People in two states were taking shelter amid wailing warning sirens Sunday as tornadoes were confirmed to have touched down in Kansas and Oklahoma as part of an extreme weather system plowing through the nation's midsection.The system, which stretched from North Texas to Minnesota, also heaved hail -- dime to softball sized -- as well as heavy rainfall. Near Oklahoma City, a half-mile wide tornad...    

People in two states were taking shelter amid wailing warning sirens Sunday as tornadoes were confirmed to have touched down in Kansas and Oklahoma. Thunder clouds were also heaving hail -- dime to softball sized -- as well as rain across broad swaths of both states. Residents in downtown Wichita, Kan., were told to seek shelter Sunday afternoon after a tornado was confirmed on the ground – with i...    

Residents in downtown Wichita, Kan., were told to seek shelter Sunday afternoon after a tornado was confirmed on the ground – with its presence hidden by heavy rainfall.The National Weather Service in Wichita warned of a large and “extremely danger and potentially deadly” tornado late Sunday.  Weather spotters confirmed the tornado 7 miles northwest of Haysville and moving northeast at 30 mph, the...    

Middle America should prepare for a stormy start of the week as much of the Plains will be watching the skies for twisters Sunday.There is an increasing storm and tornado threat from Minnesota, Iowa and Nebraska southward to Kansas, according to Weather Channel meteorologists — and low pressure in the Plains states will keep things "very unsettled and stormy" as the week goes on.On Monday, the sev...    

Large sections of the Plains states came under tornado watches Saturday as a wave of storms swept through.The greatest threat late Saturday was in eastern Kansas and Oklahoma, weather.com reported, with central Oklahoma seeing a spike on Sunday.But Weather Channel meteorologist Michael Palmer said the storms on Sunday afternoon and evening were likely to carry a greater chance of tornadoes and the...    

232 days - it took over 30 years for Anchorage to set a new record for the longest snow season on record.The National Weather Service measured 2/10ths of an inch just after 9 p.m. Friday and 1/10th Saturday morning - breaking the old record of 230 days set in 1981-1982.Anchorage police responded to 22 crashes, 4 with injuries and 37 vehicles in distress between midnight and noon Saturday. Police s...    

A tornado tore through the New Orleans area Wednesday, damaging homes and ripping trees out of the ground, as intense storms lashed the area with rain.The National Weather Service (NWS) said the twister was one of two that caused damage in Kenner, Louisiana, near New Orleans International Airport.No injuries were reported, according to the Times Picayune’s website NOLA.com, but about 5,000 Entergy...    

A 54-year-old Missouri woman died Wednesday after apparently being struck by lightning, as states along the Mississippi River continue to fight back flooding and farmers struggle in what has been an unrelentingly wet spring in the region.Authorities say Connie Lou Wake was discovered by her son in the front yard of her home in the south-central part of the state. It was the first lightning fatalit...    

The start of tornado season was late but deadly, and now severe weather with the potential for twisters threatens parts of the Plains and Midwest -- including major cities -- heading into the weekend, forecasters said.Severe thunderstorms looked likely to build over the Plains through the weekend and into Monday. There is some chance of tornadoes developing, the channel said, as moist air from the...    

By Stephanie PappasLiveScience The world's glaciers lost 260 gigatons of water each year between 2003 and 2009, making these rivers of ice responsible for almost a third of sea-level rise in that time, new research finds.The study, appearing in Friday's issue of the journal Science, used multiple methods to pin down estimates of how much ice is lost from glaciers. The results suggest that on-the-g...    

Survivors of the tornadoes that devastated two towns in Texas on Wednesday night described their terror as the violent storm tore apart their homes, killing six people and injuring dozens more.Seven people remained unaccounted for on Friday as search efforts continued in the hard-hit Hood County town of Granbury, where a cluster of more than 60 homes built by Habitat for Humanity were among the wo...    

    

North Texas residents took in the devastation on Thursday wreaked by a series of tornadoes that killed six and injured dozens more in what Hood County Sheriff Roger Deeds described as a “nightmare” scenario.Seven of 14 people who had previously been unaccounted for had checked in by Thursday morning, Deeds said at a press conference on Thursday. About 100 people were reported injured and as many a...    

North Texas residents began to take in the devastation on Thursday wreaked by a series of tornadoes that killed six and injured dozens more in what Hood County Sheriff Roger Deeds described as a “nightmare” scenario.The death toll could grow, with 14 people remaining unaccounted for, Deeds told a news conference in the early morning hours of Thursday. About 100 people were reported injured and as ...    

    

    

A long-term global cooling trend ended in the late 19th century, a reversal in temperature that cannot be explained by natural variability alone, according to a new study.The finding stems from 2,000-year-long continental-scale temperature records inferred from tree rings, ice cores, lake sediments and other so-called proxies from around the world. The records show variations in temperature caused...    

By Denise ChowLiveScienceWater levels in two of the Great Lakes dipped to record lows in January, but while spring conditions are expected to give these freshwater bodies a seasonal boost, scientists say the ability to forecast long-term trends remains difficult due to climate fluctuations."Our uncertainty on future water levels — which is considerable — is a direct reflection of our uncertainty o...    

COX'S BAZAR, Bangladesh -- Cyclone Mahasen struck the southern coast of Bangladesh on Thursday, lashing remote fishing villages with heavy rain and fierce winds that flattened mud and straw huts and forced the evacuation of more than 1 million people.The main section of the storm reached land Thursday and immediately began weakening, according to Mohammad Shah Alam, director of the Bangladesh Mete...    

A roller coaster that was plunged into the Atlantic Ocean after Sandy ripped through the Jersey Shore last October was being demolished Tuesday afternoon, shortly after Britain’s Prince Harry toured two New Jersey communities hit hard by the deadly storm.The partially submerged Jet Star coaster was once a popular destination at Casino Pier, an amusement park in Seaside Heights, N.J. But when Sandy...