The accumulation of cometary dust in the Earth's atmosphere plays an important role in the increase of tornadoes, cyclones, hurricanes and their associated rainfalls, snowfalls and lightning. To understand this mechanism we must first take into account the electric nature of hurricanes, tornadoes and cyclones, which are actually manifestations of the same electric phenomenon at different scales or levels of power. Because of this similarity, we will refer to these three phenomena collectively as 'air spirals' in the following discussion.

McCanney describes the electric nature of hurricanes in these terms:

A simple model showed that these [tropical] storms formed when electrical currents connected between the ionosphere and the top of the clouds. [...] the reason hurricanes lost power when they approached land was that the powering electrical current from the ionosphere to the cloud tops and to the Earth's surface had no connection (anode) while over the ocean [...] so it drew up vast surface areas of ionized air from the ocean surface and sucked them up a central column (the spinning vortex was caused by the moist air rising 'up the drain') [...] whereas the land provided a 'ground' for the current and therefore it shunted out the storm's power source. [...] I also calculated that the warm water theory for hurricane development lacked sufficient energy to account for the energy in these massive storms. We later witnessed hurricanes on Mars where there is no water at all. Clearly, the warm water concept did not work [...]¹

© Fred K. Smith, National Geographic.A waterspout parallels a lightning strike over Lake Okeechobee in Florida.

From this perspective, air spirals are simply the manifestation of electric discharges between the ionosphere and the Earth's surface. The image above shows a waterspout and a lightning bolt occurring in the same place at the same time, suggesting that indeed electric potential difference between the clouds at the top of the picture and the ground at the bottom is what powers both the lightning and the tornado.

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Southern Netherlands ravaged by floods as thousands evacuated from 'disaster zone' in hard-hit Limburg province

Days of heavy rains have triggered major floods across parts of the Netherlands, with the southern Limburg province declared a disaster area as police, firefighters and even soldiers help thousands of residents to find shelter.

A number of towns and villages along the Meuse and Rur rivers in Limburg were advised to evacuate on Thursday, after water levels reached record highs following the downpour, Reuters reported. The national government deemed the province a disaster zone late on Thursday night, invoking a law which allows victims to be compensated for losses sustained during the floods.

The town of Valkenburg has been among the hardest-hit, with Mayor Daan Prevoo noting that a "river" is flowing through the city "that does not belong there."

Footage captured in Valkenburg showed just that, with massive quantities of murky water seen surging through its streets.

Maastricht, Limburg's provincial capital, is also expected to be inundated with floodwaters, with local authorities warning the town could be partially underwater by Friday night. Some 10,000 residents were evacuated in anticipation.

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The death toll in Europe shot past 180 on Sunday, while more parts of the continent were hit by disastrous floods caused by heavy rainfall.

At least 155 people were killed in Germany's western Rhineland-Palatinate region and neighboring North Rhine-Westphalia. The military was deployed to help rescue workers save people from rooftops and recover vehicles trapped in the floodwater.

Another 27 died in Belgium, where around 11,000 families were left without power in the Liege area. In Wallonia, some 20 villages were left without drinking water and rail infrastructure was damaged.

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By Sunday, the disaster hit Bavaria and Saxony, where city streets were flooded and around 130 people were evacuated. "The emergency calls are constantly coming in," a police spokesperson in Rosenheim told German media.

Railway giant Deutsche Bahn said that rail service between Bad Schandau and Decin, a town in the Czech Republic, has been disrupted. Rail traffic between Dresden and Prague was also affected.

In Switzerland, Lake Zurich broke its banks, and there are fears that lakes Lucerne, Biel and Thun will follow suit.

The water reached Hallein, a town near Salzburg in Austria on Saturday, after the river Kothbach burst its banks.