Storms
S


Cloud Lightning

Minnesota, US: National Weather Service: Tornado, Downburst Hit St. Cloud Metro

Tin Lyon
Wjon.com
Sat, 02 Jul 2011 00:00 UTC
Image
© Jodie PecheSkies over Whitney Park in north St. Cloud.
The National Weather Service says it was a weak tornado in Waite Park and a downburst north of Downtown St. Cloud Friday night that did much of the damage in the St. Cloud area.

According to the NWS, a tornado touched down just north of the Interstate 94 and Highway 23 intersection, moved northeast at around 65 mph and dissipated in Waite Park, some 2.3 miles later. The NWS says the tornado was as big as 30 yards wide as it broke or toppled trees in its path, touching down in five distinct locations along its path. All of this happened from around 6:23 to 6:26 p.m. Friday.

Meanwhile, downburst winds of 65 to 70 miles an hour hit north of downtown St. Cloud, toppling hundreds of trees which landed on houses, sheds and vehicles.

The NWS says the damage from the downburst was far more widespread and significant than from the tornado.
Read More...
Alarm Clock

Minnesota, US: Weather Service Confirms Tornado Touchdown in Douglas County


Duluth News Tribune
Sun, 03 Jul 2011 09:17 UTC
Image
© Jed CarlsonPeople work to clean up debris Saturday afternoon at a home off Ramel Road in Solon Springs. The mobile home had been moved off its foundation and many trees and items outside where uprooted and overturned in the storm on Friday evening.
The National Weather Service in Duluth confirmed late Saturday that a tornado touched down near Solon Springs during the severe storms that moved across the region Friday night.

According to a preliminary survey report, the most significant damage observed by the Weather Service survey team was EF2 on the 0-5 Enhanced Fujita scale, with peak winds estimated at 120 to 130 mph.

The path of the tornado was estimated at 2.9 miles, with a width of 300 yards, stretching from 3.6 miles southwest of Solon Springs to 1.3 miles west of Solon Springs. The tornado was on the ground for about three minutes, from 7:51 p.m. to 7:54 p.m. There were a few injuries from the tornado, but no fatalities.

The Weather Service reported that the tornado shifted a manufactured home off its foundation and rotated it about 30 degrees from its original orientation, and then destroyed a wood-frame home along Ramel Road. Some debris from the second home was found 1/3 of a mile away.
Read More...
Cloud Lightning

Colorado, US: Lightning Suspected in Northeast Denver Home Explosion

Jordan Steffen
The Denver Post
Sat, 02 Jul 2011 00:00 UTC
Image
© Jordan Steffen/The Denver PostThe scene at 4524 Eureka Court in Denver, late Friday morning.
Lightning is suspected in a Thursday night explosion that ignited a devastating fire at a northeast Denver home.

About 11:30 p.m., firefighters were called to 4524 Eureka Court, said Todd Bower, deputy chief of the Denver Fire Department.

Firefighters quickly extinguished the blaze, and none of the three people inside the home was injured.

The cause of the explosion has yet to be determined, but investigators think it may have been the result of lightning striking the attached garage, Bower said.

The bolt of lightning likely caused several propane tanks in the garage to ignite and explode.

On Friday morning, a charred car remained under rubble that was once the garage of the burned home. All that was left of the south side of the home was a skeleton of wood and black ash.
Read More...
Cloud Lightning

US: One killed, 39 injured in wind storm that blew through Minnesota and into western Wisconsin


Associated Press
Sat, 02 Jul 2011 12:01 UTC
Residents in Minnesota and Wisconsin cleaned up Saturday from a fierce storm whose powerful winds toppled trees that killed an 11-year-old girl and injured more than three dozen people.

The storm Friday tore roofs off buildings, blew in garages and left thousands without power. Roads in western Wisconsin were blocked Saturday by fallen trees and debris.

Wisconsin authorities say three of 39 injuries in Burnett County were critical. Emergency officials originally attributed two deaths to the storm but later said one death was an apparent heart attack that might be indirectly related to the storm.

Injuries were also reported in Minnesota's Douglas and Meeker counties.

The storm entered southwest Minnesota on Friday afternoon and took nearly six hours to pass through the state before slipping into northwest Wisconsin, said Matt Friedlein, a National Weather Service meteorologist in the Twin Cities. Affected areas in Minnesota included Marshall, Redwood Falls, the Twin Cities and St. Cloud. Western Wisconsin, including Burnett and Douglas counties, also were hard hit.
Read More...
Cloud Lightning

US: Storm pushes high winds, rain across western Minnesota

Gretchen Schlosser
West Central Tribune
Sat, 02 Jul 2011 03:00 UTC
Image
© Ron AdamsOlivia city personnel use large equipment to move trees off the streets Friday evening so that citizens could move about in their efforts to clean up the downed trees in town after storms pushed through the region.
A powerful series of thunderstorms, packing high winds, hail and heavy rains Friday afternoon, left a trail of destruction across southern and west central Minnesota.

The National Weather Service reported wind speeds of up to 78 mph in Redwood Falls, with trees and power lines down and roof damage reported in the downtown area. Reports from across Renville County included damage to buildings, trees and power lines.

"It's tough around here," said Olivia Mayor Sue Hilgert. "We have lots of trees down."

The mayor reported many large trees down across her town, with city personnel using plows to move the trees off the streets so that citizens could move about in their efforts to clean up the downed trees.
Read More...
Cloud Lightning

Illinois, US: Homes damaged, trees down, three hurt from 'supercell' storm

Beth Kramer
Lake County News-Sun
Fri, 01 Jul 2011 21:46 UTC
Image
© Michael Schmidt~Sun-Times MediaVictoria Preacely (left), Dshanti Preacely, 8 , and Sandrihia Dickerson, 15, all of Waukegan, stand next to a traffic light that was blown down by the storm Thursday night at Grand Avenue and County Street in Waukegan.
Winthrop Harbor resident Dan Szekely, 42, barely had time to grab his 9-month-old daughter out of her crib as a tree crashed to the ground in Thursday night's storm.

He and he his wife herded their other four children to safety as the storm blew through.

"In my life, I've never experienced anything like that except for seeing the aftermath happen to other people," Szekely said Friday.

Although he was without power Friday, along with more than 12,000 other ComEd customers in Lake County, Szekely started the daunting storm cleanup. Trees smashed two of his cars and demolished the children's playground in the yard. There was also a lot of tree debris, he said.

As of 3 p.m. Friday, 9,800 people in ComEd's northern region, which includes Lake County, were without power, according to a ComEd spokeswoman. A total of 145,000 people had power restored Friday, she said.
Read More...
Cloud Lightning

Philippines: Rain triggers landslide in Davao City; death toll from earlier flood hits 30


GMA News
Sat, 02 Jul 2011 07:36 UTC
Barely had residents in Davao City recovered from flash floods that killed at least 30 people when heavy rain Friday night triggered a landslide that threatened at least 20 families.

The families were brought to an evacuation center in the Matina Crossing area, radio dzBB's Davao affiliate reported early Saturday.

Continuous rain also caused floods near the boundary of Davao City and Davao del Norte, prompting families there to prepare to evacuate, the report added.

The National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) said the death toll from the flash floods that hit Davao City has risen to 30 as of Friday night.
Read More...
Better Earth

India: Two die as flood situation worsens in Bihar


The Hindu
Mon, 04 Jul 2011 16:23 UTC
Flood Bihar, India
© PTIPeople walk through a flooded road, after increase in the water level of Ganga and Yamuna rivers, in Allahabad on Monday.
Alert was sounded after two persons died as the overall flood situation aggravated on Monday in Bihar's Gopalganj, Sitamarhi and Muzaffarpur districts with rivers maintaining rising trends.

"We have sounded alert across the state with aggravation of flood threat with heavy rains in the catchment areas of major rivers," Bihar Water Resource Minister Vijay Kumar Choudhary told reporters.

Two youths drowned while crossing the swollen Budhi Gandak river at a place under Bachhbaria police station in West Champaran district, Choudhary said, adding the state government would provide a compensation of Rs. one lakh to bereaved families of each of the deceased.

Swirling flood waters have inundated several villages under Bagha sub-division in the district, officials said.

The flood waters also entered a portion of Balmiknagar Tiger Reserve in the district, they said, adding the flash floods occurred because of heavy discharge of water in Balmikinagar barrage.
Read More...
Cloud Lightning

Denmark floods: Scenes of chaos in Copenhagen


BBC.co.uk
Sun, 03 Jul 2011 13:46 UTC

Heavy rains have caused flooding in the Danish capital Copenhagen, damaging homes and sparking travel chaos in parts of the city.
Read More...
Cloud Lightning

US: Heavy rains swamp crops near Harwood, North Dakota


WDAY TV
Mon, 27 Jun 2011 18:21 UTC

Landowners living along the Rush River say its running faster and 18 feet deeper. Typically it runs only a couple of feet deep. Farmers in the area also say much of their soybean crop has been ruined by the water. And never have they dealt with this much flooding this late in the year.

Lowell Siebells - Lives on Rush River: "And you know all the water sitting in the fields, vector control will be able to control the mosquitoes just think what the mosquito population is going to be in a week, ya know."

The Rush River is expected to go down later this week.
Read More...