Storms
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Snowflake Cold

Fresh April snow and black ice: the onset of winter is causing chaos in parts of Germany


indonewyork.com
Sat, 20 Apr 2024 13:11 UTC
mmmmmmm
Winter conditions in April: Snow, hail, black ice and heavy rain caused numerous accidents in traffic on Saturday. For this Sunday, the German Weather Service (DWD) announced heavy snowfall in the low mountain ranges - and also warned of black ice. In Bavaria in particular, there could be traffic disruptions and the risk of tree damage due to the high snow loads. In the Free State it could snow heavily in the morning, especially in the north and in the Alps, even down to lower altitudes.

In East Westphalia-Lippe, a number of trees snapped under the weight of snow on Sunday night. As the police reported, this created around 20 danger spots. Local fire brigade helpers removed the fallen trees and cleared the streets. In Extertal and Leopoldshöhe, drivers drove their vehicles off the road in snow and slippery conditions and ended up in a ditch. Nobody got hurt. In the early hours of the morning, several centimeters of snow had fallen in parts of Ostwestfalen-Lippe, and even ten centimeters in Horn-Bad Meinberg, a police spokesman said.

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Boat

Best of the Web: China issues 'once in a century' flood warning for Guangdong's Bei River zone - April rainfall records already broken in many places

Xinlu Liang
South China Morning Post
Sun, 21 Apr 2024 12:14 UTC
Shaoguan is one of the areas hardest hit by the rising waters
© WeiboShaoguan is one of the areas hardest hit by the rising waters
Residents in the southern Chinese province of Guangdong are on high alert for flooding, with authorities forecasting water flows in a major river to hit "once-in-100-year" levels on Monday morning.

The provincial flood and disaster prevention department said on Sunday afternoon that floodwaters in the Bei River, a southern tributary of the Pearl River, were expected to peak at 37.3 metres (122 feet) by 1am, or about 5.8 metres above the warning line.

Warning levels had already been exceeded at 20 monitoring stations along the waterway by Saturday evening.

Northern and western Guangdong have been battered by intense rainstorms since Friday, breaking rainfall records for April in many places.

The cities of Qingyuan, Shaoguan, Huizhou and capital Guangzhou have been particularly hard hit, prompting flood alerts and rainstorm warnings for three days in a row.

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Windsock

Shocking collapse of a mosque's minaret during a severe storm in Çankırı, Türkiye


ANews
Sat, 20 Apr 2024 11:25 UTC
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In Çankırı, the strong wind resulted in toppling trees, shattering apartment windows, and even causing the collapse of a minaret at Bademlik Mosque.

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Cloud Lightning

Storm-related incidents kill 65 in Pakistan, including 28 by lightning strikes - April rain doubles historical average (UPDATE)

Kaneez Fatima
Fairfield Sun Times
Mon, 15 Apr 2024 11:23 UTC
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At least 41 people have died in storm-related incidents across Pakistan since Friday, including 28 killed by lightning, officials said on Monday.

Pakistan's National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) has warned of landslides and flash floods because more rain is expected in coming days.

Punjab, Pakistan's largest and most populous province, witnessed the highest death toll, with 21 people killed by lightning between Friday and Sunday.

"I have asked the NDMA to coordinate with the provinces... and for the NDMA to provide relief goods to areas where damages occurred," Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said on Monday.

People living in open, rural areas are more at risk of being struck by lightning during thunderstorms.

At least eight people were killed in Balochistan province, including seven struck by lightning, where 25 districts were battered by rain and some areas were flooded.


Comment: Update April 17

AFP reports:
At least 65 people have died in storm-related incidents including lightning in Pakistan, officials said, with rain so far in April falling at nearly twice the historical average rate.

People stand beside a makeshift stall set up on the bank of a stream, which is overflowing following heavy rains, on the outskirts of Peshawar, Pakistan, April 2024.
© APPeople stand beside a makeshift stall set up on the bank of a stream, which is overflowing following heavy rains, on the outskirts of Peshawar, Pakistan, April 2024.
Heavy downpours between Friday and Monday unleashed flash floods and caused houses to collapse, while lightning killed at least 28 people.

The largest death toll was in northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, where 32 people have died, including 15 children, and more than 1,300 homes have been damaged.

"All the casualties resulted from the collapse of walls and roofs," Anwar Khan, spokesman for the province's disaster management authority, told AFP on Wednesday.

Villagers whose homes were inundated with water were forced to seek refuge on higher ground, including on the shoulders of motorways, creating makeshift tents with plastic sheeting and bamboo sticks.

"In April, we have observed highly unusual rainfall patterns," Zaheer Ahmad Babar, spokesperson for the Pakistan Meteorological Department, told AFP.

"From April 1st to April 17th, we experienced precipitation levels exceeding the historical average by 99 percent," he added, citing data from the past 30 years as a comparison.

Most of the country experienced a pause in rain on Tuesday and Wednesday, but more downpours are predicted in the coming days.


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Cloud Precipitation

Heavy downpour and flash floods hit southeast Iran

Kamal Iranidoost
Mehr News Agency
Wed, 17 Apr 2024 12:10 UTC
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After torrential rains and major flooding hit United Arab Emirates on Tuesday, the same wave of severe weather arrived in Iran and hit hard the southern and southestern provinces of Bandar Abass, kerman and Sistan and Baluchestan on late on Tuesday and Wednesday.

Rivers burst their banks and dams were full of water as huge floods washed away people's properties in some areas in Kerman and Sistan and Baluchestan provinces on Wednesday.

Meanwhile, the search and rescue teams saved three people who had been announced missing in the floods earlier today in Kerman Province.

Sistan and Baluchestan which borders Sea of Oman was also hit earlier this year in March by flash floods.

The chairman of roads administration of Sistan and Baluchestan province told reporters that the floods had blocked the roads between twenty villages in the province.

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Snowflake

Colorado sees nearly 3 feet of April snow after Denver hits 80-degree mark

Samantha Jarpe
kdvr.com/
Wed, 17 Apr 2024 12:47 UTC
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While the Denver metro may have enjoyed spring-like temperatures and a few rain showers to start off the work week, other parts of the state were in a whole other boat.

The high country was forecasted to see heavy snow on Monday and Tuesday, and that's exactly what happened.

Some areas, including Cameron Pass in Larimer County, were hit with nearly 3 feet of snow on Monday and Tuesday.

According to the National Weather Service, the aptly named Never Summer mountain range, as well as the Medicine Bow mountains, saw some of the heaviest snow.

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Cloud Precipitation

Best of the Web: Dubai submerged as United Arab Emirates gets over year and a half's worth of rain in 24 hours


Al Jazeera
Wed, 17 Apr 2024 11:44 UTC
Desert City Dubai Under Water After Rains
Desert city Dubai under water after rains
Heavy thunderstorms have lashed the United Arab Emirates (UAE), dumping more than a year and a half's rain on the desert city-state of Dubai in just a few hours and flooding major highways and its international airport.

The rains began late on Monday, soaking the sands and roads of Dubai with some 20mm (0.79 inches) of rain, according to meteorological data collected at Dubai International Airport. The storms intensified at about 9am (05:00 GMT) on Tuesday and continued throughout the day, dumping more rain and hail onto the overwhelmed city.

By the end of Tuesday, more than 142mm (5.59 inches) had soaked Dubai. An average year sees 94.7mm (3.73 inches) of rain at Dubai International Airport, the world's busiest for international travel and a hub for the long-haul carrier Emirates.


Comment: This is the desert region's heaviest rainfall in at least 75 years - since 1949, when proper record-keeping began there... so, for all we know, it's the Arabian region's heaviest rainfall in the entire modern era.

Elsewhere in the region: Flash floods hit Oman - at least 18 killed

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Cloud Precipitation

Tanzania floods kill 58 in 2 weeks


Myjoyonline.com
Mon, 15 Apr 2024 17:51 UTC
Visuals from the regions affected by flood
© X/@rcs1962) Asian News InternationalVisuals from the regions affected by flood in Tanzania.
Nearly 60 people have died since the start of April in heavy rains and flooding that has hit several parts of Tanzania, the government said.

The coastal region of the East African country is one of the worst affected, with floods damaging thousands of farms there, Mobhare Matinyi, the government spokesperson, said in a statement on Sunday.

"Serious flood effects are experienced in the coast region where 11 people have so far died," Mr Matinyi added.

He said, so far, 58 deaths have been recorded across the country from the flooding.

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Cloud Precipitation

Storm leaves 5 people dead and infrastructure flood damaged in Margate, South Africa

Sakhiseni Nxumalo
Times Live
Mon, 15 Apr 2024 17:32 UTC
flood
Heavy downpour in Margate saw water gushing through the streets.
Five people died in a storm that lashed Margate on the KwaZulu-Natal south coast on Sunday night.

This was confirmed by Ugu district municipality, which said search and rescue teams have been deployed.

Huge damage has been caused to water and roads infrastructure and an on-site assessment of the damages is under way.

Municipality spokesperson France Zama said a co-ordinated cleanup operation is in progress while the cost of the damage is being consolidated.

Municipality teams were on the ground to establish the extent of the damage.

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Cloud Precipitation

At least 66 killed in Afghanistan as heavy rains set off flash floods (UPDATE)


Al Jazeera
Sun, 14 Apr 2024 13:50 UTC
People wait to cross a flooded area in the Spin Boldak district of Kandahar province
People wait to cross a flooded area in the Spin Boldak district of Kandahar province
At least 33 people have been killed over three days of heavy rains and flash flooding in Afghanistan, according to the government's disaster management department.

"From Friday onwards, because of the rains there were flash floods which caused high human and financial losses," department spokesman Janan Sayeq said on Sunday.

"The primary information shows that, unfortunately, in the floods, 33 people were martyred and 27 people got injured."

Most casualties were from roof collapses, as some 600 houses were damaged or destroyed. In addition, 200 livestock have perished, nearly 600km (370 miles) of road have been destroyed, and about 800 hectares (1,975 acres) of agricultural land have "flooded away", the spokesman added.


Comment: Update April 16

Arab News reports:
Extreme rainfall in Afghanistan and devastating flash floods have killed at least 66 people and damaged homes, infrastructure, and farmlands across most of the country's provinces, authorities said on Tuesday.

The storms, which started over the weekend, are adding to the challenges facing Afghanistan, which is still recovering from decades of conflict and natural disasters, including unprecedented droughts in the past four years, as well as a series of deadly earthquakes.

"According to primary reports from the provinces, at least 66 people lost their lives, and 36 others are injured," Janan Sayeq, spokesperson of the National Disaster Management Authority, told Arab News on Tuesday.

The number of reported casualties has doubled since Sunday, raising fears the actual toll could be higher. Many of the victims were killed when their homes collapsed on them.


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