Europe's Summer of Wild, Wild Weather

[lighthouse]

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn...102347_pf.html

Europe's Summer of Wild, Wild Weather
Fires, Droughts and Floods Leave Wake of Destruction

By John Ward Anderson
Washington Post Foreign Service
Thursday, August 2, 2007; A11



PARIS, Aug. 1 -- Thousands of tourists and residents were forced to flee ahead of raging wildfires that have engulfed parts of the Canary Islands since the weekend, the latest in a string of bizarre, weather-related calamities to hit Europe this summer.

Local officials said that at least 13,000 people evacuated homes, hotels, campgrounds and other areas of the seven Canaries, Spanish territory in the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of southern Morocco. More than 86,000 acres have been burned or otherwise affected by the fires since Friday, mostly on the islands of Tenerife and Gran Canaria, according to a spokeswoman for the islands' government who was not allowed to be quoted by name.

The fires, which were "stable" but still not under control Wednesday, were stoked by winds in excess of 40 mph and temperatures over 104 degrees, the spokeswoman said. Residents of the islands, a popular European tourist destination, told the BBC that the thermometer in some spots had topped 120 degrees.

"These are the biggest fires on the archipelago in the last 10 years," Paulino Rivero, head of the regional government, told reporters. Because of the volcanic islands' rugged landscape, the fires had to be fought mostly from the air, he said, but high winds and temperatures had forced the grounding of many helicopters.

The Canary fires are the latest offspring of strange weather patterns that have buffeted Europe this summer, from unusually severe floods in England to chilly, fall-like weather in Paris, to searing heat waves, drought and wildfires in Southern and Eastern Europe.

At one extreme, six mountain climbers reportedly died of exposure in three incidents last week when temperatures in the Alps unexpectedly plunged from 50 degrees to 5 degrees, French and Italian officials said. Earlier in July, torrential rains drenched England, flooding hundreds of homes and forcing thousands of people to seek safety in shelters.

In Hungary, officials said extreme heat may have contributed to the deaths of as many as 500 elderly and infirm people in mid-July, while 30 people reportedly have died from heat-related causes in Romania, officials there said.

Dozens of houses were reportedly destroyed by forest fires in Macedonia, where President Branko Crvenkovski ordered the army to assist firefighters in battling the blazes. Two people were killed in a heat wave that struck Bulgaria, where 57,000 acres of forest and farmland burned in the last 10 days.

In Greece, where 14 people have died this summer from heatstroke, officials on Tuesday declared a drought emergency on the Cyclades Island chain, which includes the resort islands of Santorini and Mykonos. Parts of Greece have been hit by blackouts this summer as demand for electricity soared but the rivers that run hydroelectric plants dried up. Blackouts also struck Albania, Montenegro and the Kosovo region.

Hundreds of fires have swept Greece in recent weeks, burning about 150,000 acres of forest, as temperatures climbed above 110 degrees. Five firefighters have been killed in the infernos, including two pilots who died July 23 when their CL-415 Canadair firefighting plane crashed into a hillside during a water-dumping operation over the island of Evia, which hugs the eastern coast of central Greece.

The Canary Islands are renowned for their year-round mild weather, beckoning beaches and exotic wildlife. In addition to European tourists, the islands recently also have attracted large numbers of boat people and other migrants searching for a gateway to the European Union.

Recent NASA satellite photos show huge plumes of smoke streaming southwest over the Atlantic Ocean from fires in the north of Tenerife Island, where 100 homes were destroyed and 8,400 people were evacuated, and blazes in south-central Gran Canaria Island, where 50 houses burned and 5,000 people were evacuated. Fires also hit the smaller islands of La Gomera and La Palma but were under control on Wednesday, the Canaries government spokeswoman said.




hmmmm
makes one think heh?!

[CoreIssue]

hmmmm
makes one think heh?!

[a.baker]

Yes thats an awful lot of craziness of events. It seems we are right around the corner for some crazy weather too. Especially with the August and September months rolling around (hurricane season). We have already been having some fires and floods and droughts and earthquakes that are rather unusual. Why do we not here of these things say on CNN? Many other crazy stories on CNN too but sometimes CNN reports of stories that are "big" but they really aren't when it comes to affecting everyone. Like that one man who was in sports was into dog fighting. Or that one ref in basketball had some kinda behind the scenes gambling thing going on. Which they are bad things but why doesn't our news report on other things in other countries too? That whole exorcism thing with the grandpa and three year old and naked mother was a crazy story. So was that one woman who killed four children recently. Things like this happen more then we think. Maybe there is just too much news for one news station to cover! Here about those 2 different bridge collapses? One only effected a ups (I think) driver but the other bridge effected 50+ vehicles ( Kare, Missouri I think?).

[Chrystalwuzhere]

I wouldn't mind having a blizzard in my neck of the woods. We haven't had one since 1986.

[CoreIssue]

Originally Posted by Chrystalwuzhere

I wouldn't mind having a blizzard in my neck of the woods. We haven't had one since 1986.

You are one sick puppy.

[Jessie]

Originally Posted by Chrystalwuzhere

I wouldn't mind having a blizzard in my neck of the woods. We haven't had one since 1986.

your my kindof sis

[Jessie]

and it can last only a week.

[Chrystalwuzhere]

Originally Posted by CoreIssue

You are one sick puppy.

[Chrystalwuzhere]

Anyway, the weather patterns are definitely getting more violent. I have noticed this myself with just looking around. We seldom ever got tornado warnings in my area, but now we do. And the most terrifying is when they occur at night. And it's always MY county, and MY part of the county.

[a.baker]

Chrystal,
What state do you live in? I am pretty fortunate to live in Michigan. About the only kind of weather we have to worry about is drought. Some tornado's but they are always small and rarely touch. Maybe power outage from bad thunder storms but other than that not much to worry about here for weather. Well I forgot the winter. We do get pretty bad weather with winter! :)