The weather seems to be increasingly volatile, with summers and winters within the UK that are anything but predictable. However, beyond the usual weekly, monthly and seasonal forecasting it appears that 2015 has served up plenty of rather notable weather events around the world.
So here we take a deeper look into the very often bizarre global weather events, for which it’s safe to say that 2015 has already been a vintage year:
2. What’s this about?
The weather seems to be increasingly volatile, with summers and winters within
the UK that are anything but predictable. However, beyond the usual weekly,
monthly and seasonal forecasting it appears that 2015 has served up plenty of
rather notable weather events around the world.
So here we take a deeper look into the very often bizarre global weather events,
for which it’s safe to say that 2015 has already been a vintage year:
WHAT’S THIS ABOUT?
3. 1. The US went for an entire period of 24
days without any tornado or thunderstorm
warnings… anywhere - USA
24 days may not sound like a long time, however when we’re talking about a lack of severe
weather warnings, coupled with a landmass that is as expansive as the USA then you have
something that has actually never happened since the US Storm Prediction Centre was set up
in 1970. Although severe weather has made up for it elsewhere, as we’ll see from our next
entrant…
4. 2. Four cyclones all threatening
the shores of the Eastern
hemisphere at once – Eastern
hemisphere
Over on the other side of the world to the distinctly severe weather warning free
USA is the Eastern hemisphere where four tropical cyclones met on March 12th,
2015. And what was to blame for this rather freakish weather front? Well the
Madden-Julian Oscillation (or MJO, for short), which is known as being the largest
meeting of atmospheric circulation and tropical deep convection. Or something
that can create rather crazy weather, to you and I!
5. 3. It’s raining… milk? – Washington,
USA
Car washing is pretty big business in the Northwest US, so early February of this
year was likely a seriously busy time as storms in Washington seemed to rain with
a milky-white liquid. Theories as to how the rain became infused with another
substance include everything from chemical contamination right through to the
blaming of distant volcanoes.
6. 4. A solid drought… followed up by
mass flooding – Texas, USA
The spring of 2015 brought serious drought to Texas, where reservoirs were
practically sucked dry. Fast forward to May however and reservoirs were
overflowing and fit to busting with a downpour that ended with widespread flash
flooding.
7. 5. 14 years worth of rain… over the
course of just 24 hours - Chile
If you think that we have it bad in the UK for rain, then think again. Back in
March, Chile’s Atacama Desert which usually receives just 0.07 inches of rain a
year was battered with a storm that saw almost an inch of rain water fall in 24
hours.
Now one inch, to us seasoned rain pros, may sound like a good UK summer’s day,
however over in the Atacama Desert (and within the nearby city of Copiapo) the
natural soil and plant free landscapes simply transitioned into what were fatal
flash floods.
8. APIXU
At APIXU we have an API to track even the most extreme weather events, feeding
back essential and robustly accurate data to the developers who make working
with the weather their lives. Our API features all that is needed for the latest
developer to code something that may, tomorrow, be reporting the next big
weather event that can help guide people to safety and shelter.
9. TO FIND OUT MORE ABOUT THIS
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WHAT NOW?
5 of the most bizarre weather events of 2015