Storms
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Cloud Precipitation

Four people killed by landslide in the Philippines as Tropical Storm Sanba hits (VIDEOS)


The Big Wobble
Tue, 13 Feb 2018 12:38 UTC
Tropical Storm Sanba was acquired from the VIIRS instrument aboard NASA-NOAA's Suomi NPP satellite as it continued moving over the Philippines.
© NOAA/NASA Rapid Response TeamTropical Storm Sanba was acquired from the VIIRS instrument aboard NASA-NOAA's Suomi NPP satellite as it continued moving over the Philippines.
Four people were killed in the southern Philippines early Tuesday as a tropical storm unleashed heavy rain and triggered deadly landslides, police said.

Tropical Storm Sanba slammed the east coast of the main southern island of Mindanao Tuesday with gusts of 75 kilometres an hour.

The heavy rain triggered landslides that hit mountain villages outside the mining town of Carrascal -- 760 kilometres south of the capital Manila -- killing four people, municipal police chief James Alendogao told AFP.

"These areas are currently inaccessible and we do not know the extent of the damage," he added.

The state weather service said the storm was expected to move swiftly northwest over the next 24 hours, bringing moderate to heavy rain across the central Philippines.

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Ice Cube

Unusual hailstorm kills 2 and damages crops in India


Mumbai Mirror
Sun, 11 Feb 2018 12:41 UTC
India hailstorm
© India ExpressWhile the hailstorm was particularly intense over the weekend, parts of Vidarbha and Marathwada had also reported thunderstorms since Monday.
Some parts of rural Maharashtra woke up to a white blanket this morning, with an unusual spell of hailstorms. The unusual spell of hailstorm and heavy rainfall that started early this morning has claimed two lives in Maharashtra. The gusty winds and hailstorm have also destroyed standing crops of wheat, grapes and chickpea in Jaalna, Beed, Buldhana, Washim, Amravati and Akola districts of Vidarbha and Marathwada regions.

Not just that, the heavy rainfall has destroyed most of the winter crop that was ready to be harvested.

On February 7, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) had issued an advisory stating the possibility of hailstorm in parts of Maharashtra. However, the MET officials stated that this was just an advisory issued at a very primary stage but not a warning.

Taking a serious note based on the advisory issued by MET, the state government on Saturday(February 10) had warned the farmers to be prepared for a hailstorm.


Comment: The hailstorms have also killed more than 500 birds in the Maharashtra region.

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Windsock

Storm hits South Iceland with windspeeds up to 50 m/s (111 miles per hour)


Iceland Monitor
Wed, 14 Feb 2018 20:52 UTC
The weather forecast for Wednesday February 14th. As you can see with the red colour a storm rages in the South and South East.
© Iceland Met OfficeThe weather forecast for Wednesday February 14th. As you can see with the red colour a storm rages in the South and South East.
The storms are hitting Iceland relentlessly it seems and this morning the Iceland Met Offie put out an orange alert for South and South East Iceland. The no.1 road between Hvolsvöllur and Jökulsárlón glacial lagoon is closed. All traffic through Hellisheiði and Kjalarnes has also been put to a stop.

All flights to the Westman Islands have been cancelled.

This is no weather for travel states the Iceland Met Office. The storm is accompanied by snow and there is no visibility. Windspeeds could go up to 50 m/s.
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Cloud Precipitation

More than 500 birds killed by hailstorm in Maharashtra, India

Vivek Deshpande
The Indian Express
Wed, 14 Feb 2018 20:05 UTC
Bird deaths were also reported from Goregaon in Gondia district
Bird deaths were also reported from Goregaon in Gondia district
Over 500 birds, mostly parakeets, were killed in the hailstorm that hit Bhandara and Gondia districts on Tuesday. Of them, 460 parakeets died in the Tumsar town of Bhangade district alone.

Confirming the deaths, Tumsar Range Forest Officer A R Joshi said, "Over 460 parakeets nestled over a peepal tree perished in the hailstorm between 8 pm and 8.30 pm. The hailstones were weighing about 50 gm each."

"Problem was compounded for the birds by the honey bees that started attacking the birds when their comb also came down due to the hailstones impact. Many of the bees also died in the storm," Joshi added.
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Cloud Lightning

3 killed by lightning strikes in Rajouri, India


Greater Kashmir
Wed, 14 Feb 2018 12:51 UTC
lightning
A woman was killed when she was struck by lightning in Rajouri district of Jammu and Kashmir, police said today.

Parveen Akhtar (35) was inside her house in Kandi village when she was struck by the lightning last night, a police official said.

Her death raised the number of people killed in lightning incidents in this region to three since yesterday.

A father-son duo was killed when lightning struck their house at Launcha village of Mahore in Reasi district yesterday.

They were identified as Ali Mohammad (30) and his son Shabir (3).

Source: PTI
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Tornado1

'Worst storm on record': Cyclone Gita flattens Tonga's parliament building


Source
Tue, 13 Feb 2018 21:51 UTC
tonga cyclone damage
© John Pulu / AFP
Tonga's century-old parliament building has been knocked to the ground in the worst storm to hit the island nation in more than 60 years.

The Category 4 tropical storm struck the country overnight, lifting roofs off homes and knocking down power lines and trees. Tonga's National Emergency Management Office (NEMO) said there is no house left undamaged by the tropical storm, according to Radio NZ. "I've been involved in disaster responses for 30-plus years and it's the worst situation I have been in," Graham Kenna from NEMO said.
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Tornado2

Snownado videoed swirling amid Chicago snowstorm

Ben Hooper
UPI
Mon, 12 Feb 2018 19:54 UTC
snownado
A snowstorm brought more than just 7 inches of snow to Chicago -- it caused a rare snownado caught on camera by a local woman.

Amber Connor captured video Friday of the snownado, a winter whirlwind also known as a snow devil, swirling at the side of a Chicago road.

The video shows the mini tornado spinning snow through the air next to a line of parked cars.

The footage was filmed amid a snowstorm that dropped more than 7 inches of snow on the area.

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Apple Green

One-two punch of disease and Hurricane Irma has left Florida citrus reeling

Kalhan Rosenblatt
MSN News
Sun, 11 Feb 2018 18:36 UTC
fruit
In the hours after Hurricane Irma raked up Florida's spine, warm sunshine revealed thousands upon thousands of pieces of citrus fruit bobbing in muddied, stagnant water.

Millions of dollars worth of oranges, grapefruits, and tangerines were ripped from their branches by fierce winds, never to reach their intended destination of breakfast plates and juice glasses.

It was the nightmare many sleepless farmers prayed they wouldn't see.

"I remember ... heading out to the fields as soon as it was safe to get out on the roads and being taken back at how much fruit was blown on the ground ... and how many trees had just been blown over," said one citrus farmer, William Roe III, 35, known as Gee.

"We were literally blown away by the severity of the damage," said Roe's uncle, Quentin Roe, 59, the chief executive of Wm. G. Roe & Sons, a longtime grower and distributor.
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Attention

Tennis ball sized hail, severe thunderstorms and a heatwave hit Queensland, Australia (PHOTO, VIDEO)

TW
The Watchers
Mon, 12 Feb 2018 07:18 UTC
Lightning strikes the Q1 tower on the Gold Coast during Sunday night's storm.
© Bryce Forrest/Severe Weather AustraliaLightning strikes the Q1 tower on the Gold Coast during Sunday night's storm.
A severe thunderstorm that hit the city of Brisbane, Queensland Sunday night (local time), February 11, 2018, left 130 000 homes without power, produced some 265 000 lightning strikes and dropped up to tennis ball-sized hail on the region. At least one person was injured after a lightning hit nearby home.

Heavy rain and winds up to 100 km/h (62 mph) smashed Brisbane around 19:00 local time Sunday, accompanied by up to tennis ball-sized hail that caused extensive damage and blanketed fields. The temperature dropped by 10 °C (18 °F) as the storm hit, from up to 38 °C (100.4 °F) to 28 °C (82.4 °F).

The storm downed numerous trees and more than 500 power lines at the height of the storm, leaving some 130 000 homes without power. On Monday morning, February 12, Logan City, south of Brisbane, still had more than 40 000 properties without electricity, Brisbane almost 7 000 and Redland City about 2 300.

Comment: And some additional footage; check out the frighteningly close lightning strike:




See Also: Hail larger than softballs pummeled Cordoba, Argentina (PHOTO, VIDEO)

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Windsock

Cyclone Gita: Tonga devastated by worst storm in 60 years

Eleanor Ainge Roy
The Guardian
Mon, 12 Feb 2018 22:16 UTC
The aftermath of cyclone Gita is seen in Nuku’alofa, Tonga
© Social Media/ReutersThe aftermath of cyclone Gita is seen in Nuku’alofa, Tonga.
Winds of more than 230km/h recorded as parliament building flattened and power lines brought down

The islands of Tonga in the South Pacific have been devastated by Tropical Cyclone Gita with winds of 230km/h flattening parts of Parliament House and causing significant damage and injuries across the kingdom.

Gita hit Tonga around 8pm on Monday night and peaked between 11pm and 2am, slamming on to the south coast of the main island of Tongatapu, bringing down electricity lines, smashing churches and levelling fruit trees and crops vital to the island's livelihood.

At its peak, winds reached 233km/h - far stronger than predicted, despite Gita not reaching a category five storm as anticipated.

According to the British Met office, Gita is the worst cyclone to pass so close to Tonga's main islands in 60 years, and communications were lost overnight as Gita ripped the roof off the Tonga meteorological office as well as taking the national broadcaster off air for a time.

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