Storms
S


Cloud Precipitation

Worst monsoons in recent history kill 1,200 and displace over 40 million in India, Nepal & Bangladesh (PHOTOS & VIDEOS)


RT
Wed, 30 Aug 2017 15:25 UTC
floods in India
© Punit Paranjpe / AFPIndians wade through a flooded street during heavy rain showers in Mumbai on August 29, 2017
India, Nepal and Bangladesh are battling some of the worst monsoon rains in recent history, which have left around 1,200 people dead and 41 million people affected. In India more than 32 million people have reportedly been impacted by downpours.

Vast areas of land across all three countries are underwater, according to the Red Cross. "Rainwater from the Himalayas is travelling down through Nepal's lower-lying areas, through swollen rivers in north-east India and eventually through the floodplains of Bangladesh," it said in a statement.

Comment: (Update - Sept. 2): The death toll is now at least 1,400 across India, Nepal and Bangladesh.
Hundreds of towns and villages have been submerged by the devastating floods which have now persisted for over two months, affecting an estimated 40 million people.

Tens of thousands of people have taken refuge in relief camps that are short of food and vulnerable to disease.
...
The devastating flooding has sparked anger across the affected areas but authorities have tried to distance themselves from culpability by highlighting the scale of this year's deluge.

"If you get a whole year's rain in one to two days, how will you handle it? No preparation and planning will work," said Anirudh Kumar, of the disaster management department in the Indian state of Bihar.
bihar india flood
© Cathal McNaughton / ReutersA woman wades through a flooded village in the eastern state of Bihar, India August 22, 2017.


Read More...
Cloud Precipitation

Flash flood hits Karachi, Pakistan killing 16, at least 11 electrocuted

Sophia Saifi and Steve George
CNN
Fri, 01 Sep 2017 11:43 UTC
FLOOD
Flash monsoon flooding in Karachi, Pakistan's largest city, has claimed the lives of at least 16 people, most of them children, officials confirmed Friday.

At least 11 deaths have been attributed to electrocution, as rising waters become electrified in low-lying urban areas, according to the Edhi Foundation, the city's main emergency aid agency.

Karachi is the latest major South Asian city to be hit by heavy monsoon rains amid a widening flood-related crisis engulfing much of the region. More than 1,200 have died and upwards of 41 million people have been affected in neighboring India, Nepal and Bangladesh, according to estimates provided by the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC).

Figures released by the city's Meteorological Department show Karachi normally receives an average of 19.9mm of rain in September. On Wednesday, northern parts of the city received 97mm, equivalent to five times that amount.

Read More...
Cloud Lightning

Woman killed by lightning in Saint-Trojan-les-Bains, France


The Connexion
Sat, 02 Sep 2017 10:33 UTC
Image for illustration only
© Will FisherImage for illustration only
51-year-old was on a beach on the Ile d'Oléron when she was struck

A holidaymaker has died after being struck by lightning while on a beach on the Ile d'Oléron.

Emergency services said the 51-year-old, from the Dordogne, was on the beach at Saint-Trojan-les-Bains with her husband when she was hit at about 8.30am on Friday.

Although local storms were forecast in the area, it was raining, but not stormy, at the time, 20minutes.fr reports.

Her husband raised the alarm, and gave first aid until the emergency services arrived - but the woman was declared dead at the scene.
Read More...
Cloud Lightning

Lightning strikes kill 7, critically injure 6 others, 11 cattle fatalities also reported in Odisha, India


Kalinga TV
Fri, 01 Sep 2017 13:59 UTC
Lightning
Lightning strikes killed as many as seven and left six others critical in different parts of Odisha on Friday.

People were struck dead in the Sohela area of Bargarh district, Basudevpur area of Bhadrak district, Soro area of Balasore district, Kolabira area of Jharsuguda, Bhandari Pokhari of Bhadrak, Bisra of Rourkela and Mahakalpada in Kendrapara district.

Similarly, as many as 11 cows died in lightning strike in Kundapatna village of Jajpur district.

Notably, on Thursday night also, one person died of lightning strike in Brahmagiri, Puri. The deceased has been identified as Brahmar Baral, who had gone to the village pond nearby when the wind was strong. While returning, he was struck by lightning.

Comment: A day earlier in the same Indian state, a lightning bolt killed a couple and injured 3 others.

Read More...
Cloud Precipitation

The Netherlands receives 2 weeks worth of rain in 24 hours

Janene Pieters
NL Times NL
Thu, 31 Aug 2017 18:56 UTC
RAIN HOLLAND
Wednesday was a wet and rainy day for the Netherlands. According to Weeronline, between 40 and 45 millimeters of rain fell in the west of Zuid-Holland, the north of Noord-Holland and on the Wadden islands. That's about half of what is usual for the entire month of August.

By Wednesday night Leeuwarden had the most rain, with 52.2 millimeters measured. Places like Grouw and Stavoren also got over 50 millimeters of rain. "Locally the total rainfall can climb up to 60 mm by [Thursday] morning", the weather agency said on Wednesday night.

According to Het Parool, the heavy rainfall caused problems across the country. Places in Gelderland, Limburg and Noord-Brabant had to deal with flooded streets. And the rain also left lanes on the A10 near Sloterdijk underwater, causing a very busy evening rush hour in Amsterdam.
Read More...
Cloud Lightning

Lightning bolt kills 3 in Khagrachhari, Bangladesh


en.prothom-alo.com
Thu, 31 Aug 2017 12:02 UTC
Lightning
Three people including a father and his daughter were killed as lightning struck them at Milonkarbaripara area under Tobolchhari union of Matiranga upazila of Khagrachhari on Wednesday evening, reports news agency UNB.

The deceased were identified as Nandamohan Tripura, 35, his daughter Lalita Tripura and Kallyan Chandra Tripura, cousin of Lalita.

Shaifur Rahman, on-duty doctor of Panchhari Upazila Health Complex said a thunderbolt struck them while it was raining and they were in and around their home around 6:45pm, leaving them critically injured.

Later locals rescued them and rushed them to the upazila health complex where doctor declared them death.

Lalita was a student of class seven of Tobolchhari Kadamtali T K High School and Kallyan was an intermediate second year student of Tobolchhari Greenhill College.

Comment: Another 3 people were recently killed by lighting strikes in the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh on August 30th.

Read More...
Cow

Hurricane Harvey wreaks havoc on cattle across Texas

Tony Dreibus
Successful Farming
Mon, 28 Aug 2017 11:25 UTC
flood
Cattle ranchers in southeastern Texas had been moving livestock out of areas in the path of Hurricane Harvey for several days before the storm made landfall, but losses are likely as few anticipated the sheer breadth of the storm.

"Most of the producers started last Monday moving cattle out of the coastal region," said Texas A&M Extension specialist Tom 'Andy' Vestal. "By Tuesday or Wednesday they were asking producers who had cattle along rivers and watersheds to move their cattle. A lot of these guys have dealt with high water but nothing like this. Who could've imagined 40 to 44 inches of rainfall?"

About 1.2 million beef cows are in the 54 counties that have been declared disaster areas due to Hurricane Harvey, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The total is a "conservative estimate" and encompasses 27% of the state's herd, according to Texas A&M University livestock economist David Anderson.

Texas is the biggest cattle and calf producer in the U.S. and has the largest feedlot herd at 2.42 million head, according to the National Cattlemen's Beef Association. Gross income in 2015 from cattle sales and marketing totaled $11.5 billion, according to the Department of Agriculture.
Read More...
Cloud Precipitation

Tropical storm Irma strengthening, tracking across Atlantic; landfall could be either the Caribbean islands, Bahamas or Carolinas

Faith Eherts
AccuWeather
Wed, 30 Aug 2017 16:29 UTC
Tropical Storm Irma
© NOAA/satelliteNewly-formed Irma is spinning over the south-central Atlantic and moving west of the Cabo Verde Islands on Wednesday morning, Aug. 30, 2017.
While the Gulf Coast continues to deal with the devastating impacts of Harvey, emergency managers in the United States have another tropical threat to monitor by the name of Irma.

Far across the Atlantic, just west of the Cabo Verde Islands, an area of thunderstorms has developed enough circulation to gather tropical storm status and the name, Irma.

"There is the potential to ramp up to a powerful hurricane in the coming days," according to AccuWeather Hurricane Expert Dan Kottlowski.

Read More...
Tornado2

12 tornadoes seen in a day near Sochi, Russia

Mohak Gupta
India Today
Wed, 30 Aug 2017 17:01 UTC
Plane makes harrowing landing in Sochi as tornadoes rip through Black Sea nearby
Plane makes harrowing landing in Sochi as tornadoes rip through Black Sea nearby
In a harrowing video, an airplane was seen landing in Sochi, Russia, with three tornadoes right behind it.

The infamous tornadoes of the Black Sea are known to be violent and up to 12 tornadoes were seen off the coast on the very same day.

This is the second week in a row when these destructive vortexes of violently rotating winds have ripped through Black Sea.

The entire daring incident was caught on camera .


Comment: See also this report from last week: Irregular waterspout spotted on Black Sea near Sochi, Russia

From August of last year: Multiple waterspouts form off coast near Russian resort city Sochi where tornadoes are very rare occurrence (PHOTOS, VIDEOS)

Read More...
Tornado2

Tornadoes and microbursts: Weather opposites, but equally destructive


Montreal Gazette
Wed, 23 Aug 2017 07:03 UTC
Damage in N.D.G. Park following microburst rain storm
© John Mahoney / Montreal GazetteDamage in Montreal's Notre-Dame-de-Grâce Park following microburst rain storm.
In Lachute, where on Tuesday one resident saw part of their rooftop torn away like a sheet of paper and another found their trampoline wrapped around a nearby tree, they learned what a tornado can do.

In Montreal, where on the same day high winds punched a 20-block path of destruction through the neighbourhood of Notre-Dame-de-Grâce, we learned what a microburst can do.

Meteorologically speaking, the phenomena are utterly different. But when it comes to their capacity for destruction, they are chillingly alike.

Environment Canada meteorologist Max Desharnais said Wednesday that his office was able to determine that N.D.G. had been hit by a microburst simply by the grim symmetry of the destruction left in its wake.

"Based on the signature of the damage - (fallen) trees laid out in one direction - that's a microburst," he said. "It's a unidirectional signature. ... With a tornado you'll have a roof literally peeled off and a visible signature of rotation."

Read More...