Ex-Hurricane “Kirk” is forecast to hit western Europe, including Spain, France, and potentially the UK, on Wednesday, October 9, 2024, after racing through the North Atlantic as a powerful post-tropical cyclone.
The polar vortex forming over the Northern Hemisphere in 2024 is at its weakest point for early October in the last 40 years, with potential consequences for winter weather patterns across North America and Europe. The vortex’s unusual behavior this season could lead to significant disruptions in cold outbreaks in parts of the eastern United States, Canada, and Europe.
The total death toll from the historic floods in Europe caused by Storm Boris has risen to 21 on Tuesday, September 17, 2024, after an 81-year-old woman was found dead in her flooded home in Austria. Another death was reported in the Czech Republic after a woman drowned near the country’s border with Poland. While heavy rains in parts of central Europe are now diminishing, another wave of very heavy rains is forecast to return to Italy, starting on Tuesday and lasting through Thursday.
The Topola dam in Nysa County’s Paczkow, Poland collapsed on Monday, September 16, 2024, causing large amounts of water to flow toward the nearby village of Kozileno. A flood bank also collapsed in the city of Nysa on the same day causing the mayor to issue evacuation orders for almost 44 000 people.
Storm Boris has wreaked havoc across Central and Eastern Europe over the past 4 days, unleashing catastrophic floods that have claimed at least 18 lives, displaced thousands, and left entire regions under water. Countries like Austria, Poland, and the Czech Republic are battling widespread destruction as rivers overflow, bridges collapse, and emergency services struggle to manage the crisis.
Europe is experiencing a sharp weather shift following the collapse of a persistent heat dome that had brought record-breaking temperatures across the continent in early September 2024. As the heatwave subsided, parts of central Europe transitioned abruptly from extreme summer heat to unusually cold and wet conditions. Austria, for example, saw early snowfall shortly after temperatures had soared above seasonal norms. This sudden weather shift, caused by a breakdown of the high-pressure system, is now leading to prolonged rains and cold blasts in central Europe.
Cyclone Boris is forecast to drop up to 400 mm (15.7 inches) of rain to parts of central Europe over the next 3 days, prompting widespread flood warnings and emergency preparations in countries like the Czech Republic, Poland, Austria, Germany and Slovakia.
A massive rainfall event is expected to unfold over central Europe in the next few days, caused by a slow-moving upper-low fueled by the warm waters of the Mediterranean Sea. Weather models predict parts of the region may see extreme rainfall and potentially catastrophic flooding in the days ahead.
As a prolonged heat dome collapses, signaling the end of summer, Europe is set to experience a dramatic shift in weather. Severe storms, heavy to extreme rainfall, and even early snowfalls are forecast for parts of the Mediterranean and Alpine regions in the coming days.
An unexpected atmospheric re-entry of the Starlink 2382 satellite at 19:29 UTC on August 27, 2024, created a stunning fireball over France, Switzerland, and northern Italy.
