Heat, humidity bring thunder, hail, lightning and rain
It was not merely the heat or its frequent companion, the humidity, in D.C. on Friday. It was what they joined to produce, the thunder and the lightning, the wind and the rain.
Around the Washington region, trees toppled, blocking roadways and tearing down tangles of power lines. Tens of thousands of utility customers lost electricity. Hailstones rattled on pavements and car roofs.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
CBS News
23 minutes ago
- CBS News
Sudden thunderstorms "came out of nowhere," tore down massive trees in northern Massachusetts
Severe thunderstorms tore through northern Massachusetts early Friday morning and left a trail of scattered damage. Ayer, which is about an hour northwest of Boston, appeared to be hit the hardest. Several massive trees came down, some on homes, others knocking out power lines and blocking roads. Many streets were shut down because there was so much debris. People living in the area said they were caught completely off-guard. "Just came out of nowhere" "It was crazy, it just came out of nowhere," said Ayer resident Debi Rich. "I didn't even know we were getting rain today and I was just getting ready for work and it was just like this thundering noise. So I looked out the window and the hail was bouncing all over the place. Then I saw all the trees down and the rain was just coming in like sheets and it got very dark, it was very loud. It was definitely something." There were no reports of any injuries. "Never seen a storm like this here" "I looked out and I was like, holy moly!" Ayer resident Amy Fairweather said as she gestured to a large tree dangling over the road across from her home. "People were driving underneath that. It was so dangerous. I've never seen a storm like this here in my life." "The winds were unbelievable, I'm surprised there wasn't more damage with smaller trees but these bigger ones came right down. And the hail, it was just quick and boom!" Fairweather said. Utility companies spent the day cleaning up, assessing the damage and making repairs. Some residents were told the power outages could linger into Saturday.
News24
32 minutes ago
- News24
Saturday's weather: Chilly with disruptive rain as cold front hits Western Cape
The South African Weather Service has issued a warning for disruptive rain that may lead to localised flooding for most parts of the Western Cape. Damaging waves and winds are also expected in the province and in some parts of the Eastern Cape and Northern Cape. Impact-based warnings Disruptive rainfall: Yellow Level 4 alert for Cape Town, Cape Winelands, western parts of Overberg, and the southern parts of the West Coast District in the Western Cape. Expect flooding and difficult driving conditions on Saturday into Sunday. ⚠️Yellow level 4 warning: Disruptive rain Affected area: Western Cape & Northern Cape Validity period: 07 - 08 June 2025, 00:00 until 23:00 SAST #SAWS #WEATHEROUTLOOK #SOUTHAFRICANWEATHER — SA Weather Service (@SAWeatherServic) June 6, 2025 Damaging waves: Yellow Level 2 alert for difficulty navigating at sea between Saldanha Bay and Cape Agulhas on Saturday, spreading to Plettenberg Bay from Sunday into Monday. ⚠️Yellow level 2 warning: Damaging waves Affected area: Western Cape (coastal areas) Validity period: 07 - 09 June 2025, 00:00 until 12:00 SAST #SAWS #WEATHEROUTLOOK #SOUTHAFRICANWEATHER — SA Weather Service (@SAWeatherServic) June 6, 2025 Damaging winds (coast): Yellow Level 2 alert between Saldanha Bay and Cape Agulhas, which may disrupt small harbours and ports. Damaging winds (interior): Yellow Level 1 alert for Joe Gqabi and Chris Hani districts in the Eastern Cape. Localised power and communication disruptions and dangers for high-sided vehicles are possible on prone routes. Yellow level 1 warning: Damaging winds Affected area: Eastern Cape Validity period: 07 June 2025, 11:00 until 16:59 SAST #saws #weatheroutlook #southafricanweather — SA Weather Service (@SAWeatherServic) June 6, 2025 In the SAWS' colour-coded weather warning system, yellow indicates a moderate risk of impact that requires caution and awareness, while orange indicates that higher-risk impact is expected, requiring increased attention and preparation. SAWS uses the numbers to indicate the likelihood of weather-based impacts occurring. Levels 2 and 6 are high, and Level 4 is low. Advisories Cold, wet, and windy conditions are expected in the interior of the Western Cape, Namakwa district (Northern Cape) from Saturday into Monday, and the Eastern Cape from Sunday into Wednesday. Snowfall over high-lying areas and mountain peaks could lead to icy road conditions, notably in Beaufort West municipality (Western Cape) on Sunday evening, spreading into mountainous regions of the Eastern Cape, KwaZulu-Natal, and southern Free State on Monday. ⚠️Yellow level 3 warning: Disruptive snow Affected area: Western Cape & Northern Cape Validity period: 08 - 09 June 2025, 20:00 until 24:00 SAST #SAWS #WEATHEROUTLOOK #SOUTHAFRICANWEATHER — SA Weather Service (@SAWeatherServic) June 6, 2025 The weather in your province Gauteng: Morning frost and fog patches in the south, otherwise fine and cool. - Pretoria: 7°C — 21°C - Johannesburg: 6°C — 20°C - Vereeniging: 3°C — 21°C Mpumalanga: Morning fog over the Highveld, otherwise fine and cool to warm. - Mbombela: 10°C — 25°C - Ermelo: 7°C — 22°C - Emalahleni: 8°C — 21°C - Standerton: 2°C — 22°C - Skukuza: 14°C — 30°C Limpopo: Partly cloudy in the north, otherwise fine and cool to warm. - Polokwane: 6°C — 21°C - Phalaborwa: 14°C — 29°C - Tzaneen: 8°C — 27°C - Musina: 12°C — 26°C - Lephalale: 10°C — 23°C - Mokopane: 8°C — 24°C North West: Fine, windy, and cool, but partly cloudy in the west. - Klerksdorp: 9°C — 23°C - Potchefstroom: 8°C — 21°C - Mahikeng: 9°C — 22°C - Rustenburg: 8°C — 22°C - Vryburg: 10°C — 22°C Free State: Partly cloudy and windy with cool temperatures. Isolated showers and thundershowers expected in the south-west. - Bloemfontein: 9°C — 22°C - Welkom: 9°C — 23°C - Bethlehem: 5°C — 19°C Northern Cape: Partly cloudy, windy, and cool to warm. Isolated showers and thundershowers are expected in the south-east and west, with scattered showers in the south-west. Coastal winds will be moderate to fresh north-westerly. - Upington: 12°C — 24°C - Kimberley: 12°C — 23°C - De Aar: 10°C — 20°C - Alexander Bay: 10°C — 20°C - Springbok: 8°C — 16°C - Calvinia: 1°C — 12°C - Sutherland: 0°C — 9°C Western Cape: Cloudy, windy, and cold with scattered to widespread showers and rain. Cool with isolated showers in the east and partly cloudy in the north-east. Coastal winds will be moderate to fresh west to north-westerly, but strong to near-gale force along the south-west coast in the morning. - Cape Town: 11°C — 15°C - Vredendal: 10°C — 17°C - Riversdale: 9°C — 18°C - George: 11°C — 20°C - Worcester: 10°C — 15°C - Beaufort West: 8°C — 17°C - Oudtshoorn: 6°C — 18°C Western half of the Eastern Cape: Partly cloudy, windy, and cool, becoming cloudy with isolated showers and rain along the coast west of Cape St Francis in the evening. Coastal winds will be moderate to fresh south-westerly. Eastern half of the Eastern Cape: Partly cloudy, windy, and cool with isolated thundershowers north of the escarpment. Coastal winds will be light northerly to north-westerly, becoming moderate to fresh south-westerly in the early afternoon. - Gqeberha: 13°C — 22°C - Makhanda: 9°C — 23°C - Cradock: 10°C — 22°C - Graaff-Reinet: 10°C — 23°C - East London: 15°C — 23°C - Port St Johns: 16°C — 27°C - Mthatha: 12°C — 26°C - Komani: 8°C — 22°C - Qonce: 11°C — 24°C KwaZulu-Natal: Partly cloudy and warm, cooler in the west. Fine conditions in the north. Coastal winds will be light to moderate northerly to north-easterly, fresh in the north, becoming south-westerly in the evening in the south. - Durban: 19°C — 28°C - Richards Bay: 18°C — 31°C - Pietermaritzburg: 12°C — 27°C - Ladysmith: 9°C — 24°C
CNN
an hour ago
- CNN
Official overseeing the National Hurricane Center testified to Congress it's fully staffed—it's not
Hurricanes Storms Federal agenciesFacebookTweetLink Follow The National Hurricane Center is 'fully staffed' and any suggestion that the Trump administration fired meteorologists at the National Weather Service is 'fake news,' 'preposterous and silly,' Commerce Sec. Howard Lutnick testified to Congress this week. But the administration did fire meteorologists, and the nation's top hurricane forecasting office is not fully staffed as the season is underway. The NHC, like many other parts of the NWS, has a staffing shortfall currently, with five vacancies at the center in Miami, including at least four meteorologists. None of the NHC positions can be filled due to the federal hiring freeze, though the NWS was able to get an exemption for 126 mission-critical vacancies at other forecast offices around the country. The critical staffing issues — which have meant some forecast offices are no longer monitoring the weather 24/7 or launching twice-daily weather balloons — have raised concerns that forecast accuracy will suffer during this hurricane season. 'We are fully, fully staffed. There are no openings on the National Hurricane Center, zero. It is fully staffed,' Lutnick said before a Senate appropriations subcommittee during hearings on the Commerce Department budget on Wednesday. Lutnick claimed again on Thursday the NHC is 'fully staffed,' and falsely stated local weather service forecast offices are fully staffed in an appearance before the House Appropriations Committee. 'It is fake news and inappropriate to suggest a single meteorologist or hydrologist was fired,' Lutnick said. 'That is preposterous and silly.' The Trump administration cut about 100 jobs at the NWS, including meteorologists and hydrologists, according to a fact sheet from Democratic Sen. Maria Cantwell's office. The NWS lost even more meteorologists, including many with decades of experience, from early retirement and other incentives the Trump administration offered in order to reduce the size of the federal workforce. In total, the agency has lost about 560 employees during the course of the administration, bringing total staffing levels below 4,000, according to the NWS Employees Organization. This is about 18% below 'necessary staffing levels' and 33% below 'normal' staffing levels. Many local NWS offices are so short on meteorologists in the wake of Trump administration firings, buyouts and early retirement incentives that the agency has authorized internal transfers to fill critical gaps, in addition to the 126 new hires. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration reiterated Lutnick's claims in a Thursday statement: 'The National Hurricane Center is fully staffed to meet the rigorous demands of the hurricane season,' spokesperson Kim Doster said. 'Future positions that may be advertised at the NHC will provide additional support and a deeper bench for our ongoing around-the-clock operations.' A Commerce Department spokesperson did not respond to requests for comment. The hurricane center's staff website shows all but one of its vacancies, which include at least one hurricane specialist, one hurricane forecaster and two meteorologist/programmers. One staff member who took an early retirement offer is still listed on the roster, according to an NWS employee familiar with the matter.
