Storms
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Cloud Lightning

Extreme weather brings winds, fierce rains to Saudi Arabia's Mecca


Al Jazeera
Wed, 23 Aug 2023 11:48 UTC
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Saudi Arabia's Mecca, home to Islam's holiest sites, has seen extreme storms and rain that affected pilgrims, shuttered schools and caused chaotic scenes.

Videos online on Tuesday showed pilgrims who were doing the tawaf - circling the Kaaba - getting soaked and slipping on the floor as heavy rains thrashed and carried objects around.

As the rare scenes were unfolding at the giant black cube towards which all Muslims pray, another video showed a bolt of lightning striking the iconic Fairmont Makkah Clock Royal Tower hotel, illuminating the night sky on Tuesday.

Hussain al-Qahtani, spokesman for the National Center for Meteorology, posted on X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter that the storm brought gale-force winds exceeding 80 kilometres (50 miles) per hour.

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Watch video of waterspout spinning in front of massive Canadian wildfire

Steven Yablonski
FOX Weather
Wed, 23 Aug 2023 11:16 UTC
A waterspout is seen spinning in front of a massive wildfire in Canada.
A waterspout is seen spinning in front of a massive wildfire in Canada.
A dramatic video recorded in British Columbia, Canada shows a swirling waterspout spinning across the water while a massive wildfire scorches the landscape in the background.

According to the FOX Forecast Center, a cold front swept through the Lillooet, Canada, area last week, following several days of hot and dry weather.

The waterspout was filmed in the pre-dawn hours of Aug. 18 in the Gun Lake area by firefighters working on the Downton Lake fire.

With the intense heat from the wildfire as an added component to the lift of the cold front, wind in the atmosphere began to twist and led to the development of the waterspout.

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Cloud Precipitation

Tropical storm Hilary: Drone footage shows people rescued by bulldozers, flood damage in California


Global News
Tue, 22 Aug 2023 14:31 UTC
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Video taken by a drone shows the extent of damage from flash flooding in Palm Springs and Cathedral City after Tropical Storm Hilary swept through southern California, the first tropical storm to hit the area in 84 years.

So far no deaths, serious injuries or extreme damage has been reported in California though officials warn that risks remain, especially in the mountainous regions where wet hillsides could unleash mudslides.

Rescue officials in Cathedral City, drove bulldozers through the mud-swamped streets to rescue residents trapped by the floodwaters.

Some 46 rescues were performed in the city between late Sunday night and Monday afternoon as mud and water reached up to 1.5 metres in some areas.

For more info, please go to https://globalnews.ca/news/9909049/tr...

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Cloud Precipitation

Harold: Second US tropical storm in a week drenches Texas

Brandon Drenon
BBC
Wed, 23 Aug 2023 14:12 UTC
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© NOAA
Tropical Storm Harold made landfall on the south-east coast of Texas on Tuesday, bringing more heavy rain and high winds to the southern US.

The storm has dumped up to 7in (17.7cm) of rain in some parts of the state.

By late Tuesday afternoon, the storm had been downgraded to a tropical depression, but heavy rains continued.

More than 23,000 people were without power in the Lone Star state on Tuesday night.

The Texas deluge arrived a day after historic amounts of rain flooded parts of the south-western US.

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Cloud Precipitation

'Floodwater up to 3 feet high' Grand Canyon flooding forces evacuations, knocks out power

Natalie Neysa Alund
USA TODAY
Wed, 23 Aug 2023 13:27 UTC
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Flooding at the Grand Canyon's south rim forced evacuations, power outages and a swift water team response to the area on Tuesday, the Arizona Department of Transportation reported.

"Travel to and from the South Rim of Grand Canyon National Park is not recommended," the National Park posted on X, the social platform formerly called Twitter, after it closed State Route 64 Tuesday just south of Tusayan due to flooded area.

The gateway town is one of the park's two entrances (the North Rim and the South Rim).

So far no fatalities have been reported, a National Park dispatcher told USA TODAY on Wednesday morning, and roads in the area were reopening.

The dispatcher said rain started falling Monday and continued through late Tuesday night.

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Cloud Precipitation

Best of the Web: Death Valley in California got year's worth of rain in 24 hours - all-time wettest day


abc7.com
Tue, 22 Aug 2023 12:28 UTC
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Death Valley is known for breaking records when it comes to hot temperatures, but on Sunday, Tropical Storm Hilary dumped 2.2 inches of rain over the area, which breaks the record for the all-time wettest day in Death Valley.

According to the National Weather Service, that's actually the exact amount of rain they average annually.

Death Valley National Park remained closed Monday due to mud and debris flows and the threat of flash flooding. Even once the park reopens, getting around may be difficult. Park officials said the shoulders of several roads have been either undercut or washed away.


Comment: Related: Tropical Storm Hilary hitting Southern California as Southwest braces for its wrath - first such storm in 84 years

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Two waterspouts erupt over Lake Toba in Sumatra, Indonesia


Lastly.com
Mon, 21 Aug 2023 11:49 UTC
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A video of waterspouts erupting over a lake in Indonesia is going viral on social media.

The 39-second viral clip shows two waterspouts whirling over Lake Toba in Indonesia's Sumatra.

The stunning video was shared by a Twitter handle which said that the two waterspouts were caught on camera over Lake Toba in Sumatra on August 20.

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Cloud Precipitation

Two dead, thousands homeless in Chile after heavy rains

Natalia A. Ramos Miranda
Yahoo! News
Mon, 21 Aug 2023 11:35 UTC
Floods in Maule Region, Chile, August 2023.
© Carabineros MauleFloods in Maule Region, Chile, August 2023.
Two people are dead from flooding in the central-southern region of Chile on Monday, while thousands others have been evacuated or left homeless from dangerous rains pounding isolated communities.

President Gabriel Boric declared a state of catastrophe on Monday while visiting one of the worst affected areas, some 250 kilometers (155 miles) south of the capital Santiago.

In late June surrounding areas had experienced some of the heaviest rainfall in three decades, exacerbated by the El Nino weather pattern that has led to rainier winters and springs in the central-southern part of Chile, as well as warmer temperatures.

Forecasters expect more rain to fall across this mountainous area, which authorities warn increases the risk of flooding and landslides.

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Typhoon Lan makes landfall in Japan, causes rivers to overflow on August 15


New York Post
Wed, 16 Aug 2023 10:35 UTC
A swollen river as Typhoon Lan makes landfall in Shingu City, Wakayama Prefecture on Tuesday.
© Takumi Harada/The Yomiuri ShimbunA swollen river as Typhoon Lan makes landfall in Shingu City, Wakayama Prefecture on Tuesday.
Nearly 900 flights in Japan were cancelled and 240,000 people were ordered to move to safety as a slow-moving typhoon crossed Japan's main island of Honshu not far from the ancient capital of Kyoto, cutting off power to tens of thousands of homes.

Typhoon Lan, approaching from the Pacific Ocean, made landfall early on Tuesday at the southern tip of Wakayama prefecture, some 250 miles southwest of Tokyo, bringing heavy rain and powerful winds across a wide swathe of central and western Japan as it moved north.

Authorities issued flood and landslide warnings as rivers rose to the top of their banks, with parts of some bridges washed away.

Read more at https://nypost.com/2023/08/16/typhoon...

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Cloud Precipitation

River flooding causes emergency in Russia's Buryatia Republic

Mansoor Hameed
The Siasat Daily
Sun, 20 Aug 2023 09:57 UTC
BAM was washed away due to a dam break
© All Ulan-UdeBAM was washed away due to a dam break
A state of emergency was declared in Russia's Buryatia Republic on Sunday after a dam collapsed, a river overflowed and railway tracks eroded, the regional head said.

Alexey Tsydenov, head of the Buryatia, said on his social media channel that he held a commission on the situation in the Severo-Baykalsky district, where the Cold River and the Baikal-Amur Mainline (BAM) were affected by heavy rainfall, Xinhua news agency reported.

He said an operational headquarters was formed to coordinate the relief efforts, and road and construction equipment was being used to restore the damaged infrastructure.

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