Flooding continues as the rain just keeps on coming down along the Gulf Coast today. From the USA Today: “The Florida Panhandle’s Escambia County declared a state of emergency. Sheriff David Morgan told the Pensacola News Journal that he estimated the damage around the county at around $20 million. The sheriff’s department’s central booking building was among the buildings flooded. Emergency shelters were opened at a few local schools for people who were urged to evacuate from low-lying areas, the newspaper reported. Thousands were without power. Neighboring Santa Rosa County had about 40 homes flooded. Streets were flooded throughout Mobile, Ala., which got 5.79 inches of rain. County authorities warned residents to stay off the roads until the waters receded and workers could look for damage and downed utilities.”
Check out this photo from @sevenlies on twitter of her flooded yard!
Woke up to find my yard has become a lake.I hope my livingroom doesn’t flood.:-/ twitter.com/sevenlies/stat…
New records have been sent with a grand total of 13.13″ of rain in just 24 hours.
This was the second wettest day in recorded history in Pensacola. The wettest day was on October 5, 1934 with over 15″ of rain. That was associated with a tropical storm. The rain that has been coming recently is not associated with a tropical system.
From the National Weather Service in Mobile/Pensacola:
After a brief break in the storms, more rain is on the way for today. Showers and thunderstorms could produce another 3 to 4 inches for the already flooded areas.
Map shows the projected rainfall over the next 2 days.
Less impressive amounts of rain coming to the Midwest. But storms in the Midwest could include some severe weather today as a cooler air mass pushes into the region.
The best chance for strong storms within the slight risk area will be across Central and Northern Minnesota down into Oklahoma. There is also a severe threat in portions of Florida, Alabama, and Georgia where all the heavy rain is falling as storms move ashore.
In fact, a Tornado Watch has already been issued until 7 PM CDT for portions of the southeast.
Behind this system, high temperatures will be dropping by as much as 20 degrees, bringing those areas closer to their average high for this time of the year.
Sunday Severe Threat. An eastbound surge of much cooler, drier Canadian air will act as a trigger, creating enough low-level convergence to initiate convection – strong to severe storms most likely later today from Minnesota and western Wisconsin southward to Wichita and Tulsa. Source: SPC.
900+ Minnesota High Temperature Records In The Last 12 Months. It’s a staggering number – tabulated by Dr. Mark Seeley in his weekly WeatherTalk Blog. Here are a few highlights (that made my jaw drop): “The estimated total number of daily maximum temperature records set or tied in Minnesota over the past 12 months is at least 900, bearing in mind a like or greater number of record high minimum temperatures is a probable value as well. During the same period from June 2011 to May 2012, 13 new statewide high temperature records were set, and one was tied. This level of statewide extremes in maximum temperature has not been seen since the 1930s.”
Number of Minnesota High Temperature Records (according to Mark Seeley):
2011 27 June 2011 26 July 2011 2 August 2011 12 September 2011 58 October 2011 11 November 2011 69 December 2011
2012 191 January 2012 12 February 2012 434 March 2012 14 April 2012 35 May 2012
Photo credit above: Matt McKean, AP.
Record Events. Here are the towns that registered record highs, lows and 24 hour rainfall amounts in the last 7 days. Data courtesy of NOAA and Ham Weather.
Western Tornadoes (Rare, Not Impossible) Hit Wyoming, Colorado. Details (and a compelling video) from the L.A. Times: “Parts of Wyoming and Colorado were working Friday to recover from the week’s harsh weather, including tornadoes that caused minor injuries. A rare tornado cut through open country in southeastern Wyoming on Thursday, injuring at least one person and causing some property damage in the Wheatland area. In Colorado, four tornadoes were reported in the Elbert County area, southeast of Denver. A minor injury was also reported there.”
Welcome to the WeatherNation blog. Every day I sift through hundreds of stories, maps, graphics and meteorological web sites, trying to capture some of the most interesting weather nuggets, the stories behind the forecast. I’ll link to stories and share some of the web sites I use. I’m still passionate about the weather, have been ever since Tropical Storm Agnes flooded my home in Lancaster, PA in 1972. I’ve started 5 weather-related companies. “EarthWatch” created the world’s first 3-D weather graphics for TV stations – Steven Spielberg used our software in “Jurassic Park” and “Twister”. My last company, “Digital Cyclone”, personalized weather for cell phones. “My-Cast” was launched in 2001 and is still going strong on iPhone, Android and Blackberry. I sold DCI to Garmin in 2007 so I could focus on my latest venture: WeatherNation. I also write a daily weather column for The Star Tribune startribune.com/weather And if you’re on Twitter, you’ll find me @pdouglasweather
This was the second wettest day in recorded history in Pensacola. The wettest day was on October 5, 1934 with over 15″ of rain. That was associated with a tropical storm. The rain that has been coming recently is not associated with a tropical system.
After a brief break in the storms, more rain is on the way for today. Showers and thunderstorms could produce another 3 to 4 inches for the already flooded areas.
Map shows the projected rainfall over the next 2 days.
The best chance for strong storms within the slight risk area will be across Central and Northern Minnesota down into Oklahoma. There is also a severe threat in portions of Florida, Alabama, and Georgia where all the heavy rain is falling as storms move ashore.
In fact, a Tornado Watch has already been issued until 7 PM CDT for portions of the southeast.
Check back here for more updates!
