Spring storms kill 17 across four U.S. states

 

Only stairs and flowers remain Saturday, April 16, 2011 after severe winds tore a mobile home off it's lot late Friday night in Boone's Chapel, Ala., in Autauga County. Vicious storms  and howling winds smacked the Deep South, killing at least seven people in Alabama including three family members whose homes were tossed into nearby woods. (Amanda Sowards/AP Photo/Montgomery Advertiser)

A brutal spring storm raged across North Carolina on Saturday, flattening businesses and homes, leaving officials with an unknown number of casualties from a system that was already blamed for killing 17 people in four states.

North Carolina officials said there were multiple fatalities and they were working to confirm the exact number. In South Carolina, a church with six people inside collapsed after it was hit by a tornado, but somehow no one was injured.

The situation was more grim to the north. Roofs were ripped off stores, trees were plucked out of the ground and “scores” of homes were damaged across the state, emergency management director Doug Hoell said.

Police in Raleigh evacuated residents at a mobile park, and emergency crews went door-to-door looking for people injured or trapped by the storm that flipped mobile homes from one side of the street to the other.

Guillermo Villela, 34, said he saw two young children at the park trapped under fallen trees.

“I see a lot of disaster. It's bad,” Villela said.

The storms began in Oklahoma on Thursday, then marched through Arkansas, Mississippi, Alabama and Georgia.

In the town of Sanford in central North Carolina, what could have been a deadly catastrophe was averted when a Lowe's hardware store manager who saw the approaching storm and corralled over 100 people to the back of the store.

The front of Lowe's was flattened by the storm, with cars in the parking lot tossed around and flipped on their roofs.

“It was really just a bad scene,” said Jeff Blocker, Lowe's regional vice-president for eastern North Carolina. “You're just amazed that no one was injured.”

Blocker credits his store manager and the other 40 to 50 employees in the store at the time with getting the as many as 70 customers safely to the rear.

Cindy Hall, a Red Cross volunteer and outreach minister at First Baptist Church in Sanford, said dozens of homes in the area were damaged.

“It wiped out our St. Andrews neighbourhood, which includes about 30 homes,” she said.

— Tom Breen, Associated Press

Strong winds, heavy rain make for nasty weekend

Early risers brave the wind rain and cold at Dundas Square on Saturday.(Rene Johnston/Toronto Star)

If you can find a nice dry perch near a window, you may be in for an entertaining day as passersby struggle with inverted umbrellas and dodge passing cars plowing through puddles.

But if you have to venture out, the rain and strong winds will make for difficult travels.

More photos: Windy rainy weekend

Environment Canada issued a special weather statement for Toronto, noting the city can expect 15 to 30 mm of rain on Saturday and winds in the 30 to 40 km/h range with gusts up to 50 to 60 km/h.

The heavy rain is expected to taper off Saturday afternoon but showers are likely to stick around through Sunday, with strong winds continuing as well.

Temperatures for Saturday and Sunday are predicted to peak at 7C and 6C respectively, with a low of 3C overnight.

The heavy rainfall prompted Toronto and Region Conservation Authority to issue a high water warning for the GTA, cautioning that rising water levels in rivers and streams will create dangerous conditions as the waterways become faster flowing.

The weather here may be unpleasant, but vicious storms in the American South have claimed 16 lives in recent days.

The storms began late Thursday in Oklahoma where at least five tornadoes touched down and two people were killed.

The system then ripped through Arkansas, killing seven more and injuring dozens, before heading through Tennessee, Louisiana, Georgia and Mississippi.

By Saturday morning, seven people had died in Alabama, where the howling winds tossed people's homes into nearby woods.

Meanwhile, rising flood waters in Saskatchewan are threatening to cut off the main highway between Regina and Saskatoon.

Recent heavy snowfall on already-soggy ground across the southern Prairies is causing the flood threats.

The Qu’Appelle River may end up running across Highway 11 at Lumsden, just north of Regina and flooding is also affecting the First Nation communities of Sakimay, Cowessess and Muscowpetung, among others.

On Friday, Guy Lonechild, chief of the Federation of Saskatchewan Indian Nations, described the situation as a disaster for the First Nation communities located in the region.

Across Saskatchewan, about 20 sections of highway are already underwater and are closed.

-- Christine Dobby with files from Star wire services

Heat is on ... in Europe

Here a  few more pcitures of people enjoying the warmth in Europe, while we feel the chill here.

A couple lie by the River Thames on April 7, 2011 in Windsor, England. Much of Britain continues to enjoy unseasonably warm weather, recording the hottest day of the year so far yesterday, with temperatures reaching 22 C. (Photo by Dan Kitwood/Getty Images)

Three mothers push prams down the Long Walk on April 7, 2011 in Windsor, England. (Dan Kitwood/Getty Images

People enjoy the sunny sprinng weather at the Tuileries garden on April 7, 2011 in Paris. (MIGUEL MEDINA/AFP/Getty Images)

People lunch on the beach of Nice, southern France, Thursday, April. 7 , 2011. Temperatures rose to 24 C. (Lionel Cironneau/AP photo)

A Japanese cherry tree stands in full bloom on April 7, 2011 in Potsdam, eastern Germany. Spring has arrived in northern parts of the country, bringing sun and temperatures up to 20 C. (PATRICK PLEUL/AFP/Getty Images)

Two women lie on a flower-covered lawn in Zurich  on  April 7, 2011. (Arnd Wiegmann/REUTERS)

While Toronto freezes, England's warming up

Had enough of the cold weather yet?

This should make you feel even better: London has been enjoying unseasonably warm weather.

Two young men play guitars in Hyde Park on April 6, 2011. Much of Britain recorded the hottest day of the year so far today, with temperatures expected to reach 22C this weekend. (Photo by Dan Kitwood/Getty Images)

A woman sunbathes on a deck chair in Hyde Park. (Photo by Dan Kitwood/Getty Images)

The sunny side of this week's rainy forecast

You'll want to keep your umbrella handy this week -- Environment Canada says rain is expected in the GTA for the next six days, except for a brief sunny interlude Thursday.

“When you look at this week, we’ve seen this up and down, back and forth,” said senior climatologist Dave Phillips.

“It’s so typically April – that’s why it’s the cruel month.”

Phillips said the rain is not unusual for this month, but the old saying about April showers is a myth.  According to Phillips, there are six months in the year rainier that April.

“The good news is this: the temperatures are clearly on the warm side, no freezing, no black ice, no snow.”

Temperatures will be slightly higher than seasonal over the next week, although they will dip Thursday night to below the freezing mark.

Today’s high is expected to reach 5 C, Wednesday 7 C, and Thursday 10 C.  Over the weekend temperatures will climb to 16C.

-- Noel Grzetic, Staff Reporter

 

More rain on the way overnight

It was a damp and dreary start of the work week and Environment Canada says more rain is in store Monday night.

Ten to 20 millimetres were predicted to fall in the city, which would have broken the record set in 1968 of 18 millimetres, but only six millimeters fell by Monday afternoon.

Geoff Coulson, a meteorologist with Environment Canada, said scattered showers would continue through the early evening and “the steadier rainfall should start later in the evening and wrap up by midnight.”

By Tuesday about 10 millimetres is predicted to fall, he said. Seasonal temperatures are expected for the rest of the work week, ending with showers on Friday.

“There is no indication that we will get as much rain on Friday as we did these last two days,” Coulson said.

Daniela Germano

Toronto spared deluge, but not yet in the clear

Toronto saw much less rain than expected Monday, but Environment Canada says the city is not out of the woods yet as rain is likely to fall again in the late afternoon.

Environment Canada forecasted 10 to 20 millimetres of rain for Toronto and the GTA, which prompted a high water advisory. However, by the afternoon Toronto had only seen around 13 millimetres.

“The weather system moved fairly quickly,” said Dave Phillips, Environment Canada senior climatologist. “The warm air arrived a little faster so the system moved a little faster and missed Toronto.”

But Phillips was clear that more rain may be on the way. Enviroment Canada forecast shows a 60 per cent chance of rainfall in late afternoon.

Other parts of Southern Ontario got the brunt of the system. London, Ont. experienced three hours of rain and thunderstorms Monday, amounting to a rainfall around the 30-millimetre mark.

The Toronto and Region Conservation Authority issued a warning effective until Tuesday that rain will increase the water level in rivers and streams and cause them to flow faster. The TRCA is advising that parents and caregivers take particular care with regards to children near these areas.

Noel Grzetic

Rain in forecast prompts high water warning

Environment Canada is forecasting significant rainfall for Toronto and the GTA Monday, which has prompted a high water advisory.

The Toronto and Region Conservation Authority is warning that the forecasted 15 to 25 millimetres will increase the water level in rivers and streams and cause them to flow faster.

The TRCA warns this will cause dangerous conditions and is advising that parents and caregivers take particular care with regards to children near these areas.

The high-water advisory will be in effect until Tuesday.

Environment Canada has said that thundershowers are also possible Monday as temperatures soar to 16 C.

- Alexandra MacAulay Abdelwahab