Storms
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Ice Cube

'Unseasonal blizzards and avalanches' kill 12, including hikers, yak herders in Nepal

Gopal Sharma
Reuters
Wed, 15 Oct 2014 17:10 UTC
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© PRAKASH MATHEMA / AFP/GETTY IMAGESIn this November 2010 photograph, Mount Machhapuchhre is seen from about 200 kilometres west of Kathmandu. A snowstorm and avalanche in Nepal's mountainous north have killed 12, including four Canadians, officials announced Wednesday. Digging out their bodies will take days.
At least 12 people, including eight foreign hikers and a group of yak herders, were killed in Nepal by unseasonal blizzards and avalanches triggered by the tail of cyclone Hudhud, officials said on Wednesday.Two more foreign climbers and three Nepalese guides were reported missing.

The hikers' deaths come during the peak trekking season in Nepal, home to eight of the world's 14 highest mountain peaks, including Mount Everest. For the past two days, Nepal has been lashed by heavy rains brought on by the cyclone that has battered neighbouring India. The weather triggered blizzards at high altitudes.

The bodies of a Nepali citizen, two Polish nationals and an Israeli hiker from the Thorang-La area were found along a popular trekking route near Annapurna, the world's 10th highest mountain, said Baburam Bhandari, governor of the district of Mustang, where the incident took place.

Bhandari said the group perished in a blizzard."We have rescued five German, five Polish and four Israeli trekkers who were trapped in the snowfall early on Wednesday," Bhandari told Reuters by telephone, without giving details. One German tourist fractured his leg, he said.
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Cloud Precipitation

Gonzalo becomes 'major hurricane' in the Atlantic - expected to become Category 4 hurricane


Agence France-Presse
Tue, 14 Oct 2014 23:10 UTC
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© AFP NASA GOES Project satellite photo shows Hurricane Gonzalo (R) over the Leeward Islands in the western Atlantic Ocean on October 14, 2014
Gonzalo strengthened to a "major hurricane" over the open Atlantic and was expected to continue gaining force, forecasters said.

Packing maximum sustained winds of 115 miles (185 kilometers) an hour, with gusts even stronger, Gonzalo surged to a Category Three on the Saffir-Simpson scale, the Miami-based National Hurricane Center said.

"Additional strengthening is forecast during the next 48 hours and Gonzalo is expected to become a Category Four storm on Wednesday," the NHC said.

The highest category on the Saffir-Simpson scale is five.

The storm skirted the Caribbean and was moving over open ocean, some 770 miles (1,240 kilometers) south of Bermuda.
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Cloud Lightning

2 dead and nearly 100 injured as Typhoon Vongfong slams Japan

Junko Fujita and William Mallard
Reuters
Tue, 14 Oct 2014 18:55 UTC
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© REUTERS/KyodoWaves crash as Typhoon Vongfong approaches Japan's main islands in Kuroshio Town, Kochi prefecture, in this photo taken by Kyodo October 12, 2014.
A powerful storm that battered Japan with high winds and torrential rain, and killed two people, headed off out over the Pacific on Tuesday and was downgraded to a tropical depression. Typhoon Vongfong, at one point the strongest storm to hit Japan this year, was on Tuesday afternoon off the coast of the Tohoku region devastated by a 2011 earthquake and tsunami, the Japan Meteorological Agency said.

After the storm passed through western Japan, a 90-year-old man in was found dead in a field irrigation ditch, while a 72-year-old man drowned. Another person was missing and nearly 100 people were injured.

Vongfong brought heavy rain to Tokyo through the night and snarled traffic across much of the country on the last day of a three-day holiday weekend. More than 600 flights were canceled nationwide on Monday and more than 60 cancellations were expected on Tuesday, the NHK broadcaster said.
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Cloud Lightning

Tropical storm Gonzalo strikes Antigua, could potentially develop into Category 1 hurricane


RT
Mon, 13 Oct 2014 23:37 UTC
tropical storm gonzalo
Tropical Storm Gonzalo is making its way through the eastern Caribbean, spinning through Antigua on its way toward Puerto Rico and the US and British Virgin Islands. Authorities say Gonzalo could potentially form into a Category 1 hurricane.

Antigua is expected to receive heavy rain and winds for several hours, according to AP's latest report. Many Antiguans have reported that homes have been stripped of roofing and downed trees have blocked roads throughout the island.

No reports of injuries or deaths from the storm have been reported, though, according to Sherrod James, deputy director of Antigua's National Office of Disaster Services.

Gonzalo's maximum wind speed hit 65 mph (100 kph) as of late Monday morning EDT, when the storm's center was about 10 miles (15 km) from Antigua.

"It is strengthening very slowly," said Scott Stripling, a meteorologist with the US National Hurricane Center. "It's not out of the question that we could see it become a hurricane later this evening or tonight."
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Cloud Lightning

Storms tear through Arkansas, Louisiana, killing 1, thousands without power in Texas

Sean Breslin
Weather.com
Mon, 13 Oct 2014 21:58 UTC
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© John Johnson via TwitterPossible tornado touchdown near Ashdown, AR....1 dead.
A multi-day severe weather outbreak began with tragic news Monday morning, as a tornado was reported in southwestern Arkansas that killed one person.

The Weather Channel has confirmed through the Little River County, Arkansas, Sheriff's Department that the fatality occurred in an area between the towns of Ashdown and Foreman near the borders of Texas and Oklahoma. The EF2 tornado was confirmed by a survey crew from the National Weather Service later Monday.

This is just the start of what is expected to be a long 48 hours for Dixie Alley, as severe weather is predicted to move through the Deep South, spawning some tornadoes along the way. Damaging winds, frequent lightning and hail could also come with these storms as they push east.

According to the Storm Prediction Center, nearly 30 million people are under the threat of severe weather Monday, with the greatest risk lying in an area near the Mississippi River from Mississippi to southern Illinois.

Additional images
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Cloud Precipitation

Fukushima safety measures tightened, 500 flights cancelled and 59 injured as Typhoon Vongfong hits Tokyo

Stephanie Linning and Damien Gayle
Daily Mail UK
Mon, 13 Oct 2014 21:45 UTC
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Residents look on as strong winds whip up towering waves that hit the Shitang Township in Wenling, China on Sunday
Safety measures at the devastated Fukushima nuclear power plant were tightened today as the strongest storm to hit Japan this year battered the southern islands of Kyushu and Shikoku.

Typhoon Vongfong brought heavy rain to Tokyo and caused extensive travel disruption across Japan, where 820,000 people have been urged to leave their homes and seek shelter.

Many trains in western cities were suspended, while more than 500 domestic flights were cancelled, the public broadcaster NHK said. At least one overseas flight was cancelled, according to an airline.

About 4,900 households in Tokyo suburbs were without power, media said, and rain in the city was expected to intensify overnight.

Vongfong continued to batter the southern Japanese island of Okinawa, 1,000 miles south of Tokyo, where it landed yesterday, and moved up to also hit Kyushu and Shikoku islands, injuring 59 people, NHK said.

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Bizarro Earth

Update: Tropical Storm Gonzalo nears Leeward Islands; Hurricane Watch for Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico


Weather.com
Mon, 13 Oct 2014 03:55 UTC
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Hurricane watches and tropical storm warnings have been issued for Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands as Tropical Storm Gonzalo strengthens in the Atlantic Ocean just east of the Leeward Islands. Tropical Storm Gonzalo, the seventh named storm of the 2014 Atlantic hurricane season, formed early Sunday afternoon.

Gonzalo is moving toward the west at 10 to 15 mph, and is expected to steadily gain strength over the next few days. Hurricane watches and tropical storm warnings have been issued for Puerto Rico, Vieques, Culebra, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and the British Virgin Islands.

Tropical storm warnings are also in effect for islands as far south as Guadeloupe in the Lesser Antilles. Gonzalo will spread showers with gusts of tropical storm force across the Leeward Islands through Monday, then into the Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico later Monday into Tuesday.

Gonzalo may near hurricane strength by time it reaches Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands.

Gonzalo is then expected to curl toward the northwest, then north around the periphery of subtropical high pressure in the central Atlantic Ocean.
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Cloud Lightning

Millions faced with severe weather across central U.S. - Multi-day severe outbreak begins tonight; three severe thunderstorm watches issued


Weather.com
Mon, 13 Oct 2014 02:47 UTC
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The severe weather outbreak is set to begin Sunday night, continuing through Monday and Tuesday as a deep dip in the jet stream swings from the Great Plains into the South.

In addition, the flash flood threat will be in play from this same system as locally heavy rainfall is wrung out over areas that have been soaked in past days.

Below, we have more details on severe weather and flash flood threats across the country. You can scroll down the page, or click on these links to jump to your area of interest.

The Weather Channel TV network will pre-empt regular programming nationwide to bring you continuing live weather coverage from midnight Sunday night (Monday morning) until at least 11 p.m. EDT Monday to cover this severe weather outbreak, along with Tropical Storm Gonzalo as it threatens the Caribbean. We will cut into programming at other times if conditions warrant.
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Cloud Precipitation

Tropical Storm Gonzalo joins Fay in Atlantic, threatens Puerto Rico with flash flooding, mudslides

Alex Sosnowski
Accuweather.com
Sun, 12 Oct 2014 14:22 UTC
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Days after Tropical Storm Fay put an end to the quiet stretch in the Atlantic, another tropical storm has formed in the basin.

An organized area of low pressure has turned into Tropical Storm Gonzalo, just east of the Leeward Islands.

Heavy rain and strong winds will blast the Leeward Islands as Gonzalo tracks over them and heads towards Puerto Rico.

"Torrential rain will advance into the northern Lesser Antilles tonight into Monday," said AccuWeather.com Meteorologist Andy Mussoline.

Gonzalo will bring many dangers with it as it tracks westward. "Life-threatening flash floods and mudslides will threaten the region," said Mussoline.

Gonzalo will likely reach Puerto Rico by early Tuesday morning and will bring the threat for flooding rainfall, mudslides, and power outages to the island as well.

Warm water and low wind shear will allow the system to strengthen over the next few days and Gonzalo very well could be a category 1 hurricane when it strikes Puerto Rico.

"As a precaution, residents and travelers should prepare for prolonged power outages and cutoff of basic services," added Mussoline.
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Windsock

Three killed as cyclone Hudhud crosses Indian coast - speeds of 195-200kmph


The Times of India
Sun, 12 Oct 2014 11:59 UTC
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A view from the Park Hotel in Visakhapatnam as the cyclone passed over
Three people were killed in rain-related incidents as cyclone Hudhud crossed the Visakhapatnam coast on Sunday uprooting trees and damaging power lines.

"Three deaths have been reported due to the impact of Hudhud cyclone. Two died after trees fell on them and one in collapse of compound-wall in Visakhapatnam and Srikakulam districts, respectively," Andhra Pradesh chief secretary IVR Krishna Rao said.

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