Monday, January 01, 2018

Wishing all Vagarians and Readers a very Happy and Successful 2018...


Let us not wriggle out of 2017 without mentioning some of the uncommon, nonseasonal, extreme and rare weather events in the world. Have tried to cover up the most, but must have missed out many..so, lets start with January....

January 2017:
2nd
The first week of 2017 brought a deadly severe weather outbreak in the Southeast USA. At least six people were killed across the Southeast on Monday as severe storms spawned strong winds, heavy rain and tornadoes.
3rd
New Year's Eve fireworks contributed to dangerously high levels of pollution in several German cities, official figures suggest. In Munich, particulate levels briefly reached 26 times the EU-recommended daily limit of 50 micrograms of particulates per cubic metre of air. National figures suggest that firework displays ejected some 4,000 tonnes of particulates into the atmosphere. That reportedly equates to 15% of yearly vehicle particulate emissions. Airborne sooty particulates are mostly emitted during the burning of fossil fuels and contribute to deaths from respiratory illnesses. The German figures have prompted environmentalists to call for restrictions on the sale of private fireworks.
4th
A thick fog settled over large parts of China, including the capital of Beijing, early in the week prompting hundreds of flight cancellations across the country. The dense fog also forced highways to be shut down with visibility being reduced to just a few hundred feet. Officials in Beijing issued a red smog alert on Wednesday, the highest possible warning level for smog, Reuters reported.
8th
The famed Pioneer Cabin tree, known for its hollow centre that allowed cars to pass through, collapsed during the intense storm that blasted California with heavy rain. The giant sequoia was located in the Calaveras Big Trees State Park in Calaveras County, about 80 miles southeast of Sacramento. The tree was a popular tourist site since the 1880s when a group of pioneers carved out the centre. It became an iconic part of the state park. Until recently, cars were allowed to drive through. Jim Allday, a park volunteer, found the collapsed tree on Sunday as a major storm affected central and northern California.
9th
More than 20 people are now known to have died as icy temperatures continue to grip much of Europe. Ten people died of cold in Poland on Sunday. The bodies of three migrants, two Iraqi and one Somali, were found near the Turkish-Bulgarian border. Deaths have been reported in Italy, the Czech Republic, Russia and Ukraine. Dozens of flights have been halted. In Turkey, the Bosphorus is closed to shipping after a snowstorm. Even Greece's islands are covered in snow. In Serbia, all river transport is suspended on the Danube. Belgrade where temperatures are currently reaching -20C". In Russia, temperatures in some regions have plunged below -40C. Normally milder Greece has witnessed temperatures of -15C in the north,

February 2017:
8th
Heavy rain has lashed parts of Fiji the past several days as a tropical low passed through the region. Rainfall has totalled more than 450 mm in Nadi causing widespread flooding and cutting off some people from their homes for several days as the Nadi and Ba Rivers overflowed their banks.
9th
Intense heat building back across Sydney, Australia, late this week should cause a 121-year-old record to fall. Temperatures are set to soar to around 38C on Friday and Saturday in Sydney with a strong area of high pressure overhead. For a city where a high of 26.5C is more common in February, this latest blast of heat will not only put a strain on residents but will also enter history books. Friday and Saturday could make for the 10th and 11th days this summer of highs exceeding 35C at Sydney's Observatory Hill (the city's official weather station). Never before have so many such days been registered in a summer since record-keeping began in 1859. The current record for the most days is nine, which was originally set during the summer of 1895-96, according to data from the Bureau of Meteorology. The record was tied this summer on 31 January as the city's hottest month on record came to a close.
13th
Following the worst drought Bolivia has seen in more than 25 years, severe thunderstorms plagued parts of central South America last week. Whilst rainfall helped alleviate drought conditions, more than 75mm of rain fell in just a few hours across parts of Santa Cruz, Bolivia.
16th
The heatwave that engulfed southeastern Australia at the end of last week has seen heat records continue to tumble like. On Saturday February 11, as New South Wales suffered through the heatwave's peak, temperatures soared to 47C in Richmond, 50km northwest of Sydney, while 87 fires raged across the state amid catastrophic fire conditions. On that day, most of NSW experienced temperatures at least 12 degC above normal for this time of year. In White Cliffs, the overnight minimum was 34.2C, a new record for the state's highest observed minimum temperature. On Friday, the average maximum temperature right across NSW hit 42.4C, beating the previous February record of 42.0C. The new record stood for all of 24 hours before it was smashed again on Saturday, as the whole state averaged 44.0C at its peak. At this time, NSW was the hottest place on Earth. And still the records continue to fall. Mungindi, on the border of NSW and Queensland, broke the Australian record of 50 days in a row above 35C, set just four years ago at Bourke Airport, with the new record now at 52 days.

March2017:
10th
Late season snow has cut off parts of northern India around the foothills of the Himalayas. The winter storms have lingered across the states of Himachal Pradesh along with  Jammu and Kashmir for much of this week. Jammu And Kashmir State was badly hit on Friday after heavy snow blocked the arterial Mughal Road, disrupting traffic movement and leaving commuters stranded.
10th-12th
A further wave of torrential rain drenched areas around Auckland, Northland and Waikato Peninsula (New Zealand) over the weekend. The heavy rain was brought by a storm system dubbed 'The Tasman Tempest' that has affected northern areas for the last week. Last week many of the same areas of the North Island recorded high levels of rainfall - some as much as 250 mm in 24 hours. Over the six day period, Whangamata recorded 475 mm of rain, which is around the same amount it would normally see for the whole of autumn. Auckland Civil Defence and Emergency Management (CDEM) said on Sunday 12 March that Titirangi recorded 65 mm of rain in just 1 hour. New Zealand's National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research (NIWA) said that some areas saw over a month's worth of rain fall in a 24 hour period 10 to 11 March. Coromandel recorded 130 mm, Rotorua 97 mm and Auckland 91 mm. An average March rainfall ranges between 75 to 110 mm in Auckland. 

April 2017:
5th
The remnants of former Cyclone Debbie caused chaos across New Zealand on Wednesday, with floods, landslides, blackouts and more. Areas were forced to evacuate and roads were closed as the deluge battered the country, and Kaikoura was even cut off overnight. More than 100 mm of rain fell in the Kaikoura district over the 36 hours to Wednesday evening, causing a mudslide on State Highway 1, south of Kaikoura. 
6th
A 'once in 500-year' flood is swallowing up large parts of the east coast of New Zealand, as the tail-end of ex-cyclone Debbie sweeps east after devastating large parts of Australia. States of emergency have been declared in numerous regions in the North Island, after rivers burst their banks following two days of heavy rain and gale-force winds. Auckland, which received a month's worth of rain in 24 hours.
19th
A cold spell sweeping across central Europe has brought snow back to some countries including Germany, Poland and Slovakia. Most of Romania is shivering under sub-zero temperatures and winds exceeding 70 km/h, and the mountainous regions have been blanketed in snow. In eastern Ukraine, a white coat, 30 cm thick in some areas, has covered the early spring blossoms. In Kharkiv, the country's second-largest city, the weight of the snow pulled down trees and electric supply lines, leaving over a thousand homes without any power. In Switzerland too, more than 20 cm of snow has fallen in two days.
20th
Today marked the hottest April day for New Delhi since 2010. Temperatures soared to 43.2C at Safdarjung Airport and 44.9C at the Indira Gandhi International Airport. Safdarjung.
29th
Beijing had the hottest April day in at least 19 years with the temperature soaring up to 33.1C. This was the hottest day in April in Beijing since 1951, Sina News, a popular news portal in Mandarin, reported. According to the weather observatory, it was only the hottest since 27 April 1998, when 33C was reached.

May 2017:
8th
A severe thunderstorm hit Denver (Colorado) with large hail, causing damage and travel delays across the city. Roads looked as if they were covered in snow due to the amount of hail that fell. Hail as large as tennis balls was reported around Denver, smashing car windows, stripping trees of leaves and damaging some houses. 
11th
The official start of the eastern Pacific hurricane season is 15 May, but the first tropical system of the year has already formed. An area of showers and thunderstorms rapidly organized on Tuesday, becoming the earliest tropical depression and tropical storm on record in the eastern Pacific Ocean since reliable data began in 1966. The previous record for the earliest tropical depression was on May 12, 1990. This depression strengthened to Tropical Storm Alma on May 14. Strong winds high in the atmosphere have caused Adrian to since weaken back down to a tropical depression. A hostile environment may cause the storm to weaken further into the weekend.

June 2017:
1st-2nd
Two people are dead after moisture from former-Tropical Cyclone Mora led to quick-hitting torrential rainfall and major flooding in northern Taiwan on Friday. Out of the 163 mm of rain that inundated Taipei on Friday, 120 mm fell in just two hours, according to data from Taiwan's Central Weather Bureau. Flooding quickly swamped the area and turned streets into rivers, including in Taipei. Flooded tracks disrupted rail traffic. Torrential rainfall continued through Saturday as portions of the country received additional rainfall of over 600 mm. Two-day rainfall totals neared 1200 mm at Nantianchi in Taoyuan District. 
12th
An unusually strong and cold low pressure system caused several daily low temperatures and precipitation records to be set on Monday, June 12, 2017 across central and northern Nevada. On the same day, state's mountainous regions received an estimated 6 - 12 inches of snow. The rare, winter-like storm brought sharp temperature drops, heavy rain, hail, frequent lightning, and even snow. Measurable snow was recorded at Lake Tahoe in the Sierra Nevada Mountains, on the border of California and Nevada. According to NWS Reno, this is something that happens in June about every 5 to 10 years.
18th
Temperatures in Phoenix, Arizona, are likely to peak at 120F (48.8C) on Tuesday, according to the National Weather Service (NWS), which issued an excessive heat warning that will remain in effect until Thursday.  In Tucson on Saturday, daytime highs topped 105F (40.5C) for a third straight day, with 110F (43.3C) expected on Sunday and 115F (46.1C) from Monday through to Wednesday. That five-day stretch of intense heat would narrowly miss a record set in June 1994, when at least 110F was recorded on six straight days.
18th
A powerful multi-vortex tornado hit the small Russian village of Pesyanoye, just south of the city of Kurgan in the Mokrousovsky District of Kurgan Oblast. The event was accompanied by heavy rain, strong winds and large hail. According to available information, the tornado hit around 1800 h local time, almost completely destroying the village.
21st
The UK is basking in its hottest June day in 41 years, with a temperature of 34.5C (94F) recorded at Heathrow. The Met Office reading at the London airport is the highest in June since the mercury hit 35.6 (96F) in 1976 - the all-time high since records began. The heatwave has seen five days in a row during which temperatures in parts of the UK have topped 30C. 
21st
The first day of summer brought some of the worst heat the south-west US has seen in years, forcing flights to be cancelled, straining the power grid and making life miserable for workers toiling in temperatures that reached 120F or higher in some desert cities. Arizona, Nevada and California saw dramatic temperatures Tuesday as researchers say deadly heat waves like this one were going to grow more frequent. Meteorologists in Phoenix said Tuesday evening the temperature topped out at 119F, which has only been matched or surpassed four other times. The forecast called for a high of 120F - nearly 49C - in Phoenix, which the city hasn't seen in more than two decades. Death Valley, California, reached 125F and Palm Springs hit 121F, still a degree lower than the same day last year.  Phoenix has hit 120 only three times in recorded history - the last time 22 years ago. The record high was 122 degrees on 26 June 1990.

July2017:
9th
A two-hour storm unleashed 54 mm of rain on Sunday night in Paris, the equivalent of 27 days of rainfall. Weather services say 49.2 mm fell in one hour, the French capital's heaviest July deluge on record. Flooding closed 20 metro stations and three were still shut as commuters made their way to work on Monday morning. Parts of Switzerland were hit by violent winds and hail storms that also caused flooding at the weekend. Heavy rain began in Paris at 1900 GMT on Sunday night and Meteo France said the amount that fell was higher than the previous record of 47.4 mm set on 2 July 1995.
15th
When Santiago residents awoke on Saturday morning, they were greeted by an unusual sight. The Chilean capital was blanketed in a layer of snow measuring up to two inches, reportedly the heaviest snowfall the city has experienced since 2007. The frosty conditions wreaked havoc in the city where snow rarely falls.
22nd
A ferocious storm has buffeted the lower South Island of New Zealand overnight, with three states of emergency declared in Christchurch, Timaru and Otago and the city of Dunedin accessible only by air.In Christchurch and Dunedin several wastewater pumping stations were unable to keep up with the deluge and contaminated wastewater flowed onto city streets. In the last 24 hours the Metservice recorded more than 220 mm of rain on the hills north of Dunedin, 162 mm in Oamaru and 104 mm in Ashburton.
26th
Incessant rain continued to lash Gujarat on Wednesday, worsening a grim situation in the state's northern region where tens of thousands of people were marooned by one of the worst floods in recent times. Several flights were diverted from Ahmedabad on Wednesday with floods damaging parts of the runway, officials said. Gujarat and Rajasthan are reeling under massive floods, the latest states in the country to face monsoon fury in India 

August 2017:
10th
While Europe battles with a heatwave named Lucifer, the Middle East is enduring a summer so brutal that even those accustomed to Baghdad's searing August weather are labelling it 'ungodly'. As temperatures rose towards 51C on Thursday, Iraq's government declared a mandatory holiday, allowing civil servants to shelter at home. So far this month in the Iraqi capital, every day but one has reached 48C or higher, and the forecast is for the high temperatures to continue for the next week. July was little different, in Iraq and in Syria, where the capital, Damascus, has also been several degrees hotter than usual nearly every day since late June. In Kuwait, where birds have reportedly dropped from the skies, and Riyadh, where building work has ceased this week, locals have called for mercy from a hotter-than-normal air mass that has remained nearly stationary over central Arabia for more than three weeks.
29th
A plane has manoeuvred its way through three tornadoes hovering over the Black Sea, as it came in to land at a Russian airport. Reports suggest the pilot wasn't properly informed about the presence of the tornadoes, all of which were at an alarmingly close distance to one another. Up to 12 twisters were spotted in the area earlier that day. See here for images of the events.

September 2017:
1st-3rd
A heatwave shattered records and exacerbated wildfires across the western United States. The latest burst of heat brought the hottest conditions ever recorded in downtown San Francisco as the temperature to 106F on the 1st. The previous record of 103F was set on 14 June 2000. Dozens more all-time and daily record highs were set from Los Angeles to Portland, Oregon, and Missoula, Montana, over the weekend. The hot, dry conditions fanned the La Tuna Fire north of Los Angeles, which charred over 7,000 acres
5th-7th
Hurricane Irma strengthened to a Category 5 hurricane with maximum sustained winds of 185 mph on Tuesday, becoming the strongest storm in the Atlantic Basin since Wilma in 2005. Irma has already proved destructive across the northern Leeward Islands. The eye of Irma passed over the British Virgin Islands on Wednesday afternoon, devastating the islands and parts of Puerto Rico. 
8th-10th
Hurricane Irma made landfall on the Camaguey Archipelago of Cuba Friday evening, close to Playa Santa Lucia. This was the first Category 5 hurricane to make landfall in Cuba since 1924. The center of Irma then continued moving northwest along the northern coast of Cuba through early Saturday afternoon. A wind gust to 159 mph was reported at a weather station in Ciego de Avila, Cuba, early on Sunday. The Turks and Caicos Islands experienced some of the worst conditions from Irma Thursday night into Friday since the eye passed so close to the south. Extreme winds in excess of 150 mph battered the islands.
21st
More than a month's worth of rain fell across parts of Mumbai in just 24 hours from Tuesday into Wednesday. Rainfall totalling 303.7 mm was reported in the city from Tuesday to Wednesday morning, the second highest 24-hour September rainfall total on record. The all-time wettest 24-hour period in September was 318.2 mm from 12 September 1981. Mumbai averages 301 mm of rain during the entire month of September. An additional 63 mm followed from midday Wednesday to Thursday morning.
30th
Australian temperature records tumbled again in September this year, with the country experiencing the hottest day since records began, and New South Wales breaking that record twice within a few days. As always, particular weather events caused the records to be broken. On 22 September 2017 Australia experienced its hottest September day since records began more than a century ago, reaching an average maximum temperature across the continent of 33.47C - breaking the previous record set nine years ago. NSW reached a record September temperature of 35.81C on 23 September - almost 15 degC above the average September temperature and more than 1.6 degC above the record set in 2003. But in some locations, records tumbled multiple times in September. NSW recorded a September temperature above 40C for the first time in Wilcannia, setting a record measurement of 40.5C on 23 September. That record lasted just four days, with Wanaaring breaking it on 27 September, reaching 41.4C. Queensland also experienced its hottest day over the whole state on 27 September, reaching 42.5C in Birdsville, and Victoria recorded a new September temperature record, measuring 37.7C for the first time at Mildura. The average temperature for the month was not a record temperature, with that record being set by a highly unusual spring in 2013.

October 2017:
2nd
The Queensland city of Bundaberg has endured its biggest one-day downpour in more than half a century, causing flash flooding and leaving thousands without power. A Bureau of Meteorology spokeswoman said the Wide Bay city had received more than 340 mm rain on Monday, breaking a 64-year record by more than 60 mm. Residents described cyclonic-like winds which downed trees and power lines and sent debris flying.
10th
At least nine people are dead after dangerous conditions unfolded from Durban to Johannesburg, South Africa, stranding vehicles and toppling trees. One police officer of Durban was pronounced dead, when a container fell on his car on Tuesday morning, according to Times LIVE of Johannesburg.  As of Tuesday afternoon, local time, areas south of Durban, including Paddock, had more than 140 mm of rainfall from the storm.
16th
Ireland experienced the worst of the weather associated with ex-hurricane Ophelia on Monday, with winds of almost 100 mph damaging electricity networks and causing widespread disruption. 
An "unusual" reddish sky and red-looking sun were reported across many parts of England. The phenomenon was initially seen in the west of England and Wales before spreading to other areas, and was due to the remnants of Hurricane Ophelia dragging in tropical air and dust from the Sahara  along with debris from forest fires in Portugal and Spain. The particles in the air cause blue light to scatter, leaving longer-wavelength red light to shine through.
23rd-24th
At least two people were killed and many injured as a mammoth typhoon struck Japan, hurling dangerous winds and threatening to cause major flooding and mudslides. Typhoon Lan made landfall early Monday along Japan's southern coast near Minamiizu.  Several parts of Japan have already recorded rainfall totals greater than 500 mm in the past 72 hours. Shingu, a city in the Wakayama Prefecture southwest of Tokyo, recorded 894 mm of rain over the past 72 hours - their greatest rainfall total in such a period since the city received 425 mm in 2000.

November 2017:
7th
In the Indian capital, Delhi, residents woke up to a blanket of thick grey smog. Visibility is poor as pollution levels reached 30 times the World Health Organization's recommended limit in some areas. The Indian Medical Association (IMA) declared "a state of medical emergency" and urged the government to "make every possible effort to curb this menace". The levels of tiny particulate matter (known as PM 2.5) that enter deep into the lungs reached as high as 700 micrograms per cubic metre in some areas on Tuesday, data from the System of Air Quality Weather Forecasting and Research website shows. 

December 2017:
8th
A rare snow fell in parts of southern Texas late this week, including as far south as San Antonio and Houston. Houston recorded measurable snow for the first time in eight years on Friday morning. San Antonio received nearly 2 inches of snow.
11th
Heavy snow blanketing northern Europe has caused many flight cancellations and delays at Schiphol airport in the Netherlands and Brussels airport. Nearly 300 KLM flights were cancelled at Schiphol, while Brussels airport scrapped at least 50. Travellers have been advised to check flight updates at home, rather than set off for the airport in bad weather. In Germany the heavy snow has caused many car crashes and traffic jams, as well as train delays. More than 300 flights were cancelled on Sunday at Frankfurt airport, the busiest in Germany. In France 32 regions were put on an emergency footing, as snowstorms battered coastal areas and cut power to thousands of homes. About 80,000 homes lacked electricity in the Loire Valley on Monday, the daily Le Parisien reported. Snowstorms have also spread southwards to Italy, causing some travel chaos in northern regions.
20th
A man has died after collapsing during the height of Sydney's sweltering conditions before a dramatic change in weather saw a 10-degree drop in the space of just two minutes. The man, aged in his 60s, died after collapsing at Woolooware Golf Club in Sydney's south before 1pm after a round of golf as temperatures rose to more than 40C. The storm sent the mercury plunging from 37C to 24C in just 10 minutes as the cool change swept across the state. Mascot, in Sydney's south, dropped ten degrees in two minutes after their hottest day in December in 12 years. Newcastle also saw its hottest day in 12 years, peaking at 40C.

Last years Annual Events here.


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10 comments:

Abizer kachwala said...

Rajesh Sir,wonderful,but I guess there's a typo error...mentioning Mumbai flood dates of 2017...i.e.21 st august instead of 29th.

Abizer kachwala said...

Sir,sorry...you mentioned about september rain....but the rain of august was more destructive...right.

Rohit Aroskar said...

Wonderful weather review sir ..Happy new year to all

Cumulus arjun said...

Happy new year Rajesh sir and all the vagarians!

sset said...

Great Rajesh Sir - looks like God Brahma creater is forecasting events for a year!
Guess Cyclone Ockhi is missing - rearest cyclone to hit MAHA in December and failure of 2017 -
NEM (successive failure since 2016)

Rohit Aroskar said...

Mount Abu reaches 0 c on new year day morning

Rohit Aroskar said...

Dahanu ( North Konkan ) max temp 26.4 c today..Panji ( South Konkan & Goa) max temp 31.3 c today

Abhijit Modak said...

Sir, Superb throwback on 2017's extreme weather events across world. In fact some are even new to me !

NilaY Wankawala said...

Credit Australian government bureau of meteorology

Issued 3 January 2018

The latest ENSO Wrap-Up and Climate Model Summary are now available on the Bureau's website.

La Niña persists in the tropical Pacific

Pacific Ocean climate patterns indicate a weak La Niña persists in the tropical Pacific. The event is expected to be short-lived, and end in the southern autumn of 2018.

The latest sea surface temperatures in the central to eastern tropical Pacific remain around La Niña levels (0.8 °C below average), while in the atmosphere, cloud patterns also remain typical of La Niña. A recent weakening in the trade winds, and a fall in the Southern Oscillation Index (SOI), are likely to be the result of a weak Madden–Julian Oscillation (MJO), and are not considered a signal of an early La Niña breakdown. However, a build-up of warmer water beneath the surface of the western Pacific may be a precursor to the end of this event in the coming months. 

In order for 2017–18 to be classed as a La Niña year, thresholds need to be exceeded for at least three months. Most climate models surveyed by the Bureau suggest this event is likely to last through the southern summer, and decay in the early southern autumn of 2018.

La Niña typically brings above average rainfall to eastern Australia during summer, particularly in northern New South Wales and Queensland. However, with a weak event expected, this typically means less influence on Australian rainfall. La Niña events can also increase the likelihood of prolonged warm spells for southeast Australia.


The Indian Ocean Dipole (IOD) is currently neutral. IOD events are unable to form between December and April.
 
Next update expected on 16 January 2018

Salim Ramani , Jabalpur said...

Rajesh Sir Great !!!!
What a Superb compilation ,you covered entire globe .....
Thanks for updating us..Happy New Year...
Happy New Year to all.....

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