Hailstorm Hits Chinchilla, Australia; Damage Reported, School Closed

Hail as big as golf balls fell from a severe storm in Queensland, Australia, Wednesday afternoon, leaving damage that knocked out power to thousands and forced the closure of at least one school.

The large storm hit the town of Chinchilla, where damage was reported to many buildings and the hail quickly piled up on streets and yards, turning the scene into something that resembled winter. As many as six patients had to be evacuated from Chinchilla Hospital after the building sustained hail damage, the Australian Broadcasting Company said.

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Lightning crashes in the background and hail covers the runway during a severe thunderstorm in Chinchilla, Queensland, Australia, on Wednesday, Oct. 28, 2015.  (Instagram/skytrans_airlines)

Damage from the storm is expected to rise into the millions of dollars, according to the Chronicle.

(MORE: Pattern Change Coming in November?)

News Australia reported power was knocked out to at least 3,300 customers in Chinchilla, and Chinchilla Christian School was closed Thursday after it was damaged by the storm.

According to a separate ABC report, the State Emergency Service fielded some 120 calls from Chinchilla residents who reported roof collapses and other types of serious damage.

"At the moment our lawn here looks like a snow field," resident Bill McCutcheon told ABC. "I can see that our trees here have been almost totally stripped of their leaves."

Hailstorms in the Chinchilla area are fairly rare, according to Australia's climatology. They're most frequently reported in areas along the continent's southeastern coast, which is also where the population is most dense.

Below, we've embedded several images and videos from social media users who documented the intense storm.

Limited Severe Weather Threat Over Gulf Coast States; Flash Flooding Possible

Severe Weather Forecast

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Short-Term Thunderstorm Forecast

Areas shaded in red indicate the greatest chance of severe thunderstorms. Mainly non-severe thunderstorms are expected in the orange area.

Rain and thunderstorms will focus along a cold front stretching from the Tennessee to the Lower Mississippi Valley. This cold front will push eastward on Friday into the Northeast and Deep South.

Winds topping 100 mph are roaring from the southwest some 20,000 feet above ground level over a zone from the mid-Mississippi Valley into the Great Lakes region. Winds of 60 mph are blowing just a few thousand feet above ground level in parts of that corridor. 

As thunderstorms erupt, they could pull some of that wind momentum down to ground level, bringing potentially damaging winds.

The most unstable air is parts of the Lower Mississippi Valley and Southeast, well to the south of the strongest wind energy aloft. Still, that instability could have enough of a favorable environment to support isolated severe thunderstorms through Friday evening.

Here's the severe weather forecast through the weekend.

Friday

• Strong to marginally severe thunderstorms may cause locally damaging winds and spotty hail from southeastern Texas and Louisiana eastward into the southern half of Mississippi and central to southern Alabama.
• Given the limited instability, the main threat with any of the more robust storms will be locally damaging winds.
• As the frontal system stalls out, clusters of thunderstorms with locally heavy rain may trigger flash flooding into Friday night from Alabama, westward into the Lower Mississippi Valley and parts of Texas. 

This Weekend

• The risk of severe thunderstorms decreases this weekend as there will be limited instability.
• An isolated strong to severe thunderstorms cannot be ruled out on Saturday from Georgia into South Carolina.
• Heavy rain is also expected, especially on Saturday morning, in eastern Texas, Louisiana, central Mississippi and northern Alabama.
• Thunderstorms are likely in Florida on Sunday, as the cold front continues to push southward, but severe thunderstorms are not expected.

How Did Mexico Escape the Strongest Hurricane in Recorded History with No Deaths?

 As Hurricane Patricia drew within miles of the western Mexico coastline, weather forecasters around the world shuttered as they tried to imagine the devastation that was about to take place.

The strongest hurricane ever observed in either the Atlantic or Eastern Pacific basins was barreling toward a coastline that has struggled with intense storms in the past. Warnings were sent and the coastline was evacuated, but experts still feared a high death toll was inevitable.

But after the storm passed and officials were able to survey the damage, the Mexican government released its official death toll from Patricia: zero. How were they able to achieve such a massive success in the face of the strongest storm North America has seen since meteorologists began studying hurricanes?

There were two factors at play: preparedness and luck.

Certainly, the Mexican government and emergency officials deserve a large amount of praise. According to the Los Angeles Times, tens of thousands of residents and vacationers were evacuated into some 1,200 shelters to prepare for the imminent devastation. 

It was their only hope to survive: hunker down in the best-built structures along the coast and wait for the beast to pass. Their preparedness was rewarded.

There was also an element of luck at play. According to Michael Lowry, hurricane specialist at The Weather Channel, the core of Patricia hit a sparsely populated area of the Mexican coastline, not far from several larger cities. Had the storm wobbled a little south or further north, we could be telling a much different story about Patricia right now.

http://www.wunderground.com/news/hurricane-patricia-mexico-no-deaths

Olaf Weakening After Bringing High Surf to Hawaii

Olaf has weakened to a tropical storm over a thousand miles east-northeast of Hawaii. The former hurricane brought high surf to Hawaii the last few days, but that is now subsiding.

Here is the latest on Olaf:

• Olaf is located more than 1,000 miles east-northeast of the Big Island of Hawaii.
• Olaf is moving to the east-northeast and will continue to weaken, becoming a remnant low soon.
• This storm is not a direct threat to Hawaii or any other land areas.
• However, high surf generated by Olaf has affected the Hawaiian Islands the last few days, but has now subsided.
• Last Monday morning, Oct. 19, Olaf strengthened into a major hurricane (Category 3 or stronger), and by Monday afternoon had rapidly intensified to a Category 4 hurricane. Olaf remained a Category 4 until early Wednesday morning, Oct. 21, when it was downgraded to a strong Category 3 hurricane.
• According to the National Hurricane Center, Olaf was the farthest south forming major hurricane on record in the eastern Pacific basin. Reliable records in that basin began in 1971.
• Hurricane specialist Eric Blake from the National Hurricane Center says Olaf was the first tropical cyclone on record to track from the eastern Pacific basin (east of 140 degrees W longitude) to the central Pacific basin (west of 140 degrees W longitude), then back to the eastern Pacific basin again.

http://www.wunderground.com/news/tropical-depression-nineteen-e-tropical-storm-hurricane-olaf-eastern-pacific

Death Toll Rises to Nearly 340 in Afghanistan, Pakistan Earthquake

Officials worked Tuesday to reach the hardest-hit remote areas of Pakistan and Afghanistan, one day after a 7.5 magnitude earthquake left at least 339 people dead.

Afghani and Pakistani officials said 258 of those deaths occurred in Pakistan, while 78 have been confirmed dead in Afghanistan. The temblor was centered deep beneath the Hindu Kush mountains in a sparsely populated region of northeastern Afghanistan that borders Pakistan, Tajikistan and China.

Rescue crews were working to reach the villages near the epicenter, located 45 miles south of Fayzabad, the capital of Badakhshan province.

(MORE: Flooding Swamps Texas; Homeless Man Found Alive)

In Pakistan, the Swat Valley and areas around Dir, Malakand and Shangla towns in the mountains of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province were also hard-hit. Officials said 202 of the dead were killed in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

The Pakistani town closest to the epicenter is Chitral, while on the Afghan side it is the Jurm district of Badakhshan.

More than 2,000 people were injured in Monday's temblor, which also damaged more than 4,000 homes in Pakistan, officials said.

In Afghanistan, Qameruddin Sediqi, an adviser to the public health minister confirmed 78 dead and 466 wounded, based on numbers reported by hospitals across the country.

"We believe the exact numbers are much higher because not all people bring the bodies to the hospitals so there are many that are not being counted. And there are still areas we don't have access to so we are not aware of the situation there," he said.

Badakhshan Gov. Shah Waliullah Adeeb said more than 1,500 houses there were either destroyed or partially destroyed.

http://www.wunderground.com/news/earthquake-afghanistan-pakistan

Homes Damaged From Highest Tides in Decades Along Parts of Georgia, South Carolina

Persistent onshore winds coupled with the monthly spring tides led to the highest tides in decades Tuesday morning along the South Carolina and Georgia coasts, driving coastal flooding into Charleston, South Carolina, among other areas.

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Flooding in Charleston, South Carolina, during the morning high tide on October 27, 2015.  (Steve Petyerak/The Weather Channel)

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High tide, third highest on record, set Tuesday morning in Charleston, South Carolina, on October 27, 2015.   (NOAA)

http://www.weather.com/storms/severe/news/charleston-south-carolina-georgia-coastal-flooding

At least 20 homes, including two businesses, were damaged by the high water at Edisto Beach, South Carolina, according to a local storm report from the National Weather Service.

Coastal flooding closed several streets and intersections on the Charleston peninsula Tuesday morning, according to the Charleston Police Department. 

Tide levels at Charleston's harbor topped out at 8.686 feet above mean lower low water level, the location's fourth highest tide on record, dating to 1921.

Only three events produced higher tides at Charleston Harbor: Hugo on Sep. 21, 1989 (12.56 feet), an August 11, 1940 hurricane (10.27 feet) and a New Year's Day 1987 coastal storm (8.84 feet) produced higher tides at Charleston Harbor. 

Tuesday's tide level was 4-5 inches higher than the peak measured during the historic South Carolina flooding and coastal flooding event earlier in October. Fortunately this time, there wasn't 17-27 inches of rainfall occurring at the same time.

A Few Severe Thunderstorms With Damaging Winds Possible in the East Wednesday (FORECAST)

 Severe thunderstorms are not expected on Tuesday. However, the risk of isolated severe thunderstorms will return on Wednesday as a cold front slices into the East.

Locally heavy rain will be a concern through midweek and strong wind gusts will be a threat as well, especially in the Great Lakes region.

We have the latest severe threat forecasts and radar maps including watches and warnings below.

Tuesday

• Severe thunderstorms are not currently anticipated. Otherwise, locally heavy rain may cause spotty flooding in the Tennessee Valley and Deep South. 

Wednesday

• Bands of rain and thunderstorms may produce strong wind gusts ahead of a cold front from the Appalachians and Upper Ohio Valley to much of the eastern seaboard from the Carolinas to southern New England Wednesday and Wednesday night.
• These strong winds gusts may lead to some power outages and downed trees, tree limbs.
• Strong non-thunderstorm wind gusts are also expected behind the cold front in the Great Lakes region.

Thursday

• Severe thunderstorms are not expected. Wind gusts will remain strong near in the Great Lakes region all day and in parts of coastal New England early in the day.
• Thunderstorms should increase later in the day in parts of the Desert Southwest, with some small hail and heavy rain possible.

http://www.weather.com/storms/tornado/news/severe-weather-tracker-page

Heavy Rain Caused Flooding in Texas and Along the Gulf Coast

An upper-level low pressure system and an area of low pressure slide east along the Gulf Coast and combined to deliver the drenching downpours. The surface low pressure system in the Gulf of Mexico formed partially in response to the mid- and upper-level remnants of Hurricane Patricia. Also involved is the leftover moisture from Patricia.

This setup resulted in flooding along parts of the Texas Gulf Coast, including the Houston metro area, on Saturday. Many roadways and vehicles were reported to be under water around Houston Saturday night. Other parts of Texas have also seen flooding in recent days, with localized rainfall totals of more than one foot. Corsicana, Texas, has already received more than 20 inches of rain since Thursday, causing serious flash flooding.

New Orleans International Airport recorded 8.67 inches of rain on Sunday, making it the fourth wettest calendar day on record there dating to 1946.

On Monday, the heavy rain moved farther east with more than 4 inches of rain reported in Mobile, Alabama and Pensacola, Florida

http://www.weather.com/forecast/regional/news/patricia-gulf-coast-lower-mississippi-valley-flooding

Rare Phenomenon Spotted on Mount Rainier

With clouds rolling in and visibility decreasing, Radka Chapin and her fellow hikers decided it was time to end their excursion on the Tamanos Mountain in Washington's Mount Rainier National Park. They were on their way down from the summit when they came across something that stopped them in their tracks: A rare optical illusion known as the Brocken spectre.

"Well, we’re definitely not leaving now!" Chapin wrote in her report on the discussion forum nwhikers.net. "Over the next few hours, the 'spectre' would show for brief moments before it disappeared with moving clouds."

Several hours later, the hikers continued on their way back when they saw the phenomenon again.

"The spectre became more prominent, colorful, and was projected onto clouds directly below us. It was a breathtaking show," said Chapin.

The phenomenon is commonly seen near The Brocken, the highest peak of the Harz mountain range in Northern Germany, hence the name Brocken spectre. The illusion forms when the sun casts a person's shadow in the mountains, and includes a rainbow halo if there are water droplets in the air.

The eerie photos of ghost-like shadows can be seen in the slideshow above.

Baby Dies After Nearly 9 Hours Trapped in Hot Car in Deltona, Florida

A Florida baby died after being left for more than eight hours in a sweltering vehicle Friday in the town of Deltona, officials said.

The child was identified as six-month-old Trenton Cason-Collins, according to ClickOrlando.com. He was left in the car by 38-year-old caregiver Changa Larson, Volusia County Sheriff's Office spokesman Gary Davidson told the West Volusia Beacon.

Authorities say Larson, an eighth-grade math teacher, was supposed to drop the baby off at day care Friday morning but claims she forgot. She arrived at her school at about 7 a.m., ClickOrlando.com reported. The boy's body was discovered in the vehicle Friday afternoon, and a 911 call was made at 3:54 p.m. – nearly nine hours after Trenton was initially left in the car.

http://www.weather.com/news/news/hot-car-death-florida

Wild Bunnies Become Big Nuisance in Washington State Town

A Washington State community says it’s overrun by wild bunnies, but that’s not as cute of a problem as you might think.

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Wild bunnies line the football field at Langley Middle School during practice.  (Screenshot via KING TV)

The Langley Middle School on Whidbey Island sees evidence of the destructive pests everywhere on campus.

"There is feces everywhere," Brian Miller, facilities director for the South Whidbey School District, told KING 5 in Seattle. "Every day there are new holes, and the ones we've filled in are dug out, again." The football field that the school just paid $80,000 to fix is now damaged again.

http://www.weather.com/news/news/whidbey-island-langley-washington-bunny-problem

World’s Longest Continental Volcano Chain Discovered In Australia

The research found that the plume created volcanic activity only where Earth's solid outer layer, called the lithosphere, is thinner than 80 miles.

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Dr. Rhodri Davies, a seismology and mathematical geophysics researcher at Australian National University, led the team which discovered new information about Australia's volcanic past.   (Stuart Hay/ANU)

Of course, none of it can really be called “new.” The volcanic chain was created over the past 33 million years, as Australia moved northwards over a hotspot in the Earth'

2 Koala Joeys Peek from Their Mothers' Pouches

http://www.weather.com/science/nature/news/koala-joeys-peek-from-pouches-taronga-zoo

One male joey — named TJ — appeared first for first-time mother Sydney. Another new mom, Mallee, welcomed a male as well, named Baxter, after “a stringybark species called Eucalyptus Baxteri,” the zoo said in a press release. “Baxter is chomping on leaves like a champion. He’s obviously still suckling from mum, but he’ll become more and more independent over the coming months,” zookeeper Laura Jones said.

Now that the koalas have emerged, they will begin to ride on their mothers' backs, eventually working up to short trips away from home. After 12 months, wild koalas strike out on their own.

Koalas can live to be 13 to 18 years old, though the average is about 10 years, the Australia Koala Foundation states on its website. In Australia today, habitat loss threatens the animals, as deforestation, wildfires and disease rob koalas of the eucalyptus they need to survive.

Crane Collapse in High Winds Kills At Least 107 at Mecca's Grand Mosque During Hajj

http://www.weather.com/news/news/mecca-crane-collapse

A crane collapsed inside the holy city of Mecca, Saudi Arabia, killing at least 107 people and injuring more than 200, the country's civil defense authority said Friday.

Director Suleiman bin Abdullah al-Amro told the Associated Press high winds caused the crane to topple onto the Grand Mosque.

"The speed of the wind was not normal," he said. "There was no way for people to know that the crane was about to collapse for them to scramble."

Pilgrims from all over the world are descending on Mecca, Islam's holiest city, for this month's annual Hajj pilgrimage. Nearly 910,000 pilgrims have already arrived in the country for this year's hajj season, according to official figures.

Baseball Sized Hail Pummels Parts of Italy This Weekend

http://www.weather.com/storms/severe/news/baseball-hail-italy-pozzuoli-naples-sep2015

Baseball-sized hail came smashing down near Naples, Italy on Saturday in a storm that injured several people and animals in addition to causing damage to vehicles, crops and more. The storm hit the city of Pozzuoli just outside the popular coastal destination of Naples. 

JAPAN FLOODS

http://www.weather.com/storms/typhoon/news/tropical-storm-etau-japan-flooding-landslides

A man missing after being swept into a flooded Japanese river was found dead Saturday, raising the death toll from this week's floods to four and lowering the tally of missing persons to 15. Government officials confirmed that more than 15,000 homes have been flooded after torrential rains associated with former Tropical Storm Etau dumped unprecedented rainfall on parts of eastern and northern Japan Wednesday, Thursday and Friday.

Search and rescue efforts continued Saturday while crews made repairs to the broken levee that sent raging floodwaters from the Kinugawa River into the city of Joso, Ibaraki Prefecture, on Thursday. Joso is about 30 miles northeast of downtown Tokyo. An earthquake struck the Greater Tokyo area at dawn Saturday as rescue efforts were poised to resume, injuring at least six people and rattling areas where people were still trapped in flooded houses.

Dramatic helicopter rescues unfolded on live television in Japan on Thursday as water breached that levee, leaving scores of residents trapped on the roofs or upper floors of their homes.

Humans Have Halved the Number of Trees on Earth

Without humans, our concrete jungles would be green.

There are approximately 3 trillion trees on Earth — seven and a half times the number previously estimated — a new study says. But that figure has fallen roughly 48 percent since the beginning of human civilization, according to scientists from Yale University's School of Forestry and Environmental Studies.

And it's falling — fast, thanks to human intervention. Humans are the top driver of tree numbers worldwide, the study found, after using satellite imagery, forest inventory information of more than 400,000 plots and “supercomputer technology” to map the world's trees. The research team recorded tree populations worldwide down to the square kilometer level to come up with their final figure, one that “certainly surprised” first author Thomas Crowther, Ph.D., a post-doctoral researcher at the school

http://www.weather.com/science/news/number-of-trees-on-earth