Storms
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Cloud Lightning

Lightning bolt kills 3 in Jharkhand, India


Business Standard.
Sun, 18 Sep 2016 10:34 UTC
lightning
© 123RF
Three persons were killed and another one was injured seriously when lightning struck them in Deogan village under Chatarpur block of Palamau district today, police said.

The four were grazing cattle when rain accompanied by thunderbolt struck the area, killing three persons on the spot while injuring the other.

The deceased were identified as Naresh Yadav, Kailash Yadav and Sanjay Yadav while injured Janeshwar Yadav was admitted to a government hospital in Chatarpur, police said.

Source: Press Trust of India
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Ice Cube

Tropical Samoa hit by hail storm so rare residents thought it was a hoax

Eleanor Ainge Roy
The Guardian (UK)
Mon, 19 Sep 2016 05:11 UTC
Rare hail in Samoa
© Vaetasi Asiata/Facebook Hail has fallen in Samoa for the first time since 2011.

Meteorologist forced to release satellite images of the storm to convince some locals that the hail wasn't part of a practical joke

Samoa has been hit by a hail storm so rare that it was believed to be a hoax by many of the island's inhabitants.

The tropical nation of Samoa lies in the Pacific Ocean, where the average temperature at this time of year is 29C.

But on Friday evening an unexpected hail storm struck the eastern side of the island of Savai'i, accompanied by heavy rain and strong wind gusts.

It was only the second time since records began that hail has fallen on Samoa, the first was in 2011.

The storm lasted 10 to 15 minutes and produced hail stones roughly 2cm wide.

"The ice was very small and there were no reports of damage," said Luteru Tauvale, principal meteorologist for the Samoan Meteorology Service.

"Because it was so unexpected a lot of people thought it had been invented. We had to release satellite images of the conditions that led to to the hail for people to believe it was real."

Comment: A few months ago a rare and massive hail storm hit Alice Springs, Australia. It is likely that atmospheric dust loading from increased comet and volcanic activity is contributing to the 'strange skies' we are witnessing, the cooling effect of which causes ice crystals to form.

These 'atmospheric changes' are probably causing the strange cloud anomalies and rare ball lighting we are witnessing. See also:

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Cloud Lightning

Two ponies killed by lightning bolt in Berkshire, UK

Sarah Radford
Horse and Hound
Sun, 18 Sep 2016 17:16 UTC
Pony
Two ponies have been killed by a suspected lightning strike at a Berkshire equestrian centre.

Devastated staff at Snowball Farm found six-year-old Blue (pictured, above) and 11-year-old Beau (pictured, below) dead in the field after thunderstorms hit the Thames Valley overnight on Thursday (15 September).

"All the horses had been really quite upset during the night and when the staff checked the 'out' ponies this morning, they found two of our best ponies had been killed," said Snowball Farm director Nick Western-Kaye.

"We don't know exactly what happened, but they had been standing very close together. There were no burn marks, so the lightning probably went into the ground and went up. We think they wouldn't have felt much."

The ponies had been turned out in a large field used to host dressage during Snowball Farm's Burnham Beeches unaffiliated event on 4 September.

Pony
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Cloud Lightning

Lightning bolt kills 3 in Rwanda

Michel Nkurunziza
all Africa
Sat, 17 Sep 2016 13:41 UTC
lightning
© 123RF
Three people have so far been confirmed dead over last night's lightning as heavy rains continue in Western and Northern provinces. The three killed have been residents of Karongi district in Bwishyura sector.

The three have been identified as 55 year-old Josephine Mekeshimana , 15 year- old Violette Mukarugema from Nyarusazi cell and another neighboring 4 year -old kid, Paul Byukusenge

According to the area executive secretary, Emmanuel Mutuyimana of Bwishyura sector, the three were struck dead while they tried to harvest rainwater.

It should be recalled that recently the ministry of disaster (MIDAMAR) revealed that research on high capacity lightning rods would be completed by the end of June this year arguing that an average of one person every day, especially during heavy rains or above normal rains, is usually killed by thunderstorms.
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Cloud Lightning

Lightning strikes kill at least 11 over 36 hours in Madhya Pradesh, India


Hindustan Times
Sun, 18 Sep 2016 13:15 UTC
lightning
© 123RF
At least 11 people, including three women, were killed after being struck by lightning in Raisen and Rewa districts of Madhya Pradesh over the last 36 hours.

In the latest incident, three men who had taken shelter at a temple amid rain died after the lighting struck the temple in Chorhata area of Rewa district on Saturday afternoon. The three men aged between 30 and 35 years, who died have been identified as Dinesh Pandit, Harish Bunkar and Umesh Kol.

Earlier on Friday, lightning struck labourers working on an agricultural farm in Raisen district's Sayeedpur village on Friday morning, killing two women and injuring seven others. A similar occurrence in the district's Sunehra village killed a 52-year-old man later in the day.

Lighting also killed a 14-year-old boy in Rewa district's Badowa village, also resulting in the death of seven goats.
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Cloud Precipitation

Hail to the size of baseballs batter Goodland, Kansas

Matt Miller
ksnt.com
Fri, 16 Sep 2016 20:38 UTC
Hailstones
While not unheard of in September, an unusually strong hail storm hammered the northwestern part of the state Thursday evening. Damage in Goodland was particularly bad. The National Weather Service office in Goodland reported hail to the size of baseballs in the Northwest Kansas town.

As our evening anchor, Brooke Lennington, has mentioned on-air before, her family is from Goodland and still lives there. She passed along a photo from her mother's home in Goodland that suffered serious damage from the hail that combined with high winds.

Damage at the home of Brooke Lennington's mother in Goodland Thursday evening.
Damage at the home of Brooke Lennington's mother in Goodland Thursday evening.
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Cloud Lightning

Two killed by lightning bolt in Bihar, India


NDTV
Sat, 17 Sep 2016 20:27 UTC
lightning
Two persons were killed when lightning struck their hutment at Orahi East village in Bihar's Araria district last night, polie said today.

Imraha police outpost incharge Rajiv Kumar said Ramanand Yadav and his son Bikash Yadav were sleeping at their house near the police outpost when lightning struck their little dwelling, killing both on the spot.

The bodies have been sent to the Sadar Hospital for post-mortem.

Source: Press Trust of India
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Cloud Lightning

World's longest-lasting lightning bolt was recorded in France


Phys.org
Fri, 16 Sep 2016 11:59 UTC
longest-lasting lightning bolt
The UN World Meteorological Organization announced that France held the record for longest-lasting lightning bolt, with a flash of 7.74 seconds

At a little over seven seconds France's lasts the longest but America's is by far the biggest.

The UN World Meteorological Organization on Friday announced that France held the record for longest-lasting lightning bolt, with a flash on August 30, 2012 in the southeast of France lighting up the sky for a full 7.74 seconds.

The horizontal bolt travelled 200 kilometres (125 miles), the WMO's Rapporteur of Weather & Climate Extremes, Randall Cerveny, told AFP.

"It was a "cloud-to-cloud" discharge," Cerveny said.

France was bested, however, in the distance stakes by the US.

A lightning strike on June 20, 2007 in the state of Oklahoma covered a distance of 321 kilometres, the WMO said.

Comment: Electric universe: Lightning strength and frequency increasing

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Cloud Precipitation

Freak hailstorm hits Malacca, Malaysia


Malaysian Digest.com
Thu, 15 Sep 2016 13:35 UTC
Hailstones
© Berita Harian
More than 130 homes in 13 districts involving 9 residential areas and 4 villages were affected by a sudden hailstorm which saw ice the size of rocks hurtling into homes in the early morning thunderstorm yesterday.

In the 3:15 am downpour, it wasn't torrents of water but rock-hard hailstones that rained down, jolting many from their sleep with the unusual sound of stones hitting their roofs and gardens.

Many Malacca residents awoken by the unusually noisy 'rain' recorded the incident and shared photographs on social media.

Among the affected residential areas are Taman Keris Satria, Taman Keris Emas (9, Taman Peruna, Taman Terendak Permai, Taman Pahlawan, Taman Desa Taming Sari, Taman Sungai Udang and Taman Bandar Baru, Berita Harian reports.

Several villages also reported damage, among them Kampung Paya Rumput Jaya, Kampung Baru Sungai Udang and Kampung Sungai Udang Jaya.

Sungai Udang village head Mohd Nizam Dawood told the Malay news daily that the hailstorm lasted for 30 minutes with many residents reporting finding ice bigger than marbles in the vicinity of their homes.

Hail
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Cloud Lightning

Two killed by lightning bolt in Odisha, India


Business Standard
Thu, 15 Sep 2016 13:03 UTC
lightning
© 123RF
Two persons were killed and their wives injured after they were struck by lightning at Palli Padmanavpur in Odisha's Ganjam district today.

The victims, who were working in their farms, had taken shelter under a tree during a sudden downpour when they were struck by lightning, said inspector in-charge of Berhampur sadar police station, S S Mohapatra.

The dead were identified as locals and their wives were admitted to MKCG Medical College and Hospital where their condition was stated to be out of danger, he said.

Source: Press Trust of India
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