It was kind of like a waterslide. But like the waterslide was like very, very steep and went about 20 miles an hour.14-year-old Parma, Ohio resident Jeffrey LaPorta • Describing the trip he took through a series of drain pipes on Tuesday, as he feel into a giant puddle during a major rain storm and was sucked into the drain. He traveled over a quarter-mile and held his breath for nearly two minutes before finding a spot with breathing room where he could await rescue. ”I thought I traveled only 20 feet,” he said regarding the 1,500-foot ride.
» Strong, windy and quick: As anyone in the Mid-Atlantic region will tell you, the storm that slammed the region last night was there and gone within an hour — but for a good half an hour or so, it was heavy. The style of storm even has a proper name — the derecho. Or as National Weather Service meteorologist Bryan Jackson put it: ”It’s one of those storms. It just plows through.” And yes, this storm is what took down Netflix and Instagram.
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Tropical storm Beryl threatens the East Coast: With sustained winds of up to 60 mph, Beryl is headed west from the Atlantic Ocean on toward the Florida/Georgia area. The storm is expected to pick up strength and make landfall in northeastern Florida on Sunday, go into southeastern Georgia and then spin out of South Carolina and back into the ocean by Tuesday or Wednesday. Are people concerned about this storm? We’ll let you be the judge: ”We enjoy the storms. We live here,” Teri Hood told Central Florida News 13. “As long as there are cocktails for the weekend, that’s it.” source
Update: @breakingstorm reports that Beryl is now officially a tropical storm.
Pretty scary scene near Dallas right now, where a very bad storm is producing tornadoes and hail throughout the region, causing what’s been referred to as “tremendous damage.” In this video found by @Breaking, that’s golf-sized hail. Freaking scary. Everyone stay safe out there.
» At least five states reported major outages this morning. With record-setting snowfalls snapping tree limbs, power lines were severed cutting power off for millions. The official winter season doesn’t start for 52 more days, so start preparing now. Worst. Halloween. Ever.
» A coulda-been Katrina: Storm-trackers give hurricanes their names based on six standardized lists that they then cycle through; each year has a different list, so we’ll see 2011’s list again in 2017. Had 2005 not been a devastating year of storms, Katia would still be “Katrina”.
Via Twitter user @Irene: FX’s choice of counter-programming during the storm is questionable.
This weekend, as most of the Eastern Seaboard prepares for a watery wallop, as everyone else brawls over nonperishables in Giant, bookworms are preparing to live out a deep and soulful dream. A Laura Ingallsesque dream. A dream that involves hot chocolate and fuzzy slippers, and showcasing one’s literary dedication by self-punishing one’s eyesight.
Reading. By. Candlelight.
It’s so romantic that my power’s out!
Waterspouts moved ashore near Carolina Beach, North Carolina earlier Thursday morning.
Bad. Ass. Visuals. (Also, The Weather Channel has a Tumblr with an awesome URL, http://tstor.ms/)
Scenes from Joplin, and fears of further storms: The death toll in Joplin continued to grimly creep upwards today, with 117 now confirmed dead, and relief and rescue services still faced with such a job that you should probably brace for that number to change again. To make matters worse, the NOAA has issued warnings of severe storms the next few days across a broad swath of the American heartland, with Joplin lying in the highest risk zone. Please do everything possible to stay safe, everybody. source
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Alabama Nuclear Plant safely shut down: In the midst of the destruction caused by tornadoes (which as we mentioned earlier, have a minimum confirmed death-toll of 214 people), here’s something, albeit remote, to make you maybe feel a smidge better about crisis preparedness; namely, the Browns Ferry Nuclear Facility in Huntsville, Alabama, was safely handled after a power failure. When the storms knocked out primary power, the plant’s batteries and diesel generators still worked, and the plant safely shut down. It may just be everything going according to plan, but in times like these, even that can be a comfort. source
Actually, I was zoomed out to try to get the whole tornado, and I still couldn’t catch it, the whole thing. I mean, we were probably maybe 200 to 300 yards away from it.University of Alabama employee Christopher England • Describing how he was able to get this video — you know the one, the one with the heavy breathing. England, speaking from one of the now-greatly-damaged areas he filmed, was in one of the strongest, safest buildings in the entire region — Coleman Coliseum, the campus’ men’s basketball complex — while filming the clip. England filmed for a minute and a half before things got too dangerous and he fleed for safety. Speaking of being near the destruction, he noted: ”It’s kind of surreal to be down here now and kind of seeing it, because this is the first time I’ve seen it.” source (via • follow)
On internet rage over TV interruptions during storms: Considering the anger this Twitter user showed over having her show pre-empted by freaking tornados in Virginia, we think NBC Washington’s chief meterologist Doug Kammerer handled it really well. (via The Political Party Girl)
Stormchasing across Texas: Impressive and awe-inspiring amateur video highlighting a very familiar sight of late — violent, volatile, inclement weather. The footage is always appreciated, but here’s hoping everyone stays safe! source
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