Storms
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India: Thunder, duststorms claim 56 lives in Uttar Pradesh, Bihar

The Times of India
Thu, 19 May 2011 11:52 UTC

New Delhi: At least 56 people were killed in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar when severe duststorm, accompanied by rain and thundershowers, lashed some parts of the states on Wednesday evening, according to All India Radio.

In Uttar Pradesh, at least 30 people were killed in cyclonic storm that hit several districts of eastern UP. Eight people were killed in Siddhartha Nagar, seven in Jaunpur, five each in Varanasi, Bhadohi and Ambekarnagar.

According to AIR, high-velocity wind and scattered rain is still occurring at some places in Gorakhpur, Varanasi and Basti divisions.

US: Rainstorms trigger Slide in Keene Valley, New York Threatening Homes

North County Public Radio
Thu, 19 May 2011 10:42 UTC

Weeks of relentless rain have destabilized a massive section of hillside in the Adrian's Acres neighborhood in Keene Valley, which sits on the slopes of Porter Mountain.

Town and state officials say an area roughly a half-mile wide has begun to shift, slumping downward several inches each day.

One vacation home has already been condemned, and one other house evacuated. At least four more homes are threatened.

Brian Mann was on Porter Mountain yesterday and has our story.

US: Colorado - Latest storm to bring even more rain, mountain snow

Joey Bunch
The Denver Post
Wed, 18 May 2011 15:56 UTC

A strong Pacific storm system will bring rain and snow to the mountains and showers to the Front Range Wednesday, the National Weather Service said tonight.

In the high country, winter-like weather and flood advisories could linger through Saturday, and a winter weather advisory is in effect for parts of southern Colorado above 10,000 feet until 6 a.m. Friday. Those areas could see an additional 10 inches of snow atop and already record snowpack.

Areas above 9,000 feet elevation could see 3 to 6 inches of new snow Wednesday, forecasters said.

The Denver metro area has a 60 percent chance of rain and thunderstorms Wednesday afternoon and an 80 percent chance of showers in the evening, forecasters said.

US: Records for rain, cold temperatures are broken in Southern California; new storm moving in

LA Now
Wed, 18 May 2011 15:53 UTC

It's another wet morning Wednesday in Southern California, which has set new records for rain and cold in recent days.

The National Weather Service predicts a 40% chance of showers Wednesday morning, giving way to cloudy skies.

Daily records for temperature and rainfall totals were tied and broken Tuesday as a storm system hit Southern California.

The low temperature at UCLA was 49 degrees, tying a record set in 1962, according the National Weather Service.

A record-rainfall total for the day was set at Los Angeles International Airport. Tuesday's 0.23 inches of rain at LAX eclipsed a record of 0.12 inches that had stood since 1949, the Weather Service said.

Bogota Cut off From Northeast Colombia

Adriaan Alsema
Columbia Reports
Wed, 18 May 2011 06:11 UTC

Colombia's capital Bogota has been cut off from a large part of the northeast of the country after a landslide destroyed a bridge connecting the capital with the city of Bucaramanga Tuesday evening.

According to media reports, the landslide took place 15 miles south of Bucaramanga and has disconnected Bogota to Bucaramanga, Cucuta and forces travelers to the Caribbean city of Barranquilla to take a large detour.

The landslide reportedly did not only destroy the bridge, but also a police post and swept away a motorbike and a car. Media reports are contradictory about injuries. According to newspaper El Espectador no injures were reported, while Caracol Radio reported 15 people were injured.

Eastern Turkey sees snow as other regions enjoy sun

Today's Zaman
Tue, 17 May 2011 08:12 UTC

A blanket of snow has covered the eastern province of Ardahan in mid-May as temperatures continue to rise in the rest of the country.

Heavy rainfall turned into snow late Sunday through Monday morning. Residents of the province were surprised to wake up to a snowy day in the middle of May, a time when many expect spring to arrive. The provincial capital saw five centimeters of snowfall and registered a low of zero degrees Celsius.

Austria - Tornado ravages Müllendorf

Barbara Haas
oe24.at
Mon, 16 May 2011 23:58 UTC

An 80 meter wide tornado front leaves shambles near Eisenstadt.

Karl Tinhof is left in disbelief about having actually experienced this scene. "It was like a bomb attack. Trees simply snapped off, the bricks of houses were ripped off and dashing like bullets into the walls of other houses, terrible." The operations manager of the fire department of Müllendorf says it's a miracle that nobody died.

Since Saturday 3:28 pm the tranquil location in the district of Eisenstadt-Umgebung has been in shock. An 80 meter wide tornado swept over houses and gardens, unroofed dozens of houses, uprooted trees, and in three of the houses the trusses came off. A weather phenomenon that's in fact only known from Hollywood Blockbusters such as Twister has become an eerie reality.

Winter comes early as Melbourne is hit by chilly blast

Mitchell Toy
Herald Sun
Sun, 15 May 2011 12:34 UTC

Melburnians have been swamped with enough rain in the past two weeks to last the month of May and more is yet to come.

Other parts of the state have seen their coldest start to May since records began, with snow already falling in low-lying areas.

Mt Baw Baw has been blanketed with more than 30cm of fresh snow as eager snowboarders take to the slopes well ahead of the official opening to the ski season.

Heavy Rains Falling Across Africa

Planetsave
Mon, 16 May 2011 12:29 UTC

Above average rainfall has been falling in many parts of the sub-Saharan African region since 2010, including countries like Angola, Namibia, Tanzania, Cameroon, Congo, and Madagascar.

The data comes from the Climate Prediction Center of the U.S. National Weather Service, which noted that large rainfalls have, in some places, exceeded the yearly average in a single day. In many parts of the continent, flooding persistent rains have flooded temporary rivers like the Kuiseb in Namibia and the Boteti in Botswana, both of which have recorded highs over the past year or so.

The map below depicts the rainfall for Namibia and South Africa on May 5, 2011, a day which saw more rain fall in the Namib Desert than normally falls in an entire year.