Storms
S


Bizarro Earth

Chile: World's driest desert hit by snow, rain - the Ice Age Cometh?


MSNBC /Associated Press
Tue, 02 Aug 2011 12:05 UTC
Chile's Atacama was hit by four years' worth of rain in one day in July

This has been the wettest winter in decades for Chile's arid northern desert, where fractions of an inch of rain have done major damage in some areas and set the stage for spectacular floral displays in the weeks to come.

July came and went with major storms that together dumped more than five times the annual average of rain and snow on parts of the world's driest desert.


The past weekend's precipitation blocked highways, forced the cancellation of a top Chilean football match and damaged the homes of 1,800 people, said Vicente Nunez, chief of the Interior Ministry's national emergency office.

A similarly wet stretch in early July dumped four years' worth of rain in one day on coastal Antofogasta.
Read More...
Cloud Lightning

Florida on hurricane alert as tropical storm Emily is gaining power and threatens to hit the U.S. by the weekend


Daily Mail
Tue, 02 Aug 2011 11:13 UTC
A tropical storm has formed in the Caribbean and could develop into a hurricane before hitting the U.S. coast, experts warned today.

Emily is currently travelling north and west and could eventually have wind speeds in excess of 74 mph prompting severe weather warnings and watches in Florida.

According to the U.S. National Hurricane Centre, while there have been many tropical storms that have hit land along the Atlantic Seaboard of the U.S. in recent years, the last hurricane to hit the Sunshine State was Jeanne in September 2004.

Caribbean islands in Emily's path have already been hit with torrential rain, flash flooding, and mudslides while roads have been washed away.

Scroll Down For Video

Image
Destructive: The projected path of the tropical storm Emily as it picks up in wind speed and heads for Florida

Read More...
Cloud Lightning

Venezuela's Mysterious Catatumbo Lightning Phenomenon Vanishes for Months, then Reappears

Matt Gutman and Robert Rudman
ABC News
Tue, 02 Aug 2011 10:00 UTC
Catatumbo
© Alan Highton PhotographyCatatumbo lightning in 2010.
A mysterious symphony of rapid-fire lightning bolts used to create the greatest light show on Earth over the Catatumbo River in Venezuela -- until suddenly they stopped and no one knew why.

More than 40,000 bolts ripped across the night sky as many as 300 nights a year for nine hours at a time. It occurred so frequently that the phenomenon became known as "Relampago de Catatumbo," or "Catatumbo Lightning."

For centuries, the indigenous people of Northwestern Venezuela called the phenomenon "rib a-ba" or "river of fire in the sky." Ancient mariners supposedly used the lightning for navigation.

"I saw my first lightning when I was 8 years old," said Erik Quiroga, a native of the area. "I thought it was a smile from the night sky."
Read More...
Cloud Lightning

New York, US: Auto Body Shops Flooded With Repair Calls After Storm

Katherine Creag
Nbcnewyork.com
Mon, 01 Aug 2011 14:53 UTC

Auto body shops in Queens and Long Island are overwhelmed with repair calls today, a day after severe summer storms lashed the region, in some places dropping tennis-ball-sized hail that dented cars and smashed windows.

"It's a windfall for me, a catastrophe for others," said Bob Polgar, owner of Tip Top Auto Body in Garden City, N.Y., on Long Island.

The shop got 100 calls Monday night. On a normal day, it gets 15 calls, Polgar said. Most car owners are reporting busted windshields and dents on hoods and roofs.

"They were the size of tennis balls," said Sandy White. "I had to check if any of my windows were broken."
Read More...
Cloud Lightning

Extreme weather causes chaos in South Africa

Gabriel Manyati
The Southern Times
Mon, 01 Aug 2011 13:50 UTC
Image
© Mitchell KrogA massive swirling and circulating electrical storm cell rolls across the South African landscape and packs some massive lightning strikes along with it. This weather phenomenon is a common sight in the Highveld region of South Africa during the summer rain months.
Extreme weather conditions this week left a trail of chaos and confusion with snowfalls in three South African provinces leaving thousands trapped in their homes, cars and buses as emergency workers battled to reach them.

Major roads were shut in the Eastern Cape, Free State and KwaZulu-Natal after blizzards hit. It took emergency services more than six hours to clear through kilometres of snow and heavy wind to rescue trapped motorists and commuters. Netcare 911 spokesman Chris Botha said no serious injuries were reported.

The 5 South African Infantry Battalion of the defence forces was called in to assist motorists and three SANDF tankers provided water to the Masilonyana Municipality after service delivery failed.
Read More...
Cloud Lightning

Earthquake-Ravaged Japan Now Overwhelmed by Rain - 296,000 Evacuated


Herald Sun
Sat, 30 Jul 2011 05:43 UTC
Image
© Herald Sun Residents stand beside a flooded street caused by heavy rain in Sanjo, Japan.
Floods claimed their first victim in Japan and nearly 300,000 people were urged to flee their homes as a weather system that killed dozens on the Korean peninsula swept the country.

Local governments in the central province of Niigata and tsunami-hit Fukushima issued the guidance today after the national weather agency urged citizens to be on maximum alert against more flooding and mudslides.

Helicopter footage on NHK showed bridges over the Shinano River in Niigata partially submerged, while trees and telephone polls had been knocked down. Kamo City in Niigata was extensively flooded, with roads submerged.

Forecasters warned that the rains could continue to be torrential after reaching 1000 millimetres to date in Sanjo City, Niigata, 250km northwest of Tokyo, since they started on Wednesday.

A total of 296,000 people had been asked to evacuate their homes by this afternoon, according to public broadcaster NHK, but no compulsory orders were issued despite muddy swollen rivers, broken dykes and flooded houses.
Read More...
Cloud Lightning

US: Tropical storm heads for Texas - and the drought-hit state is overjoyed


The Daily Mail
Fri, 29 Jul 2011 15:11 UTC
The prospect of a storm warning is normally cause for most American states to prepare for the worst.

But rather than bracing themselves for relentless rain and destructive cyclones, locals in Texas are welcoming the perfect storm in the hope it will end the state's months of drought.

Parts of Texas are 15 inches short of their average rainfall this year, meaning the predicted downpours from Tropical Storm Don are being actively welcomed.

Image
© AFP/ Getty ImagesOn its way: A graphic shows Tropical Storm Don brewing near the Yucatan Peninsula of Mexico, with the cyclone expected to hit Texas over the weekend
The storm's five to seven inches of predicted rain will help alleviate Texas's water shortages and dying crops when the cyclone sweeps in from the Gulf of Mexico.
Read More...
Bizarro Earth

Deadly Tornado Hits City in Russia's Far East


RT.com
Sun, 31 Jul 2011 13:26 UTC
One person has been killed and twenty eight others injured as a powerful tornado hit the Russian far-eastern city of Blagoveshchensk.

The tornado was so powerful that it tore the roofs from houses, turned over vehicles, flattened trees and smashed windows in several buildings.

Local authorities have introduced a state of emergency in the city, Itar-Tass news agency reports. 200 people and 50 vehicles are already involved in the cleaning operation.

Read More...
Cloud Lightning

Northern Japan Battered by Floods


Storyful
Sun, 31 Jul 2011 12:32 UTC
Image
© From: @ohyoohyoko
Northern Japan has been battered by torrential rain and floods killing one person. Niigata and Fukushima prefectures have been the areas worst hit with a number of people missing and 400,000 advised to evacuate their homes as authorities fear potential landslides. The floods strike nearly five months after northeastern Japan was struck by an earthquake and subsequent tsunami that killed over 13,000 people.
Read More...
Cloud Lightning

Uganda: Hailstorm destroys villages in Wakiso


UG Pulse
Sun, 31 Jul 2011 10:05 UTC
Image
© chaseday.com
A big hailstorm has destroyed property worth millions of shillings in Nakabugo and Bulaga villages in Wakiso district.

Reports from Bulaga indicates that over 20 houses have had their roofs blown off and plantations destroyed.

The hailstorm hit Nakabugo and Bulaga for about an hour killing four cows and a number of goats. No human life was lost.

By the time journalists arrived in Nakabugo some hailstones were still visible on the ground.

The destructive hailstorm has hit Wakiso when the country is experiencing famine. The Area LC5 councilor Mariam Kaliga urges the government to extend relief items to the people affected.
Read More...