Extreme weather

.Half of Britain now officially in drought

Water shortages set to continue until next year following a predicted third dry winter.

The Independent,

16 April, 2012

Half of Britain is now officially in drought, in the worst national water shortage since 1976 – a situation that may last until Christmas or beyond.

Seventeen more counties have been given drought status, meaning the Midlands and South-west have been added to the already-drought-stricken South-east and East Anglia. England is water-stressed south-east of a line from Yorkshire to Herefordshire.

The map of Britain is now divided sharply in two by water problems, with Wales and the North-west remaining drought-free, but the rest of the country facing increasing difficulty with river flows and very low levels of groundwater. Seven water companies, led by Thames Water with 8.8 million customers in London and the Thames Valley, have had hosepipe bans in place since the Easter weekend.

The Environment Agency said public water supplies in the newly affected areas are unlikely to be restricted this summer, but the lack of rain is beginning to take its toll on the environment and farmers – causing problems for wildlife, wetlands and crop production.

In the Midlands, agency staff have been rescuing fish from the river Lathkill in the Derbyshire Peak District after it partly ran dry and the rivers Tern, Sow, Soar and Leadon reached their lowest recorded levels in history in March.

In the South-west, rivers are also suffering. About 20 million litres a day are being pumped into local river catchments to top up the low flows by Wessex Water.

The Environment Agency says it has no plans to impose restrictions on use, such as hosepipe bans, but it is urging its customers to save water as much as possible. The Wessex region has had below-average rainfall during the winter, but reservoir storage is "satisfactory" and on average reservoirs are about 85 per cent full. But groundwater levels in the aquifers from which Wessex abstracts water are below average for the time of year.

The Agency is warning that the drought could last beyond Christmas. While rain over the spring and summer will help to water crops and gardens, it is unlikely to improve the underlying situation. "A longer-term drought, lasting until Christmas and perhaps beyond, now looks more likely, and we are working with businesses, farmers and water companies to plan ahead to meet the challenges of a continued drought," Trevor Bishop, the Environment Agency's head of water resources, said.

It was hoped that a prolonged period of rainfall between last October and March would prevent widespread drought, but parts of England received less than 60 per cent of the average winter rainfall.

There are hopes that a steady rainy winter in 2012-13 will restore rivers and groundwaters, but the Agency is taking no chances and is working with the water industry to put plans in place to deal with the prospect of a third dry winter.

Water companies are looking at options including sharing water across company boundaries.

Fish rescued as celebrated trout river runs dry

Fisheries staff from the Environment Agency have been rescuing trout from one of England's most celebrated trout streams after its levels fell dangerously low. They have been saving the fish in the river Lathkill in the Peak District, a river which is small and less than seven miles long (it flows into the Derbyshire Wye) but celebrated because of its water quality. As it flows through a limestone landscape, the Lathkill's waters are so unusually clear that its trout can be seen from one bank to the other, but the drought has exposed sections of the river bed.

This should be a lesson in climate change as the US suffers thousands of heat records, massive hail storms and huge drought. But I guess some folk will continue to believe in co-incidence.

Five killed as 100 tornadoes rake US

Forecasters warn more twisters possible after homes and businesses are wrecked and thousands left without power

the Guardian,

16 April, 2012

Nearly 100 tornadoes raked across the central United States on Sunday, leaving five people dead and at least 29 injured in Oklahoma alone. Twisters ripped up homes, a hospital and cut power to hundreds of thousands of people.

Forecasters warned that more tornadoes from the violent storm system were possible before the day was over across a swath that stretched hundreds of miles from southern Texas to northern Michigan.

Oklahoma emergency officials said five people died after a tornado hit at 12.18am (05.18 GMT) on Sunday in the town of Woodward, home to 12,000 people. Search teams were scouring the debris for the trapped and injured as the sun came up.

The storms were part of an exceptionally strong system that the Storm Prediction Centre in Norman, Oklahoma, had warned about for days. The centre took the unusual step of warning people more than 24 hours in advance of the danger to life.

At the storm's height, tornadoes popped up faster than they could be tallied. The centre's spokesman, Chris Vaccaro, said it had received at least 97 reports of tornadoes by dawn o. He warned that the threat was not over for people in several states in the US interior.

The outbreak began when tornado sirens went off before dawn in Oklahoma City on Saturday. Storms also were reported in Kansas, Iowa and Nebraska, accompanied by lightning, large hail and heavy downpours.

The mayor of Woodward, Roscoe Hill, said warning sirens sounded loudly on Saturday when storms rumbled through but he did not hear the sirens go off for Sunday's tornado. He said the tornado struck homes and businesses.

The American Red Cross summoned volunteers to drive relief trucks from Oklahoma City to aid rescue crews in and around Woodward.

"They're in chaos mode," said Rusty Surette, a regional communications director for the American Red Cross in Oklahoma City.

He said trucks with cots, food, water and medical and hygiene supplies would head to the area, where a shelter was established in a church for those made homeless. More than 8,000 people were without power.

Dave Wallace, chief executive officer of Woodward regional hospital, said 29 people, five in critical condition, were brought to the hospital, some with fractures and serious injuries. Three patients had to be transferred to other hospitals.

"We transferred them to a hospital with a higher level of care," Wallace said. "We're not a trauma centre."

At least 10 tornadoes were reported in Kansas, mostly in rural western and central sections. A tornado in Wichita late on Saturday night caused damage at the McConnell air force base and the Spirit AeroSystems and Boeing plants. A mobile home park was also heavily damaged.

The county where Wichita is located was declared a state of disaster and said preliminary estimates suggest damages could be as high as $283m (£178m).

Yvonne Tucker went to a shelter with about 60 of her neighbours at Pinaire mobile home park. She said people were crying and screaming, and the shelter's lights went out when the twister hit. When they came back outside, they found several homes destroyed, including hers.

"I didn't think it was that bad until I walked down my street and everything is gone," said Tucker, 49. "I don't know what to do. I don't know where to go. I've seen it on TV, but when it happens to you it is unreal. I just feel lost."

Kristin Dean said she was shaking as she was being pushed from home in her wheelchair to the shelter. She was able to grab a bag of her possessions which was all she had left. Her home was gone.

"It got still," the 37-year-old woman. "Then we heard a wham, things flying. Everybody screamed, huddling together.

"It is devastating, but you know, we are alive."

In Iowa, emergency officials said a large part of the western town of Thurman was destroyed by a storm on Saturday night. A hospital in Creston had suffered roof damage and had some of its windows blown out by the storm, but patients and staff were not hurt.

In Nebraska, tennis ball-sized hailstones shattered windows and tore walls from houses in Petersburg, while in the state's south-east an apparent tornado took down barns, large trees and other rural structures.