Extreme weather report - 05/11/2015

Typhoon Noul kills two, flattens houses as it lashes north-east Philippines

Despite destruction from category five typhoon, corn and rice farmers in Isabela province ‘greatly helped by rains’, says local official

the Guardian,

11 May, 2015

Heavy rains and strong winds flattened houses in coastal areas as typhoon Noul crashed into the north-eastern tip of the Philippines on Sunday, killing two.

More than 3,400 residents moved to shelters.

The typhoon weakened slightly after hitting land, with winds of 160km/h (99mph) near the centre and gusts of up to 195km/h on Monday. The weather bureau expected it to move north at 19km/h and head to southern Japan by Tuesday.

On Monday the website Tropical Storm Risk downgraded Noul to category four typhoon from category five.

Noul landed on Sunday in the rice- and corn-producing province of Cagayan, about 400km (250 miles) north of the capital, Manila, toppling trees and cutting power in wide areas of the province. It is now hovering 185km north of Aparri, in Cagayan.

“The typhoon has moved away, but our problem so far is how to fix what was destroyed,” said Darwin Tobias, mayor of Santa Ana.

“The small houses of our poor town mates in coastal areas were badly hit.”

The national disaster agency said two men died in Aparri after being electrocuted as they were strapping down a tin roof during the height of the typhoon.

More than 3,400 residents from Cagayan and Isabela provinces were moved to evacuation centres in schools, gymnasiums and town halls before the typhoon, officials said.

Tobias said some residents started returning to their homes early on Monday when the rains stopped.

Despite the destruction the typhoon brought much-needed rains to rice and corn farms.

“The rains brought by Dodong [the local name of Noul] helped our farmers greatly,” said James Geronimo, the public information officer of Isabela, which is the Philippines’ top corn producer and the second biggest rice-growing province.

An average of 20 typhoons cross the Philippines each year, but the storms have become fiercer in recent years. More than 8,000 people died or went missing and about one million were made homeless by Haiyan, another category five typhoon that struck the central Philippines in 2013 and caused five-metre storm surges.

I have not been personally affected, but temperatures have been warm for this time of year. Normally, in May (the equivalent of November in the northern hemisphere) we have cold weather with frosts. 19C, as it was in the this morning is unprecedented - but nothing unusual this year

People think the warm weather is great but complain about the rain.

NZ: Heavy rain causes major flooding in Wellington

Austraia: Wild weather set to hit Victoria, with blizzards, snow and hail forecast

Victoria is bracing for wild winds across the state, blizzards in alpine areas and possible flooding in Melbourne.

Bureau of Meteorology (BOM) has issued a severe weather warning for damaging winds and blizzards for people in the North Central, North East, South West, Central, West and South Gippsland and East Gippsland forecast districts.

A low pressure system coming from Tasmania will bring damaging winds of 50 to 70 kilometres per hour, with peak gusts of 90 to 100kph.

Tornadoes kill at least 5 in Texas and Arkansas

Emergency responders searched through splintered wreckage Monday after a line of tornadoes battered several small communities in Texas and Arkansas, killing at least five people, including a young couple who died trying to shield their daughter from the storm.

2015 IS STRANGE Part 5 // End of APRIL + MAY

Part 1 : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HLM-P...
Part 2 : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bgswb...

Somewhere over the rainbow in Colorado today, there was another rainbow, with a tornado above it! I can cross witnessing a tornainbow off my bucket list!!

May 11, 2015 Alaska Weather Daily Briefing

Global Sea Ice Update

http://www.accuweather.com/en/weather-blogs/climatechange/global-sea-ice-update-5/46984864

May 11, 2015; 2:57 PM ET

Here are some of the most recent global sea ice highlights in terms of extent and thickness, courtesy of the National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC).

1. April 2015 had the second lowest April sea ice extent on record for the Arctic as temperatures averaged 1 to 3 degrees C. above normal for the Arctic as a whole. However, temperatures last month averaged 1 to 3 degrees C. below normal in Greenland and across the Canadian archipelago. Records go back to 1979. The lowest April extent on record occurred in 2007.

Most recent Arctic sea ice extent.

April Arctic sea ice extent since 1979.

Note: Sea ice extent last month was above-normal in the Davis Strait, Labrador Sea and off of Newfoundland.

2. A combination of new sensors and near real-time ice thickness data from ESA's CryoSat-2 satellite is now available, which will bring regular sea ice thickness monitoring over most of the Arctic Ocean.

3. Arctic sea ice thickness for Spring 2015 was actually 25 cm (10 inches) thicker on average compared to the Spring of 2013.

4. Second-year Arctic sea ice decreased by more than a 33 percent during this past winter and four-year Arctic sea ice was down 10 percent.

5. Once again, the Antarctic was a different story. April sea ice extent was the highest on record, beating the old April record set just last year. April sea ice is increasing at a rate of 4.1 percent per decade in the Antarctic.

Most recent Antarctic sea ice extent.

April Antarctic sea Ice extent since 1979.