Latest news with #BeckyMitchell
Belfast Telegraph
06-07-2025
- Climate
- Belfast Telegraph
Met Office reveals prediction for weather on the Twelfth
Marchers and spectators attending Twelfth events can expect warm weather with a lingering possibility of rain, according to the Met Office. The Grand Orange Lodge of Ireland has released full details for all parades taking place on the Twelfth of July this year across NI. Thousands of people will take part in parades across Northern Ireland with many tens of thousands more spectating. Bands and marchers will take to the streets at 18 locations across all six of Northern Ireland's counties to mark the 334th anniversary of the Battle of the Boyne. This year Dundonald will host a Twelfth demonstration for the first time in more than 50 years. It will join 18 other venues across Northern Ireland including Belfast, Ballymena, Kesh, Coleraine, Keady Coagh, Sixmilecross, Augher, Dromara, Dundrum, Kilkeel, Cullybackey, Rasharkin, Carnlough, Lisburn, Glengormley and Maghera. The Twelfth demonstrations in Northern Ireland will follow the traditional Rossnowlagh parade held in Co Donegal on the preceding weekend on Saturday 5 July. Looking to The Twelfth, Senior Operational Meteorologist at the Met Office, Becky Mitchell, said: 'At the moment, Saturday is most likely to be dry, warm and sunny with light winds. 'Temperatures are most likely to be in the low to mid 20s. 'However there is currently a small chance that rain may start to move in from the west towards the end of the day.' In terms of the overall forecast for the week, Ms Mitchell said: 'This coming week is expected to be largely dry, and increasingly sunny and warm across Northern Ireland. 'Monday will be dry and windy with plenty of sunny spells. The wind will make it feel rather cool with a top temperature of 19 Celsius. 'Tuesday and Wednesday may turn a little cloudier with a few spots of light rain, and temperatures slowly climbing into the low 20s. 'Thursday, Friday and Saturday are expected to be dry and sunny as high pressure builds in. Temperatures are currently forecast to reach to low 20s in the sunshine, possibly getting close to the mid 20s for the start of the weekend. 'Sunday is currently uncertain – dry and sunny weather may hang on, or we may start to see rain push in from the west.'
E&E News
27-06-2025
- Politics
- E&E News
Colorado River states see possible breakthrough as deadline looms
State negotiators grappling with how to share the drought-ravaged Colorado River say they could be close to breaking free from gridlock just as the Trump administration warns that missing a November deadline could force the federal government to take control. Members of the Upper Colorado River Commission — which represents Colorado, New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming — announced Thursday that the states are weighing a new method of sharing the waterway based on the actual flow of the river, as opposed to projected flows and historical agreements. 'The basin states have been exploring an explicit supply-driven operational framework based on the natural flow of the river,' said Becky Mitchell, who serves as both Colorado's Colorado River commissioner and acting chair of the Upper Colorado River Commission. Advertisement The plan — at the heart of which is a formula for declaring how much water can be shared among the seven states each year, based on actual flows from the preceding three years — was proposed by the Lower Basin states of Arizona, California and Nevada, Mitchell said. 'If done correctly, it should provide the opportunity for the Upper and Lower basins to manage themselves, with the only real point of agreement being the [Lake] Powell release,' Mitchell said of the flows that leave Lake Powell behind the Glen Canyon Dam and head toward the Lower Basin states. Characterizing the proposal as a 'divorce' between the basins, or a 'conscious uncoupling,' she added: 'What we know today is that for any approach to work, it must be supply-driven and perform well under both dry and varying hydrologies and adapt to uncertain future conditions.' Tom Buschatzke, director of the Arizona Department of Water Resources, first detailed the proposal last week at a state meeting. 'We are evaluating a supply-driven concept that shares the water that the river actually provides while requiring each basin to take actions to live within their respective shares,' Buschatzke said. The seven states that share the Colorado River have been in protracted negotiations over a new long-term operating plan for the waterway for more than a year, unable to agree how to share the pain of potential cuts to their individual allocations. A series of existing agreements that govern the waterway are set to expire next year, and a new agreement must be in place by Oct. 1, 2026, which marks the start of the 2027 water year. Scott Cameron, who serves as the Interior Department's acting assistant secretary for water and science, reiterated his warning Thursday to states that a failure to reach agreement would result in federal intervention. 'Those are my three charges: Get heavily involved, work intensely to help the states come to a seven-state solution but let [Interior Secretary Doug Burgum] know if he has to act,' Cameron said via video at the Upper Colorado River Commission meeting. 'That's certainly not his preference at all, but he's prepared to follow through on his responsibilities, if necessary.' Cameron, who has taken on a key role in the negotiations for the Trump administration, issued the same warning earlier this month at a conference in Boulder, Colorado. On Thursday, he set hard deadlines for the states to meet, warning that if a draft agreement has not taken shape by Nov. 11, then Reclamation will need to shift its focus to federal action. A final deal is needed by Feb. 14 to be included in a March 2026 environmental report. A record of decision is expected in May or June 2026, Cameron said. Use of the Colorado River water is divided based on the terms of a 1922 agreement known as the Colorado River Compact. That document allocated 15 million acre-feet of water evenly between the two basins. The basins then further divided the flows among their respective states. An acre-foot of water is equal to about 326,000 gallons, or enough to support two to three families for a year. The same amount of water would cover a football field to a depth of 1 foot. But decades of persistent drought in the West have reduced water in the river by as much as 20 percent, forcing the states and Mexico, which also claims a share of the waterway, into a series of repeated cuts and conservation efforts. At the Arizona meeting last week, Buschatzke noted that the average of the past 25 years shows just 12.4 million acre-feet of water in the river. Those measurements, like the ones that would be used in the new proposal, are taken at a point called Lees Ferry a few miles below the Glen Canyon Dam. 'Unfortunately, the river continues to shrink, which obviously provides a real challenge for us,' he said. 'In its simplest form, basing the Lake Powell releases to Lake Mead on natural flow allows for a fair division of what Mother Nature provides to us.' Buschatzke added: 'We haven't agreed to anything, but we've agreed to test it.' JB Hamby, chair of the Colorado River Board of California, confirmed to POLITICO's E&E News on Thursday that the states are pursuing the idea. 'California and the other six basin states are exploring a natural flow-based approach to post-2026 operations — one that offers a far clearer path to consensus than last year's competing proposals or continued debates over the compact,' Hamby said. He added: 'California remains committed to collaboration. Walking away from compromise and cooperative problem-solving is not an option — it's both irresponsible and dangerous.' Despite the general agreement on how to calculate the available water, there could be some sticking points. Buschatzke insisted that a new agreement would not alleviate the Upper Basin states from meeting a 'delivery obligation,' or the 75 million acre-feet over a running 10-year period marked by flows at Lees Ferry. But Colorado's Mitchell rejected that idea Thursday. 'It's essential to understand that this must not impose a delivery obligation on the Upper Basin under any context,' Mitchell said. In his address to the Upper Basin commission, Cameron did not mention the 'natural flow' proposal under discussion by the states but said that Interior expects any agreement reached by the states will become the de facto operating plan to be adopted by Reclamation. 'The goal is to essentially parachute in a seven-state deal as the preferred alternative' into an environmental impact statement expected next year, Cameron said. He likewise reiterated comments he made earlier this month about preparing the House and Senate for potential legislation related to any deal, with a focus on water transfers among states or between the basins themselves. 'Perhaps most fundamentally, I think we all need to realize it's a lot less water in the Colorado system than people thought there was going to be 100 years ago or 50 years ago or, quite frankly, 10 years ago,' Cameron said. 'That's a new hydrologic reality, and we all have to live in the physical world as it is, not as we might hope it will be.'
The Independent
20-06-2025
- Climate
- The Independent
Heatwaves declared across England and Wales with higher temperatures to come
Heatwaves have been triggered across England and Wales with even higher temperatures expected over the weekend. But Friday was not the warmest day of the year so far, with highs of 30.8C recorded in both nations, the Met Office confirmed. It comes as thunderstorms are threatening to hit large parts of northern England on Saturday. Temperatures could reach up to 34C in isolated areas of England, but rain, hail and lightning could be on their way, a Met Office spokesperson said. An official heatwave is recorded when areas reach a certain temperature for three consecutive days, with thresholds varying from 25C to 28C in different parts of the UK. 'Many places' in England and 'one or two areas' in Wales, including Cardiff, have now entered a heatwave following Friday's highest temperatures, Becky Mitchell, meteorologist at the Met Office, said. While the national record for this year was not broken, Friday was the hottest day of the year so far for Wales, Northern Ireland and Scotland. A yellow thunderstorm weather warning has been issued covering Nottingham up to above Newcastle, running from 3pm on Saturday until 4am on Sunday. The Met Office warned the most intense storms could produce 'frequent lightning, large hail and gusty winds', along with a chance of flooding. Met Office spokeswoman Nicola Maxey said: 'There are scattered thunderstorms coming through. 'Some of the rain could be quite intense, and frequent lightning, hail, gusty winds and some heavy downpours, which we haven't seen for a while. 'Some of the ground is quite hard at the moment, and when you get heavy rain hitting hard ground, it can cause surface water issues. 'You might find surface water on the roads, drains finding it difficult to cope and a small chance of homes being flooded.' Temperatures are predicted to peak on the western side of the country on Friday, as a 'more changeable, fresher feel' starts to come in. Ms Maxey said: 'Tomorrow, temperatures may continue to go up a little for the east and south-east area of the country, we might see them creep up to 33C, or even an isolated 34C, but we are going to see that change. 'In the west, tomorrow we should start to see more of this cloud come in, and we have a fresher air mass pushing in across the country.' Temperatures reached 32.2C in Kew, west London, on Thursday, amid an amber heat-health alert for all regions in England. The alert, issued by the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) for the first time since September 2023, is in force until 9am on Monday. It warns 'significant impacts are likely' across health and social care services because of high temperatures, including a rise in deaths, particularly among those aged 65 and over or people with health conditions. Following the hot weather, the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA) has urged the public to take heat and water safety seriously. During 2022's heatwave, temperatures rose past 40C, leading to 320 people being treated in hospital. Steve Cole, policy director at RoSPA, said: 'Heat is no longer just a holiday perk — it's a growing public health risk. 'We're seeing more frequent and intense heatwaves, both in the UK and globally, and the data shows a clear rise in heat-related illness and fatalities. 'Warm weather can also be deceptive when it comes to going for a dip. 'While the air may feel hot, water temperatures often remain dangerously cold, which can lead to cold-water shock, even in summer.'
Yahoo
04-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Shared risk at the heart of dispute over Colorado River
Railroad tracks run along the Colorado River as it flows along Interstate 70 through Glenwood Canyon near Glenwood Springs. (William Woody for Colorado Newsline) A version of this story originally appeared in Big Pivots. Even-steven. That was the intent of delegates from the seven basin states in 1922 when they met near Santa Fe to forge a compact governing the Colorado River. But what exactly did they agree upon? That has become a sticking point in 2025 as states have squared off about rules governing the river in the drought-afflicted and climate-changed 21st century. The negotiations between the states, according to many accounts, have been fraught with tensions. Becky Mitchell, Colorado's lead negotiator, delivered a peek into that dispute at a forum on May 22 in Silverthorne along the headwaters of the river. The Colorado River Compact was a quid pro quo. California, in particular, but also Arizona, was ready to see the highs and lows of the rivers smoothed out. They, as well as Nevada, wanted a giant reservoir in Boulder Canyon in Nevada near the small town of Las Vegas, which then had a population of 2,300. Those Southwestern states couldn't do it alone, though. They needed the federal government to build the dam later called Hoover. For that, they needed the support of Colorado and the three other upper-basin states. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX Colorado, represented by Delph Carpenter, and the three other headwaters states realized that they had best reach a compromise, as they would more slowly develop the rivers. If the doctrine of prior appropriation that they had all adopted within their own states prevailed on the Colorado River, the water would be gone by the time they found need for it. This was the foundation for Article III of the Colorado River Compact. It apportions 7.5 million acre-feet in perpetuity for the exclusive beneficial consumption by each of the two basins. On top of this 15 million acre-feet, they knew there would be water lost to evaporation, now calculated at 1.5 million acre-feet annually, plus some sort of delivery obligation to Mexico, which later turned out to be 1.5 million acre-feet. In Santa Fe, delegates had assumed bounteous flows in the river, as had occurred in the years prior to their meeting. And so, embracing that short-term view of history, they believed the river would deliver 20 million acre-feet. It has not done so routinely. Even when there was lots of water, during the 1990s and even before, as Eric Kuhn and John Fleck explained in their 2019 book, 'Science be Dammed,' troubles ahead could be discerned. And by 1993, when the Central Arizona Project began hoisting water to Phoenix and Tucson, the river ceased absolutely to reach the ocean. Then came the 21st century drought. Those framing the compact understood drought as a temporary affliction, not the multi-decade phenomenon now perplexing the states in the Colorado River Basin. Nor did they contemplate a warming, drying climate called aridification. Similar to drought in effects, it is rooted in accumulating atmospheric gases. Unlike drought, it has little to no chance of breaking. Now, faced with creating new rules governing the sharing of this river, delegates from the seven states are at odds in various ways, but perhaps none so much as in their interpretation of compact's Article D. It says that the upper-division states 'will not cause the flow of the river at Lee Ferry to be depleted below an aggregate of 75,000,000 acre-feet for any period of ten consecutive years.' The lower division states have so far received 75 million acre-feet over every revolving 10-year period. The upper-basin states have not fully developed their apportionment, although Colorado has come close. In the last 25 years, the upper-basin states have been using 3.5 million to 4.5 million acre-feet. The lower-basin states that a decade ago were still using 10 million acre-feet have cut back their use to 7.5 million acre-feet. Lake Powell serves as a water bank for the upper basin states. The storage in 2022 had declined to 22%, although a good snow winter in 2022-23 restored levels somewhat. Today, the two reservoirs are at a combined 34% of full. 'That means 66% empty,' said Mitchell at the forum along the Blue River in Silverthorne at a 'state of the river' forum organized by the Colorado River Water Conservation District. Mitchell, an engineer by training, has a large on-stage presence. She's not one to mince words, sometimes straying into the colloquial. This outspokenness is more evident when she speaks exclusively to a home-town crowd. Silverthorne certainly counted as one. Shared risk is at the heart of the dispute. Colorado and other upper-basin states want the lower-basin states to accept that the river will not always satisfy all needs. 'How do we handle drought? We know how to do that in the upper basin, and most of the people in this room know that you get less,' said Mitchell, Colorado's representative on the Upper Colorado River Commission. 'That hasn't been the case in the lower basin.' The two basins differ in three fundamental ways. One is the pace of development. The lower basin developed quickly. The upper basin still has not used its full allocation. From the upper-basin perspective, that does not mean that the lower-basins states should expect something beyond a 50-50 split. 'The main thing that we got from the compact was the principle of equity and the ability to develop at our own pace,' said Mitchell. 'We shouldn't be punished because we didn't develop to a certain number. The conversation now, she added, is 'what does equity look like right now?' Another difference is that the upper basin has thousands of individual users. Sure, there are a few big ones, like Denver Water and the other Front Range transmountain water diverters who collectively draw 400,000 to 450,000 acre-feet annually across the Continental Divide. The lower basin has just a handful of diverters, and the diversions are massive. Also different — as alluded to by Mitchell — is that the lower basin has the big reservoirs lying upstream. The largest is Mead, with a capacity of almost 29 million acre-feet, followed closely by Powell at a little more than 25 million acre-feet. Mead was created expressly to meet needs of irrigators and cities in the desert southwest. Powell was created essentially to ensure that the upper-basin states could meet their delivery obligations. Mitchell shared a telling statistic: More water has been released from Powell in 8 of the last 10 years than has arrived into it. Upper-basin states must live within that hydrologic reality, said Mitchell. If it's a particularly bad snow year in the upper basin, the farms and ranches with junior water rights and even the cities can get shorted. The lower basin states? Not a problem. They always get their water — at least so far. But the two big reservoirs have together lost 50 million acre-feet of stored water. 'We're negotiating how to move forward in a way different place than we were negotiating 20 years ago,' said Mitchell. Upper-basin states have managed to deliver the 75 million acre-feet across 10 years that the compact specifies, but what exactly is the obligation? That has long been a gray area. At a forum two days before Mitchell spoke in Colorado, her counterpart in Arizona, Tom Buschatzke, reiterated at a conference in Tucson that they see the compact spelling out a clear obligation of upper-basin states to deliver 75 million acre-feet plus one-half of the water obligated to Mexico. What if the water isn't there? That's the crux of this dispute as the upper and lower basin states negotiate in advance of a September deadline set by the Bureau of Reclamation. In theory, if the situation were dire enough, Colorado could stop all its post-1922 diversions to allow the water to flow downstream. But is that what those gathered in Santa Fe in the shortening days of November 1922 had in mind? Will lawsuits toss this into the court system for resolution? That process might take decades and, if it ended up at the Supreme Court, it might not yield a nuanced outcome. Mitchell didn't address that directly, although she did say everybody on the river wants to avoid litigation. The situation described by Mitchell and other upper-basin proponents is perhaps analogous to a divorce settlement. The settlement may call for a 50-50 split of all earnings between the partners, but what if one becomes destitute and has no money to pool? Upper-basin states do have reservoirs to help buffer them from short-term droughts. Altogether, however, they don't come close to matching the capacity of Powell. Again, from the perspective of upper-basin states, California and Nevada have a sense of entitlement. Not that the upper basin states are angelic, said Mitchell. It's because they have no choice. 'I say we use three to four million acre-feet less than our apportionment. It varies. You know why? Because hydrology varies. And so we respond to hydrology. It's all based on snowpack and it's all gravity. Most of it is gravity dependent. We don't have those two big reservoirs above us like the lower basin does. We don't have those reservoirs to equal out the flows or allow us to overuse. We have to live with variable hydrology, and we take cuts every single year.' Upper-basin states want a willingness in this settlement for agreement that focuses on the water supply, not the demand. 'Common sense would tell you, maybe Mother Nature should drive how we operate the system.' That, she said, is the bedrock principle of the proposal from the upper division. With plentiful snowfall, greater releases from Powell might be possible, said Mitchell, and in times of extreme duress, water from Flaming Gore and perhaps the Blue Mesa and Navajo too. She said there might be room for greater conservation measures in the upper basin states. But there must be 'real work happening down in the lower basin,' she said. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
Daily Mirror
28-05-2025
- Climate
- Daily Mirror
Exact time and date 'mini heatwave' will peak shown on weather maps
Warm weather conditions are expected across parts of the country this weekend with highs of 24C coming on Saturday, according the latest maps show - London is set to be the warmest city A mini heatwave is heading towards the UK this weekend, with warm temperatures expected across several areas of the country. The latest weather maps show the mercury will be in the mid-20Cs, with highs of 24C expected in London at 4pm on Saturday. Cornwall, Northern Ireland and parts of southern Scotland will enjoy 17C temperatures, while 18C temperatures are expected in Wales. Central and northern England will experience temperatures of around 20C - with colder conditions, between 13C and 14C, hitting northern areas of Scotland. According to WXCharts maps, temperatures at 6pm on Saturday will be higher than the seasonal average, with the warmest conditions hitting the capital. BBC Weather forecaster Ben Rich said temperatures could hit the mid-20Cs in the south of England at the end of the week. "For Friday many areas will see some dry weather and some spells of sunshine but it could well be that our next weather system starts to approach bringing some cloud and some rain in from the west," he said. "It could be a warm feeling day on Friday with temperatures of 17C to 24C. High pressure tries to hold on across the south and the south east, at the same time low pressure tries to return from the northwest. This gives quite a messy weather forecast for Saturday, there will be some showers or longer spells of rain especially up towards the north and west, further south and east a better chance that we will stay dry for much of the time and in the sunshine still feeling warm 16C to 24C." But during the week, temperatures won't be as warm, with the mercury only reaching 18C on Wednesday and Thursday, and 20C on Friday. Met Office Meteorologist Becky Mitchell said: "This week we could see temperatures push to the low 20s in the south, and at the end of the week we can see drier and more settled weather develop in southern England and Wales. From Sunday, June 1, the weather will continue to be changeable with spells of rain hitting the country and strong winds across the northwest, while the south can expect drier interludes, the Met Office said. The long-range forecast for the first 10 days of June reads: "Temperatures are expected to be around or a little above normal overall, but will be cooler in any prolonged periods of rainfall. Meanwhile, there is the possibility of some very warm or even hot conditions developing later in this period, especially in the south, and these bring with them the chance of thunderstorms." UK five-day weather forecast This Evening and Tonight: Rain largely clearing this evening, although a band of heavy showers with possible thunderstorms will affect Wales, the Midlands and East Anglia overnight. Elsewhere clear spells, with isolated showers in the far north and west. Patchy frost in the north. Wednesday: Early heavy showers in the south easing, then a day of sunny spells and well scattered lighter showers across the UK tomorrow. Less breezy, so feeling pleasant in the sunshine. Outlook for Thursday to Saturday: Wet and rather windy weather moving east across the UK on Thursday, though some brighter breaks later. Some warm sunshine thereafter, though showers too. Small chance thunderstorms in southeast Saturday.
