A destructive tornado outbreak with at least 78 tornadoes impacted the U.S. Plains on Friday, April 26, 2024, leaving a trail of damage and more than a dozen injuries. The outbreak occurred as a part of a multi-day severe weather threat covering over 60 million Americans. The threat of EF2 – EF5 tornadoes will continue into Sunday, April 28.
A severe weather warning covers the Plains, threatening over 55 million residents with strong tornadoes, hail the size of baseballs, and damaging wind gusts. The National Weather Service has issued a Tornado Watch as the region braces for potentially destructive weather through the weekend.
Heavy rains accompanied by a destructive hailstorm have caused significant damage across Mizoram, impacting over 450 houses and affecting close to 14 000 people, with Kolasib and Aizawl districts experiencing the worst damage.
As of April 23, heavy rainfall in Sistan-Baluchistan, Iran, has resulted in at least 10 fatalities, displacement of approximately 3 000 people to evacuation centers, and widespread infrastructural damage. Over 46 000 residents have been affected, with critical supplies dwindling and forecasts predicting more rain.
A severe dust storm swept over eastern Libya on April 23, 2024, turning the skies over Darnah an eerie red.
Europe experienced one of the most rapid temperature flips on record in April 2024, shifting from widespread record-breaking summer-like warmth at the start of the month to late-April frost and cold temperature records. According to climatologist Maximiliano Herrera, Europe has never experienced a month with such extreme temperature contrasts.
Severe thunderstorms are forecasted for northwest Texas this afternoon and evening, April 23, 2024, with the potential for large hail and damaging wind gusts. This weather shift comes as part of a broader pattern affecting the Great Plains and Midwest, initiated by a developing upper trough over the western U.S. and a series of cold fronts impacting the Great Lakes and Ohio Valley. The Storm Prediction Center has issued a Slight Risk alert for northwest Texas today due to these conditions.
Record-breaking rainfall affecting China’s Guangdong Province since Friday, April 19, 2024, pushed water levels in the Bei River, a tributary of the Pearl River, to exceed 50-year highs, causing widespread floods in which at least 4 people died and 10 others went missing. The floods caused extensive damage, including the destruction of 36 houses and severe damage to 48 others, incurring direct economic losses of nearly 140.6 million yuan.
A powerful storm rolled over South Carolina on April 20, 2024, bringing strong winds, heavy rain, and golf to softball-sized hail. The storm system affected the larger areas of Lancaster and York counties but focused its most intense effects in northeast-central York County, causing significant structural damage and power outages.
The southern Chinese province of Guangdong faces severe flooding risks with the Bei River’s water levels predicted to peak at 37.3 m (122 feet) early on April 22, 2024. This event, deemed a ‘once-in-a-century’ occurrence, comes after the region experienced record-breaking rainfall, affecting millions of people.
