Storms
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Tornado2

'Rare' tornado hits east of Adelaide as severe storms blast South Australia


The Guardian, UK
Wed, 04 Nov 2015 07:38 UTC
South Australia storms
© Australian Bureau of Meteorology South Australia weather radar on 4 November 2015 at 6.30pm shows the progress of the storms.

Storms caused flooding in regional centres, with properties in Whyalla, Port Pirie and Kapunda the worst hit

A rare tornado has touched down east of Adelaide as severe storms swept across the state causing isolated flooding and other damage.

The State Emergency Service said the category F1 or F2 twister had likely brought down trees in the Monarto area on Wednesday but there were no reports of any injuries or property damage.

Comment: See also: Severe storms, huge hailstones, 'tornado', batter south eastern Australia

Additional coverage of the storm from 9news.com.au



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Cloud Precipitation

Cyclone Chapala triggers heavy flooding in Yemen


Aljazeera
Tue, 03 Nov 2015 20:39 UTC
Image
© Twitter @ionacraigMukala is pictured under water after the Chapala cyclone struck the coast of Yemen
A rare tropical cyclone slammed into Yemen on Tuesday, triggering heavy flooding and causing damage in the southeastern region of the war-torn country.

Packing winds of more than 60 mph, Cyclone Chapala made landfall in the provinces of Hadramawt and Shabwa, Minister of Fisheries Fahd Kafain told Agence France-Presse.

"The damage is enormous," said the minister, who is part of a commission established to deal with the cyclone that brewed in the Arabian Sea.

The World Health Organization said that it had delivered trauma kits for 1,000 patients in Mukalla, the provincial capital of Hadramawt, and was providing fuel for hospitals and ambulances.


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Cloud Precipitation

Southern Italy hit by deadly floods following 2 days of heavy rain

Richard Davies
Floodlist
Tue, 03 Nov 2015 17:21 UTC
Image
© Nazionale AnpasNazionale Anpas provide assistance after major flooding in Calabria, Italy, November 2015.
Calabria and Sicily in southern Italy endured heavy rain since Sunday 01 November 2015, resulting in severe flooding and an increased thereat of landslides. At least 2 people have died in weather related incidents.

Calabria

The Calabrian regional government said yesterday that it will request a state of emergency to be declared to help the region recover from flood damage. Italian news agency ANSI describe the damage as huge. Calabria has already endured major flooding this year when, in August 2015, more than 200mm of rain fell in 24 hours.

The city of Reggio Calabria is reported to be one of the worst hit areas. Local emergency workers has to respond to hundreds of calls. Evacuations were carried out in the city of Catanzaro.

Power has been cut in many areas of the region, and houses, roads and railway lines have been severely damaged. A 750 metre stretch of coastal railway line has been severely damaged. Around 250 emergency workers have been drafted in to help clear debris and repair damaged infrastructure.

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Tornado2

Sudden 'microburst' causes damage near Rome, New York State

Amy Neff Roth
Utica Observer Dispatch
Mon, 02 Nov 2015 20:22 UTC
microburst damage at Lake Delta
The blue, blue sky suddenly turned jet black, a crazy wind kicked up and something hit her house hard, said an eyewitness to Sunday's microburst near Lake Delta.

A huge trampoline from her neighbor's backyard had crashed into her house and landed on the roof around 1:30 p.m., said Regina Kekis, who lives on the Town of Rome side of Townline Road. "That wind was ferocious. It came out of nowhere. It was here maybe a minute and a half and it was gone," she said.

Kekis questioned officials' assessment that the damage from what the National Weather Service called a microburst was minor. Her house's siding now has a big gash in it and she can see at least 10 big trees along the road that were pulled up by the roots, she said. Her neighbor's shed was flattened and other area homes were damaged, too, she said.
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Snowflake

Up to a foot of snow forecast for California's Sierra Nevada as storm moves in

Veronica Rocha and Brittny Mejia
Los Angeles Times
Mon, 02 Nov 2015 22:35 UTC
LA clouds
© Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles TimesLow clouds drift over the Los Angeles Basin and downtown in Los Angeles.
The Sierra Nevada could get up to a foot of snow Monday as a wet storm moves across California's drought-stricken mountains and valleys, bringing rain and cold temperatures.

Described as the first significant storm of the season, snow began accumulating overnight in the northern Sierra Nevada, dusting the parched mountains with about nine inches of powder, said Eric Kurth, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Sacramento.

The snowstorm caused unexpected chaos on U.S. 50 and Interstate 80 in El Dorado County, where drivers were required to use tire chains on the slick roads.
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Tornado2

Severe storms, huge hailstones, 'tornado', batter south eastern Australia


RT
Sun, 01 Nov 2015 21:43 UTC
Australia storm damage
© StrathmertonStandard / Facebook
Storms so severe hit Australia this weekend that the disaster line stretched all the way from Queensland to Gippsland, something unseen in years. The internet was flooded with accounts of sunny weather turning into destructive greyness.

The aftermath of the multiple storms left a trail of havoc from Queensland, through New South Wales and on to Victoria, emergency services said. As of early Sunday morning, Victoria was still under siege.

According to ABC, citing the Victorian State Emergency Service (SES), the New South Wales-Victorian border saw trees uprooted and houses badly damaged.

"It's rare to see a storm line stretch that far. It can happen, you need a very active low pressure trough to extend right through that distance."

Comment: Additional coverage of the storm from The Today Show - 9news.com.au



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Cloud Precipitation

Rare and deadly: Cyclone Chapala expected to bring catastrophic flooding to Yemen


Al Jazeera
Mon, 02 Nov 2015 21:19 UTC
Cyclone Chapala
© EPAA Nasa photo of Cyclone Chapala moving towards Yemen, followed less than a week later by Cyclone Megh - an unprecedented double whammy!
At least two people killed as rare storm, Cyclone Chapala, destroys homes and forces evacuations on Socotra island.

The first ever cyclone (hurricane) to make landfall on the Arabian peninsula has already started wreaking havoc in Yemeni waters, killing at least three people and injuring about 100 on the island of Socotra as it tracks steadily towards the country's coastline.

Cyclone Chapala, which has formed in the Arabian Sea, destroyed more than 100 homes on the island on Sunday, as it also uprooted trees and sank fishing boats, sources told Al Jazeera.

The US Joint Typhoon Warning Centre (JTWC) reports that Chapala is expected to make landfall at about 06:00 GMT on Tuesday morning.

The JTWC reported that the storm system was tracking a path that would take it close to the Yemeni port city of Mukalla, which has a population of about 300,000 people.

"The cyclone is the equivalent of a category 3 hurricane, with sustained winds of 195 km/h, gusting 240 km/h," Al Jazeera's meteorologist Steff Gaulter explained.
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Cloud Precipitation

Several days of torrential rains flood the Masai Mara plains in Kenya, puzzling the wildlife

Sara Malm
Daily Mail, UK
Mon, 02 Nov 2015 17:49 UTC
Image
Thunderbolt and lightning: As the heavens open once more, the lioness makes her way across the muddy, watery plains
A long drought on the plains of the Masai Mara has been broken by several days of torrential rains, turning the dry Kenyan plains into a veritable sea.

These stunning images taken last week show drought turned to flood on the national reserve in southern Kenya, and lone animals who did not make it to shelter in time.

They include a lioness teetering on a small mound of earth, before 'island hopping' between small patches of land still visible above the giant puddles. Another image shows a forlorn gazelle hunched and exposed to the heavy rains.

The images were taken by British wildlife photographer and guide Paul Goldstein, from Wimbledon, south London.

'Last week the drought in Kenya's Masai Mara was broken. Violently,' Mr Goldstein explains.

Image
No way of staying dry: The lioness wades through the water which comes up her elbows
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Cloud Precipitation

Weekend rains led to 2 million gallons of sewage spilling into Houston bayous

Marcelino Benito
USA Today
Mon, 02 Nov 2015 15:13 UTC
flooding in Houston
© KHOU-TV, HoustonThe storms that pummeled Houston on Saturday, Oct. 31, 2015, spilled more than 2 million gallons of sewage into the bayou system.
The weekend's rains in Houston left the city with a raw sewage problem that collected on downtown streets.

"It's just a horrible stench and I've had to wade through it constantly walking through here," said Steve Sherlund, who lives along Buffalo Bayou.

The storms that pummeled Houston on Halloween caused more than 2 million gallons of sewage to spill into the bayous.

"You never think about sewage," said Brandon O'Quinn. "It's kind of the last thing anybody wants to hear."

The waste water spilled out at four sites across the city, potentially influencing Halls, White Oak, Buffalo, Brays and Sims bayous.

Comment: It's becoming very apparent that earth changes are capable of over-whelming different infrastructures, and without a devoted effort to acknowledge and address the problems there will just be more and worsening instances of failures that, while somewhat benign in this instance, will leave the door open to catastrophic consequences down the road.

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Cloud Lightning

Storm kills 1, causes severe flooding in southern Portugal


Associated Press
Mon, 02 Nov 2015 12:09 UTC
Image
© AP Photo/Armando FrancaUS surfer Garrett McNamara rides a big wave during a tow-in surfing session at the Praia do Norte, or North beach, in Nazare, Portugal, Sunday, Nov. 1, 2015. McNamara set a world record for the largest wave surfed when he rode a 23.7 metre wave (78-foot) in Nazare in 2011.
Authorities say a heavy storm has killed one person and caused severe flooding in Portugal's Algarve region.

Authorities were cleaning up and counting the cost of the damage Monday after the heavy storm hit the seaside resort.

Municipal workers, storekeepers and local residents shoveled away thick mud and fire crews pumped rainwater out of basements in Albufeira, the hardest-hit vacation town some 200 kilometers (120 miles) south of the capital Lisbon.

Police said they discovered the body Monday of an 80-year-old man whose car was found submersed.

The storm Sunday swept away cars, uprooted trees and washed away roads. Stores in the downtown area were flooded with brown water almost to the ceiling.
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