Downpours Everywhere, Except Where I Live

After the Toronto Blue Jays game, fans couldn't get to their cars
because the entrance to the parking garage was flooded as
the city became engulfed in flash flooding. Photo by
Fred Thornhlll/Canadian Press

In this humid stretch of weather, which really began more than a month ago, the wet air has let loose with some decent rains, and sometimes dangerous flooding almost everywhere in the eastern United States and southern Canada.

Where I live in St. Albans, Vermont, though, I'm still living in drought.

Despite the humidity, I can't seem to catch a break. It never rains. Or if it does, it's just a sprinkle.

How can such wet air not yield rain?

I've watched all summer as thunderstorms approach, and fall apart before they get here. Swaths of rain hit east and west and south and north of here, but can't seem to reach my neck of the woods.

I'm not sure what's causing this tiny drought. Just a pocket in northwestern Vermont where it doesn't rain. Drive twenty miles in any direction from my place, and the soil moisture is decent.

Last evening, Burlington got a quick downpour with two-thirds of an inch of rain. Here in St. Albans? Nada. The Burlington showers just stabilized the air where I am, so no precipitation here.

I suppose the dryness is better than flooding. Lots of places have had lots of water this summer. The latest victim is Toronto, Ontario, Canada, which had its worst flood since a really devastating one in 2013.

Parts of Toronto had close to four inches of rain in just a short time Tuesday evening. Many roads shut down, and police and fire crews rescued many people from cars.

As the Toronto Star reports, there was a scary close call when two men got stuck in a flooded elevator in a building basement. The water in the elevator was six feet deep with only a foot of breathing room when rescuers arrived. The two guys in the elevator had minor injuries and are going to be OK.

The Toronto Blue Jays game ended with a power failure, a leaking roof that soaked some seats, and fans' inability to get to their cars because the entrance to the parking garage was flooded.

There is a risk of more downpours today in and around Toronto, so they'll have to watch out for that.

Here in Vermont, there's a 50/50 shot of showers and thunderstorms today and this evening. I bet my last dollar it won't rain here in St. Albans, though. If it does, it'll just be a teasing sprinkle and not a good soaker.

Sigh.

Here's a video of street cars submerged in Toronto.  Yeah, too much rain there:

Wild Weather Videos From A Wild Weather Week

Huge crashing waves caused by hight winds
froze onto this lamp post on the shores
of Lake Superior.

More videos are coming in -- in dribs and drabs - of some wild moments in the past week's wild weather in North America.

That's the nice thing about technology these days: Everybody's got a camera.

You've already seen some videos that got our attention in prior posts, but here's a few more.

The first involves a family in Danville, Virginia on Sunday who were audably worried as they drove in stormy weather amid tornado warnings.

Then all hell breaks loose. Spoiler: They're OK, and theywent on to check on others in the damaged area (it wasn't that big a tornado, it looks like.) And they check out some of the damage.

Totally worth the watch:



Up in Toronto, Canada, they had an ice storm this week with the big storm. Watch this video of a dog in danger. (Another spoiler: She's fine) The dog was in the back yard, and was startled by what must have been a loud cracking noise.

Frightened, the dog ran to the back deck. Good thing, as you'll find out:



In that same Canadian ice storm this week, a hungry raccoon braved ice and strong winds to get at a bird feeder. It didn't go well. Love the kids indoors laughing at the little critter:



The storm caused a blizzard in the Midwest, and of course high winds were widespread. Check out this beautiful video of huge waves crashing ashore on Lake Superior. Notice how water was freezing on the shore. Remember this is a lake, albeit a big one, not the ocean:



The storm caused very heavy rain in New York City and surrounding areas on Monday. Nearly three inches of rain deluged Manhattan. It turned out not to be a good day to take the subway, as flash flooding caused scenes like this:

Strange Autumn Heat Wave Grinds On In The East

North Beach in Burlington is never this busy in late
September, but it was Sunday. Photo by Elizabeth Murray/
Burlington Free Press.

Well, this autumn heat wave is really something.

Up here in Vermont, the temperature in Burlington got all the way up to 91 degrees on Sunday, shattering the old record 84, set in 1961.  

It was also - by far - the latest 90 degree reading on record. Previously, the latest 90 was on September 16, 1939. Pretty incredible.

It goes on. The low temperature this morning in Burlington was the same as the normal high. We're pretty much guaranteed to break another record high today and tomorrow with another 90 not out of the question at all.

This will go on through Wednesday, which is an awfully long time to keep getting daily record high temperatures. This type of thing usually only lasts a couple of days.

Actually, the warmth got under way around September 12 and 13 and the weather has been pretty typical of July ever since. The first 10 days of the month averaged 4.5 degrees below normal, but now, the month as a whole is 3.5 degrees above normal.

And here's a weird factoid the National Weather Service in South Burlington pointed out on Sunday. This year, Burlington has had five days that have gotten to 90 degrees or above. But none of those 90 degree days occured during astronomical summer.

Two of those 90 degree days were in May, another two were in June before the summer solstice and ther was one on Sunday. It never got to 90 in July and August.

I've been harping on Vermont, since that's where I'm based, but the heat has been widespread as well as intense.  Chicago has had five record highs in a row as of Sunday and today could be a sixth, and it's latest in the year they've had five days in a row in the 90s, says the Chicago Tribune. 

In Buffalo, New York, the record high temperature of 90 Sunday was the only day this year where that city reached 90 degrees.  

A hot day at the beach near Toronto, Canada in late
September as the leaves start changing. Photo by Andrew
Francis Wallace/Toronto Star

Toronto, Canada, also had a late season record high of 90 degrees.

Back here in Vermont, it's getting dry again as well. It had gotten too dry by late August, but welcome rains in the first week or so of September pretty much fixed that.

But in Burlington, at least, it hasn't rained at all since September 10. And not much rain is in the forecast.

When the heat breaks Wednesday night or Thursday, a few showers will probably accompany the strong cold front, but it won't amount to all that much.

After that, temperatures will be normal for late September - highs in the 60s and lows in the 40s- but another extended period of dry weather is likely.

Until the heat breaks, take care not to overexert yourself. You think it's September and psychologically you'd think it's not all that bad, but this is midsummer heat wave conditions. Stay hydrated out there folks!

Sunday's Great Lakes Severe Storms Head To Northeast Today

Tornado in Prescott, Iowa Sunday.  

Sunday was quite an active severe weather day around the Great Lakes and into the central Plains states.

There were seven reports of tornadoes, 112 reports of damaging winds and a whopping 284 reports of large hail, according to NOAA's Storm Prediction Center.

Quite a few areas in southern Ontario, Canada also reported severe weather on Sunday.

In suburban Chicago, one person died and several people injured, some seriously, when a severe thunderstorm blew away a large tent during a local festival.

The largest tornado was in Iowa. Photographs and amateur video show that it was a classic funnel shape, exactly the perfectly formed tornado you'd imagine.

Thankfully, early reports indicate the tornadoes and severe storms did relatively light damage.

The resort town of Glen Arbor, Michigan was also reportedly hit by a tornado.     That storm stranded many campers in the area as all roads were blocked by fallen trees.  

Today, the severe weather shifts into the Northeast, with a focus on western Maine, much of New Hampshire, Vermont, New York, Pennsylvania and down into parts of Ohio and northeastern Kentucky.

People anywhere in that zone can expect areas of strong winds, large hail and possibly an isolated tornado this afternoon and evening.

As is the case with most severe weather outbreaks, most people in risk zone won't get damaging winds or hail big enough to ding their cars. But some will.

Glen Arbor, Michigan was hit by a tornado Sunday.
Photo by Gabriella Pagan.  

However, even a relatively strong, but not severe storm can be dangerous, and a lot of people will get those.

Which means: Todays a lousy day to take your boat on the water or go hiking on mountain peaks. Save it for another day. Maybe later this week when the weather is better, and cooler.

Get inside when you see dark clouds and hear thunder.

By the way, quit asking precisely when a thunderstorm will roll over your town. Especially if you're asking hours or even days before the potential storms hit. The answer is: Nobody knows. Forecasters are very good at determining the general time frame in which you'll get storms, but not the exact second a storm will hit Podunk or wherever you live.

In northern Vermont for example, the National Weather Service in South Burlington says the best chances of storms are between 2 and 10 p.m. today and I have no doubt they're right about that.

But knowing hours in advance the exact moment a thunderstorm will arrive in any particular town is impossible. Just be aware storms are possible this afternoon and evening, stay tuned for forecast updates and possible storm warnings,  and leave it at that.

Your friendly neighborhood meteorologists and weather geeks will thank you for that.

Some great storm videos from Sunday are next.

Here's a wonderful time lapse of a severe thunderstorm blowing into Toronto, Ontario, Canada on Sunday:


Next is a video of one of those tornadoes in Iowa Sunday. Of course the drawback was the person filming held his smart phone vertically. Hold it horizontally when filming, please.

But still great video of the white tornado:

ANOTHER Flood Hits Toronto, Canada; World Cup Soccer City Under Water, Too.

A major highway in Toronto last night.  

Yesterday, me and other weather geeks were watching a slow moving cold front slide through the Northeast.  

The front caused areas of torrential rain that prompted flood alerts in parts of central and southern New England, and parts of New York and Pennsylvania.

But I was surprised to learn this morning that Toronto, Ontario, Canada suffered a serious flash flood last night.

Surprised, because the main band of rain with the cold front seemed to have already gone by southern Ontario and the area seemed largely out of the woods in terms of super heavy rain.

But downpours lingering in a patch behind the main cold front dumped three inches of rain within about three hours on Toronto, flooding major highways, messing up the subways and screwing around with other forms of public transportation.  

Several people had to be rescued from suddenly inundated cars.

The flash flood in Toronto was reminiscent of a similar, even worse incident last year, when on July 8, 2013, a massive flood hit the city. The flood cost about $850 million and was billed as most expensive disaster in Ontario history. 

RECIFE FLOOD:

Meanwhile, we're all gearing up to watch the United States-Germany World Cup soccer match from Recife, Brazil today.  

From @CindyBoren on Twitter, the scene in Recife today.  

I suspect a lot of people are swimming to the event, as some major flooding has hit that city. 

There was some question as to whether the game could go on, but as it stood a couple hours before the match was scheduled to start, the event is still on.

The storm in Recife was very localized, with heavy rain falling on the city with nearby surrounding areas staying dry.

HERE IN VERMONT:

In Vermont, where this blog is based, there was some minor flooding in the southern parts of the state but nothing extreme.

The most rain I found was a rather impressive 2.92 inches at Union Village Dam, 2.52 inches in Putney and 2.45 inches in North Hartland. A lot of areas in the state received more than an inch or rain.