GLOBAL WEATHER HIGHLIGHTS

JUNE 2021
NEW ZEALAND

A severe storm has brought rain and heavy unseasonal snow to parts of Canterbury's ski fields (1st). As much as 5 m of snow fell at the summit of Mt. Hutt between Monday and Tuesday. The same weather system brought 2 to 3 months' worth of rain to the
Canterbury region in just 2 to 3 days. NZSki chief executive Paul Anderson said Mt. Hutt was at the center of the heavy precipitation event, ensuring a "fantastic opening day" on June 11. The weather bomb has prompted an avalanche warning across the
Southern Alps. Four staff members were on the mountain undertaking avalanche control and were yet to examine the access road, where around 340 mm of rain has fallen.

EUROPE

Severe weather struck parts of western and central Germany, including heavy rain and hail, causing havoc in the regions (3rd). Firefighters and police received multiple calls for assistance as traffic was brought to a standstill, trees were uprooted, and
many homes were flooded. Thunderstorms began Thursday evening, which eventually led to flooding, downed trees, and waterlogged cellars. In Bottrop, a fir tree was struck by lightning and burst into flames, but the fires were quickly put out by rains. In
the municipality of Laer near Munster, the police reported flooding across streets and cellars after a brook overflowed. Meanwhile, in other parts of North Rhine-Westphalia, winds were so strong that they overturned trees. In Braubach, a parked vehicle
was buried under fallen branches on the onslaught of the storm.

Severe storms pummeled parts of France over the weekend into Monday, bringing flooding rain, giant hailstones, and a tornado that resulted in damage (19th-21st). Around 44,000 lightning strikes were recorded. In Saint-Nicolas-de-Bourgueil, a tornado
inflicted damage to a chuch in Indre-et-Loire village. Fallen stoneworks collapsed into cars underneath, smashing windscreens. Trees and vines were also ravaged. In Vercel-Villedieu-le-Camp, hailstones the size of tennis balls wrecked through car windows.
Heavy rains triggered flooding while strong winds caused material damage in Essonne in Ile-de-France, and in Reims, Grand Est. Widespread flooding submerged roads in the northeastern city of Reims as downpours continued. Power outages also occurred in
some areas.

Severe thunderstorms struck parts of Belgium (19th). Heavy downpours also triggered flooding in portions of Flanders. A tornado reportedly struck the town of Beauraing in Namur Province, injuring 17 people and leaving as many as 92 houses severely
affected, 10 of which were declared unfit for habitation. More than a dozen cars were damaged.

Violent flash floods swept through Neuchatel Canton in Switzerland, damaging homes, destroying roads, and sweeping away vehicles (22nd). According to figures released by MeteoSwiss, Cressier recorded 55 mm of rain, including 34.5 mm within just one hour.
This is on top of 34 mm on 21 June. The local government said ensuing flash floods sent debris into Cressier and Frochaux, damaging around 75 buildings, destroying roads, and sweeping away vehicles.
A tornado has swept through several villages in the Czech Republic, killing four people and leaving more than 100 others injured (24th). Thursday night's storm blew the roofs off buildings in the south-eastern Breclav and Hodonin districts, uprooting
trees and overturning cars. Wind gustss of at least 219 km/h were recorded and the worst-hit areas were said to look like a war zone. Hailstones the size of tennis balls were reported, and local officials said a string of villages had suffered
considerable damage along a 25 km stretch of road heading from Breclav to Hodonin, to the north-east. In the village of Valtice, on the other side of Breclav, Mayor Pavel Trojan said almost every building had been damaged by a bombardment of hail.

Severe storms, including hail, heavy rain, and gale-force winds hit parts of Germany Switzerland, and France, triggering widespread flooding and damage (28th-29th). In Germany, several road tunnels were flooded and rail services were suspended around the
city of Stuttgart on Monday night, according to police and rail operator Deutsche Bahn. Photos and videos of the event showed floodwaters gushing down the streets, while car windscreens were smashed by huge hailstones. Emergency services across the
southern states of Rheinland-Palatinate and Baden-Wuerttemberg reported hundreds of emergency calls, including for flooded cellars, downed trees, and landslides. In the evening, strong winds tore off a part of the roof of the Stuttgart Opera while
roughly 250 people were still inside after a song recital.

ASIA

India's largest city Mumbai registered a total of 715.3 mm of rain during 8-12 June - the June average is 126.1 mm. Heavy downpours are expected to continue until June 17. This year, the city may overtake its all-time June record of 1,106.7 mm set in
2015.

Persistent heavy downpours have caused 13 rivers to rise to record levels in parts of northeastern China (22rd). Several parts of northeastern China have been hit by incessant heavy rains since last week, prompting authorities to warn people of flooding
as water levels in the region's rivers reach historic levels. Five rivers, including the Luogu River, a section of the upper reaches of Heilongjiang and its tributaries, Emur, Pangu, and Dobukur, a tributary of the Nenjiang River, have all surpassed
highs last recorded decades ago. In some areas, flash flooding swept away bridges and submerged farms along the riverbanks. According to China News, the current average precipitation in the Heilongjiang River Basin is reportedly the highest since 1961.
Since May, the average rainfall in the basin has reached 155 mm, which is almost twice the previous record.

AUSTRAILIA

At least two people died after a deep low started affecting the state of Victoria, Australia (9th). Severe weather, including torrential rain, snow, and strong winds of over 120 km/h, prompted evacuations and rescues across the state while downed power
lines left more than 200,000 homes without electricity.

MEDITERRANEAN

A major summer storm hit Greece, particularly the municipality of Attica, bringing extremely heavy rain, lightning, and hail (11th). A month's worth of rain fell in 40 minutes, causing traffic disruption across Athens and power outages to wide swaths of
the city. "The rainstorm, which produced what is usually a month's worth of rain in Greece in just 40 minutes, caused major traffic jams across Athens, and even left large swaths of the city without power," the Greek Reporter reports. The average June
rainfall in this region is 17 mm. Meanwhile, an intense hailstorm hit Psychiko, Agia Paraskevi, and many areas in the northern suburbs.

SOUTH AMERICA

Unseasonably low temperatures and snowfall were seen in Cordoba, Argentina (13th). Snowfall here is a rare sight, with the last snowfall event in July 2007, and only a few days earlier temperatures peaked at 27C.

ICELAND

Heavy, unseasonal snow and sleet covered the northern and eastern parts of Iceland today (13th). The snow was so heavy in some areas that tourists had to be rescued after getting trapped. Temperatures also plummeted to freezing levels.

MEXICO

At least two people have died and around 6,000 people have been impacted in the region of Isthmus of Tehuantepec in Oaxaca, Mexico, after intense rains caused flooding and landslides (16th). The national meteorological service reported that more than 440
mm of rain fell in a 48 hour period; the average June rainfall is 173 mm.

UNITED STATES

The ongoing severe heatwave continues to grip the south-western states, with temperatures exceeding 40C in a number of cities. Furnace Creek in Death Valley, California, recorded a maximum temperature of 53.2C, which is a new world record for the month
and only 1.2C off the all-time global temperature record, 54.4C. The following night also broke June records for the warmest night in North America, with a low of 40.6C at Stovepipe Wells. Mexicali, in Mexico, also recorded a high of 50C on 17 June,
adding to the growing list of countries that have hit 50C this year.

At least 6 people have been injured and 16 homes heavily damaged after a radar-confirmed tornado swept through suburban Chicago, Illinois at around 2309 LT (20th). The twister touched down near Woodridge and continued toward Naperville.

Parts of the US Pacific Northwest have been hit by a sweltering heatwave, with temperatures in Portland, Oregon, at a record 108F (26th). The National Weather Service (NWS) has issued excessive heat warnings and watches across nearly all of Washington
and Oregon state. Parts of California and Idaho are also affected. Multnomah county, in Oregon, has warned of "life-threatening" heat. Many cities have opened cooling centers for people to take shelter. Shops have sold out of portable air conditioners
and fans and a number of Covid vaccination drives have been cancelled. NWS said that even hotter temperatures are forecast on Sunday and Monday throughout the Pacific Northwest and Northern Great Basin. It warned of "several more days of dangerous heat
across the northwest corner of the country as well as parts of western Nevada and California". Temperatures in Seattle reached 101F making it the hottest June day there on record.

MIDDLE EAST

Severe weather struck Saudi Arabia and Yemen, with flooding and hail reported in some areas (17th-18th). On the 17th three people died in Al-Shamaitin after being swept away by floodwaters. On the 18th the Taif region was lashed by hailstorms and
downward winds, causing traffic disruption and significant flooding. In Yemen on the 17th, heavy rains triggered flooding in the district of Al-Shamaitin, Taiz Governorate, in the south-west of the country. Three children died after being carried away by
the waters.

RUSSIA

Moscow has seen its hottest June day for 120 years after the temperature hit 34.7C with even hotter weather expected over the coming days (23rd). Russia's weather service, Roshydromet, which blamed climate change for the soaring temperatures. The weather
service, which has kept records since 1881, is forecasting temperatures above 35C on Thursday and Friday. Monday was the hottest June since 1901.
Destructive rains and strong winds hit Moscow, Russia. Powerful gusts uprooted trees and caused damage to cars on streets, while heavy rains triggered flooding 28th). The metro system halted some lines, while downpours caused very low visibility. The
main building of Moscow State University could not be seen through the rain from street view. Lightning also caused a fire at a power station outside the city. The severe weather came after an unusual heat covered western Russia, causing temperatures to
soar to a 120-year record of 34.8C.

BALKAN

A severe thunderstorm accompanied by very strong winds and up to baseball-sized hail hit the city of Pozega, Croatia and neighboring towns and villages, downing trees and causing massive damage to homes, crops, and vehicles (25th). Elderly citizens say
they've never witnessed a hailstorm of this intensity. "The city is broken, the roofs, the windows, the cars, there is almost no one without something being damaged. We will propose to declare a natural disaster. It is clear that help will be needed for
all those who suffered these great damages. The local community is not so financially powerful to fully repair the damage and we will have to seek help from the national level," said Mayor Dr. Zeljko Glavic. The storm came from the south and hit the
region around 1400 UTC, after several unusually hot days. It lasted only 15 minutes but the damage it made is unprecedented. Hailstones ranged in size from 2.5 to 7 cm in diameter, and larger.

CANADA

Canada has recorded its highest ever temperature as the country's west and the US Pacific north-west experienced an unprecedented heatwave (27th). Lytton in British Columbia recorded 46.6C, breaking an 84-year-old record. A "heat dome" of high pressure
parked over the region has set new records in many other areas. Lytton, which is about 250 km north-east of Vancouver, surged past the previous Canadian record. That was set in two towns in Saskatchewan - Yellow Grass and Midale - back in July 1937 at
45C. Lytton was not alone. More than 40 other spots in British Columbia set new site records.

Dozens of people have died in Canada amid an unprecedented heatwave that has smashed temperature records (29th). Police in the Vancouver area have responded to more than 130 sudden deaths since Friday. Most were elderly or had underlying health
conditions, with heat often a contributing factor. Canada broke its temperature record for a third straight day - 49.6C in Lytton, British Columbia. The US north-west has also seen record highs - and a number of fatalities.

In the British Columbia village of Lytton the temperature eased slightly on the 31st, raising hopes that the worst was over. But in the late afternoon, a wildfire tore through the settlement 153 km north-east of Vancouver. The fire was in the town and
consuming buildings so quickly that residents weren't given advance notice to evacuate. Residents saw the thick black smoke filling the valley, grabbed what they could, and escaped. Within hours, most of the buildings had been consumed by flames. While
the unprecedented heat has ebbed slightly, the people of Canada's western provinces are now confronting the grim effects of the blistering temperatures including a surge in heat-related deaths and the growing spectre of wildfires devouring bone-dry
forests. The people of Lytton had been warned of a fire, 123 acres in size, which was burning south of the village. Officials watched warily as it grew and inched towards the community of 250.

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