Storms
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Bullseye

Russia raps EU, US for fueling violence in Ukraine


Press TV
Sat, 01 Feb 2014 10:03 UTC
Sergei Lavrov
© UnknownLavrov blasts the West for fueling the violence in Ukraine
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has described West's interpretation of freedom in Ukraine as "strange," accusing the EU of fueling anti-government protests.

"What does the inciting of street protests, which are growing increasingly violent, have to do with promoting democratic principles?" Lavrov asked a panel discussion at the Munich Security Conference in Germany.

Lavrov slammed the European Union and the United States for failing to condemn those who seize buildings, attack police and use racist slogans in anti-government protests in Ukraine.
"Why do we not hear statements of condemnation toward those who seize government buildings, attack and burn police officers, and voice racist slogans? Why do senior European politicians de facto encourage such actions, while at home they swiftly and harshly act to stop any impingement on the letter of the law?" asked the Russian Foreign Minister.
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Snowflake Cold

Serbia declares state of emergency as severe snow storms strike central and eastern Europe

Harry Alsop
The Telegraph, UK
Sat, 01 Feb 2014 09:27 UTC
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Swathes of eastern Europe have been hit by high winds and snow. Here, a woman is seen through a frozen window as she walks away from the exit of a subway station in Bucharest, Romania
Serbia declared localised state of emergency zones yesterday as it deployed the army to rescue more than 1,000 people stranded by severe snow storms that have blitzed the centre and east of the continent.

Authorities said a number of roads throughout northern Serbia were blocked by snow drifts, with cars lining up in columns for several miles. Authorities warned motorist not to travel unless strictly necessary.

Over 1,000 people had to be rescued by the army and emergency services after becoming stuck on a road linking Serbia to Hungary for 15 hours.

With wind speeds gusting at over 100 miles an hour, forcing the government to impose truck traffic bans on vehicles travelling from Hungary or Romania.

A military helicopter rescued nearly two dozen people from their cars on a road about 30 miles northeast of the capital Belgrade and up to sixty people were stranded overnight in their vehicles elsewhere.
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Windsock

Pedestrians blown off their feet by hurricane-strength winds in Oregon


The Telegraph, UK
Wed, 29 Jan 2014 13:37 UTC
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Winds gusting up to 115mph leave pedestrians struggling to stand in Oregon

Hurricane-strength winds batter The Crown Point observatory near Corbett, Oregon where passers-by struggle to remain upright in the gales.

Footage shows three people being knocked down on the road by the strength of the wind, while a car door was flipped backwards off its hinge as a driver was getting in.

Steve Pierce from the American Meteorological Society registered an unofficial gust of 115mph on Monday.
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Cloud Precipitation

Welcome to the new normal: Extreme weather is here to stay in the UK

John Vidal
The Guardian
Fri, 31 Jan 2014 11:59 UTC
Southern England, the south-west and west Wales have been warned to expect more wild weather, with heavy rain and high tides possibly leading to coastal flooding and travel disruption over the weekend.
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© Toby Melville/ReutersA police officer inspects flooded areas near Muchelney, a village on the Somerset Levels where 25 sq miles of farmland is under water.
"Another very deep area of low pressure will spread heavy rain and strong to gale-force winds eastwards across the south-west during Friday. Up to 30mm of rain is likely during the period, possibly exacerbating the current flooding situation," said the Met Office, which has issued an amber warning covering most of the south-west and south Wales. There are 43 flood warnings in place, and 162 less serious flood alerts.
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Ice Cube

If 3 inches of snow can cause this much chaos in Atlanta, what will an economic collapse look like?

Michael Snyder
The American Dream
Wed, 29 Jan 2014 08:00 UTC
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This week, three inches of snow "paralyzed" the ninth-largest city in the United States, and the highways of Atlanta "resembled a scene in a post-apocalyptic world" according to national news reports. Hundreds of cars were abandoned on the side of the road, people were spending the night in churches and grocery stores, and many walked for hours in a desperate attempt to get home or find needed provisions. So if three inches of snow can cause this much chaos in one of our major cities, what will a full-blown economic collapse look like? Most Americans have no idea how fragile our way of life is. In the event of a major natural disaster, a massive EMP blast or a complete economic meltdown, our lives would change very rapidly, and most people are totally unprepared for that.

In Atlanta, a relatively minor snowfall has resulted in the deaths of 5 people, more than 100 injuries, and some commuters reported being stuck in traffic for up to 18 hours. According to USA Today, highways around Atlanta resembled "a post-apocalyptic world" at the height of the storm...
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Cloud Precipitation

UK weather: wettest January since records began

Alice Philipson
The Telegraph, UK
Thu, 30 Jan 2014 09:57 UTC
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Parts of southern England have seen the wettest January since records began in 1910, statistics from the Met Office show.

Large swathes of the country from East Devon to Kent and inland across parts of the Midlands have already seen twice the average rainfall for the month.

More than 175.2mm has fallen between January 1 and 28 this year in the South East and Central Southern England, beating the previous record of 158.2 mm set in January 1988.

Rainfall in South West England - where villages have been left devastated by persistant flooding since Christmas - and South Wales, reached 222.6 mm this month - making January 2014 the fifth wettest on record and the wettest since 1995, when 224.4 mm fell.

It comes just a day after the Government agreed to send the Army into Somerset amid fears of a further storm on Friday.

On Wednesday, following a meeting of the Cabinet Office's emergency Cobra committee, Owen Paterson, the Environment Secretary, agreed to send in the army to help families hit by the flooding on the Somerset levels.
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Ice Cube

Ice storm in U.S. strands thousands of ill-equipped in the South

Kim Severson and Alan Blinder
The New York Times
Wed, 29 Jan 2014 00:00 UTC
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© Ben Gray/The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, via Associated PressTraffic inched along the connector of Interstate's 75 and 85 in Atlanta on Tuesday.
Thousands of commuters were trapped in cars overnight on highways in the greater Atlanta area, hundreds of students remained inside dozens of schools Wednesday morning and at least 50 children spent the night on school buses because of an ice storm that is still gripping the deepest parts of the South.

Residents ran out of medicine, a baby was born to a stranded mother and pleas for help flooded Twitter and Facebook as a region that rarely deals with ice and snow came to a screeching halt during a rare meteorological event that was still icing points this morning as far south as Brownsville, Tex.

"This came very suddenly," Craig Witherspoon, superintendent of Birmingham City Schools in Alabama, said Wednesday morning. An estimated 600 students in his district spent the night in schools, tended by about 100 staff members.

"All reports for the Birmingham area were that we'd get a light dusting to the south of where we were," Mr. Witherspoon said. "And the flakes started coming, and then it just poured out."
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Cloud Lightning

Ireland: Thousands without electricity as storm lashes the country

Fiona Dillon
Irish Independent
Mon, 27 Jan 2014 09:14 UTC
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Coastal areas have taken another heavy battering as winds of up to 130kph swept the country leaving some homes without power and causing hazardous driving conditions.

Met Eireann said that the severe weather warning would remain in place for many parts of the country today, with the potential for it to be upgraded to a 'Red' warning if conditions worsen.

A status orange wind warning was in place for Donegal, Galway, Leitrim, Mayo, Sligo, Clare, Kerry and Limerick throughout yesterday.

ESB crews worked yesterday to restore electricity with around 2,000 homes without power in pockets throughout the country, but crews had managed to restore supply to well over half of those affected by lunchtime.

In Co Galway alone, more than 500 ESB customers were without electricity yesterday.

The worst affected areas included Renvyle and Clifden, where over 350 customers were without power.

Parts of west Mayo were similarly hit as the high winds tore down power lines and left customers in the dark.

Siobhan Ryan, a Met Eireann forecaster, warned the winds will only really "begin to ease off" tomorrow.

"But even at that stage there is still the risk of scattered heavy, squally thundery downpours. The weather is very unsettled," she explained.
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Cloud Lightning

UK: Chobham tornado 'lifts cats into air' - storms and rain sweep across country - more risk of flooding

Adam Withnall
The Independent, UK
Sun, 26 Jan 2014 09:02 UTC
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The Met Office issued an amber warning of rain for the Somerset Levels, where villages have now been dubbed ‘islands’
As heavy rain and strong winds continued to cause disruption across the UK and experts warning of an ongoing flood risk into next week, one eye-witness said the extreme weather had claimed some unusual victims - a group of feral cats.

Residents in Chobham, Surrey, told BBC News the storm which swept across Kent, Sussex and Surrey yesterday afternoon whipped up a tornado so powerful that "shattered" buildings.

The Met Office issued an amber warning ahead of severe weather across the southwest today, and a band of heavy rain has now moved across the country to the east.

UK Power Networks said yesterday's storm left around 13,000 homes without power, and stable owner Shirley Blay described a "mini-tornado" which was lifting roofs.

"My granddaughter went to make some food up for the pony and the shed she was in lifted," she told BBC News. "She jumped out of it and it just shattered, it was thrown backwards and broke into four pieces.

"We've got four feral cats in the yard and they were being lifted off the ground, they just went round like a big paper bag." Ms Blay added that none of the people or animals involved were injured during the storm.

Meanwhile, Somerset County Council has declared a "major incident" for all areas affected by flooding in the county.
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Cloud Precipitation

Storm leaves 13 dead in Argentina


DNA India
Mon, 27 Jan 2014 07:53 UTC
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© Aajkikhabar.com
The storm that hit the western Argentine province of Catamarca late last week killed at least 13 people and left 12 others missing, the official Telam news agency reported Sunday.

The number of people missing in the storm, which hit the area Thursday and Friday, was reduced from an earlier estimate of 25, Telam said, citing government figures.

A mudslide hit the towns of El Rodeo and Sijan Thursday night.

Extensive damage was reported in the region and hundreds of people have been evacuated, and emergency services personnel have not ruled out the possibility that the death toll could climb as the search for the missing continues.

"This was a disaster, but we are going to rebuild all the affected areas," Catamarca Governor Lucia Corpacci said.

Corpacci visited the towns affected by the mudslide Saturday.

A cold wave followed by strong thunderstorms, heavy rains, powerful winds and hail hit much of Argentina Thursday.
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