Storms
S


Bizarro Earth

Southern half of Western Australia braces for second cyclonic 125km/h blast

Strong winds battered South-West coastal communities of Western Australia as a dangerous storm front approached overnight.

The intense storm packing dangerous winds of up to 125km/h - consistent with a category two cyclone - is expected to persist into the early hours of thismorning.

Last night Cape Naturaliste and Cape Leeuwin have already recorded gusts of up to 96km/h, while winds at Busselton Airport have touched 87km/h.

Closer to the metropolitan area, Rottnest Island was also being buffeted with persistent gusts above 80km/h.


Cloud Lightning

Rare tornado hits Venice

At around 11am today, a tornado hit Venice in Italy. Initial reports indicate that trees were damaged, market stalls overturned and some buildings were damaged. No injuries have been reported,

One of the worst hit areas was the Sant'Elena island where an open air market was in progress. The tornado caused terrified shoppers to dash for cover.

A water bus ticket office had its roof ripped off by the tornado which some reports stated was a waterspout. A number of boats were capsized.

Around one hundred trees on Certosa Island were knocked down by the tornado and the outdoor dining area of the island's restaurant was completely destroyed.

On Sant'Erasmo island, the roofs were removed from around a dozen houses, according to reports from emergency services in the area. In the interests of safety, the cemetery on Sant'Erasmo island has been closed.

Here are two videos of today's tornado:


Comment: Here's a third video, from up close;




Cloud Lightning

Freak Hail Storm Hits Durban, South Africa

Durban hail storm
Readers sent in their cellphone pictures of the aftermath of the hail storm. Sean Herd-Hoare lies on an icy hail bed in Durban North.
A freak hailstone storm caught Durban off guard on Friday night with unconfirmed reports of damage to roof tiles, gardens and uprooted trees.

Chris Hoare, in Durban North, said hail got caught in verges and gardens, and was as much as "six inches thick". His son and friends took pictures of themselves playing in the hail. However, some suburbs like Glenmore and Westville escaped the storm.

Cloud Lightning

Even More Rain Forecast for Flooded Florida Gulf Coast

Western Florida is forecast to receive more rain on Monday. About 15 inches of rain fell in Pensacola over the weekend, driving people from their homes and flooding roads.


Cloud Lightning

Month's worth of rain is expected to fall in South-East in the next 24 hours after non-stop deluge across swathes of England overnight

More than a month's rain fell in just 12 hours and flood alerts remain in place with forecasters warning more wet weather is on the way.
Image
© UnknownGet out your brollies! The outlook for Britain over the next few days shows wet weather in the South East and London and the North of England while Wales and the West Country will be affected on Wednesday
The heavy rain continues to hit parts of England and Wales with 44 flood alerts in place and flood warnings issued for two West Sussex locations and another in Surrey

Yesterday the Met Office warned homeowners to brace themselves ahead of the the deluge, which began in earnest about 6pm last night and brought nearly three inches of rain by tea-time.

Earlier today it raised its warning level for London and the South East of England, including Bournemouth, to amber, the second highest level and in Shoreham 2.6ins fell in just 12 hours.

The atrocious conditions hit London, Hampshire, Kent, Surrey, West Sussex, Buckinghamshire, West Berkshire and the Isle of Wight. Forecasters have also said that the weather is unlikely to get much better over the next couple of weeks with more rain expected over the weekend. (Additional pictures here.)

Cloud Lightning

36 wildfires burn across Alaska after lightning strikes

Alaska wildfire
© Alaska Fire Service
With lightning strikes peaking in June, it's no wonder that the first month of summer is typically Alaska's most active wildfires. This June is no exception.

According to the Alaska Interagency Coordination Center (AICC) Situation Report for Friday, in the last week six new fires have added to the already 30 actively burning throuout the state.

Cloud Lightning

'It's way too wet': Gulf Coast battered by 18 inches of rain in 24 hours, hundreds of homes flooded

Florida flood 2
© ReutersFlood: Chris Mandel, 14, pictured, paddles through a parking lot in Pensacola, Florida
A storm moving across the Gulf Coast battered parts of Alabama and Florida with up to 18 inches of rain on Saturday, flooding hundreds of homes and causing widespread power blackouts.

Authorities in Pensacola, Florida, have declared the flooding an emergency and sent out boats to rescue residents stranded in their homes.

The National Weather Service said 13.11 inches fell on Pensacola over 24 hours by Saturday, coming close to the city's all-time record of 15.29 inches set in 1934.

Cloud Lightning

Britain on flood alert as severe weather wrecks havoc

Wales flood
© Eric Lloyd DaviesWater was flowing through a breach in the dam wall at a disused quarry at Pennal, Gwynedd
Britain has been placed on flood alert on Monday as the wet weather continues to wreck havoc across the country during the first month of summer.

The Met Office last night warned of severe weather across swathes of the South while the Environment Agency issued 14 flood alerts for parts much of the North, North East and Wales.

Forecasters predicted up to 3in of rain could fall in some areas from the "thundery downpours" ahead of hail, heavy showers and gale-force storms later in the week.

Snowflake

Destructive hailstorms swept through Colorado and Wyoming

These amazing pictures show the devastation caused by massive hail storms which have swept through Colorado and Wyoming this week.

Destructive hailstones coated the ground so thickly that the landscape appeared to be covered in snow, KOAA reported.

Stunned residents took to Facebook and Twitter to share their photos of the bizarre weather, which blocked roads and left some cars almost totally submerged.

One picture in particular tugged at many heartstrings when it was posted by KDVR - a touching snapshot of a dog which sought shelter from the torrential downpour in a trash can

inundated with hails
© Caroyn Carver/ News 5 Inundated: Colorado was hit with so much hail that some cars were left almost completely submerged

Umbrella

Bizarre Ice Storm Hits Donegal, Ireland in June Winter-Like Scene

Image
© David McIlveen/ Donegal DailyThe aftermath of a thunderstorm over Donegal on Thursday
Flooding and fierce winds as recent heatwave a fond memory

Bizarre Irish weather for June has resulted in an ice storm in Donegal and pounding rain and flooding throughout the country.

The ice storm left several inches of ice near the village of Termon in Donegal the Irish Independent reported.

Local photojournalist Frank McGettigan stated he had never seen anything like it "No one around here has ever seen anything like this in June before. It was really odd."

A Met Eireann forecaster Joan Blackburn expalined the phenomenon "All rain starts as a frozen product," she said. "A downdraft would push the hail down quicker than it can melt, and this is not unheard of. Also, it's not particularly mild, and because the shower is so intense, the hail doesn't have time to melt and fall as rain."