Earth ChangesS


Tornado2

Waterspouts form near Foxton, New Zealand

Vita Molyneux
New Zealand Herald
Mon, 15 May 2023 10:15 UTC
The water spout near Foxton.
© Katrina FlemingThe waterspout near Foxton.
A Foxton woman got a surprise with her morning coffee when two waterspouts started forming over the ocean near her home.

Katrina Fleming and her six-year-old daughter Karuna were home in Foxton this morning when the unique weather system began forming over the sea.

"I was just making coffee in the kitchen and I looked up and I could see them starting to come up...one kept disappearing and coming back but the second one just got stronger," she told the Herald.

Her daughter Karuna said it was the first water spout she had ever seen - and it was "pretty cool, but also quite freaky".

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Tornado1

Deadly tornado rips through Texas community


NBC News
Sun, 14 May 2023 11:42 UTC
First responders look through rubble after a tornado touched down in Laguna Heights, Texas, on May 13, 2023.
First responders look through rubble after a tornado touched down in Laguna Heights, Texas, on May 13, 2023.

A tornado with wind speeds up to 110 mph tore through Laguna Heights, Texas, killing at least one person and injuring 10 others. NBC News' Catie Beck has the details.


Comment: Elsewhere in the state flash flooding hit Yorktown:



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Cloud Precipitation

Evacuations and road closures due to flooding in Port Elizabeth, South Africa


Herald Live
Sun, 14 May 2023 11:21 UTC
Good rains fell in Nelson Mandela Bay over the weekend
© Werner HillsGood rains fell in Nelson Mandela Bay over the weekend
The heavy downpour in Nelson Mandela Bay has caused flooding in parts of the city, forcing the municipality to relocate some residents and close roads as a precautionary measure.

Though some residents affected by the floods are refusing to be moved to safer areas, the city said it remained on high alert.

Safety and security political head councillor Lawrence Troon said the municipality would continue to monitor the situation.

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Boat

Flooding in Somalia displaces 200,000 people


VOA
Sat, 13 May 2023 11:04 UTC
Women walk through floodwater in Beledweyne, Somalia, May 12, 2023.
© AFPWomen walk through floodwater in Beledweyne, Somalia, May 12, 2023. The Shabelle River burst its banks in Beledweyne, forcing thousands of people to abandon their homes, according to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.

Around 200,000 people have been displaced due to flash flooding in central Somalia, a regional official told AFP Saturday, as the Shabelle River burst its banks and submerged roads.

Inhabitants of Beledweyne town in the Hiran region were forced out of their homes as heavy rainfall caused water levels to rise sharply, with residents carrying their belongings on top of their heads as they waded through flooded streets in search of refuge.

"Some 200,000 people are now displaced due to the Shabelle River flash floods in Beledweyne town and the number may increase any time. It is a preliminary figure now," said Ali Osman Hussein, deputy governor for social affairs in the Hiran region.

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Snowflake Cold

Four in a row: Winters in Alaska have been on the colder side

Suzanne Downing
mustreadalaska.com
Sat, 13 May 2023 13:29 UTC
MMMMM
So much for being the canary in the global warming mine. If the past four winters in Alaska seemed colder than usual, it's because, well, they were.

According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the winter of 2023 continued the chill set in 2019, with temperatures in Alaska averaging 11.8 degrees, just .2 degrees above average. The three previous winters were all below the average temperature.

In October, NOAA had predicted warmer-than-average winter for western Alaska. Old Farmer's Almanac also predicted winter would be "much milder than normal, with the coldest periods in mid- to late November, early December, and late January." The publication predicted snowfall would be below average. That was wrong. In fact, much of Alaska saw historic snowfall over the winter, and in Anchorage, a new record was set for the snow still remaining on the ground in April. The snow continued into the first week of May, with more than 100 inches falling this past winter.
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Fire

Mount Anak Krakatau erupts again


Antara
Sat, 13 May 2023 09:55 UTC
CCTV recorded volcanic ash erupting from Mount Anak Krakata
© PVMBGCCTV recorded volcanic ash erupting from Mount Anak Krakatau in the waters of the Sunda Strait, Lampung Province, experiencing an eruption on Saturday morning (May13, 2023).
Mount Anak Krakatau re-erupted, Saturday, 7:10 a.m. local time, sending ash to about 2,000 meters above the summit or around 2,157 meters above sea level, the Vulcanology and Geological Hazard Mitigation Center (PVMBG) stated.

"The ash column was observed to be gray in color, with a thick intensity, leaning towards the southwest," Head of the Mount Anak Krakatau Monitoring Post Andi Suardi stated in Hargopancuran, Rajabasa Sub-district, South Lampung District, Lampung Province.

According to the PVMBG information broadcast, the volcanic eruption located in the waters of Sunda Strait, Lampung Province, was recorded by a seismograph, with a maximum amplitude of 65 mm and a duration of 68 seconds.

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Bug

Locusts threaten Afghanistan's wheat harvest


Al Jazeera
Fri, 12 May 2023 13:58 UTC
mmmmm
A massive locust infestation in Afghanistan is threatening the wheat harvest.

Farmers are desperately trying to kill the pests.

Al Jazeera's James Bays has this report from Baghlan province in northern Afghanistan.

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Cloud Precipitation

Arkansas sees flooding, damage after heavy amounts of rain - up to 9 inches

Corry Evans
cbsaustin.com
Fri, 12 May 2023 13:32 UTC
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Rain drenched many parts of Arkansas and left significant damage in its wake on Thursday morning.

In Conway, a 600-year-old tree collapsed on a home, the city said on social media.

The resident was rescued by the Conway Fire Department with no injuries reported.

In Hot Springs, several streets were submerged, with a boat and the dock it was tied to floating in the middle of Lake Catherine.

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Snowflake

Snow falls in Spain after long drought and early heat wave


Reuters
Fri, 12 May 2023 12:42 UTC
Snowfall surprises Spain after an early heat wave
Snowfall surprises Spain after an early heat wave
Snow fell in parts of northern Spain on Friday after months without any rain and high temperatures which made it feel more like summer than spring.

The freak snowfall happened in La Raya, a mountainous area of Asturias, while hailstones and heavy rain fell in Mediterranean parts of Spain including Catalonia and Valencia after months without a drop of precipitation.

Spain has registered the driest start to a year since records started, the Spanish state weather forecaster AEMET said on Wednesday, with less than half the average rainfall during the first four months of 2023.

So far this year, Spain has recorded 11 hotter-than-normal days, more than twice the number typically observed during a full year.

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Attention

Two 'killer jumbos' trample woman, elderly farmer to death in Andhra Pradesh, India

K. Umashanker
The Hindu
Fri, 12 May 2023 12:16 UTC
The two wild elephants photographed after the deadly attack, at Mallanur near Kuppam in Chittoor district on Friday.
The two wild elephants photographed after the deadly attack, at Mallanur near Kuppam in Chittoor district on Friday.
A woman and an elderly man were trampled to death while two women were injured in an attack by wild elephants in two separate incidents in Kuppam mandal in the early hours of Friday.

According to forest officials, in the first incident, a woman was trampled to death while two others escaped with injuries when two wild elephants attacked them close to the Mallanur railway station in Kuppam mandal.

The deceased, identified as Usha, 36, a daily wager, used to shuttle between Mallanur railway station and Bengaluru. She was on her way to board a train along with the other two women from their village of Parthichenu when two jumbos charged at them. Usha was trampled to death while her two companions narrowly escaped with minor injuries after taking cover in a thicket.
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