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As Extreme Weather Increases, A Push for Advanced Forecasts
As Extreme Weather Increases, A Push for Advanced Forecasts
With a warmer atmosphere expected to spur an increase in major storms, floods, and other wild weather events, scientists and meteorologists worldwide are harnessing advanced computing power to devise more accurate, medium-range forecasts that could save lives and property.
Like a pipeline in the sky, the plume of sodden tropical air advanced mile-high above the Pacific Ocean, heading toward the California coast. This “atmospheric river” — a long, narrow band of concentrated water vapor — carried the moisture equivalent of about 15 Mississippi Rivers. When it made landfall, it dumped a massive amount of rain on the densely populated stretch of California from San Francisco to Los Angeles, unleashing floodwaters, causing landslides, and cutting off power to hundreds of thousands of homes and businesses.
Atmospheric rivers fuel some of western North America’s most intense and destructive winter storms, and this one, slamming California last December, was a big one. But despite nearly a foot of rain in some places, damage was considerably less than it could have been, thanks to forecasts that pinpointed the storm’s course a week before it struck, giving communities time to prepare.
“I think that [forecast] was a home run,” said Mike Dettinger — a research hydrologist with the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and Scripps Institution of Oceanography in La Jolla, California — who studies atmospheric rivers. “That is how we feel the forecasts ought to work for us now.”
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Deadly snowstorm hits parts of New York state – Weather – Al Jazeera English
Deadly snowstorm hits parts of New York state – Weather – Al Jazeera English.
Heavy snow has choked parts of New York state, stranding motorists in their cars, forcing people to remain indoors and leaving at least seven people dead.
The snow has been very localised: Buffalo Airport reported just 9cm of snow, whereas the suburb of Lancaster, just five kilometres away, reported a staggering 1.52 metres.
The snow that fell was what is known as “lake effect” snow. This is snow that is generated when a very cold blast of air moves over a relatively warm body of water.
The air can pick up vast amounts of moisture from the water, which is converted to snow and dumped downwind. It is therefore very dependent on the wind direction.
Lake effect snow is very common around the Great Lakes, because at this time of year, the lakes are relatively warm and provide a good source of moisture.
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All 50 U.S. states feel freezing temperatures, four dead in New York | Reuters
All 50 U.S. states feel freezing temperatures, four dead in New York | Reuters.
(Reuters) – Temperatures in all 50 U.S. states dipped to freezing or below on Tuesday as an unseasonably cold blast of weather moved across the country while heavy snow prompted a state of emergency in western New York and contributed to the deaths of four people.
Every U.S. state, including Hawaii, was bitten by temperatures at the freezing point of 32 degrees F (0 C) or below, the National Weather Service (NWS) said.
It was the coldest November morning across the country since 1976, according to Weather Bell Analytics, a meteorologist consulting firm. Typically, such cold is not seen until late December through February, the NWS said.
Parts of Erie County, western New York, had 60 inches (1.5 m) of snow, with more falling, said Steven Welch of the National Weather Service near Buffalo.
County officials said on Tuesday there had been four storm-related deaths. One person was killed in a traffic accident and three others died after suffering heart problems, two of whom were believed to have been shoveling heavy snow at the time.
Dust Storms Again in the High Plains
Dust Storms Again in the High Plains.
A cold Arctic air mass swept southward across the high plains last Tuesday, its 50 mph winds dropping temperatures by 50 degrees overnight. Blowing over drought-parched farm soil, the wind created a huge dust storm in eastern Colorado, visible in striking photographs from aircraft and from space. The same region had seven dust storms last year. In 2012, a severe dust storm caused multiple traffic accidents in northern Oklahoma.
Dust storm near Lamar, Colorado, 2013. Photo by Denver Post, permission requested.
“You hear sand and dirt pounding against the window,” said Colorado farmer Dave Hixson after a 2013 storm. “You know that it’s your crop that’s hitting the windows and blowing away, and it’s not just affecting you, but also everyone else.”
Wind takes nearly half the soil eroded from American farmlands. It does its worstin parts of the high plains, where agriculture is pushing its limits: eastern Colorado and nearby regions of Oklahoma and Texas, as well as North Dakota. East of the high plains, severe wind erosion affects the Red River valley of North Dakota-Minnesota. Unprotected soil blows away many times faster than it forms in these regions.
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