Storms
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Cloud Lightning

Northeast Kentucky deluged by rain, flooding

Mark Morgenstein
CNN
Wed, 21 Jul 2010 19:24 UTC
Kentucky flooding
© UnknownPike County residents clean up after the flooding.
Up to half a foot of torrential rain in northeastern Kentucky has led to swift-water rescues, propelled a truck into a tree and washed away homes and businesses -- and more severe weather is on the way.

"We're trying to get a hold on this. It's just awful," said Brandon Roberts, a spokesman for the Pike County judge executive, the top elected official in the county. "It's so bad. ... It's so bad. People might not even be aware it's raining. They're a hundred yards away from where they used to be."

Roberts said Wednesday that floodwater had washed "well over 200 homes," including a brick house, off their foundations. He added that the water picked up a Ford F-350 truck and carried it into a tree.

CNN meteorologist Sean Morris said there was an even a higher chance of thunderstorms and heavy rain in the region Wednesday than there was Tuesday. Some parts of Kentucky were under flood advisories, and over the next few days, some locations could get 2 more inches of rain, he said.

Roberts said that in a twisted way, more heavy rain could help cleanup efforts by clearing roads and driveways of accumulated mud and debris.
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Cloud Precipitation

More than 700 dead and 650,000 homes destroyed in Chinese floods


CNN
Wed, 21 Jul 2010 08:24 UTC
Image
© XinhuaSoldiers transfer people trapped by flood water on a rubber boat in Guang'an, Southwest China's Sichuan Province on July 19, 2010.
Torrential flooding across much of the nation has left 701 dead and hundreds missing, China's vice minister of water resources said.

At least 347 people are missing, Liu Ning told reporters in Beijing on Wednesday.

Ninety-percent of the casualties were caused by mountain floods, mudslides and landslides triggered by heavy downpours. About 645,500 houses had collapsed, he said.

More than 230 rivers were above warning levels; 25 of them saw their highest levels ever, he said.

More than 100 cities flooded, he said.

Liu cited torrential downpours between June 13 and June 27, and heavy rain on July 8 in southern China as particularly damaging.

"In southern China, the rainfall is 30 to 100 percent higher than the historical average," he said.
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Bizarro Earth

Thousands Evacuated as Storm Batters Vietnam

Ho Binh Minh
Reuters
Sun, 18 Jul 2010 10:56 UTC
Image
© Reuters/VNAA car drives past a wave caused by Typhoon Conson in Vietnam's northern Hai Phong city July 17, 2010.
Vietnamese troops evacuated thousands of people from their homes in the north of the country Sunday due to threats of flash flooding and landslides, as the death toll from Typhoon Conson rose to more than 70.

Typhoon Conson was downgraded to a tropical storm as it hit northern Vietnam late Saturday after battering the Philippines and the southern Chinese island of Hainan over the past week.

State-run Voice of Vietnam radio said the army had sent 3,500 soldiers to help evacuate people in coastal provinces, and others were being moved from dangerous areas in four mountainous provinces due to the threat of flooding.

The region lies far from Vietnam's Mekong Delta food basket in the south, which supplies 90 percent of rice for exports.
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Snowman

Rare July cold snap blankets half of Argentina in snow, even northern subtropical regions affected

Jill Colton
Weather Network
Sat, 17 Jul 2010 10:31 UTC
Image
© UnknownKids playing in a rare snowfall - Cordoba, Argentina
Argentina is suffering from some unusually cold weather. In fact, snow fell in over half the provinces on Friday.

Snow in July? Well, that's the case for Argentina this week. It is winter in the southern hemisphere.

An arctic air mass is hovering over the middle of the country, bringing frigid temperatures and leaving snow on the ground. In Cordoba, north and east of the capital, roads and homes were blanketed in white, making driving conditions trecherous, but exciting children with the rare snowfall.

Local newspapers reported that the temperature plunged to -1.5°C in Buenos Aires, on Friday -- making it the coolest day in a decade for the capital. Even the beaches saw white powder. The coastal resort city Mar del Plata was blanketed by snow for two days straight.
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Cloud Lightning

Four Kids Struck by Lightning at Bible Camp in Michigan, U.S.


9&10 News
Thu, 15 Jul 2010 16:00 UTC
Four teenagers in Montcalm county are hospitalized after getting hit by lightning at a Church Bible Camp.

The sheriff says it happened just after two this afternoon at Rock Lake Methodist Bible Church Camp in Richland township.

The four teenagers were standing near a baseball field huddled under some umbrellas when lightning hit them.

All were knocked to the ground and suffered burns and numbness to their bodies. Paramedics took two of them to a hospital in Grand Rapids, two others were taken to a nearby hospital.
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Arrow Down

Peru: Temperatures in Cusco highlands drop to -20°C

Isabel Guerra
LivinginPeru.com
Fri, 16 Jul 2010 16:09 UTC
Image
© Image Shack
The extremely low temperatures in the highlands of Cusco region reached -20°C (-4°F) this week, one of the lowest this year, reports the regional head of the National Service of Meteorology and Hydrology (Senamhi), Zenon Huaman.

He told Andina news agency that these temperatures were registered in areas higher than 3,800 metres above sea level in the provinces of Canchis, Quispicanchis and Paucartambo.

He also said that the sensation of cold is more noticeable in the city of Cusco, that has had temperatures of 4.2°C(39.6°F), and recommended to wear warm clothes and take precautions to avoid respiratory diseases and infections.
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Snowman

Alberta walloped with snow

Andrea Stockton
The Weather Network
Tue, 13 Jul 2010 11:56 UTC
Image
You're not seeing or hearing things. It's the middle of July and heavy snow is blanketing parts of Alberta.

"There wasn't any snow on the ground last night when I went to bed," says Megan Gibson from the Marmot Basin Ski Resort near Jasper. "I think it started snowing as early as this morning and since about 6:30 this morning, we've had around 18 centimetres fall at the lower chalet."

Gibson adds that even heavier amounts are expected higher up. Usually at this time of year crews are preparing for the next ski season instead of actually partaking in winter-like activities.

While not completely impossible, heavy snow like this in July is pretty rare.

"This is totally out of the blue. To receive this much snow in July and have it stay on the ground is unheard of," says Gibson.
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Cloud Lightning

India: Lightning Bolt Hits School, Injuring 14 Children


The Daily Telegraph
Thu, 15 Jul 2010 17:48 UTC
Fourteen children were injured today when a bolt of lightning hit their elementary school in Talcher, eastern India.

The youngsters, 11 girls and three boys, were attending classes at Kalamachhuin Upper Primary School when the bolt struck just after 2pm local time.

Two students were seriously hurt. Nine others were also taken to a local hospital.

The school's headmistress, Hemalata Sethy, said: "Suddenly, I heard a bursting sound and later, I found 10 to 12 students lying on the floor unconscious.

"After I alerted, villagers come to our rescue."
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Bizarro Earth

China Faces Worst Floods in Years

Ben Blanchard and Manny Mogato
Reuters
Thu, 15 Jul 2010 02:26 UTC
Image
© Reuters/StringerFishermen salvage fishing nets from their capsized boat after Typhoon Conson hit Mariveles, Bataan province, north of Manila July 15, 2010.
Heavy rains and powerful winds battered East Asia on Thursday, pressing authorities to evacuate hundreds of thousands of people from their homes in Japan and putting China on alert for its worst floods in years.

In the Philippines, power was gradually restored to millions of homes in and around Manila after Typhoon Conson hit the capital harder than expected on Tuesday night, killing 23 people and leaving dozens missing.

Tropical Storm Risk downgraded the typhoon to a tropical storm on Thursday, but the Philippines' weather bureau said it was expected to regain strength as it moved over the South China Sea and headed toward southern China and northern Vietnam.

Conson was due to hit land late on Friday, the Tropical Storm Risk website said.
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Bizarro Earth

Eight dead after Typhoon Conson smashes Philippines


Terra Daily / Agence-France Presse
Wed, 14 Jul 2010 15:11 UTC
Image
© Unknown
At least eight people were confirmed dead on Wednesday after Typhoon Conson ripped across the Philippines, sweeping shanties into the sea and bringing the nation's capital to a standstill.

Conson, the first typhoon of the year, hit the Southeast Asian archipelago late on Tuesday before sweeping over the heavily populated main island of Luzon with maximum gusts of 120 kilometres (74 miles) an hour.

"The wind howled like a child screaming," said Rigor Sambol, 52, a father of six who lives in a coastal shanty town on the outskirts of Manila that was partly destroyed.

"It was so strong, our houseboat nearly got flipped over. I had to take the children one by one to a nearby gym where they spent the evening on the cold floor."
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