Electric-Blue Noctilucent Clouds

This morning a vast bank of electric-blue noctilucent clouds rippled across northern Europe. "It was like water in the sky," says Barbara Grudzinska, who photographed the display from Warsaw, Poland:

"These are the first noctilucent clouds this year so clearly visible at our latitude in Warsaw (52 N)," says Grudzinska. 

Massive storm floods Edmonton streets - Lightening, Hail damage homes

A severe thunderstorm has flooded streets, yards, basements and construction sites in Edmonton. Sections of Whitemud Drive are underwater at 111th Street west of Calgary Trail. City workers arrived shortly after 7:30 a.m. to begin clearing the water. 
Dharminder Gill told CBC News he was driving to work at 3 a.m.when his car stalled in the rising water. Within five minutes the water was waist deep, he said, and when he opened his window to escape the water began pouring in. 
"I was scared," he said. "I took my bag and ran through the water and moved to a safe place." 
The normally busy Mill Woods intersection at 66 Street and 34 Avenue is also flooded. 
Firefighters spent much of the morning rescuing people from submerged vehicles, with at least 18 cars becoming trapped due to rainstorm, and responding to alarms set off by the storm.

Additional photos

 – JULY 12, 2012

Strong M5.8 earthquake hit Hindukush region in Afghanistan today on July 12, 2012 at 14:00 UTC. Epicenter of earthquake was 40 km (24 miles) south of Jarm and 73 km (45 miles) south-southeast of Fayzabad, Afghanistan (36.502°N, 70.875°E). Luckily, the epicenter was deep, at depth of 190.2 km (118.2 miles). All the reporting and to be trusted seismological agencies are reporting depths of +150 km.

 – JULY 11, 2012

Three storm systems are trailing one another across the Pacific Ocean basin. Tropical Storm Daniel is moving west toward Hawaii, followed by Hurricane Emilia. Just off the coast of Mexico, another possible tempest, known as System 98E, is brewing. National Hurricane Center in Miami gave this system an 80 % chance of becoming a tropical cyclone in the next 48 hours.

July 12, 2012 – CLIMATE — Arata Yamamoto of NBC News reports — An unprecedented 20 inches of rain descended on the town of Aso in southwestern Japan, inundating homes and rice paddies and killing at least 15 people. 1 people are still reportedly missing. Images on local news reports showed cars being dragged into the raging rivers and houses destroyed by landslides. But by around noon time the rain had stopped, allowing for the clean up efforts to kick in. The local fire department in Aso District said they had managed to rescue 8 people trapped in mudslides. –MSNBC

July 12, 2012 – CLIMATE - The United States Department of Agriculture has declared natural disaster areas in more than 1,000 counties and 26 drought-stricken states, making it the largest natural disaster in America ever. The declaration—which covers roughly half of the country—gives farmers and ranchers devastated by drought access to federal aid, including low-interest emergency loans. “Agriculture remains a bright spot in our nation’s economy,” U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said Wednesday while announcing the assistance program. “We need to be cognizant of the fact that drought and weather conditions have severely impacted farmers around the country.” According to the U.S. Drought Monitor, more than half the country (56 percent) experienced drought conditions—the largest percentage in the 12-year history of the service. And according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the period from January through June was “the warmest first half of any year on record for the contiguous United States.” The average temperature was 52.9 degrees Fahrenheit, or 4.5 degrees above average, NOAA said on Monday. Twenty-eight states east of the Rockies set temperature records for the six-month period. A heat wave blistered most of the United States in June, with more than 170 all-time temperature records broken or tied during the month. On June 28 in Norton, Kan., for instance, the temperature reached 118 degrees, an all-time high. On June 26, Red Willow, Neb., set a temperature record of 115 degrees, eclipsing the 114-degree mark set in 1932. -Yahoo