Storms
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Tornado1

Typhoon Mangkhut lashes the Philippines, strongest storm this year

James Griffiths, Steve George and Jo Shelley
CNN
Sat, 15 Sep 2018 04:11 UTC
typhoon Mangkhut
© AFPA government official said some roofs had been ripped off and electricity lines downed in Tuguergarao
Super Typhoon Mangkhut slammed into the Philippines in the early hours of Saturday, bringing ferocious gale-force winds and pounding rains, as aid agencies warned millions are at risk from rising flood waters and landslides.

Mangkhut was the strongest storm anywhere on the planet in 2018, carrying gusts of up to 325 kilometers per hour (200 mph) before it made landfall in Cagayan province, on the northern tip of Luzon, about 1:40 a.m. local time.

When it crossed land, Mangkhat was packing winds of up to 270 kph (165 mph), 120 kph (75 mph) stronger than Hurricane Florence that hit North Carolina on the same day.

After the center of the storm passed the Philippines, Mangkhut's winds slowed enough for the typhoon to lose its "super" status, but it remains a very powerful storm system with maximum sustained winds of 215 kph (134 mph), equivalent to a category 4 hurricane.

It's now pounding the Philippines with heavy rain, and heading west into the South China Sea toward Hong Kong and southern China.


Comment: Unseen in 35 years: Veteran weather reporter on oceans 'exploding with cyclonic activity'

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Tornado1

Hurricane Florence: Five dead as storm downgraded, warnings of 'catastrophic' flash flooding to Carolinas - UPDATE


BBC News
Fri, 14 Sep 2018 15:35 UTC
Hurricane
© NOAA/GOES-EastHurricane "Florence" at 11:45 UTC on September 14, 2018.
Hurricane Florence is ravaging the US East Coast, knocking out power to half a million homes, causing buildings to crumble and stranding residents.

The centre of the storm made landfall at Wrightsville Beach, North Carolina, with gales of up to 90mph (150 km/h).

Rains and surging seas have already inundated coastal areas. Dozens of people were rescued from a collapsing hotel in North Carolina.

Evacuation warnings are in place for 1.7 million people.

North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper told a news conference that whole communities "could be wiped away".

"This is an uninvited brute that just won't leave," he told NBC.

The state's transportation secretary, James Trogdon, said the state may see "flood events" that normally only occur once every 1,000 years.

National Weather Service forecaster Brandon Locklear said North Carolina is likely to see eight months of rain in two to three days.

Comment: Unseen in 35 years: Veteran weather reporter on oceans 'exploding with cyclonic activity'

UPDATE: BBC on 15th Sept. reports:
Weather forecasters warn of the risk of life-threatening flash flooding in parts of North and South Carolina, and Virginia, from storm Florence.

It has been downgraded from a hurricane to a tropical storm but continues to soak the East Coast area with rain, downing trees and damaging homes.

It is slowly grinding over the eastern states, with winds of 65mph (105km/h).

Five deaths have been linked to the storm and thousands of people have been staying in emergency shelters.

Evacuation warnings were issued for 1.7 million people in the region.

All five deaths linked to the storm are in North Carolina:
  • A mother and her infant were killed in Wilmington when a tree fell on their home on Friday. Officials say the child's father was also transported to hospital for injuries
  • Two men in their 70s were killed in Lenoir County. One was killed when connecting an electrical generator, and family members say another man was killed in a wind-related death when checking on dogs outside his property
  • A woman died from cardiac arrest in the town of Hampstead after emergency responders had their route to her blocked by downed trees, a county official said
What is the latest on the storm?

The storm originally made landfall at Wrightsville Beach, North Carolina, on Friday morning as a category one hurricane.

Volunteers are helping to rescue residents from flooded homes
© GETTY IMAGESVolunteers are helping to rescue residents from flooded homes
"Catastrophic fresh water flooding" is expected in parts of both the Carolinas, the National Hurricane Center said late on Friday local time.

Some parts of North Carolina have already seen surges as high as 10ft in places.

North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper said the hurricane was likely to "continue its violent grind for days" and described the severity of the downfalls as a "1,000 year event".

Florence is expected to dump 18 trillion gallons of rainwater on US soil, meteorologist Ryan Maue tweeted.

Almost 800,000 people are reported to be without power already in North Carolina, and officials have warned restoring electricity could take days or even weeks.

How are residents coping?

More than 20,000 residents have packed into North Carolina emergency shelters, and officials have told those still in the storm's path to stay in place.

In Jacksonville, North Carolina, officials had rescued more than 60 people overnight on Thursday from a hotel that was collapsing in the storm.

Parts of New Bern, North Carolina, which is home to 30,000 people, were 10ft underwater on Friday after local rivers flooded their banks.

Scores of residents in the riverfront city were plucked to safety, local reports say.

The Cajun Navy, a volunteer rescue group, were among those travelling by boat around the town to help people who were trapped.

Officials have warned residents against entering attics, so as to avoid drowning, unless they have a means to cut through to the roof.

The White House said on Friday that President Donald Trump would travel to the region next week unless his trip would disrupt clean-up and rescue efforts.


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Bizarro Earth

Unseen in 35 years: Veteran weather reporter on oceans 'exploding with cyclonic activity'


RT
Fri, 14 Sep 2018 09:15 UTC
satellite image hurricane florence
© NOAA / FacebookSatellite view of Hurricane Florence
The world is facing a record number of storms raging through the Northern hemisphere at the same time. There are five tropical storms just this week, including a potentially "catastrophic" Hurricane Florence, meteorologists say.

Florence, a Category 2 hurricane that has already prompted massive evacuations in the US, is far from being the only one roaming through the Atlantic. Another hurricane, Helene, is devolving in the eastern part of the ocean and moving northeast towards Europe, the National Hurricane Center (NHC) says. However, this Category 1 hurricane is expected to lose steam before it actually arrives at Europe's shores, as the scientists believe it will eventually come to the western part of the continent in a form of a storm early next week.


Comment: The unprecedented number of storms are but one example of the ongoing extreme weather events around the globe due to the low solar activity, the weakening of the magnetosphere, and the cosmic rays maximum. For a glimpse of the most recent events, watch SOTT's latest Earth Changes Summary:



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Cloud Precipitation

Bye, bye Murica! Weather channel's simulation of Hurricane Florence is terrifying

Greg Evans
The Independent
Fri, 14 Sep 2018 00:00 UTC
hurricane florence storm surge
The United States is bracing itself for the potential untold damage that Hurricane Florence will unleash on the east coast.

With the storm rapidly approaching North and South Carolina, the chance of destructive winds and flash floods destroying property and putting people in danger is very high.

Warnings about the storm have been reported for a number of weeks now, with The National Hurricane Centre predicting that waters could raise anywhere from 2 to 11 ft.


Comment: 'Big and vicious': Hurricane Florence bears down on the Carolinas

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Cloud Lightning

Lightning strikes kill 4 with 5 others injured across Bangladesh


The Daily Star (Bangladesh)
Fri, 14 Sep 2018 12:04 UTC
lightning
Four people were killed and five others injured by lightning in three districts yesterday and on Wednesday.

In Tangail, a fisherman was killed and five others were injured by lightning in Kalihati upazila, our correspondent reports.

The deceased was Shukur Mahmud, 25, of Singna village.

Lighting struck Shukur and the others when they were catching fish in a local water body during rain yesterday morning, leaving Shukur dead and the others seriously injured, locals said.
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Cloud Precipitation

Hailstorm damages crops, apple orchards in Budgam and Baramulla, India


Kashmir Life
Thu, 13 Sep 2018 18:31 UTC
hail
Hailstorms wreaked havoc in several parts of Central Kashmir's Budgam District on Thursday and caused damage to crops, apple orchards, vegetable fields, and walnut trees.

The hailstorm hit the parts of the district on Thursday evening and caused extensive damage to orchards and crop fields in many areas of Budgam including Beerwah, Gondipora, Meripora, Kawoosa, Narbal, Khansahib, Watrhail, Muqaam, Brail, Gund, Churmujroo and other adjacent areas.

The hailstorm which continued for at least 15 minutes damaged crops and walnut trees as well, causing huge damage to the farmers and fruit growers.

Hailstorm also hit Tangmarg and Palhalan areas of Baramulla District that resulted in extensive damage to apple and vegetable crops.

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Bizarro Earth

'Nightmare' Hurricane Florence bearing down on Carolinas; could be worst natural disaster in recorded history for Carolinas and Virginia

Tyler Durden
ZeroHedge
Tue, 11 Sep 2018 09:09 UTC
hurricane florence track
South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster ordered an estimated 1 million people to evacuate from coastal areas of his state as Florence strengthened to a Category 4 storm. While Florence isn't expected to make landfall until Thursday or Friday, hurricane-force winds of 130 mph or more will start whipping up a deadly storm surge late Wednesday. The evacuation order follows a similar order issued by North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper, who ordered an estimated 250,000 residents and visitors to begin evacuating the Outer Banks barrier islands.

As of noon ET, Florence was about 1,170 miles east-southeast of Cape Fear, North Carolina. Cooper said he has asked President Trump to declare a federal state of emergency for his state. Trump, for his part, tweeted that the federal government is already "mobilizing its assets."


Of course, Florence isn't the only storm headed for the eastern seaboard. At least three other storms (Hurricanes Isaac and Helen), as well as a tropical storm forming on the horizon.
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Cloud Lightning

Lightning bolt kills 4 farmers in Magura, Bangladesh


The Daily Star (Bangladesh)
Wed, 12 Sep 2018 11:20 UTC
Four farmers working in a jute field died after lightning strike in Magura on September 11, 2018
© Alok BoseFour farmers working in a jute field died after lightning strike in Magura on September 11, 2018.
Four farmers were killed by lightning at Atharokhoda village in Magura Sadar upazila yesterday noon.

The deceased were identified as Rahmat Molla, 45, Monnu Molla, 25, Samin Molla, 30, and Akram Hossain, 30, Upazila Nirbahi Officer (UNO) Abu Sufian said.

They were the sole bread earners of their families, locals said.

The farmers were killed by lightning strikes when they were working at a jute field in rain at Rupdaho beel in the area, said the UNO.

Comment: Also recently in the neighboring country of India lightning strikes killed one person in Meghalaya and two in West Bengal.

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Tornado1

Taiwan braces for impact as super typhoon Mangkhut approaches

Lawrence Chung
South China Morning Post
Wed, 12 Sep 2018 06:06 UTC
Super Typhoon Mangkhut
A satellite shot of Super Typhoon Mangkhut, currently barreling down on the Philippines and Hong Kong.

Lessons learned from last week's typhoon Jebi lead to early planning as the island prepares for the worst

Taiwan is bracing for super typhoon Mangkhut, described by local weathermen as one of the strongest this year, which may hit the self-ruled island on the weekend.

Mindful of the power of Jebi, which killed at least 11 people and left a trail of destruction in Japan last week, the island's government had already started preparing for Mangkhut, even before it was upgraded to a super typhoon on Tuesday, a government spokeswoman said.

Packing maximum winds of 200km per hour, Mangkhut is moving at a speed of 21km per hour in a westerly direction, according to Taiwan's Central Weather Bureau.

As of Wednesday morning, the typhoon was spotted 1,865km east-southeast of Elunabi, the southernmost tip of the island.

"If there is no change in its direction, we will not rule out the possibility of issuing a sea warning on Friday afternoon," said Cheng Chuan-fang, weather bureau forecaster.

If the typhoon maintains its westward direction, it could strengthen further and whip the southern and south-eastern parts of the island between Friday night and Saturday morning, she said.

Comment: Meanwhile the mayor of DC followed in the footsteps of the Carolinas, Maryland and Virginia by declaring a state of emergency in preparation for Hurricane Florence, a category 4 storm expected to hit the US East coast this week reports RT.

Roughly one million people have been ordered to evacuate from South Carolina's entire coastline, while more than 245,000 Virginians were issued a mandatory evacuation in preparation for "potential catastrophic flooding", said Governor Ralph Northam.


Florence is now a Category 4 hurricane, packing winds of up to 140mph (224kph). It is expected to make landfall in the US, Thursday as an "extremely dangerous" hurricane according to the National Hurricane Center.

The agency has warned of "life-threatening" storm surges along the south-eastern seaboard and freshwater flooding due to a "prolonged and exceptionally heavy rainfall event." Florence could be the worst hurricane to hit the Carolinas in over 60 years since category 4 hurricane 'Hazel' struck in 1954.

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Cloud Precipitation

State of emergency declared, evacuations ordered as Hurricane Florence bears down on US east coast


RT
Tue, 11 Sep 2018 09:31 UTC
Hurricane Florence
© NASAImage of Hurricane Florence on Sept. 10, taken as the orbiting laboratory flew over the massive storm.
North Carolina, South Carolina and Virginia have declared a state of emergency ahead of Hurricane Florence's arrival. Governor Ralph Northam issued a mandatory evacuation order for 245,000 Virginians in low-lying, coastal areas.

"Hurricane Florence has the potential to cause catastrophic flooding, especially in our coastal areas," Governor Northam said in a statement. "This evacuation is for the safety of thousands of Virginians living in that zone. But the effects of this storm will be felt statewide, and I encourage everyone in Virginia to prepare now."

The Virginia governor added that the entire state will be affected but further evacuations are not necessary at this time. He also stated that the hurricane's path is liable to change and that Virginians should prepare for "coastal storm surge, inland flooding that may be severe, high winds, and widespread power outages."

Florence has grown to a Category 4 hurricane with sustained winds of 130mph as it descends upon the southeastern seaboard of the US.

Comment:


Check out the rather unsettling satellite image below of all the storms occurring across our planet right now:


And more on hurricane Florence:





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