Spain, Portugal, and Greece battle wildfires as heatwave is expected to last for days
Spain was fighting 14 major fires. Temperatures were expected to climb over the weekend.
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an hour ago
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Atmospheric river soaks through B.C.'s weekend, up to 100 mm possible
A Gulf of Alaska low-pressure system is ushering in significant rainfall and a cooldown for B.C.'s South Coast, bringing fall-like conditions to the region. This developing system will draw in a stream of Pacific moisture, establishing an atmospheric river along the B.C. coastline. The rainy event kicked off Thursday and is forecast to stick around through Saturday for many. SEE ALSO: It will be a highly beneficial rainfall since it will be spread out over a more extended period of time. The recent dry conditions across the B.C. coastline have been a huge contributor for the wildfires in the area. However, we will also see some hazards pop up from the heavy rains. Atmospheric river brings relief and hazards into the weekend This event will be classified as an atmospheric river. An atmospheric river is exactly what it sounds like – it's a long, narrow river of water vapour in the lower atmosphere. These rivers in the sky transport moisture from the subtropics to the mid-latitudes and are ranked in intensity on a scale of 1-5. Rainfall intensity will vary across regions, but folks can expect an AR2 event through Friday across Vancouver Island and along the South Coast, and an AR3 event on Saturday for the central coast. The rain will begin to ease on Saturday for the south as the atmospheric river shifts northward. Mountainous regions could see over 75 mm of rain over the weekend with this event. The South Coast and Lower Mainland could see 30-50 mm of rain, with the bulk of it falling on Friday. RELATED: Localized flooding will be a hazard to look out for if the ground is unable to soak up the rains fast enough. Roadways will also become slick and visibility may be reduced during particularly heavy periods of rain. This rainfall will, however, provide much-needed relief for ongoing wildfires and level 3 drought conditions on Vancouver Island and parts of the B.C. coastline. It will only take recording over 28 mm of rain to reach the record for the rainiest day in Vancouver so far in 2025--which we could very well see happen on Friday. If the rain reaches 40 mm, Friday would become one of the top five rainiest August days on record! Cooling temperatures and summer snow Freezing levels will drop below 3000 m on Saturday and to around 2500 m Sunday, with some high-elevation snow possible on mountain peaks near Tsʼilʔos Provincial Park. A shift to drier conditions with a warming trend is anticipated by mid to late next week. Temperatures are forecast to remain cooler than seasonal from late this week into the weekend and early next week. However, a return to seasonal temperatures—and potentially warmer-than-seasonal conditions—is expected later in the week. Stay with The Weather Network for more information and updates on your weather across B.C. WATCH: Prairies drive the second worst fire season on record in Canada Click here to view the video
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Spain, Portugal, and Greece battle wildfires as heat wave is expected to last for days
Spain, Portugal, and Greece battle wildfires as heat wave is expected to last for days MADRID (AP) — Firefighters in Spain, Portugal and Greece battled ongoing wildfires Friday, an important religious holiday in all three countries, as persistent hot, dry conditions challenged efforts to contain the blazes. Spain was fighting 14 major fires, according to Virginia Barcones, general director of emergency services. Temperatures were expected to climb over the weekend. 'Today will once again be a very tough day, with an extreme risk of new fires,' Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez wrote on X. The national weather agency AEMET warned of extreme fire risk in most of the country, including where the largest blazes were burning in the north and west. A heat wave which brought temperatures exceeding 40 degrees Celsius (104 Fahrenheit) on several days this month was expected to last through Monday. Fires in the Galicia region forced the closure of several highways. The high speed rail line connecting it to Spain's capital, Madrid, remained suspended. The fires in Spain this year have burned 158,000 hectares or 610 square miles, according to the European Union's European Forest Fire Information System. That is an area roughly as big as metropolitan London. The wildfires raged on Friday as many European countries celebrated a religious holiday devoted to the Virgin Mary, known in Catholic countries like Spain and Portugal as the Feast of the Assumption. In Portugal, nearly 4,000 firefighters were battling fires on Friday. Seven major fires were active. Authorities extended the state of alert until Sunday as high temperatures were expected to last through the weekend. The Portuguese government on Friday requested assistance from the EU's civil protection mechanism, a firefighting force that European countries in need can call upon. A day before, Spain received two Canadair water bomber aircraft after requesting EU help to tackle blazes for the first time ever. In the past week, Greece, Bulgaria, Montenegro and Albania have also requested help from the EU's firefighting force to deal with forest fires. The force has already been activated as many times this year as all of last year's fire season. On Friday, a wildfire in Greece burned out of control for a fourth day on the island of Chios, prompting several more overnight evacuations. Two water-dropping planes and two helicopters were operating in the north of the island in the eastern Aegean Sea, where local authorities said a lull in high winds was helping firefighters early Friday. Following a series of large fires in western Greece earlier this week, the fire service was on alert Friday outside Athens and nearby areas in the south of the country where adverse weather conditions elevated the fire risk. The spiritual leader of the world's Orthodox Christians Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew expressed solidarity on Friday with the victims of wildfires in southern Europe during prayers on a day that is also important for Orthodox Christians and known as the Dormition of the Virgin Mary. Scientists say that climate change is exacerbating the frequency and intensity of heat and dryness in parts of Europe, making the region more vulnerable to health impacts and wildfires. The burning of fossil fuels like coal, gas and coal releases heat-trapping gasses that are the primary driver of climate change. Europe has been warming twice as fast as the global average since the 1980s, according to the EU's Copernicus Climate Change Service. The EU monitoring agency says that 2024 was the hottest year on record both globally and in Europe, which experienced its second-highest number of 'heat stress' days. ___ AP writer Derek Gatopoulos contributed from Athens. Suman Naishadham, The Associated Press
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Yahoo
Dangerous combination of heat and humidity this weekend
Dangerous heat continues through this weekend. Modest relief from the heat arrives by mid next week with a midweek bump in storm chances as well.
