By Steff Gaulter
2014 kicked off with North America looking down the barrel of the sinister ‘polar vortex’. Most people hadn’t even heard of the polar vortex before the start of the year, but as the temperatures in Canada and the USA plummeted, the term was flogged to death by the global media.
The weather was so cold that it wasn’t possible for the roads to be cleared using the usual method of scattering salt on them, but it wasn’t just the low temperature which caused problems. The winds added to the misery. In Comertown, Montana, the thermometers measured just -32°C (-26°F). At the same time, the wind whistled through the streets at 53kph (33mph), meaning the temperature felt more like -53°C (-62°F). Can’t even imagine how that must feel.
Whilst North America froze, western Europe was waterlogged. The UK endured its wettest winter on record, causing widespread flooding, especially in the southwest county of Somerset. Much of southern England received more than double the normal January rainfall, with some locations receiving almost three times the average. Dozens of homes were inundated by floodwater and in many cases this filthy, smelly water remained in houses for weeks on end.
A few months later, it was the turn of the Solomon Islands to feel the wrath of nature. Tropical Cyclone Ita formed just as the South Pacific tropical cyclone season was drawing to a close, bringing exceptional amounts of rain.
A total of 767mm (30.2 inches) of rain fell in the capital, Honiara, in the first five days of April. This immense volume of water caused the Matanikau River to burst its banks sending a torrent of floodwater surging through the streets of the capital. Homes and bridges were swept away, killing at least 22 people.
A less destructive, and altogether more bizarre type of weather struck Sri Lanka at the beginning of May. Video taken on the fifth of the month in the district of Chilaw shows people collecting little fish in buckets. The fish were scattered across the landscape, apparently having rained out of the clouds. The video proves that some of the little creatures were still alive when they fell from the sky, as when water was added to the buckets, the fish swam around gasping for breath.
Then, to much fanfare, came the World Cup in Brazil. People were concerned about the effect the tropical humid atmosphere would have on athletes, but the heat certainly wasn’t the problem in Natal. Instead, it was torrential rain which caused havoc during the opening match. Flooding brought traffic to a standstill and the majority of the fans had to endure a long walk to the stadium. In other parts of the city, the situation was even worse and a landslide destroyed over twenty-five homes.
India also saw some flooding in 2014, triggered by October’s powerful Cyclone Hudhud. This storm slammed into eastern India, causing widespread flooding and landslides. It was a huge system, stretching 2000 kilometres (1250 miles) from north to south and brought rain to almost the entire east coast of India.
After the devastation caused by Tropical Cyclone Phailin, a year earlier, the authorities were taking no chances; over half a million people were evacuated from their homes. This drastic evacuation plan helped keep the number of casualties to a minimum.
Meanwhile the Atlantic hurricane season was very subdued, producing the fewest number of named storms since 1997. The exception in an otherwise quiet year was Hurricane Gonzalo which wreaked havoc in Bermuda. The storm made a direct hit on October 17, but thankfully the precaution of the authorities, combined with the well-built structures ensured damage was minimal. However, Gonzalo was the storm that kept giving, and it went onto graze Canada before crossing the Atlantic where it triggered flooding as it sunk through Europe, from the UK to Croatia.
In November another huge weather system brought more flooding to Europe, but this time it affected North Africa as well. Some of the worst flooding was in Morocco where at least 36 people were killed on November 23 alone. One week later, more rain brought an entire year’s worth of rain to the city of Agadir, triggering yet more flooding and many more casualties.
Sadness enveloped the Philippines on November 7, as the country commemorated the first anniversary of Typhoon Haiyan, the strongest typhoon on record to make landfall. The storm killed over 7,300 people and destroyed over a million homes.
However, the country made sure it was ready for the next giant storm which barreled towards the nation in December this year. This storm, named Hagupit, was also the equivalent of the most powerful category 5 hurricane before it made landfall. However, approximately a million people were evacuated from the path of the storm before its arrival and thankfully Hagupit weakened considerably just before making landfall. This ensured that the impact of Hagupit was not nearly on the same scale as the impact of Haiyan.
Whilst the Philippines breathed a sigh of relief, a cold snap returned to North America. This time it wasn’t a polar vortex that was the problem, but endless snow. The wintry weather was very localised: Buffalo Airport reported just 9cm (3.5 inches) of snow, whereas the suburb of Lancaster, just five kilometres (3 miles) away, reported a staggering 1.52 metres (5 feet).
The snow that fell was what is known as “lake effect” snow, this is snow that is generated when a very cold blast of air moves over a relatively warm body of water. Residents of the towns surrounding the Great Lakes are well aware of the hazards of lake effect snow, but even in this region, the severity of the weather caught people by surprise.
Throughout the year, whilst the weather raged, El Nino threatened to develop. El Nino is the slight warming of the waters of the Pacific Ocean and is known to disrupt the weather around the world. It never quite took hold this year, but next year its arrival could make the weather in 2015 even more volatile.