An early morning storm ripped through Highmore, South Dakota, about 220 miles east of Rapid City, producing a reported 131 mph wind gust that, if sustained, would fall within Category 4 hurricane strength on the Saffir-Simpson scale.
Local KELOLAND meteorologists Scot Mundt and Brian Karstens were absolutely stunned by the wind speed, which reached 131 mph.
Wind statistics for June 29, 2026 in Highmore, South Dakota. It is the 2nd highest wind gust in recorded in the state's history
Unprecedented downpours prompt warning that links and systems adapted to an arid past may struggle to cope with a wetter future
From the night of 19 June, Hotan in Xinjiang experienced its heaviest 24-hour downpour in recorded history.
The resulting flooding in the city, which borders the Taklamakan desert, caused the temporary closure of the expressway, China Weather Network reports.
The extreme rainstorm was caused by two banks of moist air converging over southern Xinjiang, explained China Weather Network analyst Xin Xin. The rainfall accumulated in the mountainous areas and, together with snowmelt runoff, caused flash floods, he added.
Though Xin Xin did not mention climate change as an exacerbating factor, other commentators have.
There has been snowmelt-induced flooding in the same Tarim basin area before, for instance in 2021 and the summer of 2022. But the rainfall was much more intense this time than in 2021, Tang Peng, director of the Hotan Meteorological Observatory, told Qilu Evening News.
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How rare was this rainstorm? According to Xin Xin, chief meteorological analyst at @ChinaWeather.com, as of 7 PM on the 20th, Hotan's 24-hour cumulative rainfall reached 64.7 mm, with a single-hour rainfall of 34.3 mm between 12 PM and 1 PM, both breaking local historical records. From 11 AM to 2 PM on the 20th, Hotan experienced 53.8 mm of rainfall in 3 hours, exceeding the local average annual rainfall, equivalent to receiving a whole year's worth of rain in just 3 hours—the rainfall was extremely heavy.
At least 13 people have died in Ghana's capital, Accra, after torrential rain resulted in severe flooding, according to the fire service which has been involved in rescue efforts.
The government has urged people to stay indoors or move to higher ground, as the meteorological agency warned further rain was expected with a big storm approaching from the east.
Much of the water from Sunday night's downpours has begun to recede, but as the recovery operation continues, the Ghana National Fire Service (GNF) said the death toll could rise.
Low-lying areas were particularly impacted. Videos circulating on social media show homes and vehicles submerged, while many buildings have been destroyed.
Emergency response teams have been deployed to the flood-affected region, including from the police, fire service, the military and the National Disaster Management Organisation.
Monsoon rains triggered the collapse of a slag heap at a disused jade mine in northern Myanmar, killing five people and leaving around 15 others missing. The victims were freelance scavengers searching for gem fragments when the heap gave way late Sunday (June 28) in Kachin state's Hpakant township.
State media reported that approximately 20 scavengers were working under floodlights when they were buried. The Global New Light of Myanmar newspaper stated that days of heavy rain had left the old mine waste heaps unstable. Search teams continue to dig for those who remain missing. "The collapse occurred after days of heavy rain left old mine waste heaps unstable. At least five people have been confirmed dead, and around 15 remain missing. Search teams continue digging for those still missing," the publication reported.
Emily Shapiro abc7news.com Mon, 29 Jun 2026 12:31 UTC
A 31-year-old woman was killed by an alligator while swimming in a river in Florida, officials said.
The victim, her boyfriend and her best friend were hiking on Sunday when they stopped to swim in the Econlockhatchee River in Seminole County, just north of Orlando, according to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.
They were in about 3 feet of water when an alligator bit the victim on both arms, FWC spokesperson Chad Weber said.
"The boyfriend was the one that made the [911] phone call. He was trying to get her from the alligator's mouth," Weber said at a news conference Monday.
The woman died on the way to the hospital, Weber said.
While Billings saw some rain over the past 24 hours, other parts of Montana looked and felt more like January than June, with snow falling in higher elevations and piling up across the state.
In Yellowstone National Park, wildlife photographer Julie Argyle woke up to a surprising front yard topped with fresh inches of snow.
Parts of Idaho looked like the Arctic on the first full weekend of summer when torrential thunderstorms and hail flooded the streets with ice floats, according to dramatic social-media footage.
In a wild scene Saturday outside the state's capital of Boise, a resident was caught on Instagram footage paddling a bright green kayak through the ice-covered floodwaters rushing down a suburban road — while a rural county near Nevada was hammered with a staggering 553 lightning strikes.
"It was small hail, but there was an awful lot of it," said Josh Smith, the Boise-based National Weather Service's lead meteorologist, to the Idaho Statesman.
Cars parked along local streets were nearly swallowed by surging water from the relentless rains - with some vehicles submerged up to their windows - while trash bins floated through the makeshift river, the surreal footage shows.
The widespread storm damage across the Gem State's Treasure Valley region - a heavily-populated area that encompasses parts of Ada and Canyon counties - was also fueled by winds topping 50 mph, the Statesman said.
France has recorded 1,000 excess deaths during the blistering heat wave sweeping Europe, the public health agency said on Sunday, warning that the true figure was likely to be higher.
Detailing its preliminary count of excess deaths, Sante Publique said most of the fatalities involved older people and that it expected the mortality rate to rise as more information became available about deaths in residential care and homes.
Scientists have said the heat wave, which began on June 20, was the worst recorded in Europe, where the climate is changing faster than the global average.
Andy Beshear, the Kentucky governor, says four people have died as a result of flash floods from thunderstorms that have brought as much as 7in (18cm) of rain to the state.
Beshear confirmed the four deaths in a social media post, noting three people were from Madison county and one was from Jackson county. "Please join Britainy and me as we pray for their families during this difficult time," Beshear said.
The National Weather Service issued a flash flood warning on Saturday for parts of Kentucky and Indiana.
By late Saturday, some parts of south-western Indiana had already seen between 4in and 10in of rain, with more possible, the weather service said.
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