Weather tracker: Hurricane Francine hits US as new storm threatens China

After Super Typhoon Yagi affected parts of Vietnam and China last week, with the death toll now at about 200 people, another tropical cyclone developed in the Gulf of Mexico this week.

This developed into the category 2 Hurricane Francine, which is the fourth named hurricane and sixth named storm of the 2024 season. Francine made landfall in Louisiana on Thursday, with winds of 100mph causing damage to infrastructure. Francine will weaken as it pushes northwards across central eastern states of the US over the next few days, but there is the possibility for some tornadoes to form, and warnings have been issued for some states.

Meanwhile, another tropical storm is developing in the western Pacific Ocean, and has been given the name Bebinca by the autonomous region of Macau. Bebinca developed just off the coast of Guam on Tuesday, and is set to move north-west across the Philippine Sea and strengthen into a very strong typhoon. It will probably reach the east coast of China by Sunday, and is expected to make landfall near Shanghai.

Also this week, north-east Nigeria was hit by heavy rain, causing the Alau dam to collapse on Tuesday. The resulting flooding affected more than a million people and is thought to have caused the deaths of at least 30. A zoo was also affected by the flooding, and many animals were swept away.

Finally, there will be very unsettled weather in central Europe this weekend due to an area of low pressure that developed across Italy earlier this week before travelling eastwards through Austria and the Balkans, then diverting north towards the Czech Republic. This low pressure is set to cause a variety of hazards, with a strong wind warning issued for gusts of around 40mph.

Austria and the Czech Republic have issued their highest-level flood warnings, with the possibility of up to 250mm of rain falling in less than 48 hours over Friday and Saturday. Across the Alps, there is likely to be significant snowfall, as the warm moist air from the south clashes with colder air from the north, possibly bringing an early start to the ski season.