Storms
S


Cloud Lightning

Lightning strike kills elephant in Pattaya, Thailand

Boonklong, a 40-year-old elephant, died after it was struck by lightning at a Pattaya elephant camp.
Boonklong, a 40-year-old elephant, died after it was struck by lightning at a Pattaya elephant camp.
A 40-year-old elephant died after it was struck by lightning at a Pattaya elephant camp.

Mahout Somnuk Tidsandod, 46, reported May 7 that he found the carcass of Boonklong under a tree. The cow had electrical burns on two ankles, the exit point for the lightning.

Veterinarian Padet Siridumrong, an elephant specialist from Nernplabwan Animal Hospital, concluded the elephant was struck while chained in the woods.

Cloud Lightning

Lightning strike kills 43 goats in Gujarat, India

lightning
As the weather in Bharuch district turned rainy on Saturday afternoon, 43 goats in a village died of lightning.

The atmosphere suddenly turned cloudy and unseasonal rains accompanied by strong winds lashed the district.

In Sitpon village of Bharuch taluka, 43 goats grazing under a neem tree died after lightning struck the tree.

A group of farmers had taken their cattle out for grazing when it started to rain heavily around 4 pm. It was the second time in a week that Bharuch received unseasonal rain.

Cloud Precipitation

Massive floods hit Medellin, Colombia

flood
Heavy rains cause massive floods to hits Medellin, Colombia.


Cloud Lightning

Four killed, two injured in lightning strike in Chhattisgarh, India

lightning
Four members of a family were killed, while two others injured after being struck by lightning in Chhattisgarh's Korea district, police said on Friday.

The incident took place on Thursday evening, when the victims, including three sisters, were at their paddy field near Bichhli village under Kelhari police station area, an official said.

The deceased include Jailal Khairwar (45), his two daughters Pramila (20) and Subhadra (15) and son-in-law Bhupendra (25), he said.

Khairwar's son Surajbhan and daughter Budhhi sustained burn injuries in the incident, the official added.

On being alerted, a police team rushed to the spot and bodies were sent for post-mortem, he said, adding that the injured are undergoing treatment at the district hospital in Baikunthpur.

Source:PTI

Comment: On the same day a teenage girl was killed by a lightning strike in Nepal.


Cloud Precipitation

Evacuations and rescues after storm triggers floods in Western Cape, South Africa

Floods in Cape Agulhas, South Africa, May 2021.
Floods in Cape Agulhas, South Africa, May 2021.
A heavy storm in the Western Cape, South Africa, caused flooding in some parts of the province from 05 May 2021.

Areas of Overberg district have suffered some of the worst of the flooding. Around 90 mm of rain fell in Cape Agulhas in 24 hours to 06 May 2021, while 122 mm fell in Struisbaai during the same period.

Several people were evacuated from their homes in Cape Agulhas municipality of the district. One person was reported missing at Stormsvlei, where several people had to be rescued from flooded homes and vehicles. Other rescues were carried out in Riviersonderend.


Tornado2

Triple waterspout action off New South Wales, Australia

water spouts
WATER spouts off the coast at Old Bar, near Taree on NSW's North Coast, were matched by a brief but intense storm with hail, as the Bureau of Meteorology (BoM) predicts a cold snap and widespread rain for the remainder of the week across the east coast of NSW.

The weather event was short and sharp this afternoon (May 4) with Jason Fitzgerald of Port Macquarie capturing some of the triple water spout action off Old Bar beach.

At one point, five water spouts had formed and were seen offshore as far north as Harrington.


Cloud Lightning

Lightning kills 15 head of cattle in Macon County, Alabama

cows
Lightning associated with a band of thunderstorms that moved through Central Alabama last night struck and killed 15 head of cattle in Macon County.

Macon County Emergency Management Agency Director Frank Lee says it happened in the Milstead community, near Macon County Road 30.

Lee says the family cattle farm is owned by Michael Sims.

He says a report will be forwarded to the National Weather Service office in Birmingham.

Cloud Lightning

First documented case of rare red sprites in New Zealand

Rare red sprites captured in Kāpiti
© Brendan GullyRare red sprites captured in Kāpiti.


A Kāpiti photographer has captured a rare weather event, so rare it's the first time Metservice has documented the case.


Brendan Gully captured red sprites from the Kāpiti Coast last week during a thunderstorm capturing them not once, but three times.

"I was really stoked to have finally captured them in New Zealand and it was a bit of a relief too," Brendan said.

A landscape photographer who specialises in storms and likes to capture natural phenomena and scenes that are fleeting, Brendan has been chasing storms and red sprites for a few years.

"I started photography in 2015 and it was the storm-chasing that led me to get my first camera.

"I've had a decent number of attempts at them in the past, but just not had the right luck on the day."

Red sprites are rare bolts of red lightning that are rarely seen from the ground due to their high altitude.

They form between 50-90km above the Earth and only last a few milliseconds.

Comment: With the surge in sightings of rare or novel atmospheric phenomena in recent years it seems the electrical nature of our weather and changing atmosphere is becoming more apparent:


Cloud Lightning

Intense lightning display hits Dammam, Eastern Saudi Arabia

Saudi Arabia lightning
© YouTube/START (screen capture)
Night Turns Into Day ⚡️⚡️ Scary Storms And Lightning Hits Eastern Saudi Arabia, Dammam


Tornado2

After being pummeled, Southeast US faces the threat of more storms and tornadoes

A damaged tree sits on the side of Elvis Presley Drive in Tupelo, Mississippi, Monday
A damaged tree sits on the side of Elvis Presley Drive in Tupelo, Mississippi, Monday
After a calm night, Tuesday is expected to bring severe weather to the Southeast US, which has already been pummeled by deadly tornadoes.

A storm system moved out of Oklahoma and Texas -- where more than 36,000 people were without power early Tuesday morning, according to PowerOutages.us -- and into the Lower Ohio Valley and Tennessee area. The evening brought diminished downpours and wind gusts, but daybreak threatens to bring severe weather again.

Large hail, damaging wind gusts and tornadoes are forecast to impact the areas from the Ohio River Valley down to the Gulf Coast.

As the day progresses, the heat and humidity that accompanies the month of May in the Deep South will help to reinvigorate the atmosphere and areas along the Gulf Coast from East Texas to the Florida Panhandle could see strong to severe storms pop up until the arrival of the severe gusts that come with the advancing front.

Areas from Central Louisiana, Alabama, Georgia, and Mississippi are more likely to see impacts from hail and damaging straight-line winds rather than tornadoes. But tornadoes are still possible.

These can be just as damaging to a region already reeling from storms hitting the state over the past few days.