Deadly Storms Attack U.S. Heartland

EXTREME WEATHER & CLIMATIC EVENTS
EXTREME RAIN EVENTS
DEADLY STORMS
SEVERE FLOODING
SCENARIOS 900, 444, 111, 066, 023
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Tornadoes, high winds, hail and heavy rain batter Midwest

Illinois and battered by fierce storms, as heavy rains caused severe flooding and fires caused by lightning cut power to hundreds of thousands of people and forced hundreds of flight cancellations.

Iowa was hit by 90 mph (145 kph) winds and 4 inch (10 cm) hail, which caused significant damage to vehicles and buildings.  At least one person was killed when a building collapsed in heavy winds, according to local reports.

Tornado outbreaks caused damage in northern Missouri, Nebraska and Iowa, according to SPC.

In Cedar Rapids, Iowa’s second largest city, rescue teams recovered the body of a 17-year-old student who was swept into a storm drain, after torrential rains triggered flooding.

Severe flooding currently occurring in multiple areas along the Missouri and Mississippi rivers.

Dangerous heat, exceptional drought, severe storms, major flooding

U.S. Weather Forecast, July 14 – 25

A 15-state area of the southern Plains have been experiencing “dangerously oppressive heat,” which has continued from the weekend and could last through the week.

U.S. Weather Hazards Assessment Map. Source: NWS. Click image to enlarge.

National Weather Summary

• Dangerously oppressive heat today through Wednesday throughout the southern Plains, the Gulf Coast states and the southern Atlantic Coast
• Exceptional to sever drought across the South
• Flooding continues along the Missouri River

Killer Heat!

Dangerously oppressive heat is forecast to linger on through the forecast period in Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas, Iowa, Missouri, Arkansas, Louisiana, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Tennessee, Mississippi, Alabama, the Florida Panhandle, Georgia, Virginia, North Carolina and South Carolina.

Many of the locations could continue experiencing record-setting temperatures, forecasters said.

[NOTE: An earlier list for the heat advisory included 23 states: Alabama, Arkansas, Delaware, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, New Jersey, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas and Virginia.]

The U.S. Weather Hazards Map.  Source: NWS. Click image to enlarge.

Weekend highs included:

• Kansas
• 113 degrees (45ºC) in Ashland
• 108 in Pratt
• 112 degrees in Anthony
• 111 degrees in Wichita, Kansas*
• Oklahoma
• 111 degrees in Altus Dam, Freedom and Guthrie
• 110 degrees in Billings
• 109 in Enid and Seminole
• Texas
• 111 degrees at Lake Kemp
• 104 degrees in Dimmitt and Tulia

[*NOTE: In Wichita, Kansas, temperatures of 111 degrees have occurred only 10 times since July 1888, NWS said.]

Severe Weather

An area at Moderate Risk for severe weather development today extends from the southern half of Lake Michigan to the Ohio Valley. The area includes southeastern Wisconsin, northeastern Illinois, southwestern Lower Michigan, the northern two-thirds of Indiana, the western half of Ohio and extreme north-central Kentucky, NWS said.

On Sunday SPC received 320 reports of severe weather: 280 reports of high winds, 28 reports of large hail and 12 tornado reports. There were seven tornado reports from North Dakota, three from Colorado and two from Minnesota.

Flooding

As of this morning, 17 gauges were at Major Flooding levels, 29 were at Moderate Flood and 45 were at Minor Flood. Another 95 sites were Near Flood.

Flood Map for the U.S.

Related Links

• Mega Heatwaves Could Kill Thousands in the U.S.

• Back to the Primordial Future
• Brace for the Worst Ever
• WARNING: Global Disasters to Intensify
• Global Climate Extremes INTENSIFYING

• Another Wild Weather Day Across the U.S.
• 2011-2012:  A TIME FOR MEGADISASTERS

Wild, Wild Weather in Central US

Extreme heat, severe storms, major flooding grips central United States

Central United States could expect a smorgasbord of extreme weather this weekend including  extreme heat, severe weather and major flooding: Forecasters

US Weather Hazards Map – July 1, 2011

Click image to enter NWS interactive portal.

Today’s Hydrometeorological briefing from the NWS includes:

• Excessive Heat Warnings and Heat Advisories for the northern and central Plains, the Upper Mississippi Valley and the Middle Mississippi Valley (Excessive Heat Warnings were already in effect this morning for northwestern Missouri, northeast Kansas and eastern Oklahoma.)
• Critical Fire Weather conditions in parts of southwestern Colorado, western Kansas, the Oklahoma and Texas Panhandles and surrounding areas
• Severe thunderstorms across the northern and central Plains and the Upper Mississippi Valley
• Continued major flooding on the Missouri River and tributaries from North Dakota to Missouri

Dangerous heat will threaten very young, the very old and the infirm from northern Minnesota to the Oklahoma and Texas Panhandles and along the Missouri and Mississippi River drainages.

• Heat indices for northern areas are expected to be in the high 90s and low hundreds
• Actual high temperatures in parts of Kansas, Oklahoma and Texas are expected to range from 106 to 110 degrees.
• Many areas will see their second day of such extreme heat with little or no overnight cooling. Areas under heat warnings and advisories include:
• Eastern North Dakota and South Dakota and Nebraska
• Kansas
• All of Minnesota but the Arrowhead
• Iowa
• Northern, central and southern Missouri;
• Eastern Oklahoma;
• All but very northern Wisconsin
• Western Illinois.

Red Flag Warnings

Red Flag Warnings, prompted by extreme heat (temperatures as high as 106-110 degrees) combined with windy conditions (20-25 mph) and low relative humidity (as low as 4-8 percent) for parts of 7 states:

• Nevada
• Utah
• Colorado
• Western Kansas
• New Mexico
• Oklahoma Panhandle
• Texas Panhandle.

Missouri River Breaches SW Iowa Levee

Meantime, the Missouri River has breached another section of a southwestern Iowa levee, forcing 1,200 people to evacuate and closing part of Interstate 29, authorities were reported as saying.

“About 40 miles of I-29 was closed from Bartlett, Iowa, to the I-29/US 136 interchange in Missouri now because of Missouri flooding and another 16 mile stretch of the interstate is closed in the Council Bluffs, Iowa, area across from Omaha.”

Global Disasters To Intensify

FIRE-EARTH Models show that global disasters could intensify in the 9 month period starting about July 2011 compared with the previous corresponding period (pcp). See: WARNING: Global Disasters to Intensify

Related Links

• Back to the Primordial Future
• U.S. corn production may fall on flooding, heat, drought
• WARNING: Global Disasters – June 21, 2011

What’s a Hydrokong?

A Shrinking World Series

Is it a mega-tropical storm system, or an extra-tropical cyclone (ETC), i.e., a non-tropical, large-scale low pressure storm system like a Nor’easter?

“Hydrokong” is a colossal atmospheric phenomenon. It’s an extreme precipitation event which is enhanced by circulation changes that increase and concentrate the distribution of water vapor.

Hydrokong! The Storm System as it appeared over the central United States June 12, 2008 04:15 UTC. The still image is an aviation color enhancement of a satellite image.

Globally, as total precipitation increases, the duration or frequency of precipitation events decreases. However, warmer temperatures and regional variation can significantly affect those offsetting behaviors. For example, reduced total precipitation in one region, the Western United States, can significantly increase the intensity of precipitation in another region, the Midwest. Hydrokongs essentially create two extreme events, droughts in one region and flooding caused by mega-intense precipitation in another. As the global temperatures rise, more hydrokongs should be expected.

Another Hydrokong in the making? A new System as it appeared over the central United States June 27, 2008 04:15 UTC. The still image is an aviation color enhancement of a satellite image.

An aviation color enhancement of a floater [updated periodically] satellite image GEOS Eastern U.S. Imagery, NOAA SSD. For full size image right-click on the image and select “View Image.”

In the words of Brian Pierce, a meteorologist at the National Weather Service, describing the aftermath of flooding last week: “We are seeing a historic hydrological event taking place with unprecedented river levels occurring.”

Are Extreme Precipitation Events Earth’s Natural Defense Mechanisms?

Related Links:

• Nature’s Defense Mechanisms
• www.crh.noaa.gov/ahps2/index.php [Advanced Hydrologic Prediction Service!]
  

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Mississippi Levees Breached in 23 Places

A Shrinking World Series

‘We are seeing a historic hydrological event taking place with unprecedented river levels occurring.’ —Brian Pierce, meteorologist, National Weather Service.

Mississippi river surges over at least 23 levees and another 30 barriers are at risk, as the Midwest floods move south.

In 1993, devastating floods, sweeping down Missouri and Mississippi rivers, surged levees and destroyed communities from St. Louis to northern Louisiana.

Mississippi River floodwaters engulf a farm about 15 miles north Quincy, Ill. after the south portion of the Indian Graves levee breached. (Tribune photo by Michael Tercha / June 18, 2008). Image may be subject to copyright. See FEWW Fair Use Notice!

Midwest Flood Victims Feel Misled by Feds

“They all told us, `The levees are good. You can go ahead and build,”‘ said Parks, who did not buy flood coverage because her bank no longer required it. “We had so much confidence in those levees.”

“People put all their hopes in those levees, and when they do fail, the damage is catastrophic,” said Paul Osman, the National Flood Insurance Program coordinator for Illinois. “New Orleans is the epitome; a lot of those people didn’t even realize they were in a floodplain until the water was up to their roofs.”

“We reported to the president in ’94 that the levee system was in disarray, the levees were not high enough to take care of any potential problem. People didn’t understand their flood risk and there wasn’t good co-ordination across federal, state and local governments,” said Gerald Galloway, a professor of engineering and flood control expert.

“The same thing applies today,” Galloway said. “It’s amazing that in the face of [Hurricane] Katrina and now this particular challenge that we continue to relearn the same lessons.”

Galloway’s recommendations to improve the levee system were basically ignored. He said that he’s experiencing much the same response now from officials as in 1993.

Related Links:

• Floods
• China “Frankenstein”
• Midwest Flood Victims Feel Misled by Feds
• More levees at risk from surging Mississippi as Bush tours flood areas

• Drought (Index Page)
• In Spain, Water Is a New Battleground
• California ‘Mojavefied’ by 2011?
  

• First Wave of World’s Collapsing Cities

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