Storms
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Ice Cube

Intense hailstorm hits Valencia, Spain affecting 11,000 ha (27,200 acres) of crops, damage up to €47 million (US$58 million)


Fresh Fruit Portal
Wed, 04 Jul 2018 06:33 UTC
Valencia fruit damage
© AVA-ASAJA
An "intense hailstorm" that hit Spain's Valencia region on Sunday has caused widespread damage to persimmon and citrus crops, according to farming association AVA-ASAJA.

There had been "extremely serious damage" in the La Ribera area, with many growers having lost the entirety of their crop, the organization said.

Some 11,000 hectares are estimated to be affected, with economic losses of up to €47 million (US$58 million), it said. The large storm affected numerous areas in Valencia, passing from east to west.

"It was a brief storm but it was very strong and has been a real disaster for thousands of Valencian growers. Even the wood on the trees has been affected," said AVA-ASAJA president Cristóbal Aguado. He has requested state support for fungicides to protect the trees from rotting.

Persimmons are the most affected crop, with around 3,500 hectares seriously affected. The organization estimated this would translate into a 15% drop in production on the next crop, which, added to the 10% reduction the industry was already expecting due to frosts in February and March, will lead to Valencia's persimmon production dropping by a quarter.

Comment: With extreme weather increasing around the world, from intense hailstorms, extreme cold, scorching heatwaves and epic flooding, farmers are losing more crops to disease and damage, and consumers are seeing prices rise. Are you prepared? See also:

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Cloud Lightning

India records 50% increase in deaths caused by lightning during the 2006 - 2015 decade compared to the one prior

Malavika Vyawahare
Hindustan Times
Wed, 04 Jul 2018 15:03 UTC
Higher particulate matter pollution and loss of vegetation is making urban areas more susceptible to lightning strikes.
© Ajay AggarwalHigher particulate matter pollution and loss of vegetation is making urban areas more susceptible to lightning strikes.
Lightning strikes claim more lives annually in India than other natural disasters such as floods and cyclones. They have turned deadlier over the years.

Climate change is leading to extreme weather events such as storms, rain, heatwaves and lightning are getting more frequent and more intense, causing more deaths and destruction.

However, while floods and heat waves that impact large swathes of the population attract the spotlight, lightning strikes that prove dangerous to individuals get less attention.

The average number of people who died of lightning strikes every year between 2006 and 2015 was about 50% higher than the decade before, National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) data shows. Taking into account population growth, the average deaths from lightning strikes per million people in 2006-2015 was 26% more than in 1996-2005.

Comment: Sott Exclusive: Shocking weather! Lightning fatalities across the planet on the increase

Lightning caused more deaths than floods, landslides across India in 2015 - with 2,641 fatalities

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Telescope

Dust storm swallows Mars


Space Weather
Wed, 04 Jul 2018 09:16 UTC
mars dust storm 2018
A martian dust storm that started in late May, silencing NASA's Opportunity rover, has now wrapped itself around the entirety of Mars, transforming the appearance of the Red Planet. "Mars has essentially vanished beneath the dust," says longtime Mars photographer Damian Peach of the UK. He created this animation showing how much has changed: [You can see the animation here]

"The animation shifts back and forth between a reference image of the Tharsis region taken by the Mars Global Surveyor spacecraft and my own image taken on June 28th," he explains. "The volcanic peaks of Tharsis remain clear, and also a dark spot in Valles Marineris, but little else matches known albedo markings, especially the dark/light streaks."

Comment: Video below shows the progression and extent of the Martian dust storm:



And it's not just on Mars epic storms are taking place, on Earth we're seeing the same kinds of extreme weather and similar is also occurring on other planets; it's solar system wide climate change.

Also check out SOTT radio's:

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Cloud Lightning

Greece lightning: Country struck over 93,500 times in June

John Smith
Greek Reporter
Tue, 03 Jul 2018 09:10 UTC
lightning
Greece was hit by over 93,500 lightning bolts last month, it was revealed on Tuesday.

The amount of electrostatic activity recorded in Greece in June was very high, according to the National Observatory of Athens (NOA), without one day across Greece being lightning-free.

Last month, there were 93,580 electrical discharges country-wide, the majority of them being lightning strikes.

Among the few areas that escaped the high electrical activity was Karpathos and the western part of Icaria, added the NOA.
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Cloud Precipitation

Huge hailstones smash up car in Krasnodar, Russia - Filmed from inside

Chris Bruce
motor1.com
Mon, 02 Jul 2018 12:25 UTC
car smashed
Mother Nature can be very destructive, and she has no qualms about wrecking havoc on you or your vehicle. This video captures the harrowing time that a driver has in his Lada while a hailstorm annihilates the vehicle's windows.

The situation starts badly when this video begins, and things only get worse from there. There's a lot of hail coming down from the beginning, but the ice balls are small enough that they don't seem to harm the vehicle. The hailstones continue to get even larger, though, and at 1:44 into the clip, several pieces are large enough to crack the windshield. The driver is understandably upset and constantly yells about what's happening.


Comment: Golfball-sized hail batters cars, forcing them off roads in southern Russia

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Cloud Precipitation

Flash floods ravage parts of Trinidad and Tobago

Rhondor Dowlat
Trinidad and Tobago Guardian
Mon, 02 Jul 2018 16:24 UTC
UNDER WATER: The glow of streetlights reflect on flood waters at Independence Square, Port of Spain.
© Azlan MohammedUNDER WATER: The glow of streetlights reflect on flood waters at Independence Square, Port of Spain.
The Office of Disaster Preparedness and Management (ODPM) and regional corporations are expected to coordinate clean-up exercises today if the weather allows, after heavy torrential rainfall over the weekend, especially over the last 24 hours and yesterday afternoon, caused flash flooding in several areas across T&T.

An official at the T&T Meteorological Office said the heavy showers were as a result of a tropical wave passing over the island.

Up to press time there were reports of flooding along the southbound lane of the Sir Solomon Hochoy Highway, after the Claxton Bay flyover, before the Chase Village flyover on the northbound lane, Freeport, Couva, Carapichaima, Chaguanas, St Augustine, Breezy Heights in Mount Hope, along the Lady Young Road in Morvant, downtown Port-of-Spain, Wrightson Road, Cocorite and Diego Martin.

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Tornado2

Waterspout filmed in Bermuda


Bernews
Sun, 01 Jul 2018 14:46 UTC
waterspout
A waterspout was seen in the Hamilton Parish area earlier today [July 1], with it apparently visible for quite a few minutes.

Andrea Pedrini from Bermuda Weather Service confirmed that a waterspout was recorded late this morning in the area, and also added that it is not that unusual for this to occur at this time of year.

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Cloud Precipitation

Large hailstones smash crops in south central Nebraska

Bryce Doeschot
kticradio.com
Mon, 02 Jul 2018 13:22 UTC
Hail damage
© Andrew Philips
Some producers in south central Nebraska received an unwelcome hail storm on Saturday.

According to Andrew Philips, who farms in the Loomis area, the storm traveled two miles east of Loomis at a southwest angle toward Arapahoe.

Philips said the hail, which lasted 30 to 40 minutes, ranged in size from peas to golf balls.

"A lot of it (corn) is completely snapped off," said Philips. "Corn was close to tassel. Beans there is nothing but little stems left."
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Cloud Lightning

Lightning bolt kills 5 and injures 12 in Maharashtra, India

Chengcheng
Xinhua
Mon, 02 Jul 2018 12:52 UTC
lightning
At least five people have been killed and 12 others injured by lightning strikes in the eastern Indian state of Bihar, officials said Monday.

The incident took place in the state's Aurangabad district.

"Some 20 people had gathered at a crematorium site for the funeral of a person in Aurangabad Sunday when they were hit by lightning," a disaster management official said.

While five people were killed on the spot, those injured have been admitted to a local hospital, he added.

Lightning is common in the monsoon months of June and July in India.

Comment: Elsewhere in Asia over the last few days lightning strikes have killed a woman in South Korea and a hiker in Hong Kong while 3 family members died after being hit by by a bolt in Bangladesh.

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Cloud Precipitation

Golfball-sized hail batters cars, forcing them off roads in southern Russia


RT
Sun, 01 Jul 2018 17:57 UTC
Hailstones as big as golf balls rain down in Russia’s South July 2018
Mother Nature has unleashed her fury in the South of Russia, pelting rural areas with hailstones the size of golf balls and forcing motorists to pull over on the side of the road.

Footage posted online by RT's Ruptly agency shows massive chunks of hail that rained down on a small village in Krasnodar region, located roughly on the same latitude as Bologna, Italy. Some hailstones appeared to be as big as golf balls.

Motorists could be seen pulled over on the side of the road, and one video posted on Instagram showed a windshield that had been shattered by the force of the hail.

Comment: Note that the most recent hail destructive hail events were in the last two years. And this is a pattern we see all over the planet. Epic hail events are on the increase and it points to great changes in our atmosphere.

More footage from the hailstorm in Russia:





A similar hailstorm batters France within about 24 hours:


Ominious storm clouds in Ukraine:


And in the Florida, US:


And to note global temperatures are becoming cooling, even with these outbreaks of heatwaves all over the northern hemisphere. That may partly explain this epic hail and flooding we're seeing worldwide:



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