World's deadliest weather disaster of 2010: Rio de Janeiro floods kill at least 183
The world's deadliest and most expensive weather disaster so far this year hit Brazil this week, where at least 183 people are dead due to flooding and mudslides in the Rio de Janeiro region. Damage from the flooding has been estimated at 23.76 billion reais (US$13.3bn, €9.9bn), about 8% of the gross domestic product (GDP) of Rio de Janeiro State. Rio's heavy rains began near 5 pm local time (2000 UTC) on Monday April 5, and continued for 24 hours, with a total of 28.8 cm (11.5") of rain falling--more than the average rainfall for the entire month of April. It was the heaviest rainfall ever recorded in Brazil's 2nd largest city. The rains triggered devastating mudslides that roared through slums built on steep, unstable hillsides. According to the Associated Press, crews have pulled 17 bodies from the debris so far at at a new mudslide that hit in Niteroi, next to Rio, on April 7. Authorities fear an additional 150 people may have died there.
Figure 1. Flooding from this week's record rains in Rio de Janeiro. Image credit: Carolina Goncalves / Agência Brasil.
Figure 2. A mudslide in Niteroi, next to Rio de Janeiro, is feared to have killed 200 people. Image credit: Vitor Abdala / Agência Brasil.
The previous deadliest weather disaster this year was the snow avalanche in Afghanistan that killed 172 people on February 8 and 9.
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Jeff Masters
Reader Comments
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Intriguing, but awfully far south.....the 18z GFS does organize it into a tiny area of low pressure under what looks to be a MCC of sorts at 72 hours.
Well the southern half is certainly getting there by the end of the loop with those dark greens which approach 26C. The climatological SSTs in the gulf for May are still below 26C for most of the northern half of the gulf, and your loop only goes to May 7th. I'll bet once we get to the end of May we'll be pretty near climatology.
For Trinidad (my own guage)--
Dec-1.2" (10 yr. average 7.2")
Jan-1.5" average 4.0"
Feb-0.25" average 1.0"
Mar-0.30" average 2.25"
Apr (to date)-0, average for month 2.75"
Temps have set record highs regularly since Jan. Today was 96.5F at my location.
If I remember, 2005 had a lot of dust
oh wow
Very hard to imagine since it's only April 9th not August 9th.
Mind you, the SST's are already warm enough in that region to support at least a "weak" tropical cyclone. Just for experimental purposes I won't mind if the shear does relax for a day or so to see how the system will react. Could give us a hint as to what may very well lie ahead.
Man that's cookin Pottery....I hope the relief comes soon. The SSTs are certainly benefiting in a big way from those temperatures.
Indian Ocean Dipole
Been lurking for around 5-6 years, lots of great info here. Thought I would start with a question.
Does anyone know what weather mechanisms lead to the African storms that end up being Cape Verde systems...and...how does a warming planet affect these?
Thanks Much
Interesting article in Nature related to Dr. Master's last blog topic.
http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v463/n7284/full/nature08831.html
Should increase the chances of precipitation over western africa, not so sure about eastern africa.
Sorry to hear about those disgusting weather conditions. The large blob in the CATL may inch towards you in a few days. HOPEFULLY!!
Anyone looking at the retreating SAL?
Agree, on both counts.
Cant see how we will benefit from the little blob, with the existing upper and mid level winds the way they are though. Although, I see some reduction over the past few days.
The weather systems over Africa that move out into the Atlantic and can develop into tropical storms are called tropical waves, or African Easterly Waves. They form within a strong jetstream of mid-level winds called the African Easterly Jet, which flows westward across the Sahel along about 15N during the height of the hurricane season in August and September. The jet is formed by both baroclinic and barotropic instability due to differences in the airmasses of the Sahara Desert to the north and the Gulf of Guinae to the south. Tropical waves are as their name implies, disturbances or "waves" riding along from east to west within this jet.
As far as how potential global warming could affect tropical waves, I don't know what is preached, but I would imagine they would decrease in both frequency and strength, as global warming would moisten the Sahara Desert and make it smaller. This would decrease the temperature and moisture gradients which drive the African Easterly Jet, which would weaken it, and thus weaken and decrease the number of tropical waves as well.
That hasn't happened to me since I installed
Google Chrome. Are you using IE? I used to have that problem when I used it.Firefox is also good for this site
Yah! I saw that after I posted. Big change there. And water vapour looking better too!
Well, trouble of a wetter kind! Right now it's dry trouble.
The weather here used to be so pleasantly boring....
I promise you that I will be out in it, jumping up and down, whatever time of day or night it comes.
Around here, for miles, looks like the Land of Mordor.
I need some help- can someone please tell when the last full moon was, before June 1 of last year?
And also, when's the last full moon before Season™ this year?
Thank you!
Well maybe I should host a BlogParty on that occasion.
I will supply the towels.
heheheheh
p.s., ladies are invited.
Looking for a lucky sign in the skies for this season? Lol.
Last year the last full moon before June 1st was on May 9th...the next one was June 7th.
This year the last full moon will come May 27th.
Right, that is the implication
I always look at the Last Innocent Moon, before Season™. Well, since '04 anyways, when I first started becoming aware. The color, the brightness, yeah I guess I'm looking and listening for something....
Are you being facetious?
That should read, "Are you being facetious, good sir bud?"
(runs way giggling)
lol
Not particularly no....there is, however, potential for something interesting to get stuck in the NW Caribbean or southern GOM in 5-8 days.
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