It was the almighty cracking that they heard first, an unmistakable deep rumble before the mountain gave way, swallowing up caravans and cars as it collapsed at speed on the campsite below. Aerial images show the aftermath of the landslide that struck New Zealand's North Island on Thursday a massive piece of brown earth gouged out of the green slope, flattened roofs and a few trees sticking out an unnatural angles.
A complex mix of snow, heavy rain, strong winds and possibly freezing rain will mark an end to the cold spell that has been in place across the UK since the start of the year. A low pressure system to the northwest of the UK will drive milder air and strong winds across the UK on Sunday. With cold air in place across the north, snow is likely to accumulate before turning to rain later on Sunday.
Southern California should be prepared for rain and blustery conditions this week. Residents can also expect to have a rainy New Year's Eve and Day, with rainfall rates from a quarter to half an inch an hour predicted on Wednesday night into Thursday morning. "The chances of a wet New Years Parade, and including the night before when people camp out before the parade, are extremely high, 80-90% at this point," the weather service said in a Monday evening statement.
Meteorologists and their weather models have not come to any agreement about whether Tuesday's incoming storm will meet the criteria of a "bomb cyclone," but suffice it to say it will be really windy and wet. There is a huge area of low pressure out over the Pacific Ocean, carrying with it wind, rain, and potential thunderstorms, and it is scheduled to hit the Northern California coast with a vengence by 7 pm.
Met Éireann has said they are "closely monitoring a developing Atlantic system". "[The system] potentially bringing very strong winds, high coastal water levels and heavy rainfall to Ireland from late tomorrow night, December 8, through Tuesday, December 9." Meteorologist Holly O'Neill said the system has the potential to be a "very impactful event". "A deepening low-pressure system will impact Ireland from Monday night and into Tuesday, which will see very strong winds and heavy rainfall at times," she said.
Storm Bram will bring very strong to gale force southerly winds with the strongest winds along the coast. All counties will see very strong and gusty winds coming into place at 3am tonight until 9pm tomorrow. A Status Orange Wind warning will be in place for counties Cork, Kerry, Waterford and Wexford from 7am tomorrow until 3pm. While another Status Orange Wind Warning will be in place for counties Clare, Limerick, Donegal, Galway, Leitrim, Mayo and Sligo from 10am to 6pm.
Heavy rain will spread in across southern England late on Wednesday, spreading north-east and likely to persist right through until late Thursday. The Met Office yellow warning for rain covers much of southern and eastern England from midnight on Wednesday night into Thursday, and through until 21:00 BST. Rainfall totals by early Thursday morning could be widely 20-30mm (around 1in), and for some places 30-50mm (up to 2in).
Low pressure moving across the south of the UK on Thursday will bring both a spell of heavy rain and areas of strong winds. The rain is expected to arrive from the southwest during Wednesday evening, before spreading northeast to many parts of England and Wales during Thursday, leading to difficult driving conditions and the risk of flooding in a few places. At the same time, winds are expected to pick up along south coastal areas in particular.
A string of disruptive weather conditions has forced a ground delay at San Francisco International Airport on the tail end of the holiday weekend. Beginning at 10:45 a.m. Monday, the Federal Aviation Administration enacted a ground stop at SFO caused by low-ceiling clouds. SFO is "dealing with some southwesterly winds which can be impactful as well, but the ground stop is due to low ceilings, so, with that, we are expecting that to persist," National Weather Service forecaster Dalton Behringer told SFGATE.
Although there is still some uncertainty about the exact track Storm Amy will take, the system will bring gale force winds across northern and western regions, with gusts widely reaching 50 to 60 miles per hour inland in northern Britain, and potentially reaching 70 to 80 miles per hour in places. With even stronger gusts on exposed coasts and hills, mainly in the northwest.
The high temperatures and fine, ­sunny days of summer have been replaced with heavy showers, blustery winds and cooler daytime temperatures. As children head back to school, there are often hopes of an Indian summer, an unseasonal return of good weather many people in Ireland call the "back-to-school weather". However, the forecast for the days and weeks ahead gives little hope for a return to summery conditions.
