Storms
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Bizarro Earth

Hurricane Henriette features 10-mile-high thunderstorms

Hurricane Henriette, churning across the Pacific as a Category 2 storm, was spotted by NASA's Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) satellite on Aug. 6, with thunderstorms whose tops extended 10 miles (16 kilometers) up in the atmosphere.
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© NASA
Henriette first formed as a tropical depression in the Eastern Pacific on Aug. 3, just behind Tropical Storm Gil. As Gil faded, Henriette strengthened into a tropical storm, then a hurricane. While it has reached Category 2 status, it is expected to weaken soon, according to the latest forecasts from the National Hurricane Center in Miami.

The hurricane's 10-mile-high thunderstorm clouds aren't unexpected for a strong storm - the stronger the storm, the higher its clouds reach in the atmosphere. These high clouds tend to be the ones that drop the most rainfall during a storm. TRMM measured the rainfall rate from thunderstorms near Henriette's center to be about 2.2 inches (5.5 centimeters) per hour.

People

'Zero-hours' contracts: Over one million workers in UK are literally slaves

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© Andy Rain/EPASports Direct caused controversy after it was revealed it employs around 20,000 staff, about 90% of its workforce, on zero-hours contracts.
Poll of more than 1,000 employers reveals controversial contract used far more widely in the UK than government data suggests.


More than 1 million British workers could be employed on zero-hours contracts, new figures released on Monday reveal, suggesting that British business is deploying the controversial employment terms far more widely than previously thought.

The figure - derived from a poll of more than 1,000 employers conducted by the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) - prompted renewed calls for the government to launch a full inquiry into the use of the contracts, after a week in which a string of organisations - from retail chains to Buckingham Palace - have faced criticism for hiring staff but offering no guarantee of work and pay each week. Employees on zero-hours contracts often get no holiday or sick pay and have to ask permission before seeking additional work elsewhere.

The CIPD found that 38% of zero-hours contract workers describe themselves as employed full-time, typically working 30 hours or more a week. One third of voluntary sector employers use the contracts, and one in four public sector organisations.

The latest numbers also call into question the accuracy of official data on the topic. Last week, the Office for National Statistics increased its estimate of the number of UK zero-hours workers by 25%, to around 250,000.

Cloud Lightning

Storms hit across France

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Storms have caused heavy damage and black outs in different regions of France.

The latest area to be hit was the Riviera where this morning 14,000 homes were left without power after violent squalls brought down trees and power cables.

Mayor of Nice Christian Estrosi has said he will ask the government to treat the event as a natural disaster. Businesses along the seafront were damaged along with cars, windows and roofs. Some residents thought they had been hit by a tornado.

The storms has led to the cancellation of several TGV services and disruption to flights at Nice Airport.

Cloud Lightning

Violent storms forecast for south west France

Eight departments in the south west are on alert for 'violent storms' set to strike tonight.

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Residents of the Charente, Dordogne, Landes, Gironde et Lot-et-Garonne, Creuse, Vienne and Haute-Vienne should be vigilant as the storms hit later today.

Strong gusts of winds up to 100kph, hail and heavy rain (up to 30mm in an hour) are expected.

The riskiest period is 19.00 until Saturday morning at 04.00.

The storms are set to begin in the Golfe de Gascogne tonight and spread across Aquitaine, the Limousin and the east of Poitou-Charentes.

Wider areas will be affected but not to the same intensity as the departments on alert.

Cloud Lightning

F3 tornado tears through industrial suburb of Milan, Italy -12 injured, widespread damage - Third strong tornado to hit region in 3 months



Dramatic mobile phone footage taken from inside office building shows the moment a tornado hit near Milan, injuring 12 people and filling the air with flying debris.


The twister swept through Grezzago, an industrial area of Milan in Italy on Monday, overturning vehicles, uprooting telegraph poles and damaging buildings.

Footage uploaded onto social media site www.youreporter.it shows the tornado swirling around the outside of an office building, hurling debris in the air.

No causalities were reported but at least 12 people were left injured by the tornado .
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Comment: Comment: To give you an idea how rare tornadoes are in Italy, four tornadoes in total were recorded in the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, and three were recorded in the 20th century.

But then something changed.

Four were recorded between 2008 and 2011, two in 2012... and so far this year there have been at least three in the city of Milan alone!

'Rare' tornado hits Milan, leaves utter disaster in its wake


Cloud Grey

Seven people drown in seas off France's Mediterranean coast after 80mph winds and unpredictable currents cause treacherous conditions

Seven people died yesterday on a series of beaches in the south of France which are hugely popular with British tourists.

High winds which reached speeds of up to 80mph and unpredictable currents were blamed for the so-called 'Black Sunday' in the Herault department, which is on the Mediterranean coast.

At least three other people were tonight in a 'serious condition' after escaping from the sea.

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© AlamyTragedy: Seven people drowned at a number of resorts across the Mediterranean coast of France yesterday, including at Carnon.

Umbrella

Sheets of rain bring flash-flooding to many parts of Ireland

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The emergency unit at Letterkenny General Hospital was opened just this year
An emergency situation has been declared at Letterkenny General Hospital following flooding in a significant section of the hospital.

The facility's emergency department; radiology department; outpatient department; pathology and medical records departments; and several wards and kitchens have all been evacuated.

A nearby tributary of the River Swilley overflowed and caused the flooding between 5pm and 5.30pm.

In a statement, the HSE confirmed 11 patients have been moved to the day surgery area, which is not in use over the weekend.

The executive has said there is no risk to patients currently in the hospital and the emergency service continues to function.

Ice Cube

What happened to the heatwave? U.S. temperatures will drop 20 degrees below July averages

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Many Americans are reaching for their jackets less than a week after a sweltering heat wave pushed temperatures to record highs, as a cold front sweeps across the country
Many Americans are reaching for their jackets less than a week after a sweltering heat wave pushed temperatures to record highs, as a cold front sweeps across the country that's expected to last up to two weeks.

The cooler weather, which will sink temperatures between 5 and 20 degrees lower than July averages, will primarily affect the Upper Midwest, causing thunderstorms from Michigan to Illinois to eastern Missouri on Friday.

Temperatures on Friday will average 75 degrees Fahrenheit in Chicago, 70 degrees in Boston and 86 degrees in Charlotte, N.C. Saturday looks to be a little cooler than Friday.

'The quick change of air mass to cool Canadian air is unusual in that the northwest flow is also going to last a week or two,' said Bill Karins, a meteorologist for NBC News. 'Typically a cool spell in the summer would last one or two days.'

The cool air comes as a relief after a week of excessive warmth that baked every region of the country with several days of record-breaking highs pushing the heat index above 100 degrees.

Last week should be the worst of the summer in terms of heat, according to Boston meteorologist David Epstein.

Saying that he believes the worst of the heat is over, Epstein explained that severe heatwaves aren't sustainable as the summer wears on due to a number of factors including less daylight and the sun being at a lower angle, 'the likelihood of a weeklong heat wave starts to diminish.'

Comment: Backwards U.S. storm: Kansas lashed by 100 mph winds, and soft-ball size hail
Earthchanges: Unusual storm system moves backwards across continental U.S.


Cloud Lightning

'Backwards' U.S. storm moves from East to West across whole country: Kansas lashed by 100 mph winds, soft-ball sized hail

As sunrise brings fresh light to the aftermath of strong storms in southern Kansas from Tuesday night, authorities are beginning to assess the toll. Hail as large as baseballs was reported in east Hutchinson, according to Reno County Emergency Management. Winds estimated as high as 100 miles an hour were reported in southern Reno County near Pretty Prairie. The town itself was hit hard by hail and strong winds, knocking down trees and blocking streets. "Please Please Please stay away from Pretty Prairie for now. They are not letting people into town at this time," a post on Reno County Emergency Management's Facebook page implored. A hail stone measuring 4.75 inches in diameter fell near Yoder in eastern Reno County and hail as large as tennis balls was also reported.


Cloud Precipitation

Earthchanges: Unusual storm system moves backwards across continental U.S.

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On July 14, a low pressure system that started in the Eastern United States retrograded under a ridge of high pressure to the north over the last couple of days. This storm system moved from east to west, which is extremely unusual for this hemisphere. We've seen these move east to west for a short period of time, but this one will make it to Southern California by the time it weakens. The upper level system is known as an easterly wave; however I'd like to call it a super easterly wave based on the distance it is going to travel. This particular system will have traveled from one side of the country to the other once it has stopped moving west, diving from there into Mexico, gathering up monsoonal moisture to be put into Nevada and Southern California later in the week into next week. Rainfall estimations across parts of Central Texas could be over 2-4″ of rain, with more rain (above 6+" possible in parts of South-Central Texas. Severe storms, including tornadoes, hail, and damaging winds will be possible from Texas, New Mexico, and parts of Arizona through the next few days. - The Weather Space