Weather in the NEWS August 1999 Brilliant sunny anticyclonic conditions across most of Europe brought seasonal weather at the end of July. A weak occluded front lay to the west of Ireland, reaching down across the Bay of Biscay but the high pressure meant cloud free skies for most.

Summer across Europe: 29th July 1999

Flash flood in Switzerland kills 19
What was described as 'a black wall of water' swept 19 people to their deaths, with a further two still missing, in the Lutschine river in central Switzerland. The 19, part of a group experiencing the dangerous sport of 'canyoning' were swept away as water flooded the river course following a thunderstorm in the Bernese Oberland region. The Lutschine drains water from the high mountains to the south of the popular resort of Interlaken and empties into Lake Brienz. Even in high summer, many of the rivers in this area are fast flowing with huge quantities of summer melt-water from the glaciers and snow covered mountains. For more information visit the BBC news site - Three Britons in Swiss disaster
The satellite image shows storm clouds across the western part of the Alps. Interlaken is beneath the strong cloud formation in the centre of the image.

High temperatures bring health warnings across the USA

Clear skies brought high temperatures across much of the USA in mid to late July. With temperatures in the mid-West soaring above 100 F health warnings were issued to stay indoors or seek shade. 29/07/1999 HEAT ADVISORY IS IN EFFECT THROUGH FRIDAY FOR ALL OF CENTRAL AND SOUTHEASTERN ILLINOIS PERSONS ACROSS THE AREA CAN EXPECT A RETURN TO THE HEAT AND HUMIDITY. A HOT AND HUMID AIR MASS HAS MOVED BACK OVER CENTRAL AND SOUTHEASTERN ILLINOIS. TEMPERATURES ARE EXPECTED TO CLIMB TO AROUND 95 DURING THE AFTERNOON HOURS. THIS COMBINED WITH HIGH HUMIDITY READINGS WILL CREATE HEAT INDEX VALUES IN THE 105 TO 110 DEGREE RANGE. IN ADDITION TO THE HOT CONDITIONS DURING THE DAY... NIGHTTIME TEMPERATURES WILL ONLY FALL INTO THE MIDDLE 70S...KEEPING CONDITIONS UNCOMFORTABLE THROUGHOUT THE NIGHT AS WELL. REMEMBER...THE HEAT INDEX VALUE IS A VALUE OF HOW IT FEELS OUTSIDE WHEN THE EFFECTS OF HUMIDITY ARE COMBINED WITH THE ACTUAL TEMPERATURE. PERSONS SHOULD LIMIT OUTSIDE ACTIVITIES DURING THIS TIME OF EXTREME HEAT. IF YOU MUST BE OUTSIDE...TAKE FREQUENT BREAKS AND DRINK PLENTY OF LIQUIDS. ALSO...PAY PARTICULAR ATTENTION TO THE ELDERLY AND VERY YOUNG SINCE THEY CAN BE ESPECIALLY SENSITIVE TO THE EFFECTS OF THE HEAT. The heat wave is thought to be responsible for a number of deaths across central USA. One commentator suggested that the July heat wave had been responsible for more fatalities than the highly publicised twister storms that occured in late April.

Earlier news pages are also available: 1999 July 1999 - Summer across the UK June 1999 - the Summer solstice (longest day) May 1999 - Warm weather in the UK - tornadoes in the USA April 1999 - Weather difficulties for high-tech weapons in the Balkans March 1999 - Spring arrives - and alpine avalanches February 1999 - Flooding across southern England January 1999 - Storms lashed both northern and southern hemispheres 1998 December 1998 - Dreaming of a White Christmas! - Seasons of the Sun November 1998 - Hurricane Mitch - one of the most severe hurricanes of this century wreaks havoc across Nicaragua and Honduras October 1998 - Typhoons hit Philippines and Japan - Winter weather warnings for UK September 1998 - Atlantic hurricane season under way Summer 98 - information about conditions in June and July. Return to main Weather index page Page update: July 1999 Online weather resources: St. Vincent College