Storms
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Cloud Lightning

Not just in Kansas: Tornado touches down near Toulouse

Deborah Byrd
Earth Sky
Sun, 29 Apr 2012 11:09 UTC
Image
© www.infoclimat.frTornado 20km southwest of Toulouse, France on April 29, 2012.
Several French websites - including Meteorologic.net - are reporting a tornado that formed near the city of Toulouse in southwestern France earlier today (April 29, 2012). A number of people apparently witnessed the tornado, and several caught photographs, some of which were uploaded to Twitter.

The tornado was first sighted 15-20 kilometers (9 to 13 miles) south of Toulouse around 7:10 p.m. local time. The tornado then moved towards in a northeasterly direction toward the southern part of the city of Toulouse, France. Only minor damage was reported including collapsed walls, uprooted trees and cars moved out of place in Toulouse. Meteorologic reported:
This tornado apparently caused little damage. It could therefore be classified as F1 on the Fujita scale.
An F1 tornado is defined as having winds in the range of 73 to 112 miles per hour (117 to 180 kilometers per hour).
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Cloud Lightning

Ferocious storm closes wettest April ever in UK


Daily Mail, UK
Mon, 30 Apr 2012 06:42 UTC
Image
The return of the floods: The River Severn turns Tewkesbury Abbey into a virtual island after days of heavy rain in an unwelcome reminder of the devastating floods of 2007
It is the wettest April on record, the Met Office says - and the rain is set to continue.

Despite the drought and the hosepipe ban, much of England and Wales was braced for flooding today as further heavy rain continued to wreak havoc across the country.

And, as if Britons needed confirmation of just how wet it has been, newly-released figures show the month so far has seen 'well above' average rainfall across the UK, with 97mm recorded - 140 per cent of the long-term monthly average.

Tewkesbury in Gloucestershire, which was devastated by flooding in July 2007, was on alert with the Environment Agency setting up an incident room there along with two others in the Midlands and another in the Wessex area.

Stretches of the Severn were at risk of bursting their banks following weather which will be an unwelcome reminder of Tewkesbury's flash floods in 2007, which claimed the lives of three people and left 350,000 people in the county without a supply of clean drinking water.
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Cloud Lightning

Colorado Tornadoes Cause Widespread Damage


9 News
Fri, 27 Apr 2012 10:11 UTC
Colorado lightning
© Josh MyersFinger Lightning near the Aurora Reservoir
People in southeast Colorado are cleaning up damage after up to five tornadoes struck early Friday morning.

All of the tornadoes were southeast of Lamar. The National Weather Service says preliminary findings indicate five tornadoes touched down. Two were in Prowers County, two in Kiowa County and one in Bent County.
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Cloud Lightning

Flash Floods Wreak Havoc in Kenya, Seven Children Drowned in National Park

Monicah Mwangi
The Star
Fri, 27 Apr 2012 16:54 UTC
kenya flood
© KIPLANG'AT KIRUIA man in Narok town tries save his chair from floods.
Weeks after the long rains season started, Kenyans are feeling its effect as floods wreak havoc in most parts of the country. A church retreat turned tragic when seven youths drowned because of flooding at Hell's Gate National Park in Naivasha.

Already the floods-prone area of Budalangi has received floods alert after River Nzoia broke its banks. In Kisumu, heavy rains rendered hundreds homeless and destroyed a key road linking the city to Kisii town.
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Cloud Lightning

Baseball Sized Hail Reported in Gatlinburg, Tennessee


WBIR.com
Thu, 26 Apr 2012 16:39 UTC
Viewers in Sevier County are reporting large hail stones, some as big as golf balls and baseballs, pounded the area Thursday afternoon.


Dispatchers reported they had received reports of vehicles being damaged in the Gatlinburg area. The area hardest hit was near the Food City, where firefighters said some of the hail was as large as baseballs. There were several reports of broken windows.
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Cloud Lightning

Golf ball-sized Hail Storm in South Carolina

Mike Ellis
Anderson Independent Mail
Thu, 26 Apr 2012 16:12 UTC
Lightning strike
© Nathan Gray, Anderson Independent MailLightning strikes near New Prospect Church Road and West Whitner Street during a thunderstorm Thursday morning.
Lightning and hail were reported in several parts of Anderson, Oconee and Pickens counties on Thursday and forecasters expect a few scattered storms today.

Hail as big as golf balls was reported in the Townville area, along with smaller hail in Powdersville and Williamston, among other parts of the three counties.

"There's been some reports of Ping-Pong ball-sized hail and half-dollar-sized hail across the area," said National Weather Service meteorologist Doug Outlaw, based at the Greenville-Spartanburg airport.
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Cloud Lightning

Freak Storm Sweeps Across The Bahamas, Homes Damaged

Chester Robards
Tribune 242
Mon, 23 Apr 2012 16:05 UTC
Bahamas storm damage
© Tribune 242Bahamas Defence Force members help to repair a home whose roof was ripped off by the storm.
The National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) assessed the damage to homes yesterday after a freak storm tore the roof from at least one residence in southern New Providence during the early hours of Sunday.

No injuries were reported but yesterday afternoon NEMA and the Bahamas Red Cross were conducting an initial assessment of homes near Malcolm Road - the area hardest hit by high wind gusts.

Meanwhile personnel from the Royal Bahamas Defence Force assisted residents who had their roof torn off by what was being described as a tornado by people in the area.
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Cloud Lightning

Record Rainfall for One Day Seen in Portland, Maine

David Carkhuff
The Portland Daily Sun
Thu, 26 Apr 2012 15:52 UTC
rain on window
© 50mm via Flickr
A record rainfall for Portland on Monday helped temper April's stretch of dry, fire-prone weather, greening up places like Deering Oaks, but there's a many-legged downside.

Invasive insects may crop up where they haven't been seen before.

On Monday, Portland set a daily record for rainfall with 3.13 inches of rain, breaking the old record of 1.53 inches set in 1921, according to Margaret Curtis, meteorologist with the National Weather Service. Rainfall records go back to 1941.
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Cloud Lightning

More freak weather: Tornado rips through farm in Essex, UK


Herts and Essex Observer
Thu, 26 Apr 2012 11:56 UTC
Essex tornado
© ITV AngliaOne of the destroyed barns on Brook Street Farm
A tornado ripped through Essex villages yesterday afternoon (Wednesday).

A farmer told how he was forced to hide in a shed while his wife took cover in a nearby workshop as the extreme weather hit Halstead and nearby White Ash Green.

The tornado ripped through Alan and Liz Barrow's farm near Halstead.
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Cloud Precipitation

Severe Gales and Massive Downpours to Batter Britain Over Weekend

Nathan Rao
The Daily Express
Fri, 27 Apr 2012 11:41 UTC
Essex tornado
The impact of the tornado that ripped through a hamlet in Essex
Torrential rain driven by 60mph winds is set to wreak havoc across Britain this weekend.

Weather experts warned last night a combination of severe gales and massive downpours would bring flash flooding and travel chaos.

The worst spell is expected on Sunday lunchtime with up to two inches of rain - the monthly average - falling by the afternoon. The Environment Agency said it was poised to issue "severe flood" warnings in the South, indicating "danger to life".
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