Tornado hits France; unprecedented April heat in Europe
A rare EF-1 tornado with 73 - 112 mph winds (117 - 180 kph) hit Toulouse, France on Sunday, causing minor damage that included collapsed walls, uprooted trees, and cars moved out of place. The tornado touched down 15 - 20 km south of Toulouse in Southwest France at 7:10 pm local time, and baseball-sized hail (4 cm) also hit the region. According to the European Severe Weather Database (ESWD), this was the first tornado in France in 2012. French tornadoes are rare; there were just three tornadoes in the country in 2011. The European Severe Weather Database (ESWD) (as summarized by Wikipedia) lists 15 tornadoes for all of Europe so far in 2012. Most of the twisters (nine) were in Turkey. For comparison, an average of 495 tornadoes touched down in the U.S. during the period January - April over the years 2009 - 2011. A key reason for the lack of tornadoes in Europe is that the atmosphere is usually not unstable enough. Tornadoes require warm, moist, low-density air near the surface, and cold, dry, high-density air aloft to provide a lot of instability. The Baltic Sea and North Sea to the north of Europe moderate cold air flowing south from the pole, reducing the amount of instability over Europe.
Video 1. A rare French tornado kicks up dust near Toulouse, France on April 29, 2012.
Unprecedented April heat hits Central and Eastern Europe
A European heat wave of unparalleled intensity for so early in the year smashed all-time April heat records over much of Central and Eastern Europe on Saturday and Sunday. According to wunderground's weather historian Christopher C. Burt, and weather records researcher Maximiliano Herrera, new national April heat records were set in Belarus, Germany, Austria, Lithuania, Moldova, and Poland, and hundreds of stations in Germany, Austria, France, Italy, Hungary, Moldova, Romania, Poland, Belarus, Ukraine, Lithuania, Latvia, Czech Republic, Slovakia, and Russia recorded their hottest April temperatures on record. Moscow hit 28.6°C (84°F) on Sunday, the hottest April reading in the city since record keeping began 130 years ago. The culprit for the heat wave and French tornado is a large low pressure system off the coast of France whose counter-clockwise flow has been pumping hot air from the Sahara Desert northwards into Europe. The low is expected to continue to bring unusually hot weather to most of Central and Eastern Europe for the remainder of the week.
New all-time April national heat records set over the past few days:
Poland: 31.7°C (89.18°F) at Tomaszow on 4/29
Germany: 32.2°C (90.0°F) at Munich on 4/28
Austria: 31.8°C (89.2°F) at Ranshoten on 4/28
Belarus: 30.4°C ( 86.7°F) at Zitovici on 4/29
Moldova 32.5°C
Lithuania
Jeff Masters
Reader Comments
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Can I say Texas Death Ridge yet?
Not yet, but keep that thought close because things could go downhill quickly if we don't get any meaningful rainfall this May, even with all the rain from the first three months of the year.
The next question is whether we get trolled with another Don.
"Oh here's Texas. I'm sorry, but I don't like you guys. I think I'm gonna randomly go kaput." That, or it veers away into Mexico or Louisiana. ;)
Hey, Keeper, that is my globe you are posting there.
He is right, Keeper. Grothar was here before anyone else ever existed. ;-) If we are lucky, he will still be here when no one else exists. ... Somebody has to turn out the lights when the show is over.
Naw, I don't want to be the last one. I would miss all of you guys. Old Grothar is coming to the end of his road soon.
Zip it kid! ;)
I skimmed the SPC's discussion and it doesn't say anything about major tornado potential... It looks like damaging winds will be the biggest threat today as well as large hail.
Hopefully will look in later with the total rainfall from the recent event.
Have a great one!
Latest rainfall update
Posted: May 01, 2012 8:15 PM CDT Updated: May 01, 2012 8:23 PM CDT
By Patrick Vaughn
Except for the past week, rainfall continues to run above normal Except for the past week, rainfall continues to run above normal
Rainfall has been limited during the past week or so across Southeast Texas, but we are in good shape presently.
During the past week, no rainfall has fallen. Normally, we should pick up about 9 tenths. So it's been dry on the very short term.
For the past two weeks, we are running 28 percent above normal. Since April 15th, we received 2.36 inches of rainfall. Normally, we should only pick up 1.84"
For April, rainfall was 11% above normal. Normally we should receive 3.21" but we picked up 3.55 inches.
And so far this year, we are running 62% above normal. Since January 1st through May 1st, we have received 25.24 inches of rainfall. Normally, we should only pick up 15.58 inches.
The storm systems that have brought the much above normal rainfall have greatly slowed down. Now, it's time for the sea breeze season to kick in and this will really tell the story of where we are heading. La Nina, cooler than normal waters in the Pacific, should end by the summer. However, it's effects may force the area into below normal rainfall later this year IF the sea breeze season does not kick in.
Where yat?
.DISCUSSION...UNSETTLED WEATHER PATTERN IS FORECAST TO SET UP
ACROSS THE LOCAL ISLANDS BY THURSDAY AS DEEP TROPICAL MOISTURE
ASSOCIATED WITH THE AFOREMENTIONED LOW LEVEL TROUGH BEGINS TO GET
DRAWN ACROSS THE EASTERN CARIBBEAN. MOST OF THE OPERATIONAL MODELS
ARE INDICATING PRECIPITABLE VALUES ABOVE 2.2 INCHES ON THURSDAY.
THE COMBINATION OF HIGH MOISTURE CONTENT...FAVORABLE UPPER LEVEL
DYNAMICS AND LIGHT STEERING FLOW WILL RESULT INTENSE AND SLOW
MOVING SHOWERS DEVELOPING ACROSS PARTS OF THE ISLANDS. LOCAL 2KM
WRF MODEL SHOWED THE STRONGEST CONVECTION DEVELOPING ACROSS THE
INTERIOR AND NORTH SECTIONS OF PUERTO RICO ON THURSDAY AND FRIDAY
AFTERNOON. WE WILL CONTINUE TO MONITOR THE EVOLUTION OF THIS
PATTERN...AS PREVIOUS SCENARIOS LIKE THIS HAVE RESULTED IN AREAS
OF SIGNIFICANT RAINFALL AND SOME FLOODING ACROSS PARTS OF THE
LOCAL ISLANDS. STAY TUNED.
May 02, 2012 03:14 GMT
(2012-05-02T03:06:42
FORT DAVIS, Texas (AP) -- Wildfire specialists are being brought in to reinforce the fire line guarding a remote, rugged West Texas resort development.
By late Tuesday, wildfires had burned about 24,000 acres of slopes and canyons in the Davis Mountains of West Texas.
Texas Forest Service spokeswoman Catherine Hibbard said Tuesday night that a wildfire was about a half-mile from the Davis Mountain Resort, about 175 miles southeast of El Paso. She said specialists called "hot shots" will be moved to the line closest to the fire in an effort to keep it from entering the rustic development.
No structural damage or injuries had been reported, but Hibbard said the fire closest to the resort was about 30 percent contained as of late Tuesday night after scorching almost 13,400 acres.
Ooh I have a slight risk today! Only the second one of the spring so far here, maybe I'll get something interesting to report today, say baseball size hail...-___-
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MELBOURNE FL
343 AM EDT WED MAY 2 2012
WEEKEND/NEXT WEEK...AMPLIFIED RIDGE DEVELOPING OVER THE CENTRAL GULF
COAST WILL INDUCE DOWNSTREAM HGHT FALLS OVER THE SE US COAST.
PSEUDO BACKDOOR SFC FRONT IS ADVERTISED TO DROP SWD ACROSS THE
GA/SC COAST SUN...BRINGING MORE FAVORABLE WLY STEERING AND
MOISTURE/INSTABILITY LOCALLY. HV ADDED ISOLD TS/SHRA INLAND SAT
AND OVER ALL OF FORECAST AREA INTO EARLY NEXT WEEK WITH A RATHER
UNSETTLED SYNOPTIC PATTERN ACROSS THE AREA PERSISTING INTO
TUESDAY. ATLC RIDGE APPEARS TO BEGIN A TEMPORARY RE-DEVELOPMENT
AROUND MIDWEEK FROM THE NORTH. POPS DURING LATTER PERIODS AT
MIDWEEK AND BEYOND LOOK BEST INLAND WITH ISOLD/SCT CVRG DUE TO A
WEAK WIND REGIME AND SEA BREEZE DOMINATED SCENARIO WITH BOUNDARY
DRIVEN DIURNAL PCPN AND SUITABLE MOISTURE. IT IS INTERESTING TO
NOTE THAT NEITHER GFS/ECMWF INDICATE ANY PROLONGED DRY PERIODS FOR
THE AREA DURING NEXT WEEK.
Is that just continental Europe you refer to? As yesterday here on my corner of Europe it was a balmy 12C-53F when the average for May is 13C and Monday was a sweltering 9C 48f.when the April average 11C or 51f..Might have to turn the heat on shortly Brrr!
Knock on wood!!! Hopefully is an early start to the rainy season.
The GOM is moistening up quite nicely, so once the dry air E of FL gets either pushed away or modified, then we should be in good shape for the typical afternoon storms.
Good morning to you as well. I hope the models are right about the prospects of seabreeze storms returning to the forecast. We have the heat & humidity so all we need now is a trigger to get this pattern going.
It looks as if a backdoor cold front will push the dry air in the upper levels away from the area. I hope this isn't another trick though by the models as they really switched last Sunday from a wet pattern to a dry pattern so I hope this isn't another trick.
Happy 30th birthday, The Weather Channel!
Hey ta13 can you post lifted index I was looking at twisterdata for my area and I am curious about what it is for my area.
It wouldn't come up idk y
Here you go!
Link
Thanks
The key is how far will the backdoor get. If it stalls over or E of FL then we'll have more moisture build up and falling heights to support more convection, but if it pushes into the E GOM then we'll be dry until the it decides to lift back up as a warm front.
sheri
that happened here last night
Wow 20+ inches already this year? It hasn't rained here since mid-March and we are sitting at 8". It looks like August already with everything brown and dying. I can't imagine this summer if it doesn't rain. Really scary stuff.
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MELBOURNE FL
916 AM EDT WED MAY 2 2012
AMZ550-552-555-FLZ041-044>047-053-054-058-059-064 -141-144-147-021830-
COASTAL VOLUSIA-FLAGLER BEACH TO VOLUSIA-
BREVARD COUNTY LINE OUT TO 20 NM-INDIAN RIVER-INLAND VOLUSIA-MARTIN-
NORTHERN BREVARD-NORTHERN LAKE-OKEECHOBEE-ORANGE-OSCEOLA-
SEBASTIAN INLET TO JUPITER INLET OUT TO 20 NM-SEMINOLE-
SOUTHERN BREVARD-SOUTHERN LAKE-ST. LUCIE-VOLUSIA-
BREVARD COUNTY LINE TO SEBASTIAN INLET OUT TO 20 NM-
916 AM EDT WED MAY 2 2012
.NOW...THROUGH EARLY AFTERNOON...EAST TO EAST-NORTHEAST WINDS WILL
INCREASE TO 15 TO 20 MPH MOST AREAS LATE THIS MORNING AND INTO THE
AFTERNOON. THIS WILL INCREASE THE WILDFIRE SPREAD POTENTIAL FOR ANY
EXISTING FIRES. COUNTY BURN BANS INCLUDE LAKE...OKEECHOBEE...
OSCEOLA...SEMINOLE AND VOLUSIA COUNTIES ACROSS EAST CENTRAL FLORIDA.
AN ELEVATED RIP CURRENT RISK WILL EXIST AT AREA BEACHES ACROSS EAST
CENTRAL FLORIDA TODAY. ALWAYS SWIM WITHIN SIGHT OF A LIFEGUARD.
&&
ADDITIONAL DETAILS...INCLUDING GRAPHICS ARE AVAILABLE ONLINE AT:
HTTP://WWW.SRH.NOAA.GOV/MLB/BLOG.PHP
$$
TES
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