Updated Oct. 4, 2019 4:33 PM
One couple's perfect plan for a fall wedding was nearly foiled by an unwelcome crasher, but the couple and photographer made the most of the winterlike scene and snapped some epic photos. The snow that swept through the northern United States brought blizzard conditions to Montana and set several new snowfall records. But it was a tale of two seasons in the U.S. -- across the South, the weather was positively scorching and continued growing hotter as the days went by. Here's a look back at the big weather stories of the week.
Fall appeared and felt more like wintertime in the northern Rockies last weekend into Monday as the season’s first big snowstorm brought blizzard conditions while dumping up to 4 feet of snow in some spots. Montana, in particular, set new daily snowfall records across the state. The severe conditions prompted Montana Gov. Steve Bullock to issue an executive order declaring a winter storm emergency on Sunday.
"The storm brought heavy, wet snow with accumulation,” the governor's office said in a press release, which also stated that toppled trees and power lines from strong winds resulted in “road closures, emergency travel conditions, intermittent cellular service and power outages.”
Residents in Fairfield, Montana, began digging out on September 30, 2019, after being hit by an early-season snowstorm that dropped more than four feet of snow in some places. (Cassie Barnett)
AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Alex Sosnowski attributed the snowfall to a combination of a storm from the Pacific Ocean, cold air from northern Canada, moisture from the Gulf of Mexico and “a northeast-ascending flow that squeezed extra moisture from the atmosphere.”
The snowy weather led to winter storm warnings and winter weather advisories for parts of the northern Rockies, Cascades and Sierra Nevada on Sunday, most of which expired by Monday morning.
Check out these impressive snowfall totals from Montana: The highest recorded amount from the storm was 52 inches reported in Babb; 48 inches came down in Browning; 15 inches fell near Kiowa; and East Glacier Park was hit with 21 inches of snow.
Sean and Brittany Tuohy’s nuptials were almost thwarted by the snowstorm that blasted their wedding venue last Saturday in Spokane, Washington, but even a flurry of snowflakes couldn’t put the brakes on their special day -- or their wedding photoshoot.
When they initially booked the mountaintop venue months ago, they anticipated a fall wedding with a picturesque backdrop featuring the array of stunning colors typically associated with the season.
Sean and Brittany Tuohy celebrate their marriage in a rare September snowstorm. (Jaime Denise Fletcher)
Instead, they got snow, freezing conditions and a whole lot of wind — a completely unanticipated scene that, at the very least, matched well with Brittany’s wedding gown. Wedding photographer Jaime Denise Fletcher told AccuWeather that although the weather conditions quickly changed, she was still able to capture amazing photographs of the wedding party outdoors before festivities had to be moved inside.
Fletcher snapped about 100 photos in 10 minutes with the bride and groom surrounded by the wedding party -- and plenty of snow. The images have since gone viral. The bride and groom fortunately remained in good spirits throughout it all.
And anyone doing long-term planning for events that will take place this winter -- don't be caught off guard by weather. Read AccuWeather's annual winter forecast for the contiguous U.S. Long-range forecasters break down the upcoming winter season, including where above-average snowfall is expected and when the polar vortex might make its bitter return.
Good news for residents in parts of the southern U.S.: Cooler weather more appropriate of the season is on the way -- but not until next week. This week, a large area of nearly stationary high pressure resulted in an “extended summer” across the Deep South and Southeast earlier in the week. Day after day, daily high record temperatures fell as many places saw the mercury soar into the triple digits. In some places like Birmingham, Alabama, thermometers exceeded 100 degrees Fahrenheit, which didn't even happen in July.
However, that system will begin weakening and shrinking over the weekend as cooler air pushes progressively farther south, according to AccuWeather Meteorologist Kyle Elliot. Starting this weekend into early next week, areas of the Deep South will enjoy cooler conditions. Some locations, like Atlanta, will still feel the heat through Friday. Georgia’s capital city reached an all-time October record high of 98 degrees Fahrenheit on Thursday.
Birmingham, Alabama, experienced a record-shattering 103 F on Wednesday, which, after it’s verified by the National Weather Service (NWS), would be the city’s hottest day of the year.
The United Kingdom and Ireland took a late-week lashing from Lorenzo after it hit the Azores as a strong hurricane with powerful winds and pounding surf. The storm was a post-tropical cyclone when it moved through, but that didn’t stop the effects from being felt across Ireland.
At least 20,000 were left without electricity, the BBC reported, at the height of the storm. Wind gusts peaked at 53 mph in Shannon, Ireland, early Friday morning. AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Eric Leister said the strongest winds were mostly confined to western Ireland.
Lorenzo grew to a Category 5 major hurricane last Saturday, making it the most powerful hurricane to be located that far north and east in the Atlantic Ocean.
Talk about a series of unfortunate events. More than a dozen people were hurt after the Nanfang’ao Bridge in Su’ao Township, Taiwan, collapsed Monday. The tremendous collapse, which sent the bridge plunging into a fishing harbor below was caught on video by multiple surveillance cameras. Typhoon Mitag had hit the region just a day prior, and a 3.8-magnitude earthquake struck early Monday morning.
Rescuers work near the site of a collapsed bridge in Nanfang'ao, eastern Taiwan, Tuesday, Oct. 1, 2019. A towering bridge over a bay in eastern Taiwan has collapsed sending an oil tanker truck falling onto boats in the water below. A disaster relief official said the collapse set off a fire and at least 10 people have been hurt. (Taiwan's Coast Guard via AP)
The bridge, which was the only steel single-arch bridge in Taiwan, fell around 9:30 a.m., local time. An oil tanker had been crossing the bridge at the same time. As the bridge collapsed onto boats below, the oil tanker caught fire. The collapse left six fishermen trapped in the boats, while hundreds of rescuers scrambled to sort through the wreckage looking for those missing.
It’s currently being investigated whether or not strong winds from Mitag played a role in the collapse. The typhoon’s wind gusts were over 50 mph while it dumped 12 inches of widespread rainfall in some areas in the northeast.
In addition to its impacts in Taiwan, Mitag killed at least 10 people in South Korea and left at least four others missing. The storm slammed the island of Jeju with nearly a foot of rain that flooded over 60 homes and a number of roadways, local media reported.
Central and northern Japan will face impacts from Mitag through the weekend as the storm, which is now post-tropical, treks across the Sea of Japan.
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