If you've been paying attention to the news you may have noticed that there's been a sharp increase in the amount of tornadoes in the US this year. Just yesterday, another storm pounded a town near the Canadian border in North Dakota, damaging about 15 homes. Blame it on global climate change, chalk it up to coincidence or do something about it--and go check it out yourself!
Mexico wasn't the only place hit by severe summer weather this week. Two storm systems collided in the Midwest sending people all of the way from Colorado to Ohio ducking for cover: Twenty-five people were killed, millions of dollars in roadways were washed out and homes collapsed due to high winds and flooding. Better double check those driving and lodging plans if you're hoping to squeeze in a Matt Gross-style road trip this summer.
In Wisconsin heinous storms resulted in more than $30 million in weather-related damages. Lori Getter the state's Emergency Management spokeswoman told CNN.com:
Mother Nature has been really cruel to our state the last four or five days. For many of these people, they've lost everything.
More rainfall led to heavy flooding after high winds whipped through towns in Wisconsin and Minnesota. Gov. Jim Doyle declared a state of emergency:
It's really awe-inspiring to see how much damage has been done and what this water has done.
The severe weather also hit Oklahoma, parts of Texas, Nebraska and Iowa: proof yet again that some of the biggest storms aren't always tropical.
Hey, it turns out it ain't all sunshine and days on the beach Down Under. They don't even seem to be having that drought they were complaining about: in fact massive storms are causing chaos on the east coast of Australia, especially in Sydney's state of New South Wales.
The worst hit areas are the Hunter and Central Coast regions north of Sydney. Sadly, at least nine people have died in the storms, mostly when their cars have been washed off roads. A Qantas plan was even struck by lightning on its way into Sydney, but landed safely. If you can change your travel plans, try and avoid this pretty part of Oz for a while, and wait until the sunny days return. Shouldn't be too long--they do call it the lucky country.
Sydney beaches have been cleared after an earthquake off the Solomon Islands triggered a tsunami warning. Beaches all along the East Coast of Australia were closed earlier today, but have since been reopened for normal activity. Still in trouble is the beach resort of Gizo in the Solomon Islands. Possibly affected is the Gizo Hotel, among other lodging options. The New York Times reports, via communications with local hotel staffers, that the damage in Gizo is significant, and some fatalities have already been confirmed there. The Islands' only international airport is in the capital of Honiara on Guadalcanal Island. Solomon Airlines operates most international flights out of Honiara.
Lest we get too obsessed with JetBlue here, it turns out there was a bit of hostage situation yesterday. Yes, it was the worst Valentine's Day ever for, among others, a couple headed to Aruba on their honeymoon. The JFK-Aruba flight, originally scheduled to leave yesterday morning, eventually took off at night, but another flight to Cancun, Mexico, was held for at least nine hours before being canceled.
At least four flights encountered hellish delays, including 1060, to Austin, and 850, to Ft. Myers. Gothamist has links to passengers' reports given to the Post and ABC. Were you on one of the affected flights? First, buy yourself a massage, then let us know about it (the flight, not the massage) via email or in the new-and-improved comments section.
Stuck in the Northeast today? Bad weather has got some travelers cursing up a storm, and some calling this the worst Valentine's Day ever. We've seen worse conditions in Winters past, but the timing isn't so good on this one. Right now it seems to be hailing in New York, which means this storm even lacks white romantic snow. Instead, if you go out to quaintly sip a hot chocolate in your favorite cafe, you are likely to get pelted in the eye, and blinded, by a giant, rock-hard snow pellet.
If you've got a flight today, remember to keep up with your airline and check in as much as possible before you even think about leaving for the airport. Flight Explorer helps, as does Weather.com.
If you're en route with your significant other and your plans are in serious jeopardy but you don't have the option of leaving the airport yet, try treating her/him to a little lounge fanciness. Buy a fully refundable first class ticket on the airline with the sickest lounge in the airport you're currently toiling in. Use it to get the boarding pass that will get you into the lounge, and then cancel before your fake flight departs. Oh, and then let us know if that trick works.
Long gone are the days when people just let nature take its course. There are artificial reefs and wave pools for swimmers and surfers who want to control how the swell works, and those nifty machines that make snow when the clouds fail to provide it.
So it was never going to be long before someone decided to manipulate the sun. The residents of the small village of Viganella in the Italian Alps were basically pissed off that they never got to see sunlight between November and January, since the shadow of the Alps kept them in the dark. Perhaps that was one of the reasons that the village rarely saw tourists.
So some bright spark decided to install a massive mirror on the side of the mountain to reflect sunlight into the town square. Computers control the angle of the mirror as the sun moves, and the Viganella villagers are now guaranteed six hours of sunshine a day: providing, of course, the sun comes out at all. Now how could they guarantee that, we wonder...
We've all grumbled away when the sun didn't shine on our vacation, but what have we really done about it? Russian fight-for-her-rights villager Alyona Gabitova is taking action by suing her local weather forecaster.
Gabitova's camping weekend in a national park near Uljanovsk looked like it'd be a perfect relaxing getaway, with sunshine and temperatures over 80 degrees. When she got there, it rained the entire time and she came home with a cold. So she's filed a claim at the local court for the weather service to refund her travel costs.
This could open up a world of new possibilities for disgruntled travelers. Could we sue the Louvre because the Mona Lisa is too small for us to see clearly? Or perhaps lay a complaint against a zoo for non-appearance of a cuddly panda after feeding time? Or here's a novel possibility: Get a court to a force an airline to actually depart at the time listed on our ticket as "departure time". All pipe-dreams, of course. Good luck Alyona Gabitova!
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