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Has the Drought Improved?

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Weather.com - Jon Erdman, 4/25/13

Source: National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration/U.S. Department of Agriculture/National Drought Mitigation Center

 

As of late April 2013, drought has been wiped out of the Ohio and mid-Mississippi Valleys, Alabama and most of Georgia. Drought improvement has also been noted in parts of the Plains and Rockies.

We've had a series of winter storms produce heavy snow in parts of the Rockies and Upper Midwest.  In some locations, this snow set April records.

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Winter 2012-13: Named Storms from A to Z

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Weather.com - Nick Wiltgen, 4/24/13

Longport, N.J.

A message about Superstorm Sandy on a wooden board is half-covered by snow the morning after Winter Storm Athena rolled through the already-damaged beachfront town, Thursday, Nov. 8, 2012.

 

Winter Storm Athena

November 6 - 8, 2012

Our first named winter storm of the season was Athena, which brought snow to parts of Delaware, New Jersey, New York, and New England less than two weeks after Superstorm Sandy ravaged the region with devastating coastal flooding and power outages.

Heads Up! 'Fireball Season' Peaks This Week

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Weather.com - Joe Rao, Space.com, 4/24/13

San Mateo College student Paola-Castillo used her cell phone to capture the Oct. 17, 2012 fireball over Northern California while stuck in traffic.

 

The dramatic fireball that exploded over Russia in February got many people wondering if there is any way to anticipate future dazzling meteors before they appear.

Well, meteors not associated with an annual shower are certainly tough to predict. But there are some patterns that skywatchers can keep in mind to maximize their chances of spotting a fireball (which technically is any meteor that shines more brightly than Venus in the sky).

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Giant, Disease-Carrying Snails Invade Florida

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Weather.com - 4/24/13, Jess Baker

Destructive, disease-carrying devils are invading Florida at an alarming pace.

The Florida Dept. of Agriculture shows off the invasive African land snails in Miami-Dade County. (Image: Joe Raedle/Getty Images)

 

Giant African Snails, which can grow to be eight inches long, can can eat through plaster and stucco (yes, that means your home). They chow down on 500 different types of plants. Even worse - as National Geographic reports - the snails "eat rat feces and contract rat lungworm, which can cause a rare form of meningitis" in humans.

Meteorite Slams into Connecticut House

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Weather.com - Sean Breslin, 4/24/13

Via an NBC Connecticut screenshot, the meteorite that hit a Connecticut man's home on April 19 is seen.

 

Celestial events can be awe-inspiring, as long as they remain at a distance and don't come crashing through your home.

The Lyrid meteor shower was little more than a close call for Larry Beck, whose Wolcott, Conn. house was struck by what appeared to be a baseball-sized rock in the middle of the night, late Friday, April 19. It was originally thought to be a piece of concrete from a runway that was stuck in a plane and then dropped from the sky, according to reports included in a Universe Today story.

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Chesapeake Bay Island Amid a Disappearing Act

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Weather.com - 4/24/13, Steve Szkotak, AP

Gravestones are laid out in front of an abandoned structure on the north end of Tangier Island, Va. on Wednesday, April 3, 2013.
 

TANGIER ISLAND, Va. -- One day after Hurricane Sandy lashed this speck of land in the Chesapeake Bay last fall, islander Carol Moore hopped in her skiff and headed to a stretch of beach along The Uppards, one of the islands that comprise this remote outpost. A favorite haunt, Moore collects sea glass, pottery and arrowheads that she finds among the bleached oyster shells that blanket the beach.

What she found there that day shocked her.

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Two Tornadoes Confirmed in Louisiana Wednesday

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Weather.com - 4/24/13

An intense line of storms that moved through the New Orleans metro area around lunchtime damaged homes and ripped trees out of the ground.

The National Weather Service confirmed the storms spawned two tornadoes: An EF-1 in Kenner, La. and an EF-0 in Metairie, La. The Kenner tornado damaged several trees and produced moderate roof damage to several residences.  The Metairie tornado downed a tree onto a car, snapped small trees and overturned a large truck.

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Big Warm Up Follows Wednesday's Record Lows

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Weather.com - Chris Dolce, 4/24/13

Boulder, Colo.

A man walks in downtown Denver as snow from Winter Storm Zeus begins to fall in the area, April 22, 2013. (Photo By RJ Sangosti/The Denver Post via Getty Images)

 

The blast of cold air that has taken over the central states this week broke records on Wednesday morning.

New daily record low temperatures have been set in more than a dozen locations. Below is a list showing some of the records so far:

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Flood Victims Pray for Dry Weather as Rivers Crest

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Weather.com - 4/24/13, AP

Hardin, Ill.

Red Cross volunteer Julia Blankenship dishes a plate for Ralph Atherton at a shelter set up at River's Edge United Methodist Church in Spring Bay, Ill. for people effected by the flooding from the Illinois River, Tuesday, April 23, 2013. (AP Photo/Journal Star, David Zalaznik)

 

PEORIA HEIGHTS, Ill. -- Flood-weary homeowners and sandbaggers across the Midwest are praying for a relenting of rains that have added more water to already swollen rivers blamed for swallowing up neighborhoods, fraying victims' patience along the way.

Even as some of the renegade rivers are showing signs of cresting, the recovery won't be fast or easy. The National Weather Service expects many of the waterways to remain high into next month, straining levees during the river's expectedly slow descent.

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