• Category One Hurricane BUD continues to strenghten

    Tropical Storm Bud continues to quickly strengthen and now is categorized as Category One Hurricane. Hurricane force winds extend outward up to 35 km (25 miles) from the center and tropical storm force winds extend outward up to 185 km (115 miles). Estimated minimum

  • Tropical storm Alberto formed off the South Carolina coast

    Tropical Storm Alberto, the first named storm of the 2012 Atlantic hurricane season, formed on Saturday, May 19, 2012 off the coast of South Carolina.Alberto has the potential to hit North Carolina as early as Monday, but since the storm is so small, it would only

  • Dust storm in the Middle East

    In early May 2012, a dust storm blew over the Middle East, particularly east of Damascus. The storm covered most of Syria, and extended into Iraq, Jordan, and Saudi Arabia. The dust was thickest in the west, especially over Jordan and northern Saudi Arabia, and

  • Tornado in northern Italy

    An unusual funnel cloud was spotted on the plains of northern Italy recently. Videos posted online early this week clearly showed a funnel cloud dipping from heavy dark clouds.Close-up detail showed well the anti-clockwise twisting of the narrow funnel, which seemed

  • Dust storm off West Africa

    A dust storm in western Africa, which began in late April, 2012, continued through early May, sending billowing clouds of tan dust over the Atlantic Ocean and the Cape Verde Islands. This very large plume of thick dust began blowing off the coast of Africa on April, 29

  • Rare heat burst event in Iowa, US

    A rare heat burst occurred on Thursday in Bussey, about 50 miles southeast of Des Moines, Iowa, when suddenly  temperatures spiked more than 10 degrees. Data from the Mesonet/KCCI Schoolnet 8 weather station shows the sudden temperature change  shot up from