Storms
S


Cloud Lightning

Nebraska town devastated: How rare are double tornadoes?


Yahoo News
Wed, 18 Jun 2014 10:09 UTC
Twin Tornadoes
© Matt CokerEmerging pattern: fewer tornado days in U.S. - but more tornados!
Twin tornadoes destroyed almost three-quarters of Pilger, a small Nebraska town. According to one expert, the last powerful double tornado on record occurred in 1999.

Residents of a small Nebraska town are returning to what is left of their homes Tuesday after a pair of tornadoes flattened nearly every brick structure in its path. Two people are dead.

"It was flatness," homeowner Jerry Meyer told the Omaha World-Herald. "There was nothing on my whole block."

The twin tornadoes on Monday are blamed for destroying almost three-quarters of Pilger, Neb., a town of 350 people located 60 miles southwest of Sioux City, Iowa. In all, four tornadoes struck the region that includes the nearby towns of Wisner, Stanton, and Pender.

The two tornadoes hitting Pilger so hard touched down within a mile of each other and then merged south of Pilger over the Elkhorn River, the National Weather Service reports. While it is not uncommon for one tornado to emerge following the dissipation of a first, it is rare for two tornadoes to operate simultaneously, meteorologists say.

Comment: Also see: Freak thunderstorm spawns twin tornadoes as severe outbreak hits U.S.

Read More...
Bizarro Earth

Freak thunderstorm spawns twin tornadoes as severe outbreak hits U.S.

Andrew Freedman
Mashable
Mon, 16 Jun 2014 22:20 UTC
Twin Tornadoes
© Matt CokerEmerging pattern: fewer tornado days in U.S. - but more tornados!
A deadly severe-weather outbreak, including large hail, damaging straight-line winds and multiple strong tornadoes is underway across several states in the Plains and Midwest. Soon after a "Particularly Dangerous Situation" tornado watch was issued for northeastern Nebraska, a massive thunderstorm spawned at least two tornadoes at the same time near the small town of Pilger, Nebraska at about 4:20 p.m. CT, with reports of heavy damage in that area and at least one death. A nearby hospital in Norfolk, Nebraska reported that 16 people are also in critical condition from injuries sustained in the tornadoes.

Pilger has a population of about 350 people, according to the 2010 Census. Damage was also reported in Stanton, Nebraska, from that same storm.

Although rare, the phenomenon of simultaneous multiple tornadoes associated with the same severe thunderstorm is not unheard of. However, it is extremely rare for both tornadoes to be so intense and long-lasting. A more common phenomenon is to have so-called "satellite tornadoes" rotating around a main funnel, but in this case, it appears there were two independent, long-lived and powerful tornadoes about 1 to 2 miles apart.

Making this even more unusual, from a scientific standpoint, is that both tornadoes were spinning in the same direction.
Read More...
Attention

'First ever' tornado hits Korea

Shin Se-min
Arirang News
Wed, 11 Jun 2014 15:40 UTC
Image
Tornado and Korea are two words you would never normally hear in the same sentence.

But you will now... because a tornado was spotted in Korea earlier this week.

News of this twister, coupled with freak thunderstorms and torrential rain showers in recent days, has people asking if it's all down to climate change.

The worst flooding in the Balkans in over a century... an unusually heavy hailstorm in Sao Paulo, Brazil... and exceptionally heavy snowstorms in the central United States.

The effects of climate change are being seen across the globe through abnormal weather events... and Korea is no exception... as evidenced by the last few days.

A tornado near Ilsan in Gyeonggi-do province this Tuesday... was the first ever spotted on the mainland.

The twister lasted for at least an hour... leaving a trail of destruction in its path... with at least 21 greenhouses destroyed.


Comment: Indeed, 'climate change' is underway, but it's not quite turning out the way authorities predicted.

Clearly what's happening on this planet at this time goes way beyond carbon footprints and fossil fuel consumption.

Check out the recent episode of SOTT Talk Radio where we discussed 'Earth Changes' and what 'climate change' is really all about.

Read More...
Cloud Lightning

Floods hit Natal, Brazil before US World Cup game


USA Today
Sun, 15 Jun 2014 15:55 UTC
Natal brazil flooding
Two days of near non-stop rain have dumped a month's worth of precipitation on the World Cup city of Natal, leading to a flood alert and raising worries that the deluge could affect the U.S. team's debut match against Ghana.

No deaths or injuries have been reported in the rains, which began early Friday and abated only on Sunday, dumping in 50 hours as much rain as is usually seen in the northeastern Brazilian city during the entire month of June. With more rains forecast for the next five days, some people worried that the weather could affect the U.S.-Ghana match on Monday afternoon.

Natal's City Hall declared a flood alert on Saturday and evacuated dozens of residents as a precaution in the Mae Luiza neighborhood in the city's west. News reports showed images of residents wading through knee-deep waters as others pushed cars submerged up to the door handles. Additional reports showed a huge crater cutting across a street in a residential neighborhood.
Read More...
Cloud Lightning

Flight delays at Gatwick Airport as over 8,000 lightning strikes hit Europe in two hours

Jessica Best
The Mirror, UK
Sat, 14 Jun 2014 14:28 UTC
Image
© Getty ImagesDelays: Some passengers had to wait hours for their bags
Lightning caused delays for hundreds of passengers at Gatwick Airport this morning, after Europe was hit by more than 8,000 lightning strikes in just two hours.

Travellers were left waiting hours for their bags following a power dip in the local area after lightning hit in the early hours of the morning, causing electrical trips to Gatwick's systems.

This affected check-in and baggage, and although all issues have been resolved and the airport is now operating as normal, passengers were affected by delays.

This morning's lightning strike was one of thousands across Europe in the early hours.

BBC weather tweeted at 6.13am: "In the last two hours across Europe, there have been over 8000 lightning strikes #flashbang"

Image
Read More...
Cloud Lightning

Lightning strikes leave hundreds of homes in Oxfordshire and Berkshire without power in UK

Heather Saul
The Independent, UK
Sat, 14 Jun 2014 14:14 UTC
Image
Three buildings in Oxfordshire were set on fire after being hit by lightning
Hundreds of homes have been left without power in Berkshire and Oxfordshire following a bout of torrential rain, thunder and lightning.

Transport was also disrupted for trains between Didcot Parkway and Reading when storms hit both counties in the early hours of Saturday morning.

Scottish and Southern Energy told the BBC lightning strikes to overhead cables had knocked out power supplies to 400 homes in Reading and 144 in Oxford.

Earlier today a lightning strike caused delays for hundreds of passengers at Gatwick Airport after causing electrical trips to the airport's systems.
Read More...
Bizarro Earth

Rare funnel cloud hovers over Florida beach


First Coast News
Wed, 11 Jun 2014 16:20 UTC

Atlantic Beach -- A funnel cloud hovered for a brief time over the Atlantic Ocean near Atlantic Beach Wednesday afternoon. The rare weather phenomenon could be seen for miles inland.
Read More...
Cloud Lightning

Thor's revenge - Dramatic lightning display over Cologne, Germany

Jan Meyer
youtube
Mon, 09 Jun 2014 16:04 UTC
Image
© shutterstock/ Frank L JuniorStrange lightning video recorded over Cologne Germany on June 9 2014.
This beautiful lightning display appeared today over Cologne, Germany. I don't think I've ever seen lightning behave like this.

Read More...
Cloud Grey

Weird clouds form before Midlands storm in UK


Shropshire Star
Mon, 09 Jun 2014 15:48 UTC
Image
© AGJMillsAn unusual cloud formation, known as Undulatus Asperatus, appears over the region amid downpour.
This was the scene above the Midlands today, as an unusual cloud formation brought thunder and lightning as well as torrential downpours to the region.

The "Undulatus Asperatus" clouds turned the sky dark during the unseasonal June weather. There were reports of localised flooding as heavy rain was interspersed with sunshine as the weather turned distinctly sour.

People were still recovering from Saturday's stormy weather when more storms hit Bridgnorth today.

The National Police Air Service, based at Halfpenny Green Airport near Bridgnorth, was set to be deployed to help to look for a missing person in the town. But the service had to be grounded due to lightning strikes around the airbase.

The storms also delayed the start of practice rounds for the PGA Euro Pro Tour at Astbury Hall Golf Course, near Bridgnorth.
Read More...
Cloud Lightning

Violent storms kill six as high winds and floods hit Germany

Jill Reilly
Daily Mail, UK
Tue, 10 Jun 2014 10:40 UTC
Image
Lightning bolts illuminate the sky as they strike near high voltage power lines in Sehnde, near Hanover. At least six people have died in western Germany as heavy rains, hail and high winds battered the region
* In Duesseldorf, two men and a woman were killed when a large tree fell on them

* Police say two bicyclists were killed when hit by falling tree limbs in separate incidents in Cologne and Krefeld

* A man in Essen collapsed and died near midnight as he was working to clear debris from a street

* Storm front moved further northeast and there are weather warnings for regions including Hanover and Bremen

Heavy rains, hail and high winds have left at least six people dead in western Germany after violent storms battered the region.

In the North Rhine-Westphalia capital of Duesseldorf, police said two men and a woman who had sought refuge in a garden house were killed late Monday when a large tree fell on the building, the dpa news agency reported Tuesday.

Firefighters were able to rescue six others, who were taken to hospitals.

Image
Lightning illuminates the sky as storm fronts move east near Soest. Many flights from Duesseldorf airport were delayed and some train routes were still closed today
Read More...