Storms
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Cloud Lightning

US: Tornado Damages Northeast Businesses

Allison Steele and Anthony R. Wood
Philly.com
Thu, 19 May 2011 00:00 UTC
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© Michael Bryant / Staff PhotographerFrank Lubinsky Jr, of Union Roofing is on the collapse roof of R & R Car Repair at 9909 Northeast Ave. where a tornado was suppose to have touched down. One person was under it when it collapsed but was unharmed and crawled out right after the collapse.
A small tornado, born of storms that battered the Philadelphia region with heavy rain, touched down in the Far Northeast at midafternoon Wednesday, smashing a car-repair shop, crushing a beer distributorship, and ripping the roof off a crab house.

The mini-swirl of destruction, which also slightly damaged an apartment building and left three people in need of Red Cross care, carried winds of about 75 m.p.h., the National Weather Service said.

The tornado vanished as quickly as it appeared, touching at 1:50 p.m., and bumping along for just 300 feet, cutting a path of wreckage 100 feet wide.

Residents and shoppers in the area of Bustleton Avenue and Red Lion Road ran for safety, and police reported no injuries.
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Cloud Lightning

Venezuela Extends Emergency Efforts As Heavy Rains Return

Ezequiel Minaya
The Wall Street Journal
Wed, 18 May 2011 17:14 UTC
Barlovento, Miranda State, Venezuela flooding
Flooded areas in Barlovento, Miranda State, Venezuela, Dec 2010
Venezuela President Hugo Chavez has extended for 90 days in seven states and parts of Caracas a state of emergency called in response to violent rainfalls in late 2010 that may return this year.

The states included in the decree are Vargas, Miranda, Zulia, Falcon, Merida, Trujillo and Nueva Esparta, state media reported late Tuesday. Officials last ordered the state of emergency to be prolonged in February, according to the release.
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Cloud Lightning

US: Denver, Severe Storms Bring Hail, Heavy Rain, Funnel Clouds to Metro Area


KDVR
Thu, 19 May 2011 17:05 UTC
After an extremely dry winter, spring storms are bringing abundant moisture to metro Denver.

Severe weather erupted by early afternoon along the urban corridor, as funnel clouds were spotted in Adams and Broomfield counties, prompting two Tornado Warnings.

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Attention

US: West Virginia Heavy Rains Cause Mudslides

Kelly Brennan
WOWKTV
Thu, 19 May 2011 16:52 UTC
A mudslide caused the side of a hill to drop 25 feet Wednesday morning. Homeowner Bettie Keith said she heard the sounds of the trees and telephone poles falling. For months, Keith said the ground has been slowly cracking and she has been talking with Cabell Huntington Hospital representatives.
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Bizarro Earth

US: Sleet and snow make spring feel like winter in Flagstaff AZ

Eric Betz
Arizona Daily Sun
Thu, 19 May 2011 12:33 UTC
A frigid spring storm blew through Northern Arizona on Wednesday, bringing a mix of rain, sleet and wet snow.

High temperatures are typically around 70 degrees this time of year, but the high for Wednesday was 43 and came at 1:30 a.m. Temperatures hovered around freezing for much of the day.
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© Dave Smith
"It's a bit on the unusual side, but not unprecedented," said Ken Daniel, a National Weather Service meteorologist. "It's an unusually strong and cold system coming down from the Northwest, and it's bringing in some moisture as it moves across the state."

No road closures were reported, but blowing dust and icy pavement made driving hazardous, with accidents clogging Interstates 40 and 17. Winds gusting over 40 mph whipped up dust along I-40 between Flagstaff and Winslow and forced the Arizona Department of Public Safety to escort cars along a five-mile stretch.
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Cloud Lightning

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


The Times of India
Thu, 19 May 2011 11:52 UTC
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© PTIWomen cover their faces during a dust storm in Jaunpur, Uttar Pradesh. A similar dust storm lashed Ghazipur district killing 10 people.
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.
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Cloud Lightning

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


North County Public Radio
Thu, 19 May 2011 10:42 UTC
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© Brian MannThis home's foundation has been wrecked by shifting earth
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.
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Cloud Lightning

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.
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Bizarro Earth

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


LA Now
Wed, 18 May 2011 15:53 UTC
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© Unknown
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.
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Bad Guys

Bogota Cut off From Northeast Colombia

Adriaan Alsema
Columbia Reports
Wed, 18 May 2011 06:11 UTC
Landslide
© Santander Hoy
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.
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