Storms
S


Cloud Lightning

Tropical cyclone Pam batters islands of Vanuatu

Sean Morris, Steve Almasy, Madison Park and Laura Smith-Spark,
CNN
Sat, 14 Mar 2015 01:24 UTC
tropical cyclone pam
© abc.net.auA resident assesses damage caused by Cyclone in Tarawa, Kiribati, on March 11, 2015. (
Tropical Cyclone Pam may have weakened somewhat Saturday morning, but it was still pounding the islands of Vanuatu after hours of fierce winds and torrential rain.

"#CyclonePam still tearing through #Vanuatu. 'Much bigger than expected,' says our colleague in Port Vila. Initial reports of devastation," tweeted the Australian branch of UNICEF.

Pam, one of the strongest storms seen in the South Pacific in years, earlier made a direct hit on Port Vila, the capital, raising fears of mass destruction.


Read More...
Snowflake Cold

A week before Spring: Nova Scotia blizzard forecast with 40 cm of snow


cbc.ca
Fri, 13 Mar 2015 16:54 UTC
Image
© Craig Paisley/CBCCBC meteorologist Peter Coade expects "all forms of traffic" to be affected on Sunday, including flights, roads and ferries.
Environment Canada warns of snow squalls for some areas of Maritimes Friday morning

Just a week away from the official start of spring, the Maritimes are bracing for another winter storm.

CBC meteorologist Peter Coade says two weather systems — one from the northwest and another warm and moist disturbance out of the Gulf of Mexico — are forecast to collide and become one, just south of Nova Scotia on Sunday.

The system is expected to produce snow. Coade expects "all forms of traffic" to be affected on Sunday, including flights, roads and ferries.

"Although it is still early to come up with a solid snowfall amount forecast, I think it safe to say that blizzard conditions can be expected with the strong east-to-northeast wind blowing around some 10 to 20 centimetres — possibly as high as 30 to 40 centimetres — of fresh snow," said Coade.
Read More...
Cloud Precipitation

Storm and flooding kills 62 in Lobito, Angola


iol.co.za
Fri, 13 Mar 2015 16:23 UTC
Image
© Rafael MarchanteAn Angolan child crosses a flooded street in a suburb of the capital Luanda in 2010.
Torrential rains have killed 62 people, more than half of them children, in the Angolan town of Lobito, official news agency Angop said on Thursday, citing firefighters.

The Bairro Novo neighbourhood of Lobito, located on the Atlantic coast about 500 kilometres south of the capital Luanda, was worst affected by the downpours on the night from Wednesday to Thursday, with the water up to three metres deep in places, the agency added.

Thirty-five of the 62 dead were children, it said.

President Jose Eduardo dos Santos asked the provincial government to help the families affected by the tragedy, while offering his condolences to the relatives of the dead, a presidency statement said.

Violent storms come to Angola every spring, causing landslides and floods that hit the country's poor neighbourhoods the hardest.

One person was already killed in a storm on Tuesday that also destroyed 137 houses and left more than 400 families homeless in Luanda, the local government said.

Source: AFP

Read More...
Snowflake

Western Newfoundland continues to be buried in snow


cbc.ca
Wed, 11 Mar 2015 20:34 UTC
Image
© CBCThe snowbanks in Corner Brook tower over the streets following a winter of intense snowfall.
Schools were closed and snowfall warnings were in effect for parts of western Newfoundland on Wednesday, with another 15 to 25 centimetres expected in the region throughout the day.

Environment Canada had snowfall warnings in effect for much of the west coast, and winter storm warnings were in effect for parts of the Northern Peninsula — saying conditions should continue well into Wednesday night.

Schools were closed for at least the morning in such communities as Stephenville, St. George's and Lark Harbour.
Read More...
Cloud Precipitation

Giant waterspout spotted near the coast of Mauritius

Shawn W
news.islandcrisis.net
Tue, 10 Mar 2015 23:27 UTC
Image
© Delphine HugounencWaterspout
A giant waterspout has allegedly been observed at La Preneuse beach on Friday 6th of March. The sighting of the meteorological phenomenon is attributed to Delphine Hugounenc, a French woman who has settled down in Mauritius for two years now.

Delphine Hugounenc related that she was at the public beach of La Preneuse with her family on the 6th of March. Around 16h00, something bizarre caught her attention. According to her, she saw a waterspout over the sea. When she pointed it out to a friend of hers, they were both shocked at such a sight. Delphine Hugounenc also admitted that on seeing the phenomenon, a feeling of insecurity swept over them.
Read More...
Snowflake

Italian village receives more than 8 feet of snow in just 18 hours

Nick Squires
The Telegraph, UK
Tue, 10 Mar 2015 18:39 UTC
Image
Snow in Capracotta
Italian village has broken records after it received a dump of more than eight feet (2.56 metres) in 18 hours

A tiny village in Italy is claiming to be one of the snowiest places in the world after it was smothered under more than eight feet (2.56 metres) of snow in less than 24 hours.

Image
An intense storm left the inhabitants of Capracotta climbing out of first floor windows onto great mounds of snow and having to get around on snowshoes and skis.

Other locals had to dig tunnels from their front doors in order to be able to leave their homes.
Read More...
Snowflake Cold

States of emergency declared in many parts of Bulgaria, snowdrifts of five meters (16 feet) reported

Robert Felix
iceagenow.info
Mon, 09 Mar 2015 17:44 UTC
Image
Road blocked by snow in Bulgaria
A man froze to death in Kardzhali and 40 people were stranded on Belmeken 3-meter drifts.

Third day continues with disastrous conditions after heavy snowfall.

Rescuers found frozen to a bus stop 65-year-old Sabahattin Azis of Krumovgrad Gorna tower, BNR reported.

The man came out of his home on Friday night, when the abundant snowfall began. After not returning the next day, neighbors organized a search in the area, but because of the deep drifts failed to find him. The man's body was found today in a clearing in the road.

Read More...
Windsock

Waterspout filmed off Broome coast, Australia

Andrea Mayes
abc.net.au
Mon, 09 Mar 2015 16:13 UTC
Image
© Richard GrantRichard Grant filmed this waterspout off the coast of Broome yesterday.
A spectacular waterspout off the coast of Broome in Western Australia's Kimberley region has been caught on film by an amateur photographer.

Richard Young, an adventure tour operator, filmed the event off Gauntheaume Point, about 6 kilometres from the town centre near Cable Beach.

He said he was woken by an early morning storm on Sunday.

"I heard some thunder from my bedroom and I thought I'd go down for a bit of a look," he said.

"I've got a fascination with weather - I'm always out and about looking for unusual weather features."

Mr Young captured the vision on his SLR camera.

He said he had long been hoping to see a waterspout.

"I've been looking for one for years, and to actually see one was fantastic," he said.

Read More...
Snowflake Cold

50 settlements cut off in Bulgaria, roads blocked by huge snowdrifts, electricity supply disrupted

Robert Felix
iceagenow.info
Sun, 08 Mar 2015 14:42 UTC
Image
© ReutersThe situation in Smolyan
More than 50 settlements in the Plovdiv region are without electricity and water. Snowfall continues.

The situation remains tense and critical in the country, especially for the regions of Smolyan, Kardzhali, Haskovo, Pazardzhik, Plovdiv. say authorities.

The roads are impassable due to fallen trees, making it difficult for cleaning machines and the normal functioning of the roads.

Laki is in distress for a second day, with thousands of families in the mining town without electricity, says Nova TV.

Read More...
Snowflake

New world record for single-day snowfall? 78 inches (198 cm) reported in Capracotta, southern Italy


L'Italo-Americano
Sun, 08 Mar 2015 13:06 UTC
Snow record Italy
© L'Italo-AmericanoSnow prevented people from leaving their houses during the day
In Molise, it has been snowing for almost two days and the situation became critical in Campobasso, where this morning the snow first reached 16 inches and later on the day 19 inches. In areas above 1000 meters, snow accumulations reach beyond 39 inches. At the end of the day, reports say the village of Capracotta had been covered by 78 inches of snow.

Capracotta is a tiny village in the Isernia area, with less than a thousand people. It is known that the first traces of human presence date back to the Paleolithic age, with some remains of the Neanderthal man whereas the first settlements come from the 11th century.

The name comes from Longobards who used to sacrifice a goat to honor their Thor god.


Record snow in Abruzzo, 5 and March 6, 2015

Comment: The previous 'official' world record for most snow measured in 24 hours was 75.8 inches (193 cm) in Silver Lake, Colorado, over the night of April 14-15, 1921.

However, this article translated from Italian by iceagenow.info cites a 1961 meteorologist report that this was not the largest snow fall in the area:
But surely between Abruzzo and Molise it has snowed more than this many times. The great meteorologist Edmondo Bernacca wrote in the Italian Meteorological Magazine of December 1961 that in Roccacaramanico, in the municipality of Sant'Eufemia, just 878 meters above sea level in the province of Pescara, fell 365cm (11.92 ft) of snow in 24 hours.


Read More...