Storms
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Windsock

Super typhoon Nepartak hits Taiwan; 2 killed, 66 injured, thousands evacuated


Daily Mail (UK)
Fri, 08 Jul 2016 05:16 UTC
typhhon Nepartak hits Taiwan
© YouTube/Earth Uncut TV (screen capture)
A powerful typhoon lost power Friday after slamming into Taiwan's eastern coast, bringing ferocious winds and torrential rains to the area.

It has killed two people and injuring 66 others. Planes and fishing boats were grounded, while more than 15,000 people were evacuated.

Typhoon Nepartak made landfall Friday morning in Taitung county before weakening to a medium-strength typhoon, the island's Central Weather Bureau reported.

The typhoon's center was located 20 kilometers (12.4 miles) east of the city of Kaohsiung early Friday and was moving northwestward at a speed of 13 km (8 miles) per hour, the bureau said. The typhoon was likely to continue to slow, but disaster response officials said they remained concerned that the heavy rains would trigger floods and landslides in the rugged terrain.

Li Wei-sen, Taiwan's Central Emergency Operations Center spokesman, said by phone that the typhoon was packing winds of up to 163 kmh (about 100 miles an hour).

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Cloud Lightning

Lightning bolt kills 18 cows in Strobl, Austria


The Llocal at
Thu, 07 Jul 2016 09:53 UTC
18 cows killed by lightning
© Georg Buchegger18 cows killed by lightning
A cow called Lucky is the only survivor of a lightning strike that killed 18 other cows at once in alpine meadow in Austria.

Cow herder Georg Buchegger was shocked to discover all but one of his herd dead under a tree on Sunday, after they were struck by lightning while sheltering from a storm.

A photograph taken by Buchegger shows the dead cows laid strewn across the ground around the tree in the alpine meadow near the town of Strobl in Salzburg.

According to the Krone newspaper, the only cow from the 19-strong herd to survive is appropriately called 'Glück', which means Lucky.
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Windsock

Category 5 Super Typhoon Nepartak heading for Taiwan

Andrew Freedman
Mashable
Wed, 06 Jul 2016 14:02 UTC
Super Typhoon Nepartak
© NOAASuper Typhoon Nepartak, seen on July 5, 2016
Super Typhoon Nepartak has taken full advantage of mild ocean waters and ideal atmospheric conditions to skyrocket in intensity, hitting 175 mile per hour sustained winds as of Wednesday morning eastern time.

This makes it a powerful Category 5 storm — the first of the season anywhere in the northern hemisphere.

The storm has a monstrous appearance of meteorological perfection, with a central core of towering thunderstorms ringing a small, calm eye in the center.

The Joint Typhoon Warning Center, Japan Meteorological Agency and the Central Weather Bureau in Taiwan all forecast the storm will make landfall somewhere in central Taiwan on July 7 and 8.
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Cloud Lightning

Lightning bolt strikes moving vehicle on U.S. 277 near Wichita Falls, Texas

Christopher Collins
Times Record News
Wed, 06 Jul 2016 13:11 UTC
Lightning struck a moving truck Tuesday morning on U.S. 277, halting traffic both ways.
© Christoper Collins/Times Record NewsLightning struck a moving truck Tuesday morning on U.S. 277, halting traffic both ways.
Traffic came to a halt on U.S. 277 outside of Wichita Falls on Tuesday morning after lightning struck a moving pickup, according to an official at the Archer County Sheriff's Office.

The late-model Dodge truck was traveling north though a thunderstorm about 30 miles south of Wichita Falls when a lightning bolt shattered the front windshield and set the dashboard on fire, said Simon Dwyer, chief deputy at the sheriff's office.

The driver, unharmed, came to a stop and escaped before the entire truck went up in flames, sending thick plumes of oily smoke into the air.

"That's nothing I've ever seen or heard of," Dwyer said.

At about 8:30 a.m., first responders shut down traffic both ways on the highway while they fought the flames. The fire was out and traffic began moving again about 9:30 a.m.. though first responders didn't clear the scene until 11 a.m.

The Archer County Sheriff's Office, the Lake Kickapoo Fire Department, the Bowman Fire Department and the Holliday Fire Department responded to the call.
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Cloud Lightning

Lightning bolt kills 7 and injures over 6 in Bihar, India


ndtv.com
Wed, 06 Jul 2016 12:21 UTC
Lightning
At least 7 people including women and children were killed and over half a dozen others injured after being struck by lightning in Bihar's Gaya district on Tuesday, police said.

A district police official said the seven belonged to a village under Chakand police station in Gaya, about 100 km from Patna.

An official of the disaster management department confirmed the deaths.

Last month, as many as 57 people were killed by lightning across Bihar within 24 hours.

Lighting strikes, during the monsoon season which started from June's second week, are common in Bihar.

Source: Indo-Asian News Service
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Cloud Lightning

Lightning bolt kills 2 construction workers in Zambales, Philippines

Allan Macatuno
Inquirer.net
Wed, 06 Jul 2016 12:10 UTC
Lightning
Two construction workers here were struck by lightning and killed on Tuesday beneath a tree where they took shelter from a strong downpour, police said.

Wilbert Hipolito, 23, and Ariel Gumanid, 21, both residents of this town, were building a perimeter fence in Barangay (village) Rabanes here when heavy rain fell at 4 p.m., said Senior Insp. Geoffrey Javier, San Marcelino police station commander.

Javier said the two decided to take cover under a Madre de Cacao tree but were hit by lightning.
The two were taken to San Marcelino District Hospital but were declared dead on arrival at about 5 p.m.

Last June 24, a farmer out in the field of Sta. Cruz town in Zambales also died after he was struck by lightning.
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Cloud Lightning

Lightning bolt kills 2 people and 35 cattle in Darfur, Sudan


allafrica.com
Mon, 04 Jul 2016 11:47 UTC
Lightning
On Sunday, a thunderstorm accompanied by heavy rainfall caused the deaths of two herders in East Jebel Marra.

Two young herders went missing.

Speaking to Radio Dabanga, a listener reported that Sabir Ismail (35) and Hamdan Yasir Ahmed (22), as well as 35 head of cattle were fatally struck by lightning in Terbo village, south of Dubo El Omda.

He added that herders Yahya Omar Eisa (14) and Awatif Abaker Saleh (10) went missing.
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Tornado2

Rare waterspouts injure 38 people on Cuba beach, levels dwellings


Daily Mail (UK)
Mon, 04 Jul 2016 19:39 UTC
Cuba waterspouts
© YouTube/pkisbest (screen capture)
A severe storm that created several waterspouts roared onshore at a popular beach south of the Cuban capital over the weekend, injuring 38 people and damaging dozens of buildings, the island's official media reported Monday.

The waterspouts happened with little warning Saturday evening at Caimito beach, on the southern side of the island in Mayabeque province.

Local resident Jorge Luis Martinez told government-run website Cubadebate that the waves quickly grew to about 16 feet (5 meters) high, the sky turned dark and the damage was done "in less than a minute."

Communist Party newspaper Granma said more than 30 homes and state-operated structures including shops, restaurants and health facilities were damaged or destroyed. It added that none of the injuries were life-threatening.

A waterspout is a sort of tornado that forms over water. Cubadebate said there was no record of one hitting the area before.

Source: Associated Press

Comment: Some other waterspouts observed over the last week include:

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Cloud Precipitation

Second Yangtze river warning issued on flooding peak in China; 10,000 homes destroyed with at least 186 killed and over 6 million affected


china.org.cn
Mon, 04 Jul 2016 20:10 UTC
Residents are moved to safety on Sunday in Tongling, Anhui province, as flooding continued to affect the city and other regions in central and eastern China.
© Zhan Jun/China DailyResidents are moved to safety on Sunday in Tongling, Anhui province, as flooding continued to affect the city and other regions in central and eastern China.
Authorities warned on Sunday of a second flood peak for the Yangtze River and its tributaries, with new rainstorms forecast after floods left scores of people dead and eight missing in central and eastern areas.

Flooding resulting from rainstorms that began on Thursday left 14 people dead and eight missing in Anhui, Hubei, Zhejiang, Henan and Jiangsu provinces, the State Flood Control and Drought Relief Headquarters said in a statement.

The floods affected 6.87 million people and destroyed 10,000 homes, the headquarters added.

The National Meteorological Center said rainstorms were expected to continue to wreak havoc in these areas until Monday, with some parts of Hubei and Hunan expected to receive total precipitation of more than 200 millimeters.




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Cloud Lightning

Girl and then responding officer struck by lightning at Topsail Beach, North Carolina


wral.com
Sun, 03 Jul 2016 12:39 UTC
Lightning
Two people were struck by lightning on the South End of Topsail Beach Sunday evening.

According to the Topsail Beach Police Chief Sam Gervase, the incident happened around 5 p.m. near Serenity Point.

Gervase said a teenage girl was struck by lightning first.

Topsail Beach Police Sergeant. Zach Cook was responding to the scene and helped to get the girl to EMS, but when he was leaving the beach he was also struck by lightning.

The teen was hospitalized.

Sgt. Cook's injuries do not appear to be as serious, he was still taken to the hospital to be checked out.
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