Storms
S


Lightning

Lightning strike kills 2, injures 150 in South Africa


Arab News
Sun, 04 Jan 2026 11:28 UTC
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© FILE/AFPThe incident occurred on Saturday night near the village of Mathibestad.
Lightning struck 150 people gathered at a festival north of South Africa's capital Pretoria, killing two, local health services said on Sunday.

The incident occurred on Saturday night near the village of Mathibestad, about 70 kilometers (40 miles) of Pretoria, where a traditional celebration is held every year.

The North West health department said 150 patients came to a health clinic after being struck by lightning during the event, adding that two died and 13 were in critical condition and transferred to another health facility.

Storms are frequent in this part of South Africa during the current summer season in the southern hemisphere.

AFP
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Snowflake

A bomb cyclone brings blizzards to the Midwest before turning east

Leah Willingham and Jeff Martin
AP
Mon, 29 Dec 2025 20:37 UTC
ohio snowstorm
© AP
A strengthening bomb cyclone barreled across the northern U.S. on Monday, unleashing severe winter weather in the Midwest as it took aim at the East Coast.

The storm brought blizzard conditions, treacherous travel and power outages to parts of the Plains and Great Lakes on Monday as sharply colder air, strong winds and a mix of snow, ice and rain swept through.

Forecasters said the storm intensified quickly enough to meet the criteria of a bomb cyclone, a system that strengthens rapidly as pressure drops. The sharp cold front left parts of the central U.S. waking up Monday to temperatures as much as 50 degrees Fahrenheit (28 degrees Celsius) colder than the day before.

All that wind and snow created "a pretty significant system for even this part of the country," said Cody Snell, a meteorologist with the Weather Prediction Center. Dangerous wind chills plunged as low as minus 30 F (minus 34 C) across parts of North Dakota and Minnesota.
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Lightning

Lightning strike kills laborer on New Year's Day in the Philippines

Glazyl Masculino
Manila Bulletin
Fri, 02 Jan 2026 12:11 UTC
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A 43-year-old laborer was killed by a lightning strike in Purok Toril, Barangay Jonob Jonob, Escalante City, Negros Occidental on New Year's Day.

Police Capt. Lindsey Caraballe, deputy chief of the Escalante City Police Station, said the victim was preparing milk for his child when he was struck by lightning during heavy rainfall at 6 a.m.

The victim's clothes were damaged. His house was made of bamboo and the door was open when lightning hit.

Caraballe said the victim was declared dead in a hospital.
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Tsunami

Streets, vehicles under water in record rain for San Diego, California - month's worth of rain in just hours

Dimple Singh
Times Now News
Fri, 02 Jan 2026 20:22 UTC
The heavy rain caused fast-moving water, stranded cars and dangerous conditions in many neighborhoods.
The heavy rain caused fast-moving water, stranded cars and dangerous conditions in many neighborhoods.
San Diego received a month's worth of rain in just hours on New Year's Day, flooding streets and making it one of the city's 15 wettest days on record. The heavy rain caused fast-moving water, stranded cars and dangerous conditions in many neighborhoods.

Videos on social media showed streets turning into rushing streams and people trying to escape the flooding.

Now, forecasters say more rain is coming, but it would be lighter.


The National Weather Service said a series of weak but colder weather systems will move across the region through the middle of next week. These systems could bring light to moderate showers at times. Clearing is expected by Wednesday, with daytime temperatures staying in the 60s.
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Hardhat

Large hailstones batter Middelburg, South Africa

Carmia Jansen van Vuuren
Middelburg Observer
Thu, 01 Jan 2026 13:48 UTC
Residents from Dennesig, Mineralia and Aerorand shared photo's of the severe hailstorm, this afternoon in Middelburg.
Residents from Dennesig, Mineralia and Aerorand shared photo's of the severe hailstorm, this afternoon in Middelburg.
A sudden and severe hailstorm struck Middelburg this afternoon (1 January), pelting homes and gardens with large hailstones and raising concerns over possible damage to vehicles and property.

Residents in parts of Middelburg were caught off guard on Thursday afternoon when a powerful hailstorm moved through the town, leaving lawns, pavements and yards in Dennesig, Mineralia and Aerorand, covered in large hailstones.

Photos shared with Middelburg Observer show golf-ball-sized ice stones, with residents reporting concerns about vehicle, roof and garden damage. In some areas, hail remained scattered across properties well after the storm had passed.

According to Storm Report SA, the storm developed rapidly. While no injuries have been reported at this stage, residents are urged to check vehicles and homes for damage and remain alert as storm season continues.

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Tsunami

Flooding kills 12, injures 11 in Afghanistan


The Hans India
Thu, 01 Jan 2026 14:18 UTC
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At least 12 people were killed and 11 others injured after heavy rainfall and snowfall triggered severe flash floods across multiple provinces in Afghanistan over the past three days, a spokesman for the National Disaster Management Authority said on Thursday.

Hafiz Mohammad Yusuf Hammad, spokesman for the authority, said the disaster struck Kapisa, Parwan, Daykundi, Uruzgan, Kandahar, Helmand, Badghis, Faryab, Badakhshan, Herat and Farah provinces.

The mishap also caused extensive property damage, destroying or partially damaging 1,859 homes and washing away 209 km of rural roads, Hammad added, Xinhua news agency reported.

Additionally, approximately 1,200 livestock perished, and 13,941 acres of agricultural land were swamped or destroyed. Rescue and relief teams have been dispatched to the affected areas to assist victims, and the distribution of emergency aid is underway as damage assessments continue, Hammad said.


Comment: Related: Bus swept away by flash flood in Shindand, Afghanistan - 3 passengers killed

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Snowflake

Snow, floods hit Syria as winter storm forces class suspensions

Hussien Elkabany and Mohammad Sio
Anadolu Agency
Wed, 31 Dec 2025 12:31 UTC
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Snowfall and flash floods battered Syria on Wednesday, as authorities suspended classes in multiple provinces and placed civil defense teams on high alert amid a severe winter storm.

A snowstorm that struck northern Syria early Wednesday worsened conditions for internally displaced families living in camps across Idlib and the countryside of Aleppo, where limited resources left residents struggling to cope with freezing temperatures.

Government-led response efforts, spearheaded by the civil defense, sought to provide assistance within available means, according to the state-run Alikhbariyah TV.

Displacement camps in the city of Azaz, northwest of Aleppo, faced particularly dire humanitarian conditions as the snowstorm continued, with shortages of heating supplies and severe gaps in aid, exacerbating hardships for families, especially children and the elderly, the channel said.

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Snowflake Cold

Juneau in Alaska deals with avalanche risks after record-breaking snowfall

Hannah Lee
Alaskasnewssource.com
Thu, 01 Jan 2026 11:59 UTC
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Snowfall in Juneau over the past week has smashed records for the city and borough, bringing avalanche risks and sunken vessels.

The previous record of 54.7 inches was set back in 1964, and this December will close with over 80 inches of snowfall. A typical year for Juneau brings about 80 to 81 inches of snowfall.

Nicole Ferrin from the NWS told reporters Wednesday that Juneau has broken the five-day snowfall record, the previous record being set in April 1963 with 45.9 inches.

"As of midnight last night, we had gotten to 46.8 inches at the airport," Ferrin said. "So we surpassed the previous longest record snow event at the Juneau Airport."

She states that no further major snowfall is expected over the next few days, but temperatures will drop.

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Tsunami

Man found dead inside vehicle submerged in floodwaters amid record rainfall in Queensland, Australia - over a metre of rain in 4 days


Sky News
Wed, 31 Dec 2025 13:34 UTC
Recent images from flood cameras in the region show water has inundated roads.
© Carpentaria Shire CouncilRecent images from flood cameras in the region show water has inundated roads.
A 70-year-old man was found dead inside a car submerged in floodwaters at Normanton, as extreme rainfall continues to inundate large parts Queensland.

Police were called to Gulf Development Road shortly after 3pm on Tuesday, where the man was discovered dead.

Queensland Premier David Crisafulli announced the death on Wednesday morning, saying the loss had deeply affected the local community in the north-west where the man lived.

"In the end, property can be replaced. People can't," Mr Crisafulli told Sunrise from Mount Isa, where he was inspecting flood damage.

The Premier said two weather systems had dumped extraordinary rainfall across the region, with some isolated areas recording totals exceeding those seen during the devastating 2019 floods.

"This is certainly not as widespread as that, but there are isolated pockets where people have had some really, really significant damage and some significant loss," he said.


Comment: Weatherzone.com.au reports:
[...]

Queensland monsoonal rain

As mentioned, three Queensland weather stations have now received more than a metre (1000mm) of rain from the ongoing monsoonal deluge, as of 9am Wednesday. They are:

- Bingil Bay 1114.2mm (last four days 405.6mm, 344.6mm, 245.2mm, 118.8mm)
- South Mission Beach 1048 mm (last four days 252mm, 312mm, 369mm, 115mm)
- Cowley Beach 1037mm (last four days 413.2mm, 362.4mm, 221mm, 40.4mm)

[...]


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Snowflake

Heavy snow in Poland leaves drivers stranded in tailbacks of up to 20 km


Reuters
Wed, 31 Dec 2025 13:09 UTC
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Heavy snowfall ​in Poland caused tailbacks stretching as far as 20 km (12.43 miles) on a motorway between the capital Warsaw ​and the Baltic port city of Gdansk during ‌the night, police said on ⁠Wednesday. While the situation ‌left hundreds of people trapped in their cars in freezing conditions, by the early hours of Wednesday morning traffic was moving again, according to police.

"The ​difficult situation began yesterday after 4 pm, when the first trucks on the S7 route... began having trouble approaching the slopes," ‌said ‌Tomasz Markowski, a spokesperson for police in the northern city of Olsztyn.

"This ⁠led to a traffic jam stretching approximately 20 kilometres overnight." Deputy Infrastructure Minister Stanislaw Bukowiec told a press conference that nobody ⁠had been hurt as a ⁠result of the difficult situation on the ‌roads. Anna Karczewska, a spokesperson for police ‌in Ostroda, said officers had tried to help drivers who found themselves stuck. Ostroda lies on the ‍highway about 40 km west of Olsztyn.

"We helped as much as we could, and we had coffee and hot tea for the drivers, which the Ostroda City Hall had prepared for us," she said.

State news agency PAP reported that there had also ​been some disruption to ‌railways and airports, but that services were returning to normal.

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