Sydney woke up to a thrashing of torrential rain, hailstones and strong winds last week; a result of a low pressure system on the tail of a trough surging across the New South Wales area. Over a month’s worth of rain fell in a single day, with average rainfall totals for November being surpassed in the space of two hours. Flash floods led to 8,000 homes being left without power, severe disruption to morning commuters, and at least two deaths.
December started in the US with an unseasonable cluster of 22 tornadoes reported in Illinois on Saturday afternoon. Tornadoes late in the year are unsurprising in southern states where a turbulent collision of cold fronts and warm Gulf air occurs. However, further north the tornado season is over as winter sets in; between 1950 and 2017 Illinois had a total of 55 December tornadoes. The tornadoes spawned off warm moist air, courtesy of a deep storm system that wreaked havoc over the Great Plains.
Bulgaria and Romania received heavy snowfall and strong winds last week, with total snow amounts reaching 8-15cm across the region. The snow fell due to bitterly cold Russian air swirling into a storm that marched across the Balkan peninsula, generating blustery winds and wintry conditions as the storm passed.
