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EU: Will volcano cause a repeat of travel chaos?

Barry Neild
CNN
Tue, 24 May 2011 10:48 UTC
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© AFP/GettyA cloud of smoke and ash is seen over the Grimsvotn volcano in Iceland on Saturday, May 21.
Icelandic volcano ash is affecting flights in European airspace, but authorities say it is unlikely to cause the same levels of disruption triggered by a similar eruption last year.

So what are the main differences between the two volcanic ash clouds and to what extent will travel plans be hit?

Who has been affected so far? Icelandic airspace was closed over the weekend. By early Tuesday, several hundreds flights from England, Scotland and Northern Ireland had been canceled with British Airways, easyJet, Ryanair, Aer Lingus, Loganair, Flybe and KLM among operators grounding jets.

Meteorologist have warned prevailing winds are blowing the ash cloud towards London's Heathrow airport, potentially closing airspace above Europe's busiest air hub. Officials say there is a strong possibility some Scandinavian airports may also be affected.
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Cloud Lightning

US: Joplin Hit Again with Severe Weather; Death Toll Still Rising

Eric Reese
AccuWeather.com
Wed, 25 May 2011 10:15 UTC
The Joplin, Mo., tornado now ranks among the ten deadliest tornadoes of all time.

At least 17 people have been pulled from the rubble safely and there's no telling how many more are still buried.

On Tuesday evening, the area was again threatened with severe weather. A tornado warning was issued for a time in Joplin and surrounding areas. The storm-ravaged town avoided another direct hit, as the supercell moved north of Joplin.

However, powerful thunderstorms roared through the city through the night.

As of early Wednesday morning, the death toll stood at 124, although search and rescue teams are holding out hope that they can find more survivors.

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Cloud Lightning

US: Video Update: Joplin - 7 miles of pure Hell


MSNBC
Tue, 24 May 2011 22:00 UTC
In the following, the newspersons says "1/3 of the city is gone". ...

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Cloud Lightning

US: Monster tornadoes rip through Oklahoma, demolish houses, cars


MSNBC
Tue, 24 May 2011 21:00 UTC
At least 6 people dead in two states, numerous injuries; extensive damage reported

Oklahoma City - A system of violent thunderstorms roared across the nation's midsection on Tuesday, killing six people in two states, with several tornadoes touching down in Oklahoma and high winds pounding Kansas and Texas.

The high-powered storms arrived as forecast, just two days after a massive tornado tore through the southwest Missouri town of Joplin and killed 122 people.

Powerful tornadoes obliterated houses, splintered trees and tossed cars off highways in Oklahoma. At least four people were killed and numerous others injured.

Television footage in the aftermath of the storms showed remnants of homes and buildings strewn across roads and fields. One car wound up wrapped around a tree.

Rescue crews were frantically searching for a 3-year-old child reported missing in the rubble of a home in Piedmont, a suburban area northwest of Oklahoma City. The child's mother and two other children were injured and taken to the hospital after trying to ride the storm out in a bathtub, NBC station KFOR TV reported.

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Cloud Lightning

US: Another deadly outbreak as tornadoes rip through Oklahoma City


AccuWeather.com
Tue, 24 May 2011 20:37 UTC
Tornado North Dallas
The risk of tornadoes with Joplin between the highest risks through Wednesday.
Tornadoes will continue into tonight across parts of eastern Oklahoma and northern Texas as the deadly outbreak continues. At least 4 people have been killed by tornadoes and many more are missing as the tornadoes ripped through central Oklahoma. The suburbs of Oklahoma city were hit hard by tornadoes that have been estimated to be EF4. Damage from local TV stations show all that is left of homes is the foundations.
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Info

Iceland volcano: Air passenger rights


BBC
Tue, 24 May 2011 20:34 UTC
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The eruption has led to some disruption with the picture changing regularly
The latest volcanic eruption in Iceland has caused a number of flight cancellations with the threat of further disruption if the ash cloud spreads into the UK and, possibly, other parts of Europe.

So what the rights of those passengers who may be forced to cancel holidays?
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Attention

Iceland Ash Cloud Reaches Scandinavia


Channel News Asia
Tue, 24 May 2011 21:32 UTC
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© Agence France-Presse / Sigurlaug LinnetA cloud of smoke and ash is seen over the Grimsvoetn volcano on Iceland on May 21, 2011.
Ash from Iceland's erupting volcano reached Scandinavia Tuesday causing minor air traffic disruptions in Norway and closing a small part of Denmark's airspace, officials said.

On Tuesday morning, the ash blew in over Norway's southwestern towns of Karmoey and Stavanger before blowing back out to sea, the country's airport operator Avinor said.

In Denmark, a small zone of airspace in the northwest over the North Sea was closed from 0600 to 1200 GMT but has no real impact on air traffic, said Jan Eliassen, a spokesman for Danish air traffic control Naviair.

"According to the last estimates, the ash is of such a density that we thought it necessary to close a small part of Danish airspace over the North Sea, but it will not affect (air) traffic," he said.

The closure was up to an altitude of 6,000 metres (nearly 20,000 feet), and Eliassen explained that most aircraft in the region fly above that altitude.
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Info

Ash Cloud Forces Barcelona to Leave Early for Champions League Final


The Guardian, UK
Tue, 24 May 2011 06:14 UTC
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© David Ramos/Getty ImagesAndrés Iniesta and Victor Valdes in training for Barcelona's Champions League final against Manchester United.
Barcelona will travel to London on Tuesday evening because of fears of volcanic ash from Iceland drifting towards England ahead of Saturday's Champions League final.

The Spanish champions were due to head to England on Thursday for this weekend's showpiece at Wembley against Manchester United but have opted to arrive two days ahead of schedule. The club said: "To avoid possible disruption due to ash from the volcano Grimsvotn, the Barça first team will travel to London today at 22:00hrs."

The Barça spokesman, Toni Freixa, will appear at a press conference at Camp Nou at 5pm local time to provide further information to supporters. The eruption of Grimsvotn has led to airlines cancelling flights to and from Irish and Scottish airports.

The Barcelona coach, Pep Guardiola, said on Monday that his team were prepared to alter their travel plans to reach the European final if obliged to do so. Guardiola spoke of his concerns over disruption that could be caused to the fans - many of whom will travel on the day of the match - and promised the Catalan club would take every precaution.
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Cloud Lightning

US: 29,000 without power after storm slams southeast Michigan

Mark Hicks
The Detriot news
Tue, 24 May 2011 20:13 UTC
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© David Guralnick / The Detroit NewsTom Micoli checks out a maple tree downed Monday by a storm on Burnside in Detroit. The harsh weather snapped tree limbs and knocked down wires around the Metro area, leaving thousands without power.
The severe weather that knocked out power to thousands, toppled tree limbs and felled power lines may have fizzled out Monday night, but that doesn't mean Metro Detroit is done with wet weather through the start of the holiday weekend.

"It looks like it's going to continue to be rainy for this week," said Amos Dodson, a meteorologist for the National Weather Service.

NWS said there's a 30 percent chance of showers today, with highs in the 60s and lows in the 40s. Another system brings showers and thunderstorms Wednesday, and rain is also in the forecast through Friday
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Cloud Lightning

US: In Minneapolis, storm toll quietly rises

John Bacon
On Deadline
Tue, 24 May 2011 20:03 UTC
Joplin, Mo., continues to dig out from the massive tornado that blasted the city Sunday, but it wasn't the only city hit hard that day. Minneapolis-based Finance and Commerce reports that officials there are dealing with a "very preliminary" estimate of $166 million in damage to homes, buildings and infrastructure.

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