Storms
S


Attention

Mile-wide tornado tears through Rio Vista, Texas


NBC News
Tue, 28 Apr 2015 17:00 UTC
Tornado_Texas_April_26_2015
A mile-wide tornado touched down in north-central Texas as a storm system swept through with large hail and damaging winds, the National Weather Service said, promising more severe weather on Monday.

The storm knocked out power to more than 30,000 people in Texas, according to online reports compiled from local power companies. Austin Energy reported the most affected, with 7,600 without power.

After moving through the town of Rio Vista, the tornado moved east into rural parts of Johnson County, Emergency Management Director Jamie Moore told NBC News. The tornado was about a mile wide when it was first spotted, he said.

Comment: Nature is not happy! Check out:

  • Human-cosmic connection: Volcanic eruptions becoming more violent, aggressive
  • Volcanic eruptions and earthquakes increasing across the planet
  • The world's strongest earthquakes since 1900


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Snowflake Cold

Blizzard brings over 2 meters (7 feet) of snow to Erzurum, Turkey

Robert Felix
iceagenow.info
Sun, 26 Apr 2015 14:14 UTC
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7 feet of snow
Ağrı -Iran Transit Road Closed Due to Snowstorm

Lots of snow on the Silk Pass between Ağrı, Doğubayazıt and Diyadin county causing vehicles to be stuck on the road and forcing closure of roads to the Iranian border, Turkmenistan and Azerbaijan.

A rescue operation was launched for stranded vehicles.

Highway 123 Branch Chief Fuat Öztürk, said in a statement to reporters that the snow came suddenly, due to a heavy blizzard and storm. The Silk Gateway road is closed to traffic of trucks that are caught in the spur because he stated that they wear summer tires.

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It took a lot of time and effort to clear the road to the village Tekman, where the electrical power was cut off by a snowstorm (tipi).
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Windsock

44 killed, nearly 200 injured as "mini- cyclone" lashes NW Pakistan


Hindustan Times
Mon, 27 Apr 2015 09:44 UTC
storms hit Peshawar
© AFPPeople drive their vehicles during heavy rains in Peshawar.
Forty-four people were killed and nearly 200 injured by a severe storm in northwestern Pakistan, the state-run media said on Monday.

The storm, described by the meteorological department as a "mini- cyclone", lashed Peshawar, Charsadda and Nowshera in the northwestern province of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa.

Radio Pakistan said 44 people were killed and 186 injured. Twenty-nine deaths were recorded in Peshawar alone.
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Windsock

Rare waterspout spotted in Malaysia

Hani Shamira Shahrudin
New Straits Times
Sat, 25 Apr 2015 17:53 UTC
waterspout in Malaysia, April 2015
The waterspout was spotted by motorist at the New Pantai Highway (NPE) around Bandar Sunway, Subang Jaya area, Malaysia
Motorists at the New Pantai Highway (NPE) had sighted what was described as a waterspout around Bandar Sunway, Subang Jaya area. A local webportal had uploaded a video on the social media of the waterspout which had garnered more than 7,000 views. The 66-seconds videos showed the sighting of what was believed to be a waterspout surrounded by storm clouds.

A Facebook user GP Bestari commented on the video, "Poor night market traders, they have set up their stalls but it was damaged by the strong winds." The heavy rain also affected several areas in Klang Valley including Kuala Lumpur and Petaling Jaya. Twitter user @TrafficDotMy had earlier reported the heavy rain had caused flash flood at Persiaran Kuchai, Salak Jaya at 4.16pm.

Traffic was slow moving at the area as motorists could only travel on one lane. The flash flood however had subsided six minutes later and traffic had returned to normal. The user had also re-tweeted a tweet of several fallen trees in Puchong, Selangor. When contacted, the Fire and Rescue Department said it had not received any reports on flash floods and uprooted trees.
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Cloud Precipitation

20 inches of hail falls in Sydney, Australia: Roads turn to rivers

Gemma Piali and Ben Pike
The Sunday Telegraph (Australia)
Sun, 26 Apr 2015 09:26 UTC
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© Heath Kelly/@HeathKellyDT"That Sydney storm was something else. Downtown Leichhardt," Heath Kelly posted on Twitter.
Seven factories collapsed, football matches were halted, power cut and roads turned into rivers after Sydney was smashed by a freak storm today.

A booming cold system which formed over the southwest slopes and the Blue Mountains hit the western suburbs mid-afternoon before its destructive winds and hail turned streets into snow fields.

More than 50cm of hail dumped on parts of western Sydney, with kids making snow men, sliding on cardboard boxes and throwing balls of ice.

Grown men got their snowboards out and started sliding down one suburban street in Newtown.

Cars on the M4, Princes Highway, Parramatta Rd and the Great Western Highway voluntarily stopped in their tracks because hail and wild rain made driving impossible.

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Reader Kerri Hampton took this picture in Newtown.
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Windsock

Rare waterspout seen off the coast of Nanaimo, Canada

Justin McElroy
GlobalNews.ca
Fri, 24 Apr 2015 20:27 UTC
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© Denys Carrier. Photo of the Nanaimo waterspout.
If you were in Nanaimo on Thursday and saw what looked like a water tornado, you weren't dreaming.

A waterspout watch was issued by Environment Canada yesterday at 5 p.m after one was spotted a few kilometers off the city's coast.

They form in much the same way as land tornadoes, created from air and water mist moving upward from an ocean or lake. Global BC meteorologist Kristi Gordon says a strong storm that moved down the Strait of Georgia on Thursday created the conditions necessary for this one.

While waterspouts can happen on B.C.'s waters, they are rare - this was just the second on the Georgia Strait this year.

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Windsock

Rare tornado touches down in Kunia, Hawaii

Justin Cruz, Web Staff and Brent Remadna
khon2.com
Thu, 23 Apr 2015 13:19 UTC
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© Harmonie Klinetobe MorrisonThe tornado that touched down in Kunia.
Our newsroom has been flooded with photos and video of a tornado that touched down in Kunia.

It reportedly formed at around 3 p.m., catching the attention of many in the area.

The National Weather Service confirmed a funnel cloud formed for less than half-an-hour and touched the ground at some point, which made it a tornado.

It was very weak. No damage has been reported so far.

Kapolei resident Rocky Lacuesta says he had just pulled into his driveway when he saw the tornado and went running for his camera.

"I ran to my wife and I said oh my God I think I just saw a tornado," he told KHON2.

"I came flying through the door and asked my wife are you seeing this," said Kapolei resident, Stephen Morrison.

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Cloud Lightning

Lightning strikes kill 3 in Kerala, India


The New Indian Express
Wed, 22 Apr 2015 19:44 UTC
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Most parts of Kerala, the southern districts in particular, received heavy rainfall on Tuesday with summer showers intensifying. Three deaths on account of lightning was reported from the state capital. The state is expected to receive heavy rainfall in the next few days, according to Met forecast. The deceased were identified as Jagan Purushothaman, 50, of Kunnukuzhy, and Freddy, 55, and Michael Adima, 56, of Puthiyathura. Jagan was reportedly clearing a drain next to his house when the lightning bolt struck him.

Freddy and Michael were inspecting a fishing net in shed on the beach when they were hit by lightning.
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Windsock

Entire roof lifted up and blown away by sudden wind in Siberia


RT
Mon, 20 Apr 2015 21:36 UTC
roof blown away
© ZabTV
The entire roof of a two-storey building was lifted into the sky with a single gust of wind in Siberia's, Zabaykalsky Kray. Stormy winds have been raging over the past week, causing massive devastation and deadly fires.The flying roof episode was caught on the dashcam of a passing car in the city of Chita, in the south east of Siberia. The gust was measured at 24 meters per second (54 miles per hour).


Luckily, the building was uninhabited as it is used to house a taxicab fleet. No injuries or damage were reported, according to the press service of the local emergency ministry department.The roofless building is now one of more than 1,300 houses destroyed in the region by fire or the elements. The devastating blazes, which have already claimed the lives of over 800 people, have now spread to neighboring Mongolia.

An area of just over 100,000 hectares has been affected, despite around 3,000 fire fighters doing their best to try and tackle the blazes. They have used planes and helicopters to attempt to put out the fires and have managed to save five settlements.

Comment: These sudden gusts of wind and cruel cold snaps seem to have become the norm nowadays.

See also:

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Cloud Precipitation

Hailstorms and heavy rains damage crops in Jagtial, India

Naveen Kumar Tallam
The New Indian Express
Mon, 20 Apr 2015 13:13 UTC
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© New Indian ExpressKula Ganga Reddy stands amid the ruins of what was once his banana plantation at Chelgal village in Jagtial mandal
A young farmer from Chelgal village in Jagtial mandal, Akula Ganga Reddy, could not contain his tears when asked about his banana plantation. He was upbeat until last week, working in his plantation by day and by night, watering the trees and cutting down the weeds.

His world, however, turned upside down in an hour on Monday night — the hailstorm, described by many as unprecedented, destroyed his two-acre plantation. Had it not been for the unexpected calamity, Reddy's efforts would have borne fruit in a matter of days. But, by Tuesday morning, 80 per cent of his plantation was lost.

"I pinned all my hopes on the banana plantation. I planted the trees in two acres by investing Rs 4 lakh which I borrowed from money lenders. All my hopes are dashed," Ganga Reddy said, tears rolling down his cheeks. His only hope now lies in government aid. He is praying for a visit from any government official to assess his loss and announce some form of compensation.
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