A submarine volcano located near the island of Epi in Vanuatu started erupting at 18:30 UTC on January 31, 2023, prompting authorities to raise the Volcano Alert Level to 1 and establish a 10 km (6.2 miles) danger zone. This marks the first eruption of the volcano since 2004 (VEI 2).
A glancing blow of Arctic air mixed with a surge in moisture set the stage for an extensive and very dangerous ice event in parts of the United States. The most likely corridor of icing with a mixture of sleet will occur from west-central Texas to the Tennessee and Lower Ohio Valleys. The ice accretion from Texas into Mid-South may approach 13 mm (0.5 inches) or more through Wednesday, February 1, 2023, and cause power outages and travel issues.
The presence of a low level jet (LLJ), or strong wind in the lower atmosphere, combined with tropical moisture to create persistent heavy rain in the Auckland area on Friday, January 27, 2023, resulting in widespread severe flooding, destruction and casualties.
Tropical Cyclone “Cheneso” rapidly intensified after spending 5 days over Madagascar, bringing death and destruction. The system is expected to further intensify as it moves near the SW coast of the country over the next few days, bringing more heavy rainfall. Parts of northern Madagascar have already received more than 1 000 mm (40 inches) of rain.
At least 157 people have died in Afghanistan’s harsh winter as of January 24, 2023, with the death toll doubling in less than a week. Officials are describing this winter as the worst in a decade.
Heavy rains continue to cause massive flooding in various parts of the Philippines, leaving 29 people dead and affecting around 1.4 million people in 1 956 villages across 48 provinces.
A severe weather outbreak in the Southeast United States on Thursday, January 12, 2023, has left at least seven people dead, several injured, and extensive damage in its wake. A series of tornadoes in central Alabama killed at least six people and in Georgia, a passenger in a vehicle was killed when a tree fell on the car during a severe storm.
A very large landslide destroyed the communities of Parraga Viejo, Santa Clara, La Soledad and Chontaduro in Colombia’s Cauca Department on January 9, 2023. Luckily, growing cracks started appearing several days before the landslide, alerting communities about the risk.
The continuous rounds of heavy rain on already saturated soils across California will likely lead to significant flooding, rapid river rises, mudslides, and flash floods or debris flows in burn scar areas. In addition, gusty winds may cause trees and power lines to fall. Travel in the mountains may also be hazardous due to heavy snowfall.
Remnants of Tropical Cyclone “Ellie” have dropped heavy rains over parts of northern Western Australia over the past week, causing record floods and widespread damage.
