West Coast storm moves east, will turn wintry. Australia floods worst in decades.

As the flu continues to melt my brain, weather has rudely not ceased. Heavy rain in Australia caused the worst flooding in decades for parts of Queensland, while an atmospheric river targeted the West Coast, including San Francisco. We’re also going to want to remain prepared to point our noggins skyward as an active sun sends charged particles our way.

Weather Watch

Australia floods. In the northeastern Australian state of Queensland, reports of 40-plus inches of rain have come in from Ingham, where at least two people died in floodwaters. While rains have subsided, it’s perhaps the worst flooding in the region in six decades.

San Franciso firehose. The current atmospheric river hitting California pummeled the San Francisco Bay area overnight. An additional 1 to 3 inches of rain has been tallied thus far, for storm totals about 2 to 6 inches. A further 2 to 3 inches is possible today, with some locations picking up more.

Freezing rain ahead. In what could become an active stretch for storms, low pressure involved in the ongoing West Coast atmospheric rivers will slip east of the Rockies on Wednesday while grabbing more moisture from the Gulf of Mexico in the process. A complex winter storm, freezing rain will likely sweep through portions of the Midwest to the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast, while a swath of accumulating snow sets up to the north.

Extraterrestrial Tuesday

According to spaceweather.com, the current grouping of dozens of sunspots pointed at Earth is about 500,000 kilometers (310,000 miles) in length. For comparison, our moon is “only” about 240,000 miles away.

In addition to the image here, check out how the current massive sunspot region looks against the one that caused the Carrington Event in 1859. It disrupted telegraphs and sent striking aurora as far south as Hawaii.

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Weekday morning newsletter by a journalist/forecaster that connects weather and climate change dots while occasionally stirring the pot.

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