Archive | January 16, 2017

DEADLY FLOODS CONTINUE IN THE CENTRAL AND SOUTHERN PHILIPPINES

January 16, 2017 by robertspeta 0 Comments

Forced evacuations are in place in parts of Northern Mindanao including Cagayan de Oro following days of heavy rains in the flood prone city.  Two casualties have been reported due to the rising waters in the region, one in Cebu and one in Cagayan.

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Red alerts are still in place for Misamis Oriental province in northern Mindanao as the rain continues today due to a persistent shear line combined with the remnants of a weak low pressure area over the central and southern Philippines.

 

This means all school and many businesses in Cagayan de Oro will remain closed through Tuesday and probably through Wednesday as the rain is forecasted to continue in the area.

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Is it a tropical system?

 

Yes and no, what we are seeing is a wave of energy that started east of the Philippines work its way in to Visayas over the weekend. At the same time a cold surge blasted south crashing in to this wave forcing rapid uplift and severe thunderstorms to line up across the Philippines.

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As the surge pushed south it forced the shear line south as well, this is why the flooding originally started in Cebu and then worked its way in to Mindanao. At this time the forecast does not look promising, the overall intensity of the showers should taper off through mid week but the north east monsoon will continue to created scattered rainfall through the rest of the week in southern Visayas and Northern Mindanao. Something this area indeed does not need more of.

 

Check out this facebook group post showing some of the flood damage we have been seeing in the area.

Cagayan is known for being flood prone. In 2011 Tropical Storm Washi killed over 1,000 people but possibly up to 2,500 after heavy rains surged in the city forcing the Cagayan river to over flow its banks.

 

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SNOW STORM CONTINUES OVER JAPAN, END BY MID-WEEK

January 16, 2017 by robertspeta 0 Comments

Its Monday morning and the start of the work week for many residents of Japan is a slow and rough one. Over the past 72hrs over a meter of snowfall was seen across the mountains of central Honshu snowing in residents or at least making Monday mornings commute a rough slow go. For those at ski resorts to start off the week, well enjoy the calmer slopes and deep powder. Be extra careful though as this fun graphic from Hakuba Cortina shows. 

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More so in Hiroshima where up to 19cm of snow depth is being seen on the ground Monday morning, this is the deepest in over 3 decades for the Western Japan city. As it may be less than other parts of the country this area is less equipped to handle it thus leaving it worst off.

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Meanwhile in Kyoto on Sunday the city’s annual Marathon was run in a blizzard, despite the cold windy conditions the visibility was also reduced to less than 50 meters at times making for rough spectating as well as the horrible running conditions.

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Deep DEEP snow is being reported across central Honshu as well today. Just looking up on twitter you can find endless videos and photos showing just how deep it is. The one below from a professional skier getting stuck while moving DOWNHILL on a slope in Japan.

 

Overall the snow depth has eclipsed the century mark over the past few days in numerous cities of Hokoriku and parts of the Kanto-koshin region. In Nozawa Onsen over 130cm was reported on the ground Monday morning.

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In the video on this page I put in a few photos from Nozawa Onsen.

THE FORECAST

Is what is on everyone’s mind, well more snow is expected through Tuesday. The heaviest will be in Hokoriku where an additional 80cm of accumulation is expected. I know for many they are happy the deep snow returned after the anomaly last season but I think this persistant weather pattern is starting to get old and maybe a few people in the mountains would enjoy some UV rays from the big fireball in the sky for once.

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It looks like that will be the case heading in to Tuesday Evening and through Wednesday and Thursday for central Japan. The same blocking weather pattern that has been dominating for the past week will give way to high pressure.

Do note this may not last that long, and by the time Friday and the weekend come around another migratory low will move over Japan setting up another round of snowfall.  I will post a little more detail on this next storm by mid-week. For now just know next weekend could over another round of snow.

TOKYO

Monday evening could offer one or two flakes over the city, but nothing really special or crazy. Just for those who are in the city and want to see some sort of frozen precipitation. It will be spotty though so do not place any bets on catching flakes after sunset.

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