Storms
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Cloud Precipitation

Bunyangabu in Uganda faces hunger as severe hailstorms destroys 5,000 gardens

Alex Ashaba
The Monitor (Uganda)
Fri, 29 Mar 2019 11:39 UTC
Destroyed. Ms Flora Kugonza in her banana plantation that was destroyed by a hailstorm in Kyatwa village Bunyangabu district on Wednesday.
Destroyed. Ms Flora Kugonza in her banana plantation that was destroyed by a hailstorm in Kyatwa village Bunyangabu district on Wednesday.
A downpour accompanied by hailstorms has ravaged several parts of Bunyangabu District destroying more than 5,000 gardens.

Among the crop gardens that were destroyed include; beans, maize, cassava, coffee, Irish potatoes, potatoes, tomatoes, sorghum and onions that were ready for harvesting. Goats, too, were not spared by the rain.

Ms Jackline Chance, a mother of seven children in Kyatwa Village, Kibiito Town Council, said Bunyangabu residents depend on agriculture for a living.

Ms Chance on Monday survived death after part of her house was destroyed by wind.

(NB Video report starts at the 6.50 minute mark)

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Cloud Lightning

Lightning strike at sea kills regional Brazilian surf champion


en.as.com
Thu, 28 Mar 2019 13:44 UTC
23-year-old Ceará champion Luzimara Souza was training off the coast of Fortaleza when the lightning bolt struck.
23-year-old Ceará champion Luzimara Souza was training off the coast of Fortaleza when the lightning bolt struck.
The world of surfing is in mourning after the news was confirmed that Brazilian surfer Luzimara Souza was killed by lightning whilst training near the beach in Leste-oeste in Fortaleza (Ceará, Brazil) where she practised with fellow surfers.

A local businessman told local surfing outlet Waves how the lightning struck the sea exactly where Luzimara was training and despite being quickly evacuated to local the Hospital Instituto Dr. José Frota she failed to survive the impact.

Comment: Also recently 4 farmers were killed by separate lightning strikes in Bangladesh.

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Ice Cube

Hailstorm destroys 4 million avocados in under 10 minutes, Australia

Kim Honan
ABC Local
Wed, 27 Mar 2019 08:26 UTC
Aussie Orchards' managing director Colin Foyster holds three of the 4 million damaged avocados
© ABC Rural: Kim HonanAussie Orchards' managing director Colin Foyster holds three of the 4 million damaged avocados.
A hail storm that ripped through an avocado orchard in the Northern Rivers of New South Wales last week has destroyed an estimated 4 million avocados.

Aussie Orchards' managing director Colin Foyster said 80 per cent of the fruit on the 12,000 trees at the Pretty Gully farm was knocked off and onto the ground.

"I wasn't here but some people have said the hail stones were up to three inches [7.6cm] in size and very jagged," he said.

"It only hailed for less than 10 minutes, but [the stones were] big enough to knock the fruit off the tree or damage the remaining fruit.

"It's three months away from harvest, so it's all immature, so it's unsalvageable."

Mr Foyster said the remaining fruit on the trees also had impact marks where the hail hit the fruit, and the trees themselves were also damaged.

"If it's around the stem, or it's severe, it will lead to a rot and that fruit will then drop off," he said.

"But most of the remaining fruit, the 20 per cent, it'll just be downgraded."


Comment: Erratic seasons and extreme weather devastating crops around the world

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Attention

Cyclone Idai: Bulawayo in Zimbabwe runs out of fruits, vegetables


New Zimbabwe
Wed, 27 Mar 2019 21:30 UTC
Bulawayo runs out of bananas, vegetables
Cyclone Idai's negative effects have turned economic, with severe shortage of fruits and vegetables in Bulawayo, it has emerged.

The hostile weather phenomenon ripped through Manicaland's south eastern districts of Chimanimani and Chipinge leaving a trail of death and destruction as well as overturning livelihoods overnight.

According to vendors in Bulawayo, Chimanimani and Chipinge are the major suppliers of fruits and vegetables to the country's second largest city. The infrastructural destruction by the cyclone has left many a supplier and vendor in a lurch.

Fruits and vegetables such as bananas, onions, avocados and pineapples have run out in Bulawayo and surrounding towns.
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Cloud Precipitation

Severe hailstorm in the United Arab Emirates


RSOE EDIS
Sun, 24 Mar 2019 15:17 UTC
hail
In an unusual scene, rainfall accompanied by hail precipitation in Fujairah has blanketed some of the emirate's villages in a slushy coat of white.

Hail storm and heavy rains hit Fujairah and nearby areas on Sunday morning prompting weathermen to warn motorists to take extra care. Meteorologists have reported heavy rain in Fujairah's Tawiyen district early on Sunday morning.

The National Centre for Meteorology and Seismology (NCMS) posted on social media pictures and videos of flooded wadis and hail storm pounding different parts of the emirate.

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Arrow Down

Motorway bridge in New Zealand washed away in torrential rainstorm


Reuters
Tue, 26 Mar 2019 14:54 UTC
bridge
A motorway bridge over a New Zealand river was washed away in a severe rain storm on Tuesday, prompting the authorities to declare a state of emergency.

The storm battered the west coast of New Zealand's South Island, forcing 300 km(186 miles) of road to be closed due to flooding, according to media reports.

Footage shown on local television and distributed on social media showed part of the Waiho Bridge, near the town of Franz Josef, breaking off in torrential river flooding and swaying loose in the rushing water, with the remaining sections soon collapsing.

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Ice Cube

Tennis ball-sized hail wreaks havoc in Newcastle, South Africa

Tersia Gopi
Citizen
Thu, 21 Mar 2019 06:24 UTC
Hail the size of tennis balls broke windows and roofs in Newcastle
© Newcastle AdvertiserHail the size of tennis balls broke windows and roofs in Newcastle yesterday.
The recent hailstorm which hit many parts of Newcastle on Thursday has caused destruction, with reports indicating Lennoxton and Fernwood are the areas worst hit, reports Newcastle Advertiser.

Residents awoke to damaged cars and houses, caused by hailstones believed to be the size of golf balls and bigger, which broke through car windscreens and windows, causing extensive damage.

Residents have already begun to salvage and repair their home roofs as soon as daylight broke.

Hailstones believed to be the size of tennis balls came down and reportedly destroyed many house roofs, causing rainwater to flood houses.


Comment: A falcon roost was also struck by the hail storm in Newcastle, two weeks after more than 1,000 Amur falcons were battered by hail in Mooi River.

"When we arrived [at the roost] the devastation was horrible - dead, dying, injured and concussed falcons lying everywhere," local resident Angus Burns explained in a Facebook post. Many of the raptors had already succumbed to the tennis-ball sized hail stones, while many others were in need of treatment.

Hundreds of Amur falcons were relocated to the safety of a garage following a devastating hailstorm
© Angus BurnsHundreds of Amur falcons were relocated to the safety of a garage following a devastating hailstorm.


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Tornado1

Cyclone Veronica: Destructive winds and rain lash Australia - Second storm system within 48 hours to hit country


BBC
Mon, 25 Mar 2019 03:33 UTC
Satellite imagery shows Cyclone Veronica just off the north-west coast of Australia
© EPA/NASA WORLDVIEWSatellite imagery shows Cyclone Veronica just off the north-west coast of Australia
A second cyclone within 48 hours has brought destructive winds and torrential rains to coastal regions of Australia.

Cyclone Veronica lingered about 95km (60 miles) off the nation's north-west coast on Monday, officials said.

Despite no longer being expected to make landfall, the category two system is moving slowly and has prompted warnings for locals to remain indoors.

Cyclone Trevor, a category four, hit the Northern Territory on Saturday.

Heavy rain and large waves whipped up by Cyclone Veronica threaten to cause widespread flooding in Western Australia, according to authorities.

An area stretching from Karratha to Port Hedland was enduring gale-force winds of more than 125km/h, the Bureau of Meteorology said.


Comment: Two powerful tropical cyclones loom over northern Australia forcing mass evacuations

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Tornado1

Rare south Atlantic tropical storm forms off the coast of Brazil

Jonathan Belles
The Weather Channel
Sun, 24 Mar 2019 20:37 UTC
brazil tropical storm
Rare Tropical Storm Iba in the South AtlanticMeteorologist Heather Tesch says Tropical Storm Iba has formed off the coast of Brazil. It is rare for a tropical system to form in that area. The last time was nearly a decade ago.

A disturbance off the coast of Brazil has become the first South Atlantic tropical storm since 2010.

On Sunday, the Brazilian Navy Hydrographic Center (BNHC) analyzed Tropical Storm Iba as being located about 600 miles northeast of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, or just off the coast of the states of Bahia and Espirito Santo, Brazil. Satellite imagery shows concentrated shower and thunderstorm activity near the area of low pressure.

Comment: There have been a number of unusual and destructive storms in recent weeks:

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Cloud Precipitation

Hundreds of birds die as massive hailstorm hits Newcastle, South Africa


SA People
Fri, 22 Mar 2019 14:17 UTC
Dead falcons
Dead falcons
Over 1,000 falcon birds are reported to have been injured or died overnight after a massive hail storm swept suddenly into Newcastle in South Africa, wreaking havoc in the space of just 15 minutes (see photos below). Fortunately for the quick thinking of local caring residents, more of the birds - which have migrated to SA from the Amur River bordering Russia and China - didn't die and will be rehabilitated.

Residents of the KwaZulu-Natal town awoke this morning to destruction with car windows smashed and shattered by the hailstones which were the size of golfballs (some said there were even bigger pieces, the size of tennis balls). Many roofs were destroyed, and rainwater flooded into homes. Even some pets sadly died.

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