I went to my balcony to film again after hearing there were really huge lava fountains spewing around midnight local time, and lo and behold I caught the 2 biggest ones, filmed around 2am Sunday, May 2nd.

The footage is a little shaky because of strong wind.

WATER spouts off the coast at Old Bar, near Taree on NSW's North Coast, were matched by a brief but intense storm with hail, as the Bureau of Meteorology (BoM) predicts a cold snap and widespread rain for the remainder of the week across the east coast of NSW.

The weather event was short and sharp this afternoon (May 4) with Jason Fitzgerald of Port Macquarie capturing some of the triple water spout action off Old Bar beach.

At one point, five water spouts had formed and were seen offshore as far north as Harrington.

Lightning associated with a band of thunderstorms that moved through Central Alabama last night struck and killed 15 head of cattle in Macon County.

Macon County Emergency Management Agency Director Frank Lee says it happened in the Milstead community, near Macon County Road 30.

Lee says the family cattle farm is owned by Michael Sims.

He says a report will be forwarded to the National Weather Service office in Birmingham.

April sure felt a chilly month across much of the Northern Hemisphere, and the official data from individual nations is now proving just how historically cold it actually was...

THE NETHERLANDS

With an average temperature of just 6.7 degrees Celsius, last month was Holland's coldest April since 1986 (solar minimum of cycle 21) — temps finished 3.2 degrees C. below the norm of 9.9 degrees C., reports Weer.nl.

The month actually finished up colder than February

April's lowest temperature was posted in the village of Eelde, Drenthe when the mercury sank to a Tulip-freezing -4.5C (23.9F) on April 26.

Furthermore, the late-season chill also delivered a total of 10 snow days, and with April's climatological average sitting at just 2.5 snow days, this makes it the most snow recorded in the Netherlands in April since 1977 (solar minimum of cycle 20).

A Kāpiti photographer has captured a rare weather event, so rare it's the first time Metservice has documented the case.

Brendan Gully captured red sprites from the Kāpiti Coast last week during a thunderstorm capturing them not once, but three times.

"I was really stoked to have finally captured them in New Zealand and it was a bit of a relief too," Brendan said.

A landscape photographer who specialises in storms and likes to capture natural phenomena and scenes that are fleeting, Brendan has been chasing storms and red sprites for a few years.

"I started photography in 2015 and it was the storm-chasing that led me to get my first camera.

"I've had a decent number of attempts at them in the past, but just not had the right luck on the day."

Red sprites are rare bolts of red lightning that are rarely seen from the ground due to their high altitude.

They form between 50-90km above the Earth and only last a few milliseconds.

Night Turns Into Day ⚡️⚡️ Scary Storms And Lightning Hits Eastern Saudi Arabia, Dammam

A sudden pressure difference between Greenland and northern Europe triggered a massive arctic cold blast that plunged temperatures to historical records throughout Europe. The extreme cold arrived less than a week after a record-warm period at the final days of March.

The thermometers in Capanna Margherita, Italy plunged to -33,2°C, while Novi Vasi, Slovenia registered an all-time national record of -20°C. The UK was also hit by a new national April cold record with -6°C, just a few days after an all-time record for March of -15,4°C in Eskdalemuir. And while we are there, the Alps also reported the coldest April in history.

Very low temperatures with record-breaking cold and damaging frost were also reported in parts of France, Germany, and Croatia.

A cold blast from the Arctic Ocean pushed Alaska into a deep freeze breaking two records for snowfall and low temperatures for two consecutive days. The historic storm ranked among the most intense snowfalls since records started and snow cover reached as far south as Oklahoma.

Extreme cold temperatures with substantial snowfall totals to match hit the Moscow region this month. Weather conditions were akin to those suffered during the depths of winter. At the same time, the eastern region of Russia registered the greatest snow cover for April.

Are we recognizing the pattern here?

Typhoon Surigae became the most intense April tropical cyclone on record and battered the eastern Philippines with 190mph winds and intense rain. Parts of East Nusa Tenggara Province saw more than 20 inches of rain in 2 days.

Heavy rain and flooding also affected the central and northern areas of Colombia triggering landslides and damaging homes. Thousands of families were affected.

Hail as large as softballs battered portions of Texas and Oklahoma, leaving behind shattered windows on cars and in homes. It was the second billion-dollar disaster this year in Texas.

Hundreds of new sinkholes have been reported in Konya Province, Turkey since the start of the year, almost double the number registered last year.

All this and more in our SOTT Earth Changes Summary for April 2021:

A blanket of snow has fallen across the Scottish Highlands as a chill sweeps the country in May.

Several inches of the white stuff was spotted in the Cairngorms in the north of the country - making for good skiing conditions on the mountain range.

The adverse conditions has even astounded locals who are used to the wintry weather throughout the year.

Gary Hodgson, who owns a walking company up in the Highlands, said that 'it is still winter' as he shared a picture of the white stuff on Coire Cas car park in Aviemore this morning.

Severe flash flooding has affected parts of northern Algeria since 02 May 2021. As of 04 May, fatalities were reported in Batna, Médéa and Provinces.

Civil Protection in Algeria reported severe flooding in Médéa Province following heavy rainfall on 03 May 2021.

Buildings, roads and infrastructure were damaged. Four people died after being swept away by flood water in the municipality of Beni-Slimane where a medical building and dozens of vehicles were damaged.

In M'sila Province, 1 person died in flood waters in Daïra de Magra municipality. Civil Protection rescued trapped motorists in Ain Khadra municipality.

Radio Algérienne reported flooding affected parts of Batna Province on 02 May 2021. Two people died after being swept away by flood waters in Amdoukal municipality. Several roads in the province were cut, causing traffic disruption. Roads were also flooded in parts of Biskra Province.

After a calm night, Tuesday is expected to bring severe weather to the Southeast US, which has already been pummeled by deadly tornadoes.

A storm system moved out of Oklahoma and Texas -- where more than 36,000 people were without power early Tuesday morning, according to PowerOutages.us -- and into the Lower Ohio Valley and Tennessee area. The evening brought diminished downpours and wind gusts, but daybreak threatens to bring severe weather again.

Large hail, damaging wind gusts and tornadoes are forecast to impact the areas from the Ohio River Valley down to the Gulf Coast.

As the day progresses, the heat and humidity that accompanies the month of May in the Deep South will help to reinvigorate the atmosphere and areas along the Gulf Coast from East Texas to the Florida Panhandle could see strong to severe storms pop up until the arrival of the severe gusts that come with the advancing front.

Areas from Central Louisiana, Alabama, Georgia, and Mississippi are more likely to see impacts from hail and damaging straight-line winds rather than tornadoes. But tornadoes are still possible.

These can be just as damaging to a region already reeling from storms hitting the state over the past few days.