What's the weather where you are?

[Ennio]

Though some of the below may be obvious, some other tips on what to do about flooding may be helpful:

http://www.ready.gov/floods

Before a Flood

What would you do if your property were flooded? Are you prepared?

Even if you feel you live in a community with a low risk of flooding, remember that anywhere it rains, it can flood. Just because you haven't experienced a flood in the past, doesn't mean you won't in the future. Flood risk isn't just based on history; it's also based on a number of factors including rainfall , topography, flood-control measures, river-flow and tidal-surge data, and changes due to new construction and development.

Flood-hazard maps have been created to show the flood risk for your community, which helps determine the type of flood insurance coverage you will need since standard homeowners insurance doesn't cover flooding. The lower the degree of risk, the lower the flood insurance premium.

In addition to having flood insurance, knowing following flood hazard terms will help you recognize and prepare for a flood.

To prepare for a flood, you should:

Build an emergency kit and make a family communications plan.
Avoid building in a floodplain unless you elevate and reinforce your home.
Elevate the furnace, water heater and electric panel in your home if you live in an area that has a high flood risk.
Consider installing "check valves" to prevent flood water from backing up into the drains of your home.
If feasible, construct barriers to stop floodwater from entering the building and seal walls in basements with waterproofing compounds.


During a Flood

If a flood is likely in your area, you should:

Listen to the radio or television for information.
Be aware that flash flooding can occur. If there is any possibility of a flash flood, move immediately to higher ground. Do not wait for instructions to move.
Be aware of stream, drainage channels, canyons and other areas known to flood suddenly. Flash floods can occur in these areas with or without typical warnings such as rain clouds or heavy rain.
If you must prepare to evacuate, you should do the following:

Secure your home. If you have time, bring in outdoor furniture. Move essential items to an upper floor.
Turn off utilities at the main switches or valves if instructed to do so. Disconnect electrical appliances. Do not touch electrical equipment if you are wet or standing in water.
If you have to leave your home, remember these evacuation tips:

Do not walk through moving water. Six inches of moving water can make you fall. If you have to walk in water, walk where the water is not moving. Use a stick to check the firmness of the ground in front of you.
Do not drive into flooded areas. If floodwaters rise around your car, abandon the car and move to higher ground if you can do so safely. You and the vehicle can be swept away quickly.
Do not camp or park your vehicle along streams, rivers or creeks, particularly during threatening conditions.


After the Flood

Your home has been flooded. Although floodwaters may be down in some areas, many dangers still exist. Here are some things to remember in the days ahead:

Use local alerts and warning systems to get information and expert informed advice as soon as available.
Avoid moving water.
Stay away from damaged areas unless your assistance has been specifically requested by police, fire, or relief organization.
Emergency workers will be assisting people in flooded areas. You can help them by staying off the roads and out of the way.
Play it safe. Additional flooding or flash floods can occur. Listen for local warnings and information. If your car stalls in rapidly rising waters, get out immediately and climb to higher ground.
Return home only when authorities indicate it is safe.
Roads may still be closed because they have been damaged or are covered by water. Barricades have been placed for your protection. If you come upon a barricade or a flooded road, go another way.
If you must walk or drive in areas that have been flooded.
Stay on firm ground. Moving water only 6 inches deep can sweep you off your feet. Standing water may be electrically charged from underground or downed power lines.
Flooding may have caused familiar places to change. Floodwaters often erode roads and walkways. Flood debris may hide animals and broken bottles, and it's also slippery. Avoid walking or driving through it.
Be aware of areas where floodwaters have receded. Roads may have weakened and could collapse under the weight of a car.
Stay out of any building if it is surrounded by floodwaters.
Use extreme caution when entering buildings; there may be hidden damage, particularly in foundations.
STAYING HEALTHY

A flood can cause physical hazards and emotional stress. You need to look after yourself and your family as you focus on cleanup and repair.

Avoid floodwaters; water may be contaminated by oil, gasoline or raw sewage.
Service damaged septic tanks, cesspools, pits and leaching systems as soon as possible. Damaged sewer systems are serious health hazards.
Listen for news reports to learn whether the community’s water supply is safe to drink
Clean and disinfect everything that got wet. Mud left from floodwaters can contain sewage and chemicals.
Rest often and eat well.
Keep a manageable schedule. Make a list and do jobs one at a time.
Discuss your concerns with others and seek help. Contact Red Cross for information on emotional support available in your area.
CLEANING UP AND REPAIRING YOUR HOME

Turn off the electricity at the main breaker or fuse box, even if the power is off in your community. That way, you can decide when your home is dry enough to turn it back on.
Get a copy of the book Repairing Your Flooded Home (737KB PDF) which is available free from the American Red Cross or your state or local emergency manager. It will tell you:
How to enter your home safely.
How to protect your home and belongings from further damage.
How to record damage to support insurance claims and requests for assistance.
How to check for gas or water leaks and how to have service restored.
How to clean up appliances, furniture, floors and other belongs.
The Red Cross can provide you with a cleanup kit: mop, broom, bucket, and cleaning supplies.
Contact your insurance agent to discuss claims.
Listen to your radio for information on assistance that may be provided by the state or federal government or other organizations.
If you hire cleanup or repair contractors, check references and be sure they are qualified to do the job. Be wary of people who drive through neighborhoods offering help in cleaning up or repairing your home.

 

[Persej]

BBC news pictures of flooding in Central Europe:

_http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-22747240

I am reminded of the accounts of the ancient chroniclers who recorded the things that were happening immediately before the disappearance of the Roman Empire which was obviously an almost total decimation of the population to the point that it was reduced to almost stone-age existence in the Western Empire for over 300 years.

What they were writing are exactly the things that are happening today and in many of the same places, at least as far as Europe is concerned.

Does not bode well.

If history is going to repeat itself, I wonder if Eastern Empire will be once again more fortunate? :/

 

[sitting]

Looks like Oklahoma just simply cannot catch a break. There'll be some bad news soon coming out of this latest round of violent weather. Recent tornadoes have broken previous size records.


http://www.intellicast.com/National/Radar/Current.aspx?animate=true

 

[Laura]

Sunny weather is holding here and it is warming rapidly. I expect it will get very hot and then, thunderstorms and cooling. Of course, if the heat continues for a few more days, the snowpack in the Pyrenees will melt and the rivers are already at floodstage. Heck, I've still got standing water in a low place in the yard!

 

[Martina]

Same here on Adriatic coast. If it's not cloudy is very hot. I went for a swimming today.
Probably will be thunderstorms soon. We had couple of hails recently and whirlwinds
(I was looking for the words in a dictionary,so I hope that are the right ones).
I was reading a history book about a weather 200 years ago, when they say it was a minor ice age
and lots of diseases spread, and the crops have failed... It seems to me although it's still hot soon the storms will come.
I hope that people in flooded areas will be ok, another wave is soon to be expected.

 

[Mrs.Tigersoap]

Sunny weather is holding here and it is warming rapidly. I expect it will get very hot and then, thunderstorms and cooling. Of course, if the heat continues for a few more days, the snowpack in the Pyrenees will melt and the rivers are already at floodstage. Heck, I've still got standing water in a low place in the yard!

Same here on Adriatic coast. If it's not cloudy is very hot.

And same here in Belgium as well. Several days in a row of hot and sunny weather is something we had not seen for a very long time!
People know that they need to drop everything and make the most of it as it will not last! So everyone is in parks or in their gardens, neighbours are busy building terraces and replacing window, etc. Everyone is finally doing what they should have been able to do months ago had the weather been 'normal'.

 

[griffin]

It's blue skies, sunny and warm here in the US Pacific Northwest, 72F (22C) around noon, headed to 84F (28C) later today, and forecast to cool later in the week to highs of about 70F (21C). Nightly lows are near 60F (14C). It was a relatively dry winter, although this spring had the wettest April in years, so the snowpack in the mountains is low, only 36-50% of the 30 year average in Oregon but higher, up to 140% of average in parts of Washington. Here we seem to be lucky, since we don't have bad weather.

 

[Stoneboss]

Here in the central Okanagan Valley in British Columbia the weather's been quite unusual. Typically, at this time of year the temperatures are in the high 20's C and not a cloud in the sky. Usually it is hot and dry from May until mid October, but so far the temperatures are in the high teens or low twenties during the day and the nights are very cool. But what's really unusual is the cloud cover every day, and some rain almost everyday... and it doesn't seem to be letting up. I've also noticed that it's much windier than normal. It's more like coastal weather as in Vancouver...

 

[Lucius]

Gdansk Poland - sunny day .. 25-30's C.

 

[Gaby]

After 2 Spring days, it has rained non stopped causing historical floods and making the city of Pamplona quite difficult to reach or leave.

The rivers Arga, Arakil and Cidakos are overflowing, among others. It's got everybody nervous and making all sort of jokes. Such as this:

"I'm Kevin Costner, and I will teach how to survive Pamplona, I mean, Waterworld"

"Docile bull on its way to Pamplona". This and other jokes including the new display for the Pamplona bull run 2013 which will include ice age "bulls" such as mammoths and the like with cute Spanish names. People are sending images like this like crazy all over the social networks. It has them laughing out loud, cranking jokes, and facts all over the city and its surroundings.

San Fermín, the prototypical Babylonian party of the city, is waited for by marking the following dates, which in this case includes photos of how it has really being :

More images and numerous newspaper clips documenting the bad weather throughout all these 9 months or so in Pamplona is Mordor fb page (_https://www.facebook.com/pamplonaesmordor/photos_stream).

I live near the mountains where more snow and cold weather has been documented, and only found some difficulty leaving the city of Pamplona yesterday when the main highway was flooded. It was literally sheets of rain, non stop, for over 24 hours.

 

[Don Genaro]

Wow! It's not like that down south! It's been over a month now without rain. However, it is several degrees cooler than it would normally be at this time of year in Málaga. I'm still using a duvet which would usually be gone by mid to late May as well as wearing a jersey or cardigan during the day. Lots of visitors are commenting and saying at least it's "better than back home." Also, there have been an unusual number of days that start really bright, warm and sunny but then around lunchtime, it clouds over and the winds start; not crazy winds, just strong winds which, although that's normal here, it seems to be happening a lot more frequently and even the locals are commenting on it. So, although the weather is generally good here, it's definitely acting strangely...

 

[aurora]

In İstanbul at 40°58'N latitude and 28°50'E longitude, the winter has not been very cold, snow a couple of times but it was cloudy most of the time. We did not have much of a spring and now it is officially summer but according accuweather the temperatures in the month of June will not exceed 30 degrees centigrade during daytime and 16 to 17 degrees centigrade at nights. But it is not raining much, mostly sunny or cloudy. I wonder why we have generally good weather. Is it because Istanbul has become such a heat island with all the buildings and/or the jet stream has blocked northern cold weather from dipping south.

The tomatoes I have planted started giving fruits, but have not ripened yet. I also planted some corn, green beans, black eyed peas, (from heirloom organic seeds) not much as I am experimenting with the soil in the garden which is heavily clay soil.

 

[grini]

Took these photos 2 hours ago (Croatia). In the morning it was sunny, then there was some rain and thunder, and now it is again sunny, but I hear thunder in the distance... I think it is going to be again some rain and thunder.

 

[Zadius Sky]

Last Friday, there was flooding and sheets of rain in central NC where I was working - I had to drive 20 miles per hour to get home as I couldn't see what was in front of me. The Tropical Storm Andrea made a direct path from eastern Gulf of Mexico to New England areas. The news reported that it transitioned into an "extratropical cyclone" over North Carolina on Friday and spawned one tornado on one small town. The news also said that this week, there will be more flooding and rains as an aftermath of Andrea.

 

[Alcarohtare]

Here at the east part of Croatia a little weather show started up today.
The weather was changing from hour to hour with multi-layered clouds, partly sunny, then strong wind with rain and hail, which arrived at about
2 p.m. At beginning ice balls were small, and after of cca. 5 min chunks of ice sized like bigger walnut striked which lasted for about 10 minutes.
Ice melted quickly since temperature was around 17 degrees Celsius.
This kind of storm did not happened for a very long time, or i haven't seen this before.
It was somewhat interesting to observe.

I found a sample photo: http://www.034portal.hr/thumbs3/fotka40749.jpg