Storms
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Cloud Lightning

Flash floods, tornadoes in southern Spain claim nine lives

Jennifer Cockerell, David Mercer
The Independent
Mon, 29 Oct 2012 00:00 UTC
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© itv.com
A 52-year-old British woman has been reported missing in severe floodingwhich has so far claimed nine lives in southern Spain, authorities saidtoday.

Hundreds of people have been evacuated from their homes after torrential rain led to flash flooding in the Andalucian provinces of Malaga, Almeria and Murcia.

The woman, who has yet to be named, was reported missing in Almeria, a spokeswoman for the regional government of Andalucia said.

The Foreign and Commonwealth Office said it was looking into the reports as "a matter of urgency".

Heavy downpours and resulting high waters have killed five people in the province of Murcia, three in Almeria and one in Malaga. Five people originally declared missing had been found alive.
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Question

Tow-truck driver struck by mysterious illness in wake of Joplin tornado

Wally Kennedy
The Joplin Globe
Sat, 29 Sep 2012 10:07 UTC
When he was asked whether he wanted to help tow some of the thousands of vehicles that were destroyed in the May 22, 2011, tornado in Joplin, Mike Forest jumped at the chance.

"The day after the tornado, he was there,'' said his wife, Dina, of Olathe, Kan. "It was the third week he was there that it happened.''

Forest awoke one morning to a blood-stained pillow from a nosebleed he did not know had happened. His shins were covered with blisters up to his knees. He had an excruciating headache.

He is now in the Shawnee Mission Medical Center in the Kansas City area, where doctors are trying to find out why he became ill and why he is still ill. His most recent tests include a spinal tap to determine whether he was exposed to something toxic.

"He's very sick. He describes it as someone taking a spoon and raking his bones. He has a headache that just disables him,'' said his wife in a recent telephone interview. "No one has a clue. If we don't get some answers here, we're going to the Mayo Clinic next. He can't go on like this.''
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Cloud Lightning

Tornado hits Spanish fairground, injures 35 workers


Diverse
Sat, 29 Sep 2012 12:21 UTC
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The tornado that touched down in the area of the Spanish town of Gandia on Spain's South Eastern coast.
A tornado struck a fairground in Gandia, Spain, knocking down a Ferris wheel, damaging several rides and causing a power outage at the site. The twister left 35 people injured.

The fair was closed to the public when the tornado touched down, and all of those injured were fair workers, local media reported.

Fifteen people were seriously hurt and treated on site, the website for Gandia's town hall said.

The tornado ripped roofs off buildings, uprooted trees and overturned a truck which landed on cars.

Further North on the Valencia coast, two large cargo ships ran aground as a result of the high winds and seas.

In the provinces of Murica, Almeria and Malaga, 10 people were killed when the inclement weather caused flash floods that swept away cars and bridges and flooded many villages.
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Two cargo ships ran aground on the Valencia coast
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Cloud Lightning

Spain floods: Eight die in Malaga, Almeria and Murcia


BBC News
Sat, 29 Sep 2012 12:08 UTC

At least eight people have died after heavy rains triggered flash floods in southern Spain, officials have said.

The strength of the floods overturned cars, closed roads, damaged homes and forced hundreds to leave their properties.

The hardest hit areas were the provinces of Malaga and Almeria, and the Murcia region.

Further north in the town of Gandia, a tornado struck a temporary fairground, injuring 35 people, 15 seriously.
'Hit hard'

At least 600 people had to be evacuated from their homes in the Andalucia region, which contains Malaga and Almeria, officials said.
Map
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Bizarro Earth

Extreme storm takes Brazil from 108 to -30 and snow!

Jesse Ferrell
AccuWeather
Wed, 26 Sep 2012 14:46 UTC
Extreme Weather Brazil
© AccuWeather
The MetSul blog this week (translated) tells a harrowing tale of extreme heat in Brazil, followed by severe storms with hail and flooding as a powerful Spring storm system (one of the most intense ever) moved through between September 15 and 17. The temperature at Antonina, Parana, Brazil spiked to 108° F (42.1 C) before the storm hit, breaking not only winter, but summer heat records for Southern Brazil.

Metsul goes on to say that lightning strikes numbered over 300,000 in four days in Rio Grande do Sul (the southernmost state in Brazil), which reported two million without power. Near the city of Camaquã, nearly a foot (300 mm) of rain was estimated, collapsing a bridge.

Huge hailstones punched holes in roofs, high winds (estimated near 100 mph) knocked down brick walls and radio antennas. Thousands of homes were damaged in southern Brazil as well as neighboring Argentina and Paraguay (where five people were killed). On the Uruguay coast, streets filled with sand and sea foam as winds gusted to 107 mph (172 km/hr).

Incredibly, less than 10 days later, a low pressure system has pulled up extreme cold from Antarctica and "Santa Catarina*" became a trending topic on Twitter this morning, as reports and photos of snow and temperatures below freezing (with wind chills as low as -30 C!) started pouring in.

An article from Estadao.com says (translation) says:
"Also there was record snow between Tuesday night and Wednesday morning, in Bom Jardim da Serra and Urubici. According to Epagri / Ciram, responsible for monitoring weather conditions in Santa Catarina, the last time there was record snowfall in spring in the state was in 2000."
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Cloud Lightning

Britain experiences month's worth of rainfall in 24 hours (again)


Huffington Post, UK
Wed, 26 Sep 2012 13:29 UTC
The wet and windy start to week has persisted into Wednesday with more than a month's worth of rain falling in some places across the UK. Britain has been hit with the most extreme September weather for decades, with hundreds evacuated from their homes and fire and rescue teams battling against the floods to help residents of some of the worst-hit areas.

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Beautiful but dangerous: flood waters in the fields around Tewkesbury Abbey
Cars sailed down streets after being abandoned by motorists, and a block of flats in Newburn, Newcastle were left with their foundations exposed as the town struggled with another day of heavy rain.

Additional images

Comment: Tewkesbury again?!

30 April 2012: Ferocious storm closes wettest April ever in UK

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Under siege: A vast expanse of water surrounds the historic Abbey after days of heavy rain swell the River Severn and cause it to bursts its banks
26 July 2007: More Flooding As England Battles Power Cuts And Water Shortages

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Cloud Lightning

Crazy Wild Sea Foam Floods Scottish Village

Laura Blum
Weather.aol.com / BBC News
Wed, 26 Sep 2012 11:17 UTC
Residents of Footdee, a small fishing village in Aberdeen, Scotland, awoke to find their houses, cars and streets covered in white this morning. No, it wasn't an early snowstorm that blanketed the town. It was sea foam -- or spume -- blown in from the North Sea by heavy winds and crashing waves.

A Marine Scotland spokesman told BBC News: "Sea foam is created by the interaction of sea water movement and plant plankton residues." The organic mixture turned the area into a natural bubble bath, making for an incredible scene.

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Umbrella

60 MPH Winds and Sheets of Rain in the Forecast for Britain

Andrew Hough
Thetelegraph.co.uk
Fri, 21 Sep 2012 17:21 UTC
The glorious autumnal weather is to be blown away by "severe" conditions and potential flooding over coming days, forecasters have warned.
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© Bernie Pettersen / SWNS.comThe colder weather will turn wet and windy towards the end of the weekend.
Households across swathes of the country were placed on high alert from tomorrow night as gale force winds and torrential showers threaten to bring about widespread damage.

Forecasters warned the storm sweeping across the country this weekend would bring "powerful" gusts of more than 60mph and up to two inches of rain in a matter of hours.
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Cloud Lightning

Flood Kills at Least 92 People and Damages Infrastructure in Niger


Afriquejet.com
Sat, 22 Sep 2012 16:55 UTC
At least 92 people have died in floods that have swept Niger following torrential rains, according to the latest data released by the Prime minister's office on Friday. The data indicate that 72,396 families are affected with 511,484 people being victims, as at Thursday. All the country's eight regions are affected by floods with Tillabéry, Dosso and Niamey being the worst affected. Huge damage is reported on basic socio-economic infrastructure and other items crucial to the people.

Rice crops, schools, health centres, roads, bridges, dams have all been affected while a huge quantities of food and many cattle have been swept away by flood waters.
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Cloud Lightning

Powerful Storm Breaks up Arctic Ice


The Weather Channel
Wed, 19 Sep 2012 00:00 UTC
A powerful storm wreaked havoc on the Arctic sea ice cover in August 2012. This visualization shows the strength and direction of the winds and their impact on the ice.

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