Welcome back to another issue of wild weather around the world! This week we have a lot to cover, so let’s dive in!

Last week we covered intense flooding in Spain, a volcano eruption in Italy, and Hurricane Julia slamming into Central America. This week we’re going to cover extreme flooding in Nigeria, an impressive waterspout in Cyprus and heavy rainfall in Australia. Also read to the end of the blog to see a new addition to the blog “something good” where we’ll always end on a positive, relaxing note.

Flooding in Nigeria:

Nigeria has been devastated by the worst flooding in years. Hundreds have died, and over a million folks have been displaced across several states. To reiterate, over 600 people have perished due to the floodwaters, and hundreds of thousands of homes have been destroyed. This is a catastrophic, overwhelming and devastating event.

Seasonal flooding happens yearly in Nigeria but this year has been much worse due to unusually heavy rainfall, potentially elevated by climate change. As a reminder, the atmosphere can hold 7% more water vapor for every 1°C (1.8°F) of warming. Unfortunately for our friends in West Africa, the devastation is not done yet. The flooding risk will persist through the end of November, and the cleanup will take years.

Impressive waterspout in Cyprus:

On Monday, a large waterspout was captured off the beach of Aiya Napa, Cyprus. This waterspout actually briefly became a tornado as it did move onshore but thankfully did not cause damage, besides lifting a number sunbeds on the beach.

Heavy rainfall in Australia:

Days of persistent, widespread rainfall led to intense flooding in Australia, which has caused folks to evacuate portions of Melbourne, roads to be closed, power outages and sadly a few fatalities. Some spots saw more rainfall than expected in a month, over the span of two days. In the Southern Hemisphere, Australia is approaching their summer months, where it is expected to be very wet due to the La Niña pattern this year. This is the third consecutive La Niña pattern, which is very rare but not unheard of (this happened also from 1973–1976 and 1998–2001).

The flooding has been devastating, and unfortunately, more rain is in the forecast to end out the week. Ahead of the upcoming rainfall, several towns are building levees and sandbagging homes. The forecast rainfall will not be as intense or widespread as the rain earlier in the week. However, floodwaters are still rising for some inland locations due to swelling rivers and additional rainfall will not be helpful.

Something good:

There’s a lot of bad weather stories every week, but there’s often a rainbow after the storm, and the darkness and stormy clouds will always subside. After reflecting on this (relatively new) blog, I’ve decided that every week we’re going to end with something good, whether it be a gorgeous sunset, a colorful rainbow, wildflowers, or this week with a peaceful autumn scene. This video below is from White Bear Lake, just NE of Minneapolis where a light dusting of snow covered some vibrant fall foliage.

Stay safe always,

Caroline