Earth Changes
A barrage of thunderstorms blasted through Oklahoma bringing heavy hail, the threat of tornadoes and flooding, and even left extraordinary orange clouds in its wake.
The highlight of the wild weather was caught on camera by storm chaser Jake Heitman, who shared the amazing natural light show on Twitter.
The sky has a striking orange hue as the lightning rips through the atmosphere and unleashes ferocious peals of thunder.
The storm brought thunder, lightning and rain to the valley, and there's a chance more thunderstorms will come to the area this weekend.
"A basic report has shown that wheat, mustard, chana, and barley have been damaged. Most of these crops were ready to be harvested," the official said.
Of the total 2.49 mln ha under wheat in the 2019-20 (Jul-Jun) rabi season, standing crop on 200,000 ha has been affected due to untimely rains, he said, adding, at many places, crop lodging in wheat has also been reported.
In the state, around 55-60% of the total sown wheat has been harvested, according to the farm ministry.

FILE PHOTO: One of the 'hunger stones' revealed by the low level of water in the Elbe River is seen in Decin, Czech Republic, August 29, 2018.
A map presented by the ministry showed that just 0.1 per cent of the Czech Republic had a normal level of water in the soil in mid-April while extreme drought was found in 75.4 per cent of the country.
Drought conditions have persisted since 2015, as temperatures rise and rainfall dwindles.
"We are facing an unprecedented drought period, both in its duration and its impact," Brabec said after scientists presented data showing the Czech Republic faced the worse drought in 500 years.
"Smaller rivers will dry out, there may be tens, perhaps hundreds of communities supplied by cisterns, because their sources may dry out," Brabec said.
Kenya has lost 116 lives to the ongoing floods, Devolution CS Eugene Wamalwa has said.
Addressing the media on Wednesday, Wamalwa said 29 counties have been affected and 100,000 households displaced.
Wamalwa said they have dispatched 40,000 bags of rice to over 24 counties affected by floods.
"... we want to urge the counties to comply with the guidelines put in place including moving to higher ground," he said.
Utqiagvik, northernmost town in the United States, is the largest city in Alaska's North Slope Borough and is located north of the Arctic Circle.
Probably not very much ice will be melting at 20 degrees below zero.
Thanks to Stephen Potter for this link.

Above, a Nova Scotia Department of Transportation and Infrastructure Renewal plow clears a bridge, located at the top of Upper Prince Street in Sydney, that crosses Highway 125 just south of the Grand Lake Road intersection.
As much as 25 cm of heavy, wet snow fell across the municipality on Tuesday during a late-April storm that forced snow removal equipment back onto the streets, roads and highways.
Thousands of fish have washed up alive on a beach in Acapulco, Mexico prompting crowds of local residents and fishermen to violate the coronavirus lockdown. People flocked to the beach in the south-western state of Guerrero with empty buckets to collect the fish, which according to local media reports belong to a species of mackerel. A similar incident was witnessed in Venezuela.
An official has denied rumours spread by locals that the incident was caused by the absence of people and fishermen due to the coronavirus lockdown. Sabas Arturo de la Rosa Camacho said that he believes the fish approached the shore while hunting for sardines.
The Fiji Meteorological Service said the heavy rain was brought by a slow-moving trough of low pressure. Flood warnings have been issued, in particular along rivers in Central Division. The rain has fallen in areas previously saturated by rainfall from Tropical Cyclone Harold, increasing the risk of landslides.
NDMO reported severe flooding in parts of Nausori in Central Division. Nausori recorded over 200mm of rain since 27 April.
Landslides and floods have blocked roads in areas around Navua and the capital, Suva. Fiji Roads Authority urged the public to refrain from crossing flooded roads, crossings and bridges.













Comment: Central European drought reveals ancient 'hunger stones' in Elbe River