Storm Barra set to batter Britain as thousands of homes still without power nine days after Storm Arwen
The second major storm of the winter - named Barra by the Irish Met Office - is set to batter the UK on Tuesday.
Weather warnings have been issued for wind and snow as thousands of homes are still without power nine days after Storm Arwen.
Energy Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng said it was "totally unacceptable" that thousands of homes remain without power, after Labour claimed the government would have taken the problem more seriously if the South East had been affected.
Speaking during a visit to Durham, Mr Kwarteng said: "I feel that we've engaged with this problem right from the start of the week.
"We have got 99.5% of the people who were affected back on the power supply. For the 0.5%, that's no solace at all...but it's wrong to say nothing has been done."
Mr Kwarteng added that a review will be carried out and if energy firms are found to have failed to invest in infrastructure then "there could be enforcement action".
Shadow environment secretary Jim McMahon said it "beggars belief" that the loss of power to so many homes has been not been considered a "national priority".
He told Sky News' Trevor Phillips on Sunday programme: "I firmly believe had this been the case where 20,000 properties were without power in Surrey or in London, the government would absolutely have treated it with more seriousness.
"For people in County Durham who I spoke to, they felt isolated, they felt angry and they felt forgotten."
Storm Barra, which is forecast to bring snow and winds in excess of 70mph on Tuesday and Wednesday, has been named for its potential impact on Ireland.
However fresh warnings for high winds have been issued across the UK for Tuesday and could mean more power supply problems and disruption to transport, the Met Office said.
A warning for snow on the same day covers the North of England and Scotland. Again the Met Office says there is a chance of power outages and a "slight chance" rural communities could be cut off.
Heavy rainfall yesterday meant hundreds of properties that had power restored were again without supply in Northumberland, a local councillor told Sky News.
Latest data showed 3,190 homes were without power across northern England and Scotland on Sunday afternoon, down from 4,025 homes on Sunday morning, according to industry body the Energy Networks Association.: https://news.sky.com/story/storm-arw...of-uk-12487105
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Hawaii braces for foot of snow amid blizzard warning
A blizzard warning is in effect for Hawaii's Big Island mountain summits.
At least 12 inches of snow are expected to fall in the region this weekend amid wind gusts of 100 mph, the National Weather Service said Saturday.
The warning will remain in place until at least early Sunday morning.
The National Weather Service warned against traveling to the area, saying it "could be very difficult to impossible."
“Blowing snow will significantly reduce visibility at times, with periods of zero visibility,” the agency said.
The warning only applies to Hawaii’s tallest peak, Mauna Kea, which is 13,803 feet, as well as Mauna Loa, the second-tallest at 13,679 feet.
The snow is part of a weather pattern forecast to bring heavy rain, giant swells and flooding to lower elevations across the islands this weekend, NBC affiliate KHNL reported Friday.
The National Weather Service’s prediction center said it’s common to see snow above 11,000 feet in Hawaii. The state’s third-tallest peak, Haleakala, which stands at just over 10,000 feet, only records snow every two to three years.
Parts of Alaska's Yukon Delta are also expected to see whiteout conditions with 70 mph winds, blowing snow and a light accumulation of new snowfall, the National Weather Service said.
More winter weather is expected in the lower 48 this weekend, with forecasters calling for a swath of heavy snowfall across the Upper Midwest and Great Lakes.: https://www.nbcnews.com/news/weather...awaii-rcna7613 - https://twitter.com/NWSWPC/status/1466506623996862466
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Storm Arwen: Friday before all power restored in north east Scotland
People in the north-east of Scotland could be without power until Friday, energy company SSEN has warned.
It means some homes in the region will have been without electricity for seven days following Storm Arwen.
SSEN said there were about 6,400 properties - mainly in Aberdeenshire, Aberdeen, Angus and Moray still to be reconnected. It hopes to restore energy supplies within the next three days.
The company described the storm damage as a "once in a generation event".
SSEN has recorded 1,000 points of damage in the north east. The previous high from a single weather event was 150.
In the south of Scotland, Scottish Power Energy Networks estimated 1,000 properties in the Borders had spent another night without power.
Scottish Water said supplies had been restored to rural communities in Aberdeenshire and Perthshire, with teams on standby for issues still affecting "pockets of customers".
On Wednesday afternoon, Deputy First Minister John Swinney confirmed the Bellwin Scheme had been activated. This gives local councils financial support from the Scottish government to deal with emergency incidents.
Liam Kerr, Scottish Conservative MSP for north east Scotland, earlier criticised ministers' response to the storm - claiming it had been a "monumental failure of planning".
Aberdeenshire East SNP MSP Gillian Martin called for a resilience review to be undertaken. She said she had "never before" seen such damage from high winds in her constituency.
Most of Aberdeenshire's 170 schools have reopened but about 20 remain closed.
Thousands of people in the north of England are also still living with power outages.
In the House of Commons, Business Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng said he had been assured that the "overwhelming majority" of customers would see power restored in the next day or two.
He promised his department would be looking at ways to build "an even more resilient power system".
The Met Office has advised there is a risk of further cold and wet conditions over the next 24 hours - including winds of up to 60mph.
It said damage could occur where trees and property had been destabilised by Storm Arwen.
The Scottish Environment Protection Agency also warned of high tides and overtopping on the east coast. Flood barriers in Eyemouth have been deployed as a precaution.: https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-scotland...tland-59488296
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B.C.'s year of extreme weather a sign of things to come, expert says
VANCOUVER - As B.C. braces for a third atmospheric river in a week, one expert says these weather events could become the norm.
Dr. Rachel White, an associate professor of atmospheric sciences at the University of British Columbia says as the temperature of our climate increases, so does the likelihood of more devastating natural disasters.
“Climate change is obviously playing a role here, as we warm up the atmosphere and the ocean, we will see more moisture in the atmosphere,” White says.
The trio of atmospheric rivers comes just two weeks after the major storm that triggered the devastating floods and mudslides across the province's southern and interior regions.
“By moving each atmospheric river a little bit stronger, we are making these types of flooding events more likely,” White says.
“These really intense precipitation events are predicted to get stronger and more intense.”
White says there’s also a clear connection between the summer heat dome, the devastating wildfire season, and fatal mudslides earlier this month.
“There’s research showing that with the damage to the vegetation and impacts to the soil, essentially made the environment more vulnerable to landslides."
"Both of these events are things that we're likely to see more of under climate change, they're not separate, all of this is interconnected," she adds.: https://bc.ctvnews.ca/b-c-s-year-of-...says-1.5686587
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At least 35 dead after heavy rain batters south India
At least 35 people have been killed and dozens more remain missing after heavy rains battered parts of southern India, destroying houses and flooding roads, officials said Monday.
Flash floods triggered by consistent heavy rain killed at least 32 people in Andhra Pradesh, according to the state's government. The rainfall began late last week, submerging highways and roads, while completely isolating some villages and blocking access to food and water, CNN affiliate CNN News18 reported.
At least 30 people remain missing, officials said.
Relief efforts in Andhra Pradesh are ongoing with 16 national and state disaster teams deployed to evacuate stranded residents, officials said. Nearly 58,000 people have been evacuated from their homes to 294 relief camps in the state, they added.
In neighboring Karnataka state, at least three people have died, disaster management official Tushar Giri Nath said Monday.
"People are mainly residing in their relatives' places. We are arranging for food for them," Nath said, adding that 150 homes had been damaged by the rain.
The rainfall was triggered by a cyclonic circulation in the Arabian Sea and low pressure areas in the Bay of Bengal, according to India's Meteorological Department. It is likely to move toward the coast of southern Tamil Nadu state in the coming days, it added.
Rainfall across the region is expected to decrease over the coming days but is forecast to pick up again later in the week, according to the department.
Parts of southern India have recently experienced spells of extremely heavy rainfall.
Earlier this month, heavy rain in Tamil Nadu killed at least 16 people, while many parts of the state's capital, Chennai, were waterlogged, Reuters reported. Government officials used pumps to drain water in some communities where residents were stranded waist deep, it added.: https://edition.cnn.com/2021/11/22/i...hnk/index.html
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'Unprecedented' storm moves over southwestern Newfoundland
A severe rainstorm is moving over southwestern Newfoundland, in what meteorologists are predicting will be an "unprecedented" weather event.
"For me, this is my first time seeing a rainstorm like this. It's almost eerily similar to kind of what happened to B.C. just a few weeks ago, with the atmospheric river just pumping lots of moisture into the air," said Veronica Sullivan of Environment Canada's weather office in Gander.
"I don't think we'll see as bad an impact here as what happened in B.C., but still it's going to be something to watch and it's going to break a lot of weather records."
She said the Port aux Basques area can expect 150 to 200 millimetres of rain on Tuesday, and in areas with higher terrain, more than 300 millimetres is expected.
Sullivan said some weather models suggest the rain total could even reach 400 millimetres in high-elevation areas, and while the actual rainfall may be much less, the water will flow downwards from mountain areas and could significantly affect water levels below.
"It's going to be something to watch. Torrential rain, really gusty winds. It's really not going to be a good time to be travelling down there," she told CBC Radio's St. John's Morning Show. "[It's] very likely that there will be some washouts and localized flooding."
Close to 30 millimetres of rain has fallen in the area as of 5:30 p.m. NT, but totals are expected to ramp up through the night and into Wednesday.: https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/newfo...torm-1.6259208
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Dozens killed after heavy rains in India, Sri Lanka
Dozens have been killed after heavy rains poured down on parts of India and Sri Lanka.
Authorities said at least 41 have died amid flooding and landslides in the two countries, Reuters reported on Thursday.
Officials in Sri Lanka said 25 were killed during the deluge, with most drowning. At least five people were injured by landslides.
The disaster management minister for the Indian state of Tamil Nadu, Sattur Ramachandran, said 16 people had died.
Thousands of people in India had to move from low-lying areas to find safety from the rain and flooding, according to Reuters.
“The public should not go out,” Greater Chennai Commissioner Gagandeep Singh Bedi said on New Delhi Television on Wednesday, according to The Associated Press.
Officials in both nations are expecting for the rain to slow down in the next few days while communities are working to rebuild.
Some areas in India are reportedly using pumps to drain communities that were flooded.: https://thehill.com/policy/internati...ndia-sri-lanka
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Southern Italy braced for rare Mediterranean hurricane
Southern Italy was braced on Wednesday for the arrival of what forecasters have described as a Medicane – a rare Mediterranean hurricane bringing winds of more than 100kmh and producing 5-metre waves.
Fierce storms have battered Sicily for days, leaving roads submerged in the eastern part of the island and claiming the lives of at least two people. Video footage shows flood waters engulfing the city of Palermo, turning streets into rivers and squares into lakes.
Italy’s department for civil protection issued its most severe weather warning for Sicily and Calabria on Tuesday, as Italian authorities confirmed the death of a 53-year-old man who drowned in Gravina, a town north of Catania. The death comes after the body of a 67-year-old man was found on Monday in Scordia. Rescuers are still searching for his 54-year-old wife.
On Tuesday, Catania’s mayor, Salvo Pogliese, called the weather events “unprecedented” and ordered the closure of all businesses.
“I urge the entire population to not leave home except for emergency reasons, because roads are overrun by water,” he said on Facebook.
Forecasters have said the Medicane is the latest evidence demonstrating how the climate emergency is irremediably tropicalising the Mediterranean.: https://www.theguardian.com/world/20...nean-hurricane
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More than 600,000 without power as bomb cyclone brings hurricane-force winds, heavy rains to Northeast
More than 600,000 homes and businesses were without power across the northeast Wednesday as a wall of hurricane-force winds and heavy rains hammered the region.
The storm, categorized as a nor'easter for the northeasterly winds blasting along the coast, was forecast to complete a counterclockwise loop Wednesday night, extending adverse conditions in New England and Long Island, New York, AccuWeather predicted.
Forecasters said the storm had undergone a period of rapid intensification known as bombogenesis – when the central pressure of a storm drops by 0.71 of an inch of mercury or more over a 24-hour period to become a "bomb cyclone."
Two similar storms that formed in the Pacific Ocean within the last week were blamed for torrential rains, high winds and mudslides across much of California. Remnants of those storms touched off tornadoes and severe weather in Missouri and was fueling the East's weather chaos.
More than 500,000 power customers in Massachusetts and 5,000 in Rhode Island were in the dark Wednesday. Another 40,000 were without power in New York, Connecticut and Maine, according to the website poweroutage.us.
"Dangerous situation early this morning," the National Weather Service tweeted Wednesday. "Winds gusting over Hurricane Force across southeast MA. Numerous downed trees and over 400K power outages in MA alone. TRAVEL IS NOT RECOMMENDED."
Wind gusts approaching 90 mph were recorded on Martha's Vineyard. Scituate, 30 miles southeast of Boston, had a gust of 84 mph.
In Connecticut, power lines came down on a school bus headed to Middletown High School on Wednesday morning. No injuries were reported. In New York, the body of kayaker Laurence Broderick, 45, who went missing off Long Island was recovered Tuesday near the Bronx after being spotted in the water by a helicopter search crew, Coast Guard officials said.: https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/...ds/8564274002/
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US west coast braces for ‘atmospheric river’ as huge storm brews
A huge Pacific storm is poised to unleash conditions known as an “atmospheric river”, with torrential rains and strong winds putting about 10 million people at risk of flash floods in parts of northern California this weekend.
The incoming tempest has raised fears of mudslides, especially in areas charred during record-setting wildfires this summer.
Some parts of the Pacific north-west, including coastal Oregon, are also expected to see heavy rains and winds, the Bloomberg news website reported.
Much of the Bay Area around San Francisco could see 3-3.5in of rain, with up to 8in expected at higher elevations in the region, according to the San Francisco Chronicle. The region could see wind speeds from 20-25mph , with gusts potentially hitting 60mph at higher elevations.
“A HIGH Risk of excessive rainfall is in effect for portions of northern California tomorrow,” the National Weather Service said in a tweet on Saturday, explaining that the storm “will produce rainfall of 8-10in in the region, leading to significant and life-threatening flash floods and mudslides, particularly over burn scar areas.”: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/...river-flooding
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Minimal impact to Seattle from 'bomb cyclone' but rain on the way tonight
SEATTLE -- A so-called "bomb cyclone" that is spinning off the coast of Washington state will have a minimal impact on weather for the Seattle area but the storm has brought hurricane-force winds to the northeast Pacific Ocean and waves approaching 15 feet tall.
"We are tracking the strongest storm in the northeast Pacific since April 2012, but it is a near miss for Western Washington," KOMO News meteorologist Kristin Clark said. "The storm stays clear offshore and heads due north into British Columbia Canada."
LATEST: Multiple downed power lines are blocking 25th Ave NE between NE 177th St and NE 178th St. Shoreline Fire says two people were trapped in a vehicle but were safely extracted and no injures were reported. Wind apparently blew a tree into the power lines, pulling them down. More than 1,000 people in the area were without power Thursday evening.
The storm was 500 miles off the coast of Washington and according to Clark has "a distinct curlicue of clouds around a deepening area of low pressure."
The National Weather Service has issued a gale warning for the state's coastal areas and parts of the Cascades lowlands could see strong winds of up to 40 miles per hour, including Issaquah and North Bend. Clark said the winds will gradually diminish between 5 p.m. and 7 p.m.
Sunshine returned to Seattle for the midday and the area could see near-record high temperatures, Clark said.
Light rain is expected to push inland into Seattle around 7 p.m. before turning heavier during the late night hours, according to Clark.
The high temperature in Seattle is expected to top out in the upper 60s, flirting with the record of 72 degrees. The low will drop to the mid-50s.
Clark said the weather models predict a stronger windstorm that is expected to arrive Sunday night into Monday. The blustery conditions could do some damage, according to Clark.: https://komonews.com/weather/minimal...he-way-tonight
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'Bomb cyclone' brings severe wind warnings to Vancouver Island
Most likely you weren’t tracking Typhoon Namtheun while it was churning in the western Pacific Ocean throughout the second week of October.
After all, that was happening hundreds of kilometres away and didn’t impact our days. It’s sure going to impact us now.
The remnants of this typhoon have been lingering off the coast and waiting to make a move. That move is being made and will deliver quite the punch for many parts of the West Coast as it develops into a powerful low-pressure system.
This rapidly intensifying low is a bomb cyclone.
You may be asking, what’s that? A bomb cyclone is a low-pressure system that drops its pressure 24 millibars or more in 24 hours or less. This particular system could double that pressure drop, which makes it a powerful and intense storm system.
Conditions will ramp up starting early Thursday in the overnight period.
Wind warnings have been issued by Environment and Climate Change Canada running through the day Thursday. North Vancouver Island and the southern region of the Central Coast should prepare for southeast winds steady in the 80-90 km/h range and gusting up to 110 km/h.
The west coast of the island, including Tofino, Long Beach and Ucluelet, will deal with steady southeast winds at 70-80 km/h and gusting to 100 km/h.
On the east coast, from Courtenay to Campbell River, southeast winds of 70 km/h are expected Thursday afternoon and overnight.: https://vancouverisland.ctvnews.ca/b...land-1.5631119
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Big bomb cyclone is set to wallop the West Coast
A beast of a bomb cyclone will take shape just off the coast of the northwestern United States and western Canada later this week, and AccuWeather forecasters say it will rival, in some aspects, the intensity of strong hurricanes from the Atlantic this season.
The powerful storm will bring dangerous and damaging impacts up and down the West Coast, but the precipitation it will deliver to parts of California, Oregon and Washington is greatly needed.
The storm will have some tropical origins. Energy from former Severe Tropical Storm Namtheun, which churned over the western Pacific, will join forces with a non-tropical system sitting over the northern Pacific on Wednesday, according to AccuWeather meteorologist Randy Adkins. Rapid strengthening will result. As the storm comes together a few hundred miles off the coasts of Washington and British Columbia, its intensification could easily surpass the criteria for bombogenesis.
Meteorologists define a bomb cyclone as a rapidly strengthening storm with a central pressure that plummets by 0.71 of an inch of mercury (24 millibars) or more within 24 hours. The process is referred to as bombogenesis. As the pressure drops rapidly in the center of the storm, air rushes in to replace the vacuum created in the atmosphere and can produce damaging winds.
The central pressure of the storm is forecast to dip to about 28 inches of mercury (948 millibars), putting the bomb cyclone at or even below the intensity level of Hurricane Larry, which was a long-lived and intense cyclone that churned across the Atlantic in early September. At peak strength, Larry was a major Category 3 hurricane with maximum sustained winds of 125 mph and higher gusts. Its central pressure dropped as low as 28.20 inches of mercury (955 millibars).
It will not, however, come close to the strength of Hurricane Ida, which, at its peak, was a strong Category 4 storm with a minimum central pressure of 27.43 inches of mercury (929 millibars).
Damaging winds are possible from the northwestern tip of Vancouver Island, British Columbia, and the Haida Gwaii archipelago in British Columbia as the storm rapidly intensifies at midweek. In this area, wind gusts of 40-60 mph are expected as the storm's associated cold front charges eastward, Adkins explained.: https://www.upi.com/Top_News/US/2021...4591634673594/
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Tropical Cyclone Kompasu causes deaths, landslides, flooding in Philippines
At least nine people were killed and 11 others were missing after heavy rain across the Philippines flooded villages and triggered landslides, authorities said on Tuesday.
Severe Tropical Storm Kompasu drenched swathes of the most populous island of Luzon on Monday as it swept across the archipelago nation towards the South China Sea. Nearly 1,600 people were evacuated.
Four people were killed in landslides in the landlocked mountainous province of Benguet, and one person drowned in the coastal province of Cagayan, the national disaster agency said.
Seven people were missing on Luzon island.
“Eleven municipalities were flooded but it subsided this morning,” said Cagayan provincial information officer Rogelio Sending.
Major highways and bridges were flooded, he said, but the water was retreating on Tuesday.
The storm intensified the southwest monsoon, sparking a flash flood in a village in the western island province of Palawan, leaving four people dead and the same number missing.
“Around seven to eight barangays [villages] are still flooded … due to clogged drainage or lack of drainage,” said Earl Timbancaya, a disaster officer in the city of Puerto Princesa on Palawan. “But it’s subsiding now.”
Kompasu was packing maximum sustained winds of 100km/h and gusts of up to 125km/h as it moved away from the northern Philippines, the weather bureau said.
Kompasu was expected to exit the Philippines on Tuesday and was headed to Hainan, China, the bureau said.
“Within the next 36 hours, the storm is forecast to gradually intensify but is becoming less likely to reach typhoon category prior to making landfall over Hainan Island,” it said.
Presidential spokesperson Harry Roque said in a statement that rescuers were being despatched to affected areas.
“Rescue personnel and teams from the local government units are on the scene as we assure all requests for rescue and assistance are being acted upon by all relevant agencies,” he said.
“Support from the Armed Forces of the Philippines, the Philippine Coast Guard, the Philippine National Police and the Bureau of Fire Protection are likewise mobilized and deployed,” he added.
Hong Kong is expected to raise its typhoon signal No 8 between on Tuesday afternoon, and all school classes have been cancelled.
The Philippines is hit by an average of 20 storms and typhoons every year, which typically wipe out harvests, homes and infrastructure in already impoverished areas.
Because a warmer atmosphere holds more water, climate change increases the risk and intensity of flooding from extreme rainfall.
The strongest typhoon to hit the Philippines was Typhoon Haiyan, which killed more than 6,300 people and displaced more than 4 million in November 2013.: https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/south...lides-flooding
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Tropical Storm Maring completes merger with Nando's remnants
Tropical Storm Maring (Kompasu) finished merging with the remnants of Tropical Depression Nando late Sunday morning, October 10, and shifted north northwest over the Philippine Sea.
The Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical, and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) said Maring was already 730 kilometers east of Tuguegarao City, Cagayan.
The tropical storm accelerated, moving at 30 kilometers per hour from the previous 10 km/h.
It maintained its strength, with maximum sustained winds of 85 km/h and gustiness of up to 105 km/h.
But PAGASA said Maring may intensify into a severe tropical storm within 24 hours. (READ: FAST FACTS: Tropical cyclones, rainfall advisories)
The list of areas under Signal No. 1 was further expanded as of 11 am on Sunday. Strong winds are expected in these provinces:
Batanes
Cagayan including Babuyan Islands
Isabela
Apayao
Abra
Kalinga
Mountain Province
Ifugao
northern part of Benguet (Buguias, Bakun, Kibungan, Mankayan)
Ilocos Norte
Ilocos Sur
Catanduanes
Eastern Samar
eastern part of Northern Samar (San Roque, Pambujan, Las Navas, Catubig, Laoang, Mapanas, Lapinig, Gamay, Palapag, Mondragon, Silvino Lobos)
eastern part of Samar (Matuguinao, San Jose de Buan, Hinabangan, Paranas)
Dinagat Islands
Surigao del Norte: https://www.rappler.com/nation/weath...r-10-2021-11am
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