Storms
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Cloud Lightning

Three hikers killed by lightning bolt in Java, Indonesia

Jessie Prasetya
Indonesia Expat
Wed, 26 Apr 2017 12:44 UTC
LIGHTNING
On April 23, 2017, three hikers on Mount Prau in Central Java died after being struck by lightning. The unfortunate incident occurred when a group of 11 people hiked from their base camp at Patak Banteng and decided to spend the night on Mount Prau.

The next day, the group decided to go down into the valley due to heavy rain on top of the mountain. They pitched their tents near the mobile signal transmitter tower. Not long after, lightning struck their location, killing three members of the group.

After the incident, one of the survivors said the strike may have been triggered by one of the hikers who opened his mobile phone after detecting a signal in the area.

In addition to three fatalities, the lightning strike caused severe burns to six of the hikers and minor burns to two of them. Those who died were identified as private sector workers named Deden Hidayat Maulana (31) from West Java, Aditya Agung Darmawan (30) from East Jakarta and Adi Setiawan (31) from East Jakarta.

Comment: Elsewhere in Asia: Worker dies after lightning strike in Sepang, Malaysia.

Lightning kills man at Nadanahalli, India

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Cloud Precipitation

Hailstorm devastates apple, peach, walnut and apricot orchards across Kashmir, India

Irfan Amin Malik
Greater Kashmir
Mon, 24 Apr 2017 20:06 UTC
Representative image
Representative image
Locals and witnesses said the hailstorm started at 9 PM on Sunday and continued for more than 15 minutes. "It caused extensive damage to the orchards and almost all the growing crop of fruit was lost,"

Heavy hailstorm caused extensive damage to apple and walnut orchards in many villages of Tral in south Kashmir's Pulwama district late Sunday night.

The affected villages include Satura, Hajin, Naristan, Deedarpora and Lam.

Locals and witnesses said the hailstorm started at 9 PM on Sunday and continued for more than 15 minutes. "It caused extensive damage to the orchards and almost all the growing crop of fruit was lost," they said.

Comment: The Spring weather is certainly behaving oddly worldwide - and just in the last day or so:

13 cm of snowfall as late-season storm hits Regina, Saskatchewan
April showers? Southern Manitoba hit with snowfall instead
Hard freeze kills 95 to 100 percent of France's Alsace vineyard buds
Turkey greenhouses collapse due to snowfall
Snow across Wales as Arctic winds sweep across the country

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Arrow Down

The 'March to Silence' - Shots fired at building housing leading climate skeptic scientists

Roy W. Spencer, Ph. D.
Roy Spencer Blog
Mon, 24 Apr 2017 19:09 UTC
NSSTC
© Image via Google Maps Street ViewNational Space Science and Technology Center (NSSTC) building.
A total of seven shots were fired into our National Space Science and Technology Center (NSSTC) building here at UAH over the weekend.

All bullets hit the 4th floor, which is where John Christy's office is (my office is in another part of the building).

Given that this was Earth Day weekend, with a March for Science passing right past our building on Saturday afternoon, I think this is more than coincidence. When some people cannot argue facts, they resort to violence to get their way. It doesn't matter that we don't "deny global warming"; the fact we disagree with its seriousness and the level of human involvement in warming is enough to send some radicals into a tizzy.

Our street is fairly quiet, so I doubt the shots were fired during Saturday's march here. It was probably late night Saturday or Sunday for the shooter to have a chance of being unnoticed.

Maybe the "March For Science" should have been called the "March To Silence".

Campus and city police say they believe the shots were fired from a passing car, based upon the angle of entry into one of the offices. Shell casings were recovered outside. The closest distance a passing car would have been is 70 yards away.

This is a developing story. I have no other details.
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Cloud Lightning

3 killed, 2 injured after being struck by lightning bolt in Punjab, India


Hindustan Times
Mon, 24 Apr 2017 18:16 UTC
The deceased being taken outside the hospital
© Hindustan TimesThe deceased being taken outside the hospital
Three persons were killed and two got injured after they were struck by lightning at Toot village in Patti sub-division on Sunday night.

The deceased have been identified as Raju (30) of Gahelewal village in Mansa district, Kulwinder Singh (22) of Nandgarh village in Sangrur district and Sandeep Singh (30) of Todarpur village in Mansa district. The injured are Sukha Singh of Bigarwal village, and Tarsem Singh of Jawaharwala village in Sangrur district. All of them run combine harvesters.

After harvesting wheat crop in the fields of a farmer Gurlal Singh, they went to a tubewell to take bath. Suddenly, thunderstorm rolled and they were struck by the lightning caused by it.

They were rushed to civil hospital in Patti, where three were declared dead.

The injured are said to be stable.

Comment: In Cambodia: Storm in K Thom Lightning injures two, kills one

In Bangladesh: Lightning strike kills farmer in Laxmipur

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Tornado2

'Ipo-ipo' waterspout filmed in Batangas, Philippines


GMA News Online
Mon, 24 Apr 2017 15:37 UTC
waterspout
A spectacular waterspout—known locally as "ipo-ipo"—was filmed off the coast of Mabini, Batangas, on Sunday, April 24.

A witness at a beach resort, who managed to capture the spectacle on video, said that the waterspout's sudden appearance on the horizon prompted bathers to rush out of the water.

Fortunately, according to authorities, nobody was hurt.

Waterspouts are uncommon but well-known phenomena, especially among fishermen and coastal residents.

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Cloud Lightning

Lightning bolt kills three horses in Giles County, Tennessee

Will Robinson-Smith
waaytv.com
Sun, 23 Apr 2017 16:56 UTC
lightning
As severe thunderstorms rolled through the Tennessee Valley Saturday afternoon, several homes suffered damage.

In western Ardmore, Roger Riddle's home was hit with golf ball sized hail that ripped through part of his wall, leaving several holes.

Up in Pulaski, Larry Hargrove lost three horses to the storms.

"You hate to lose any animal, but when you've had them for 20 years plus and you've raised them from a baby, they're family members," Hargrove said.

While he was away from his home, his three mares were struck by lightning around three o'clock.
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Cloud Lightning

Lightning strikes kill five in coastal districts of Bangladesh


bdnews24.com
Sun, 23 Apr 2017 07:39 UTC
lightning

At least five people have been killed when lightning strike different coastal districts as the stormy weather continues across the country.

Three people were killed in Chittagong and one each in Patuakhali and Bagerhat on Saturday.

Sanaullah Shamim, 33, and Mohammad Didar, 40, were struck by lightning while bringing cattle home at Sandwip in Chittagong, Sandwip Police Station OC Moshiur Rahman told bdnews24.com.

Housewife Noor Banu, 40, of Fatikchharhi in the same district died after being struck by lightning at her homestead during a storm, said Bhujpur Union Parishad Acting Chairman Abdul Hamid.

The victim in Patuakhali's Rangabali was also a housewife. Manju Begum, 35, was out in the field adjacent to her home to harvest mung beans when lightning struck her, said Rangabali Police Station OC Shamsul Arefin.
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Info

7 notable weather events observed across United States this April

Linda Lam
The Weather Channel
Wed, 19 Apr 2017 14:00 UTC
Sierra Nevada snowpack
© NASAThis photo composite shows the snow water equivalent-- water content of snow -- in the Tuolumne River Basin in 2015 and 2017. White and the lighter blue indicates less snow, while deeper blue represents more snow. NASA reports: "The 2017 snow water equivalent was 21 times greater than 2015, which was the lowest snowpack on record."
Spring can bring interesting weather conditions to the U.S. and this year is no exception, with several impressive records having already been set so far this April.

While not setting records, a few other unusual and notable weather occurrences have caught our eye this month.

1) California's Northern Sierra Nevada Set Record For All-Time Wettest 'Water Year'

On April 13, California's northern Sierra Nevada set a new record for its all-time wettest water year with an accumulated average of 89.7 inches of water. The previous record of 88.5 inches was set during the 1982-83 water year. To put it in perspective, the average water year sees 50 inches of precipitation.


The water year runs from October through September, but most precipitation falls from November through March. By April, the storm track typically shifts reducing the chance for additional precipitation. This year, however, has been different with rain and mountain snow continuing to fall this month, allowing records to topple.

Comment: According to NOAA's Storm Prediction Center (SPC) there have been 5,372 preliminary reports of severe weather across the United States in 2017 (up to April 8), which is more than double the average.

For more coverage on the extreme weather affecting the entire planet, check out our monthly SOTT Earth Changes Summaries. Last month:

SOTT Earth Changes Summary - March 2017: Extreme Weather, Planetary Upheaval, Meteor Fireballs

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Cloud Lightning

Lightning bolt kills two in Meghalaya, India


India
Sat, 22 Apr 2017 16:06 UTC
LIGHTNING
Two persons died on the spot and another suffered burn injuries after lightning struck them when they were playing football in Meghalaya s South West Khasi Hills district, officials said today.

The incident took place yesterday at Umsur village playground under Ranikor PS in the district, he said.

The IMD has warned of heavy to very heavy rainfall over Meghalaya in the next 72 hours.

Source: PTI

Comment: See also this other recent report from Asia: Lightning strike kills farmer in Laxmipur, Bangladesh

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Tornado1

Arlene forms as only the second tropical storm on record in April

Doyle Rice
USA TODAY
Thu, 20 Apr 2017 17:10 UTC
tropical storm Arlene
© National Hurricane CenterThe year's first tropical storm, Arlene, was located in the north-central Atlantic on Thursday and wasn't expected to threaten land. In fact it could dissipate by Friday.
The first named storm of the Atlantic hurricane season formed Thursday afternoon some 1,700 miles east of the U.S. East Coast.

Tropical Storm Arlene is just the second on record to form in April, the Weather Channel said. The only other tropical storm to form during the month was Ana in 2003. Hurricane season officially starts June 1.

Arlene's maximum sustained winds were near 45 mph, with higher gusts, the National Hurricane Center said. It was located about 815 miles west of the Azores. The system poses no threat to land and is forecast to dissipate Friday.

"I have to add one more surprise to my long hurricane forecasting career," hurricane center meteorologist Lixion Avila wrote in an online forecast discussion.

"Tropical storms in April are rare and Arlene is only the second one observed in this month," since the satellite era began in the early 1960s, he added. Before that time, such storms were practically impossible to detect.

Arlene is also the farthest north a tropical storm has formed in the Atlantic so early in the season.

Comment: The low pressure inside Arlene of 993mb was the lowest pressure ever recorded for a tropical or subtropical cyclone in April in the Atlantic.

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