3 killed, 200,000 homes without power as ‘worst in decade’ storm rages in Australia

A powerful storm hitting Australia’s New South Wales (NSW) coast has killed at least three people so far and left thousands without power.

The gusts of wind averaged 100km/h and some 30cm of rain fell in some areas, many times more than usual. The average yearly amount of precipitation in the region is 5.5cm.

People on the ground have taken to social media to post some of the damage from the storms, including sunken boats, floating houses and fallen trees.

The minister for police and emergency services David Elliott described the disaster as “once in a decade storm, the likes of which we haven’t seen since 2007.

“Today’s events are going to test our emergency services but they are there to be tested. We have seen, as the Premier said, 4,500 responses thus far,” he added.

Read more:  http://rt.com/news/251497-australia-nsw-storm-fatalities/

Tornado in western Santa Catarina leaves two dead and 120 injured - BRASIL 04/21/2015

At least 500 homes were affected in seven neighborhoods of Xanxerê

http://oglobo.globo.com/brasil/tornado-no-oeste-de-santa-catarina-d...

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Tornado destroyed homes in western Santa Catarina - Disclosure / Civil Defense Santa Catarina

It struck west of Santa Catarina

SAO PAULO - The National Institute of Meteorology (Inmet) confirmed early on Tuesday that a tornado hit the city of Xanxerê in the west of Santa Catarina, in the late afternoon on Monday. Two people died and 120 people were injured - three seriously, who are admitted to hospitals in neighboring cities. According to state government information, the tornado hit 500 houses in seven districts of the municipality.

It is estimated that the tornado in the rating scale ranging from zero to five, level TWO has been lasted two to three minutes. The winds may have exceeded the speed of 200 km / h at 15 hours, phenomenon time. The tornado is a violent and rotating column of air between the cloud and the ground. According to the Inmet, is the most destructive of all storms in the rating scale atmospheric phenomena.

One of the dead is the driver Alcimar Sutil, 33, who was hugging the child trying to protect them from the rubble. Before he could take his wife and daughter 3 months of house which collapsed

Two regional coordinators of the Civil Defense of Santa Catarina work Xanxerê to conduct a survey of the number of affected and displaced or homeless. During the isolated thunderstorm, five power towers, which bear winds up to 200 km / h, were ripped from the ground and 200 000 homes are without power.

According to the regional coordinator Xanxerê, Luciano Peri, several people were taken with injuries to municipal health units. A sports hall collapsed. The council, which has 47 679 inhabitants, still suffers from problems in water supply and telephone signals. Systems should be restored later on Tuesday. The families that had homes destroyed spent the night in city shelters.

MAP: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Santa_Catarina_%28state%29

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A 1,000 Mile Stretch Of The Pacific Ocean Has Heated Up Several Degrees And Scientists Don’t Know Why

http://endoftheamericandream.com/archives/a-1000-mile-stretch-of-th...

By Michael Snyder, on April 13th, 2015

According to two University of Washington scientific research papers that were recently released, a 1,000 mile stretch of the Pacific Ocean has warmed up by several degrees, and nobody seems to know why this is happening.  This giant “blob” of warm water was first observed in late 2013, and it is playing havoc with our climate.  And since this giant “blob” first showed up, fish and other sea creatures have been dying in absolutely massive numbers.  So could there be a connection?  And what is going to happen if the Pacific Ocean continues to warm up?  Could we potentially be facing the greatest holocaust of sea life in the Pacific that anyone has ever observed?  If so, what would that mean for the food chain and for our food supply?

For a large portion of the Pacific Ocean to suddenly start significantly heating up without any known explanation is a really big deal.  The following information about this new research comes from the University of Washington…

“In the fall of 2013 and early 2014 we started to notice a big, almost circular mass of water that just didn’t cool off as much as it usually did, so by spring of 2014 it was warmer than we had ever seen it for that time of year,” said Nick Bond, a climate scientist at the UW-based Joint Institute for the Study of the Atmosphere and Ocean, a joint research center of the UW and the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

Bond coined the term “the blob” last June in his monthly newsletter as Washington’s state climatologist. He said the huge patch of water – 1,000 miles in each direction and 300 feet deep – had contributed to Washington’s mild 2014 winter and might signal a warmer summer.

It would be one thing if scientists knew why this was happening and had an explanation for it.

But they don’t.

In fact, according to the Washington Post, they are calling this something that is “totally new”…

Scientists have been astonished at the extent and especially the long-lasting nature of the warmth, with one NOAA researcher saying, “when you see something like this that’s totally new you have opportunities to learn things you were never expecting.”

The following map comes from the NOAA, and it shows what this giant “blob” looks like…

According to CBS News, ocean temperatures inside this blob have risen anywhere from two to seven degrees Fahrenheit above normal…

This warm blob, which is about 2 to 7 degrees Fahrenheit (1 to 4 degrees Celsius) warmer than the usual temperature for this region, means the winter air that crosses over the Pacific Ocean wasn’t cooled as much as it normally would be. That, in turn, spelled warmer, dryer conditions for the West Coast.

Meanwhile, while this has been going on, scientists have also been noticing that sea creatures in the Pacific have been dying in record numbers.

In fact, last summer I wrote an article entitled “Why are massive numbers of sea creatures dying along the west coast...”

Since then, things have continued to get even worse.

For instance, it was recently reported that the number of sea lions washing up on Southern California beaches is at an all-time record high…

A record 2,250 sea lions, mostly pups, have washed up starving and stranded on Southern California beaches so far this year, a worsening phenomenon blamed on warming seas in the region that have disrupted the marine mammals’ food supply.

The latest tally, reported on Monday by the National Marine Fisheries Service, is 20 times the level of strandings averaged for the same three-month period over the past decade and twice the number documented in 2013, the previous worst winter season recorded for Southern California sea lions.

And of course fish are being deeply affected as well.  Sardines have declined to their lowest level in six decades, and National Geographic says that a whole host of tiny fish species at the bottom of the food chain are dying off rapidly…

Since the 1950s, researchers every year have dropped nets 1,000 feet (300 meters) down to catalog marine life many miles off California. Most track commercially important species caught by the fishing industry. But J. Anthony Koslow tallies fish often credited with keeping marine systems functioning soundly—tiny midwater bristlemouths, the region’s most abundant marine species, as well as viperfish, hatchetfish, razor-mouthed dragonfish, and even minnow-like lampfish.

All are significant parts of the seafood buffet that supports life in the eastern Pacific, and all are declining dramatically with the vertical rise of low-oxygen water.

“If it was a 10 percent change, it wouldn’t have been worth noting, but they’ve declined by 63 percent,” says Koslow, of the Scripps Institution of Oceanography.

So if the bottom of the food chain is experiencing a catastrophic collapse, what is that going to mean for the rest of the food chain in the Pacific Ocean?

In turn, what is that going to mean for the seafood industry and for the price of seafood in our grocery stores?

Some really strange things are happening on the other side of the Pacific right now as well.

Over in Japan, the media is buzzing about the recent mass beaching of 150 melon-headed whales.  A similar incident was observed just six days before the great earthquake and tsunami of 2011.  The following comes from the Japan Times…

The mass beaching of over 150 melon-headed whales on Japan’s shores has fueled fears of a repeat of a seemingly unrelated event in the country — the devastating 2011 earthquake and tsunami that killed over 18,000 people.

Despite a lack of scientific evidence linking the two events, a flurry of online commentators have pointed to the appearance of around 50 melon-headed whales — a species that is a member of the dolphin family — on Japan’s beaches six days before the monster quake, which unleashed towering tsunami and triggered a nuclear disaster.

Very strange stuff.

For our entire lives, we have been able to take for granted that our oceans would always be stable and healthy.

But now it appears that things may be changing.

Incredible time lapse video shows how a train station vanished underwater in just 45 minutes as Sydney became drenched in 225mm of rain

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3051461/Time-lapse-video-sh...

Incredible footage of a Sydney train station flooding during the storm of a decade on Wednesday has been captured on CCTV.
A time lapse video, filmed from the platform over a 45 minute period at 11am, shows the water creeping along the tracks at Bardwell Park in Sydney's south forcing the partial closure of the T2 Airport line.
At one point a worker in a high-vis jacket appears to look at the rising water to take a photo.
The murky flood water eventually submerges the train line and begins moving like a river past the platform.
Sydney's two-day total rainfall totalled about 225mm by 9am Wednesday – the most fall for almost 17 years.

Lake Mead On Track For Record Low Water Level Amid Drought

By Victoria Cavaliere

April 24 (Reuters) - Nevada's Lake Mead, the largest capacity reservoir in the United States, is on track to drop to its lowest water level in recorded history on Sunday as its source, the Colorado River, suffers from 14 years of severe drought, experts said on Friday.

The 79-year-old reservoir, formed by the building of the Hoover Dam outside Las Vegas, was expected to dip below 1,080 feet on Sunday, lower than a previous record of 1,080.19 feet last August, according to the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation.

Predictions show that on May 31, the reservoir will have dipped again to 1,075 feet, well below its record high levels of around 1,206 feet in the 1980s, according to Bureau of Reclamation data.

Lake Mead supplies water to agriculture and about 40 million people in Nevada, Arizona, Southern California, and northern Mexico.

The water source and several other man-made reservoirs springing from the 1,450-mile (2,230-km) Colorado River, have dropped to as low as 45 percent of their capacity as the river suffers a 14th straight year of crippling drought.

About 96 percent of the water in Lake Mead is from melted snow that falls in "upper basin" states of Colorado, Utah, New Mexico, and Wyoming, officials said.

Over the past 14 years, snowfall has dropped in the Rocky Mountains, leading to a drop in snow pack runoff that feeds the river, according to Bureau of Reclamation statistics. In 2013, runoff was at 47 percent of normal.

The lake's levels are nearing a critical trigger where federal officials will have to start rationing water deliveries to Nevada, Arizona and parts of California. States in the region have enacted action plans to lessen greenhouse gas emissions linked to climate change.

A study carried out by the Bureau of Reclamation and the seven states in the Colorado river basin concluded that the drought was not likely to end soon, and that large metropolitan cities like Las Vegas and Phoenix grew rapidly during a rare wetter period for the river.

On average, the Colorado River Basin temperature is projected to increase by five to six F degrees during the 21st century, the report said. Mean annual runoff is projected to decrease by 8.5 percent by 2050. (Reporting by Victoria Cavaliere; Editing by Sandra Maler)

Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/04/24/lake-mead-record-water-dro...

Freak hailstorm pounds NSW

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/latest-news/storms-forecast-fo...

BEACHSIDE suburbs have been made over as winter wonderlands after a destructive hailstorm blanketed much of Sydney and the Blue Mountains with ice.

FIREFIGHTERS were expected to spend much of the night mopping up at Huntingwood, in Sydney's southwest, where five large factory buildings were brought down by the weight of up to half a metre of hailstones.

PHOTOS: Massive Hailstorm Buries Sydney, Australia

http://www.accuweather.com/en/weather-news/photos-massive-hailstorm...

A strong thunderstorm crossed Sydney, Australia, on Saturday, covering the ground with hail.

The thunderstorm crossed the city during the late-afternoon hours on Saturday. In excess of 50 mm (2 inches) of rain and hail flooded roadways and covered yards. While individual hailstones were not large in size, the amount of hail was enough to bring significant problems

44 killed, nearly 200 injured by severe storm in northwest Pakistan

http://www.hindustantimes.com/world-news/44-killed-nearly-200-injur...

The storm, described by the meteorological department as a “mini- cyclone”, lashed Peshawar, Charsadda and Nowshera in the northwestern province of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa.
 

Fallen trees and mobile phone towers and rubble from buildings blocked several key roads. In Peshawar, the roofs of several houses collapsed during the storm. The torrential rainfall resulted in the accumulation of three feet of water in some areas.

http://floodlist.com/america/cuba-2-killed-havana-floods

Cuba – 2 Killed in Havana Floods after 188mm of Rain

A storm dumped over 188mm (7.4 inches) of rain on Havana, Cuba, during 30 April 2015, leaving 2 dead and causing several buildings to collapse.

Local media say that one of the victims, an elderly man, drowned in the flood water in the Old Havana District of the city. The other victim was electrocuted after power cables were knocked down by the storm.

Water and power supplies were interrupted during the storm. At least three buildings collapsed and over 20 others were damaged. Building collapses are not uncommon in the older areas of the city, where housing stock is densely inhabited and generally in poor condition. In late November 2013, 2 people died in Havana after a building collapsed as a result of f....

The heavy rain flooded many of the city’s streets. The municipalities of Centro Habana, Old Havana and Cerro were the worst affected, according to local media. Flood water was over 50cm deep in some areas, causing problems for drivers and pedestrians.

More heavy rain is expected in the country over the next 24 to 48 hours, particularly in western regions. The torrential rains have been caused by thunderstorms that formed rapidly in the Florida Straits, ahead of a cold front, according to Cuba’s National Institute of Meteorology (INSMET).

Rainfall Figures

According to WMO figures, between 29 and 30 April 2015, Havana received 188.3mm of rain in 24 hours. Between 30 April and 01 May, Caibarién, Villa Clara saw 80.7 mm and Playa Girón, Matanzas 99.0 mm

Nearby Florida also saw some heavy rainfall. In 24 hours between 29 and 30 April 2015, Key West received 134.1 mm and Miami 53 mm.

Floods in Havana, Cuba, 30 April 2015. Photo credit: Juvenal Balán / Granma

http://www.kpbs.org/news/2015/may/04/california-drought-kills-12-mi...

California Drought Killed 12 Million Forest Trees Since Last Year

U.S. FOREST SERVICE

This aerial view shows Jeffrey pine and oak mortality in the Cleveland National Forest in San Diego County, April 2015.

In San Diego County, 82,528 trees, mostly Jeffrey pines across Mt. Laguna, have succumbed to a lack of rainfall, with many more struggling to survive.

An estimated 12 million trees across California’s forestlands have died over the past year because of extreme drought conditions, according to an aerial survey conducted April 8-17 by the U.S. Forest Service.

In San Diego County, 82,528 trees, mostly Jeffrey pines across Mt. Laguna, have succumbed to a lack of rainfall, with many more struggling to survive, said Jeffrey Moore, interim aerial survey program manager for the U.S. Forest Service.

DOCUMENT

Tree Mortality In Southern California Forests

The extent and severity of tree mortality, which occurred after the 2014 aerial surveys in Southern California Forests.

Download

DOCUMENT

Southern Sierra Tree Mortality

Recently dead or injured trees were mapped visually by a surveyor using a digital aerial sketch-mapping system flying in a light fixed-wing aircraft approximately 1,000 feet above ground level.

Download

There is “very heavy mortality, a lot of discoloration in the pine trees that probably will expire sometime during this growing season, as well as oak trees that are suffering,” Moore said.

Moore was part of a team that surveyed the trees visually, using a digital mapping system while flying in a fixed-wing aircraft 1,000 feet above ground.

A tree’s survival often depends on its proximity to other trees, he said.

“A lot of trees are competing for whatever available moisture there is in a drought situation,” Moore said. “When you have too many trees in an area, it makes it hard on all of the trees.”

In Southern California, the researchers tracked more than 4.2 million acres in Cleveland, San Bernardino, Angeles and Los Padres National Forests, where they found an estimated 2 million perished trees. They combed another 4.1 million acres in the Southern Sierra Nevada, where they documented approximately 10 million dead trees. Their findings were compared to similar surveys taken in July 2014, Moore said.

In San Diego County, Moore said they found substantial pine mortality near Descanso Road in the Cleveland National Forest, and throughout Mt. Laguna.

The team did not attempt to map gold-spotted oak borer beetle-related mortality in this survey, he said. Nor did they track black oak trees, since it's unclear whether those without leaves are dead or just “leafing out”—bare but in the process of growing their new leaves for the spring.

The county’s forests are already reeling from the2003 Cedar Fire that devoured 280,000 acres, including in the Cuyamaca Mountains. The region was formerly blanketed by a coniferous forest, but recovery has been poor, Moore said.

“Most of those areas aren’t even coming back into trees at all,” Moore said. “They’re kind of being switched over now into Chaparral plants because they burned so hot the seed source is gone.”

Large trees, such as the Jeffrey pine, are important for storing carbon from the air. They also provide food and habitat for various species, including squirrels, deer and birds, such as the Pygmy Nuthatch that probes into clusters of pine needles for small insects.

U.S. DROUGHT MONITOR

This color-coded map shows drought conditions across the U.S., on April 30, 2015. Much of San Diego County, shown in red, is in an "extreme" drought. At this level, major crop and pasture losses are common, fire risk is extreme, and widespread water shortages can be expected, requiring restrictions.

“When you start thinking about what it takes for a tree, which is usually a fairly hearty type of plant to die off, it’s telling you a pretty clear signal of just how intense the drought has been,” said Brian Fuchs, climatologist with the National Drought Mitigation Center.

“These dead forests are going to be more primed for any type of fire,” Fuchs said. “Also, it’s going to impact water quality as there’s going to be more particulate that will go running off these hillsides into the rivers and streams.”

Fuchs said 67 percent of California remains in an “extreme” or “exceptional” drought, and conditions are expected to worsen as the dry season sets in.

“The heat of the summer really amplifies some of that development,” Fuchs said.

http://rt.com/usa/255477-california-waves-new-zealand/

Colossal waves in California blamed on New Zealand storm

Reuters / Mike Blake

A recent storm near New Zealand is being blamed for major waves thousands of miles away off the coast of California this week.

The National Weather Service says Californians can expect to encounter massive waves through Tuesday this week as a result of the storm that erupted on Thursday and Friday in the southern hemisphere, the Los Angeles Times reported. 
According to the paper, a high-surf advisory has been issued for the west coast upon concerns that waves as tall as 15 feet could crash onto Newport Beach in Orange County. 
“Once those waves are created, they keep traveling until they reach land,” David Sweet, a weather service meteorologist, told the Times. “So we can thank our friends Down Under.”

The Orange County Register reported on Monday morning that waves taller than 18 feet have already been spotted at the Wedge, a popular surf spot by Newport Beach. 

“It’s a washing machine,” 48-year-old surfer Christopher Scott told the Register on Sunday. “It can knock the wind out of you, break people’s bones. Some people don’t realize the power of The Wedge.” 

“Right now, if a surfer came down here, I’d be like, ‘Dude, what are you doing?’” lifeguard Jonathan Richards told the paper eight miles up the beach in Huntington on Sunday.

According to the Associated Press, authorities had to rescue at least 16 people in Newport Beach on Sunday due to high waves. Additionally, the Carnival Imagination cruise ship was prompted to change course and dock in San Diego due to the extreme conditions. 

"Therefore, in the interest of caution, the cruise ship ... deviated to San Diego," Carnival said in a statement.

The LA Daily News reported that current swells have been racing across the Pacific from New Zealand at a rate of around 30 miles per hour, according to NASA oceanographer Bill Patzert, covering upwards of 750 miles each day. 

“This will carve a new coastline in some areas,” Patzert predicted.

Extreme bad weather in Germany, devastating tornadoes: Bützow and Rostock destroyed [PHOTOS]

Extreme bad weather in Germany, devastating tornadoes and severe damage
May 5, 2015

http://www.meteoweb.eu/2015/05/maltempo-estremo-in-germania-tornado...

https://translate.google.com.ar/translate?sl=it&tl=en&js=y&...

While Italy is going through the heat wave more intense and premature in the history of Europe with peaks of more than + 40 ° C in Sardinia and, tomorrow, probably also in other regions of the South, northern Germany was hit in the last hours by violent storms that have spawned numerous tornadoes. The most serious has literally devastated Bützow Rostock and causing dozens of injuries. Fortunately at the moment there is no news of casualties. Several cars were overturned, many roofless houses with streets flooded by the tiles.

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Geneva: historic flood Arve - Switzerland

News - Updated Monday, May 4, 2015 by The Weather Channel- LA CHAINE METEO

The Jura and Savoies are hit by severe weather since last Thursday. Switzerland is no exception, with a historical flood Arve in Geneva and some flooding.

http://actualite.lachainemeteo.com/actualite-meteo/2015-05-03-13h14...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cyxw-8DaSpg

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This severe weather is linked to a series of disturbances that sweep France and Central Europe. The torrential rains in Switzerland. Since last Tuesday, the average cumulative amount to 100mm (across the country), or the equivalent of one month of rain fell in 72 hours.

Historic flood Arve in Geneva

In the canton of Berne and Fribourg, firefighters intervened almost 300 times for the flooded houses. In Geneva, the Arve, which crosses the city, had a rate of twelve times higher than normal, making it the largest ever observed since 1935. This is a hundred-year flood. The trend is the decline since Sunday despite the resumption of the rains, lower than those experienced Thursday and Friday.

http://floodlist.com/america/usa/nebraska-declares-state-of-emergen...

Nebraska Declares State of Emergency after Flood and Storm Damage

Parts of Nebraska saw over 8 inches (200 mm) of rain in 24 hours yesterday, 07 May 2015. Storm and flood damage has been so severe that Nebraska Governor Pete Ricketts declared a State of Emergency for the affected areas.

The Governor surveyed storm damage and flooding in Hebron, Deshler, Roseland, and near Lincoln via helicopter. Following the flight he said, “I have authorized an emergency declaration. At this time the Nebraska Emergency Management Agency is in contact with other state agencies and they are actively monitoring the situation and will provide assistance as needed.”

“The good news is nobody was hurt and everybody is safe. Utility crews are out there working. We did have a power outage last night in about a third of the town. As we flew over the state, we saw more utility crews continuing to work to restore power to folks in Roseland.”

Other affected areas include the town of DeWitt and the city of Fairbury, where 100s of people have been evacuated. The town of Crete saw 8.10 inches of rain fall in 24 hours. Salt Creek and Little Blue River are reported to be at flood stage at several points in the area.

Deshler, Nebraska, flood damage 07 May 2015. Photo: Nebraska Governor’s Office

Lincoln Evacuations

Heavy rainfall cause severe flooding in the city of Lincoln, Nebraska. As much as 6.65 inches of rain fell in 24 hours at Lincoln Airport between 06 and 07 May 2015.

The mayor’s office of Lincoln issued a statement last night encouraging residents to evacuate flood-hit areas of the city. The statement said:

“Public safety officials are advising residents in the North and South Bottoms neighborhoods to voluntarily evacuate as soon as possible. The affected area is bordered by Folsom, 8th, Van Dorn and Cornhusker. Salt Creek is getting close to topping the levee as other creeks drain into it”.

The American Red Cross set up two shelters in Lincoln to house those evacuated. The mayor’s office warned that mandatory evacuations may follow, depending on the flood situation.

“The Salt Creek levee has not been topped. The next 24 hours will be critical. If the creek tops the levee, a mandatory evacuation may be necessary.”

Several people had to be rescued from flood waters. There were also reports of cars floating along roads and highways. No deaths have been reported.

Nebraska Rainfall

Below is a map showing official rainfall figures from NOAA / NWS for the area.

Image: NOAA

Rainfall figures from CoCoRaHS (Community Collaborative Rain, Hail and Snow Network) for a 24 hour period to 07 May 2015 show further extreme levels of rainfall. These figures are considered supplemental and are not official NWS figures.

Fairbury 10.47″
Wilber 9.85″
Daykin 9.60″
Hallam 8.10″
Tobias 8.02″
Lincoln 7.71″

http://rt.com/usa/257401-us-tornado-injured-destroyed/

Dozens injured, houses destroyed: Powerful storms ravage central US (PHOTOS, VIDEOS)

Snow covers the ground off Interstate 90 east of Sturgis, South Dakota, United States, in this view from a highway camera taken May 10, 2015. (Reuters/South Dakota Department of Transportation/Handout)

Snow, flooding and powerful tornadoes have ripped through many central US states, emergency officials said. The most affected were Texas and South Dakota where dozens of people have been injured and many houses were left in ruins.

The storm hit eastern Van Zandt County and the town of Van in northeast Texas on Sunday, the Van Zandt County fire marshal and emergency management coordinator Chuck Allen said. At least 26 people have been taken to hospital with injuries.

About 30 percent of Van, a town with 2,500 people, was damaged.

"Damages range from completely destroyed homes, damaged homes, to trees and power lines down,"Allen said, adding that utility companies are now restoring "vital infrastructures." Also the American Red Cross is to open a shelter at First Baptist Church in Van, Allen said.

At least six people have been pulled out of homes by rescue helicopters in Denton County thunderstorms brought heavy rains in the area, officials said.

http://floodlist.com/america/usa/1-dead-houston-floods-10-inches-rain

1 Dead in Houston Floods after 10 Inches (254 mm) of Rain in 24 Hours

© Johnny Kelly
Many vehicles submerged in flood waters on Gulf Freeway near Houston

Washington State Declares Drought Emergency

Drought isn't just a California problem, folks. Washington Gov. Jay Inslee declared a statewide drought emergency on Friday, with snowpack and stream flows dramatically below normal.

“We’re really starting to feel the pain from this snowpack drought," Inslee said at a press conference. "Impacts are already severe in several areas of the state. Difficult decisions are being made about what crops get priority water and how best to save fish. ... We have some tough, challenging months ahead of us. We’re ready to bring support and relief to the hardest hit areas of the state. We’re going to do everything we can to get through this."

The drought in Washington, famous for lush greenery and rainy weather, is less severe than what California has endured since 2011. Data released by the National Drought Mitigation Center on Thursday shows how conditions have worsened in Washington over the last year.

Drought emergencies also have been declared in parts of Oregon and Nevada.

Washington Department of Ecology Director Maia Bellon described the drought as "unlike any we've ever experienced," with snowpack in the mountains dropping to just 16 percent of normal, and 78 percent of streams running below normal.

“Rain amounts have been normal, but snow has been scarce," Bellon said. "And we’re watching what little snow we have quickly disappear. ... We've been busy the past few months working with sister agencies, tribes and communities to prepare and respond to this. We’re working hard to help farmers, communities and fish survive this drought.”

A press release from Inslee's office warns that the Department of Agriculture predicts the drought will cause $1.2 billion in crop loss this year. Washington's agriculture-rich Yakima Valley is known for its cherries, apples, mint and wine grapes, Northwest Public Radio noted, but farmers in the region with junior water rights anticipate receiving less than 40 percent of their usual supply.

Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/05/15/washington-drought-emergen...

+ 44.4 ° C: absolute record heat for a month of May in Europe

News - Published Saturday, May 16, 2015 by The Weather Channel - LA CHAINE METEO

http://actualite.lachainemeteo.com/actualite-meteo/2015-05-16-14h50...

https://translate.google.com.ar/translate?sl=fr&tl=en&js=y&...

Up until early May 2015 exceptional around the western Mediterranean, the heat record for a month of May in Europe was 41.7 ° C in Andujar in Spain on 17 May 2006. May 2015 began with a first heat wave unprecedented in the Western Mediterranean: thus, on May 6, the former European monthly record was set in Sicily, with 41.9 ° C to Catenanuova.

But last Thursday (May 14), the heat is still rising a notch. Of the Saharan air is back on Spain. Consequently, the old record of monthly European heat (41.9 ° C to Catenanuova May 6) was again beaten in several Spanish cities, which also sprayed their previous heat record for a month of May (or even for a June, like in Lanzarote in the Canary Islands). In some cities the old records were sprayed 2 to 3 ° C compared to former and up to 6 ° C higher in Valencia (42.6 ° C against 36.2 ° C).

44.4 ° C IS EQUIVALENT TO 111.92 ° F

http://rt.com/usa/259413-us-tornadoes-nine-states/

Twisted weather: 19 tornadoes wreak havoc, down power in central US states (IMAGES)

A cowboy hat lies among the debris of destroyed homes after a tornado swept through the area the previous night in Van, Texas May 11, 2015.(Reuters / Mike Stone)

 

At least 19 tornadoes have struck the mid-US this weekend damaging homes and causing blackouts, according to weather channels. The worst affected states are Oklahoma and Texas, which were hit by hail and destructive storms.

Minnesota, Oklahoma, Texas, Missouri, Kansas, Nebraska, Wyoming, Iowa and Louisiana have all witnessed the wayward and harsh whims of May’s weather.

A tornado touched down near the town of Ogden in Iowa, on Sunday.

On Saturday, a “multi-vortex” tornado hit southwest of the towns of Murdock and Rosen in Minnesota on Saturday. Broken Arrow in the northeastern part of Oklahoma also reported a twister, which caused structural damage and power outages in the area. A separate and large tornado struck southwestern Oklahoma.

“Elsewhere in Oklahoma, tornadoes were reported 9 miles [14 km] south of Anadarko, near Meers and Elk City along Interstate 80,” the Weather Channel said.

Homes and power lines have been damaged following the severe weather in Oklahoma. The Department of Emergency Management reported over 3,000 power outages there.

"We've gotten a lot of rain in a short time. The ground is saturated, so every time we get another big soaking, the rain causes more flash flooding," spokeswoman Keli Cain said.

"We are seeing pockets of damaging winds from Missouri south to northeast Oklahoma," Bill Bunting, chief of operations for the National Weather Service Storm Prediction Center in Norman, also told AP. "It's a very strong upper level disturbance."

US Highway 283 in the town of Elmer had to be shut down due to a fallen power line, the Oklahoma Highway Patrol reported.

Texas was not only again struck by tornadoes as in the previous week, but also received a battering from some “baseball-sized” hail. Heavy rains and winds are still whipping across parts of the Lone Star State, as well as drenching and buffeting Kansas, Nebraska and Minnesota, who may see some more tornadoes on Sunday.

http://globalnews.ca/news/2003916/cold-temperature-records-set-in-s...

Cold temperature records set in Saskatchewan

The incredible traces OF tornadoes in Germany

News - Updated Wednesday, May 20, 2015 by The Weather Channel - LA CHAINE METEO

Aerial photos reveal the wake left by a tornado on the Feldberg mountain in Germany a few days ago.

http://actualite.lachainemeteo.com/actualite-meteo/2015-05-20-06h19...

https://translate.google.com.ar/translate?sl=fr&tl=en&js=y&...

Germany was hit by a series of destructive tornadoes last week. One of them has left a lasting mark on the mountains of Fledberg, near the Swiss border, on 13 May. Aerial photos of its passage are impressive: the wake lasts for 400 to 500 meters wide and 10 kilometers long! Its intensity has not yet been precisely determined, but the first field surveys are a priori condition of EF2 tornado (with swirling winds around 200 km / h).

in pictures taken in Germany: the trees are lying in all directions

Mexico City, Mexico: Ring around the sun becomes phenomenon in networks.
A ring around the sun stole the attention of thousands of Mexicans in Mexico City, who could not hold to turn the sky and capture the phenomenon.
The comments were far from a simple description, to the notice of an earthquake, according to the most superstitious.
Dozens of users reported the singular phenomenon in social networks.
Scientifically, this solar halo is described as luminous circumference around the sun occurs when the light undergoes a phenomenon of refraction by ice crystals suspended in the troposphere or the atmospheric layer that is located closer to our planet.

Terra News
21 may 2015
Google Translation
Original Note

Mexico City, Mexico
PHOTO GALLERY: The halo around the sun
Excelsior
21/05/2015 13:14
The people of the capital have begun to turn to the sky because the sun is surrounded by a halo.
In the streets people seen with cell phones and cameras pointing to the sun due to the circle he fell around him with red, yellow and blue.
Similarly, through social networks, users post images expressing the beauty of the phenomenon and wondering why it.
This is due to weather conditions as there are clouds crystallized by the cold, so to be pierced by sunlight, the halo forms around, a phenomenon usually precedes storms with hail.

Google Translation
Original Note

Personal Note: This has caused quite a commotion even in my Facebook Contacts, many of them posting photos. My wife called me from Mexico City to tell me to go outside and look at the sun, although I'm 130 miles northwest and the halo is not visible.
Metro Mexico City is a big city with 20 million people, this halo will have a lot of them talking.

Apocalyptic rainstorm floods Moscow streets, lightning blasts gas station (PHOTOS, VIDEOS)

http://rt.com/news/261337-moscow-thunderstorm-floods-streets/

A heavy rainstorm washed over the Russian capital on Friday, prompting an extreme weather warning, sending torrents of water rushing down the city’s streets, and blowing up a gas station with lightning.

After a warm muggy Friday afternoon, the sky above Moscow suddenly darkened, sending the city into twilight. Soon after, the clouds erupted in a powerful thunderstorm.

..Some almost had to swim home. Communal services say that 90 streets in total were partially flooded.

The thunderstorm caused actual destruction as well. An explosion sparked by a lightning strike shook a local petrol station during the storm, according to witnesses. The blast also shattered windows in nearby buildings and started a fire.

Thousands flee deadly flash floods in Texas

At least two die as heavy rainfall and tornadoes sweep the US midwest

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/northamerica/usa/11627975...

Record-breaking rainfall and damaging tornadoes wreaked havoc across the US midwest on Sunday, causing flash floods that killed at least two people and forced another 2,000 to evacuate.
A firefighter in Oklahoma was swept to his death while trying to rescue 10 people in high water. And the body of a man was recovered from a flooded area along the Blanco River, which rose 26 feet (7.8 metres) in just one hour and left piles of wreckage 20 feet (6 metres) high, authorities in Texas said.
"It looks pretty bad out there," said Hays County emergency management coordinator Kharley Smith, describing the destruction in Wimberley, a community that is part of a fast-growing corridor between Austin and San Antonio. "We do have whole streets with maybe one or two houses left on them and the rest are just slabs," she said.

From 350 to 400 homes were destroyed in Wimberley, many of them washed away, Ms Smith said. Several people remained missing. Kenneth Bell, the emergency management coordinator in nearby San Marcos, said the damage in Hays County alone amounts to "millions of dollars."
Authorities also warned people to honour a night-time curfew and stay away from damaged areas, since more rain was on the way, threatening more floods with the ground saturated and waterways overflowing.
Rivers rose so fast that whole communities woke up on Sunday surrounded by water. The Blanco crested above 40 feet - more than triple its flood stage of 13 feet - swamping Interstate 35 and forcing parts of the busy north-south highway to close. Rescuers used pontoon boats and a helicopter to pull people out.

Violent hail storms in Turkey

News - Published Friday, May 22, 2015 by The Weather Channel- LA CHAINE METEO

Izmir was covered with a thick layer of hail and ravaged by mudslides after a violent storm on Wednesday. Watch the impressive images of the phenomenon in video.

http://actualite.lachainemeteo.com/actualite-meteo/2015-05-22-14h37...

https://translate.google.com.ar/translate?sl=fr&tl=en&js=y&...

90 mm of rain in 30 minutes, this is the destructive record of violent storms that erupted stationary over western Turkey including the city of Izmir on Wednesday at 15.30 torrential rain but hail sometimes covering almost entirely the cars.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3095904/More-430-dead-India...

Heatwave from hell: Temperatures of (118F) sweep through India, killing 540 so far - and there's no reprieve in sight

• 539 deaths have been recorded - mainly construction workers, the elderly or homeless in southern states of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana
• Kolkata's famous yellow taxis have been taken off the road as drivers refused to work between 11am and 4pm over deaths of two colleagues
• Government has cancelled leave of all doctors amid heat-stroke epidemic
• Indian Meteorological Department says conditions to continue this week 

India is sweltering under a heatwave which has seen temperatures soar to 118F and left more than 500 dead. 

And the intense heat which has gripped northern and southern parts of the country looks set to continue this week, officials said today.

The hottest place in India was Allahabad, a city in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh, which saw mercury rise to 47.7 degrees Celsius (117.8 Fahrenheit) on Sunday, while the capital Delhi recorded a high of 43.5C (110.3F).

Most of the 539 recorded deaths have been of construction workers, the elderly or the homeless in the southern states of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana where temperatures have been hottest, said officials, but some deaths have also occurred in Uttar Pradesh, Odisha and West Bengal.

Scroll down for video 

Sweltering: A boy cools down in Kolkata during a heatwave across India which has killed 539 people

Getting by: This boy in Kolkata is still outside despite the heat as millions of Indians cannot afford to take time off work

The Indian Meteorological Department has issued a red warning to affected regions saying that the heat wave conditions are likely to continue over coming days.

http://m.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=114...

A storm blasting Antarctic weather over New Zealand is currently the biggest storm on earth according to WeatherWatch.

The low stretches from just south of Fiji to Antarctica's ice shelf, but only 20 per cent of the storm is affecting New Zealand.

Snow surrounding the Shotover River in Queenstown. Photo / Supplied

WeatherWatch.co.nz said the forecast air pressure at its centre over the next 24 hours would be greater than that of Hurricane Katrina when it made landfall in 2005.

Weather expert Philip Duncan said, "It's fairly normal to get a cold snap in late May. We're less than a week away from winter, it's not surprising to get a blast like this."

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But he said the low's strength was surprising.

"The depth of this storm south of New Zealand is up there with some of the biggest hurricanes we've seen. It's a really big storm."

However, WeatherWatch.co.nz said only the storm's edges were affecting New Zealand - its centre lay around 1000 to 1500kms to our south east.

Southland, Otago and Banks Peninsula woke this morning to the heaviest dumping of snow so far this year.

Overnight, areas of Central Otago and Southland saw up to 30 cm of snow, according to Metservice.

The North Island didn't escape the cold weather with light snow falls reported in Napier and heavier falls on the Napier-Taupo Rd.

Queenstown Airport was temporarily closed, with heavy snow right down to the township, and snow flurries blanketed Invercargill.

Dunedin was battered by an onslaught of nasty weather, said MetService, hit by snow, showers and offshore thunderstorms.

Arrowtown blanketed in snow. Photo / Supplied by Petra Balsillie

15 cm of snow was reported just above the city, while its hill suburbs saw around 10 cm.

Mr Duncan said the South Island low had joined forces with the subtropical low that affected the North Island on Saturday.

"The two of them are working together to dredge up Antarctic air.

"So we've got this air at the moment being pulled up from Antarctica, and dumped over New Zealand."

There were a number of road closures for eastern parts of the South Island, with drivers advised to use extreme caution and to drive to the conditions.

MetService said while it was a cold morning, nowhere reached a record low for May.

Winter's icy grip took hold in the North Island as well, with snow reported down to sea level in Hawke's Bay.

Light snow falls were reported in the Napier suburbs of Taradale and Maraenui, and motorists experienced sleet on the way to work between Hastings and Napier.

A farm at Puketapu, Hawkes Bay. Photo / Supplied by Brenda Reay

Heavier falls were experienced inland, on the Napier-Taupo Rd and further north at Waikoau and Putere,

Cold southwest winds continued to bring showers across Auckland, and saw a severe weather warning put in place for Wairarapa and western Bay of Plenty where there was a risk of gales.

Last night's lightening storm and strong winds in Dunedin cut electricity to Musselburgh, Port Chalmers and part of the Otago Peninsula.

Aurora Energy said lightening damaged transformers, while severe winds brought down a power line.

Central Otago and Wanaka also experienced black outs.

Delta crews were responding to faults and making repairs as soon as it was possible to do so safely.

Overnight wind and rain and this morning's brief snow in Hawke's Bay resulted in power cuts in some "higher-up" rural areas.

Unison Networks customer relations manager Danny Gough said "a few hundred" customers had their supply cut, in some cases for up to two hours.

Temperatures were expected to rise slightly tomorrow, with warm weather set to return by Friday.

Meteorologist Georgina Griffiths said, "On Thursday morning, expect frosts across many parts of the North Island, as wind drops out, leaving the cold air behind."

The minimum temperature forecast for Thursday is 6C for Auckland, Tauranga and Wellington, 3C for Napier, 1C Palmerston North and 0C for Hamilton, Taupo and Masterton.

Track the storm in real-time here

More weather chaos: Record heat in parts of Alaska

May 25, 2015

Temperature difference from normal May 22, 2015

Since Wednesday, high temperatures (well into the 70s) in Fairbanks, Alaska have outdone the highs (in the 60s to mid-70s) in Washington, D.C.

The Last Frontier is in the midst of an extended streak of record-challenging warmth that will continue through next week.

Alaska’s warmest temperatures, with respect to normal, have actually focused north and east of Fairbanks.

Barrow – Alaska’s northernmost city, located above the Arctic circle – has logged record highs four of the past five days, including a toasty 47 on Thursday. That’s some 18 degrees above normal.

Eagle, Alaska – located about 200 miles east of Fairbanks – has recorded six straight days with highs in the 80s.

A massive bulge in the jet stream over our 49th state has allowed a heat dome to build over the past several days.

GFS model simulation of upper level weather pattern shows massive ridge in the jet stream over Alaska

Source

Tornado tears through Mexican city on Texas border, killing 13
Mon May 25, 2015

At least 13 people died and dozens more were injured after a freak tornado ripped through the northern Mexican city of Ciudad Acuna on Monday morning, flipping over cars and tearing down homes, the government said.

Among the dead were three children as the whirlwind damaged an estimated 750 homes in the city across the Rio Grande from Del Rio, Texas, said Jesus Garcia, spokesman for the local state of Coahuila.

The calamity also injured 229 people, all of whom were transported to local hospitals for medical care.

Walls and ceilings collapsed under the force of the whirlwind, which traveled at a speed of some 31 mph (50 km per hour) and blew gusts over 124 mph, the government said, taking the border city unawares in the early hours of Monday.

"We're not used to such destruction," Ciudad Acuna's mayor Evaristo Lenin Perez told local radio. "We don't have records of a single tornado in Acuna, a 110-year-old city."

A spokesman for the National Meteorological Service said it was the strongest tornado for at least 15 years in Mexico. Preliminary findings suggested it registered between a grade EF2 and EF3 on the Enhanced Fujita Scale, the spokesman said.

After the twister had swept through the city, photos showed children climbing past mangled cars that had been swept into their homes, while adults salvaged valuables from the rubble.

"Most of the dead are people who were outside, not people who were inside their homes," Perez said.

Authorities have set up seven refuge points for those whose houses were destroyed, the Coahuila government said.

"We're working on clearing the debris of the destroyed buildings and cars that were displaced," said Francisco Martinez, the deputy minister for Civil Protection in Coahuila.

Coahuila's governor Ruben Moreira arrived this afternoon in Acuna, which had a population of around 134,000 in 2010, and promised authorities will lead the city's recovery.

(Reporting by Luis Rojas, Max De Haldevang and Gabriela Lopez, Editing by Peter Galloway, Marguerita Choy and Diane Craft)
Trending On Reuters

CIUDAD ACUNA, Mexico | By Jaime Escamilla

Reuters Link

The Mexican Army implemented the DN-III plan in Ciudad Acuna, Coahuila, in the wake of a tornado

The phenomenon occurred between 5:30 and 6:10 pm on Monday, in the demarcation known as expansion in Altos de Santa Teresa. The fury of wind blew vehicles, tore roofs, power poles and trees, and caused other property damage.

According to Civil Protection a storm accompanied by high winds left hundreds of people injured to be liked pieces of glass and chunks of concrete to crumble housing.

Valdez Ricardo Guajardo, director of the municipal health services, reported that hundreds of wounded from small to severe injuries, after being hit by falling concrete fences.

Geologist Sergio Almazan said it was an EF-4 tornado with winds of 320 kilometers per hour.

According to the head of Civil Protection, Felipe Bridge, a tornado is formed by the collision of two air masses, warm and wet from the sea, and a cold and dry from the poles that gives rise to a reaction explosive shaped rotating convection originates powerful storms.

Mexico City, May 25 (HOWEVER / Vanguard / Xinhua / dpa) .-

Google Translation

Original Note

Heat wave kills more than 1,100 in India

http://www.cnn.com/2015/05/25/asia/india-heatwave-deaths/

The worst-hit area is the southeastern state of Andhra Pradesh, where authorities say 852 people have died in the heat wave. Another 266 have died in the neighboring state of Telangana.

India recorded its highest maximum temperature of 47 degrees Celsius -- 117 degrees Fahrenheit -- at Angul in the state of Odisha on Monday, according to B.P. Yadav, director of the India Meteorological Department.

Hot, dry conditions are being made worse by winds blowing in from Pakistan's Sindh province across the northern and central plains of India. "This extreme, dry heat is being blown into India by westerly winds," Yadav said.

The high temperatures are expected to continue for another two days before any respite, the meteorological department warned Tuesday. However, the agency said that another hot spell would likely soon follow.

Among the worst-hit states are Andhra Pradesh and Telangana in the south. The northern states of Rajasthan and Haryana are also reeling from the intense summer as is India's capital, New Delhi, Yadav said.

Heat taking toll on the poor

Many of the dead are reported to be poorer people, beggars and the homeless as well as construction workers who are expected to work on building sites in direct sunlight.

About one-third of the country's 1.2 billion people have access to electricity, meaning millions are enduring the blistering heat without relief.

-------------------------

So hot the street are melting!

http://i.kinja-img.com/gawker-media/image/upload/s--p5AWRcrp--/1270...

http://www.fire.lacounty.gov/unidentified-substance-washes-up-in-ma...

Unidentified substance washes on shore in CA.

Attack of the tiniest twisters: Freak tornadoes strike across Britain - ripping off roof tiles, destroying greenhouses... and sending garden furniture flying

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3102897/Twister-hits-Britai...

Forget the rain: freak tornadoes have wreaked havoc across Britain - destroying greenhouses, ripping off roof tiles and sending the odd bin flying after striking in at least two locations.
Tornadoes were reported to have hit in Somerset and South Wales this afternoon, although the Met Office hasn't been able to confirm either.
That's not to say the residents of a Newport neighbourhood and the village of Binegar were not victims of two of the 30-odd tornadoes which take place in the UK each year.
In Binegar, villager Mark Davis said damage had been done to his roof, garage and greenhouse in the freak event, which lasted just a couple of minutes.
'I've never seen anything like it,' said the 43-year-old, who estimated the repair costs would sit around the £2,000 mark.
'It made a deafening noise. I thought it was thunder and lightning to start with.
'The sky went very dark and it started pouring with rain.
'Some of my neighbours took cover indoors as debris was flying everywhere.'

UK weather: Met Office issues wind warning as 'powerful jet stream' approaches

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/uk-weather-met-offic...

The Met Office has warned that Britain is about to be hit by an “unseasonable” blustery storm, bringing heavy rains, large waves and the potential for damaging 70mph winds.

Issuing a severe weather warning for Monday and Tuesday, meteorologists said that a “powerful jet stream” was pushing extreme weather systems across the UK that were decidedly unusual for the start of summer.

English Channel and Irish Sea coasts were warned to expect gusts of up to 70mph, while everywhere but the northern-most tip of Scotland was predicted to experience strong winds of up to 50mph.

The Met Office said the storm front could bring up to 40mm of rain to some northern and western areas on Monday night – around two-thirds of the entire June average for the UK.

It said the windy weather would persist well into Tuesday because of a further system crossing northern Scotland, but added that the developments remain uncertain.

http://www.theweathernetwork.com/us/news/articles/hurricane-andres-...

Hurricane Andres quickly becomes a category 4 storm

Hurricane Andre seen in infrared satellite imagery Sunday night. Courtesy: NOAA/NASA, RAMMB/CIRA.

Tuesday, June 2, 2015, 8:56 AM - On Sunday night, Hurricane Andres quickly ballooned into a category 4 storm in the eastern Pacific, packing sustained winds up to 225 kilometres per hour. While the storm does not pose a threat to land, forecasters are interested in its unusual location.

According to Weather Underground's director of meteorology Jeff Masters, the storm's emergence as a hurricane at  118.8°W means Andres is the farthest west a Northeast Pacific hurricane has appeared during the month of May since accurate satellite records started in 1970.

The timing of the storm is unusual as well.

Hurricane season began on May 15 in the East Pacific, but the first major hurricane doesn't usually form in the region until mid-July.

Tropical Blanca isn't far behind Andres, and is currently swirling more than 600 km off the coast of the Mexican Riviera.

The storm was named by the National Hurricane Center Monday after it strengthened past the tropical depression that formed Sunday afternoon.

Blanca could become a hurricane by Tuesday and could strengthen into a category 3 storm by the end of the week.

Forecasters aren't sure if it will impact populated areas yet.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3109019/A-foot-snow-hits-pa...

A foot of snow hits parts of Australia as the country endures its lowest temperatures for 40 years as its winter begins

• Parts of New South Wales, in Australia, have been buried under a foot (30cm) of snow on their first day of winter
• Temperatures plunged to minus nine degrees Celsius in some areas while Melbourne had its coldest day in 40 years
• Freezing conditions welcomed by skiers who are expected to flock to resorts to take advantage of early snowfall

Australia is experiencing the coldest start to winter in forty years after parts of the country were buried under a foot of snow.

Temperatures plunged as low as minus nine degrees Celsius as the alpine resorts of Perisher and Thredbo in New South Wales disappeared underneath a blanket of snow on Monday evening.

Average winter temperatures across New South Wales are typically between 14 and 16 degrees Celsius.

It got as cold as 6.1 degrees Celsius in the City of Sydney, making it the chilliest morning the region has seen since 1987. Falls Creek in Victoria also received 20cm of snow overnight and Mount Buller recorded8cm, while Melbourne got off to its coldest morning in almost 40 years. 

Freezing temperatures on the first day of winter has ensured the Snowy Mountains will live up to its name ahead of the ski season opening this weekend with 30cm of snow falling at Perisher Valley

The NSW alpine resorts of Perisher (pictured) and Thredbo turned white overnight as 30cm of snow blanketed the mountains with lows of minus nine degrees

It was minus seven degrees at Perisher on Monday morning and low temperatures are expected to continue throughout the rest of the week

Perisher's the Village Eight Express will be open for skiing and boarding on Friday, while Friday Flat will be open at Thredbo

While the UK, in comparison, was bathed in sunshine today as highs of more than 21 degrees Celsius were recorded this morning in Lincolnshire. 

The freezing weather is forcing many Australians to get creative with ways to beat the cold, from leaving the oven on to heat the house, to warming their beds with hairdryers.

Kuwait with Mitribah won the first + 50 ° C of 2015

June 3, 2015

http://www.meteoweb.eu/2015/06/il-kuwait-con-mitribah-si-aggiudica-...

https://translate.google.com.ar/translate?sl=it&tl=en&js=y&...

Kuwaiti desert landscape

As we have already in recent days to write the bulk of the heat wave that for days has stationed over the area Indo-Pakistani starts moving westward, arroventando the deserts of southern Iran, Iraq and Kuwait. Just yesterday afternoon, Monday, May 2, 2015, the weather station of Mitribah, in Kuwait, was the first weather station in the world to record a maximum of absolute well + 50.0 ° C in the shade.

The + 50.0 ° C Mitribah set the new season-high touched on Earth since the beginning of 2015. In fact, to date, no meteorological station of the Earth, even those located in the red-hot canyons of southern Pakistan, managed to break through the fateful threshold of + 50 ° C.

Kuwait wins so the new, possibly temporary, a season of 2015, pending the performance of the other locations in the Middle East. Of all those in southern Iraq and Saudi Arabia

‘January in June’ stranded drivers

http://www.newsinenglish.no/2015/06/02/january-in-june-strands-driv...

“It was incredible to wake up to a full snowstorm in June,” Sigurd Bjåen of Hovden, in the mountains of southern Norway, exclaimed on national radio Tuesday morning. The heavy and drifting snow forced closure of several highways, with others open only for convoy-driving behind snowplows.

All motorists in Norway switched from winter- to summer tires weeks ago, believing that winter was over.

Bjåen lives just north of Hovden, known as a popular winter ski resort, and he can’t ever remember a worse pre-summer season than this year. Snow hasn’t fallen to such a degree, even in the high mountains, since at least 1967.

http://www.denverpost.com/news/ci_28258514/one-denver-block-buried-...

One Denver block buried under up to 4 feet of hail

06/05/2015 10:23:56 AM MDT

Up to 4 feet of ice buried all the territory between Dakota and Alaska — streets, that is.

In some ways it was "gi-normous," freakishly so. In other ways it was microscopically small.

The hail that pounded down between 10 p.m. and 11:30 p.m. Thursday turned a block of South Irving Street into a massive pile of fused and impassable hailstones that trapped a dozen cars. It required not just snowplows but a front-end tractor to dig it out Friday morning. The tractor filled more than 30 dump-truck loads of hail in the process.

"We were scared. Oh my God, it was so weird," said Belen Gonzalez, 42, who lives at the corner of Dakota and Irving. "We don't understand why it happened only on this street. My husband said it was someone's enormous prank."

There's actually a meteorologic term for what happened on Irving Street, just north of Alaska: "plowable hail."

The term was created following scientific studies about similar weather events around the country and previously in Colorado including last year, said Cari Bowen, meteorologist for the National Weather Service in Boulder.

"It's a very interesting phenomenon," Bowen said. "We saw the storm stall. It produced copious amounts of hail in one small area. It's a meteorological thing."

Lights were flickering on and off in homes on the south side of Dakota and north of Alaska, but not across the streets. A stream of icy rain water ran down Dakota carrying away bags of trash. One person described sleeping in the basement at Dakota and Irving when a stream of hail and icy rain poured on him in a sudden torrent. Across the street, Antonia Lopez, 73, pointed to a screen that had been torn off her home the night before.

"I believe it was a tornado," Lopez said in Spanish. "It was very strong. The house was shaking."

Gonzalez said she also worried that it was a tornado. Looking out the windows, it was just black.

Austin Sierra, 11, said the hailstones were as big as "bumble bees. No, ping pong balls. We saw a bike. It was floating down the street."

"Trees were swaying. We couldn't hear ourselves talking. Our cars were covered with leaves. It looked like they came out of a swamp," Sierra said.

Cookie the cocker spaniel cried and barked through the seemingly endless hail storm, said Joanna Cervantes, 11.

"It just started pouring, bunches," she said.

Crews from Denver Public Works help neighbors dig their cars out from several feet of hail at S. Irving Street and Alaska Place in Denver. (Kathryn Osler, The Denver Post)

From left to right Maggie Martin-Eyl, her wife Jennifer Eyl and Jennifer's brother Eryc look over the damage to their parents home on Blue Mountain Ave in Berthoud, Colorado on June 5, 2015. The home is owned by Bill and Lorraine Eyl who were home at the time the tornado struck. They survived by ...

PHOTOS: Tornado, hail hit Front Range as Colorado experiences severe weather

Heatwaves from India to the Middle East and Europe

http://thewatchers.adorraeli.com/2015/06/07/heatwaves-from-india-to...

Strong heatwaves have swept several parts of the globe over the last two weeks, claiming lives and setting new records. While India experienced world's fifth deadliest heatwave in recorded history in May, extremely high temperatures were present in Pakistan and this heat eventually reached the Middle East. 

Above-average temperatures for this time of year are now observed in Europe too. In general, temperatures across Europe now are at 3.8 degrees Celsius (25 degrees Fahrenheit) above the average for this time of year. 

Fifth deadliest heatwave in recorded history - India

Although India is known for the hot weather in May, the last month was exceptionally warm, with temperatures going up to 12.2 degrees Celsius (10 degrees Fahrenheit) above the month's average for almost two weeks. Over 2500 people have died, making it the fifth deadliest heatwave recorded in history.

With temperatures rising above 45 degrees Celsius (113 degrees Fahrenheit), the roads in New Delhi melted, and other parts of the country were almost seven degrees hotter.

It seems that the worst of the heatwave has passed now, and the Indians are keeping their fingers crossed in the hope for strong monsoon rains this year to bring some relief from the hot weather.

Heatwave in the Middle East

The heatwave which started in India has been gently blown south and eventually reached the Middle East.

During the second half of May, daily temperatures hovered between 48 and 49 degrees Celsius (118.4 and 120.2 degrees Fahrenheit) in the Indus Valley, Pakistan. In Nawabshah, temperatures persisted on 49 degrees Celsius (120.2 degrees Fahrenheit) four days in a row.

By June, the hot air, loaded with dust has reached Oman and and the UAE. Temperatures there have risen three to five degrees since the start of the month, AlJazeera reports.

Temperature in Sweihan, Abu Dhabi hit 50.5 degrees Celsius (122.9 degrees Fahrenheit) on Wednesday, June 3.

Khasab, Sunayah and Fahud in Oman measured 49 degrees Celsius (120.2 degrees Fahrenheit) on the same day.

The heat has been rising in Qatar too. Doha measured 45.8 degrees Celsius (114.4 degrees Fahrenheit), 45.5 degrees Celsius (113.9 degrees Fahrenheit) and 46.1 degrees Celsius (114.9 degrees Fahrenheit) in the first three days of June.

Early-season heatwave in Europe

An early-season heatwave swept over parts of Europe on Friday, June 5. Although the heat is not too strong or dangerous, it's still pretty early in the season for temperatures in this range in northern Europe. Late afternoon temperature maxima were up to 32.2 degrees Celsius (90 degrees Fahrenheit), and the heatwave was especially intense in the Rhine River Valley in southwest Germany and eastern France.

In general, temperatures are at 3.8 degrees Celsius (25 degrees Fahrenheit) above the average for this time of year. According to Accuweather's Eric Leister, some cities, including Paris, Amsterdam and Frankfurt are seeing their hottest temperatures of the year so far. A line of thunderstorms caused by the intensity of the heatwave swept across northern Europe.

The heatwave peaked on June 5, although the above-average temperatures have continued to spread across Europe on Saturday into Sunday (June 6 - 7), and are expected to drop back to normal by early next week.

Source: http://thewatchers.adorraeli.com/2015/06/07/heatwaves-from-india-to...

33 people injured by lightning at the Rock Am Ring festival
Mendig, west of Germany

News - Published Monday, June 8, 2015 by The Weather Channel - LA CHAINE METEO

33 people were taken to hospital after the impact of two lightning during one of the biggest rock festivals in Europe, the Rock am Ring and Rock im Park this Sunday.

http://actualite.lachainemeteo.com/actualite-meteo/2015-06-08-10h33...

https://translate.google.com.ar/translate?sl=fr&tl=en&js=y&...

VIDEO ; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zW0hnQ0ngn4

The weekend was very electric at the Rock Am Ring festival in Mendig, west of Germany. While the country was on orange alert for the risk of violent storms, two lightning strikes have hit the festival site in the night from Saturday to Sunday. Just after the performance of Marilyn Manson in an already stormy context, a first bolt hit the equipment present in the scenes at 1am, wounding eight members of the production.

A second flash was then shot in the pit around 4 am on the public: twenty people were affected, not by the impact, but by the detonation nearby and projection of metal objects exploded by the impact. These are the final 33 people were taken to hospital. The provision of Fritz Kalkbrenner, scheduled at 1:35 was canceled. Other concerts of the weekend (The Prodigy, Foo Fighters, Slipknot) were maintained but tents lightning rods were installed to protect the public.

Alaska Fire Crews Battling 2 Large Tundra Wildfires

Posted: 06/08/2015 10:49 pm EDT

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — Following a winter marked by little snow and warmer temperatures, fire crews on Monday were tackling two large wildfires burning on mostly treeless tundra in the southwest part of the state.

Weekend rain helped tamp down the lightning-caused fires that through Monday have burned 63 square miles in the Yukon Delta National Wildlife Refuge, about 50 miles northeast of the commercial hub town of Bethel.

Alaska gets fewer fires in tundra than in forests, and tundra fires tend to be smaller, but they are not unheard of, according to Fish and Wildlife Service fire ecologist Lisa Saperstein.

Tundra fires are more common in southwest Alaska, but rare in the far north, she said. In 2007, a lightning-caused fire burned 400 square miles in the Brooks Range in the North Slope in an area where lightning is an anomaly.

The current fires are burning about 400 miles south of where the 2007 fire took place. Both fires are located in a biologically dynamic area where waterfowl nest, Saperstein said.

"There's lots of vegetation," she said. "And where you have vegetation, it's fuel."

According to a 2013 report by the University of Alaska Fairbanks Cooperative Extension Service, climate change could be a factor in a growing number of fires in tundra ecosystems over the next century.

Since the current tundra fires are not threatening people or buildings, crews were expecting to depart from one of the fires on Monday and continue mopping up hotspots at the other larger blaze, fire information spokesman Tim Mowry said.

Many Alaska wildfires are allowed to burn themselves out without crews if they are remote and far from any infrastructure. The bigger of the two fires, for example, had grown to 39 square miles by Monday, but crews were not immediately assigned to fight it until it had grown to almost half that size, Mowry said.

The amount of snow that falls during winter can expose an area to higher risk of fire because there is less moisture in the ground.

"But you still need something to ignite it," Saperstein noted.

Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/06/08/alaska-wildfire-tundra_n_7...

http://floodlist.com/asia/china-over-100-died-in-natural-disasters-...

China – More Floods hit South, Officials Say Over 100 People Died in Natural Disasters in May 2015

Summer in Madrid: Hail, storms and flashfloods

http://www.thelocal.es/20150611/summer-in-madrid-hail-and-flashfloods

Freak weather conditions for June caused chaos in Madrid on Thursday when the capital was hit by electric storms, torrential rain and even hail.

Around mid-morning the skies darkened and then the heavens opened causing torrents of water to flood streets and overflow drainage systems.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3123378/A-city-lockdown-Tig...

Where's an ark when you need one? Apocalyptic scenes in Georgia as lions, bears, wolves and HIPPO are among dozens of animals to escape from zoo during freak flood in Tbilisi 

• Flooding has destroyed enclosures at Tbilisi Zoo in Georgia allowing more than 30 dangerous animals to roam free
• Among the animals to escape are six tigers, six lions, 20 wolves and a hippo, which was hit by a tranquiliser gun
• Flash flooding in the Georgian capital has already killed up to 10 people including three who work at the zoo 
• The zoo confirmed that one of the keepers that died had lost an arm after being attacked by a tiger last month 

The capital of Georgia has been placed on lockdown after heavy flooding destroyed enclosures at the city's zoo allowing tigers, lions, jaguars, wolves, jackals and a hippo to escape and roam the streets.

Residents in Tbilisi have been warned to stay indoors after more than 30 dangerous animals became free from the zoo after heavy rain and wind.

The flash floods have already killed up to 10 people including three workers who are employed at Tbilisi Zoo. 

A hippo who escaped from a zoo in the Georgian capital Tbilisi after flash flood destroyed the animal's enclosures allowing them to roam the streets 

As well as the hippo, tigers, lions, bears and wolves has escaped for their pens, forcing the city to be placed on lockdown by authorities 

The escaped hippo was eventually cornered in the main square of Tbilisi and was subdued by being shot with a tranquiliser gun

The zoo said one of the dead was Guliko Chitadze, a zookeeper who lost an arm in an attack by a tiger last month.

Some of the animals have been seized but it is unclear how many are still on the loose.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3123359/Snow-desert-Freak-h...

Snow in the desert: Freak hailstorm turns the Red Centre white, blanketing parched earth in ice

• A large thunderstorm in the Alice Springs area on Saturday blanketed the area in hail
• The red earth contrasting with the white hail gave way to a stunning spectacle
• The unusual phenomenon did not bring hail big enough to cause any damage 

In a bizarre but beautiful sight the Red Centre turned white on Saturday following a thunderstorm which blanketed the area in a sheet of hail.

Photographs show a stunning contrast between the bright earth and hailstones covering the ground in parts of Alice Springs.

While the area does see storms it's not often conditions are just right to deliver the spectacle it did at the weekend.

'This event was set apart due to the fact it was a slow moving storm,' Jackson Browne, a meteorologist at the Darwin Bureau of Meteorology explained to Daily Mail Australia.

'Usually these storm cells move with quite a lot of pace,' he said, adding that although hail is present in most storms it has often melted by the time it meets the ground.

As the hailstones were only marble-sized they weren't large enough to cause any damage, but they did provide quite a sight for locals, many of whom have never seen hail despite living in the area for years.

The Red Centre was blanketed in hail on Saturday following a freak storm

Stunning photographs show the contrasting colours in the unusual phenomenon

Storm Ashobaa Oman: 8 years of rain in one day!

News - Published Saturday, June 13, 2015 by The Weather Channel - LA CHAINE METEO

Tropical storm Ashobaa hit the south of the Arabian Peninsula. Oman has been particularly affected.

http://actualite.lachainemeteo.com/actualite-meteo/2015-06-13-16h02...

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VIDEO: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B-3tveUnOMk

Tropical storm "Ashobaa" was born in the Arabian Sea last Tuesday. She hit Oman on Thursday and Friday, causing extreme rainfall and flooding in the south. If one counts no casualties, more than a hundred people had to be rescued, however due to flooding.

8 years of rainfall in 24 hours!

Several cities in the south of the Sultanate received impressive amounts of water. A Massirah, rains of 231mm were collected against an average of 2mm in June. When you know that the annual rainfall of 40mm to Massirah, so we can consider it rained in 24 hours equivalent to 8 years of rainfall in this city!

A very rare phenomenon

It is rare that a tropical storm reaches the coast of Oman. In general, typhoons and cyclones formed in the Arabian Sea from reaching rarely reach the land. But this year, the very high temperatures observed in India and neighboring countries and a late monsoon contribute to cause an unusual rise in temperature of the Arabian Sea (abnormality of + 2 ° C at the surface of the Sea of Oman), which may partly explain the presence of the storm Ashobaa an unusually high latitude.

MAP;

Violent storms on the east of European Russia, with strong winds and hail hit the Oblast 'of Kirov

Violent storms lash the plains of European Russia

June 16, 2015

http://www.meteoweb.eu/2015/06/violenti-temporali-sullest-della-rus...

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MAP: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kirov_Oblast

The storm front photographed during the transition sull'Oblast 'Kirov

During the afternoon yesterday, Monday, June 15, 2015, a series of intense thunderstorms lashed the eastern part of eastern Russia and Kazakhstan, causing damage and many hardships as a result of the floods produced by heavy rainfall. The most violent storms have affected the Oblast 'of Kirov, along the basin of Vyatka, where there have been also strong hail, accompanied by an intense electrical activity and strong blasts of wind-related "downbursts" of individual thunderstorms.

The storm was preceded by a giant wall of very dark rain which resulted in a drastic reduction in horizontal visibility, by dropping the darkness in a few minutes.

The outbreak of these violent storms in eastern European Russia is linked to its passage in the upper troposphere (250 hPa), the main branch of the "polar jet" for days positioned with its maximum altitude above the ground and in European Russia and the Urals area.

thunderstorms hit the area around the city of Kirov, where the storm was preceded by strong gusts of wind uprooted several trees and created many hardships, especially road traffic and airport.

Flooding caused by heavy storms yesterday

Water Theft Rising in Drought-Ravaged California (Jun 15)

A growing number of Californians are resorting to water theft and police are playing catchup, as nearly half the state suffers a historic 4-year drought.

It's gotten so bad, police are warning businesses and residents to start locking up their taps.

Palo Alto resident Jason Zhur said he’s shocked it has come this far. “But water’s becoming more expensive than gas."

A group of thieves broke locks guarding spigots at a shopping center in Milpitas, KPIX reported over the weekend, making off with hundreds of gallons of water. Police are still seeking the suspects, who braved surveillance cameras to access the water.

In March, thieves drove off with a 500-gallon water tanker in the Oakland Hills. The Marina Landscape tanker was resting on a trailer parked in front of a job site near the Caldecott Tunnel and police believe a thief hooked it up to a truck and drove off. The tanker is worth $4,500 to $5,000 and authorities suspect the thieves will use it to steal more water.

Last month, Sacramento police caught two men who illegally tapped into a city fire hydrant to fill a 2,000- to 4,000-gallon water truck they’d rented, the Sacramento Bee reports. Officials are determining whether the men had simply forgotten to obtain a permit or were intentionally stealing water.

This month the owners of a nudist resort in the Santa Cruz Mountains were charged with theft after piping water from a nearby creek despite many warnings from Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District to stop, the San Jose Mercury News reports.

Also this month, water bandits pried open locks on water spigots at a shopping center in Milpitas, CBS reports. Witnesses noticed three to four people filling containers in the middle of the night and the property owner confirmed the incident by looking at his water bill and noticing a significant jump in water use.

In April, the Associated Press reported that a large amount of water was stolen from the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta, a source of water for 23 million state residents.

The AP also reported in February that Modesto homeowners had illegally taken water from a canal.

Hundreds of gallons were stolen from a fire department water tank in North San Juan during wildfire season last summer.

"We were just absolutely stunned," Boyd Johnson, a battalion chief with the North San Juan fire department, told the National Journal. "Fires are on everyone's mind during the summer so to see this happen, I think it really scared people."

Enforcing water theft laws in the face of a four-year drought is not easy, some in law enforcement say.

"This is something that's very hard to pin down. If you don't catch someone in the act, how do you prove they did it?" Mendocino County Sheriff Tom Allman told the National Journal.

Mendocino County currently counts water theft as a misdemeanor. "To me this is like looting during a disaster. It should be a felony," Mendocino County Supervisor Carre Brown said of water theft.

In Lemoore, the Public Works Department dedicated an employee to searching for water thieves after police found evidence of someone accessing water through fire hydrants.

Hardware stores are now selling locks that screw onto water valves to prevent water theft.

Sources

http://rt.com/usa/267361-water-theft-drought-california/

http://blog.sfgate.com/stew/2015/06/15/water-thieves-are-on-the-ris...

http://sanfrancisco.cbslocal.com/2015/06/13/lock-your-taps-spigot-m...

http://droughtmonitor.unl.edu/

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3125930/Wildfire-rages-hear...

Alaska wildfires tear explosive path of devastation threatening hundreds of homes and forcing people to flee 

• Two wildfires are sweeping through Alaska putting homes under threat 
• The most recent fire erupted on Monday, burning buildings to the ground 
• Volunteers had to rescue residents as well as sled dogs and other animals 
• Hundreds of people have also been forced from their homes on Kenai Peninsula 

Hundreds of homes are under threat in Alaska after two 'explosive' wildfires are sweeping through the state forcing people to flee.

The most recent fire erupted on Monday, burning six buildings to the ground, prompting hundreds of residents to evacuate their homes on the Kenai Peninsula.

The latest fire is just 150 miles south of a major wildfire that started a day earlier near Willow, in the heart of the state's sled-dog community.

A building is consumed by flames as an out of control wildfire burns near Willow in Alaska, forcing people to flee their homes 

The fire has been raging in the heart of the state's sled-dog community and has put hundreds of homes under threat 

The fire has ripped through the far flung community of about 2,000 people living along a major road connecting Anchorage and Fairbanks 

The blaze prompted volunteers to join in making sure that both people and their sled dogs as well as other animals were safely evacuated.

Alaska's Department of Natural Resources said in a news release that the 'explosive wildland fire' on the Kenai Peninsula forced the evacuation of hundreds of homes.

Downburst in Normandy: impressive photos - FRANCE

News - Published Friday, June 12, 2015 by The Weather Channel - LA CHAINE METEO

Our users have sent us photos of wet downbursts taken during a storm in the Orne this Thursday, June 11, 2015. Explanation and video of the phenomenon in action.

http://actualite.lachainemeteo.com/actualite-meteo/2015-06-12-17h13...

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L ORNE was crossed by severe thunderstorms on Thursday, causing large amounts of rainfall. The photographs of our users show perfectly the phenomenon as a whole: a powerful very localized rain curtain, so very violent, under the storm cloud. This is a wet downburst, or "wet downburst" in English. A weather phenomenon sudden and short-lived (a few minutes) capable of crushing everything in its path.

Totally different from tornadoes with which they are sometimes confused, downbursts are destructive wind corridors able to bring down a plane landing or taking off.

Coldest June in 92 years (Norway)

original link

You have every reason to complain about the weather. Trøndelag has not experienced such a cold first half of June since 1923.

Since the daily measurements (average temperature through the day) began in Trondheim in 1870, it has been measured an even colder first half of June only once, 92 years ago.

There has not been a single day of summer meteorological in Trondheim in the first half of June.