Storms
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Cloud Lightning

Taiwan photographer captures rare purple lightning

Matthew Strong
Taiwan News
Sat, 03 Jun 2017 19:24 UTC
purple lightning
© Luis Lai (賴仲由)
Late rock star Prince was famous for his song "Purple Rain," but did you ever see purple lightning?

Taiwanese nature photographer Luis Lai (賴仲由) did, and he captured it on his smartphone.

Friday night, as extreme torrential rains were battering large parts of Taiwan, Lai went to the top floor of his home in the Changhua County village of Dacun (大村), reports said.

He only wanted to check whether all the doors and windows were ready to withstand the rain, but in addition, he saw bolts of lightning and hurried to record six seconds on his smartphone as it struck behind a red-roofed building in his neighborhood.
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Cloud Lightning

Golfer dies in hospital after being struck by lightning in Suffolk, UK


BBC
Sat, 03 Jun 2017 19:14 UTC
lightning
A man has died after he was struck by lightning on a Suffolk golf course.

Philip Shard, 60, died in hospital last week after being struck and collapsed while playing golf at the Fynn Valley Golf Club, Witnesham last Saturday.

The club said it was a "tragic incident". A spokesman for the East of England Ambulance Service said crews "treated a man, believed to be in his 60s, who was in cardiac arrest".

Mr Shard was married and lived in Rushmere, near Ipswich.
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Cloud Lightning

Lightning strikes kill 9 across Gujarat, India


The Times of India
Sat, 03 Jun 2017 15:51 UTC
lightning
At least 10 people died, nine of them after being struck by lightning, as pre-monsoon thundershowers wreaked havoc in several parts of the state on Friday.

While three persons each died due to lightning in Dahod and Surat, two in Rajkot and Jetpur met the same fate. A farm labourer woman was also killed by lightning in Bharuch.

The rains and gust left a trail of destruction in Devgadh Baria, Dhanpur and Jhalod districts of Dahod where five bovines also died either by lightning or trees falling on them. In Dungri village of Jhalod, a girl identified as Kavita Muniya died after a huge neem tree fell on her house.
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Cloud Lightning

Lightning strikes kill 4 and injury 5 others in 3 districts of Bangladesh


en.prothom-alo.com
Fri, 02 Jun 2017 15:30 UTC
Lightning
Four people were killed and five others injured in lightning strikes in Naogaon, Chapainawabganj and Jessore districts on Friday, reports UNB.

In Naogaon, two workers -- Shahidul Islam, 48, son of Moslem Uddin, and Rasi Chowdhury, 30, son of Mahfuzul Haque, -- suffered injuries after a thunderbolt struck them at Kuchinda-Kamarpara village in Sapahar upazila in the evening.

They were first taken to Sahapar Upazila Health Complex from where they were referred to Rajshahi Medical College Hospital (RMCH) as their condition deteriorated, said officer-in-charge of Sapahar police station Samsul Alam Shah.

The duo died on the way to the RMCH, the OC added.

Besides, four people were injured after they were hit by a lightning strike at Uchadanga village in the upazila at the same time.

Comment: In India on the day prior to the above incidents: Girl among two killed in lightning strike, four injured

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Tornado2

Tornado touches down near Three Hills, Alberta, Canada


CBC.ca
Fri, 02 Jun 2017 17:16 UTC
Three Hills tornado
© @rtt05/TwitterA tornado spotted near Three Hills, Alta., was moving east at 50 km/h. Emergency officials have cancelled the warning for Kneehill County and Starland County.

Social media lights up with stunning images and video of twister

A tornado was spotted northeast of Calgary on Friday, startling onlookers and touching off a brief emergency alert.

The tornado was seen at 5 p.m. near Three Hills, moving east at 50 km/h. Other communities in the tornado's path included Morrin and Rowley.

The alert was cancelled at 5:27 p.m.

"The thunderstorm is no longer capable of producing a tornado," Alberta Emergency officials said.

Stunning images and video of the tornado were captured by Albertans living in the area.

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Windsock

NWS confirms rare 'microburst' caused storm damage in Sealy, Texas


KHOU
Wed, 24 May 2017 17:17 UTC
Sealy microburst damage
© KHOUDrone 11 footage shows the major damage in Sealy, Texas after severe weather moved through the area on Tuesday, May 23, 2017.
The National Weather Service says a rare microburst is to blame for the damage in Sealy during Tuesday night's storms.

Many thought that the damage was caused by a tornado but NWS says that microbursts can produce similarly strong winds, reaching up to 100 miles per hour.

Mike Fisher says he and his son are lucky to be alive - they were at home when the storm hit. Fisher said the sky turned black and that hail started to fall.

"They say an old wives' tail about a tornado sounding like a train, we didn't hear no train, all we heard was some loud hail hitting, of course all the windows blew out in got pretty rough after that," said Fisher.

No fatalities were reported. However, about a dozen people had to be treated for minor injuries.

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Windsock

Giant dust storm sweeps through Khartoum, Sudan

CGTN
YouTube
Fri, 02 Jun 2017 13:36 UTC
Sudan dust storm
© YouTube/CGTN (screen capture)
A massive dust cloud - known locally as a "haboob" - has recently swept across the Sudanese capital, Khartoum.

The storm has brought vast amounts of sand and dust into the city, burying several homes and severely limiting visibility.

Ecosystems and natural resources in the country have been deteriorating due to climate change. Water supplies are scarce and severe droughts are common. After years of desertification, the country's rich biodiversity is under threat and drought has hindered the fight against hunger.

Experts say that without rapid intervention, parts of the African country - one of the most vulnerable in the world - could become uninhabitable as a result of climate change.

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Tornado2

Huge tornado terrifies locals in southern Russia


RT
Fri, 02 Jun 2017 16:00 UTC
Russian tornado
© _kholodnayaya / Instagram
A spate of tornados spanning several regions caught residents in southern Russia by surprise. The natural phenomenon, which is unusual for the area, left people in fear and awe.

"Just look what a beauty we had yesterday... If I hadn't seen something similar myself 10 years ago, would not have believed it," an Instagram user from the Saratov region posted.
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Cloud Lightning

10,000 lightning strikes light up the Australian state of Victoria


weatherwatch.co.nz
Mon, 29 May 2017 14:11 UTC
Lightning
As autumn draws to an end, another front swept over Victoria over the weekend bringing more rain and blustery conditions. Along with this, a band of thunderstorms that a one point stretched from Nhill to Apollo Bay, generated a total of just over 10,000 lightning strikes across the state.

As the front moved eastwards it delivered healthy amounts of rainfall to southern and central parts of the state, with 16.2mm recorded in just under 2 hours at Lara and 16mm in 3 hours at Ballarat. Eastern parts of Victoria saw lighter falls and as the front began to weaken and rain became more patchy.
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Cloud Lightning

At least 10 killed and 27 injured by lightning strikes across Bangladesh


Dhaka Tribune
Thu, 01 Jun 2017 19:04 UTC
lightning
At least 10 people were killed and over 27 others injured in separate incidents of lightning strikes in Brahmanbaria, Barisal, Feni and Habiganj districts during the rain Thursday.

Brahmanbaria's Nasirnagar police station Officer-in-Charge Abu Zafar said that lightning struck some fishermen as they were catching fish in Balikhola Haor of Bholakut union around 11pm.

Among the injured, Monju Mian, 54, Shahid Mian, 32, and Janu Mian, 30, all hailing from Balikhola village, died on the spot.
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