Thursday, September 23, 2010

23 September, 2010

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Today's Top Weather Stories
On Weather & Climate Through the Eyes of Mark Vogan
 
WATER WORLD!
today's post dedicated to areas suffering flooding rains!

Largs, Ayrshire
Photo Courtesy of Evening Times
 
BREAKING NEWS
 
TORRENTIAL RAIN FLOODS CENTRAL AND NORTHERN SCOTLAND


On my way home from work this morning around 7.50am, I shot this video of the flooded Campsie Road, just outside my hometown of Lennoxtown, East Dumbartonshire, I've never seen this road as badly flooded...

Homes evacuated as heavy rain causes disruption across Scotland
STV News
 
Flooding hits the west
STV News
 
Flash floods cause chaos
Evening Times
 
Homes hit as torrential rain causes flooding
BBC Weather
 
SEE WEATHER TALK BELOW FOR MARK VOGAN'S THOUGHTS ON WHY ALL THIS FLOODING AND IS THERE AN INCREASE BOTH LOCALLY AND GLOBALLY?

OTHER FLOOD STORIES TODAY

Closed roads and sandbagging: 9" of rain swamps S. Minnesota
Star Tribune

Death toll from typhoon in southern China rises to 54
BBC Weather
 
Today's Weather across America
From AccuWeather
 

More Severe Storms, Flooding to Pummel Kansas City and Minneapolis
By Meghan Evans, Meteorologist

Northeast Hammered by Severe Storms Wednesday
By Meghan Evans, Meteorologist

A Real "Fry Day" in Store for Places Like New York City and Richmond
By Alex Sosnowski, Expert Senior Meteorologist

East Drought to Flood Possible during "Troptober"
By Alex Sosnowski, Expert Senior Meteorologist


Weather Talk
By Mark Vogan
 
Why all this rain?
Is there an increase in "torrential and freak bursts of rain in the British Isles"?

As I drove to work last night and on my way home this morning around 7.30am the rain was bettering down, creating dangerous flood waters on roads, particularly hilly, rural routes were pooling in deeper and unexpected in areas that normally are clear of standing water when it rains.

The rains the past 24 hours haven't been your typical "heavy rain" as the M8 endured about a solid inch or two of standing water grinding rush-hour traffic to a near halt and brought visibility to very low levels.

Indeed, these heavy bursts of rain within that steady band of slow moving rain did bring flooding to areas of Glasgow as well as to the west and down across Ayrshire as well as further north across Aberdeenshire where Loch's and rivers burst their banks.

So, why all this heavy rain? Is there an increase in summetime flooding across the British Isles?

Well, I believe there has been over perhaps the past 10 years and I believe it's down to the current climatic cycle we're in.. An increase in water temperature in the Atlantic and in other bodies of water around the world has lead to perhaps an enhancement of rainfall.. Bring a "typical" Atlantic weather system into Britain when waters are very warm surrounding this small island and also draw warm, sub-tropical air over the UK will aid in releasing larger amounts of rain and will also likely enhance the intensity of the actual depression that's progressing in off the Atlantic. The warmer, moister air which not only brings a higher quantity of precipitation into the equation but also energizes the energy which is the low pressure system will work two-fold in bringing not only more rain than what may be seen if waters surrounding and over the North Atlantic was colder but also enhances the rate in which the rain falls...

I believe that's why we're seeing the greater frequency in so-called freak downpours or heavier, longer duraction rain events which over recent years appears to have been on the increase.

TEXAS FLOODING

I also see Texas recieving more and more flooding events as well as the Central Plains.. perhaps a warmer than normal Gulf of Mexico? The Plains appear to have recieved many a wet, drenching summer of late, is this the combination of Pacific cooling and the oncoming of yet another strong La Nina combined with those very warm Gulf of Mexico waters??

MINNESOTA FLOODING

A strengthening batch of southbound Canadian Cold Fronts have lit the energy associated with what was Tropical Storm Georgette that is now over the Northern Plains and Midwest bringing flooding as upwards of 10 inches of rain has swamped areas from Minnesota and Wisconsin. Tropical origin air is always laden with copious amounts of moisture and all you need, particularly at this time of year when seas are at their warmest and cold fronts are sharper as the air to their north is colder with every new front, infuse the two energy sources and BANG, you've got torrential, flooding rains and that is the case here...

PAKISTAN AND CHINA FLOODS

As for the floods in Pakistan and China, I wonder whether the intensity of the El Nino and the upper-level pattern which set up forced those warmer than normal SST's in the North Indian Ocean to enhance amounts of water evaporated into the atmosphere and the "strong blocking" over Russia, remember that heatwave? Because the jet stream sank farther south than normal, this I believe ultimately added to a much greater degree, the energy levels in the upper atmosphere in what's normally an energetic atmosphere over India and Pakistan. This enhancement of energy thanks in part to the massive, bulging ridge over Russis the west, northwest, forced a stronger push of very warm, moisture-laden air north from the Indian Ocean and forced a much stronger monsoon than normal... El Nino may well have been the culprit to this as well as the enhanced blooking we've seen throughout 2010 that is and was to blame for the vast flooding over southern, central and southeast Asia!

Vagaries of the Weather
India & Sub-Continental Asia Weather
By Rajesh Kapadia
 
Thursday, September 23, 2010

An overactive upper air circulation persisting over Northern regions over the last 4 days, has drenched the region and caused havoc and floods/avalanches in the hills.


As anticipated, now, the incoming anticyclone from the west is pushing into India, and will dominate the entire North/Northwest India by Saturday, 25th. September, pushing the monsoon away, which has overstayed its welcome by now.

Vagaries to announce monsoon widhrawal from these regions by Saturday.

Across the Western border in Pakistan, the days are getting hot, with Nawabshah(Sindh) on Wednesday at 42c.

Peninsular India would continue to receive end of season thunder showers in scattered patches during the weekend and into early next week (27th/28th.). Some concentration of heavier rains along the south T.N coast.

Forecasting models centre the rains around South Konkan/Goa on Sat/Sun due to a vortex formation off the coast. Some heavy thundershowers may move into south interior Mah and North Karnataka at the weekend.

SEE OUR PARTNER'S BLOG IN FULL HERE!

What's Reaching Today's Blogs?
 
Wettest Day Of The Year?

Paul Douglas Weather Column, WeatherNation

Hurricane Igor: Storm Chase Recap!
The Northeast Quadrant

The Extremes of the Day
Today's US Extremes
Courtesy of AccuWeather

High: 99 degrees at Thermal, CA
Low: 19 degrees at Bodie State Park, CA

Today's UK Extremes
Courtesy of the Met Office

Warmest High: 70 degrees at Manston
Coolest High: 50 degrees at Aviemore
Low: 47 degrees at Loch Glascarnoch
Today's Extremes here at my house
 
High: 56 degrees
Low: 55 degrees
 
TODAY'S COND
A very wet night and morning with periods of persistent torrential rain which brought not only severe surface water to roads across many central and northern areas of Scotland but produced nasty flooding in areas and forced rivers and loch's to burst banks and evacuate people from homes.
 
Thanks for reading.
-Mark

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