More than a third of the contiguous United States has an above average flood risk currently. (NOAA) Click on the image for photos from the flood preparations in North Dakota and Minnesota.
With the Red River continuing to rise and expected to crest at more than 20 feet above flood stage, communities in North Dakota and Minnesota are preparing for widespread flooding. Weather forecasters are expecting that the river may approach the record levels seen just last year, potentially flooding hundreds of square miles.
The filling of sandbags and reinforcing dikes and levees has taken on a sense of urgency along the river.
In Fargo, North Dakota, the Red River was already nearly 13 feet above flood level Wednesday morning – major flood stage by National Weather Service standards. It is forecast to rise seven more feet by Sunday morning.
NOAA Administrator Jane Lubchenco warned in a statement that it flooding is likely to be extensive. “It’s a terrible case of déjà vu, but this time the flooding will likely be more widespread. As the spring thaw melts the snowpack, saturated and frozen ground in the Midwest will exacerbate the flooding of the flat terrain and feed rising rivers and streams.”
We will enjoy a couple of days of spring-like temperatures but winter weather looks to make a comeback on Friday. (Image courtesy Shannon Vermilye)
With only three days of winter left, Thornton is looking to have its warmest day of the year thus far on St. Patrick’s Day. We will enjoy those warm temperatures today and tomorrow but Friday brings big change in temperatures and the chance for significant snowfall.
For Wednesday, there will be sunny skies across the Front Range and that will help to warm the Mile High City to temperatures nearly 15 degrees above normal. Highs today look to be in the upper 60’s and will likely mark the warmest day of the year thus far.
Thursday we will enjoy one more day of unseasonably warm weather. There will be a few clouds starting to intrude and highs will be in the mid to upper 60’s.
The big weather day in the forecast we are watching is Friday and winter looks like it may go out as a lion. A significant storm system is now getting organized and will begin to move from the Pacific Northwest and arrive in the state Thursday night and into Friday morning. This system is bringing with it plenty of cold air but also a lot of moisture. Highs of Friday may not even reach the freezing mark – almost a 40 degree drop from what is expected Thursday.
Overnight Thursday there will be a chance for snow and the timing of this system may shift a bit but right now but it looks like starting around 6:00am Friday is when it really gets spooled up. How much of the precipitation falls as rain and how much as snow is going to depend greatly on the temperatures.
As it stands, it looks like there should be plenty of cold air to make most of it fall as snow. Assuming so, Thornton may be looking at getting one of its biggest snowstorms of the year. This early it is tough to put a number on the snowfall but preliminary indications are that the mountains and foothills could receive a foot of snow and up to 10 inches is possible along the Palmer Divide.
The early morning quiet on Tuesday in Southern California was broken by a magnitude 4.4 earthquake near Los Angeles. The temblor, centered near Pico Rivera, caused no major damage but rattled area residents and put first responders on alert.
The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) said the quake occurred at 4:04am and originated 11.7 miles below the surface of the earth. The epicenter was less than a half mile from Pico Rivera or 10 miles east-southeast of downtown Los Angeles.
While the quake was relatively small, it was felt across a large swath of Southern California. Reports indicate it was felt as far north as Rosamond, as far east as Lucerne Valley and as far as Poway near San Diego to the south.
A British government ad campaign utilizing children nursery rhymes to warn about the dangers of climate change has been rebuked by a government watchdog. (DECC)
Scare tactic newspaper advertisements from Britain’s Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) have been banned by a government advertising watchdog agency. Two ads in a series which used child nursery rhymes to warn about the purported dangers of manmade climate change were found to have unsubstantiated claims in them.
The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) reviewed the ads after receiving more than 900 complaints from British citizens – the most complaints it received on any ad last year.
The two offending ads were based on the nursery rhymes of ‘Jack and Jill’ and ‘Rub a Dub Dub’ and warned of the effects of extreme weather, a claim which has long been disproven.
Without a background in climate science, the ASA relied on the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s (IPCC) reports to determine the accuracy of the ads. In its conclusion, the ASA said the ads failed to meet code based on a lack of substantiation, truthfulness and their environmental claims.
It was the definitive statement that the severe weather events will happen that caused the ASA to take action as they are presented as if there is no doubt.
March 14 to March 20 - This week in Denver weather history
Think winter is over? Don’t count on it. A quick look back at this week in Denver weather history illustrates why. Many occurrences of winter-like weather can intrude as we see and we don’t even have to look very far back. It was this week that the March Blizzard of 2003 struck – one of the worst snowstorms in Denver history.
9-19
In 1906…an extended cold and blustery period occurred with light snow totaling 14.4 inches over 11 consecutive days. The greatest amount of snow on a single day was 4.0 inches on the 15th. Only a trace of snow fell on the 12th and 17th. High temperatures were below freezing for the entire period. The coldest were 14 degrees on the 16th and 18 degrees on the 17th. Both readings were record low maximums for the dates. Low temperatures were mostly in the single digits. The coldest were 2 degrees below zero on the 16th and 5 degrees below zero on the 19th. Northeast winds were sustained to 22 mph on the 9th. North winds were sustained to 36 mph on the 10th…32 mph on the 13th…and 22 mph on the 15th.
12-16
In 1880…a protracted cold spell resulted in 8 temperature records being set. Record low temperatures for the date were set when the temperature dipped to 10 degrees below zero on the 13th and 14th…8 degrees below zero on the 12th and 15th…and 4 degrees below zero on the 16th. Daily record low maximum temperatures were set with 11 degrees on the 12th…12 degrees on the 13th…and 19 degrees on the 15th.
13-14
In 1996…a storm system moving across northern Colorado dumped heavy snow in the mountains and foothills and across metro Denver where snowfall ranged from 5 to 10 inches. A foot of new snow was measured at Nederland with 11 inches at Conifer. Snowfall totaled 8.0 inches at the site of the former Stapleton International Airport. Northeast winds gusted to 30 mph at Denver International Airport on the 13th.
13-15
In 1906…snowfall totaled 8.0 inches over downtown Denver.
Image of Interstate 70's new alignment through Glenwood Canyon. Further repairs are needed to restore the highway completely. (CDOT) See a complete series of photos of the slide and repairs in the slideshow below.
Boulders the size of semi-trucks did significant damage to the interstate. A hole on the westbound sound measured 20 feet by 10 feet and one on the eastbound side was 6 feet by 6 feet.
Crews worked in recent days to remove one rock that was 20 feet in diameter and smaller threats on the mountain while others worked to repair the roadway below.
The extensive damage caused to the highway will result in limits on traffic through the affected area for the near future. Only one lane in each direction is open now and the speed limit has been reduced to 40 mph. Trucks over 14 feet wide are not permitted in the area.
CDOT said they would provide more information tomorrow as to how long complete repairs will take. In a statement they said the new restrictions “will remain like this until long-term repairs can be completed in the coming weeks/months.”
Slides in Glenwood Canyon are not entirely unusual due to the rugged terrain and the varying weather conditions experienced in the area. Storms, snow melt and runoff, and even minor seismic activity can set loose the sides of mountains.
The stretch of I-70 through Glenwood Canyon was the final piece of the interstate highway system to be completed in the United States. When it was finished in 1992 the 15-mile stretch was considered a major engineering accomplishment.
An avalanche near Loveland Pass killed a 20-year-old snowboarder on Wednesday. (File Photo - Wikipedia)
A group of three snowboarders west of Arapahoe Basin near Loveland Pass triggered an avalanche on Wednesday killing one of the men. 20-year-old Daniel Michelotti was killed when he was partially buried in the event.
According to Summit County Rescue Group, the three were snowboarding in a backcountry area off of Highway 6. Michelotti was in the lead of the trio when he triggered the avalanche. He was carried 1000 feet and nearly completely buried.
The two remaining friends used their snowboards to extricate Michelotti while they awaited search and rescue teams. None of the three carried standard avalanche preparedness gear such as a beacon, shovels or probes.
Summit County Rescue Group, and members of Arapahoe Basin Ski Patrol, Keystone Ski Patrol and the Summit County Ambulance Service all responded to the site.
Michelotti had moved to Colorado in November from Spring Grove, Illinois and was an employee of Breckenridge Ski Resort. The other two men were from Spring Grove as well, one of which arrived in Colorado two days prior.
The mountain snowpack has been very unstable for most of the winter. The Colorado Avalanche Information Center said the danger was ‘considerable’ for most of the central mountain areas including where Tuesday’s avalanche occurred.
Michelotti becomes the fourth fatality from avalanches this season. The most recent was on February 23rd when a man skiing in the backcountry as part of a group of eight was buried alive by and avalanche near Aspen.
Radar image of the tornado in White County, Arkansas. Two other twisters were reported in the state Wednesday, one that claimed the life of an elderly man. (NWS)
Tornadoes tore through Arkansas late yesterday and claimed the first tornado victim of 2010. One person was reported dead and three injured as the series of storms moved across the state.
The first twister of the night struck at 6:28pm local time in Saline County. That tornado damaged nearly two dozen homes but no injuries were reported.
The National Weather Service reported a second tornado was spawned out of a storm cell near Center Hill in White County. Nine homes were damaged and one person was injured.
The deadly twister was the third of the night which struck near Pearson in Cleburne County just after 9:00pm. Renee Preslar, spokeswoman for the Arkansas Department of Emergency Management, said that twister killed an elderly man and injured two others.
Thus far there has been a distinct lack of tornadoes reported in 2010. There were 41 twisters reported in January, slightly above the three year average for January of 37. That was followed by only one twister in February, the fewest in the month since record-keeping began in 1950.
There have been seven tornadoes reported thus far in March, all of which occurred in the last 48 hours.
A tornado ripped through western Oklahoma on Monday destroying five homes and a barn. Dramatic video captured by stormchasers show the twister ripping apart out-buildings as it crosses a highway near Hammon.
According to the Storm Prediction Center, the twister was reported at 5:57pm local time. Residents said the area’s warning sirens did sound and provided nine minutes of warning before the tornado struck.
Oklahoma Department of Emergency Management spokeswoman Michelann Ooten told the Associated Press that no injuries were reported. In addition to the five homes, a barn owned by the county was destroyed and the roofs of several homes were blow off.
Stormchasers were tracking the storm and captured amazing video of the twister from the distance and from very close proximity. The first is from Arick Inman and the second from Mike Scantlin.
Massive boulders lie strewn on Interstate 70 through Colorado's Glenwood Canyon Monday morning. (CDOT)
A rockslide that dropped boulders the size of semi-trucks has forced the Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) to close I-70 in both directions. Officials are unable to provide an estimate on when the road will reopen as damage is extensive on both east and west bound sides.
CDOT spokesperson Stacey Stegman said the boulders were big enough to punch holes into the surface of the highway. Some are large enough that moving them as they are may not be an option – they instead will have to be blown apart into smaller pieces.
CDOT reported on Twitter that the boulders ranged in size from 3 to 10 feet with the largest weighing 66 tons. The largest hole on the westbound side of the highway measures 20 feet by 10 feet and the largest on the eastbound side measures 6 feet by 6 feet.
The slide occurred near mile marker 125, west of Hanging Lake Tunnel. Officials said they were lucky the slide occurred at 12:09am when traffic on the highway was at a minimum.
Interstate 70 is closed in both directions between mile markers 116 and 133. CDOT says it could be a couple of days before traffic is able to utilize the route.
The shortest detour around the slide area is not a quick one requiring nearly a 200 mile route. Drivers are being encouraged to use U.S. 40 through Steamboat Springs or U.S. 50 through Montrose and Gunnison.
