‘Bomb cyclone’ hits US East Coast energy, power supply Thursday 4 January 2018
http://www.arabnews.com/node/1219056/world
An intense winter storm froze pipes and disrupted services at refineries on the US Atlantic coast on Thursday, sending fuel prices higher as heavy snowfall and high winds caused electricity outages for tens of thousands of Americans.
Some 65,000 homes and businesses along the US East Coast are without power, and that number is expected to swell on Thursday as the storm punishes the densely populated US Northeast.
The storm is the product of a rapid and rare sharp drop in barometric pressure known as bombogenesis, or bomb cyclone. Heavy snow pounded the East Coast along a front stretching from Maine as far south as North Carolina early on Thursday, taking out power lines, icing over roadways and closing hundreds of schools.
Prices for heating oil and natural gas in the US Northeast hit their highest levels in years on the back of near-record heating demand. Benchmark US heating oil futures are near their highest in almost three years.
US natural gas demand was expected to remain near record highs this week. Natural gas is the major fuel for residential and commercial heating in the US Northeast and is also widely used by power plants.
Southeast Massachusetts - A rapidly evolving storm that hit this morning is expected to bring fierce winds, battering waves and snowfall at a rate of 2 to 3 inches an hour. Many schools and government offices are closed and Gov. Charlie Baker is urging residents to stay off the roads.
Storm flooding traps people in homes, cars across South Shore Thursday Jan. 4, 2018
http://www.patriotledger.com/news/20180104/storm-flooding-traps-people-in-homes-cars-across-south-shore
Rescue crews across the South Shore are racing to rescue people stranded in cars and homes by flood waters that meteorologists say could be pushed to record levels by today’s brutal winter storm.
Water rescues and evacuations were reported in Quincy, Weymouth, Scituate and Marshfield as storm surges coastal and even some in-land roads across the South Shore.
Baker issued stern warnings for residents in a pair of press conferences Wednesday afternoon and Thursday morning, saying that Southeast Massachusetts in particular could see power knocked out to homes and flooding in coastal areas. He said
problems caused by the storm could become worse Friday as temperatures plunge into the teens.
A fierce and fast-moving Nor’easter is blasting Massachusetts. Heavy snow and strong winds are expected until Thursday evening, followed by dangerously cold weather.
Eastern Mass. takes brunt of powerful snowstorm, brutal cold ahead Jan 4, 2018
http://www.patriotledger.com/news/20180102/eastern-mass-takes-brunt-of-powerful-snowstorm-brutal-cold-ahead
The National Weather Service has issued a blizzard warning for southeastern and northeastern Massachusetts and a winter storm warning for the rest of the state from early Thursday morning through early Friday morning.
A flood warning has been posted for the coast until 4 p.m., a wind chill watch for all of the state until 2 p.m. Saturday and a high wind warning for Cape Cod and the islands. Moderate to major flooding is expected from Hull to Dennis. Some low spots could be inundated up to 6 feet. Some neighborhoods on the South Shore may be cut off for several hours Thursday afternoon. Moderate to severe erosion, with the greatest risk on outer Cape Cod and Nantucket.
The blizzard warning applies to Plymouth, Barnstable, Dukes and Suffolk counties and eastern Norfolk, southern Bristol and eastern Essex counties. It will be in effect until 7 p.m.
Hundreds of schools across the state are closed and police warn against unnecessary travel. Hundreds of flights have been cancelled at Logan International Airport. Traffic is light as drivers appear to have heeded warnings about dangerous conditions.
At 8:05 a.m. the National Weather Service in Tallahassee declared: “Snow has reached Tallahassee."
It’s snowing in Florida’s capital for the first time since 1989 Wed. Jan. 3, 2018 (Video)
http://www.tampabay.com/florida-politics/buzz/2018/01/03/its-snowing-in-floridas-capital-for-the-first-time-since-1989/
http://www.miamiherald.com/news/weather/article192704144.html/video-embed
Florida's capital woke up to snow and sleet on Wednesday, the first significant accumulation of frozen precipitation since 1989.
At 8:05 a.m. the National Weather Service in Tallahassee declared: "Snow has reached Tallahassee. Precip will end quickly from the west over the next 30-60 minutes."
Sure enough, after about 10 minutes of puffy flakes, the sleet and flurries melted quickly as Tallahassee's morning traffic was significantly lighter due to weather warnings and school closings. Streets remained icy as police and transportation officials closed roads and urged caution.
The forecast of a winter storm prompted officials to close schools, including Florida State University and Florida A&M University.
The last time a wintery blast hit Tallahassee with any measurable snowfall was Dec. 22-23, 1989, when an inch fell.
This time, the snow accumulation was more significant further north in Georgia where homeowners reported a half-inch of snow in Valdosta.
Temperatures in the 40-degree range greeted South Floridians Thursday morning — courtesy of the Arctic air mass that has left many parts of the U.S. in deep freeze.
Freeze warning and frost advisories issued for South Florida Jan. 4, 2018
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/weather/fl-reg-cold-weather-2018-story.html
At 5 a.m., it was 43 in Fort Lauderdale, 40 in Boynton Beach, 48 in Miami and 60 in Key West, according to the weather service. In Tallahassee, where snow fell Wednesday, the early Thursday temperature was 30.
In some places, like Fort Lauderdale, the temperature had dropped a couple of degrees by 8:30 a.m.
PARIS: A 93-year-old woman died in southeastern France when her house was flooded by a river after a violent storm battered western Europe, the French interior ministry said Thursday.
Flooding kills woman, as Eleanor batters Europe with fires and avalanche alerts Thursday 4 January 2018
http://www.arabnews.com/node/1219076/world
Heavy rainfall in recent days has led to flooding in many parts of France and Germany. More rain is forecast for Friday in both countries.
In France, the woman’s death in the Isere department was the second blamed on the storm after a skier was killed in the Alps by a fallen tree.
The French interior ministry said a firefighter went missing in the mountainous region of Savoie while rescuing a couple standing atop a car stuck in a river.
The winter storm battered Europe on Wednesday with winds reaching speeds over 90 mph (144 kph), leaving thousands of households without power and several people injured.
Meanwhile,
the French Alps were on maximum avalanche alert Thursday as Storm Eleanor swept through Europe, killing at least four people and fanning rare winter wildfires in Corsica.
With the mountains packed with skiiers for the school holidays,
major resort Val d’Isere closed its runs for the day because of heavy snowfall, while Chamonix said it was shutting many of its lifts as a precautionary measure. “The objective is to keep everyone safe,” said David Ponson, ski chief in the Alpine Savoie region, as many pistes were shut for a second day.
At the other extreme, nearly 400 firefighters on the French Mediterranean island of Corsica were battling blazes fanned by Eleanor’s strong gusts of wind, with three people injured in a fire overnight.
Three hundred goats were killed in the blaze at Chiatra-Canale di Verde near the island’s east coast and 10 homes burnt — five of them completely destroyed, local authorities said.
The prefecture added that the intensity of the blazes was “exceptional in the middle of winter.” Troops from the local air base have been deployed to help fight the flames.
Eleanor, the fourth winter storm to hit Europe since December, swept into the continent on Wednesday after battering Britain and Ireland. It has left at least four people dead, including a 21-year-old skiier hit by a falling tree in France and a couple in their 60s
swept away on Spain’s northern Basque coast by a huge wave.
On Thursday, firefighters said a woman in her 90s died of a heart attack in Crets-en-Belledonne in the French Alps after floods sent a torrent of mud and water into her home. And a volunteer rescuer was reported missing after rushing to help when a car plunged into an overflowing river in the Alpine village of Le Moutaret.
At Lenk in central Switzerland, eight people were hurt when a violent gust of wind overturned a railway carriage.
In the Netherlands, Eleanor has dealt about 10 million euros ($12 million) of damage to buildings and cars, the Dutch insurers’ union estimated, cited by public television.
The whole of Spain’s northern coast remained on “orange” alert — the second highest on a four-point scale —
because of the risk from strong winds and large waves. More than 40 towns in southwestern Spain have meanwhile brought forward their annual Epiphany feast parades — celebrating the coming of the three wise men with gifts for Jesus — to Thursday because of heavy rain forecast Friday.
In western Germany, the Mosel river was closed to all shipping, with water levels 4 meters (13 feet) higher than usual. The Neckar river in the southwest was closed between the cities of Mannheim and Heilbronn.
Along the lower reaches of the Rhine, water levels were predicted to rise until the weekend, the German news agency dpa reported. Ships along the busy waterway near Cologne were ordered to reduce their speed and remain in constant radio contact with authorities.
The worst of the storm appeared to have passed by Thursday, though
much of eastern France was still on “orange” alert for heavy winds, floods and avalanches. “The intensity of the rain and melting snow bring a risk of floods via overflowing streams and mudslides,” warned forecaster Cecile Coleou.
About 29,000 French homes remained without power, a third of them in Corsica.
Germany lowered its alert for violent winds Wednesday evening, but high tides were worrying several states, including in the Moselle Valley where heavy downpours have halted boat traffic.
The Rhine river was set to surge to seven meters (23 feet) on Thursday and was still rising, the Bild newspaper reported. River traffic will be suspended if it hits 8.3 meters.
The storm had snarled air traffic on Wednesday, briefly shutting the Strasbourg and Basel-Mulhouse airports and delaying departures from Paris, Frankfurt and Amsterdam.
It also played havoc with road and rail transport, leaving branches, electrical lines and other debris strewn across tracks and highways.
