Storms
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Cloud Lightning

Canada: Golf ball-sized hail, thunderstorms pummel Calgary, southern Alberta


The Vancouver Sun
Tue, 13 Jul 2010 20:43 UTC
Image
© Gavin Young, Calgary Herald
High winds, heavy rain, and most of all, large hail, left a swath of damage across some communities in Calgary and southern Alberta during a Monday afternoon marked by tornado and severe thunderstorm warnings. The forecast for tomorrow raises the possibility of a repeat performance.

To the east, tornado warnings were issued through the afternoon for areas ranging from Drumheller, through the Strathmore region and into south eastern Alberta counties as at least three storm cells moved through, bringing rain, hail, high winds and the threat of even more severe weather. At least one funnel cloud was spotted near Strathmore during the storm, prompting some to head to their basements to wait out the severe weather.

Environment Canada meteorologist Sandy Massey said more rain is expected, with some areas north of Calgary predicted to see up to 70 mm falling tonight and tomorrow. Wednesday is expected to be a bit drier, she said.
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Cloud Lightning

Lightning Sparks New Wildfires Across Alaska

Jeff Richardson
Fairbanks Daily News-Miner
Sun, 27 Jun 2010 04:00 UTC
Image
© AP Photo
A barrage of lightning strikes across Interior Alaska sparked a handful of new fires on Friday, including a fast-growing blaze near Stevens Village.

The Pat Creek Fire, about 12 miles north of the Yukon River village, has exploded in size since it was detected late Friday afternoon. Fire information officer Sarah Saarloos said the blaze has "definitely grown a lot" since it was mapped at 325 acres on Saturday morning, although the size estimate hadn't been updated.

Gusty winds and dry fuels in the area contributed to the rapid growth, despite a heavy response by firefighters.

Less than 24 hours after it was reported, Saarloos said about 160 personnel were working on the fire, including 32 smokejumpers and five 20-person crews. An incident command center has been established in Stevens Village.
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Cloud Lightning

India: Lightning Strikes School in Gondal, Six Kids Injured


Times of India
Sat, 26 Jun 2010 15:45 UTC
Six students sustained injuries after lightning struck them while they were playing at a school in Gondal on Friday night.

Sources said that lightning struck Swaminarayan Gurukul School in Gondal which received 12 mm of rainfall in two hours.

"The lightning struck down six students between the age group of 10 to 15 years who were playing in the school ground at 8 pm. The students identified as Pushparajsinh Gohel, Sidhdharthsinh Jadeja, Hitendrasinh Chawda, Pratik Bhikhubhai, Hardik Vavadiya and Bhagirath Mangalubhai received burn injuries and were rushed to a hospital, where their condition is said to be stable," said an official from Rajkot district administration.
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Cloud Lightning

Illinois, US: Lightning Strike Injures Four People

Brian Boesen
WQAD 8
Wed, 23 Jun 2010 20:42 UTC
Four leaders of a Rockford, Illinois Boy Scout group may be wishing they had taken their own advice, after being struck by lightning Wednesday afternoon in Rock Island.

"The sirens went off. The radio with us, it went off. So we sent the boys up for protection and it just happened real quick," said Jesse McDuell, a scout leader who was hit by lightning.

About 5 p.m. Wednesday night, a slew of dangerous storms closed in on the KOA campground where the scouts were staying since Sunday.

With the seven boys in a restroom shelter, the four leaders grabbed onto the metal braces of an awning, trying to keep it from blowing away.
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Umbrella

Canada: Lightning, flooding hit Calgary


CBC News
Wed, 23 Jun 2010 12:09 UTC
Image
© Gabe McClintock/Perspectiveye Photography
Emergency crews in Calgary had their hands full Tuesday with flooding and lightning strikes.

Rain, hail, thunder, lightning and flooding struck various parts of Calgary on Tuesday afternoon.

Fire crews and paramedics received almost 100 calls between 3 p.m. and 5 p.m. MT. Crews responded to everything from traffic accidents to false alarms downtown because of electrical overloads, said Barry Dawson, a spokesman for the Calgary fire department.

"We've had confirmed lightning strikes, working fires, smouldering fires, just about everything this afternoon. It's been absolutely crazy," said Dawson.

There were at least 13 cases of lightning hitting buildings in the city, he said. None have caused any serious damage.

Lightning is believed to have sparked a fire at a paper products warehouse at 10351 46th Street S.E. And firefighters had to remove smouldering attic insulation from a house on Arbour Glen Close N.W. that was hit by lightning.
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USA

Jesus Struck by Lightning, Melts in Fireball (Video)

Joshua Burns
The Examiner.com
Tue, 15 Jun 2010 09:49 UTC
Jesus Burns
© C. EnquirerGiant Jesus of Monroe was disintegrated after being struck by lightning Monday Night.
In one of the most ironic acts of God in recent memory, a six-story tall statute of Jesus Christ was struck by lightning Monday night and engulfed in flames. The only thing left remaining of the fiberglass and plastic depiction of the Son of God was his charred steel frame, Tuesday morning.

The "King of Kings" statue had become a nationally-known landmark, the most well known landmark in southwest Ohio. It measured at 62 feet high and 40 feet wide and reportedly cost the Solid Rock Church of Monroe, Ohio $250,000 to construct.

When crews arrived, Monroe Fire Chief Mark Neu said the statue was fully engulfed and the fire had spread to the attic area of the church's adjacent amphitheater. There were no injuries, said Neu, who spoke just before 2:30 a.m. to media at the scene. It was a "hot fire," he said, which made it more difficult to battle, but it was extinguished within about an hour.
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Sun

Best of the Web: NASA warns solar flares from 'huge space storm' will cause devastation


Daily Telegraph
Tue, 15 Jun 2010 06:41 UTC

Britain could face widespread power blackouts and be left without critical communication signals for long periods of time, after the earth is hit by a once-in-a-generation "space storm", Nasa has warned.

National power grids could overheat and air travel severely disrupted while electronic items, navigation devices and major satellites could stop working after the Sun reaches its maximum power in a few years.

Senior space agency scientists believe the Earth will be hit with unprecedented levels of magnetic energy from solar flares after the Sun wakes "from a deep slumber" sometime around 2013.

In a new warning, Nasa said the super storm would hit like "a bolt of lightning" and could cause catastrophic consequences for the world's health, emergency services and national security unless precautions are taken.

Comment: However... see this:
What's wrong with the sun?

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Attention

US: Lightning Sparks Massive Fire at Gas Company in North Carolina


CNN
Sun, 13 Jun 2010 10:19 UTC
Lightning strikes apparently caused a major fire at a gas company in North Carolina early Sunday morning, fire officials said.

The blaze started at Colonial Pipeline Company in Greensboro after midnight, said David Douglas, an assistant fire chief in Greensboro.

A pipe with 20,000 gallons of gas was burning and two tanks with about 12,000 gallons of gas caught on fire, Douglas said.

Firefighters used foam to extinguish the flames on the tanks, Colonial Pipeline spokesman Steve Baker said.

The huge facility, known as the tank farm, is near Piedmont Triad International Airport, and the massive blaze sent plumes of smoke throughout the area.
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Cloud Lightning

US: Lightning Hits Teen Girl, Horse at Connecticut Farm

Ronald DeRosa
The Register Citizen
Fri, 11 Jun 2010 03:00 UTC
A teenage girl is apparently in fair condition Thursday afternoon after being struck by lightning while horseback riding at a Goshen farm.

The girl was riding a horse at Pie Hill Farm when she was struck during a thunderstorm that swept the region, and is reportedly "okay," said Marcy Grambo, owner of the 28-acre horseback riding and boarding facility.

"I received a text message from her mother that she's going to be fine," Grambo said. "I'm glad she's okay."

Grambo said the girl is a minor, and, as such, declined to give her name or state where she was from. She boards her horse at the farm, Grambo said.
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Cloud Lightning

Malaysia: Lightning Struck Two Teenagers in Klang


The Star
Thu, 10 Jun 2010 03:00 UTC
Two members of a funeral band cheated death when they were struck by lightning while standing under a tree.

M. Gunaseelan, 18, and V. Jeevanesan, 16, were waiting for a funeral procession to start at about 2.30pm yesterday when the incident occurred.

According to witnesses, there was a thunderclap, followed by a bolt of light and the youths screamed.

Gunaseelan and Jeevanesan were thrown several metres away by the impact of the lightning.

The lightning bolt caused the base of the tree to be charred.

Several cars in the area were also covered in soil flung up from the ground where the bolt of lightning had hit.

At the time of the incident, it was cloudy but not raining.
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