Tuesday, 10 April 2012
Its Cloudnine
Hey everyone just a quick post about the order of the blog posts. Now the posts are backwards meaning the posts about why I started this blog and what it is about are all at the end. I am sorry for the inconvenience but i would appreciate it if you still checked it out and gave me some feedback. Thanks. Cloud9
Europe's regular weather
Europe’s usual weather is fine throughout the year. The peak
months hitting 35-39 degrees Celsius are July and August, the colder months
being December through to February. The country is surrounded by lots of rivers
and seas allowing an even and gentle movement of air cooling the hot weather.
Different countries, either being near high mountains or different seas and
oceans brings a unique mix of weather throughout Europe.
What caused the heatwave in Europe
The reason for the 2003 European heatwave is still being debated;
however, it is clear that august (the time in which the heatwave took place) is
one of the hottest months of the year in Europe. The 40 degree weather was not
common however, as it lasted for weeks on end due to the lack of air movement
in the area. However, Europe, France in particular, is surrounded by an array
of dams, rivers and oceans creating a balanced air flow therefore; once this
heatwave took place and it was studied it is visible that the problem started
from the lack of air movement.
Heatwave in Europe
In 2003 Europe, in particular France was hit with a colossal
heat wave recorded as the hottest summer since 1540. The heat wave lead to health
crises in many different countries and combined with a drought created a shortage
in crops in Southern Europe. In total the heat wave killed over 70,000 Europeans.
"Though heat waves rarely are given adequate attention,
they claim more lives each year than floods, tornadoes, and hurricanes
combined," warns the EPI. "Heat waves are a silent killer, mostly
affecting the elderly, the very young, or the chronically ill.[1]"
Extreme weather 2 - Heatwave
A heat wave is a prolonged period of excessively
hot weather, which may be accompanied by high humidity[1].
Heatwaves are caused by very hot humid days with very little
almost no air movement helping cool things down. As we all know air moves and
that’s why we get different temperatures, thus when the air isn’t moving the
hot air on a hot day remains the same for several days causing a heat wave. In
some places heat waves are a common phenomenon and are therefore not
considering extreme weather, in other places (Europe’s extreme heatwave in
2003) heatwaves are classified deadly.
What caused the Queensland/Brisbane floods?
According to the Queensland Floods Inquiry Commission report
released in March of 2012[1]
the Queensland/Brisbane floods were caused by the release of water from the
Wivenhoe dam. The water released from the Dam then flowed heavily into the
Brisbane River causing an overflow hence, leading to the Queensland floods.
Queensland's usual weather
The weather
in Queensland
Queensland is
well known for its sunshine, beaches, warm weather and little rainfall, hence
its “nick name” as the sunshine state. In summer months (December – February)
it is warm and tends to be hot everywhere, the nights however are cool. In
winter it is still reasonably warm and sunny however there is a greater chance
of rain, wind and more cloud.
To help show
the regular weather of Queensland, below is table of a 7 day forecast for
Brisbane through from the 9th of April to the 15th
(autumn). Also included is a table of Queensland’s weather for this week.
|
Monday (9th April) Cooler
change and showers/storms in south and east. Fresh southerly winds but mostly
dry in the west.
|
|
Tuesday (10th April) Fresh
winds and showers in the east. Isolated showers over central and western
parts.
|
|
Wednesday (11th April) Scattered
showers and strong winds in the east. Showers and storms in the northwest and
north.
|
|
Thursday (12th April) Showers
and fresh southerly winds in the east. Showers/storms in the northwest and
central west.
|
|
Brisbane
|
|||||||
|
|
Mon,
9 Apr |
Tue,
10 Apr |
Wed,
11 Apr |
Thu,
12 Apr |
Fri,
13 Apr |
Sat,
14 Apr |
Sun,
15 Apr |
|
Forecast
|
Late shower |
Mostly sunny |
Possible shower |
Possible shower |
Possible shower |
Possible shower |
Possible shower |
|
Minimum
|
18°C
|
19°C
|
15°C
|
15°C
|
16°C
|
16°C
|
17°C
|
|
Maximum
|
28°C
|
26°C
|
25°C
|
25°C
|
25°C
|
26°C
|
26°C
|
Synoptic charts - Queensland floods
Here is a synoptic chart of what Queensland would of looked like during the floods in 2003.
Synoptic chart A weather chart reflecting the state of the atmosphere over a large area at a given moment. source: http://nsidc.org/arcticmet/glossary/synoptic_chart.html
Flooding in Queensland
A series of floods hit Australia primarily in Queensland,
including the capital Brisbane, in early December 2010. These floods tore
through three quarters of the state affecting 70 towns, over 200,000 people and
causing over 30 million dollars worth of damage. Thousands of people were
evacuated from their homes forced to leave everything behind and in some cases
watch their homes be destroyed by the mountain of water. The 2010-2011 floods
killed 35 people in Queensland as of January 2011 and an additional nine were
reported missing.
As of 28 January 2011, 35 deaths have been
attributed to the floods, 21 of which are from the Toowoomba and the Lockyer
Valley area. Additionally, 9 people are listed as missing, after the
catastrophic flash flood struck Toowoomba, Lockyer Valley, Brisbane and Ipswich[1].
This horrific event left behind a disturbingly large amount
of damage including demolished houses, cars, fallen trees and many homeless
people/families. Over 55,000 volunteers were a part of the clean up lead by the
major general Michael Slater along with the Australian Defence Force. Much support was given from local teams and
organisations such as flood relief appeal telethon. Together these forces were
strong and successful, slowly helping piece together the city.
Monday, 9 April 2012
Extreme weather 1 - Flooding
Flood - definition
An overflowing of a large amount of water
beyond its normal confines, esp. over what is normally dry land: "a flood
barrier"[1].
Floods most
commonly occur when there has been recent heavy rainfall and the natural
watercourses (damns, lakes etc) do not have the capacity to hold the excess
water. Floods, however, can also be caused by other weather phenomenons such as
in coastal areas where inundation can be caused by a storm surge associated
with a tropical cyclone, tsunami or a high tide coincides with higher than
normal river levels. Some other factors that can contribute to a flood are:
o Ground cover
o Tidal influences
o Catchment and weather conditions
before heavy rainfall
What is weather?
Weather is the condition of the earth’s atmosphere (the air
around and above us) over a short period of time – e.g., daily or weekly.
The term weather describes the state of the air at a particular place and time
– whether it is warm or cold, wet or dry, and how cloudy or windy it is, for
example. Source: http://www.rcn27.dial.pipex.com/cloudsrus/whatis.html
Climate on the other hand is common, average weather
conditions in a particular place over a long period of time. For example,
deserts have a dry hot climate while Antarctica has a very cold dry climate.
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What's this blog about?
This blog, the Wild Weather Report, is a blog about extreme
weather that’s been going on in the world. On this blog you will find information
on recent events such as flooding, heatwaves, cyclones etc, helpful links,
games and interesting facts and pictures all to do with wild/extreme weather
events.
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