Storms
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Cloud Lightning

Lightning strikes kill 8 in Pakistan

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Lightning killed eight including three kids on Saturday in Loralai, Sibbi and Dera Ghazi Khan while three other kids were injured in the incidents, reported Dunya News.

In Dera Ghazi Khan's suburb area Pagan, lightning claimed lives of at least two people and injured one.

Meanwhile, one youth died in Loralai's area of B and R Colony while two laborers died in Daki as lightning struck upon a coalmine.

On the other hand, lightning fell on a house in Waam Tangi area of Harnaai, near Sibbi, and killed three kids on the spot while critically injuring other three.

Cloud Precipitation

Canary Islands hit by fierce storms, flash floods, landslides and waterspout

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© Cabildo Gran Canaria / twitter Waterspout off Playa del Ingles, Gran Canaria
Severe weather warnings have been issued across the Canary Islands this weekend as torrential rain brings chaos and forced the closure of schools.

All schools were closed on Friday as storms hit the archipelago in the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of west Africa.

Spain's meteorological agency AEMET put the region on amber alert and warned that the eastern most islands of Fuerteventura and Lanzarote were likely to be the worst hit with rain of up to 30 litres per square meter per hour expected.

Those tourists willing to brave the wind and rain and head for the popular resort of Playa del Ingles in Gran Canaria may have spotted an unusual weather phenomenon just off the beach.


Windsock

Massive hurricane Patricia batters Mexico's Pacific coast: Strongest ever recorded in western hemisphere

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© Jonathan Levinson/AFPThe US National Hurricane Center (NHC) downgraded Patricia to a Category 4 storm but said it remained an ‘extremely dangerous major hurricane’.
There were no reported casualties and officials said the damage might not be as catastrophic as feared

One of the strongest ever hurricanes lashed western Mexico with rain and winds of up to 165 mph (266 km/h), causing chaos in coastal towns and resorts but less damage than feared before weakening on Saturday as it moved inland.

Mowing down trees, flooding streets and battering buildings, Hurricane Patricia plowed into Mexico as a Category 5 storm on Friday before grinding inland, where it began to lose power in the mountains that rise up along the Pacific coast.

Around 15,000 tourists were hurriedly evacuated from the beach resort of Puerto Vallarta as people scrambled to get away from the advancing hurricane, whose massive swirl over Mexico could be seen clearly from space.

"It sparked chaos here, it ruined a lot of things, took down the roof, lots of trees. Things are in a bad state where we work," said Domingo Hernandez, a hotel worker in the resort of Barra de Navidad near to the major port of Manzanillo.

Thousands of residents and tourists ended up in improvised shelters but there were no early reports of fatalities and many felt they had escaped lightly.



Windsock

Hurricane Patricia: Thousands evacuated as 325km/h winds blast Mexico

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© Jonathan Levinson / AFP A truck drives along a flooded street in Manzanillo, Colima state, Mexico on October 23, 2015, during hurricane Patricia
The strongest hurricane ever recorded in the Western Hemisphere has struck Mexico's Pacific Coast, destroying houses and forcing thousands to evacuate. Heavy flooding and mud-slides are also feared along the hurricane's path.

Hurricane Patricia grew at an "incredible rate" on Friday, the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) said. It became a hurricane overnight, carrying maximum sustained winds of about 200 miles per hour (325 km per hour) as it moved north-northwest at 12 mph (19 kph).

Comment: See also: Hurricane Patricia becomes strongest hurricane ever recorded


Cloud Precipitation

Flash flood sweeps away mini bus in Pakistan

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Mini bus swept away
A mini bus taking Pakistan's Lowari Pass was caught on camera getting carried away by a flash flood while its 10 passengers fled to safety.

The video, posted to YouTube, shows the mini bus being carried away by rushing waters Lowari Top Dir Upper area amid flash flood Monday.

The bus' 10 passengers can be seen climbing out of the vehicle and rushing to the safety of the shore as the vehicle picks up speed in the water.

The video ends with the bus getting stuck on small but quickly-moving waterfall.


Cloud Precipitation

Heavy rain and hail hits West Texas; floats away travel trailers, mobile home from RV park

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Central El Paso resident Serina Hernandez trudges through deep hail on Edsel Connecticut. which fell during a storm Wednesday afternoon, October 21, 2015, in El Paso, Texas.
Heavy rain in West Texas on Thursday led to flooding that floated several travel trailers and a double-wide mobile home away from an RV park.

Upton County Sheriff Dan Brown said nobody was in the trailers during the flooding in Rankin, 60 miles south of Odessa. The occupants safely evacuated.

A hailstorm with the same slow-moving system blanketed parts of El Paso on Wednesday. The rain is expected to increase in intensity Friday and Saturday as Hurricane Patricia in the eastern Pacific Ocean makes landfall Friday near Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, and moves north toward Texas.

Odessa Emergency Management said crews there on Thursday conducted about 30 swift-water rescues from stranded vehicles and flooded structures. Forecasters say 3.7 inches of rain soaked Odessa, flooding more than a dozen homes. Midland recorded at least 2.2 inches of rain. Up to 3 inches of rain was reported in the cattle country west of Fort Worth.



Cloud Precipitation

Flash floods in Athens kill at least one: Cars swept away following heavy rain

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Flood damage in Athens
Emergency rescue workers and firefighters were searching parts of northern and western Athens on Thursday night after flash floods in the capital left at least one person dead.

The rescue teams were looking for others who may have been swept away or drowned following fierce rain in the capital. Some 560 people were to remain on duty overnight.

During the day, the fire service received more than 800 calls to help pump water out of basements as a result of the flooding.

A 41-year-old man lost his life in Acharnes, northern Athens, after his car became trapped. Passers-by were able to remove the man and his 71-year-old mother from the vehicle but he was pronounced dead at the hospital.



Windsock

Hurricane Patricia becomes strongest hurricane ever recorded

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© Weather.com
Mexico's Pacific coast is in the crosshairs of Hurricane Patricia, which became the most powerful tropical cyclone ever measured in the Western Hemisphere on Friday morning as its maximum sustained winds reached an unprecedented 200 mph (320 kph).

The hurricane is forecast to make landfall in the Mexican state of Jalisco Friday evening as a catastrophic Category 5 hurricane capable of causing widespread destruction. Residents and authorities in Mexico are rushing to prepare for what will likely be the strongest hurricane to ever make landfall on that country's Pacific coastline.

Comment: Track Hurricane Patricia with Weather.com's New Interactive Storm Tracker


Cloud Precipitation

Large hail stones reported as thunderstorm hits Malta

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© Stephanie Camilleri
A thunderstorm has hit various parts of Malta, with hail being reported in various localities.

Reader Stephanie Camilleri sent in pictures of huge hailstones in Qormi.

The bad weather is expected to abate over the weekend, with another thunder storm predicted for next Tuesday.

In a statement, the police advised motorists to avoid low-lying areas, especially Triq Marina and Triq ix-Xatt in Msida, and Triq il-Wied in Birkirkara, following reports of high rainwater levels.

Video was taken by Charles Bartolo in Luqa


Cloud Lightning

Lightning bolt kills 3 soldiers and injures 11 in Turkey

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Three soldiers were killed and 11 more injured as a result of a lightning strike in the Yuksekova district of Turkey's Hakkari province, the Haber 7 news channel reported Oct. 22.

Reportedly, the soldiers were carrying out an operation in the village of Daglica against the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK).

The wounded soldiers were taken to a state hospital in Hakkari.