Storms
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Cloud Precipitation

Super Typhoon Usagi threatens Taiwan, Northern Philippines, and Hong Kong

Super Typhoon Usagi,the equivalent of a Category 5 Atlantic hurricane, intensified rapidly Thursday in the western Pacific Ocean and will threaten parts of Taiwan, the far northern Philippines and southern China through the next several days.

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A tropical cyclone is dubbed a "super typhoon" when maximum sustained winds reach at least 150 mph. Usagi underwent a period of rapid intensification from early Wednesday through midday Thursday (U.S. Eastern time), going from a 55-knot tropical storm to a 140-knot super typhoon in just 33 hours, or just under a 100 mph intensification, based on satellite estimates of intensity.

Bizarro Earth

Best of the Web: Signs of change in September 2013

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A snapshot of the weather around the planet in the past week or so. Floods devastate parts of the U.S., Mexico and India; tornadoes wipe out Tokyo and Bangkok suburbs; mass fish deaths in the U.S. and China; a smokenado in the U.S. (?! yes, it's new to us too!); massive fireballs over Italy (for the second week running) and the U.S. (where they're now being reported daily); major hailstorms in the UK... what in the world is going on?


Cloud Lightning

Downpours, hailstorm leave 7 dead in north west China

china flood
© Unknown
Seven people died and another went missing after downpours and hailstorms lashed Northwest China's Gansu province late Monday, local authorities said Tuesday.

The heavy rain hit parts of Dingxi city, Gannan Tibetan autonomous prefecture and the provincial capital Lanzhou from 7 pm to 11 pm Monday, said the provincial government.

Twenty-six people were injured. Nearly 20,000 people were affected and 213 houses collapsed.

Nuke

Leaking Fukushima nuclear plant dumped more than 1,000 tons of polluted water into the sea after Typhoon Man-yi raked the facility

The operator of the leaking Fukushima nuclear plant said Tuesday that it dumped more than 1,000 tons of polluted water into the sea after a typhoon raked the facility. Typhoon Man-yi smashed into Japan on Monday, bringing with it heavy rain that caused flooding in some parts of the country, including the ancient city of Kyoto.

The rain also lashed near the broken plant run by Tokyo Electric Power (TEPCO), swamping enclosure walls around clusters of water tanks containing toxic water that was used to cool broken reactors. Some of the tanks were earlier found to be leaking contaminated water.
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© AAPMuddy water of the Katsura river runs under a bridge in Kyoto as torrential rain hit western Japan. (AAP)
"Workers measured the radioactive levels of the water collected in the enclosure walls, pumping it back into tanks when the levels were high," said a TEPCO official. "Once finding it was mostly rain water they released it from the enclosure, because there is a limit on how much water we can store."

The utility said about 1,130 tons of water with low levels of radiation -- below the 30 becquerels of strontium per litre safety limit imposed by Japanese authorities -- were released into the ground. But the company also said at one site where water was found contaminated beyond the safety limit workers could not start the water pump quick enough in the torrential rain, and toxic water had leaked from the enclosure for several minutes.

Bizarro Earth

Rare twin storms batter Mexico, 40 dead

Mexican Storm
© AFP/Pedro PardoResidents attempt to leave the flooded area in Acapulco, Guerrero state, Mexico, after heavy rains hit the area.
Acapulco: Mexico reeled Monday from the rare one-two punch of major storms on opposite coasts that triggered floods and landslides, killing at least 40 people while stranding tourists in Acapulco.

The Pacific coast was still being battered by the remnants of tropical storm Manuel, which continued to dump rain after dissipating, while hurricane Ingrid hit the northeast with tropical storm force before being further downgraded.

Thousands of people were evacuated as the two storms set off landslides and floods that damaged bridges, roads and homes across the country.

Water rose to almost 10 feet (three meters) in parts of the Pacific resort of Acapulco, cutting off the main highway to the city and marooning tens of thousands of Mexican and foreign beach-goers.

The last time Mexico was hit by two tropical storms in the span of 24 hours was in 1958, officials said. Never had it been struck by a hurricane and another storm at the same time, forecasters said.

Cloud Precipitation

From extreme drought to extreme rainfall in 24 hours: Six dead, 500 unaccounted for in devastating Colorado flash-floods

colorado flooding
© Cliff Grassmick APRailroad tracks at 9th Street, East of Airport Road, continue to be flooded in Longmont, Colo, on Sept. 14, 2013.
As many as six people are reported dead after historic flooding in Colorado.

At least 482 people remained unaccounted for in Larimer County, Colo., the county's sheriff Twitter feed announced Sunday morning. In Boulder County, there were 431 entries on the county's unaccounted-for list at 9 a.m., local time, but they were reduced to 212 entries by 3 p.m., representing 326 people, Boulder County Sheriff Joe Pelle said.

At least one person was killed in a collapsed home due to the flooding. Another life was taken on the 200 block of Linden in Boulder, Boulder Emergency Management officials reported. A third person was found dead in Fountain Creek, Colorado Springs police said. The fourth person died in Boulder, authorities told The Associated Press.

Cloud Lightning

Big storms hit Mexico on opposite coasts; 21 dead

Storm in Mexico
© AP Photo/Bernandino HernandezA man takes a photo with his phone as a car lies on its side after a portion of a hill collapsed due to heavy rains in the Pacific resort city of Acapulco, Mexico, Sunday, Sept. 15, 2013.Flooding and landslides unleashed by Hurricane Ingrid and Tropical Storm Manuel have claimed at least a dozen lives in Mexico and sparked the evacuations of thousands of people even before the weather systems had made landfall on the country's east and west coasts.
(Acapulco) - The remnants of Tropical Storm Manuel continued to deluge Mexico's southwestern Pacific shoulder with dangerous rains while Hurricane Ingrid weakened to a tropical storm after making a Monday landfall on the country's opposite coast in an unusual double onslaught that federal authorities said had caused at least 21 deaths.

The heaviest blow Sunday fell on the southern coastal state of Guerrero, where Mexico's government reported 14 confirmed deaths. State officials said people had been killed in landslides, drownings in a swollen river and a truck crash on a rain-slickened mountain highway.

Mexico's federal Civil Protection coordinator, Luis Felipe Puente, told reporters late Sunday that stormy weather from one or both of the two systems also caused three deaths in Hidalgo, three in Puebla and one in Oaxaca.

Getting hit by a tropical storm and a hurricane at the same time "is completely atypical" for Mexico, Juan Manuel Caballero, coordinator of the country's National Weather Service, said at a news conference with Puente.

Cloud Lightning

Severe weather warning for Victoria, Austrailia

Victorians are being urged to batten down because severe thunderstorms, strong winds and heavy rain are predicted to hit areas across the state.

The Bureau of Meteorology has warned that thundstorms could strike Melbourne "at any time", with residents in the state's west facing flash floods, hailstones and strong winds.

A senior forecaster at the weather bureau, Scott Williams, warned that thunderstorms could hit Melbourne "at any time" on Monday afternoon or evening.

In addition to the storm risk, Mr Williams said sporadic storms and steady rain would continue to lash large areas of the state.


Bizarro Earth

Thousands evacuated as typhoon Man-yi hits Japan

Typhoon Man-yi
© Agence France-PressePeople gather to wait for flight resumption at Haneda airport in Tokyo. Almost 300,000 households were told to evacuate after Typhoon Man-yi hit central Japan.
Typhoon Man-yi hit central Japan Monday, with almost 300,000 households told to evacuate and fears the storm could go on to hit the crippled Fukushima nuclear plant.

The typhoon made landfall in Toyohashi, Aichi prefecture, shortly before 8am local time, packing gusts of up to 162 kilometres per hour, the Japan Meteorological Agency said.

Public broadcaster NHK said four people were missing due to landslides or floods, while at least 65 people were injured and more than 860 houses flooded.

The typhoon was moving north-northeast at a speed of 55 kilometres per hour, with the eye of the storm passing within 50 kilometres north of the capital at around noon.

Bizarro Earth

Colorado flooding: Evacuations, broken oil pipeline in Weld County

Tommy Meyer leads one of his horses
© Doug Conarroe, North Forty News)Greeley resident Tommy Meyer leads one of his horses to safety as floodwaters from the South Platte River swamped his farm at 22378 Highway 34 east of Greeley on Sept, 13, 2013.
Greeley - As Front Range floodwaters continued to drain into the swelling South Platte River Saturday, authorities scrambled to evacuate stranded residents from homes and deal with a broken oil and gas industry pipeline.

They also braced for the possibility of more rains in the mountains.

Weld County rescue crews used boats and helicopters to evacuate about 30 residents east of Greeley during the night Friday.

And county commissioners also said at least 140 roads have been closed, including parts of Interstate 25.

"It is no doubt an epic event. It is a once in 500 years or 1,000 years situation, Commissioner Sean Conway said.

"This is a fluid situation. It can change any moment. We are anticipating more rainfall in the mountains. That water level (in the South Platte River) could rise rapidly," Conway said.

"Put together a to-go box. Get together your papers... Please, listen to the local authorities."

Families such as the Turners - Mike, Susan and their two kids east of Greeley - stayed put in their homes despite evacuation orders as the South Platte rose slowly around them.

Mike Turner stayed awake until 3 a.m. while the other slept, watching the water engulf his horse pen and farm fields and an oil
tank and well. Saturday morning he saw the damage.

"There is some crude in the water - not a huge amount," he said.