Severe thunderstorms affected central portions of the US last week, producing strong winds, large hail and tornadoes. On Tuesday alone, 11 tornado reports were received by the National Weather Service, including one damaging twister in Kansas. An emergency was declared in Greenwood County as buildings in more than 100 blocks in the city of Eureka were damaged, and eight people were injured as the tornado passed through.
Meanwhile, the seasonal monsoon continued across central and northern India last week, with torrential and prolonged rainfall generated by thunderstorms that also produced very gusty winds. Into Monday of last week, 230mm (nine inches) of rain fell in just 24 hours in the Mumbai area, leading to widespread flooding and causing the deaths of five people and widespread travel disruption.
An intense cold front swept through South Africa over the weekend and into Monday this week, bringing heavy rain, flooding and also snow. Across parts of the northern and western Cape, more than 10cm of snow fell in mountainous areas, while a few centimetres accumulated even at low levels, especially across the Ceres region.
