed by analysis of chemicals preserved in Greenland ice, the storm around 2,600 years ago was 10 times stronger than anything detected in 70 years of modern measurements.
“While the people of 660 BC had little to fear, such episodes would be of grave concern today given their capacity to destroy satellites, communications and electrical systems.”
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