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Attention

US: Windsor, Pennsylvania, Tornadoes did hit on Sunday

windsor PA tornado
After spending the weekend in Wildwood Crest, New Jersey, Kris and Luanne McNew returned to their Windsor Township home Sunday night to downed trees and power lines along their wooded property.

More than three decades ago, they opted to build their two-story home in the 600 block of Bahns Mill Road, which is surrounded by woods, said Luanne McNew.

And during all their years spent in the home, a tree never fell onto their home or property, said McNew.

That changed Sunday, after a tornado touched down in Windsor Township.

Cloud Lightning

US: Is Extreme Weather The New Normal? New England, Nation Experience Destructive Extremes

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© Unknown
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Last week temperatures in Boston neared 100 degrees in early June.

Just days before, three Massachusetts residents were killed by a deadly string of three powerful tornadoes that tore across the western part of the state, inflicting tens of millions of dollars in property damage in more than a dozen Massachusetts communities, including Springfield, Monson, Sturbridge and Brimfield.

It will be months before many families can recover.

"We are experiencing most extreme spring on record," said Dr. Jeff Masters, a meteorologist with Weather Underground.

It's not just an issue for New Englanders, although for us it comes on the heels of a brutally cold and snowy winter.

Bizarro Earth

Heavy rains and floods kill 100 people in China

china flood
© ReutersRescue workers move people to a safe area in Xiushui county, Jiangxi province, China. Areas which were recently drought-stricken were transformed into flood zones by heavy rains.Rescue workers move people to a safe area in Xiushui county, Jiangxi province, China. Areas which were recently drought-stricken were transformed into flood zones by heavy rains
China continued to deal with extremes of weather at the weekend as the central and southern regions, which were drought-stricken just days ago, were transformed into flood zones by pounding rains, killing more than 100 people.

Fearful of an even greater catastrophe, the China Meteorological Administration yesterday issued a level-three emergency alert in response to strong rainstorms that were expected to hit the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze river.

A provincial government adviser told the Xinhua news agency how drought had increased the risk of disaster, as the soil had become dried out, prompting more landslide risk.

Alarm Clock

Warning: extreme weather ahead

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© Willoughby Owen/Getty Images/FlickrA tornado makes its way across Baca county, Colorado, in May 2010.
Tornados, wildfires, droughts and floods were once seen as freak conditions. But the environmental disasters now striking the world are shocking signs of 'global weirding'

Drought zones have been declared across much of England and Wales, yet Scotland has just registered its wettest-ever May. The warmest British spring in 100 years followed one of the coldest UK winters in 300 years. June in London has been colder than March. February was warm enough to strip on Snowdon, but last Saturday it snowed there.

Welcome to the climate rollercoaster, or what is being coined the "new normal" of weather. What was, until quite recently, predictable, temperate, mild and equable British weather, guaranteed to be warmish and wettish, ensuring green lawns in August, now sees the seasons reversed and temperature and rainfall records broken almost every year. When Kent receives as much rain (4mm) in May as Timbuktu, Manchester has more sunshine than Marbella, and soils in southern England are drier than those in Egypt, something is happening.

Comment: Yes, the climate is changing. No, it's not caused by man-made forces. For the real scoop on 'climate change', try these:

Planet-X, Comets and Earth Changes by J.M. McCanney

Planetary Alignments and the Solar Capacitor - Things are heatin' up!

Cyclones, Earthquakes, Volcanoes And Other Electrical Phenomena

Pole Shift? Look to the Skies!


Cloud Lightning

Parts of Bulgaria under Severe Weather Warning

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© File photoDanegerous weather with strong winds, rain and thunder is forecast for many locations in Bulgaria
The National Institute for Meteorology and Hydrology at the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences (BAS) declared code orange for dangerous weather for northeastern Bulgaria for the afternoon.

Code orange means intense weather situations with potential damage, injuries and casualties.

The other parts of the country are under code yellow, which also means potentially dangerous weather.

Dark clouds quickly arrived in Bulgaria's capital Sofia Thursday morning bringing thunder, lightning and downpours. Traffic was reported at standstill on many major roads. There are also fallen trees and branches. The mercury rapidly slipped down to 19 degrees Celsius and the temperatures are expected to reach 26 degrees in the afternoon.

Cloud Lightning

Heavy rain, melting snow cause devastating floods across Norway, washing away houses, roads

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© EPADevastating flooding has hit Norway.
Torrential rains combined with melting snow have caused devastating floods across central Norway, washing away several houses and roads and causing landslides.

One person has been injured in the floods, but it was unclear Saturday whether their condition was serious.

Spokesman Morten Harangen at the Directorate for Civil Protection and Emergency Planning says the northern part of the country has also been affected, but is more due to high temperatures that have sped up the snow-melting in the mountains.

Harangen says between 100-200 people have been evacuated so far.

Late Friday, Norway's Justice and Transport Minister Knut Storberget met with rescue work representatives to discuss the flood situation.

Cloud Lightning

China: Guizhou hit by sudden heavy rain, 21 dead, 31 missing

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© XinhuaFloodwater rushes through Wangmo county, Southwest China's Guizhou province, June 6, 2011.
After months without rain, many parts in southern China are now experiencing flooding. One week ago, provinces of Guizhou, Jiangxi, Hunan,Hubei, Jiangsu and Anhui were suffering severe drought.

But the situation took a sudden turn over the weekend, as several provinces including Guizhou, Hunan, Jiangxi and Zhejiang were hit by heavy rains over the weekend. The once-parched land is now virtually underwater.

Bizarro Earth

Tornado-Like Storm Rips Through Chilean Town, Injuring Nine

Chileans can't seem to catch a break these days.

Less than a week after Chile's Puyehue volcano erupted, forcing thousands to evacuate, a freak storm hit another part of the Andean nation, injuring nine. The tornado-like storm struck the town of Villarrica in southern Chile with winds of 75 to 110 miles, reported CBS.


Cloud Lightning

Adrian becomes major hurricane in the Pacific

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© National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)
Hurricane Adrian is strengthening off the Pacific coast of Mexico and is now a major hurricane.

Forecasters say maximum sustained winds for the first hurricane of the 2011 season increased Thursday to about 115 mph (185 kph).

The U.S. National Hurricane Center in Miami predicts that the storm's center will stay well offshore.

The center of the storm was about 440 miles (708 kilometers) south-southeast of Cabo Corrientes. Adrian is moving west-northwest at 9 mph (14 kph).

Bizarro Earth

Northern Ireland: farm workers 'escape tornado'

Barn and The barn and car were badly damaged
© BBCBarn and The barn and car were badly damaged
Ten people working at a farm in County Londonderry had a lucky escape after what they described as a tornado struck it on Wednesday afternoon.

It ripped the roof off the barn. A car was also destroyed when a wall collapsed on it.

Farmer Fergie Kelly, said the workers were trimming cows' feet in the barn near Eglinton, when they heard a bang.

"We thought there was a bomb that went off. We ran out of the shed.