As heavy rains reached southern portions of the Valley, the storm also brought lightning with it.

Workers in Visalia captured the moment that a transformer was struck by lightning, leading to an explosion.

Gilberto Raya captured a video of the explosion Thursday afternoon while at work at the CJ Hammer Pump & Machinery facility.

"We were working, I heard it was pouring. So I decided to go outside and record it. When I was recording, out of nowhere I heard the lighting. I turned my phone & recorded it."

A police officer stationed at Cowdray park police base in Bulawayo was struck and killed by lightning on Tuesday.

Peter Gwaza (42) and her girlfriend Priority Dube (30) were walking along a footpath near Ezimhlophe secondary school when the tragedy struck.

Police confirmed the incident in a statement.

"The ZRP reports a sad incident in which Peter Gwaza (42) and his girlfriend Priority Dube (30) were struck by a bolt of lightning on 3/01/23 while walking along a footpath in Cowdray Park," said a ZRP statement.

Gwaza died on the spot while Dube sustained burns on the stomach and bruises on her hands and face.

The area's councillor Kidwell Mujuru said five people have so far been struck by lightning in the suburb which claimed two lives while three sustained injuries.

Several people have died after heavy rain triggered floods and landslides in the city of Bukavu in the far east of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DR Congo).

Heavy rain fell in , the capital of South Kivu Province in the far east of the country on Wednesday 04 January 2023.

Local media, including Radio Okapi the United Nations radio in the Democratic Republic of Congo, managed by MONUSCO, reported enormous material damages in the city. Dozens of homes have been damaged and at least 4 completely destroyed, leaving many people homeless. Roads in the city and the nearby municipality of Kadutu are impassable.

This past month of December, a couple of serious blasts of Arctic air spread across the continental U.S., Canada, and parts of Europe and Asia, shattering records. More than 250 million were affected by the freezing temperatures... and winter had just started.

Forecasters believe that man-made climate change has empowered La Niña, triggering the so-called Greenland Block (A powerful area of high pressure in the Northeast Pacific and lower-than-normal air pressure over the western Pacific). They even propose this is the main factor for the record freezing temperatures in the northern hemisphere this winter. Yet, we know better now: The sun defines climate, and the global cold trend may increase over the coming years.

Warm-mongers also highlighted that sea ice in Antarctica reached its lowest extent on record at the end of December. Yet, in the long-term Antarctic sea ice still shows an increasing trend. In addition, the overall snow cover in the Northern Hemisphere is the second-highest in the past 17 years.

Arctic and antarctic ice and snow increase and decrease in yearly cycles connected to larger cycles of solar activity. As the solar-minimum sets in, we can expect an overall increase in ice and snow cover.

The arctic blasts engulfed the US, coast-to-coast and top-to-bottom. 60% of the US was affected by freezing temperatures, and 2 million were left without power. The pattern flipped to warmer temperatures at the end of the month, just to welcome another forecasted polar vortex in January.

Most of Canada, from British Columbia to Newfoundland, was also hit by extreme cold. Airports canceled thousands of flights, and power outages affected more than 300,000 just in Quebec and Ontario.

The UK was pummeled by the 'snowiest period in 12 years' lasting a month. The government outlined plans to go 'lights out' in January after National Grid warned there could be blackouts due to an expected energy crisis.

It was also a time of extremes in France and parts of Switzerland with significant snow at higher altitudes, and heavy rain lower down. Even if there was a warmer trend in some parts of Europe this month, the forecasts point out to a colder January.

Parts of Moscow were covered by over 12 inches of snow this month, something not usually observed until the end of winter. The last time a similar depth of snow was recorded in Moscow in mid-December was in 1989 and 1993.

And Mexico City also got its third snowfall in 82 years, affecting primarily high-altitude areas.

Floods triggered by sheets of rain continued around the world this month, including:

• Philippines - Heavy rain caused 51 deads and the displacement of at least 46,000. 17,300 acres of crops were wiped out.
• Southern Thailand - 21 inches of rain in 24 hours.
• Northcentral Vietnam - 13 inches of rain in 24 hours.
• Namibia - 3 months' worth of rain in 24 hours.
• South Africa - Countrywide floods.
• Baghdad, Iraq - Non-stop rain for 45 days.

And at least two died and 11 were injured after a strong 6.4-magnitude earthquake struck off the coast of northern California. Thousands were left without power. 80 aftershocks have rattled parts of Northern California since the event. The largest aftershock was a 4.6 magnitude quake in Rio Dell, one of the hardest hit areas.

Snowpack levels in California's mountains were at the highest level in 40 years Jan. 3 but time will tell whether the latest storms will help deliver enough water to the state to end a three-year drought streak, state water officials reported.

California's snowpack was measured at 174 percent of the historical average for the year Tuesday, boosted by recent storms that drenched the state during the holidays and brought snow to the mountains.

The state could see even more rain and snow this week and into the weekend, bringing much-needed water supplies.

"While we see a terrific snowpack—and that in and of itself may be an opportunity to breathe a sigh of relief—we are by no means out of the woods when it comes to drought," said Karla Nemeth, director of the California Department of Water Resources.

A truck was hit by lightning Wednesday, causing sparks to fly — and the moment was caught on camera.

A dramatic video captured by JR Motorsports on Jan. 4 shows the moment when the bolt hits the truck in the Mooresville shop's parking lot, causing the vehicle's headlights to turn on.

The American professional stock car racing team shared the video, joking that they were "starting the year off with a bang."

According to JR Motorsports, the lightning struck a truck and then ran along a fence around the building. They said that though the truck had no "visual damage, it will not start!"

Resort officials are ringing in the new year with another deep powder day at Purgatory Resort in Durango, Colo. Monday, Purgatory received 23 inches of snow in 24 hours, bringing storm totals to 53 inches over the past 7 days.

Purgatory's mid-mountain base is now 52 inches with 102 open trails.

Purgatory is the only resort in North America that offers free unlimited skiing and riding to all kids ages 12 and under - no blackout days or purchase required. Guests can stop by the outside ticket window to pick up a free ticket for their little rippers. Please note proof of age is required.

Commuters have been asked to consider working from home as a number of bus services in Oslo were cancelled on Thursday morning due to heavy snow.

Up to 27 bus routes have been cancelled in Oslo on Thursday morning, public broadcaster NRK reports on Thursday.

All the cancelled lines serviced east Oslo and Nittedeal. In addition to the cancelled services, many buses are delayed or have been rerouted.

"There are extremely challenging driving conditions, and it will be a challenging day today," Øystein Dahl Johansen, press officer for Ruter, told NRK.

The recent incredible snowfalls surely have had most of us dreaming of powder days, but there can be too much of a good thing: several Utah resorts were unable to open in the last few days.


Sundance Mountain Resort announced on its social media channels that it would not be able open on Monday, January 2, 2023, due to extreme mountain weather conditions. Sundance had received 41 inches (1m) of snow, which unfortunately also contained a lot of moisture due to the low temperatures, making grooming a safe run impossible. Sundance Mountain announced the following for operations this Tuesday, January 3, 2023:

It was an unexpectedly stormy day in Illinois today. There were a half dozen reports of tornadoes that touched down in the Land of Lincoln including a couple videos showing the twisters as they were touching down.

My wife (aka the meteorologist/aka "the smart one") directed me to the Illinois Storm Community Facebook page. Grace Edwards shared this video of one of the twisters that was spotted near Maroa, Illinois.