Storms
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Tornado2

8 tornadoes touch down across Kansas, including an EF-3

Stan Finger
Wichita Eagle
Fri, 07 Oct 2016 19:50 UTC
kansas tornado
© YouTube/The Wichita Eagle (screen capture)
Meteorologists have confirmed that more than a half-dozen tornadoes touched down in different parts of Kansas on Thursday, including one that was measured as an EF-3.

Damage surveys conducted by National Weather Service meteorologists have preliminarily confirmed eight tornadoes, which would place 2016 fourth in the rankings of most October tornadoes in state history.

"For October standards, it's halfway decent," Andy Kleinsasser, a meteorologist with the weather service, said of Thursday's outbreak.

Officials are still gathering information about tornadoes reported in Allen County in southeast Kansas on Thursday night, so totals could yet change. But as of late Friday afternoon, four tornadoes earned ratings on the Enhanced Fujita scale, which rates tornadoes based on damage left behind.

Two tornadoes — one in Cowley County and another in Labette County — touched down briefly and then fell apart, said Vanessa Pearce, a meteorologist with the weather service.

The strongest of Thursday's tornadoes touched down a mile west of Kipp in Saline County at about 4:20 p.m. and stayed on the ground for more than six miles, Pearce said. It had peak winds of 140 miles an hour and was 140 yards wide.

It destroyed a manufactured house held down by straps, Pearce said. It also rolled a Jeep about 200 yards and damaged farm equipment.

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Tornado1

Nearly 900 killed and 350,000 in need of urgent aid in hurricane-stricken Haiti (VIDEOS)


RT
Sat, 08 Oct 2016 02:43 UTC
Jérémie, Haiti destroyed by hurricane
© Carlos Garcia Rawlins/Reuters Jérémie, Haiti, where 80 percent of buildings were destroyed by the storm.
The number of victims of Hurricane Matthew, which has wrought havoc in Haiti, neared 900 on Friday as reports from hard-to-access remote southwestern areas continued coming. A total of 350,000 Haitians require immediate assistance, the UN says. The death toll from the Category 4 hurricane, which has shaken the Caribbean nation, has been climbing with scores of people still missing.

As of Friday, 870 people were reported killed in the calamity, Reuters reported, citing local officials.


Comment: This is the worst disaster to hit Haiti since the devastating earthquake in 2010. Just over two weeks ago the former Senate President of Haiti Bernard Sansaricq told a crowd of Donald Trump supporters that the Clinton Foundation stole "billions" from the Haiti relief fund following the tragic earthquake that left some 316,000 people dead due to the cascade of weakly supported structures and an outbreak of cholera. See: Hurricane Matthew to show horrific cost of Clinton Foundation theft from Haiti

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Cloud Precipitation

Hurricane Matthew threatens Florida to North Carolina with dangerous flooding; three dead and more than 1,000,000 without power

Rafi Letzter
Business Insider
Sat, 08 Oct 2016 03:14 UTC
hurricane matthew path
© The Weather ChannelClosing in: At 11pm on Friday the storm was 70 miles east of Savannah in Georgia, having brushed past Jacksonville and made its way up the coast toward the Carolinas
Hurricane Matthew finished with Florida Friday night and began its onslaught of Georgia. The part of the storm with the fastest winds remains just off the state's eastern shore as the storm moves north.

The National Hurricane Center reports that Matthew is a Category 3 storm with maximum sustained winds of 105 mph, making it somewhat less powerful than the 140-mph Category 4 monster it was Thursday. But it remains the most powerful storm to strike central or northern Florida in living memory, and it continues to pose the threat of severe flooding to northern Florida, coastal Georgia, South Carolina, and parts of North Carolina through the weekend.


Comment: Hurricane Matthew has been blasting through records

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Tornado2

Dancing twin waterspouts filmed near Lazio, Italy

Galunggong TV
You Tube
Fri, 07 Oct 2016 19:47 UTC
Waterspouts
Unbelievable dancing twin waterspout mear Lazio Italy

Watch as two waterspouts seem to dance with each other.

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Cloud Lightning

Lightning strikes kill two farmers in Uttar Pradesh, India


Press Trust of India
Fri, 07 Oct 2016 12:03 UTC
lightning
© 123RF
Two farmers were killed after they were struck by lightning in separate incidents in the city, police said today.

Rambhavan (40) died after being struck by lightning in Paderi village while Sukhdev (35) died in a similar incident in Narayadh village yesterday, they said.

Sub Divisional Magistrate (SDM) JN Sachan said compensation would be provided to the families of the victims.
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Cloud Precipitation

Hailstones the size of golf balls pelt Nkomazi, South Africa


Corridor Gazette
Thu, 06 Oct 2016 11:27 UTC
Hailstones
Joy over the long-awaited rain quickly turned to terror for the residents of Komatipoort, KaMaqhekeza, Mangweni, Schoemansdal and surrounds on Friday at about 19:00.

Hail stones the size of golf balls came pelting down, shattering vehicle windscreens, while the severe winds ripped off roofs.

Damage to a vehicle in Komatipoort.
Damage to a vehicle in Komatipoort.
According to Mr Cyril Ripinga, spokesman for the Nkomazi Local Municipality, about 426 houses, 25 schools, five clinics and Tonga and Shongwe hospitals were damaged, but the verification process is ongoing.

More than 100 houses' roofs were blown away, more than eight collapsed and infrastructure such as gravel roads and electricity cables were damaged.

Large parts of Nkomazi were left without electricity, but municipal employees worked around the clock over the weekend to fix the cables.

Many residents had to run for their lives as their houses collapsed, leaving their possessions to the mercy of the elements.

Ms Thobile Mashaba had to run to her neighbours for safety when the corrugated iron of her shack was ripped off by the wind.

Storm damage
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Cloud Precipitation

Worst disaster in Haiti since 2010 earthquake: Hurricane Matthew leaves 340 dead as it approaches US (PHOTOS)


RT
Fri, 07 Oct 2016 05:37 UTC
A man cuts branches off fallen trees in a flooded area by a river after Hurricane Matthew in Les Cayes, Haiti, October 5, 2016.
© Andres Martinez Casares/ReutersA man cuts branches off fallen trees in a flooded area by a river after Hurricane Matthew in Les Cayes, Haiti, October 5, 2016.
The death toll in Haiti from Hurricane Matthew has gone up to 339 with authorities saying it's the largest humanitarian event witnessed since the earthquake six years ago.

Authorities in Haiti have reported 339 deaths, Reuters reports, citing local officials. Many of the deaths were caused by falling trees or other debris. The Caribbean nation has been the hardest hit by the hurricane, suffering the most casualties and severe structural damage. The storm has destroyed more than 3,200 homes, displaced 15,000 people and decimated plantations and livestock.

"Haiti is facing the largest humanitarian event witnessed since the earthquake six years ago," said Mourad Wahba, the UN special representative for Haiti, as quoted in USA Today.

"Much of the population is displaced and communication systems are down. At least 10,000 people are in shelter. We've received reports of destroyed houses and overflowing hospitals with shortages of buckets and fresh water."




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Info

Hurricane Matthew has been blasting through records

Phil Klotzbach
The Washington Post
Wed, 05 Oct 2016 05:02 UTC
hurricane Matthew
© NASA
Since it formed late last week, Hurricane Matthew has shattered records from rapid intensification to longevity, and it has the potential to end a decade-long lull in major hurricane landfalls.

On Sept. 28, Matthew developed from an area of low pressure as it approached the Windward Islands. It was a very fast-moving system early in its formation, and it steered rapidly westward by high pressure to its north. In the first few days of its life, that speed inhibited intensification, but as soon as it slowed, Matthew began to strengthen.

Matthew reached hurricane intensity Sept. 29, and since then has been breaking records. Below are some of the milestones that Matthew has achieved so far:
  • Hurricane Matthew underwent a remarkable rapid intensification of 80 mph in 24 hours, intensifying from a Category 1 hurricane to a Category 5 hurricane. This was the third-strongest rapid intensification in a 24-hour period for any Atlantic hurricane on record, trailing only Hurricane Wilma (2005) and Hurricane Felix (2007).
  • It also became the first Atlantic-basin Category 5 hurricane since Felix (2007). Matthew is the 31st Atlantic-basin Category 5 hurricane on record.

Comment: Defying historical norms, Hurricane Matthew also developed in a high-intensity wind shear environment facing headwinds of 30MPH and formed below the 15 degree north latitude marker - an area traditionally too close to the equator to allow the requisite spin for tropical formation and development. See: Unusual Atlantic storm: Matthew may hit US as Category 5 Hurricane next week

Meanwhile in the Pacific, Typhoon Chaba has just set new records in South Korea.

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Tornado1

'Monster storm': Hurricane Matthew roaring towards the US


RT
Fri, 07 Oct 2016 02:42 UTC
monster storm Hurricane Matthew
© @eteaching101 / Instagram
Hurricane Matthew is continuing to roar its way along the Caribbean coast towards the US with satellite photos revealing just how intimidating the powerful storm looks from space.

NASA has been sharing satellite images and timelapse videos taken from the International Space Station (ISS) as Hurricane Matthew hurtled through Haiti and Cuba, leaving a path of destruction in its wake.

Florida is now bracing itself for a 'direct hit' from the deadly category 3 storm which is expected to strengthen to category 4 as it approaches the southern part of the state.

It's also expected to pass close to or over NASA's Kennedy Space Center, near Melbourne Beach which, ironically, is home to America's next-generation weather satellite - the GOES-R.

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Cloud Lightning

Hurricane Matthew killed at least 261 in Haiti, dozens in one village

Makini Brice and Joseph Guyler
MSN
Thu, 06 Oct 2016 18:01 UTC
haiti_mathew
© REUTERS/Carlos Garcia RawlinsDestroyed houses are seen after Hurricane Matthew hit Jeremie, Haiti, October 6, 2016.
The Interior Ministry, a mayor and other local officials confirmed the numbers across Haiti to Reuters, with many victims killed by falling trees, flying debris and swollen rivers when Matthew hit with 145 mph (230 kph) winds on Tuesday.

Haiti's civil protection service has so far put the toll in the impoverished Caribbean nation at 108 dead.

Most of the fatalities were in towns and fishing villages around the western end of Tiburon peninsula in the country's southwest, one of Haiti's most picturesque regions. The storm passed directly through the peninsula, driving the sea inland and flattening homes on Monday and Tuesday.

"Several dozen" died in the coastal town of Les Anglais in Sud Department, said Louis Paul Raphael, the central government's representative in the region.

"I've never seen anything like this," said Raphael.
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