From the violent damage caused by a tropical cyclone to the destruction attributed to extreme weather conditions, the world has seen devastating acts of nature and climate conditions. In this article, you will encounter information about cyclones, ice storms, hurricanes, and bolts of lightning.
Most Violent Place in a Tropical Cyclone
A tropical cyclone is a pretty dangerous weather condition to erupt, but there is one place associated with a cyclone that is the most frightening. It is the eye wall of the storm, which is comprised of a complete circle of storm clouds that often form in a vertical position. The clouds whirl around the eye of the storm. It is at the eye wall where the highest winds and strongest rainfall occur. To make matters worse, cyclones that possess very high wind speeds of over 110 mph will develop a second eye wall that typically forms around the first.
Worst Damage Toll Associated with Ice Storm
Ice storms not only bring freezing coldness, but also cause dangerous conditions throughout the region it is attacking. The most damaging of ice storms on record took place in the first week of January 1998 in eastern Canada and neighboring regions in the United States. The storm started on January 6th and wreaked havoc for five more days. Airports shut down and railroad stations closed their doors. Highways were blocked and more than 3 million people were left without power. Nearly 40% of the population in Quebec was without electricity.
The freezing rain coated power lines with 4 inches of ice. The weight was too much to handle and tens of thousands of poles fell to the ground. It was estimated that it cost Canada $1 billion to correct the damage, which is about $650 million in the US dollar.
Most Trees Destroyed by Storms
When a storm hit France on December 26 to 27 in 1999, a record-breaking 270 million trees were destroyed or split as a result.
Strongest Hurricane
Hurricanes take lives and ruin cities with its massive strength. The strongest on record occurred in October 2005. Hurricane Wilma rated a category 5 and caused great damage to the Yucatan Peninsula, Mexico. Since records have been kept on hurricanes, it is rated as the strongest to take place. A hurricane hunter plane was able to measure the barometric pressure in the eye of the hurricane as being 882 millibars , the lowest ever recorded for a hurricane. The eye wall of Wilma had wind speeds that reached 165 mph.
Most Cows Killed by Lightning
You hear about lightning striking people and taking down trees, but an unfortunate bolt of lightning was responsible for taking the lives of 68 Jersey cows who tried to find shelter under a tree at Warwick Marks’ farm in Australia. This event took place on October 31, 2005 of all dates , Halloween.