Deadly flash floods hit northern Iraq on Saturday as severe thunderstorms swept across the region, including in neighbouring Iran. The city of Erbil, in Iraq, was particularly badly hit, with extensive damage to homes and businesses. Streets were inundated as torrential rain fell over a short period.
Rainfall exceeded forecasts, with an estimated ۸۰mm falling in the city, compared with expectations of ۳۰mm. Two people were killed in the floods.
In Europe, Storm Bruna is forecast to bring strong winds to Portugal this week, particularly along the west coast. Gusts are expected to reach ۵۰mph (۸۰km/h), with heavy rain and thunderstorms also expected. The total rainfall could reach ۲۰۰mm by the end of the week. The storm has already affected the Canary Islands, where Tenerife recorded a gust of ۸۰mph on Saturday night.
Japan experienced a cold and snowy end to last week, with further snowfall expected in Hokkaido and parts of the mountains in the main island Honshu.
Temperatures in Japan are forecast to fall below the seasonal average early this week, with Sapporo, the capital of Hokkaido prefecture, expected to plunge to ۱۰C below average. Maximum temperatures in the city are likely to be about ۴-۶C on Monday and Wednesday, while Tuesday’s high is forecast to be about ۰C. Minimum temperatures could fall to -۶C by Wednesday, and -۸C in other western parts of Hokkaido on Tuesday.
Ski resorts are preparing for visitors after snowfall began on Friday. Total snowfall is expected to reach ۳۰-۵۰cm around Kiroro and Niesko, with about ۲۰-۳۰cm in Furano, Rusutsu and Sapporo.
Other resorts could receive up to ۲۰cm of snow by Wednesday. Strong winds accompanied the snow on Friday and over the weekend, with gusts of about ۷۵mph in Kiroko and Niesko.
During the strong El Niño, sea surface temperatures in the equatorial Pacific were about ۳.۵C above the climatological average at their peak in late October. As a result, Peru has been experiencing air temperatures ۵-۱۰C above the seasonal average. The unusually warm conditions expected to continue into next week.
