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Cloud Lightning

'Storm of the century' batters London with more violent weather expected

Amanda Nunn
London Evening Standard
Mon, 27 Jan 2014 00:26 UTC
Image
© London Evening Standard
Onslaught: the video shows people nearly swept off their feet in central London.
This is the dramatic moment Londoners were nearly thrown off their feet by violent storms battering the capital.

Strong winds whipped up water from the Thames lashing shoppers and forcing pedestrians to flee for cover in the face of the 55mph onslaught.

Virginia Elizabeth, visiting the capital from Canada, posted dramatic footage of the storms on Instagram.

She said: "A friend and I were casually strolling home along London bridge and bumped into the storm of the century."

Despite looking like a tornado, the Met office said it did not quite qualify with the swirling winds not being quite strong enough.

The capital is braced for further thunderstorms and possible flooding after numerous alerts were issued for London and the south east.
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Better Earth

Catastrophic fire danger warning issued as states brace for another heatwave in Australia

Helen Davidson
The Guardian
Mon, 27 Jan 2014 01:45 UTC
Australia heatwave
© Earth Observatory/AAP
Satellite data showing the extent of the last heatwave.
A catastrophic fire danger warning has been issued as parts of South Australia, Victoria and New South Wales face another heatwave with temperatures set to hit 45 degrees in some areas.

By Tuesday, the area around the Victoria-NSW border will be experiencing a "severe" heatwave, according the the Bureau of Meteorology's new pilot program tracking the progress of heatwaves.

That area will expand across much of the inland border area and to inland Western Australia by Friday.

Forecasted strong winds in parts of South Australia have prompted the country fire service to issue a catastrophic fire danger warning on Tuesday for the lower south-east.
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Bizarro Earth

Wild winter weather: Series of tornadoes hit England... in January!


BBC/ITV
Sun, 26 Jan 2014 17:16 UTC
Image
A "mini-tornado" brought down trees, damaged property and even lifted cats in the air, an eyewitness has said. People living in Chobham in Surrey said the wind hit the area at about 17:00 GMT on Saturday. The storm is also reported to have swept through Kent and Sussex. One person said it was "like something out of a Steven Spielberg film". Continue reading the main story

Retford fire crews dealt with severe structural damage to around 15 Ordsall homes following yesterday's sudden 'tornado' storm. Notts Fire and Rescue sent two appliances to the Ordsall area at around 3:15pm yesterday afternoon, where roof damage, loose tiles, and fallen aerials and chimney pots were all reported. The worst affected streets were Westhill Road and Greenway - both home to many elderly residents.Continue reading the main story

Storm damage after mini-tornadoes sweep south England video
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Bizarro Earth

Tornado hits Kapiti, New Zealand

Michael Forbes
Stuff.co.nz
Sun, 26 Jan 2014 17:11 UTC
Image
Emergency services have responded to reports of a mini tornado on the Kapiti Coast today. A Fire Communications spokeswoman said fire fighters were called to two houses in Raumati South, just south of Paraparaumu, after their roofs were lifted off by high winds just after 5pm.

One of the houses was in Dale St and the other was just around the corner in Tiromoana Rd. No-one was hurt at either address. ''There were reports of a mini-tornado in the area, but we're not sure about that at the moment,'' the spokeswoman said.

''I would've thought that if there was a tornado then there would be more than two reports.'' Wellington and surrounding areas experienced an intense period of rain late this afternoon. The NZ Transport Agency was warning motorists to take extra care on the Rimutaka Hill road between Upper Hutt and Featherston tonight due to strong winds.

The Fire Service was also called to clear a flooded drain in Tawa, north of Wellington, this evening.

via Fairfax NZ News
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Bizarro Earth

USGS: Earthquake Magnitude 6.1 - 3km S of Lixourion, Greece


US Geological Survey
Sun, 26 Jan 2014 12:31 UTC
Lixourion Quake_270114
© USGS
Event Time
2014-01-26 13:55:42 UTC
2014-01-26 15:55:42 UTC+02:00 at epicenter

Location
38.169°N 20.431°E depth=12.3km (7.7mi)

Nearby Cities
3km (2mi) S of Lixourion, Greece
58km (36mi) NW of Zakynthos, Greece
90km (56mi) WNW of Amalias, Greece
90km (56mi) WSW of Mesolongi, Greece
289km (180mi) W of Athens, Greece

Technical Details
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Cloud Lightning

Winter electrical storm batters half of UK with horizontal lightning and giant hailstones

Anna Edwards and Lucy Crossley and Jonathan Petre
The Daily Mail, UK
Sat, 25 Jan 2014 08:46 UTC
Image

Lightning strikes: This dramatic picture shows the moment a bolt of lightning struck a building in Birmingham as fierce storms battered Britain
  • Heavy rain soaks much of the country as fierce thunderstorms hit London
  • Electrical storms also struck across the Midlands and East Anglia
  • Huge hailstones batter Leicester while lightning strikes in Birmingham
  • Flood warnings as between 25 and 40mm of rain is expected quite widely
  • Potential of gusts reaching 80mph in the extreme north west regions
Heavy rain and strong wind has battered much of Britain, with fierce thunderstorms hitting London as the Met Office issued severe weather warnings.

Shoppers were left drenched in fierce downpours across the south, while sports fans at football, rugby and horse racing meetings were hit by torrential rain.

London was struck by a fierce electrical storm in later afternoon, with lightning strikes cracking across the sky, pouring rain and hailstones pelting the city.

The thunderstorms also struck across the Midlands and into East Anglia, with winds of more than 50mph reported yesterday afternoon.
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Cloud Precipitation

For 3 days about 100,000 residents of Kubar region in Russia were left without power due to ice rain


VestnikKavkaza.net
Fri, 24 Jan 2014 06:28 UTC
Krasnodar

Heating restored in Krasnodar
Heating was fully restored in Krasnodar at 8.00 am today. All boiler rooms, including 8 diesel rooms, are operating.

315 brigades were restoring power in the city. Power has been restored for 13,000 out of 29,000 people who had suffered from the power cut on January 21, caused by ice rain that had broken power lines.

80 transformer stations are yet to be turned on. 46 autonomous energy sources are operating. Specialists are restoring 0.4-KW power lines in Kopansky, Novy, Chernikov, districts of Prikubansky and Karasunsky.

Comment: A translation from a Russian news-site:
About 100 thousand inhabitants of Kuban were left without electricity after the region was hit by icy rain that damaged hundreds of transformer substations and transmission lines. According to information announced by the representatives of the Southern Regional Emergency Center, in total, 83 high voltage transmission lines and 108 transformer substations became disabled. As a result, the total power outages exceeded 50 MW, according to ITAR-TASS.

Despite these impressive figures, the MOE noted that the scale of the "blackout" could be greater. Prevention was possible thanks to the precautions taken in a timely manner by local municipalities, businesses, energy and rescue services. The organization responsible for the service areas of federal highways running through the territory of Adygea and Krasnodar Territory, after the announcement of a storm warning did everything necessary to ensure the traffic flow in a secure manner and without interruption.

To do this, they placed on duty on the roads equipment that distributes salt mixture/de-icing agents, as well as special equipment for cleaning the roadway of snow drifts.


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Info

Human, elephant conflict takes a new dimension in India

Krishnendu Mukherjee
Times of India
Sat, 25 Jan 2014 04:45 UTC
Image
© Yathin S Krishnappa, Wikimedia Commons.
Tusked male Indian Elephant
The eerie silence at Bankura's Borjora forest is broken by the sound of a forest jeep being brought to a sudden stop. Forest guard Ganesh Saha stands up to peer ahead, and our eyes follow his. Fifteen feet ahead, there's an enormous tusker, his head peeping out of the bushes and making an ominous swaying movement. The experienced Saha motions for everyone to remain still. "It's a typical move before they charge," he whispers.

Members of the forest department's hulla party (who scare away elephants) swing into action. They light up their mashaals (torches) and eventually manage to scare away the tusker. But only a day ago, a herd of over 130 Dalma elephants had raided the nearby village of Sangrampur and destroyed several houses and a swathe of crops. So, even the foresters have to retreat for a moment.

For forest guards like Saha, such drives have become routine due to the elephants' prolonged stay and rise in numbers. "Only a few years back, there used to be hardly 80-90 elephants. Now, there are almost 130 of them," says N V Raja Shekhar, the chief conservator of forests (CCF), western circle.
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Snowflake Cold

U.S braces itself for coldest month of the century - More snow storms expected

Louise Boyle and Ashley Collman
The Daily Mail
Sat, 25 Jan 2014 16:43 UTC
Image

Icy grip: A motorist passes a wall of icicles on Suck Creek Road as temperatures struggle to reach the freezing point.
  • Meteorologists are forecasting yet another snow storm for the East Coast, which will arrive on Monday
  • First Super Bowl to be held in open-air stadium set to be hit by freezing cold
  • Teams on high alert game in New Jersey on February 2 could be postponed
  • The Midwest will be hit with a blast as well between Friday and Saturday, which may cause dangerous roads and flight cancellations
  • Yet another storm is expected to follow the storm scheduled for Monday and is set to hit just one or two days before the Super Bowl on February 2
  • The championship game will be held in East Rutherford, New Jersey where workers shoveled snow all day after Tuesday's unexpected whiteout
America is set for the coldest month of the century as weather forecasters predict yet another freezing blast of Arctic air - putting Super Bowl Sunday in jeopardy.

Teams have been warned to stay on high alert for changes to the scheduling of the first Super Bowl to be played in an open-air stadium.

Temperatures have already hit record lows, at times making parts of the U.S. colder than the North Pole, and are expected to plunge in the coming days.

The timing could not be worse for one of the biggest global sporting events, which will be exposed to the full force of the elements at the MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey on February 2.

Eric Grubman, NFL vice president of business operations, told the Denver Post: 'We are advising teams to prepare in case a contingency plan goes into effect.'
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Cloud Precipitation

Somerset UK braced for more flooding - Met Office issues weather warning


Western Daily Press
Fri, 24 Jan 2014 00:00 UTC
Image
© Fran Stothard
Everyday life on the Somerset Levels on Wednesday.
Householders on the Somerset Levels are back on red alert for more flooding today as the Met Office issues a severe weather warning for most of the West Country, writes Janet Hughes.

Flood-hit Somerset residents who have been trapped for a fortnight have been warned to expect another 10 to 20mm of rain today.

With water levels already exceptionally high on the Levels, the public should be prepared for further flooding, say the Met Office and the Environment Agency.

The danger will continue until midnight tonight as an active frontal trough moves eastwards across the UK, bringing the potential for torrential rain and strong winds. After a brief respite from the wind and rain on Saturday, residents have been warned to brace themselves for more flooding on Sunday when a deep depression descends on the UK.
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