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Wild Winds: Twisters, Tornados, Dust Devils, Whirlwinds & Waterspouts

Haarp said:
Thanks Rynner,
Did you like the cloud though?

:)

Got to admit, if I saw one of those on the horizon I think I may start to worry.
 
Just for the heck of it, I tried editing Haarp's pic using Photobucket's Edit tools. I didn't think it would let me, but it obviously recognised me as another bucketeer, so I could save my edits to my own albums!

Here's an example:

funnelcloud.jpg


That was fun! :D
 
Here's another version:

funnelcloud2.jpg


Although a narrower crop, this gives a bigger, 'full size', view of the funnel, compared to my previous effort.

(I've only changed crop area and size in these examples, not colour balance, contrast, etc.)
 
Photo editing !

Thanks Rynner,
That looks so good it's almost not my photo ! I have a better one of it almost 'touching down,' but we're going to send that off for an RMetSoc / weather club competition... Will post it here when the coast is clear...

:)
 
Ok, it was on the fringes of Brooklyn & Queens but just think of a twister moving down the canyons between the skyscrapers in Manhattan. Vid at link.

Two tornadoes rip through New York City
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-19534104

The aftermath of the tornadoes in New York City

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Two rare tornadoes have hit New York City's borough of Queens and Brooklyn, damaging homes, causing blackouts and throwing debris into the air.

The first storm, with winds up to 70mph (113km/h), struck Breezy Point on Queens' Rockaway Peninsula.

The second tornado, with gusts reaching 110mph, hit Brooklyn's Canarsie area just minutes later.

No injuries were reported, but the storms forced the suspension of the US Open tennis tournament.

Police ordered the Arthur Ashe Stadium in Flushing Meadows to be evacuated, halting the second semi-final in men's competition.

Continue reading the main story

Start Quote

We were all scared. It was really crazy”

Caitlin Walsh
Breezy Point Surf Club employee
The game, between Novak Djokovic and David Ferrer, will restart on Sunday.

'Like a train'
Eyewitnesses in Queens reported seeing trees and electricity pylons uprooted and picnic benches and waste bins being thrown into the air. There were some reports of vehicles being lifted up.

Video posted on You Tube shows a large, dark tornado funnelling out of the skyline.

At the Breezy Point Surf Club, the storm tore off roofs of cabanas, scattering debris around.

"We were all scared. The windows on the whole building broke, the lights went out... Everything was shaking. It was really crazy," club employee Caitlin Walsh was quoted as saying by Reuters.

Continue reading the main story

In pictures: Tornado hits New York
"I was showing videos of tornadoes to my 4-year-old on my phone, and two minutes later, it hit," local resident Peter Maloney told AP.

"Just like they always say, it sounded like a train."

One person who became trapped in a flooded lift in the basement of an apartment was rescued by a porter, reports say.

The second storm hit the Canarsie area in Brooklyn, damaging several homes and trees.

Parts of New York were also lashed with heavy rains brought by the storms.

The National Weather Service (NWS) said thunderstorms were likely to affect parts of New Jersey, Connecticut, Maryland, New Hampshire, Massachusetts and Pennsylvania, with more tornadoes possible.

It said the severe weather was likely to continue overnight as a cold front from the west clashed with the warm, moist air.
 
Pictures of a rare Fire Tornado from Queensland:

Fire tornado towers over Queensland outback

Firefighters battling a huge grassfire in Queensland have witnessed a rarely seen destructive phenomenon - a fire tornado.

Crews fighting the fire near Thargomindah, in the state's far west, watched in awe as a massive fire tornado formed inside the inferno on Sunday.

Bulloo Shire Mayor John Ferguson says as the giant column of flame rose, it was photographed by a local woman.

"It went up about 300 metres in the air," he said. :shock:

Read more: http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/queensl ... z2AHZ4U1F5
 
Zilch5 said:
Pictures of a rare Fire Tornado from Queensland:

Fire tornado towers over Queensland outback

Read more: http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/queensl ... z2AHZ4U1F5
Well, one of those would have brightened things up around here! For the last two days it's been cloudy, with fog or mist, and damp and drizzly. Very depressing - 50 shades of grey!

(Today should be brighter, with sun tomorrow - but then the buses will be on strike, so I won't be able to go very far... :evil: )
 
Deadly tornadoes hit Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky
[Video: One eyewitness filmed the moment the vehicle she was in drove under a tornado]

Powerful tornadoes have swept through the US Midwest, destroying buildings and overturning vehicles in the states of Illinois, Indiana and Kentucky.
At least five people were killed and it is feared that several hundred people may have been injured in the fast-moving storms.
A number of people are said to be trapped inside buildings.

Forecasters say up to 53 million people could be affected. Hailstones the size of tennis balls have been reported.
The rapid-moving storm - with winds of up to 111km/h (68mph) - is continuing its way east.

November is ordinarily one of the quietest months in the tornado calendar, meaning these storms are unusually destructive for this time of year, the BBC's Nick Bryant in New York reports.

All the fatalities were reported in Illinois, which was the hardest hit state.
One person died in the town of Washington, Melanie Arnold of the Illinois Emergency Management Agency was quoted as saying by the Associated Press news agency. She provided no further details.

Two further people died in southern Massac County, while an elderly man and his sister were killed when a tornado struck their farm house in the village of New Minden.

Eyewitnesses described how large parts of Washington had been levelled by the tornadoes.
Illinois officials are describing the situation as "dangerous and volatile".

Karen Harris, a food truck operator in Washington, told the BBC she saw a "car completely mangled, the houses gone".
"Telephone wires [are] down everywhere, live wires are still down. I'm pretty traumatised from what I saw.
"I actually saw a vehicle in the middle of the road, their left signal light turned on, like they were getting ready to turn, all the windows were out of it, blood was in the back seat.
"Pandemonium. It looks like a war zone," Ms Harris added.

Laura Nightengale, a reporter with the Journal Star newspaper in Peoria, Illinois, witnessed the approach of a tornado from inside a house in the town.
"From the window I saw this huge tornado, tonnes of debris flying through the air.
"I took shelter in the basement. The area that was hit, it's just absolutely devastated - entire blocks where homes stood this morning right now are just rubble," Ms Nightengale told the BBC.

The National Weather Service warned of a "particularly dangerous situation" for parts of the central US.
"Several rapidly moving, intense tornadoes, severe thunderstorms, large hail events and damaging winds are expected in these watch areas," the service said.

Illinois Governor Pat Quinn warned residents to "pay attention to all weather alerts and stay home and inside if possible".
American football fans were evacuated from a stadium in the centre of Chicago as one tornado moved through the city suburbs.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-24982072
 
Meanwhile, back in UK:

Mini tornado spotted in Worcester car park
Surprised onlookers gather to look at a swirling 20ft tall cloud of dust and gravel that appeared in a pub car park in Worcester
2:06PM BST 07 May 2014

Ross Withers, a tiler from Worcester, filmed the tornado after he spotted the 20ft tall cloud of dust and gravel swirling around outside The Pavilion in the Park pub in Tybridge Street on Saturday afternoon.

Video footage taken just yards away shows intrigued onlookers gathering to look at the tornado that flew narrowly close to cars and people before it fizzled out against a fence.

Tornadoes are not uncommon to the UK. In April 2012 tornadoes swept the country leaving a trail of damaged cars, uprooted trees and fallen power lines.

Source: SWNS

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/topics/weath ... -park.html

I've seen these Dust Devils in the Sahara. They're also common on Mars!
 
rynner2 said:
Meanwhile, back in UK:

Mini tornado spotted in Worcester car park

There is a technical difference between a tornado and a dust devil[1], and that little whirlwind was a dust devil I think.

It was interesting how it was leaving a well defined track on the ground.

The small size and very tight nature almost gives it a kind of 'personality'. Once upon a time people would have thought a thing like that was an evil spirit.



[1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dust_devil
 
markrkingston1 said:
rynner2 said:
Meanwhile, back in UK:

Mini tornado spotted in Worcester car park

There is a technical difference between a tornado and a dust devil[1], and that little whirlwind was a dust devil I think.

It was interesting how it was leaving a well defined track on the ground.

The small size and very tight nature almost gives it a kind of 'personality'. Once upon a time people would have thought a thing like that was an evil spirit.



[1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dust_devil
I myself captured one on a random trip Out Back one day: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7b4EcsK8ogQ

There it was. Tall, isn't it.
 
skinny said:
markrkingston1 said:
rynner2 said:
Meanwhile, back in UK:

Mini tornado spotted in Worcester car park

There is a technical difference between a tornado and a dust devil[1], and that little whirlwind was a dust devil I think.

It was interesting how it was leaving a well defined track on the ground.

The small size and very tight nature almost gives it a kind of 'personality'. Once upon a time people would have thought a thing like that was an evil spirit.



[1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dust_devil
I myself captured one on a random trip Out Back one day: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7b4EcsK8ogQ

There it was. Tall, isn't it.

Good video. Yup, the dust devil is a bit more impressive than the previous one! :)
 
rynner2 said:
English weather may be interesting, but foreign weather is diabolical! :twisted:
Brown trousers time!

Twin tornadoes strike US state of Nebraska
[Video: Wendy Urquhart reports]

At least one person has been killed and 19 injured when two massive tornadoes hit the US state of Nebraska.

The town of Pilger, about 100 miles (160km) north-west of Omaha, with a population of 350 people, was devastated by the twisters.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-27881353
 
A different (or differently edited) video of the Twin Tornados:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldne ... -town.html

The dual tornadoes were unusual because both appeared to have roughly the same strength. In most cases, one tornado tends to be larger and more powerful than the other, and the bigger cyclone grows stronger as the smaller one weakens.

"It's less common for two tornadoes to track together for so long, especially with that same intensity," said Barbara Mayes, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Valley. "By no means is it unprecedented. But we don't see it often."
 
'Twister' spotted over Ridgeway Hill
Updated 8:56am Thursday 14th August 2014

A HUGE 'twister' travelled across the Ridgeway this morning.
Sally Tyler was at work in Weymouth when she spotted the cloud travel up from the Channel and work its way inland.
It disappeared into the rest of the clouds at Ridgeway Hill.

She said she watched it sweep across the landscape. She said: "It was a bit unusual. I have never seen one coming inland.
"It was huge. When it was travelling towards Hardy's Monument it was quite big in size.
"It was changing constantly as it went along - it was rising and falling."

Lorna Strong took a picture of the ‘twister’ as it travelled over Upwey.
She said: “I took them from chapel lane, looking towards Weymouth at about 7.30am. I have seen one once before a few years ago, from Upwey but not as good as this one.”

http://www.dorsetecho.co.uk/news/114088 ... eway_Hill/
 
Another UK twister!

Ryanair flight takes off for Spain moments before ‘mini tornado’ arrives
This gloomy funnel cloud was snapped looming large behind a plane taking off for Majorca, Spain [pic]
By Mark Molloy
4:10PM BST 15 Aug 2014

Airline passengers on board this Ryanair flight may have experienced some slight turbulence having taken off in front of a mini tornado.
Holidaymakers departing from East Midlands Airport chose the right time to make a getaway as the summer weather comes to an abrupt end.
They were heading to Palma Mallorca, in sunny Spain, where temperatures will hit 80F (27C) this weekend.

The perfectly timed photograph captures a gloomy funnel cloud appearing ominously in the background.

Forecasters are predicting the end of a baking British summer, as the tail end of Hurricane Bertha drags cold air from Scandinavia this weekend.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstop ... rport.html
 
And just across the North Sea...

Video

Zeebrugge beach hit by waterspout

A spectacular waterspout swept across a Belgian beach causing damage along the shore.
According to witnesses, everything happened within a few seconds as the waterspout swept across the Zeebrugge beach knocking down beach chairs and booths, and damaging a terrace.

A waterspout is formed by the collision of cold air over the warm sea and [is] relatively common along the Belgian coast, but they usually stay above the sea and do not come ashore.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-28821679

The actual 'spout' is not seen, but the swirling wind over the beach is clear by its actions on the sand and anything else moveable!
 
Alfreton tornado: Homeowner to receive demolition verdict

A man who returned home from work to find his house had been ravaged by a tornado will find out later if it will have to be demolished.
The home on Catherine Street, Alfreton, was one of three properties severely damaged when the tornado ripped through the Derbyshire town on Wednesday.

William Sitch arrived back home at 16:45 BST to witness the devastation.
His partner's son said: "He's gutted and in shock. It's not something that you think would happen in Alfreton."

Oli Constable, 19, said: "I saw stuff about the tornado on social media and showed my mum.
"She thought I was joking and then later she got a call from William and we found out that it had happened."

Mr Constable added: "Structural engineers said it was unstable last night. A lot of water would have got in last night into the loft and first floor.
"A decision will be made today on whether it will have to be demolished or not."

The fire service said 30 other properties and vehicles also suffered damage from flying bricks and debris.

The Met Office confirmed a tornado, caused by volatile and unstable air, had hit the town at about 15:30 BST.
Witnesses said they saw a tornado ripping down lampposts and trees in Mansfield Road and Catherine Street.

Dean Gazzard, station manager at Derbyshire Fire and Rescue, thanked the Salvation Army for its help in responding to the tornado.
He said: "We have had strange weather before and high winds where individual properties have been damaged, but never a tornado, and never a whole street that has been affected like that."

Jerome Alford, who lives in Mansfield Road, said houses on the opposite side of the street were left untouched.
"The wind started picking up and pulling bits of the roof away," he said.
"It was like watching a movie."

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-de ... e-29508089
 
A tornado has hit 24 homes and a bolt of lightning has struck two properties as severe weather battered Wales overnight.

The whirlwind hit Haverfordwest at about 19:00 GMT on Tuesday and ripped sections of roof off six properties and two people have been taken to hospital.

The Met Office has since issued a further severe weather warning for Wednesday and Thursday.

Heavy rainfall, gale force winds and localised flooding are all expected.

Meanwhile, lightning damaged a chimney and left a hole in the roof of two homes in the Vale of Glamorgan on Tuesday evening. ...

http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-wales-30805054
 
Cornwall 'tornado' throws wreckage 300ft
A suspected tornado threw a summerhouse roof some 300ft (90m) through the air and left a trail of destruction.

The freak weather ripped the guttering and tiles from roofs in Park Bottom, Illogan, in Cornwall and left them in a nearby field on Tuesday night.
via BBC Cornwall
 
While it had become hot and sunny again after my previous post above (and the FI race did go on after all) sudden storms flooded the area this morning. There was something like 9 inches of rain. We're currently trapped in our neighborhood due to low water crossings on both sides.

The flood sirens have been going off all day. The siren itself is disturbing enough (as it's meant to be) but it's the huge booming voice saying "Warning! Warning! Move to higher ground" that freaks me out - sounds like an alien invasion or something. :eek:

More rain is predicted and there's also a tornado warning out. There have been a couple of tornados outside of town but hopefully it's too hilly for one to touch down here. It's not as if we have anywhere to run if one did touch down, anyway. I guess it will be the old "everyone hide in the bathtub" drill if it comes to that.
Well well, Austin is one of Adelaide's sister cities and it must be our turn. This was taken 30ks east of me in hilly territory. Very rare indeed. Not so rare the tropical feed-in during November. I get the feeling our climate is shifting to a more northerly pattern.

Tornado wows spectators at Monarto during statewide thunderstorms in South Australia

6912880-3x4-340x453.jpg
 
Texas tornadoes: 'Eight killed' in Dallas suburbs

Eight people are reported to have been killed in Texas after new tornadoes, raising the death toll to 26 in a week of storms in several US states.
Local media said five people in cars were probably blown off a motorway in Garland, near Dallas. Another three bodies were found in nearby towns.

Officials also say Texas and Oklahoma could suffer a "historic blizzard", bringing up to 16in (41cm) of snow.
The storms across the South have been unusually powerful for winter.
Reports from Texas said churches were destroyed, cars mangled and trees toppled across a wide area.

Garland police believed that "winds from a tornado that passed through" the town late on Saturday were the cause of car accidents, Melinda Urbina from the Dallas County Sheriff's office told the BBC.
At least five people were reported dead in the cars.
Ms Urbina said the winds "tossed the cars around", and the vehicles were later found below Interstate 30, about 15 miles (24km) north-east of Dallas.

She also urged local residents to stay off the roads.
Police officers in Garland are now trying to determine whether they were any other casualties at the crash site.
"We're dealing with darkness out here," police spokesman Mike Hatfield was quoted as saying by the Dallas News website.
"All of the street lights and highway lights are out," he added.

Two people were found dead at a petrol station in Copeville, and a third was killed in Blue Ridge, reports in local media said.
The storms have damaged a number of houses in the area, including churches.
Several power lines were down and there were reports of burst gas lines.

etc...

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-35184869

Map, photos, on page...
 
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