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A freak twister rips through Europe's largest steel plant in the Italian city of Taranto, leaving one person missing and dozens injured. The tornado rolled off the sea and hit the Ilva steel works on Wednesday. The video was filmed by a university student in southern Italy.
© Jeff J Mitchell/Getty ImagesWorkers walk through water as residents of Old Malton begin to deal with the aftermath of the recent floods on Nov. 28 in Old Malton, England. Fire crews continue to pump large amount of surface flood water away from overflowing drains that have been threatening many properties in the area.
© Andrew Winning/ReutersPublican John Fischer rests on his broom as James Brindley, right, sweeps muddy sediment out the Swan Pub after flood waters receded in St Asaph, north Wales, on Nov. 28.
Meteorologists use the term "atmospheric river" to describe a long, narrow plume piping deep moisture from the tropics into the mid-latitudes. One type of atmospheric river (hereafter, AR) you may have heard of is the "Pineapple Express", a pronounced plume tapping moisture from the Hawaiian Islands to the U.S. West Coast.
Amazingly, according to NOAA's Earth System Research Laboratory (ESRL), a strong AR can transport as water vapor up to 15 times the average flow of liquid water at the mouth of the Mississippi River!
Suffice to say, if an AR stalls over a particular area, significant flooding can be the result. In fact, a study by Ralph et al. (2006) found ARs responsible for every flood of northern Calfornia's Russian River in a 7-year period.
That said, they're also important for western water supply considerations. According to NOAA/ESRL, 30-50% of the average annual precipitation in the West Coast states typically occurs in just a few AR events. With that in mind, one such AR is poised to soak parts of the West Coast this week. Let's get to the forecast details
Amazingly, according to NOAA's Earth System Research Laboratory (ESRL), a strong AR can transport as water vapor up to 15 times the average flow of liquid water at the mouth of the Mississippi River!
© WeatheChannel.com
That said, they're also important for western water supply considerations. According to NOAA/ESRL, 30-50% of the average annual precipitation in the West Coast states typically occurs in just a few AR events. With that in mind, one such AR is poised to soak parts of the West Coast this week. Let's get to the forecast details
A man got out of his car just before it fell into a huge sinkhole in the middle of a La Center road early Saturday.
Just before 2 a.m., 47-year-old James Sandvik of La Center was driving down Northeast Charity Road when his car got stuck on the edge of a ravine that was caused by a wash out.
Sandvik got out of the car with minor injuries just before it plunged over the edge. The car then washed more than 1000 feet away as water continued to pour through a broken pipe caused by a plugged colvert, said Sgt. Alex Schoening with the Clark County Sheriff's Office.
The hole is at the 31000 block of NE Charity road, which connects to Lockwood Creek Road and runs south to Battle Ground. Traffic is detoured three miles and the road is expected to be closed for a long time.
Authorities urge drivers to avoid the area if possible.
A truck got stuck in a sinkhole on Waller Street between Scott and Divisadero this afternoon, and the street is now closed to traffic.
As of 4:30pm, the rear section of the Vac-Con truck was submerged under street level, while a giant crane worked to free the truck from its predicament. It didn't appear that anyone was hurt in the incident.
As of 4:30pm, the rear section of the Vac-Con truck was submerged under street level, while a giant crane worked to free the truck from its predicament. It didn't appear that anyone was hurt in the incident.
© Leo PalkovicsTolbachik Volcano, Kamchatka
The volcano is located on the peninsula's eastern coast, 343 km from the region's capital of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky.
A bulletin released Tuesday by the Kamchatka Volcanic Eruption Response Team (KVERT), as cited by The Voice of Russia, described a significant explosive eruption with the potential for ash explosions up to 10 km.
The eruption at Plosky Tolbachik was given code orange (number three on the four-tiered USGS Volcano Alert Level), meaning it "poses limited hazards."
© REUTERS/Hugh GentryWaves crash over lava as it flows into the ocean near Volcanoes National Park in Kalapana, Hawaii on November 27, 2012.
Lava from a vent in Kilauea Volcano on the Big Island of Hawaii began flowing into the ocean 7 miles (11 km) away on Saturday. The volcano has been erupting continuously from its Pu'u O'o vent since 1983.
The flow was the first from the volcano to reach the ocean since December, said Janet Babb, spokeswoman for the U.S. Geological Survey's Hawaiian Volcano Observatory.
Even as Hawaii tourism officials awaited an increase in visitors drawn by the explosive natural show, officials warned of potentially deadly risks and urged visitors to stay a safe distance away and respect barriers placed around the lava flow.
Mount Lokon volcano spews a giant column of volcanic ash during an eruption seen from Tomohon town on Sulawesi Island, Indonesia.
Head of National Volcanology Surono said that the eruption took place at 10:05 local time (0205 GMT).
He said that the agency had asked people living near the crater to be alert.
"We issued warning to the people living 2.5 kilometers from the crater," Surono told Xinhua by phone.
Spokesman of National Disaster Management and Mitigation Agency (BNPB) Sutopo Purwo Nugroho confirmed that there was no evacuation after the eruption.
"There is still no need for evacuation," he told Xinhua by phone.
Indonesia, an archipelago country, is home to 129 active volcanoes.
A strong earthquake struck the eastern part of Indonesia on Wednesday, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. There were no immediate reports of damage.
The magnitude-5.5 quake was centered 56 kilometers (35 miles) under the sea, the U.S. agency reported.
Indonesian seismologist Fauzi, who uses one name, said there was no risk of a tsunami.
Amelia Tagor, a resident of Tual, the town closest to the epicenter, said a brief tremor was felt, but no one panicked.
"We felt it for a few seconds ... but it did not disturb our activities," she said.
Source: The Associated Press
The magnitude-5.5 quake was centered 56 kilometers (35 miles) under the sea, the U.S. agency reported.
Indonesian seismologist Fauzi, who uses one name, said there was no risk of a tsunami.
Amelia Tagor, a resident of Tual, the town closest to the epicenter, said a brief tremor was felt, but no one panicked.
"We felt it for a few seconds ... but it did not disturb our activities," she said.
Source: The Associated Press
A mother and her child look out over the 'Red Sea' of Sydney's Clovelly beach. Despite health warnings a number of defiant swimmers were seen venturing into the water
Bondi was among several popular beaches in and around Sydney, Australia, which had to be closed after a huge algae bloom transformed the sea into something resembling a scene from a Jaws movie.
But despite the warnings a number of intrepid beachgoers were seen venturing into the water and swimming through the red surface, Ten News Sydney reported.
The natural phenomenon is caused when algae, a plant-like organism flourishes and large groups of the miniscule plants, which can appear in various colours, gather together often with spectacular results.
Comment: To give you an idea how rare tornadoes are in Italy, four tornadoes in total were recorded in the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, three were recorded in the 20th century and four were recorded since 2008 alone, with two of those coming in 2012.