GLOBAL WEATHER HIGHLIGHT

MARCH 2020

UNITED STATES

Two powerful tornadoes that ripped through central Tennessee on Tuesday (3rd) killed 24 people, according to the state's Emergency Management Authority. In Nashville, Tennessee's biggest city, the tornadoes caused widespread damage to homes and other buildings. The storm hit after midnight and moved so quickly that many people sleeping didn't have time to take shelter. Much of the damage is centered in Putnam County - 80 miles (130km) east of Nashville - where 18 deaths, including five children, were reported. There was also "significant damage" to John C Tune Airport, about eight miles from the city center, the airport said. The National Weather Service reported that winds of 165 mph hit Nashville. The storms were the deadliest to hit Tennessee since 2011.

Jonesboro, Arkansas, took a direct hit from a tornado that left buildings flattened in its wake on Saturday (28th). At least 22 injuries were caused. Rounds of severe thunderstorms erupted from the southern Plains to the Ohio Valley, with the dangerous weather packing damaging winds, hail the size of softballs and destructive tornadoes like the one seen in Jonesboro. The tornado ripped through Race and Caraway Streets, destroyed many homes and continued to Brookland, and the Arkansas/Missouri border after destroying the Mall at Turtle Creek.

MEDITERRANEAN AND THE MIDDLE EAST

An unusually deep area of low pressure, nicknamed the "dragon" on social media, brought severe disruption to western parts of the Mediterranean and the Middle East (12-13). The low formed rapidly across Egypt, before moving slowly north-eastwards into Israel and Lebanon, bringing outbreaks of heavy rain and strong winds. Thunderstorms caused particularly severe flooding in parts of Egypt, forcing authorities to shut schools and urge people to remain at home. Latest reports indicate at least 21 people have died. A mosque in the city of Qena, Upper Egypt, collapsed. The storms dumped at least 2.4 inches of rain on Cairo, which normally receives just 0.15 inches for the entire month. The storm also kicked up a dust storm to the south of the city.

BRAZIL

About 150 people have been killed or are missing following record-breaking heavy rains, landslides and flooding in three Brazilian states this year (15th). Monsoon rains kill Brazilians every summer, with floodwaters filling streets and landslides afflicting poorer communities and favelas built on steep hillsides, often without proper drainage or sanitation. In Guaruja, a coastal town 25 miles from Sao Paulo, 282 mm fell in just 12 hours last week more than the total expected for the entire month of March. Days earlier, five people died during heavy rains across Rio de Janeiro. One man drowned when the Acari favela in north Rio was flooded.