Northern Iraq suffered intense flash flooding on Saturday after severe thunderstorms swept through the area, impacting regions as far as neighboring Iran. The city of Erbil bore the brunt of the weather, with homes and businesses sustaining significant damage as rapid rainfall inundated local streets. Meteorologists noted that the event significantly outperformed forecasts, with roughly 80mm of rain recorded compared to expected levels of 30mm. Officials confirmed that the flooding resulted in two fatalities. Two people were killed in the floods. Streets were inundated as torrential rain fell over a short period.
Meanwhile, Europe is bracing for the arrival of Storm Bruna, which is set to bring hazardous conditions to Portugal, particularly along its western coastline. Forecasts indicate the storm could bring up to 200mm of rain by the end of the week, accompanied by gusts reaching 50mph (80km/h). The weather system has already made an impact on the Canary Islands, where Tenerife recorded wind gusts of 80mph on Saturday evening.
In Japan, the onset of winter has brought early snowfall to the mountains of Honshu and Hokkaido. Ski resorts, including those in Kiroro, Niesko, Furano, and Rusutsu, are readying for visitors after the initial snowfall on Friday. Forecasts predict total accumulations of 30-50cm in some areas and 20-30cm in others, with wind gusts near 75mph observed in Kiroro and Niesko. Temperatures in Sapporo are expected to drop significantly, potentially reaching 10C below the seasonal average, with lows of -6C by Wednesday and -8C in parts of western Hokkaido on Tuesday. While Tuesday’s high is forecast to be about 0C, maximum temperatures in the city are likely to be about 4-6C on Monday and Wednesday. Other resorts could receive up to 20cm of snow by Wednesday.
Global climate patterns continue to influence these events, as sea surface temperatures in the equatorial Pacific reached 3.5C above the climatological average at the peak of a strong El Niño in late October. This anomaly has contributed to air temperatures in Peru remaining 5-10C above seasonal norms, with warm conditions expected to persist into the coming week.
