Storms
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Cloud Precipitation

Freak Afghan hailstorm in late April grounded scores of NATO helicopters

Emma Graham-Harrison
The Guardian
Thu, 27 Jun 2013 21:10 UTC
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© Joel Saget/AFP/Getty ImagesA Chinook helicopter in Afghanistan.
Hailstones the size of golf balls left some damaged helicopters out of action for more than three weeks

A freak hailstorm over one of the biggest Nato airbases in Afghanistan grounded more than 80 helicopters, putting several of them out of action for more than three weeks, it has emerged.

The half-hour storm in late April split rotor blades, cracked windows, ruptured the choppers' metal skin and damaged other parts. The hail was so intense that after an intensive repair programme eight of the choppers were still inoperable more than three weeks later, according to a Nato spokesman.

Videos show hailstones the size of golf balls pelting down on the airbase, which is at the edge of a desert and in summer endures temperatures that can climb above 50C.
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Sun

Dangerous heatwave settles over U.S. Southwest - temps to hit 120 F in Arizona


The Extinction Protocol
Wed, 26 Jun 2013 11:26 UTC
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A ridge of high pressure will cause elevated temperatures across most of the Western United States, from Arizona and California, northward to the US/Canada border. This also may bring the first monsoon storms to the region as this abnormally large ridge of high pressure takes hold. It's that time of the year again, where a hot desert meets the Summer. Temperatures in the 100s across Phoenix will turn to 115+, with 120+ along the Colorado River Valley as a ridge of high pressure builds in the area. This ridge will be very large, bringing temperatures 15-20 degrees higher than normal for Arizona, California, Oregon, Washington, Idaho, New Mexico, and Utah. Other areas like Montana, and Wyoming may also be in the outer fridges of the heatwave ridge. With that heat will bring monsoonal moisture into play, California, Nevada, Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah may see the first monsoonal thunderstorms of the season with this event. More information will be given as the data is compiled, but if in these regions, prepare for increased heat and humidity by the end of the week and into this weekend. There are indications this lasts through next week as well. - Weather Space
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Cloud Precipitation

Floodwaters force hundreds to evacuate northeast Iowa town

David Pitt
Source
Tue, 25 Jun 2013 16:43 UTC
The northeast Iowa town of New Hartford was mostly deserted Tuesday after authorities went door-to-door before dawn, warning residents a flooded stream would inundate most of the small community.

"Everybody was notified and told to evacuate," said Butler County emergency management coordinator Mitch Nordmeyer as he surveyed the town, about 90 miles northeast of Des Moines. "If they stayed they were staying at their own risk."
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© Associated Press/Charlie Neibergall Jim Johnson rows his boat down Main Street, Tuesday, June 25, 2013, in New Hartford, Iowa
Although most of New Hartford's 500-plus residents heeded warnings and left town, some stayed behind and there was no sense of panic.

Residents had seen the normally placid Beaver Creek flood before. And after some areas upstream received more than 7 inches of rain on Monday, few seemed surprised the stream was surging out of its banks again.
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Cloud Lightning

Worst storm in decades hits Wellington, New Zealand


Herald Sun
Fri, 21 Jun 2013 16:32 UTC
Residents of New Zealand's capital are cleaning up after a storm rated the worst in over four decades subsided.

Winds of up to 140km/h - gusting to 200km/h in exposed areas - lashed Wellington, felling trees, lifting roofs, smashing windows, closing roads and schools and cutting power to homes and businesses.

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Cloud Precipitation

Record rainfall dumped on Pilbara, Western Australia

Elle Farcic
The West Australian
Tue, 25 Jun 2013 16:09 UTC
Parts of the Pilbara have been inundated with rainfall overnight that would usually only fall during a cyclone.

The highest rainfall in the region was recorded in Karratha, where 209.2mm of rain has fallen since 9am yesterday.

The rainfall smashed Karratha's daily June record of 60mm.

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Cloud Precipitation

Calgary Floods 2013: Mayor gives redundant message to thrillseekers


The Huffington Post Alberta
Mon, 24 Jun 2013 00:09 UTC

When Calgary Mayor Naheed Nenshi addressed the city on Sunday, he couldn't believe he had to state the obvious, which apparently wasn't obvious enough.

"I can't believe I actually have to say this," said Nenshi, "but I'm going to say it. The river is closed."

Referring to people who were still using the river while the city was in a state of emergency due to flooding, Nenshi said he couldn't let Darwin's law take care of it...or call people what we can only [assume] are names that include swear words.

Catch the hilarious transcript of Nenshi's address below, or watch the video above.
"I can't believe I actually have to say this, but I'm going to say it. The river is closed. You cannot boat on the river. I have a large number of nouns that I can use to describe the people I saw in a canoe on the Bow river today. I am not allowed to use any of them. I can tell you, however, that I have been told that despite the state of local emergency, I'm not allowed to invoke the Darwin law.

If you are on the river we have to rescue you. If we have to rescue you we're taking away valuable resource from others. Everytime we have to pull a rescue boat onto the river, it means there is not a rescue boat in a community that is flooded. It is selfish and it is ridiculous for you to be on the river. So, do not do it. Stay off the river no matter what kind of thrills you're interested in coming for and I won't use any of the nouns that I really want to use."
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Cloud Precipitation

Thunderstorms knock out power to thousands in upper Midwest, U.S.

David Bailey
Reuters
Fri, 21 Jun 2013 14:44 UTC
Severe storms producing wind gusts up to 85 mph, heavy rain and lightning strikes in Minnesota and Wisconsin early on Friday, knocked down trees and power lines and at one point left more than 176,000 customers without power.

An area stretching from the Dakotas through Wisconsin was bracing for more storms, some severe, later on Friday and possible flooding after reports of three to four inches of rain fell in some communities already, the National Weather Service said.

"The weather pattern is pretty much going to be stationary tonight and through the weekend so we are concerned about the severe weather and also the potential for flooding," said Jacob Beitlich, a weather service meteorologist in the Twin Cities.

The storms developed in the Dakotas and powered southeast through Minnesota into Wisconsin, bringing heavy straight-line wind damage with a gust of 85 mph at the heart of it northwest of the Twin Cities, he said.

The weather service also has issued a severe thunderstorm watch for parts of eastern Iowa stretching across northwest Illinois to just west of Chicago.
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Windsock

Video: Strong winds and hail 2 inches wide hit central Switzerland; 39 people injured

GabeHashTV
Youtube
Thu, 20 Jun 2013 10:07 UTC
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Cloud Lightning

Insane timelapse of a rotating supercell looks like an alien spaceship

Nancy Atkinson
Universe Today
Mon, 17 Jun 2013 22:02 UTC
Supercell
© Mike Olbinski/Olbinski PhotographyAn impressive, gorgeous, powerful supercell northwest of Booker, Texas from June 3rd, 2013.
Photographer and storm chaser Mike Olbinski has captured some incredible storm footage over the years (such as this apocalyptic haboob in Arizona in 2011.) But his latest timelapse was something he's been chasing down for over four years: a rotating supercell. Mike lives in Arizona, where that type of storm doesn't happen. But he regularly visits the US Central Plains and said on his website that he's been hoping to capture footage of "clouds that rotate and look like alien spacecraft hanging over the Earth."

To quote Mike again, "Boy, did we find it."

On June 3, 2013 he and his team were following storms near Booker, Texas. "We chased this storm from the wrong side (north) and it took us going through hail and torrential rains to burst through on the south side. And when we did...this monster cloud was hanging over Texas and rotating like something out of Close Encounters."
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Cloud Precipitation

Floods kill 23 in Northern India after 36 hours of rain; dozens missing


The Weather Channel
Mon, 17 Jun 2013 17:24 UTC
Torrential rain and floods washed away buildings and roads, killing at least 23 people in the northern Indian state of Uttarakhand, officials said Monday.


More than a dozen people died in the state's Rudraprayag district alone, while another 50 people were missing, said Amit Negi, an official in Uttarakhand.

A landslide triggered by the monsoon rains buried a bus, killing three people in Almora district.
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