HandheldWeather.com by WeatherMatrix
© 2002 WeatherMatrix.Net - Redistribution Prohibited. Usage logged.
HandheldWeather.com by
WeatherMatrix
© 2002 WeatherMatrix.Net - Redistribution
Prohibited. Usage logged.
From: admin-auto{at}weathermatrix.net
Date: Sat Aug 02 2003 - 10:40:01 EDT
August 2, 2003 9:15 a.m.
The tropical depression that formed over the western Philippine
Sea on Friday strengthened quickly to a tropical storm overnight.
Saturday morning, EDT, the storm, named "Morakot", was centered near
19 degrees north and 124.5 degrees east, or about 385 miles northeast
of Manila. With sustained winds of 55 mph and gusts over 70 mph, the
storm was moving towards the northwest at 10 mph. The storm is
expected to continue on a northwesterly path with gradual
strengthening, possibly to typhoon force later in the weekend. It will
be a threat to the islands of the Luzon Strait, as well as Taiwan, and
eventually the coast of mainland China.
Early Saturday, EDT, an area of showers and thunderstorms
concentrated around a low pressure center stretched over an area of
the western North Pacific from south of the Mariana Islands to Palau
in the Philippine Sea. This feature has a good chance to become the
next tropical depression or storm in the western North Pacific.
Friday, searing heat roasted much of the Iberian Peninsula; in
fact, it was one of the hottest places on the planet. In southern
Spain, Jerez de la Frontera soared to 113 degrees versus an average
high in the middle 80s. Sevilla reached 118 degrees. Other Spanish hot
spots were Caceres at 107 degrees and Granada at 105. In Portugal, the
heat was just as fiery. Evora surged to 112 degrees. Lisbon's high of
108 degrees was about 30 degrees above average. Castelo Branco and
Coimbra reached 107 and 106 degrees, respectively. Across the narrow
Strait of Gibraltar, northern Morocco had highs of 110 degrees at
Tanger and 112 at Larache; both readings were 25-30 degrees higher
than the climatological mean high.
Most of China's populous heartland, from the tropical south to the
middle North China Plain, has sweltered in oppressive, even
life-threatening, heat this week. Each day, mid-afternoon apparent
temperatures have been 115 to 130 degrees over an area home to
hundreds of millions of souls. Nighttimes have "cooled" to a muggy 80
to 85 degrees in many instances. Friday, the apparent temperature
topped out near 125 degrees at Shanghai, thanks to the sultry
100-degree heat.
At the Syowa station, East Antarctica, a severe blizzard had been
raging for nearly 48 hours as of Saturday morning, EDT. The storm
featured sustained winds of 55 to 85 mph, unending whiteouts in snow
and blowing snow, and temperatures in the teens. A blizzard also hit
Mirnyy, where temperatures hovered a few degrees below zero and winds
blew at around 30 mph.
In western Canada, forest fires feeding on tinder-dry vegetation
have forced thousands of people from their homes during the past
couple of days. About 1800 people were ordered to evacuate Barriere,
British Columbia after a blaze that broke out on Wednesday threatened
the community. The fire also forced the closure of a highway linking
Vancouver with Edmonton and blocked rail traffic. A hot, dry summer
across much of western Canada has left conditions ripe for such
fires.
This was a hot week in Helsinki, Finland. Each day, Monday
through Friday, saw temperatures of 85 degrees or above, with three
of the days reaching 87 degrees. Overnight temperatures barely
dropped below the normal daytime high, which is 70 degrees.
*****************************************************
AccuWeather.com Professional, The Meteorologist's
Workstation on the Web: http://Pro.AccuWeather.com
*****************************************************
-----------------------------------------------------
(C) 2003 AccuWeather.com / Email By WeatherMatrix.Net
This service provided under agreement with AccuWeather
Via AccuNet.AccuWeather.com
====================================================================
StormReports Email List -- TO UNSUBSCRIBE, EMAIL A BLANK MESSAGE TO:
stormreports-unsubscribe{at}wxmatrix-membersonly ; For Options Including
1 Per Day, Temporary Suspending, And More, Visit This Web Address:
http://wxmatrix-membersonly/group/stormreports/join
THESE REPORTS ARE MADE PUBLIC ON THE WEATHERMATRIX.NET WEBSITE!
Thank you for using HandheldWeather.com's Handheld / PDA / Palm Content