Category Archives: Tornadoes

More than 50m Americans under severe storm threat after at least five people die in southern states – as it happened

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Extreme weather warnings issued across the US as more storms are expected; millions also warned of heatwave

Across the world this month, temperatures have accelerated to record-setting levels, an ominous sign in the climate crisis ahead of a gathering El Niño that could potentially propel 2023 to become the hottest year ever recorded.

Preliminary global average temperatures taken so far in June are nearly 1C (1.8F) above levels previously recorded for the same month, going back to 1979.

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Three people killed and one missing after tornadoes strike Texas town

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Homes in Perryton, 110 miles north of Amarillo, reduced to rubble and power was cut in the aftermath of the storm

Search and rescue crews will resume searching on Friday for at least one person missing in the north Texas town of Perryton after it was struck by one or more tornados that killed three people and sent up to 100 more to the hospital on Thursday evening, some in critical condition.

The town remained without power the day after a huge twister inflicted damage to homes and a mobile home park.

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Virginia Beach declares state of emergency after tornado

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Officials estimate between 50 and 100 homes damaged by tornado that also downed trees and caused gas leaks

A popular coastal US tourist destination has declared a state of emergency after a tornado moved through the area Sunday and damaged dozens of homes, downed trees and caused gas leaks.

Officials in the city of Virginia Beach, Virginia, said it’s unclear how many homes had been damaged but they estimated between 50 and 100, after the tornado touched down just after 6pm, WTKR-TV reported.

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‘A scary scene’: Auckland, still recovering from deadly flooding, hit by tornado

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Residents of New Zealand’s largest city say people are ‘heartbroken’ at fresh damage wreaked by storm

Auckland, New Zealand’s largest city, has been hit by a tornado, two months after the wider region was devastated by Cyclone Gabrielle and three months after the city was struck by deadly flooding.

Auckland Emergency Management said it began receiving reports of “localised havoc” around 9pm on Sunday, according to the NZ Herald. Authorities received more than 30 calls, with roofs lifted off homes and trees toppled.

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Missouri tornado kills five people and causes widespread destruction

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Twister is part of a system of extreme storms and severe weather that has already battered areas of Michigan, Illinois and Iowa

A tornado that tore through south-eastern Missouri overnight has caused widespread destruction and killed at least five people.

The twister that struck overnight is part of a system of extreme storms that is spawning tornadoes and threatening more death and destruction across the central US.

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Deadly storms and tornadoes kill at least 29 people in several US states

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Monster storm system struck at least eight states over the weekend, prompting at least 50 preliminary reports of tornadoes

As many as 29 people have been killed after a slew of tornadoes tore through parts of the southern and midwestern US in recent days, leaving immense destruction and debris in its path, according to officials.

A monster storm system struck at least eight states over the weekend, prompting at least 50 preliminary reports of tornadoes. The states affected include Indiana, Iowa, Illinois, Arkansas, Tennessee, Mississippi, Delaware and Alabama.

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Monster storm system leaves at least 21 dead through US south and midwest

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Tornadoes leave devastation across Arkansas, Illinois, Iowa and Oklahoma, including theatre roof that collapsed during concert

At least 21 people died and as many as 900,000 places were without power after a monster storm system tore through the southern and midwest US on Friday, spawning deadly tornadoes that shredded homes and shopping centers, and collapsed a theatre roof during a heavy metal concert in Illinois.

More than 50 preliminary reports of tornadoes were recorded across seven states, with twister-producing conditions continuing into Saturday as the storm system threatened a broad US swath which is home to 85 million people.

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‘It’s going to be a long road’: Mississippi sifts through tornado debris

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Low-income residents face rough recovery after tornado walloped two counties with poverty rates of 35% and 33%

A giant tornado obliterated the modest one-story home that Kimberly Berry shared with her two daughters in the Mississippi Delta flatlands, leaving only a foundation and some random belongings: a toppled refrigerator, a dresser and matching nightstand, a bag of Christmas decorations, some clothing.

During the storm Friday, Berry and her 12-year-old daughter huddled and prayed at a nearby church that was barely damaged, while her 25-year-old daughter survived in the hard-hit town of Rolling Fork, about 15 miles (24km) away.

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Mississippi tornado: Biden declares emergency after storm kills 26 in region

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Search and recovery efforts continue after twister hit hardest in some of the most economically deprived areas of US’s poorest state

Joe Biden declared a federal emergency for swathes of Mississippi hit by a devastating tornado, as rescue workers continued to search for survivors on Sunday morning with a death toll of at least 26 people caused by catastrophic storms in parts of the US’s deep south.

Twenty-five people were killed and dozens injured in Mississippi, throughout the state’s low-lying Delta region and around its north-east portion, with another man dying in the neighboring state of Alabama.

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Mississippi tornado: death toll of 25 highest in the state in 21st century

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Fatalities from tornado the worst in 50 years, with more severe storms expected in the region on Sunday

Devastating storms and at least one large tornado which ripped through rural Mississippi on Friday night left 25 people dead in the state, dozens injured and rescue workers hauling people from rubble throughout Saturday, as the state reeled from its highest tornado-related death toll in decades.

Severe weather pounded several southern states overnight as the centers of destruction emerged on Saturday morning as the small, majority Black towns of Rolling Fork and Silver City in the Mississippi delta.

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Los Angeles hit by strongest tornado in three decades: ‘It got very loud’

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Violent funnel with gusts reaching up to 110mph ripped through roofs and scattered debris high into the air

The National Weather Service (NWS) has confirmed that the violent funnel of swirling winds that ripped through roofs and scattered debris high into the air near downtown Los Angeles on Wednesday was indeed a tornado – and the strongest one the area has seen in more than three decades.

It was the second tornado to touch down in southern California this week in an area unaccustomed to facing that particular kind of extreme weather. “It’s definitely not something that’s common for the region,” said NWS meteorologist Rose Schoenfeld, noting that the last time the weather service’s LA office sent out tornado assessment teams was in 2016.

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Biden approves disaster funding after Alabama and Georgia tornadoes

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At least nine people died as survivors tell of hiding in bathtubs and containers as ferocious storms bore down on homes

Joe Biden approved a major disaster declaration for Alabama on Sunday, after at least nine people died in tornadoes that destroyed homes and knocked out power to tens of thousands in south-eastern US states this week.

The president ordered federal aid to supplement regional recovery efforts in the areas affected by severe storms, winds and tornadoes on 12 January, a White House statement said.

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One dead, dozens injured after tornadoes rip through Texas, Arkansas and Oklahoma

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‘Total destruction’ and dozens of people still unaccounted for in Texas town while Arkansas and Oklahoma also hit by tornadoes

At least two people have died and dozens more are injured after tornadoes ravaged parts of Texas, Arkansas and Oklahoma.

Several twisters caused property damage and physical injury across the various states on Friday. Tornado warnings had still been in effect as of late Friday in parts of Texas, Arkansas, Oklahoma and Missouri.

Ramon Antonio Vargas contributed reporting.

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Spain and Morocco feel the heat as unseasonal snow falls on Colorado

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Analysis: high temperatures affect southern Europe, while in US state mercury rapidly drops more than 30C

Extremely hot and mostly sunny conditions have been experienced across southern Europe this week. Parts of Spain have had record-breaking temperatures for the month of May, with the southern city of Jaén in Andalucia recording 40.3C (104.5F) on Friday 20 May, according to the Spanish weather agency Aemet. Meanwhile, in the nearby town of Andújar, temperatures exceeded 42C two days in a row.

Intense heat also affected northern Africa, with Sidi Slimane city in Morocco recording its hottest day in recorded history, reaching a scorching 45.7C. Although one particular weather event cannot be directly attributed to the climate crisis, scientists believe the severity and duration of heatwaves are expected to increase in the future in response to a warmer global climate.

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Homes ‘completely blown away’ as tornado rips through Kansas

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Thousands are without power after a suspected twister tore through parts of the state on Friday evening

A suspected tornado that barrelled through parts of Kansas damaged multiple buildings, injured several people and left more than 6,500 people without power, officials said.

Officials said the suspected twister moved though parts of south-east Wichita and Andover on Friday evening. Andover fire chief, Chad Russell, said during a news conference on Saturday morning that 50 to 100 buildings were damaged in Sedgwick County, though it was not immediately known how many buildings were damaged in Andover.

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Strong winds in north Wales were a tornado, experts confirm

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Tornado with speeds of up to 114mph swept up sheep and caused extensive damage to farm in Pennal

Strong winds that caused “at least £100,000” of damage to a farm in north Wales have been confirmed as a tornado by experts.

The extreme weather struck Gogarth Hall Farm in Pennal on Wednesday, uprooting trees and lifting a ewe and lambs into the air.

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Tornado hits New Orleans causing damage, power outages and reports of one death

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Tornado occurred as major storm system tore through parts of the US south, killing another person in Texas and injuring more than two dozen

A large tornado touched down in New Orleans on Tuesday evening, causing damage and destruction to the city’s lower ninth ward, before traveling east into the neighboring parish of St Bernard, where officials reported multiple injuries and one death.

The tornado occurred as a major storm system continued to tear through parts of the US south, killing another person in Texas and injuring more than two dozen.

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‘I heard a meow’: Kentucky man finds his cat unscathed in rubble nine days after tornado

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Sonny ‘Hoot’ Gibson thought his mind was playing tricks when the sound emerged from his demolished office building

Nine days after a tornado demolished his three-story office building in downtown Mayfield, Kentucky, Sonny “Hoot” Gibson was standing in the rubble when he thought he heard a faint meow.

It instantly gave him hope that his office cat, Madix, who hadn’t been seen since before the storms hit, was alive. Gibson said he had tried to find the black cat with yellow eyes who liked to greet customers of his rental business, but he had given up after a few days.

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Joe Biden visits Kentucky after tornadoes kill at least 74 people – live

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Joe Biden has arrived in Kentucky to survey the damage wrought by the tornadoes that swept through the state on Friday and killed at least 74 people.

Biden was greeted at Ft Campbell Airport by Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear, First Lady Britainy Beshear and former Governor Steve Beshear, who is the father of Andy.

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Kentucky candle factory bosses threatened to fire those who fled tornado, say workers

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Night shift employees report managers took roll call as tornado bore down to be sure no one had left without permission

Workers at a Kentucky candle factory have said they pleaded with managers to be allowed to leave as a deadly tornado barreled towards them last weekend – but say they were told they would be fired if they left their posts.

The barrage of tornadoes that tore through Kentucky and surrounding states killed a dozen children, including a two-month-old infant, Governor Andy Beshear said on Tuesday. A total of 74 people died in Kentucky, with the oldest victim at 98 years old. Eight people have yet to be identified. More than 18,000 homes remained without power on Tuesday.

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