Weekly Wrap-Up: Deadly Typhoon Soudelor Hammers Taiwan, China; Haboob Engulfs Phoenix

By Kevin Byrne, AccuWeather.com Staff Writer

August 14,2015; 12:42PM,EDT

 

 

Once a super typhoon, Soudelor claimed 22 lives in China and Taiwan, while bringing widespread damage to both countries last weekend.
The storm made landfall on Taiwan's Hualien County early Saturday morning local time (late Friday afternoon EDT) with a strength equal to a Category 3 hurricane. Its landfall in China occurred near the coastal city of Quanzhou late Saturday morning EDT, with the strength equal to a Category 1 hurricane.
Hundreds of thousands were forced to evacuate and at one point, more than four million homes were without power, according to the Associated Press.

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A mountaintop in Datong Township in Yilan County, Taiwan, was inundated with 1,303 mm (51.3 inches) of rain. In Taipei, Taiwan, the typhoon unleashed 306 mm (12.05 inches) of rain and winds gusted to 141 km/h (87 mph). As Soudelor departed Taiwan, thunderstorms continued to stream into the area. One of the storms produced a rare tornado in Tainan, Taiwan.
Despite being downgraded to a tropical rainstorm, Soudelor tracked to the northeast and inundated parts of South Korea and Japan with heavy rain through the middle of the week.
A man drags a sign brought down by strong winds from Typhoon Soudelor in Taipei, Taiwan, Saturday, Aug. 8, 2015. Soudelor brought heavy rains and strong winds to the island Saturday with winds speeds over 170 km/h (100 mph) and gusts over 200 km/h (120 mph) according to Taiwan's Central Weather Bureau. (AP Photo/Wally Santana)
Extreme heat retained a firm hold on eastern Europe, with several cities including Warsaw, Poland, and Belgrade, Serbia, experiencing temperatures well above normal.
In fact, on Saturday, Aug. 8, Warsaw set an all-time record high of 36.6 C (97.9 F).
"A ridge of high pressure has had a firm grip on eastern Europe from around Poland and into the Balkan Peninsula for more than a week," AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Kristina Pydynowski stated.
In the East Pacific, Hilda became a Category 4 hurricane last Saturday before diminishing to a tropical storm on Tuesday. The storm moved into the central Pacific, moving south of the Big Island of Hawaii. Minimal impacts, including enhanced rain and rough surf were felt.
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Flash flooding impacted several different regions of the U.S. Raging floodwaters submerged parked cars in Pueblo, Colorado, on Monday night. In Lansing, Michigan, close to 3 inches of rain fell between 10 a.m. and 1 p.m. EDT Monday. Cars were partially submerged along the Saginaw Highway due to the flooding.
In Phoenix, Arizona, a strong dust storm, also known as a haboob, darkened daytime skies and caused power outages on Tuesday. Later in the day, 41 planes were damaged after a microburst struck Chandler Municipal Airport in Chandler, Arizona, according to the AP.

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Several AccuWeather meteorologists and staff writers contributed content to this article.

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Have questions, comments, or a story to share? Email Kevin Byrne at Kevin.Byrne@accuweather.com, follow him on Twitter at @Accu_Kevin. Follow us @breakingweather, or on Facebook and Google+.