First winter offensive on the majority of Europe
After several calm weeks under the influence of high pressure over the majority of the European continent (except on the Iberian Peninsula), a major weather change is taking place this week.
The high pressures in fact give way to a maritime polar flow on our continent, bringing the first winter conditions of the cold season to many regions.
Animation of temperature anomalies at 850hPa over Europe from November 18 to 23, 2024 – Via WX CHARTS
This more low-pressure and cold influence will also be accompanied by the first widespread snowfall of the season on the European continent, particularly affecting Eastern and Central Europe but also affecting part of the Western part of the continent.
Animation of the snow layer on the ground over Europe from November 18 to 24, 2024 – Modèle GFS via WX CHARTS
Snowfall warnings have already been issued at the start of the week in the British Isles as cold air gradually asserts itself from the North/North-West over this region.
Risk of snow in the British Isles between 18 and 19 November 2024 – via Twitter @Met4CastUK
The first winter sensations already appeared during the night from Sunday to Monday in Scotland with snow showers sometimes depositing several centimeters on the ground.
Cover of snow in Aberdeen (Scotland) on the morning of November 18, 2024 – Photographs: Mair Snaw
Tropical storm and major flooding in Honduras
Tropical Storm Sara hit Honduras hard late last week. Although this was not accompanied by particularly powerful winds, it was the torrential precipitation that caused the most damage.
Indeed, this tropical storm stationed for more than 48/72 hours in the North of the country, bringing sometimes extreme precipitation to this region, locally exceeding 700/800mm during this period of time. The city of La Ceiba, for example, received more than 32 inches (810mm) as this tropical system passed.
Forecast of cumulative rainfall (in inches) as Tropical Storm Sara passes Honduras – NHC
These torrential rains caused catastrophic floods and significant landslides in many regions, particularly in the north of the country where they were the most abundant. Many rivers in the area have flooded, sometimes causing significant damage.
Flood in Campo Amapa (Honduras) this November 17, 2024 – Photography: EPA/EFE/Jose Valle
Calm should finally return to the area at the start of the week, with the depression moving away towards the Gulf of Mexico, gradually losing intensity. According to the country's authorities, more than 70,000 people have been affected by these floods and at least one victim has so far been reported.
5 successive typhoons in the Philippines!
Super typhoon PepitoPH hit the northern Philippines hard this weekend, notably affecting the Aurora region on November 17 with winds sometimes exceeding 220/240 km/h on the coast.
This caused significant damage to the region, before quickly weakening as it entered the interior, particularly due to the Sierra Madre mountain range.
Damage to banana plantations following the passage of Typhoon PepitoPH – Via Twitter @manilabulletin
The human toll of this disaster has not yet been communicated but the authorities have announced that 850,000 people had been evacuated from the area beforehand, which should fortunately limit the number of victims.
However, the North of the Philippines has suffered an impressive recurrence of cyclonic phenomena since the end of October. In fact, no less than 5 typhoons have hit the area in succession during this time, including 4 in just 11 days.
Succession of 4 typhoons in the North of the Philippines in just 11 days – HIMAWARI-9
These successive typhoons unfortunately caused particularly significant damage to this region, including major flooding, numerous landslides and significant damage to infrastructure due to the powerful gusts of wind accompanying these systems.
Unfortunately, this impressive series of typhoons caused the death of more than 160 people in the region and many are still missing while typhoon PepitoPH has only just cleared the archipelago at the start of the week.
Cold becoming intense in Siberia
If the first winter assault will be observed in the coming days over a large part of Europe, it has already been well established in Siberia for several weeks now with the cold sometimes becoming extreme in mid-November.
On November 17, temperatures sometimes dropped below -40/-45°C in the coldest areas of North-East Russia. For example, we were able to record up to -45.9°C in Sukhana, the lowest temperature of the cold season recorded in the Northern Hemisphere at the moment.
Minimum temperatures over Siberia on November 17, 2024 – Via Twitter @ThierryGooseBC
The lowest values also reached up to -44.6°C Shologonsky, -42.9°C Zhilinda and Saskylakh or even -42.5°C Olenyok.
Record mildness in the middle of November in Iceland
Conversely, Iceland was affected by sometimes exceptional mild weather around mid-November. On November 14, thanks to a localized foehn effect generated by the country's volcanic reliefs, the temperature reached up to 23.8°C in Kvísker in the south-east of the country, a new national monthly record for mildness beating 0.6°C the 23.2°C recorded at Dalatangi in November 1999.
National record for mildness in Iceland this November 14, 2024 – Via Icelandic Met Office
This value is all the more impressive as it is also higher than the national record for the month of October but also represents a new world temperature record for such a high latitude this late in the year!
Significant pollution peak in New Delhi
Due to calm, anticyclonic atmospheric conditions and temperature inversions favoring the stagnation of fine particles in the lower layers of the atmosphere, the Indian capital is facing a particularly significant episode of smog in mid-November.
This Monday, November 18, the levels of PM2.5 pollutants reached, for example, 806 micrograms per cubic meter, a concentration 60 times higher than the daily safety limit set by the World Health Organization. As a result, most schools in the area remained closed this Monday and traffic restrictions were reinforced, as was the use of teleworking until further notice.
Satellite image from November 18, 2024 showing widespread smog over India – via NASA – Worldview
In addition to the capital, this toxic fog has covered a large part of the country for several days now due to the atmospheric conditions changing too little. This type of phenomenon is nevertheless not unprecedented and is unfortunately quite recurrent at this time of year in the sector. These very significant pollution episodes are also responsible for thousands of premature deaths each year in India.
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