A derecho (from the Spanish adverb for “straight”) is a long-lived windstorm that forms in a straight line — unlike the swirling winds of a tornado — and is associated with what’s known as a bow echo, a line of severe thunderstorms. The term “derecho” was first
Large and heavy hail storm hit the peripheral parts of Krapina-Zagorje county, Croatia along the border with Slovenia. The most difficult situation was in the municipality Kraljevac na Sutli on the neighborhoods Kackovec, Movrač, Movrač and Kapelski Top. Hail and stro
Powerful thunderstorms that erupted over northern Illinois produced spectacular lightning, hurricane-force gusts, golf ball-sized hail and a waterspout over Lake Michigan. The National Weather Service says there were more than 1,100 cloud-to-ground lightning strikes in
A lightning strike at a primary school in western Uganda has killed 18 students and injured 50. Lightning hit Runyanya primary school in Kiryandongo district, about 225 km northwest of Kampala, killing 15 girls and three boys yesterday, police spokeswoman Judith…
Lightning has knocked out the first large telescope ever built on Hawaii's Mauna Kea volcano, and engineers are working to bring it back online. The University of Hawaii's 2.2-meter telescope has been out since the weekend of June 4-5, when tens of thousands of
The National Weather Service said a heat burst was observed at Wichita's Mid-Continent Airport. The temperature jumped 17 degrees in 20 minutes, from 85 degrees at 12:22 a.m. to 102 degrees at 12:42 a.m. The heat burst was also accompanied by winds of 40 to 50…
The unusually large number of severe tornadoes this year may be a sign of large-scale changes in the jet stream. When the events happen frequently such as the destruction of Joplin, Mo., the outbreak of multiple tornadoes in Alabama, and the northeast outbreak in…
At least two confirmed tornadoes descended upon towns in western Massachusetts on Wednesday, leaving at least four dead and smashing homes and buildings across a 40-mile stretch, state officials and witnesses reported. The storms struck shortly after 4 p.m. in
The 2011 Atlantic Hurricane Season officially starts on Wednesday and it is possible that the tropics will turn active immediately in the Caribbean. The latest computer models continue to indicate the formation of an area of low pressure in the southwestern or
High winds brought chaos to Scotland’s transport network today as falling trees blocked main routes. Roads, rail, air and ferry services were all affected as winds gusting 100mph were recorded in central Scotland.An ambulance transport car collided with a lorry on
