'unusual' weather (Page 4 of 5)

Major ice storm in mid west of USA where I live. Town 30 miles away is a reported disaster area. Thousands without electricity. In my town, very cold but no ice at all. We're very lucky.

Powerful storm batters Europe

AMSTERDAM, Netherlands (AP) -- Northern Europe was buffeted by an unusually strong storm Thursday that killed at least one person, disrupted the schedule of U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and wreaked transportation havoc in the air, on land and at sea.

Rice cut her visit to Berlin short in order to leave for London before winds worsened, as the storm dubbed "Cyril" was expected to intensify throughout Thursday.

"Our country has not had a storm like this in years," the Netherlands' Royal Weather Service said in a bulletin. "We advise you to follow weather alarms and messages to the letter."

The service compared Thursday's gale to a 1990 storm that peaked during the afternoon commute and killed 17. It reported heavy rain and recorded gusts of 130 kilometers per hour (81 mph).

The first fatality Thursday was reported in Shropshire, England, where a 54-year-old man was crushed in his car by a falling branch, according to a local ambulance service. In Utrecht, Netherlands, a building crane toppled onto a building, injuring three people when the ceiling collapsed.

Rice canceled an interview with German television after meeting with Chancellor Angela Merkel to be flown to a meeting with British Prime Minister Tony Blair. The top U.S. diplomat was in Europe to discuss Mideast peacemaking efforts.

London's Heathrow Airport, Europe's largest, canceled 123 flights. Other major airports including Frankfurt, Munich, Amsterdam and Vienna reported delays and cancellations.

At sea, coast guard ships and naval helicopters were dispatched to rescue the crew of a British container ship damaged and drifting in the English Channel, Britain's Maritime and Coast Guard Agency said. It was unclear if the ship was sinking.

Ferries were canceled or delayed in Britain, Ireland, France, Belgium, the Netherlands and Finland -- where minor floods were reported near Helsinki.

In Ireland and Latvia, winds kept rescue crews from helping other ships damaged or missing after storms earlier this week: seven fishermen from Ireland, Poland and Ukraine are missing and presumed dead off Ireland's coast, while Latvian rescuers were unable to attempt to salvage a Greek-owned cargo ship that ran aground Tuesday off the Baltic port of Ventspils and has been leaking oil.

A ship burst loose from its moorings near Rotterdam and smashed an oil pipeline. The stench of oil reached The Hague, 30 kilometers (20 miles) away, Dutch media said.

On land, residents along the North Sea coast were warned to expect storm swells up to 3.5 meters (11.5 feet) higher than normal.

The Dutch traffic ministry urged car owners to avoid travel unless absolutely necessary, and several key routes were closed due to damage or flooding. Trains in the Netherlands, Germany and Austria also were delayed, due to the wind.

Zoos in Amsterdam and the northern German city of Hanover, among others, were closed for safety.

"The security of our visitors and our animals is our highest priority," Hanover zoo director Klaus-Michael Machens said.

In Amsterdam, the fire department ordered people to stay in doors because of the danger from falling roof tiles and branches. Bicyclists out despite the warnings were seen blown over or, in some cases, backward.

In the north of the Netherlands, the world's largest steam-powered mill -- a UNESCO world heritage monument built in the 1920s -- was fired up for the occasion to pump excess water away from the low-lying Friesland province.

Authorities in Vienna warned that the storm was forecast to hit the Austrian capital Friday night, with winds of up to 140 kph (90 mph) -- strong enough to topple trees.

Some worried that the storm could damage the famed Pummerin Bell in the St. Stephen's Cathedral downtown. But Erich Leitenberger, spokesman for the Archdiocese of Vienna, said the bell was well-insured and the church tower was designed "to bear up in a dramatic storm."

Austria's national weather service said storm winds had the potential to reach 170 kph (105 mph) at higher altitudes in the Alps, and officials cautioned skiers and snowboarders to get off the mountains and seek shelter well before nightfall.

Salzburg put its fire brigades and local Red Cross medics on alert, and construction companies were asked to make sure scaffolding was lashed securely to buildings.

In southern Europe, untouched by the storm, sunny skies and mild temperatures prevailed.

http://www.cnn.com/2007/WORLD/europe/01 … index.html

It is very windy here indeed, with complete cloud cover.  Earlier there was a break in the coulds, and up higher the sky was clear blue - and there were by far the most chemtrails I have ever seen in this area!
Not saying there is a connection (not even sure if chemtrails could cause high winds), but highest winds we have had for years + more chemtrails that I have ever seen is at the very least worth commenting on!

Novice wrote:

It is very windy here indeed, with complete cloud cover.  Earlier there was a break in the coulds, and up higher the sky was clear blue - and there were by far the most chemtrails I have ever seen in this area!
Not saying there is a connection (not even sure if chemtrails could cause high winds), but highest winds we have had for years + more chemtrails that I have ever seen is at the very least worth commenting on!

Marcus, which part of the UK are you in? I can't say that in the time I've been aware of the existence of chemtrails (3 years or so) I have ever seen any at all in my area (Essex).

I am in Kent - right near the river Thames.  There are nearly always chemtrails around here...sometimes it is just a few and other times it is a whole bunch.  I wanted to get a photo of the ones I saw on Thursday, but it clouded over too quickly.  We are pretty close to London here so that may be part of the reason why we see so many.  Saying that, as you are in Essex you could also be close to London.  Are you?