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- Currently in Portland — October 24th, 2023: The rain returns
Currently in Portland — October 24th, 2023: The rain returns
Plus, a tropical cyclone could bring 10 years of rainfall to Yemen this week.
Stella Harris & Eric Holthaus
October 23, 2023
The weather, currently.
The rain returns on Tuesday.
The weekend was drier than I expected, but the rain is back for real on Tuesday. We’ve got a few wet and cold days in a row coming, starting with Tuesday, when high temps won’t even climb above the low 50s. And Tuesday night will drop to the low 40s. We’ll also be getting rain throughout the day, with a major increase over Tuesday night.
Long-range forecasts are notoriously unreliable—but if you’re on Halloween Weather Watch like me, things are currently looking good. Both the weekend (prime Halloween celebration time) and the day itself, currently look dry. But there’s plenty of time for that to change. Costumes that easily allow an umbrella are ideal!
What you need to know, currently.
Tropical Cyclone Tej is approaching the Arabian Peninsula on Tuesday, and could stall just inland of the coast of Yemen.
It’s a rare situation in a region that receives only 50mm (2 in) of rain on average per year. Some weather models show Tej could bring more than 500 mm (20 in) to parts of eastern Yemen — the equivalent of 10 years of rain in just 24 hours.
According to The Guardian, Tej will be only the second hurricane-strength tropical cyclone to make landfall in Yemen in recorded history. Authorities in Yemen have closed schools and told fishermen not to go to sea. Neighboring Oman has also taken emergency precautions to anticipate the storm.
Some forecast models predict that 20-30 inches of rain could fall in the next 24 hours near Al Ghaydah, Yemen, as Tropical Cyclone Tej stalls over the region.
Al Ghaydah receives ~2 inches of rain per year, which means over 10 year's worth of rain could fall in just 24 hours,… twitter.com/i/web/status/1…
— Colin McCarthy (@US_Stormwatch)
8:38 PM • Oct 23, 2023
A study last year from Khalifa University in the United Arab Emirates found that the warming waters of the Arabian Sea should produce an increasing number of tropical cyclones in years to come.
What you can do, currently.
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One of my favorite organizations, Mutual Aid Disaster Relief, serves as a hub of mutual aid efforts focused on climate action in emergencies — like hurricane season. Find mutual aid network near you and join, or donate to support existing networks:
