Storms
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Cloud Lightning

US: Electrifying moment lightning hit New York bridge as spectacular storm hit the city

Rachel Quigley
The Daily Mail
Tue, 23 Aug 2011 11:08 UTC
New York's night sky was lit up by bolts of lightning flashing through the darkness during a fierce thunder storm on Friday night.

And one photographer was able to capture the moment one of those bolts struck the George Washington Bridge.

The city endured heavy rain and ferocious claps of thunder and flashes of lightning for most of Friday evening leading into a warm and bright Saturday which saw many bask in temperatures of around 82F.

But Sunday night brought more wet and wild weather as once again severe thunderstorms, rain and hail fell on the city, bringing a soggy end to the weekend.

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© Zachary TolbertStrikes: A photographer captured the exact moment a lightning bolt struck the George Washington Bridge on Friday night in New York
This was the second weekend in a row that the Big Apple was hit by severe weather.

At least seven inches of rain fell by JFK Airport last Sunday, and all through the city residents dealt with travel delays, dangerous road conditions and even some flooded basements.
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Bizarro Earth

Hurricane Irene Marks First Big US Threat in Years

Curt Anderson
The Associated Press
Tue, 23 Aug 2011 03:42 UTC
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© AP Photo/NOAAAn image released by the NOAA made from the GEOS East satellite shows Hurricane Irene on Aug. 23, 2011 as it passes over Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic.
The rapidly intensifying Irene that's already cut a destructive path through the Caribbean is the first hurricane to seriously threaten the U.S. in almost three years, a worry for some emergency management officials who hope people haven't become complacent about the dangers.

Predictions by the U.S. National Hurricane Center in Miami said Irene was likely to become a major Category 3 hurricane Tuesday. By Thursday as it roars toward the U.S. coast over warm open waters, it could become a Category 4, NHC hurricane specialist John Cangialosi said late Monday. Winds in such a storm can blow from 131 to 155 mph (210-249 kph).

The last hurricane to make landfall in the U.S. was Ike, which pounded Texas in 2008.

For now, the first Atlantic hurricane of the season had maximum sustained winds early Tuesday around 100 mph (160 kph) and was centered about 50 miles (85 kilometers) northeast of Puerto Plata in the Dominican Republic. The hurricane was moving west-northwest near 12 mph (19 kph) and could eventually land in Florida, Georgia or South Carolina.
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Bizarro Earth

Hurricane Irene Spotted From Space


OurAmazingPlanet
Mon, 22 Aug 2011 16:17 UTC
Hurricane Irene
© NASA
Hurricane Irene, the first hurricane of the 2011 Atlantic hurricane season, was seen from space today (Aug. 22) as it roared past Puerto Rico.

Irene formed as a tropical storm east of the Leeward Islands on Aug. 20. By early Aug. 22, the storm had strengthened to a Category 1 hurricane. The U.S. National Hurricane Center (NHC) reported that Irene had maximum sustained winds of 80 mph (130 kph), with higher gusts. The storm was located about 150 miles (240 kilometers) west-northwest of San Juan, Puerto Rico.

The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA's Terra satellite captured this natural-color image at 11:20 a.m. local time (15:20 UTC) on Aug. 22. Storm clouds cover part of the Dominican Republic, and all of Puerto Rico.

As of Aug. 22, Irene had cut power to more than a million residents of Puerto Rico, according to ABC News. The Miami Herald reported that heavy rains had pushed at least five rivers over their banks on the island. Citing continuing rains, downed power lines, and potential landslides, the Puerto Rico governor urged residents to stay indoors.
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Cloud Lightning

Heavy Rain Kills Seven, Wrecks Property in Niger


Agence France-Presse
Fri, 19 Aug 2011 15:15 UTC
Niger flood
© AFP/File, Boureima HamaPeople protect their houses from flood water in 2010 in Niger
Heavy rain has killed seven people and done considerable damage to property in Niger, the government and radio stations said Friday.

"The toll is two dead in the Maradi region and two others in Tillaberi," according to an official statement read on national radio, while the private radio Anfani announced the further deaths of three children aged between eight and ten when their house collapsed in a village in Maradi.

In the southern Maradi province, floodwaters destroyed almost 600 homes, a mosque and three business establishments, the communique added.
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Cloud Lightning

'If you're in south Florida, get ready': Official warning as Hurricane Irene hits Puerto Rico and has U.S. mainland in its sights

Mike O'brien
The Daily Mail
Mon, 22 Aug 2011 12:38 UTC
'If you're in south Florida, now is the time to get prepared,' the U.S. Federal Emergency Management Agency warned on Monday.

National Hurricane Centre spokesman Dennis Feltgen urged south Florida residents to monitor the storm carefully, to double check their supplies of food and fuel and to review their hurricane plans.

Forecasters say because of its track, the mountains of Hispaniola will probably do little to weaken the storm that is projected to hit the U.S. mainland on Thursday or Friday.

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© Associated PressHeading inland: A national Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration satellite image from 1.45am EDT shows patches of dense cloud from Tropical Storm Irene heading towards Puerto Rico
Irene is the first hurricane of the Atlantic storm season.

The heavily-populated south east Florida coast is in the direct line of numerous forecast cones.

However, the National Hurricane Centre (NHC) stressed Irene's path still remains uncertain and it could make landfall anywhere from the Florida Keys to the Carolinas.
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Cloud Lightning

New York, US: Violent Weather Damages Homes in Wayne and Cayuga Counties

Susan McNamara and Brian Sharp
Democrat and Chronicle
Mon, 22 Aug 2011 00:59 UTC
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© Susan McNamaraOfficials are investigating the possibility of a tornado touching down in Wayne County that caused damage to this house on Route 89.
Witnesses said a tornado blew through Wayne and Cayuga counties Sunday afternoon, cutting a crooked path through cornfields and woods and severely damaging the few homes in its way.

There were no reported serious injuries.

Fire officials said the tornado appeared to have traveled about five miles from South Butler, Wayne County, crossing Route 89 northeast to the town of Conquest in Cayuga County.

The National Weather Service has not officially classified the event as a tornado, but you can't convince Michael Dunn otherwise.

"I saw it. Oh yeah, it was a tornado," said Dunn, a volunteer with the South Butler Fire Department.

Dunn was in his yard working on his lawnmower when it suddenly became "pitch black - like someone turned the lights off. I could see the debris field around it," he said.

Then he turned and - dodging flying tree limbs - ran for the mobile home where he lives with his wife and two children, ages 10 and 8. He said he made them get in the bathtub and he stood in a doorway.
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Bizarro Earth

Irene Strengthens into Hurricane as It Heads for Haiti


BBC News
Mon, 22 Aug 2011 06:02 UTC
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© AP PhotoIrene is now officially a hurricane
Tropical Storm Irene has turned into a hurricane - the first of the Atlantic hurricane season - over Puerto Rico.

Haiti, where hundreds of thousands of people still live in tents after last year's earthquake, is in Irene's projected path, according to the National Hurricane Center in Miami.

It is next set to hit the Dominican Republic, and may also hit Florida, Georgia and the Carolinas in the US.

Irene has maximum sustained winds of 75mph (120kmh), said the NHC.

That puts it just above the official strength of a hurricane. At 09:00 GMT it was centred about 25 miles (40km) west of San Juan, Puerto Rico, and moving west-northwest at around 12mph.
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Cloud Lightning

Storm Cuts Short Pope's Speech in Spain


The Guardian
Sun, 21 Aug 2011 15:42 UTC
Pope storm
© David Ramos/Getty ImagesBiblical: Lightning over the World Youth Day crowd.
Rain and lightning forces pope to skip bulk of speech to 1 million young pilgrims and disrupts Sunday's mass

A thunderstorm forced the pope to cut short his speech to an estimated 1 million young pilgrims gathered at a Madrid airfield to mark World Youth Day.

As rain soaked the crowd and lightning lit up the night sky on Saturday, the 84-year-old pontiff skipped the bulk of the speech and delivered brief greetings in half a dozen languages.

During the day, firefighters had sprayed the crowds with water, and pilgrims sought shade in the near 40C (104F) heat.
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Bizarro Earth

US: Tropical Storm Irene Could Take Aim at Florida


Reuters
Sun, 21 Aug 2011 07:52 UTC
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© NOAAA map from the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration shows the probable course of tropical storm Irene.
Tropical Storm Irene whipped the northern Leeward Islands with rain and squalls on Sunday as it barreled west on a track through the Caribbean that looked set to threaten Florida.

Irene, the ninth named storm of the 2011 Atlantic hurricane season, was expected to pass Puerto Rico's southern coast early on Monday and then strengthen into a hurricane as it approached the Dominican Republic.

It would be the first hurricane of the so far busy, but to date not destructive, 2011 Atlantic hurricane season.

At 8 a.m. EDT, Irene was packing winds of 50 miles per hour and was located about 35 miles west northwest of the French Caribbean island of Guadeloupe, moving into the northeastern Caribbean sea, the U.S.-based National Hurricane Center said.

Residents of Antigua reported rains, strong squalls and surf as the storm passed.
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Bizarro Earth

Pennsylvania, US: Rain, Traffic, Land Contribute to Deadly Flood

Kevin Begos
The Associated Press
Sat, 20 Aug 2011 21:35 UTC
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© Tribune Review, Chris LangerRomy Connolly is lifted from a rescue boat by Pittsburgh emergency responders after being caught in a flash flood, Friday, Aug. 19, 2011, in Pittsburgh.
The flash flooding that killed four people and forced others to swim to safety or climb onto car roofs was a freak accident caused by heavy rainfall that overwhelmed the sewer system just as rush-hour traffic clogged low-lying city streets, officials said Saturday.

A mother and her two daughters died in Friday's flood after becoming trapped in their vehicle and rising water pinned it to a tree. Another woman's body was washed into the Allegheny River, where she was found Saturday morning.

Back-to-back storms pounded the city with 3 to 4 inches of rain. The water drained rapidly onto Washington Boulevard, a main street near the Allegheny River on the city's east side, with a force too great for a pair of sewer pipes 9 feet in diameter. The torrent blew off 60-pound manhole covers.

"We had geysers here," said Raymond DeMichiei, deputy director of the city Office of Emergency Management.

"There's only so much any drainage system can handle," said Jim Struzzi, a spokesman for the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation. PennDOT maintains the roadway, but the city is responsible for the pipes underneath, part of aging sewer system.
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