Extreme
humidity played a major role in severe thunderstorms east of the
Mississippi Valley on Wednesday. There were up to a few hundred wind
damage reports, many of which came in from the Ohio Valley as a massive
line of thunderstorms developed and raced toward the eastern seaboard.
Thunderstorms were also found across the nation's midsection, where
Chuck Koch snapped these two photos below out of Jonesboro, AR.
Storm Report Map From Wednesday
The
storm report map from Wednesday is actually quite interesting... you
can actually see where the drier, less humid air mass was behind the
cold front that produced all the wind damage reports. Look at how much
more stable the air was in the Midwest!
Ohio River Valley Storm Damage
Take
a look at some of the more impressive storm pictures from the Ohio
Valley where most of the damage was located. From wind damage to
flooding, it was a VERY active day!
Major Flooding
Another
big concern with the storms on Wednesday was flash flooding! Keep in
mind that the ground in these areas was saturated due to heavy rainfall
from last week. Thunderstorms are unique in a way that they can take all
the moisture in the atmosphere and condense it into one column. If you
happen to get under that column of heavy rain, flash flooding can
certainly be an issue like it was is Pennsylvania seen from the image
below. A couple of things to keep in mind when you look at the image
below. First, note how there is turbulence in the water on the right...
it appears that the water is moving across the road. Second, note how
cars are trying to cross the road, this is a BIG NO NO! Flash flooding
can be a serious/life threatening situation. Keep in mind that 2 feet of
water can float most cars, if that water is running it can turn your
car into a moving boat! Also, 6" of running water could knock you off of
your feet.
Pittsburgh, PA
Two rounds of heavy rainfall led to record rains in Pittsburgh, PA on Wednesday. The new daily record ended up being 2.44"
Colorado Flash Flooding
Take
a look at the image below... pretty scary huh?!? That's a car floating
down the road after being swept up in a flash flood/debris flow from
nearby heavy rain over a Waldo Canyon wildfire burn scar!
Heavy Monsoonal Rainfall
There
were reports of nearly 1" of rain in less than 1 hour in the Manitou
Springs, CO area, which is just west of Colorado Springs.
Waldo Canyon Burn Scar
What
made the flash flooding so bad? This heavy rain fell in an area that is
recovering from a massive wildfire. The Waldo Canyon burn scar is
visible from space. There is no vegetation to help keep the earth rooted
in one spot, so heavy rainfall sends walls of mud down hills/mountain
sides. Before you know it, there a massive debris flow heading your
way... SCARY!
Monsoonal Thunderstorms
Monsoonal
thunderstorms are pretty unique to the Southwest in the Summer months
when intense heats sets up. This is what a typical satellite and radar
map would look like on any given day when monsoonal thunderstorms are in
progress during the afternoon/evening. These storms tend to die out
after the sun goes down and redevelop the next afternoon/evening when
the sun heats up the atmosphere.
Record Rains on Wednesday
Interestingly,
thanks to these monsoonal storms, Flagstaff, AZ and Santa Maria, CA saw
record rains on Wednesday! Note that it only took 0.01" of rain in
Santa Maria, CA to get a daily precipitation record; this is typically
the dry season.
Daily Monsoonal Thunderstorm Threats
Monsoonal
thunderstorms bring several kinds of daily threats from flash flooding
to wildfire potential and dust storms. These are pretty unique and
typically last from mid June to the end of September in the Southwest.
More Heat in the West/Central Plains
Another
strong ridge of high pressure will bubble out into the Plains over the
next several days, which will keep the threat for additional
thunderstorms across the Midwest. These thunderstorm will develop on the
northern periphery of the intense heat and humidity, which is pretty
typical for this time of year. Another thing that we will be watching
for is the daily monsoonal thunderstorm risk in the Southwest
5 Day Precipitation Forecast
NOAA's
HPC 5 day precipitation forecast shows a few things of interest.
Starting in the Southwest, daily monsoonal thunderstorms will help to
bring heavy pockets of rain there. Strong to severe thunderstorms across
parts of the Midwest over the next several days could help to add up
the rainfall amounts through the weekend there. More heavy rain along
the Eastern Seaboard will keep an elevated flood threat in place through
the next several days!
What's Chantal up to?
Chantal
can't seem to make up her mind. Wiggling and wobbling across the
Caribbean, other than heavy rain, Chantal has had minimal impacts. There
is an indication that Chantal could actually regenerate north of
Cuba?!? Stay tuned for more!
Typhoon Soulik
Soulik,
on the other hand, is a monster typhoon in the Western Pacific that
will be impacting Taiwan through the end of the week.
"Taiwan's
Central Weather Bureau issued a land warning Thursday night for Typhoon
Soulik, which weakened into a moderate typhoon, cautioning the public
to be prepared for heavy rain around the country beginning Friday
afternoon. Beginning Friday afternoon, Yilan and New Taipei could see
extremely heavy rain, with accumulated rainfall exceeding 350
millimeters in a 24-hour period, the bureau said. Eastern Taiwan could
see heavy rain and mountain areas there could expect torrential rain,
with accumulated rainfall exceeding 200 mm in 24 hours. The storm was
packing sustained winds of 173 kph, with gusts of up to 209 kph."
Thanks for checking in and have a great weekend ahead!
Don't forget to follow me on Twitter @TNelsonWNTV
