Wretched Weather: Heat Waves, Wild Fires, Typhoon Trains

Things are pretty darned ugly out there.

Last week, my area of the country had several days of upper 90s/low 100s during the visit of a friend. To do anything outside, we had to go to the beach (where it was nearly 80!) and try hiking inside a CAVE for relief! Even the tops of mountains where I live, which typically are in the 60s and 70s in the summer were in the upper 80s and not much of an escape for the valley-dwellers up and down the Pacific Northwest.

In Alaska and British Columbia, which didn’t get the snow last winter nor the drenching rains some of us got a little of this spring, are on fire. Record breaking fire already so early in the year is not a good sign. At one point, there were over 100 fires burning all over Alaska at once! Most of those were smaller, but some larger ones still burn. A mega fire on the southern end of Vancouver Island is so big you can see the smoke from space– it covers hundreds of square miles (the smoke, not the fire.)

Europe also faced a heat wave last week and this week– Britain was just broiled with high humidity conditions worsening the problem, and on Wednesday they faced the hottest day EVER recorded in London. France and areas surrounding are being hit with temps in the 100s day after day after day. Its been from 103 to 108 in some areas that never faced temps like this in its entire history until 2003, when over 70,000 people died in Western Europe’s deadliest weather disaster. This time period they’re facing now is worse than that– France is hoping they are better prepared this time, but don’t be shocked to hear some awful news in that quarter by week’s end. Temps over 100 are expected in Spain, Italy, Belgium and Germany– basically all of Europe is baking from a stuck weather system funneling the hottest air from over northern Africa directly into Europe.

Pakistan and areas of the middle east had temps in the 113 range during the day and tens of thousands were hospitalized and thousands died. Their heat wave isn’t over yet either and the urban centers are seeing very high death rates.

In Asia, typhoon after typhoon (Pacific hurricanes) hit China one after another, causing flooding as the heat from a record-setting El Nino fuels incredible ocean temperatures feeding into the storm systems.

From Slate: “The current European warm streak is the third notable heat wave worldwide so far this summer. A May heat wave in India and one in June in Pakistan now rank among the 10 deadliest in world history. Other heat waves in Alaska and other parts of the western U.S., as well as Australia, China, Southeast Asia, and South America, have also broken records this year.“

Point being– its been a really crazy, active, deadly couple of weeks and this week doesn’t look to be much better. Its only the beginning of July! We still have another 7 to 8 weeks of summer weather to face yet. Things are exciting in the “oh my god people will die” sort of way.

Global broiling– its the “new normal.”