Storms
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Lightning

Teen killed in lightning strike in Pembroke Pines, Florida

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A McArthur High School 11th grader was killed in an apparent lightning strike in Pembroke Pines on Wednesday afternoon, according to Pembroke Pines Fire Rescue.

The boy, who was identified as 16-year-old Cameron Day by friends and family on social media, was reportedly riding his bike home from band practice when he stopped in a neighborhood just south of Pines Boulevard off SW 67 Avenue.

Zandra Laguna said just after 5 p.m. she went out front to call in her cat and noticed a boy across the street.

"The boy was like standing right in front of my house on the other side of the street and he just looked at me. It looked like he was waiting for someone. He was on his bike. He wasn't riding. He was just standing on his bike," she said.

She said a few moments later a storm moved in.

Snowflake

Best of the Web: Unprecedented September snowstorm passes in the Alps - up to 2.5 meters (8 FEET) of snow reported

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It's the largest September snowfall in living memory in parts of the Alps. Most will melt but some won't, with some superb autumn conditions. People are already skiing, but there have been several avalanches with caution urged.

Some eastern parts of the Alps saw the the biggest September snowfalls in living memory.

At altitude there was over 2m in places, with snow down to 700m.

It has made a difference to the glacier ski areas in Austria that are already open and ones opening shortly.

"The higher parts of the central and eastern Austrian Alps (e.g. Dachstein glacier, Kitzsteinhorn glacier, Obertauern) have seen 1.5m to 2m of snow in the last few days, with perhaps close to 2.5m in some favoured spots like the Höhe Tauern, though in most cases this snow has been very wind-blown and therefore difficult to measure," said the alpine weather expert, Fraser Wilkin, from weathertoski.co.uk


Cloud Precipitation

Storm Boris causes severe flooding in northern Italy

Floods in Italy due to Storm Boris pummeled the same area affected in May 2023
Floods in Italy due to Storm Boris pummeled the same area affected in May 2023
Storm Boris' passage through northern Italy has caused severe flooding in Emilia-Romagna region, with more than 1,000 people evacuated overnight.

The entire region, where the regional and civil protection alert has been elevated from orange to red, was hit by heavy rain overnight Wednesday.

More than 800 people were evacuated in Ravenna area, and almost 200 in Bologna area. They spent the night in shelters set up by the municipalities.

Mayors and local administrations have made appeals through all available channels, from loudspeakers to Facebook posts, urging residents to go to the highest floors of their buildings due to rising rivers.


Tornado2

Pillar-like waterspout damages homes on Venezuelan island

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A towering waterspout off the island of Margarita, Venezuela, came ashore on September 17 and damaged buildings, local media reported.

The waterspout, which formed amid intense rainfall and thunderstorms, caused walls to collapse and roofs of houses to fly away, according to Noticia al Dia.

Footage shared by Instagram user @enriquezabala7 shows the impressive waterspout spinning off shore. Credit: @enriquezabala7 via Storyful


Tsunami

About 15 cars swept away by floodwater in Alcalá del Júcar, Spain

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Around fifteen cars were swept away by the waters this Wednesday after the ravine overflowed in the town of Alcalá del Júcar (Albacete).

According to sources from Europa Press, Castilla-La Mancha emergency service 112. At that time it was not raining in the city, but "it had rained higher up", when a flood of water crossed the city, overflowing the ravine.

The Castilla-La Mancha Emergency Service received the call at 3:27 p.m. and sent Civil Protection personnel and mobilized firefighters from Casas Ibáñez and the Civil Guard. The only thing to regret was material damage, according to the 112 service.

The president of the Provincial Council of Albacete, Santi Cabañeromoved to the town of Alcalá del Júcar where an intense flood occurred that, "in a matter of minutes" dragged several vehicles into the river, leaving much damage in the area, but causing no injuries.


Cloud Precipitation

Heavy rains cause severe flooding in Mexico City

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Puddles, flooding, fallen trees and disruption to transportation are some of the effects left by the heavy rains and strong winds recorded in Mexico City (CDMX) during the course of Monday, September 16. Among the most affected municipalities are Tlalpan, Iztacalco and Venustiano Carranza.

In fact, the Secretariat for Comprehensive Risk Management and Civil Protection has announced that the rainfall recorded this afternoon could continue to cause damage, which is why it has asked the capital's population to follow all official recommendations.


(Translated by Google)

Comment: Related: Death toll rises to 9 after landslide caused by heavy rain in Jilotzingo, Mexico


Snowflake

Historic snowfall in the Alps - over 5 feet of snow dumped

Obertauern
Obertauern, Austria
It can snow any month of the year here in Montana, but what's going on in Europe right now is historic. Many higher elevations in the Alps have been buried under three to five feet of snow. Like Montana, while snow in the Alps this time of year is not uncommon, this amount of snow in September is rare and record-breaking.

Even some of the valleys in Austria are dealing with two to three feet of snow. Toward the ski areas, some of the settled snow depth is greater than 5 feet, indicating that the snow totals were even higher.

A strong north flow across Europe has created their version of a pineapple express. Moisture from the North Atlantic hit the Alps similar to moisture streaming in from the Pacific and slamming into the cascades or Sierra Nevada, where snow totals can reach many feet more frequently.

Not all snow, this storm has created equally historic flooding with dams bursting, power knocked out, and it was responsible for at least 18 deaths. As this snow melts, more flooding is likely.


Cloud Precipitation

Best of the Web: A once-in-1,000-year rainfall event from an unnamed storm floods homes and forces rescues in North Carolina -18 inches of rain in 12 hours

The Brunswick County Sheriff's Office shared an image of flooding taken outside the county courthouse on Monday, September 16
© Brunswick County Sheriff's OfficeThe Brunswick County Sheriff's Office shared an image of flooding taken outside the county courthouse on Monday, September 16
Floodwater surged into homes, stranded vehicles and forced water rescues in coastal North Carolina on Monday after a tropical storm-like system dumped historic amounts of rain in a matter of hours.

"It's probably the worst flooding that any of us have seen in Carolina Beach," Town Manager Bruce Oakley told CNN of the tourist town not far from Wilmington. "We've had to rescue people from cars, also some from houses and businesses."

Emergency services fielded dozens of calls for rescue, Oakley added.

Carolina Beach was placed under a state of emergency Monday after a "historic" 18 inches of rain fell there in 12 hours at one station, a once-in-1,000-year rainfall event, according to the National Weather Service in Wilmington. More than a foot of rain in 12 hours was reported elsewhere in the area, a once-in-200-year rain event.


Cloud Lightning

Super Typhoon Yagi hits Vietnam killing over 290, with 38 others missing - 17 inches of rain in 24 hours (UPDATES)

Water is whipped up by high winds onto the shore of Phuong Luu lake as Super Typhoon Yagi hits Hai Phong
© NHAC NGUYENWater is whipped up by high winds onto the shore of Phuong Luu lake as Super Typhoon Yagi hits Hai Phong
Super Typhoon Yagi uprooted thousands of trees and swept ships and boats out to sea, killing one person, as it made landfall in northern Vietnam on Saturday, after leaving at least 23 dead through southern China and the Philippines.

The typhoon hit Hai Phong and Quang Ninh provinces, packing winds exceeding 149 kilometres (92 miles) per hour, Vietnam's National Centre for Hydro-Meteorological Forecasting said.

In the Hai Duong province, a man was killed when heavy winds brought down a tree as the storm approached landfall, according to state media.

In Hai Phong, AFP reporters encountered streets filled with fallen trees, metal roofing and broken signboards that had been ripped off properties.


Comment: Update September 9

Al Jazeera reports:
At least 59 people have been killed in Vietnam amid landslides and floods triggered by Typhoon Yagi, according to state media reports.

The typhoon was Asia's most powerful storm this year and made landfall on Vietnam's northeastern coast on Saturday, after causing havoc in China and the Philippines.

Among the victims were six people, including a newborn baby and a one-year-old boy, who were killed in a landslide in the Hoang Lien Son mountains of northwestern Vietnam.

Their bodies were discovered on Sunday, a local official told the AFP news agency.

Other victims included a family of four who were killed after heavy rain caused a hillside to collapse onto a house in mountainous Hoa Binh province in northern Vietnam, state media reported.

On Monday morning, a passenger bus carrying 20 people was swept into a flooded stream by a landslide in mountainous Cao Bang province.

Rescuers were deployed, but landslides blocked the path to where the incident took place.

In Phu Tho province, rescue operations were continuing after a steel bridge over the engorged Red River collapsed.


Reports said 10 cars and trucks, along with two motorbikes, fell into the river.

Three people were pulled out of the river and taken to hospital, but 13 others were missing.

The Vietnamese government said the storm disrupted power supplies and telecommunications in several parts of the country, mostly in Quang Ninh and Hai Phong in the northeast.

The weather agency on Monday warned of more floods and landslides, noting that rainfall had ranged between 208mm and 433mm (8.2 inches to 17 inches) in several parts of the region over the past 24 hours.

"Floods and landslides are damaging the environment and threatening people's lives," the National Centre for Hydro-Meteorological Forecasting said in a report.

Yagi weakened to a tropical depression on Sunday, but several areas of the port city of Hai Phong were under half a metre (1.6 feet) of water and there was no electricity.

At Ha Long Bay, a UNESCO World Heritage Site about 70km (43 miles) up the coast from the city, the disaster management authority said 30 vessels sank after being pounded by strong wind and waves.

The typhoon also damaged nearly 3,300 houses, and more than 120,000 hectares (296,500 acres) of crops in the north of the country, the authority said.
Update September 17

Reuters reports:
Vietnam is preparing for more flooding with a tropical depression forecast to strengthen into a storm as it heads to its central coast, days after typhoon Yagi set off floods and landslides that killed more than 290 people in the north.

With a long coast facing the South China Sea, the Southeast Asian country is prone to tropical storms that can cause large numbers of casualties and serious damage to industrial production and properties.


The depression is forecast to strengthen into a storm within the next 24 hours, the government said in a statement, as it sent a warning to coastal provinces.

The storm would trigger heavy rains in central Vietnam, it said, adding that "the depression is evolving in a complicated manner, with possible changes in course, speed and strength."

Vietnam has been reeling from the impacts of Typhoon Yagi, the strongest storm to hit Asia this year, which made landfall in its northeastern coast 10 days ago.

The typhoon and its subsequent floods and landslides have killed 291 people overall, with 38 others missing and nearly 2,000 people injured, the disaster management agency said on Tuesday.

Industrial production in several northern provinces was halted, 235,000 houses were damaged and more than 300,000 hectares of rice and cash crops were inundated.



Tsunami

Best of the Web: Severe floods in Central Europe turn deadly in Poland and Austria - 17 killed, mass evacuations underway (UPDATE)

The Bela River flows past homes during floods in Mikulovice, Czech Republic, Saturday, Sept. 14, 2024.
© Petr David JosekThe Bela River flows past homes during floods in Mikulovice, Czech Republic, Saturday, Sept. 14, 2024.
A firefighter has died during a flood rescue in Austria, one person has died in Poland and four are missing in Czech Republic, police say.

Storm Boris has swept by central and eastern Europe with rainfall raising river levels and causing flash floods in dozens of areas in the Czech Republic, Austria and Poland.

In Poland, Prime Minister Donald Tusk said on Sunday morning, "We have the first confirmed death by drowning, in the Klodzko region" on the Polish-Czech border.

Following the heavy rainfall Międzygórze dam in south-western Poland has overflowed. One photo posted on X showed the dam before the floods - and a video posted by Polish TV showed it overflowing overnight.


Comment: Update September 16

Global News reports:
Heavy rains and floods have hit large swaths of Central Europe, with authorities urging people to follow emergency evacuation orders.

At least 17 people are dead across Central Europe from the floods, according to Reuters. Poland and the Czech Republic are especially hard-hit. While the floodwaters are receding in some areas, others are still bracing as rivers rise and residents of some of the regions already hit in Poland are describing the damage.

Polish resident Szymon Krzysztan, 16, standing in the town square of Ladek Zdroj, described losses from the floods as "unimaginable."

"It's a city like in an apocalypse. ... It's a ghost town," Krzystan told Reuters.

Jerzy Adamczyk, 70, told Reuters the scene was like "Armeggedon."

"It literally ripped out everything because we don't have a single bridge," Adamczyk said. "In Ladek, all bridges have disappeared. We are practically cut off from the world."




Flood conditions were seen in 207 locations across the Czech Republic, Prime Minister Petr Fiala said in a post on social media.

"Evacuations are underway in Opava, Krnov, Ostrava, Jeseník, Frýdlantsk and other places. Over 12,000 people were evacuated. A state of danger was declared in Frýdlantska," Fiala said on X, adding that firefighters had intervened in 7,884 incidents since the floods began.

Fiala visited the town of Jesenik, one of the hardest hit places, and said the worst was behind them. In his social media post, he said the rain had decreased on Sunday evening and weakened temporarily.

Mass evacuations are underway across the region. Fiala urged people in the Czech Republic to listen to instructions from their mayors and local authorities.


"The situation is really dangerous and cannot be underestimated. Unfortunately, we encounter cases where people refuse to evacuate. Then there are problems and situations that are very difficult to solve. I also ask everyone not to take unnecessary risks," he said in the post.

Following an emergency government meeting, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk announced a state of natural disaster in the flooded areas to facilitate evacuation and rescue operations, as well as to expedite financial support for the victims.

Tusk told a news conference that the Finance Ministry has so far earmarked 1 billion zlotys (US$258,000) for immediate payouts.

Water levels have subsided, leaving streets covered in debris and mud, damaged bridges and some burst dams and embankments. Schools and offices in the affected areas were closed Monday and drinking water and food were being delivered by trucks. Many Polish cities, including Warsaw, have called for food donations for flood survivors.

Experts are warning of a flood threat in Opole, a city of some 130,000 residents, where the Oder River has reached high levels and started bursting its banks at some points. Concerns have also been raised in the city of Wroclaw, home to about 640,000 residents, where the flooding was expected on Wednesday. The city suffered a disastrous flood in 1997 and the trauma is still present there.

In Hungary, Prime Minister Viktor Orbán cancelled his planned foreign engagements.

The mayor of Budapest warned residents close to the Danube of rising water levels and of road and public transit closures in the area.

"According to the latest forecasts, the water level of the Danube will rise by one metre per day from Monday," Mayor Gergely Karácson said in a Facebook post.

He added that a parking ban was in place in low-lying areas near the Danube, with the city using sandbags to curtail the flooding.
Five found dead after torrential rain floods areas of Romania