US weather causes flight chaos amid Europe fires

Jump to content Sign up to our newsletters Subscribe News Sport Voices Culture Lifestyle Travel Premium Close Europeans seek shade as heatwave grips much of the continent Another round of flash flooding, cancelled airline flights and power outages have been triggered by heavy downpours in parts of the United States. In Pennsylvania, a sudden flash flood late on Saturday afternoon claimed at least five lives. More than 350 flights were canceled at Newark Liberty International Airport in New Jersey alone, while more than 280 flights were canceled at Kennedy International Airport in New York. It comes as one of the hottest places on earth could soon break even its extreme temperature records. Death Valley in California is forecast to reach 53.33C on Sunday just three degrees shy of its hottest day over a century ago. It comes as at least 4,000 people are being evacuated in Spain as firefighters struggle to contain wildfires tearing through La Palma, the president of the Canary Islands has warned that some residents are refusing to leave their homes. President Fernando Clavijo said that at least 13 houses were destroyed as the fire advanced, having already ravaged at least 45 square kilometres of land, as he urged those showing ‘resistance’ to leaving their homes to ‘be responsible’. Earlier, some tourists were reportedly sent to hospital in Athens, Greece as they arrived in droves at the Acropolis even as the authorities shut the monument’s gates between midday and early evening amid a severe heatwave . Kim Adams, visiting from Scotland told Sky News: ‘It’s quite difficult today, really very hot’. Temperatures in Italy are predicted to climb as high as 49C in Puglia,  Sardinia and Sicily next week, as the heatwave gripping Southern Europe shows no sign of abating. Red alerts for extreme heat have been issued in 16 cities across Italy as the Mediterranean country is gripped by blistering hot temperatures. 1689559226 Hundreds of firefighters are attempting to fight agressive wildfires southeast of Los Angeles. Nearly 1,000 homes have been evacuated in the chaos but there are no reports of injuries on Sunday. The fires are all within roughly 40 miles of one another in Riverside County, One alone is believed to have overtaken 7,600 acres. The local fire department said all fires remain under investigation. Holly Hales 17 July 2023 03:00 1689553826 A firefighter has died from an injury sustained while battling a wildfire in Canada’s Northwest Territories, becoming the second killed in recent days as blazes continue to burn in parts of the country, authorities said on Sunday. With about 10 million hectares already burned across the country, Canada is on track for its worst wildfire season on record, with blazes also raging in large swathes of eastern Canada. The firefighter, who died on Saturday, was from the town of Fort Liard, the Northwestern Territories government said. It did not provide the firefighter’s name. Another firefighter died on Thursday in British Columbia in a separate wildfire. Holly Hales 17 July 2023 01:30 1689550226 Heavy rains pounded an already saturated northeastern United States on Sunday spurring another round of flash flooding, cancelled airline flights and power outages. In Pennsylvania, a sudden flash flood late on Saturday afternoon claimed at least five lives. Officials in Bucks County’s Upper Makefield Township in Pennsylvania said torrential rains occurred around 5:30 p.m. Saturday in the Washington Crossing area, sweeping away several cars. At least five people died and two childen, a nine-month-old boy and his two-year-old sister, remained missing, authorities said. The East Coast of the US were experiencing heavy rain including New York Other parts of the East Coast were experiencing heavy rain, including Vermont. Authorities there said landslides could become a problem Sunday as the state copes with more rain following days of flooding. ‘There are flash flood warnings throughout the state today. Remain vigilant and be prepared,’ Vermont Gov. Phil Scott said. Sunday’s strong storms led to hundreds of flight cancellations at airports in the New York City area, according to the tracking service FlightAware. More than 350 flights were canceled at Newark Liberty International Airport in New Jersey alone, while more than 280 flights were canceled at Kennedy International Airport in New York. Hundreds of flights were delayed. The National Weather Service issued flash flood warnings and tornado watches for parts of Connecticut, western Massachusetts, Vermont and New Hampshire. A tornado warning was issued for an area along the Massachusetts-New Hampshire border. Thousands of power outages also were reported. New York Gov. Kathy Hochul urged people to stay home Sunday until the storms passed. ‘Here comes the rain. It just seems unrelenting this year,’ she said. ‘You have to avoid unnecessary travel. … A flash flood doesn’t give you warning … and in those moments your car can go from a place of safety to a place of death.’ Hochul said 13 centimeters of rain fell within two hours in Suffolk County on Long Island. Flights have been delayed at Newark Liberty International Airport The state saw $50 million in damages from last week’s storms. Disaster declarations will cover more than a dozen New York counties. Heavy precipitation was not the only extreme weather plaguing the U.S. A scorching heat wave across the Southwest has put roughly one-third of Americans under some type of heat watch or warning. That included brutal temperatures in the hottest place on Earth – Death Valley, which runs along part of central California’s border with Nevada. Las Vegas also faced the possibility of reaching an all-time record temperature Sunday. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency posted air quality alerts for several states stretching from Montana to Ohio on Sunday because of smoke blowing in from Canadian wildfires. Hochul, the New York governor, said she expected air quality alerts to be issued for northern and western parts of New York state Monday because of the wildfires. ‘Air Quality alerts are in place for much of the Great Lakes, Midwest, and northern High Plains,’ the National Weather Service said. ‘This is due to the lingering thick concentration of Canadian wildfire smoke over these regions.’ Holly Hales 17 July 2023 00:30 1689546600 British sun lovers can get slightly excited for a week of some sunshine and slightly warmer temperatures. The next seven days will bring both showers and warmer temperatures, according to the Met Office. The mercury is expected to remain in the low 20Cs with London’s temperature to stay between 20C and 24C through the week. However, full blown hot weather isn’t expected to return until mid-August, according to Met Office meterologist Simon Partridge. ‘It’s fairly disappointing for the middle of July, nothing particularly warm or sunny,’ he told The Mirror. ‘At the moment, the main signal on our long-range models is there is a signal for things turning drier and warmer but not until mid-August.’ Mr Partridge said those in certain parts of the country should expect rain on the way. ‘The day with the most significant weather is Tuesday, we have an area of low pressure that moves across the UK which will bring some quite heavy rain at times, particularly across central and northern parts of England, Wales and Northern Ireland, with north and south of that a reasonably dry day,’ he said. Holly Hales 16 July 2023 23:30 1689542702 The US’s Death Valley is in the midst of a summer heatwave that could break its extreme temperature records, meteorologists said. Temperatures in Death Valley, which runs along part of central California’s border with Nevada, were forecast to reach 53.33C on Sunday at the aptly named Furnace Creek, the National Weather Service said. The hottest temperature ever record was 56.67C in July 1913 at Furnace Creek, said Randy Ceverny of the World Meteorological Organization, the body recognized as keeper of world records. Temperatures at or above 54.44C have only been recorded on Earth a handful of times, mostly in Death Valley. ‘With global warming, such temperatures are becoming more and more likely to occur,’ Ceverny, the World Meteorological Organization’s records coordinator, said in an email. ‘Long-term: Global warming is causing higher and more frequent temperature extremes. Short-term: This particular weekend is being driven by a very very strong upper level ridge of high pressure over the Western U.S.’ On Sunday in Death Valley, meteorologists were tracking high clouds in the area that could keep temperatures in check. ‘The all-time record seems fairly safe today,’ said Matt Woods, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service’s Las Vegas office, which monitors Death Valley. The two hottest temperatures on record are the 134 in 1913 in Death Valley and 55C in Tunisia in July 1931. Holly Hales 16 July 2023 22:25 1689541525 The chance of a late summer heatwave in the UK has plummeted, accoridng to the Met Office. It comes as Europe swelters with temperatures hitting 50 degrees. High pressure is likely to build at times next month which will raise temperatures slightly but they are expected to remain below average. Met Office spokesman Grahame Madge said: ‘There is no forecast signal for temperatures to reach last year’s threshold this year. ‘The chance of reaching 40C is around one per cent, so it is unlikely in any given year, but of course, it remains feasible.’ Holly Hales 16 July 2023 22:05 1689522885 While roughly one third of Americans were subject to extreme heat warnings on Saturday, with blistering weather forecast to intensify in Nevada, Arizona and California, the devastating impacts of flash floods have been felt in Pennsylvania. Three people were killed and four others, including a nine-month-old baby, are missing after a flash flood swamped a road in the northeastern US state. Authorities say that the flooding took place at around 5.30pm on Saturday evening when torrential rain hit the Washington Crossing area of Makefield Township. The area in Bucks County was hit by up to seven inches of rain in just 45 minutes, Fire Chief Tim Brewer told reporters. My colleague Graeme Massie reports from Los Angeles: Three people were killed and four others, including a nine-month-old baby, are missing after a flash flood swamped a Pennsylvania road. Andy Gregory 16 July 2023 16:54 1689520965 While much of Europe bakes in scorching temperatures, the UK is experiencing somewhat different conditions, with the Met Office having issued a thunderstorm warning in northeast Scotland, where it says some flooding and other disruption is possible. The national forecaster has also warned of ‘unseasonably strong winds’ this weekend. Andy Gregory 16 July 2023 16:22 1689519351 Footage captured by a helicopter belonging to Spain’s civil guard has offered an aerial view of some of the vast area impacted by wildfires. Andy Gregory 16 July 2023 15:55 1689517221 Flights and holiday packages are continuing as normal, according to trade association ABTA (Association of British Travel Agents), reports Ted Hennessey . Britons have been advised to stay hydrated, apply sun cream and avoid being in the sun at midday while on holiday. Forecaster Simon Partridge said: ‘It’s a massive shock to the system when you’re there, so give yourself a chance to get used to the heat.’ The Foreign Office recommended people check travel advice on its website. Switzerland Germany France Weather Spain Italy Heat heatwave temperatures Greece Copyright 2023 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in Please refresh your browser to be logged in