Storms
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Tornado2

Monster tornado in Chapman, Kansas was so powerful it bent railway tracks

tonado bends railway tracks in Chapman, Kansas
© Brandon Clement / Facebook
Perhaps the most impressive part of the tornado damage west of Chapman, Kansas was the bending of Union Pacific Railroad track. It looks similar to after an earthquake. This feat is extremely rare in tornadoes. I've never seen this before! What about you?

In fact, I have never heard or seen this happen. See for yourself and let me know what you think.

Here a video of this insane tornado:


Comment: Severe thunderstorms wreaks havoc across US Plains; tornadoes, flash flooding


Cloud Lightning

Lightning strikes kill 3 in Bangladesh

Lightning strike
Three people were killed by lightning in Chapainawabganj and Jessore districts in the last two days. A man and a housewife were killed by lightning in Sadar and Shibganj upazilas of Chapainawabganj yesterday, reports our correspondent.

The deceased are Abdul Khalek, 40, son of Amzad Ali of Char Bagdanga village in Sadar upazila, and Bulon Begum, 60, wife of Nazir Hossain of Telkupi village in Shibganj. Police said thunderbolts struck the duo when they were picking mangoes at orchards during rain. They died on the spot.

Meanwhile, lightning killed a housewife at Kasta village in Keshabpur upazila of Jessore on Tuesday night, reports our Benapole corespondent. The deceased is Ruma Begum, 23, wife of Hafizur Rahman of the village.

Tornado1

Severe thunderstorms wreaks havoc across U.S. Plains; tornadoes, flash flooding

Dodge City tornado
© AccuWeather/Reed Timmer
Severe thunderstorms hit portions of the Plains on Tuesday, May 24, 2016, producing about 26 tornadoes in five different states. More than 12 touched down in Kansas and several more in Michigan, Oklahoma, Texas and Colorado. This round of severe weather will continue through the rest of the week.

In Kansas, a powerful thunderstorm passed near Dodge City producing multiple tornadoes at the same time. A large tornado formed near the city just after 18:00 (local time) and tracked west of the city center destroying a home in Ensign. Highway 50, between Dodge City and Cimarron, was briefly shut down due to damage. According to The Associated Press, two people were critically injured. ABC reported six homes were damaged.

A large tornado was also spotted near Scott City, but this one did not produce any major damage.

Wind gusts reached ~90 - 100 km/h (55 - 60 mph) in Hoisington damaging roofs and knocking down power lines, Weather.com reported. Heavy rains caused major flash flooding in Great Bend with 15 to 30 cm (6 - 12 inches) of water reported on several roads.


Cloud Lightning

Super-slow motion footage captures lightning strikes in Florida

Thunder storms can create beautiful displays in the sky as electricity builds up in the clouds then shoots towards the ground in dazzling bursts of energy.
Thunder storms can create beautiful displays in the sky as electricity builds up in the clouds then shoots towards the ground in dazzling bursts of energy.
Thunder storms can create dazzling displays that light up the sky as electricity builds up in the clouds then shoots towards the ground in bursts of energy that last for fractions of a second.

But scientists have now used high speed cameras to capture lightning strikes as they happen, revealing there is a beguiling beauty behind these violent storms.

Ultra-slow motion footage captured by physicists in Florida reveals the way the charged particles move in forked patterns before lighting up the sky when they reach the ground.

'Lightning is one of the most fascinating atmospheric phenomena on Earth,' said Professor Ningyu Liu from the Florida Institute of Technology.

'However, little is known about how lightning starts in thunderclouds, moves through air, and then strikes objects on ground.'


Tornado2

Tornado hits town in central Serbia

tornado over Jagodina, Serbia
© YouTube/Milos Lukic (screen capture)
The town of Jagodina in central Serbia on Tuesday afternoon experienced a strong storm, with a tornado-like "landspout" forming in the sky.

The storm lasted half an hour, while the rotating column of air - a rare meteorological occurrence in Serbia - dissipated after about 15 minutes.

State broadcaster RTS said the Radar Center in Besnjaja reported that anti-hail missiles were fired into the storm clouds in the area, while small hailstones fell in Cuprija, Jagodina, and surrounding villages.


Comment: This week in Europe other 'rare' tornado-like phenomena have been reported in the UK, Germany, Bulgaria and the Czech Republic.


Cloud Lightning

4 killed and 3 injured by lightning strikes in Bihar, India

Lightning strike
Four persons were killed while three others injured when lightning struck them at different parts of Bhagalpur district today.

Kahalgaon Sub-Divisional Officer Arunabh Chandra Verma said the victims were working in their farm and orchards in different police station areas of the district this morning when they were struck by thunder bolt as the district was lashed by a squall.

The deceased have been identified as Ajit Uraon (10) of Malkhanpur village under Shivnarayanpur police station area, Munna Modi (38) and Barun Modi (40) of Khanpur village under Pirpainty police station area and Mohammad Shamsher Khan (28) of Ukgara village under Budhuchak police station area of the district.

The four injured were Surya Uraon (13), Rohit Uraon (12) and Manisha Kumari (13), all residents of Malkhanpur village, the SDO said adding that they were being treated at a private clinic while the bodies have been sent to Jawaharlal Nehru Medical College and Hospital, Bhagalpur for post-mortem.

Verma said that each of the family of the deceased would get Rs 4 lakh as compensation from Disaster Management Fund.

Source: Press Trust of India

Cloud Lightning

Lightning bolt kills 2 men riding on a motorbike in the Philippines

Lightning strike
Two workers of a multinational firm in Surallah, South Cotabato were killed when they were struck by lightning on Sunday.

Chief Inspector Joel Fuerte, Surallah town police chief, identified the victims as Danny Danao, 23 of Barangay (village) Kusan, Banga town and Nestor Feller, 38, of Barangay Dajay, Surallah town, both in South Cotabato.

Both were workers of Sumifru Corporation, a banana production firm operating in South Cotabato.

The two were heading home from the day's work at 6:30 p.m. and appeared to have braved the rain and a thunderstorm.

Citing investigation report, Fuerte said the two were riding on a motorbike when lightning struck them.

Cloud Precipitation

Vicious hailstorm pounds parts of Pennsylvania

York County Pennsylvania resident Emily Saare said her street was hammered by cherry-sized hail.
© Emily SaareYork County Pennsylvania resident Emily Saare said her street was hammered by cherry-sized hail.
It's May. Right?

I only ask because Red Lion, Pennsylvania looks like it's reliving a nightmarish winter right about now.

"Holy hail storm!! It's like a river down Main Street!!" said on Facebook, where she posted three photos of the aftermath.

Holy hail storm!! It's like a river down Main Street!
© Em SaareHoly hail storm!! It's like a river down Main Street!
"It got dark like a thunderstorm, and then it started hailing like crazy. It probably started around 3 [p.m.], and probably lasted for 20-30 mins.," Saare said. "Cars were all pulling over because they all couldn't see. Wind was wicked. Cherry size hail balls."

Hailstones
© Emily Saare


Ice Cube

Strong hailstorms wallop Czech Republic

Hailstorm Czech Republic
© VK.com
Insane thunderstorms packed with strong anomalous hailstorms swept across the Czech Republic on May 23, 2016. A hail attack that wil continue for the next few days, say meteorologists.

It looks like snow, but it's hail...

Severe thunderstorms accompanied by strong hailstorms and gusty winds paralyzed central Bohemia and the Highlands on Monday 23, 2016 resulting in ice flooding, making villages unreachable and destroying cars.

Hail damage
© VK.com
Weather complicated the traffic at the airport Vaclav Havel, where aircrafts could not land.

In some places hail formed a continuous layer of several centimeters. In some villages, snow plows were even used to take away the snow... Sorry hail.
Hail accumulation
© VK.com

Comment: Extreme anomalous hailstorm hits Apulia, Italy


Tornado2

'Tornado' rips off roofs as severe storm batters west Germany

tornado damage in Minden, Germany
© DPAA property damaged by a tornado in Minden on Sunday evening.
Five houses had to be evacuated in Minden, North Rhine-Westphalia, after a tornado swept through the town on Sunday.

Thirty-three people had to leave their homes in the town, after the storm ripped off roofs and toppled trees dangerously near to houses.

Police described the storm as a tornado, but a German Weather Service (DWD) spokeswoman said that "we are now investigating but can't yet say for certain" whether it was a true twister.

Several towns in the area were affected by the storm which brought torrential rain and hail in its path.