TS DEBBY: Florida Declares State of Emergency

More flooding and tornadoes could strike Florida, as DEBBY hovers off the Gulf Coast

Florida Governor declared statewide emergency stating that “the broad impact of Tropical Storm Debby” could affect “virtually every county in Florida.”

As of Monday, DEBBY had forced Gulf of Mexico oil and gas operators to shut down about half of oil and more than a third of natural gas production.

• The storm is forecast to dump at least a foot of rain in the coastal parts of the state, with some areas receiving as much as 25 inches, the hurricane center said.
• Debby is also forecast to drench southern areas of Alabama, Georgia and South Carolina.
• Tornadoes spawned by DEBBY have killed at least one person and injured two others, destroying or damaging two dozen homes in Highlands County, Fl.

TS DEBBY: Tropical Storm Force Wind Speed Probability.

Other Global Disasters, Significant Events

• Colorado.  The state of Colorado is becoming a raging inferno due to record heat which is causing the worst fire weather conditions in living memory.
  • Record heat is forecast for southern Plains this week, with heat advisories issued for Kansas, Oklahoma and Texas.
  • The temperature at Denver International airport reached a record 102 degrees (ºF) on Sunday, June 24, breaking  the old record of 100 degrees set in 2007,  NWS office in Boulder reported.
  • The tinder-dry conditions are contributing to at least in dozen wildfires burning in Colorado today including
    • Waldo Canyon Fire, west of Colorado Springs – 2,800 homes are in immediate danger; 11,000 residents have evacuated 4,000 homes; about 3,500 acres burned; ZERO containment.
    • High Park Fire west of Fort Collins – the second-largest and the most destructive blaze ever recorded in the state has destroyed at least 248 homes; burned 83,205 acres; up to 5,000 people remain evacuated; 45 percent contained.
    • Little Sand Fire near Pagosa Springs, Weber Fire in Montezuma County, State Line Fire  southeast of Durango, Treasure Fire near Leadville, Trout Creek Fire near Rainbow Falls in Douglas County, Woodland Heights Fire near Estes Park southwest of the High Park Fire, and Elbert Fire have so far consumed about 30,000 acres.
    • Wood Hollow fire. The blaze about 1 mile south of Fountain Green in Utah State Division of Forestry Fire & State Lands has exploded to about 40,000 acres destroying numerous structures and scores of farm animals, mostly sheep.
      • Evacuations: Up to 2,000 people have been evacuated. Indian Ridge, Elk Ridge, Big Hollow, and Oaker Hills communities are under mandatory evacuation.
      • Closures: Highway 89 closure is in effect.
      • Weather: “The big worry now is the weather. Everything that can be done is being done,” Gov Herbert said in a televised conference.

Wood Hollow Fire. Photo credit: Utah State Division of Forestry Fire & State Lands

US Weather Hazards Map, June 26, 2012.

• Meantime, Colorado legislators have asked USDA to open up additional land for emergency livestock grazing as farmers, ranchers battle the severe drought affecting the state, a report said.
  • The entire state of Colorado is currently experiencing abnormally dry or drought conditions.

Colorado Drought Map – June 2012 – US Drought Monitor

• Vermont.  Crops in the state of Vermont are under attack by armyworms, a report said.
  • “They are definitely eating, that is what it looks like,” said Heather Darby an agronomist with the University of Vermont Extension.
  • “We get that first call from a farmer who says I don’t know where my corn went. Can you come out and look? And we come out and look around and you can see the worms essentially so bad the ground’s moving.”
• New York.   Armyworms have invaded farm fields throughout Jefferson County, NY,  with a major outbreak of the worms threatening widespread damage to crops, reports said.
  • “This year, it just seems like the moths got a head start on ’em and that’s what’s happened. So we’re starting to get a buildup of these parasitic flies and these fungal diseases now, but it’s a little, you know, too little, too late right now to control what we’ve got going on now,” said an expert with with Cornell Cooperative Extension.

• Alaska.  The Bear Creek fire which was ignited by lightning about 14 miles south of Clear Airforce Base, AK, on June 23, had grown to about 1,500 acres by Sunday local time. On Monday, the blaze exploded by more than 12 folds, consuming more than 20,000 acres.
  • The fire is aided by strong winds, high temperatures and low humidity, burning in black spruce and hardwoods.
  • At least three other fires are burning within close proximity, fire authorities said.

• British Columbia, Canada.  Weekend storms forced at least 700 people to flee their homes, while 1,200 others were placed on evacuation alert.
  • “Weeks of rapid snowmelt and wet weather caused river levels to rise in the B.C. Interior, the Kootenay region and the Fraser Valley, and a weekend of heavy rain and violent thunderstorms pushed many rivers and creeks in those areas to the brink,” said a report.
  • Flooding has left at least one man dead, causing widespread devastation in the region with many homes, businesses and public infrastructure destroyed.
  • The municipality of Sicamous declared a local state of emergency on Saturday, a report said.

• Montana.  Pony Fire in Beaverhead-Deerlodge National Forest, ignited on June 24th, has grown to more than 2,500 acres threatening numerous structures.
  • The town of Mammoth and South Boulder north to the Indiana University Geology Field Station are under mandatory evacuation, Inciweb reported.
  • At least 2 other wildfires, Antelope Lane fire and Corral fire, are burning nearby.

State of the Climate – Global Analysis for May 2012

• The globally-averaged land surface temperature for May 2012 was the all-time warmest May on record, at 1.21°C (2.18°F) above average
• The Northern Hemisphere land and ocean average surface temperature for May 2012 was the all-time warmest May on record, at 0.85°C (1.53°F) above average.
• The combined global land and ocean average surface temperature for May 2012 was 0.66°C (1.19°F) above the 20^th century average of 14.8°C (58.6°F). This is the second warmest May since records began in 1880, behind only 2010.

Temperature Anomalies Maps for May 2012 – [Source: NCDC/NOAA]

See also: Hottest U.S. Spring on Record

Today’s Record Temperatures

NOAA/NCDC reported 58 high temperature records broken Monday across nine states: Colorado, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, Wyoming, Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas and Kentucky. The temperature records included

• Colorado: 31 records broken, 7 tied; highest temp 110 degrees at La Junta Airport; old record 107 in 1990

• Kansas: 10 broken, 4 tied; highest temp 114 degrees  northeast of Hill City, old record 108 in 1971

• Kentucky: tied record 94 degrees at London, KY; old record set in 1988

• Missouri:  1 tie, 95 degrees at Kirksville, old record set in 1971

• Nebraska:  4 broken, 1 tied; 105 degrees near Harrisburg in Banner County; old record 98 in 2001

• Wyoming:  6 broken, 8 tied; highest temp 107 at Gillette; old record 99 in 1988

• Texas:  3 broken, 2 tied, highest 102 degrees at Victoria tied 102 in 2009

• Oklahoma: 1 broken, 101 degrees at Ralston in Pawnee County, old record 100 in 1988

• Arkansas:  3 broken, two tied, highest 101 at Little Rock Forecast office and Little Rock airport; old record 99 and 100 in 1988

Global Disasters: Links, Forecasts and Background

• The First Wave of World’s Collapsing Cities
• Back to the Primordial Future
• The Fate of Energy Dinosaurs

• Mega Disasters
• 2010 Disasters [Links to 2010 Disaster Calendar]
• 2011 Disaster Calendar
• 2012 Disaster Calendar
• Mass Die-offs

Disaster Calendar – 25 June 2012

DISASTER CALENDAR SYMBOLIC COUNTDOWN: 1,360 Days Left

[June 25, 2012] Mass die-offs resulting from human impact and the planetary response to the anthropogenic assault could occur by early 2016.  SYMBOLIC COUNTDOWN: 1,360 Days Left to the ‘Worst Day’ in Human History…

Global Disasters: Links, Forecasts and Background

• The First Wave of World’s Collapsing Cities
• Back to the Primordial Future
• The Fate of Energy Dinosaurs
• Mass Die-offs

• 2010 Disasters [Links to 2010 Disaster Calendar]
• Mega Disasters
• 2011 Disaster Calendar
• 2012 Disaster Calendar

Fire, Flood and Red Flag Warnings, Storm Emergency Force Evacuations

Tens of thousands evacuated amid raging blazes, as wildfires, flooding, TS DEBBY and extreme weather events affect 2 dozen states

As Tropical Storm DEBBY continued to inch closer to the Gulf Coast, Louisiana Governor issued an executive proclamation declaring a state of emergency for the state.

Tropical Storm DEBBY. IR Satellite Image (NHC Enhancement). Source: CIMSS

Tropical Storm Debby is moving very slowly northeast, and is expected to become nearly stationary overnight. The NOAA/NWS Hurricane Prediction center has cancelled the Tropical Storm Warning for Louisiana and Mississippi. A Tropical Storm Warning is in effect from the Mississippi-Alabama border eastward to the Suwannee River in Florida. A Tropical Storm Watch is in effect south of the Suwannee River to Englewood, Florida. There is high uncertainty with the movement of this storm. [NWS]

TS DEBBY has spawned at least 4 tornadoes in Collier County Florida, killing 1 person, injuring two, and destroying or damaging a dozen homes, as of posting.

Map of U.S. Weather Hazards. Update

• Hazardous Weather Warnings. Hazardous Weather Warnings have been issued for all 50 States.

• Red Flag Warnings. Red Flag Warnings are currently operating across at least 11 lower states and Hawaii.

• Fire Warning. “A FIRE IS BURNING RAPIDLY ALONG THE BOSQUE NEAR RIO VISTA RUN AND HIGHWAY 76 BETWEEN ESPANOLA AND CHIMAYO BY LA PUEBLA. RESIDENTS ARE URGED TO EVACUATE AWAY FROM THE FIRE.” NWS reported.

Wildfires

• Colorado. The Waldo Canyon Fire which ignited in Pike National Forest, El Paso County, on June 23 has exploded to about 3,000 acres, forcing nearly 12,000 people to evacuate.
  • The fire is expected to remain very active today as day heats up and winds develop, forest authorities said.
  • Mandatory evacuation orders are in place at

– Cedar Heights Subdivision and Mountain Shadows south of Chuck Wagon. Boundaries are Rampart Range Road to the west and everything west of 30thand Centennial from Gateway Road north to Chuck Wagon. This is the only mandatory or voluntary evacuation in effect at this time in Colorado Springs City limits.
– Manitou Springs has also placed Mandatory Evacuation Orders within its City limits.
– CORRECTION to reported voluntary evacuations for Mountain Shadows. There are no Mandatory Evacuation – – Orders in place at this time for Mountain Shadows other than those south of Chuck Wagon Road.
– Garden of the Gods Park and Garden of the Gods Visitor Center are closed.
– Green Mountain Falls, Chipita Park, and Cascade (on both sides of Hwy 24)
– Farish and Corrol Lake off Rampart Range Road
– Red Rock Canyon Open Space, Garden of the Gods Park, Palmer Park and Pikes Peak Highway are CLOSED.
– To have your phone on the “reverse 911” for evacuation notices, go to elpasoteller911.org

– Pre Evacuation Notices (These are precautionary notices only – not Mandatory Evacuation, but be prepared to evacuate on short notice if official notification for Evacuation occurs)

– In Teller County: East of Safeway, north of Safeway to Rampart Range Road, south to Edlow Road [Inciweb]

• The High Park Fire.Colorado’s second-largest recorded fire and its most destructive has grown to about 83,000 acres and at least 248 homes (the figure includes additional homes which were lost late last week in the Glacier View and Hewlett subdivisions), USFS reported.
  • The deadly fire continues to spread west into inaccessible areas, and is said to have an EXTREME growth potential.
  • Evacuation Orders remain in place for thousands of residents.  See previous posts for lists.

   

• Utah. The Wood Hollow fire, a new, fast-moving blaze, about 100 miles south of Salt Lake City, has exploded to more than 8,000 acres, forcing thousands of people to flee their homes in 2 rural communities of Fountain Green and Indianola, reports said.

• Oklahoma.    Record heat likely today in Tulsa and neighboring areas, with afternoon heat index climbing to 111ºF, NWS forecast.
  • Heat wave is forecast to continues with 100+ heat to persists through the week.

Max Heat Index Map  Showing Threat for Monday.

Max Temps Map.

Global Disasters: Links, Forecasts and Background

• The First Wave of World’s Collapsing Cities
• Back to the Primordial Future
• The Fate of Energy Dinosaurs
• Mass Die-offs

• Mega Disasters
• 2010 Disasters [Links to 2010 Disaster Calendar]
• 2011 Disaster Calendar
• 2012 Disaster Calendar