Storms
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Cloud Lightning

'Life-threatening' weather warning for US Midwest, funnel clouds reported in Oklahoma City

Sean Murphy
Toronto Star
Sat, 14 Apr 2012 15:46 UTC
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© Gene Blevins/ReutersA severe thunder storm supercell moves above the ground near the small town of Stratton, Nebraska April 12, 2012. Forecasters are warning of a possible major tornado outbreak in the Midwest this weekend.
Tornado sirens sounded across Oklahoma City hours before dawn Saturday as the nation's midsection braced for what forecasters cautioned could be a day of "life-threatening" storms, with the most dangerous weather expected to develop in the afternoon.

While officials warned a large area spanning from Minnesota to Texas could be at risk during the weekend, emergency workers focused their attention overnight on central Oklahoma, where they said funnel clouds had been spotted though they couldn't immediately confirm if any had touched down. The area includes the small town of Piedmont, where a twister last May killed several people, including two young boys, authorities said.

"They're probably feeling like they're going through that all over again," Oklahoma Department of Emergency Management spokeswoman Keli Cain said Saturday.

The worst conditions were projected for late Saturday afternoon between Oklahoma City and Salina, Kan., but other areas also could see severe storms with baseball-sized hail and winds of up to 70 mph, forecasters said. The warning issued Friday covers parts of Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, Oklahoma and Texas.
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Attention

US forecasters are predicting Saturday storms 'life threatening' for the second time in US History


Khaleejtimes
Sat, 14 Apr 2012 13:00 UTC
Oklahoma City - US weather forecasters issued an unusually strong tornado warning for Saturday, saying conditions are ripe for an outbreak in the heart of the country that could be a "high-end, life threatening event."

It was only the second time in U.S. history that the Storm Prediction Center issued a high-risk warning more than 24 hours in advance, said Russ Schneider, director of the center, which is part of the National Weather Service. The first time was in April 2006, when nearly 100 tornadoes tore across the southeastern U.S., killing a dozen people and damaging more than 1,000 homes.

Storms were already kicking off in Oklahoma, where a twister whizzed by the nation's tornado forecasting headquarters but caused little damage.

The strongly worded message came after the National Weather Service announced last month that it would start using terms like "mass devastation," ''unsurvivable" and "catastrophic" in warnings in an effort to get more people to pay attention. It said it would test the new warnings in Kansas and Missouri before deciding whether to expand them to other parts of the country.

Friday's warning, despite the strong language, was not part of that effort but just the most accurate way to describe what was expected, a weather service spokeswoman said.

It's possible to issue earlier warnings because improvements in storm modeling and technology are letting forecasters predict storms earlier and with greater confidence, said Chris Vaccaro, a spokesman for the National Weather Service.

In the past, people often have had only minutes of warning when a siren went off.

"We're quite sure tomorrow will be a very busy and dangerous day in terms of large tornadoes in parts of the central and southern plains," Vaccaro said. "The ingredients are coming together."

The worst weather is expected to develop late Saturday afternoon in Oklahoma and Kansas, but other areas also could see severe storms, forecasters said. The warning issued Friday covers parts of Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, Oklahoma and Texas.

The weather service confirmed a tornado touched down about 4 p.m. Friday near the University of Oklahoma campus in Norman, where it is based. Non-essential personnel at the storm center and students were ordered to take shelter, officials said.

Oklahoma Department of Emergency Management spokeswoman Keli Cain said there were no reports of serious injuries.

"This is just a fraction of what's to come tomorrow," Vaccaro warned.

Norman Regional Hospital and an affiliate treated 19 people for mainly "bumps and bruises," and one patient remained hospitalized in fair condition late Friday, hospital spokeswoman Kelly Wells said.
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Cloud Lightning

Springtime Disappears in the UK: What the Hail Happened? April Showers and the Possibility of Tornadoes

Ian Garland and John Stevens
Mail Online
Wed, 11 Apr 2012 18:51 UTC
  • Thunderstorms, lightning and hail predicted for parts of Britain
  • Snow forecast across Midlands, North and Scotland this week
  • Another two weeks of wet weather for the rest of the country
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Unsettled: Forecasters say there is a chance of funnel clouds forming over the next few days which can turn into tornadoes when they touch the ground, like this one in Coventry in 2005
Britain was last night warned to prepare for April showers and high winds that could even turn into tornadoes.

Much-needed rain is set to fall across the whole country today, but could develop into thunderstorms, lightning and hail in some parts.

Cold winds passing over hot air rising from the ground is causing the unsettled weather that is going to last until after the weekend.

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Snow has returned to County Durham and forecasts predict many northern areas of the UK will have more from today
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Bizarro Earth

Deadly March Tornadoes Are First Billion-Dollar Disaster of 2012

Andrea Mustain
Our Amazing Planet
Mon, 09 Apr 2012 15:10 UTC
Tornado Damage
© Michael Raphael/FEMATornado damage in Henryville, Ind., after a tornado swept through the small community on March 2, 2012.
A swarm of tornadoes that tore through the Midwest and Southeast in early March has earned the grim title of the nation's first billion-dollar weather disaster of 2012.

From March 2 through the early hours of March 3, 132 tornadoes were reported across nine states. Although those numbers are preliminary, and will undoubtedly decrease once overlapping reports are eliminated, their aftermath was devastating, causing more than $1.5 billion in damage and killing 40 people.

The storms killed four people in Ohio, but they took the greatest toll in Indiana, killing 13, and Kentucky, where 23 people died.

The costly disaster follows on the heels of a record-breaking year for devastation wrought by the vagaries of the weather and longer-term climate conditions. Last year, the United States experienced 14 separate events that caused $1 billion or more in damage. Five of those events were tornado outbreaks.
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Bizarro Earth

Death toll rises to 15 as Buenos Aires recovers from heavy storm


Buenos Aires Herald
Sun, 08 Apr 2012 16:36 UTC
Buenos Aires storm destruction
© Buenos Aires HeraldEstimates of the damage caused suggested a figure of several million pesos’ worth.
Death toll rises to fifteen in Buenos Aires City and Province as the region recovers from a heavy storm that hit the area on Wednesday night taking porteños by surprise after an unusual warm day for the season.

Intense rain and hail storms caused death and destruction throughout the country and mainly in the Buenos Aires province and Capital area. Over 500 people had to be evacuated. Estimates of the damage caused suggested a figure of several million pesos' worth.

According to officials, four people died in Buenos Aires City. One person was killed when a wall collapsed, while three others were perished after a roof collapsed in Villa 21 shantytown. The ten victims died in the province: four in Moreno, one in Quilmes, one in Florencio Varela, one in Isidro Casanova, one in Gonnet, one in Flores and another in Avellaneda.

Most of the victims were crushed by toppled walls, fallen roofs or blown trees.

Victim number fifteen was confirmed this morning at Villa Soldati neibourhood. Bertilio Alarcón worked for the gendarmerie when his station was hit and dragged by the strong winds.
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Binoculars

Tornado-Wrecked Dallas Begins Assessing Damage


ABC News 13
Wed, 04 Apr 2012 03:38 UTC
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© ABC News Click Here to Watch Video
US: Dallas, Texas - The tornado hurtled toward the nursing home. Physical therapist Patti Gilroy said she saw the swirling mass barreling down through the back door, after herding patients into the hallway in the order trained: walkers, wheelchairs, then beds.

"It wasn't like a freight train like everybody says it is," said Gilroy, who rounded up dozens to safety at Green Oaks Nursing and Rehabilitation Center. "It sounded like a bomb hit. And we hit the floor, and everybody was praying. It was shocking."

A destructive reminder of a young tornado season Wednesday left thousands without power and hundreds of homes pummeled or worse Wednesday, after the National Weather Service said as many as a dozen twisters touched down in a wrecking-ball swath of violent weather that stretched across Dallas and Fort Worth. Despite the intensity of the slow-moving storms, as of late Tuesday no fatalities or serious injuries had been reported, though there were several less serious injuries.

The exact number of tornadoes Tuesday wasn't expected to be known until surveyors fanned across North Texas, looking for clues among the debris that blanketed yards and rooftops peeled off slats.

The Red Cross put a preliminary estimate of damaged homes at 650. In the southern Dallas suburb of Lancaster, where damage was especially widespread, around 150 people remained in a shelter Tuesday night.
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Cloud Lightning

Update: Storm Lashes Japan, Killing 4, Grounding Flights


ABC News 13
Wed, 04 Apr 2012 03:20 UTC

A powerful storm lashed Japan with heavy rain and strong winds, killing four people and paralyzing air and train traffic in Tokyo, officials said Wednesday.

The spring storm swept across Japan's main island of Honshu on Tuesday, with winds of more than 144 kilometers (89 miles) per hour -- typhoon strength. The Meteorological Agency said the storm had left the region by Wednesday, but it urged caution as strong winds would persist in parts of northern Japan.

Two people were killed in separate warehouse collapses in Toyama in the north and Kagawa in the south on Tuesday. Police reported two more deaths overnight -- an elderly man who fell off a roof in Iwate and a woman crushed to death by a fallen tree in nearby Miyagi.

Officials said hundreds more were injured across the country.
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Snowflake

Hot and cold: A Britain of two halves as heavy snowfall covers Scotland in white - while England still enjoys unseasonal warmth

Tom Gardner
Daily Mail
Tue, 03 Apr 2012 17:14 UTC
Snow is predicted to fall in northern England and Ireland and possibly in the Midlands and Wales, after around eight inches (19cm) came down across parts of Scotland.

snow Scotland
© Gordon Jack / Scotimage.comTreacherous: The driving conditions became dangerous as more than six inches of snow hit parts of Scotland, forcing emergency services to attend a number of accidents, including a seven vehicle pileup on the Newmill and Canthill Road near Shotts
It is very much a 'Tale of Two Britains' today, as Scotland and England bask and shiver respectively in very different weather.

While England continues to enjoy warm spring conditions, Scotland is facing sub-zero temperatures and heavy snowfall.

England should not feel too smug - the icy weather is likely to forge south, bringing an end to the burst of unseasonal warmth that has lit up the country over the last week.

But this will not be enough to alleviate the much-publicised drought in England. A hose-pipe ban is still set to be introduced on Thursday.
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Cloud Lightning

Typhoon-strength storm kills two in Japan, brings chaos

Hiroshi Hiyama
Agence France-Presse
Tue, 03 Apr 2012 16:50 UTC
Japen storm damage
© AFP/Jiji PressTwo trucks lie on their sides on a bridge at Toyama city
A typhoon-strength storm brought travel chaos to Japan on Tuesday, as violent winds and rain killed at least two people and left tens of thousands of people stranded.

Gusts of up to 150 kilometres (93 miles) per hour have been recorded in western Japan, with coastal areas likely seeing even stronger winds, Japan's weather agency said.

At least 163 people suffered injuries across the country, knocked over by sudden gusts or hit by flying debris, public broadcaster NHK said.

With the agency warning of possible tornadoes in the western part of Japan, airlines grounded over 550 flights and a number of train services were suspended.
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Bizarro Earth

Massive tornados toss TRUCKS across the skies as 'large and extremely dangerous' twisters target Dallas Texas


DailyMail.co.uk
Tue, 03 Apr 2012 14:28 UTC
Millions of people are being urged to seek shelter immediately as dramatic news footage shows trucks and other massive debris being thrown across the skies in Texas. Weather service advisories issued today said storm spotters and radar revealed separate tornadoes south of Dallas and Fort Worth. Incredible news footage of the twister shows a massive funnel cloud and tractor trailers being launched above the area.


Crumpled orange tractor trailers were later visible in a Dallas County parking lot, as well as flattened trailers along the sides of highways and access roads. The weather service said 'considerable damage' also was reported near Cleburne, south of Fort Worth, and Lancaster, south of Dallas. The Fort Worth Star-Telegram reported that officials at DFW International Airport have warned anyone in the airport to retreat to terminal storm shelters and to stay away from windows. All flights into and out of the airport have been cancelled.
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© CNN
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