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

Kentucky: Deluge to Drought in 12 Months

Drought consuming Western Kentucky after 2011 record deluge

2011 was the wettest year on record in Kentucky since records began 117 years ago, causing severe flooding, especially in western part of the state in April and May. But those same parts are currently in drought, meteorologists said.

“Like flooding, drought is a recurrent feature of Kentucky’s climate,” said Dr. Stuart Foster, state climatologist. “Last year was the wettest year on record across Kentucky going back to 1895. Now, the same areas of the state that experienced widespread flooding last spring are in drought.”

The contrast between 2011 and 2012 precipitation totals from some Kentucky Mesonet stations highlights the extremes of Kentucky’s climate.

Totals of about 17  to 24 inches were recorded in April and May last year in eight western Kentucky counties, while this year those same counties received between 1.44 and 5.80 inches of rain.

County  2011  (2012)
Fulton  21.55  (1.44)
Trigg   21.67  (2.18)
Caldwell 23.78  (2.46)
Graves  20.52  (2.82)
Calloway 21.06  (3.18)
Clinton  16.79  (3.56)
Marshall 24.17  (3.87)
Cumberland  19.13  (5.80)

• See also: Drought Intensifying in the U.S. South and West Posted on June 2, 2012

Other Global Disasters, Significant Events

• Colorado.  “Extreme drought conditions are expanding in northwest Colorado, covering most of Garfield, Rio Blanco, and Routt counties as well as portions of Moffat, Pitkin, and Mesa counties — encompassing about 10 percent of the state in a region with critical watersheds for downstream water users,” said a report.
  • With the snowpack gone,  streamflows would be well below average this year, forecasters said.

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

Ten Colorado Counties Declared Disaster Areas

Continuing drought causes agricultural disaster in Colorado

Ten Colorado counties have been designated as agricultural disaster areas due to losses caused by drought that began  October 1, 2011, and continues, USDA reported.

Disaster Calendar 2012 – February 19

[February 19, 2012]  Mass die-offs resulting from human impact and the planetary response to the anthropogenic assault could occur by early 2016.  SYMBOLIC COUNTDOWN: 1,487 Days Left to the ‘Worst Day’ in Human History

• Colorado, USA.  The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has designated ten counties in the state of Colorado as agricultural disaster areas due to losses caused by drought that occurred from October 1, 2011, and continues.
  • Primary Disaster Area:  Lincoln County.
  • Contiguous Disaster Areas:  Arapahoe, Cheyenne, Crowley, Elbert, El Paso, Kiowa, Kit Carson, Pueblo and Washington counties.

Other Global Disasters

• Negros, Philippines. Death toll and the number of people missing from a strong earthquake, measuring 6.7Mw, and several significant aftershocks that struck Philippines Negros Region on February 6 has climbed to at least 113, the country’s National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council said.
  • About 120 people were injured in the quakes.
  • The quakes destroyed more than 6,300 houses and damaged 9,200 others.
  • About 5,000 families are currently in evacuation centers, a report said.

• Yunnan province, China. A severe drought has destroyed or damaged about 400,000 hectares (~ one million acres) of crops in Southwest China’s Yunnan province, local reports said.
  • The direct economic losses is estimated at more than 600 million yuan.
  • The drought has affected about 6.3 million people in 91 counties in the province, reports said.
  • More than 2.4 million people and 1.55 million livestock are short of drinking water.

Global Disasters: Links, Forecasts and Background

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

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

• Disaster declaration renewed in Texas
• Volcanic Emissions: Hawaii County Declared Disaster Area
• Indiana, Michigan and Washington Declared Disaster Areas

Indiana, Michigan and Washington Declared Disaster Areas

Extremes of weather cause agricultural disasters in hundreds of counties across 9 states

Up to 40 percent of crops have been lost to disasters caused by drought and deluge, high winds, hail, freeze, frost, blizzard, tornadoes and lightning that occurred from Feb. 1, 2011, and continues…

Disaster Calendar 2012 – January 31

[January 31, 2012]  Mass die-offs resulting from human impact and the planetary response to the anthropogenic assault could occur by early 2016.  SYMBOLIC COUNTDOWN: 1,506 Days Left to the ‘Worst Day’ in Human History

• Michigan, USA.  The entire state of Michigan has been declared agricultural  disaster areas due to three separate disaster conditions that began in February and May 2011.
• Disaster #1.  USDA has designated 70 counties agricultural disaster areas due to losses caused by the combined effects of excessive rain, high winds, hail, freeze, frost, blizzard, tornadoes, flooding and lightning that occurred from Feb. 1, 2011, and continues. The Primary Disaster Areas are:

The above 29 counties in Michigan have been designated as Primary Disaster Areas. Source: USDA

These 41 counties in Michigan have been designated as contiguous disaster areas. Source: USDA

Other counties in adjacent states designated as disaster areas because they are contiguous:

• Indiana: Elkhart, La Porte, St. Joseph and Steuben counties.

• Ohio: Fulton, Lucas and Williams counties.

• Michigan: Disaster #2.  USDA has declared 22 counties in Michigan  as agricultural disaster areas because of losses caused by drought and excessive heat that occurred from May 15, 2011, and continues.
  • Primary disaster areas:  Dickinson, Iron, Luce, Mackinac, Menominee and Montcalm counties.
  • Contiguous disaster areas:

These 16 counties in Michigan have been designated as contiguous disaster areas. Source: USDA

• Wisconsin. Florence, Forest, Marinette and Vilas counties in Wisconsin were also declared as contiguous disaster areas.

• Michigan.  Disaster #3. USDA has declared 32 counties in Michigan as agricultural disaster areas because of losses caused by the combined effects of excessive rain, high winds, hail, freeze, frost, blizzard, tornadoes, flooding, lightning, drought and excessive heat that occurred from Feb. 1, 2011, and continues.

• Primary disaster areas:  Alger, Antrim, Delta, Kalkaska, Leelanau, Marquette, Otsego, Schoolcraft, Washtenaw and Wayne counties.
• Contiguous disaster areas:

These 22 counties in Michigan have been designated as contiguous disaster areas. Source: USDA

• Washington, USA.35 counties in Washington state have been declared agricultural disaster areas due to losses caused by the combined effects of excessive rain, flooding, below normal temperatures, high winds, frosts and freezes that occurred during the period of Jan. 1, 2011, through July 31, 2011.
  • Primary disaster areas:

The above 15 counties in Washington have been designated as primary disaster areas. Source: USDA

These 20  counties in Washington have been designated as contiguous disaster areas. Source: USDA

• Oregon.  Clatsop, Columbia, Gilliam, Hood River, Morrow, Multnomah, Sherman and Wasco counties in the adjacent state of Oregon were also added to the disaster list.

• Indiana, USA.   USDA has declared 78 counties in Indiana as agricultural  disaster areas due to losses caused by the combined effects of drought and excessive heat that occurred during the period of July 1, 2011, through Oct. 18, 2011.

These 45 counties in Indiana have been designated as primary disaster areas. Source:

These 33  counties in Indiana have been designated as contiguous disaster areas. Source: USDA

The following counties in the adjacent states were also declared as disaster areas because they’re contiguous

• Illinois: Clark, Crawford, Edgar, Gallatin, Lawrence, Vermillion, Wabash and White counties.
• Kentucky: Boone, Breckinridge, Carroll, Daviess, Gallatin, Hancock, Henderson, Meade, Trimble and Union counties.
  

• Michigan: Branch and St. Joseph counties.
• Ohio:  Butler, Darke, Defiance, Hamilton, Mercer, Paulding, Preble and Van Wert counties.

• Colorado, USA. USDA has declared 10 Colorado counties as agricultural disaster areas due to severe drought, a report said.
  • The disaster areas are Arapahoe, Cheyenne, Crowley, Elbert, El Paso, Kiowa, Kit Carson, Lincoln, Pueblo and Washington counties. The drought-stricken areas “suffered up to 40 percent losses. No estimates on the dollar losses or number of affected farmers were available.”

Global Disasters: Links, Forecasts and Background

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

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

Disaster Calendar July 2011

2011 Disaster Calendar – July 14 entry

Mass die-offs resulting from human impact and the planetary response to the anthropogenic assault could occur by early 2016.  SYMBOLIC COUNTDOWN: 1,707 Days Left to the ‘Worst Day’ in Human History

• Philippines. Death toll from flash floods and rainstorms in the southern Philippines has climbed to at least 43, officials said. Flash floods also killed more than 30 people in Davao City in June. Some 450,000 children in Mindanao are sheltering at evacuation centers. Affected communities are at risk of waterborne diseases and pneumonia, UNICEF country representative said.

• Niagara Region, Canada. Death toll from an outbreak of C. difficile in Niagara Health System hospitals has climbed to 21, reports say.
• California, USA. Imperial County has been declared a disaster area following major damage caused by thunderstorms last week, reports said.
• Colorado, USA. Twelve Colorado counties have been declared as natural disaster areas due to the ongoing drought and the governor is asking USDA to add 5 more the list, a report said.
  “Fremont County was designated as a disaster area because of a freeze that hurt its apple crop. Hickenlooper wants Delta, Mesa and Montrose added because of damage to fruit crops.”
• Illinois, USA. A state of emergency has been declared in Lake County after the damage caused by storms on Monday, reports said.
• Ohio, USA. The WH has declared declared Ohio a major disaster because of the damage caused by severe storms and flooding between April 4 to May 15, 2011, a report said. Worst damaged counties are Adams, Athens, Belmont, Brown, Clermont, Gallia, Guernsey, Hamilton, Hocking, Jackson, Jefferson, Lawrence, Meigs, Monroe, Morgan, Noble, Pike, Ross, Scioto, Vinton, and Washington

Related Links

• 2011 Disaster Calendar
• FEWW DISASTER FORECAST 2011
• 2011 Much More Disastrous
• 2011 SIX TIMES MORE DISASTROUS THAN 2010
• Megadisasters Loom

• 2010 Disasters
• The First Wave of World’s Collapsing Cities
• 2010 Disaster Calendar
• The Fate of Energy Dinosaurs