Heavy rain and flooding is a common occurrence in southern China at this time of year, and the past week has proved no exception. Torrential rain affected Guizhou province late last week and over the weekend, which caused flooding and triggered landslides. Intense downpours also fell across Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region on Tuesday, where the city of Liuzhou recorded 137mm (5.4in) of rain in just a few hours. Severe flooding followed in the city and many vehicles were swept away. Further heavy rain is forecast to affect many areas over the coming days.
In the US, an unusually powerful tornado struck eastern Montana on Saturday evening. The tornado, which lasted for about 10 minutes, touched down in the city of Baker and destroyed at least six houses, damaging about 50 others. It was classified as an EF-3 storm, equal to the strongest tornado ever recorded in Montana. The Enhanced Fujita tornado intensity scale categorises storms from EF-0 to EF-5, with an EF-3 storm generating winds of around 135 to 165mph. Storms of this strength are more commonly seen in the US across the Great Plains and the midwest, with Montana having seen EF-3 tornadoes only four times since 1950.
Meanwhile, on the highest peaks of Hawaii there was the unusual summertime sight of a covering of snow on Tuesday. Cold air in the upper layers of the atmosphere moved over Hawaii, allowing passing showers to give a dusting of snow across the top of Mauna Kea, which stands 4,207m (13,800ft) above sea level, and neighbouring Mauna Loa.
