Storms
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Cloud Lightning

Man killed by lightning on Okaloosa Island, Florida

Wendy Victoria
The Northwest Florida Daily News
Fri, 05 Aug 2016 20:53 UTC
Lightning
A 22-year-old beach vendor died Friday after he was struck by lightning on Okaloosa Island, the Okaloosa County Sheriff's Office confirmed.

Zachary Fordem, who was working behind the Island Princess condominium when he was struck, was taken to Fort Walton Beach Medical Center with CPR in progress, according to Rich Huffnagle, Okaloosa County's beach safety division chief.

Fordem, of Freeport, was pronounced dead at the hospital later, the Sheriff's Office said.

Okaloosa Island firefighters got the call about 3:26 p.m., according to department officials. They arrived to find bystanders carrying the victim to the pool area.

"They thought they were doing all the good to carry him to the Island Princess," Capt. John Brinkerhoff said.
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Cloud Lightning

Breathtaking dashcam footage shows incredible lightning storm in Manitoba, Canada

Harvey Day
Daily Mail
Sat, 06 Aug 2016 20:41 UTC
Impressive dashcam footage has emerged of cloud-to-ground lightning strikes in Manitoba, Canada
Impressive dashcam footage has emerged of cloud-to-ground lightning strikes in Manitoba, Canada
Impressive dashcam footage has emerged of cloud-to-ground lightning strikes in Manitoba, Canada.

The shocking video was filmed on a highway on Wednesday night.

In the video the driver can be heard screaming as he cruises into the path of the lightning storm.

A low pressure system tracked across Manitoba throughout the day bringing severe thunderstorms.

The storm also delayed the Blue Bombers game, Winnipeg's Canadian football team, until late into the evening.

The shocking video was filmed on a highway on Wednesday night
The shocking video was filmed on a highway on Wednesday night
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Tornado2

Waterspout filmed near Perth, Western Australia

Sophie Gabrielle
PerthNow
Sat, 06 Aug 2016 16:39 UTC
Waterspout
© Lauren Phillips
A water spout has been captured on video this afternoon off the coast in Mandurah.

Lauren Phillips posted the video on Facebook a few minutes after filming the spectacular event just after 4.30pm.

Other Facebook users were quick to post their photos and videos of the same water spout to the Facebook page, Perth Weather Live.

Meanwhile, the Bureau of Meteorology has warned of possible storms and gusty winds as a cold front moves over the southwest of WA on Saturday night.

Showers are also increasing over the South West.

A stronger front is expected to hit the southwest late Sunday.

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Tornado2

Large waterspout filmed off Singapore

Shea Driscoll
The Straits Times
Sat, 06 Aug 2016 15:10 UTC
A large water spout was spotted off East Coast on Saturday.
© Setu ChokshiA large water spout was spotted off East Coast on Saturday.
A large column of water was spotted off Singapore's East Coast on Saturday (Aug 6), prompting people across the island to share photos and videos of it on social media.

It is likely a water spout, which occurs when a type of cloud, cumuliform, forms during thunderstorms, creating low-pressure pockets.

They are common in tropical waters, and are usually spotted off Singapore once or twice a year. One was spotted in Clementi in October 2014, and reports of water spouts have appeared in local newspapers as far back as 1908.

Water spouts have an average diameter of 50m and has average wind speeds of up to 150kmh, the National Environment Agency said in 2007.

The phenomena can pose a threat to small boats in the water, but usually weaken and vanish when they come nearer to shore.

Saturday's occurrence led to a slew of tweets from about 4pm.


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Cloud Lightning

Scotland hit by 25,000 lightning bolts in one night; 10 times the normal rate

Alistair Grant
Scotland Now
Wed, 20 Jul 2016 21:01 UTC
Lightning storm over Edinburgh taken looking over the Royal Infirmary
© Mike SmithLightning storm over Edinburgh taken looking over the Royal Infirmary
Scotland was hit by 25,000 lightning bolts as the country's heatwave finished with a bang on Wednesday.

While parts of the country baked in 29C heat during the day, the hot weather continued through the night with lows of 19C.

The humid conditions saw Scotland and surrounding seas hit by around 20,000 of the 39,302 lightning strikes between 3pm Tuesday to 10am on Wednesday.

Ninety per cent of the strikes came in a six-hour blast from 4am to 10am on Wednesday, Met Office UK area lightning detection system data passed to Netweather showed.

Met Office figures showed 25,000 lighting strikes is 10 times higher than the usual number of strikes from a lightning storm.

Comment: See also: UK has already experienced more thunderstorms this year than its average for a whole year

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Cloud Lightning

'Fossilized' lightning bolts are showing just how powerful storms can be

Meghan Bartels
Tech Insider
Thu, 04 Aug 2016 20:40 UTC
LIGHTNING BOLT
© John Fowler
It turns out there's a strange parallel between meteorite strikes and lightning (besides terrifying things coming out of the sky): both phenomena can, under the right conditions, create glass.

That's what drew Matthew Pasek, a geoscientist at the University of Southern Florida, to study fulgurites.

"Fulgurite" is the technical term for the hollow rod of glass that lightning can create when it strikes sand.

They're surprisingly common; across the planet, lightning strikes about 45 times per second and creates about 10 fulgurites from those strikes.

In the process of studying fulgurites, Pasek found a new way to calculate how much energy a bolt of lightning carries. The width of the hollow tube, he learned, is correlated with the strength of the lightning bolt.
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Cloud Precipitation

Rain pounds metro Phoenix, Arizona; flooding streets, freeway ramps


KTAR.com
Fri, 05 Aug 2016 19:29 UTC
Phoenix floods
© ADOTPhoenix floods
Heavy rains dropped on metro Phoenix on Friday morning, flooding streets freeways, soaking yards and anyone getting into or out of their cars.

The thunderous downpour covered the northwest Valley over Interstate 17 and scooted to Loop 101 in Scottsdale. Power was out to at least 17,000 households.

The ramp at Interstate 17 and Thomas Road was flooded and the area around Thunderbird Road and Seventh Street was swamped.

A flood advisory went into effect for a large chunk of the Valley, particularly Scottsdale, north Phoenix, Cave Creek and Carefree. The weather service tweeted out a warning to Scottsdale residents to move to higher ground.

A rain gauge at Pinnacle Peak in Scottsdale had recorded over little over 2½ inches of rain by 10 a.m. and traffic signals were out all over the city, police said.


Floodwater
© John Sirlin
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Tornado2

Waterspout filmed off Bağırganlı, Turkey


Yahoo
Thu, 04 Aug 2016 15:36 UTC
A funnel cloud, possibly a waterspout, was spotted off the northwestern Turkish town of Bağırganlı on the morning of August 3, according to a local resident who shot this video.

Bağırganlı is located on the Black Sea.

This video shows the cloud moving over a headland near Bağırganlı beach before beginning to dissipate.

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Tornado2

Tornado hits downtown New Orleans damaging buildings


WWLTV.com
Thu, 04 Aug 2016 20:46 UTC
new orleans tornado damage
© Sophia Germer
The National Weather Service confirmed an EF-0 tornado touched down in the New Orleans area Thursday afternoon.

According to the NWS the tornado had winds of 80 miles per hour. Damage was half a mile in length, and officials said the tornado began at Marias and Annette streets and ended at N. Claiborne and St. Philip Street.

About 3:30 p.m., viewers began sending in pictures of a funnel cloud over the French Quarter area. Shortly after, at the corner of St. Philip and N. Claiborne Avenue, a vacant home collapsed. Officials said two people were brought to the hospital with minor injuries.

Authorities said three buildings collapsed during the severe weather event, all in the Seventh Ward and Treme areas.


Comment: A few weeks ago a huge waterspout formed over Lake Pontchartrain, Louisiana.

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Tornado2

Waterspout forms over Lake Manawa, Iowa


WOWT
Thu, 04 Aug 2016 17:24 UTC
Lake Manawar waterspout
© Thomas Baber
A rope tornado was spotted near Lake Manawa Thursday. Videos sent to WOWT 6 News shows the funnel as it formed over the lake before touching down on the water.

It's unclear if the tornado ever left the water, which would make the formation a waterspout. The National Weather Service is expected to give their final assessment Friday.

The rope tornado could be seen from Omaha. WOWT 6 News cameras caught the tornado as it dissipated. Tornado warnings were issued for Mills and Pottawattamie counties; they have since expired.


Comment: Some other waterspouts observed from around the world within the past few weeks include:

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