Former Hurricane Humberto, Reborn As Storm Amy, Blasts UK With 96 MPH Winds

Storm Amy, which had its origins in Hurricane 
Humberto, slammed much of the UK with damaging
winds. Here, a derelict building crashed down on
a car in Glasgow, Scotland. 

The UK was just blasted by what used to be Hurricane Humberto. 

At least one death has been reported in Ireland, in what has been re-named Storm Amy by the UK Met Office.  

Gusts as high as 96 mph were reported in the Inner Hebrides, a group of islands off the west coast of Scotland.  Northern Ireland recorded its highest October wind gust on record, at 92 mph. 

Storm Amy also set a record for the deepest area of low pressure in the UK during the month of October. In general, the lower the air pressure at the center of a storm, the stronger the storm is. 

As of Saturday morning local time, 62,000 homes and businesses across Scotland were without power and another 22,000 had no electricity in Northern Ireland, the BBC reported. 

Winds were not as strong further south, but still gusty enough to be dangerous. All eight of London's royal parks closed Saturday and opening times will be delayed Sunday, says the BBC. 

This past week, Hurricane Humberto transitioned to what is know as an extratropical storm - which is basically they type of system most storms are.

Hurricane have warm core and no warm and cold fronts. Extratropical storms have colder cores and those weather fronts. Once hurricanes get far enough north and away from the warm water needed to feed them, one of two things will happen.

The hurricane might simply dissipate. Or, especially if there is another disturbance around, like a cold front, the dying hurricane might reinvent itself as a regular storm.  Since the storm had its origins in the tropics, that energy might be an added boost to the re-formed storm.

That's what happened to Humberto. It transitioned to an extratropical storm. The UK Met Office even gave it a new name - Amy - so we no longer call it be its dead name, which was Humberto.  (The Met Office gives names to the powerful storms that often sweep the UK, especially in the winter. ) 

Storm Amy took off into the North Sea today, so conditions were improving in the UK and Ireland. 

Even Normally Damp UK Is Burning This Spring

Wildfire burning this past week near Cumbernauld, Scotland

 There's been more of our share of spring wildfires around the world in the winter and so far this spring. 

The latest place to burn: Damp Old England, Ireland and Scotland. Hundreds of brush and wildfires have been burning, and are still burning in the UK. 

Yep, you read that right. 

They've had a stretch of unusually dry weather, and wildfires are burning through vast areas of the UK.  The worst was expected to peak this weekend.

Per a Washington Post report from Friday: 

"Firefighters in Northern Ireland reported nearly 300 wildfires in the week ending Thursday. Many were significant and started intentionally, but then ran rampant under conditions conducive to fire.

One large blaze was ongoing near Glasgow, in southwestern Scotland. It started Thursday and glowed ominously in the hills near the city overnight. Conflagrations were also burning or being tamped out near Galloway in Scotland and Cornwall in England, among other spots."

Extreme wildfire warnings were up in Scotland through Saturday. 

A BBC map showing the many locations of wildfires
this past week in, of all places Scotland. 

A change in the weather is forecast for Great Britain, which might finally bring some rain next week. But ahead of that rain, winds are expected to increase, so the fire danger will get even worse. 

The reason it's been so oddly warm and dry in the British Isles is a blocked weather pattern that has kept warm high pressure sitting over or near the region. 

This has blocked the usual parade of storms and cold fronts from moving eastward off the Atlantic Ocean to spread the usual April showers into England, Ireland, Northern Ireland, Wales and Scotland

This has led to a spring drought, exacerbated by unusually high temperatures for this time of year. It's been in the 70s on some recent days in Northern Ireland and Scotland.  Usually, high temperatures in that region are in the low to mid 50s during April. 

Climate change might have also had a hand in all this. Spring is the most rapidly warming season in the UK as the world keeps heating up. 

The UK has followed in the footsteps of other areas have exceptionally bad spring wildfire seasons. 

Late March wildfires in South Korea killed at least 24 people and destroyed hundreds of buildings, some of them historic. 

In the United States, damaging forest and wildfires swept through parts of several eastern states, especially in the Carolinas back in March.

Earlier in March, wildfires destroyed hundreds of homes in Texas, Kansas and especially Oklahoma. 

It's spring fire season here in Vermont, too, but we've been lucky so far. True, it hasn't been a nice spring lately, but frequent rain and snowfalls have so far tamped things down. Through April 8, Vermont has only see 13 small brush and wildfires that have burned a total of 8.5 acres. 

Still, we're not out of the woods. Until it green up out there, a few days of dry, windy weather could set things ablaze. In the short term. rain and even a little snow are in the forecast Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday. 

 

Update: Storm Eowyn, As Expected Leaves Big Trail Of Destruction In Ireland, Scotland

Fallen trees across railroad tracks in Scotland after 
Storm Eowyn.  Photo helps explains why the Scottish
rail system and to shut down during and after
the storm due to wind damage. 

As expected, Storm Eowyn, as it's known, crashed into Ireland, Northern Ireland and Scotland Thursday night and Friday, leaving behind a trail of power outages and damage. 

So far, only one death has been reported, which is one glimmer of good news.

At least a million power outages were reported in Ireland and northern Ireland, with 100,000 more across Scotland.  Power could be out for some people for as many as ten days. 

Photos and videos from the area show many roofs and building walls damaged and collapsed from the winds, along with countless trees blown over.  

Winds gusted as high as 114 mph at Mace Head on Ireland's west coast, the highest wind gust on record in Ireland. A storm in 1945 brought a 113 mph gust. 

The storm was well advertised by meteorologists and people heeded warnings to stay indoors, which minimized the death toll. The Associated Press said cities like Dublin, Belfast, Glasgow and Edinburgh were eerily quiet as normally bustling streets were nearly devoid of people, cars and public transportation during the storm. 

Scotland's rail system remained shut down Saturday as crews assessed damage to its network. 

Tree damage is enormous, and some of the damage is to rare or historic specimens. 

In Edinburgh, 15 valued trees in the Royal Botanic Garden were destroyed, including the tallest tree there, a 95-foot tall Cedrus deodara, planted in 1859. The storm also damaged greenhouses in the garden. 

On Glasgow, the more than 500 year old Darnley Sycamore was badly damaged, with several branches torn off.  This tree is reportedly the tree under which Mary Queen of Scots and her cousin and second husband, Henry Stewart, Lord Darnley, sat while she nursed him back to health from an illness in 1565.  

Behind the storm, wind and precipitation continued. Wind, snow and ice alerts remained in effect Saturday  and Sunday as a new storm roared in from the Atlantic Ocean. Though not as strong as Eowyn, the new weather system will causing strong, gusty winds and a risk of flooding in various parts the UK. 

Storm Eowyn had a long history.  It began as the bonkers, record breaking snowstorm along the Gulf Coast of the United States on Tuesday. 

Fueled by a combination of an insanely fast jet stream over the Atlantic Ocean, a cold outbreak originating from North America and much warmer than normal ocean waters just to the south, the storm explosively grew into a monster. 

 It mugged the British Isles as it raced past, hitting the west coast of Ireland Thursday night and rocketing away from Scotland's northeast coast by later Friday. 

VIDEOS

Good news account and summary of all the trouble Storm Eowyn caused. As always, click on this link to view, or if you see the image below, click on that. 

First half of this video is the most interesting. It shows a 100 year old building partly collapsing after damage from the high winds. Also lots of trees down along a highway and other damage. Click on this link to view, or if you see the image below, click on that.

Ireland, Scotland Bracing For Worst Storm In Generations

Satellite view of Storm Eowym bearing down
on the UK looks splotchy, but it is expected to
be one of the worst storms on record for Ireland,
Northern Ireland and Scotland. 

 A horrific storm was bearing down on Ireland, Scotland and other parts of the northern UK as forecasters warn of major wind destruction. 

The Met Office, the British equivalent of the U.S. National Weather Service, has issued its highest level alert, known as a red warning, for those in the path of what has been named Storm Eowyn. 

 Red warnings are rarely issued. 

Winds in the storm zone were forecast to gust into the 80 to 100 mph range, which is much stronger than almost any of the intense winter storms that often buffet the British Isles. 

Per The Guardian:

"The red warnings, an upgrade of existing amber warnings, cover all of Northern Ireland and parts of central and southern Scotland, including Edinburgh, Glasgow and Ayr. 

The UK government said more than 4.5 million people in Northern Ireland and Scotland have received emergency alerts - a 10 second siren sound - on their mobile phones on Thursday evening, the largest real life use of the tool to date."

The Met Office people under these warnings should expect flying debris that would be a danger to life, damage to homes and other buildings including roofs blown off, impassable roads due to fallen trees and power lines, large, battering waves that could destroy seaside homes and businesses, and widespread power outages. 

Ahead of Storm Eowyn, the Scottish government said its Parliament building would shut down Friday, as would all train service. Most schools and universities were also shuttering.  Scottish Police said they would soon issue a do not travel notice, telling people not to drive or otherwise travel anywhere during the storm. 

Police in Northern Ireland also urged everyone to shelter in place as they anticipated the worst winds since at least the 1998 Boxing Day storm. Others meteorologists are saying this will be the strongest storm to hit the region since 1961.

UK meteorologists have been sounding the alarm bells all days. "This is one major storm. I've not seen anything like it in my career," said Scottish weather presenter Judith Ralston.  Wave heights near the western coast of Ireland could end up being the highest on record. 

As in Scotland, Northern Ireland and Ireland have suspended train and other public transit services.  

Ahead of the main storm, an apparent tornado touched down in Newquay, Cornwall earlier today, damaging several homes. 

 At midday Thursday, Storm Eowyn was well southeast of Greenland, racing toward Ireland while continuing to strengthen quickly. It should hit Ireland tonight, and the rest of the UK, including Scotland Friday. 

I'm sure I'll have an update on this once it hits.  

Scotland Trip Is Ending; Photos Show Edinburgh's Fitful Weather.

After some brief sun, a rain squall approaches Edinburgh's
Royal Mile at around 3:30 p.m. November 30,
just before sunset. 

EDINBURGH, SCOTLAND - My time in this beautiful, small nation has come to an end. 

One of the things I've got left is photos showing the beauty of the area, and the fitful, inclement, but sometimes sunny, cold weather the region sees in December. 

Days are incredibly short in Edinburgh, since it's so far north. Sunrise in early December is around 8:25 a.m., and it sets around 3:40 p.m. 

But we made the most of it, enjoying the brisk outdoors while traipsing around the shops and pubs and historic buildings.

This post is just a sampling of scenic/weather photos, since it's such a beautiful place. 

Click on the pics to make them bigger and easier to see

Typical overcast day this time of year in Edinburgh

A brief bright spot in the Edinburgh overcast

Late afternoon on a rare clear, but very cold day by
Edinburgh standards on December 1, Highs that day
were in the mid-20s, normal for the season is low 40s.

Shop and Christmas lights brighten a Edinburgh street
as darkness falls at around 4 p.m,

Back to a hazy Edinburgh overcast on December 2.

A hint of a rainbow on a changeable, gusty day along
the North Sea in North Berwick, Scotland, December 3.

Frosty day in Edinburgh, December 6.

Another rare treat of sunshine, but it was cold again
in Edinburgh, December 6

Climate Change Footprint Is Everywhere, As I'm Learning In Scotland

A stormy late afternoon Monday in Edinburgh, Scotland.
Just like in many parts of the world, including back home
in Vermont, storms are getting more extreme in
Scotland due to climate change. 

EDINBURGH, SCOTLAND - As any good tourist would do, I'm trying to learn as much as I can about the city.  

Given my interest in weather and climate, that includes information on how climate change is affecting Scotland. 

Turns out climate change is affecting this area in similar ways to Vermont. Just as in the Green Mountain State, climate change is making Edinburgh warmer and wetter.  

Edinburgh is not a warm place.  It's almost as far north as Anchorage, Alaska. It's as far north as north-central Quebec.  

But it's not frigid here. The waters of the Gulf Stream in the Atlantic Ocean keep things moderate and tolerable in Scotland, though. 

Daytime highs in the winter tend to be in the low 40s around Edinburgh and summertime highs are in the mid-60s . Extremes in Scotland are not as wild as they are in most of the United States, including Vermont. 

The coldest temperature on record here is 4 degrees (Fahrenheit). The hottest-ever reading hit pretty recently, 88 degrees on July 25, 2019. That being one sign of climate change right there.

By contrast, Burlington, Vermont has been as cold as 30 below and as hot as 101 degrees, so the range is much greater than in Scotland. 

Any sort of change in the climate anywhere is disconcerting and potentially destructive. That's of course true in Scotland. 

With climate change, summers in Scotland are expected to become drier overall, but with more intense storms thrown in.  That means a higher chance of drought, and also a higher chance of flash floods. That   scenario might sound familiar to us Vermonters, who in recent years dealt with summer droughts, and disastrous July and August flooding. 

Autumns are getting especially risky in Scotland, with flooding increasing at that time of year. Just this October, Storm Babet caused some of the worst flooding on record in much of Scotland. All seasons in Scotland are expected to be warmer than they are now. 

Climate change is on the minds of politicians and policy makers here in Scotland. 

The City of Edinburgh Council has a pretty detailed plan on their web site on dealing with the consequences of climate change.  They're most worried about flooding from storms and from sea level rise. 

Edinburgh is of course a coastal city, meaning it's prone to the effects of sea level rise. The estimates are sea levels at the Edinburgh harbor should rise by about six inches by 2050, That doesn't sound like much, but even a slight sea level change can add immensely to storm surge damage and waves.

Scotland as a whole has a goal of net zero carbon emissions by 2045. I have noticed a large number of EVs in Edinburgh. They make sense here. There's usually need to go any long distances. The streets are narrow and winding, so you don't want a large car here.  Since it's a compact city, it's easy to walk or bike to wherever you're going.

Also, Scotland has a robust public transit system, which is great if you want to reduce carbon emissions. Edinburgh is crawling with buses, and I always see plenty of passengers on them. The train network is extensive and very easy to use. 

We took a day trip from Edinburgh to New Berwick on the coast about 20 miles to the northeast Sunday. The train to and from there was efficient, clean and convenient.  Wish we had something like that in the states! 

Both Vermont and Scotland, along with local and regional governments around the world do seem to be  taking action against climate change, and girding themselves against the effects from it.  It seems like the top leaders of the world, and especially the wealthy billionaire class who made their money on fossil fuels and associated industries that are holding us back from solving the climate crisis. 

 

  

Snow Trouble Both Sides Of The Atlantic

Latest snow forecast from the National Weather Service
in South Burlington. Mid and high elevations can
expect perhaps six inches wet snow. Be alert, as
these totals might change substantially in the actual storm.

 EDINBURGH, SCOTLAND -  At my temporary perch in this Scottish city, we haven't gotten any snow so far in my stay. The hills around town yes, but not in the city center.  

But I see there's a snowy mess on both sides of the pond. Swaths of the UK, and elsewhere in Europe, have gotten some disruptive snows.

Meanwhile, it still looks like disruptive snows are in the cards for Vermont and surround areas. Let's take Vermont first.

Like the wet, heavy snowstorm back on November 27 that caused a mess and power outages, the one that's coming today and tonight in the Green Mountain State will easily surprise folks one way or another. 

Temperatures, like last time, will be marginal, very close to the freezing mark. That means, as  mentioned yesterday, if it ends up being a degree or two warmer than expected, it'll be mostly rain. If it's a degree or two cooler than what's in the forecast now, then the wet snow will be much more widespread.

Expect surprises.

The worst of the storm will run from this afternoon to early Monday morning.  Before we get there, freezing drizzle and freezing fog this morning near the Canadian border will cause some spotty ice and travel trouble, especially on bridges and overpasses. 

The heavier precipitation will move in this afternoon. It'll come down heavily at times tonight. The best chances of accumulating snow will be during the heavier bouts of precipitation overnight. That heavy stuff tends to cool the air enough so that if you're above freezing and raining, you'll likely switch to snow.

Once again, the higher you go the more snow you'll get. A winter storm warning is up for the Northeast Kingdom and high elevations of northeast New York, where six inches or more of wet slop is in the cards. 

Elsewhere in Vermont, a winter weather advisory is up for areas outside the immediate Champlain Valley and so far not including the state's southernmost counties. In these areas two to seven inches of sloppy wet snow is forecast, but there could be some surprises with higher totals if temperatures dip just a degree or two downward more than expected.

The immediate Champlain Valley can expect one or two inches, but again, be wary of any surprises that could boost totals overnight. 

As you've noticed, I keep mentioning heavy, wet snow. That means power failures are likely. That's especially true in  mid and high elevations where the snow should accumulate the most.

I can't emphasize enough the predicted snow amounts are not cast in stone.  This is a tricky storm.  My gut is sort of pushing me to expect a little more snow that's currently in the forecast, but it could really go either way.  Either a huge dump of wet snow, something in the middle, or perhaps, not as big a deal.

I'd get ready for a wet snowy mess with difficult travel early Monday and the risk of power outages. Get the LED candles and charge your devices by this evening to be on the safe side.

Whatever comes down will be quite a bit. Rain and melted snow will amount to 0.75 inches to 1.25 inches most areas, with some spots seeing higher amounts. That makes it a pretty substantial storm. 

Much lighter wet snow and rain will keep going Monday in most areas, but accumulations will be lighter and many areas will be above freezing. So things should improve during the day. 

Of course, it will get colder Monday night, so a combination of water freezing on roads and light snow showers will make the roads annoying again overnight and Tuesday morning. 

BRITAIN/EUROPEAN SNOW

Vermont isn't the only place that's dealing with heavy, wet snow. In some places on this side of the pond, there's plenty of it.

Here in Scotland, Edinburgh on the northeast coast hasn't gotten any snow, but we might get some today. The Met Office, the British equivalent of the National Weather Service has Edinburgh and most of eastern Scotland under a "yellow warning" for some snow and us. 

A yellow warning is the equivalent of a winter weather advisory, and not quite as dire as the equivalent of a winter storm warning.   

Snow is visible in the hills near Edinburgh, Scotland. 

Snow is already affected other areas of the UK. The Glasgow, Scotland airport had to suspend flights Saturday morning due to a burst of heavy snow.  The Midlands, Yorkshire and large parts of Wales are snowy, with roads and railways icy and slow.

Jackknifed trucks (I've learned to call them lorries here) blocked a major highway in Cumbria.  

Elsewhere in Europe, heavy snow shut down parts of Germany. Munich had no bus or train service Saturday after 16 inches of heavy, wet snow fell there.

Intense cold and heavy snow are also causing problems. Traffic was at a standstill around Prague in the Czech Republic. Austria and Switzerland are on the alert for avalanches. 

In both Vermont and western and central Europe, longer range forecasts call for somewhat milder conditions in about a week. 

After Wild Ride In Vermont, Quieter Thank Goodness. Same Goes For Scotland

View out the plane window on approach to Edinburgh,
Scotland today. Notice the background landscape is
not that different from the hills in Vermont. The seacoast
in the foreground doesn't look that much different from the
Lake Champlain shore in Burlington. 

 EDINBURGH, SCOTLAND - Just arrived at my temporary perch in Scotland, will I will be staying for the next eight days ago.  

It was a challenging trip from Newark, New Jersey to Edinburgh, and we arrived more than seven hours later than scheduled. It wasn't weather problems. 

It was just a cargo door that malfunctioned, then we were moved to another plane, but they didn't re-scan the luggage correctly, and that took time to fix, and then the flight crew ran out of hours so they had to find another crew.

Sigh. But we made it! We just arrived at our hotel.   The city at first glance is, as advertised, gorgeous.  We're too tired to explore today. It's 3:40 p.m here and already getting dark. Edinburgh is as far north as north-central Quebec, so we're up there.

Back in Vermont, there were weather challenges once again last evening, I'm told. For a time it was really puking snow along the western slopes of the Green Mountains and the summits. 

It turned into a real mess when a few inches of snow fell along Interstate 89 between Williston and Waterbury, with a good three inches piling up in short order. Meanwhile, at the National Weather Service office in South Burlington, they just barely mustered a trace. 

The sudden onslaught of snow along Interstate 89 caused a ton of slide offs and such.  A section of the interstate between Williston and Richmond closed for a time. 

Some of the higher snow totals from this latest in a what has amounted to a series of surprise snowfalls this week include 6.0 inches in Montgomery,  4.8 inches in Jeffersonville, 4.1 inches in Huntington, 4.0 inches in Johnson and 3.6 inches in the Nashville section of Jonesville. 

The weather here in Edinburgh looks like it will be similar to that of Vermont over the next couple days. (I noticed while the plane was coming in for a landing that the landscape outside of Edinburgh is similar to that of Vermont. There's snow covered hills, no snow on the ground in Edinburgh proper, and an overcast sky. Temperatures are hovering just barely above freezing. 

Same in Vermont. Highs today under cloudy skies should be barely into the 30s. It'll be a little warmer tomorrow over in the Green Mountain State.

For Vermonters, the next shot at precipitation is on Friday and especially Friday night. This could be another mess like on Monday, except rain or snow should be lighter than it was on Monday. The fast flow aloft will probably shear apart the oncoming storm somewhat, so at this stage it looks like the risk of a few inches of wet snow again in the high elevations, and perhaps more rain in the warmer valleys. 

Stay tuned, as things could change, as they certainly did on Monday.  

The forecast beyond Friday still looks clear as mud, as a continued fast flow aloft will throw all kinds of weather disturbances at us. But I still have no idea whether any of these will be fairly substantial, or just the usual snow and rain showers.

At least it won't be that cold. Temperatures should be near normal - highs in the 30s to around 40.

As I mentioned earlier, since I'm way over in Scotland, some of my posts will come in at odd times, and might not be as consistent as usual. My apologies, but as you might understand, I want to explore this beautiful city whilst I'm here. (Notice the UK affectation in that sentence already!)

British Storm "Arwen" Gets UK Storm Season Off To Destructive Start

Police ban crushed by falling trees during Storm Arwen
in the UK

Great Britain is no stranger to wild winter storms blowing in off the North Atlantic, but the first major one of the season was a doozy.  

The storm focused the worst of its fury on Scotland, Northern Ireland and the north of  England, where some people have been without power for three days as temperatures fall to well below freezing behind the storm. 

Winds gusting to 90 mph unroofed buildings, collapsed brick walls and tossed down too many trees and power lines to count.  Three people died when trees fell on them. 

Train service in wide areas was canceled, too, because of power outages and trees and debris on train tracks. 

Britain's Met Office (the equivalent of the U.S. National Weather Service) issued a rare red weather warning ahead of the storm for high winds in the northeastern UK.  It was the first red warning since the infamous "Beast From The East" storm of February, 2018.

The Met Office has three levels of warning, yellow, amber and red, which helps judge the severity of a weather risk. A red warning means there will be significant disruptions and life-threatening conditions.   Which meant Arwen was a lot more than the usual British winter storm. 

The storm has departed, but a sharp cold snap descended on Great Britain in its wake. Temperatures fell into the teens in many areas across the north. 

It is forecast to turn milder again in England this week, though more storminess is due Tuesday. The next storm won't be nearly on the same scale as Arwen. 

Here's some videos. Click on this link to view the first one if using a mobile device:

Another video. Again, mobile users please click on this link: