Last week, Wyoming experienced some bizarre weather for this time of year. They received up to nine inches (22.8 cm) of snow. No damage or shutdowns were reported, but it still makes our radar as an unusual event. Wyoming very rarely receives snow at lower elevations.
More severe weather happened last week as well. Rain pummelled parts of the Midwest last week and again this week. Minnesota saw over 10 inches (30 cm) of rain in just one day, triggering a mudslide. That much rain usually falls in a week. Yet more rain over the weekend has caused the Mississippi to stay in a flood state, and it is expected to do so until July 4. This June has been the wettest on record there since 1874. In Iowa, fifty foot trees were swept away in twisters. Severe weather there has claimed at least one life. The same system caused a sinkhole in Des Moines. Severe storms continue to lay waste to the Midwest, with more flooding along the Mississippi. Damages from this serious flooding could be well into the billions. The seemingly unstoppable storm system also caused flooding in Texas, closing two popular theme parks, Six Flags over Texas and Hurricane Harbour. More than twenty people had to be rescued from the raging torrents there.
Other parts of the world saw severe flooding. Parts of China were flooded by the monsoon rains that missed India last month, slowing sowing of crops there. At least 26 people have been killed due to the deluge. Most of the damage was in three provinces, but nine were affected. Those three provinces were Yunan, Guangxi, and Hunan. In parts of Guangxi, a month’s worth of rain fell in just a day. The floods have caused over $650 million damage to crops.
The Canadian prairies, with Alberta being spared this year, are experiencing horrendous flooding as well. 87 municipalities across Manitoba and Saskatchewan have declared states of emergency. Both the agriculture and the oil industry there are taking severe damage.
To read all our articles in the past two weeks, click here.
