01 February 2011

Both Hemispheres Getting Socked!


27 Shevat 5771

"...Fire and hail, snow and vapor, a storm wind, performing His word...." (Tehillim 148)
Katrina-like storm aims for Australia

CANBERRA — Military helicopters evacuated hospital patients Tuesday as authorities ordered thousands of people to flee a powerful, "life-threatening" cyclone roaring toward waterlogged northeast Australia.

Cyclone Yasi was forecast to directly hit the far northern city of Cairns late Wednesday with wind gusts up to 155 mph, the Bureau of Meteorology said. Up to three feet of rain could fall on communities in Queensland state already saturated from months of flooding.

"This storm is huge and it is life-threatening," Queensland Premier Anna Bligh said. "I know many of us will feel that Queensland has already borne about as much as we can bear when it comes to disasters and storms, but more is being asked of us — and I am confident that we are able to rise to this next challenge."

The Queensland floods killed 35 people since November, damaged or destroyed 30,000 homes and businesses and left Brisbane, Australia's third-largest city, under water for days.

Yasi is expected to generate winds of up to 175 mph when it hits the northern coast of tropical Queensland early on Thursday, matching the strength of Hurricane Katrina, which devastated New Orleans in 2005.

Bligh warned the system was still intensifying and picking up speed on its path, with destructive winds expected on Wednesday morning.

Historic Winter Superstorm to Cripple Large Parts of US

CHICAGO — A monster storm had the central U.S. gearing up its defenses on Monday against a potentially deadly mix of sleet, snow and ice that could affect 100 million people by the time it blows through the Northeast and mid-Atlantic.

St. Louis, Kansas City and Milwaukee could be hardest hit, with expected midweek snowfalls of up to 2 feet and drifts piled 5 to 10 feet. Even hardy Chicago could be in for 20 inches — its third-worst blizzard since record-keeping began.

"I wouldn't want to be on the road in open areas tomorrow night," said forecaster Tom Skilling of Chicago television station WGN. "I don't think I'd want to be driving in the city either. The fact is people die in these things. They skid off the road and go wandering around in whiteout conditions."

Several airlines were allowing travelers affected by the weather to change flights without fees.

While record snowfalls have pounded the Northeast in what's shaping up to be one of that region's most brutal winters, the Midwest has been comparatively unscathed — until now.
MSNBC is reporting it as "The biggest storm this country has ever seen, affecting 100 million people." Does anyone else get the idea that the situation in the world just went up another level?






2 comments:

  1. Is anyone still trying to blame this winter in America on "global warming"?

    ReplyDelete
  2. Have you already forgotten tne record heat in Russia and India last summer?Watch the movie The Day After Tomorrow.

    ReplyDelete