
Passengers watch spectacular storm from plane window
Footage filmed by a traveller named Bianca on Sunday (29 June) shows repeated dramatic flashes of lightning against ominous dark clouds.
The plane, which had taken off from New York, was an hour away from landing when the eye-catching footage was recorded.
Bianca revealed she was amazed by 'the majesty of it all', before thanking Southwest Airlines for 'navigating us through and around this with minimal impact'.

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The Independent
an hour ago
- The Independent
Daughter sues city over dad's death after sirens failed to go off when a tornado hit their town: suit
The daughter of a man who was killed in a destructive tornado in St Louis is suing the city over her father's death. Deborah Patrick claims that her father, Larry Patrick, had no way of knowing a tornado was inbound when it struck on May 16 after warning sirens failed to go off. The 82 year-old was killed when a tree crashed down on his home in the city's O'Fallon neighborhood, St. Louis Public Radio reports. The storm struck parts of the Midwestern and Southeastern states, as part of a flurry of 60 destructive tornadoes. It eventually moved across to the Upper Midwest but killed dozens in its path. Seven people died across Missouri, and dozens more were injured. St Louis Mayor Cara Spencer said in the days after the tornado struck that the outdoor sirens never went off due to a 'human failure'. Five people were killed in the city by the storm, with Spencer calling the losses 'truly, truly devastating' at the time. The family's lawsuit was filed Tuesday in St. Louis Circuit Court and is seeking at least $25,000 in damages. Patrick's daughter claims her father had no way of knowing he needed to flee to safety and was left in a vulnerable position when the tree struck. The lawsuit also alleged that the city failed to adequately maintain the tree and had dismissed her father's complaints about it being unsafe in high winds. According to city records seen by SLPR, a complaint was submitted to the city's Forestry Division in August 2023 for a broken and hanging tree limb, along with property damage. There was no mention of pending litigation. The Independent contacted St. Louis City for comment. The tornado that hit St Louis was an EF3 that generated winds between 136 and 165 mph, according to the National Weather Service. The mayor pleaded for help from the federal government and Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) in the aftermath of the devastating weather event. 'We need partners at the national level, at the federal level, to step up and help — and this is not just true for St. Louis,' city Mayor Cara Spencer told MSNBC at the time. 'Cities across the nation, when they are experiencing disasters such as this, this is what the federal government is for.' Earlier this month, Missouri senators approved a plan to provide over $100 million in aid for the tornado-ravaged city. The package also authorized$25 million for emergency housing assistance and a $5,000 income tax deduction to offset insurance policy deductibles.


The Guardian
an hour ago
- The Guardian
California sees largest wildfire this year as Madre fire spreads north of Los Angeles
A fast-growing wildfire in central California has become the largest in the state this year, surpassing the size of January's wildfires that devastated parts of Los Angeles. The Madre fire had exploded to more than 35,000 acres by Thursday morning, after breaking out in San Luis Obispo county on Wednesday afternoon. Acres burned US wildfires are measured in terms of acres. While the size of a wildfire doesn't necessarily correlate to its destructive impact, acreage provides a way to understand a fire's footprint and how quickly it has grown. There are 2.47 acres in a hectare, and 640 acres in a square mile, but this can be hard to visualise. Here are some easy comparisons: one acre equates to roughly the size of an American football field. London's Heathrow airport is about 3,000 acres. Manhattan covers roughly 14,600 acres, while Chicago is roughly 150,000 acres, and Los Angeles is roughly 320,000 acres. Megafire A megafire is defined by the National Interagency Fire Center as a wildfire that has burned more than 100,000 acres (40,000 hectares). Containment level A wildfire's containment level indicates how much progress firefighters have made in controlling the fire. Containment is achieved by creating perimeters the fire can't move across. This is done through methods such as putting fire retardants on the ground, digging trenches, or removing brush and other flammable fuels. Containment is measured in terms of the percentage of the fire that has been surrounded by these control lines. A wildfire with a low containment level, such as 0% or 5%, is essentially burning out of control. A fire with a high level of containment, such as 90%, isn't necessarily extinguished but rather has a large protective perimeter and a rate of growth that is under control. Evacuation orders and warnings Evacuation warnings and orders are issued by officials when a wildfire is causing imminent danger to people's life and property. According to the California office of emergency services, an evacuation warning means that it's a good idea to leave an area or get ready to leave soon. An evacuation order means that you should leave the area immediately. Red flag warning A red flag warning is a type of forecast issued by the National Weather Service that indicates when weather conditions are likely to spark or spread wildfires. These conditions typically include dryness, low humidity, high winds and heat. Prescribed burn A prescribed burn, or a controlled burn, is a fire that is intentionally set under carefully managed conditions in order to improve the health of a landscape. Prescribed burns are carried out by trained experts such as members of the US Forest Service and Indigenous fire practitioners. Prescribed burns help remove flammable vegetation and reduce the risk of larger, more catastrophic blazes, among other benefits. Prescribed burning was once a common tool among Native American tribes who used 'good fire' to improve the land, but was limited for much of the last century by a US government approach based on fire suppression. In recent years, US land managers have returned to embracing the benefits of prescribed burns, and now conduct thousands across the country every year. The blaze reportedly began in a mountainous area of the county, which lies about 200 miles north of Los Angeles, sending smoke into neighboring regions and prompting evacuation orders and highway closures. As of Thursday morning the fire was at 5% containment, according to the state's wildfire agency CalFire. The cause of the fire was not yet known. The Madre fire is one about a dozen blazes burning across California. Western states are bracing for a potentially explosive summer wildfire season due to a dry winter, followed by warm spring and summer temperatures that have dried out vegetation. Farther north in Oregon, which has been dealing with record-breaking early season heat, officials warned that a large wildfire in June 'should come as a reminder to Oregonians to be ready'. Firefighters and experts recently told the Guardian that the US federal firefighting force is worryingly underprepared for the summer due to a series of changes ushered in by the Trump administration, including cuts to National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (Noaa) – the agency that provides US weather monitoring – as well as staffing and budget cuts. More details soon …


Daily Mail
2 hours ago
- Daily Mail
London station announces major expansion plans
The number of passengers using the Eurostar out of London St Pancras to reach the continent looks set to double, after an ambitious new deal between two major partners was announced today. Eurostar and London St. Pancras Highspeed, formerly HS1, signed a 'letter of intent' which could see one of Europe's busiest international stations - St Pancras International - vastly increasing the amount of passengers it can take. Architects have already been asked to take on the task of 'reimagining' the historic London hub so that it can 'future-proof' as the demand for cross-border travel continues to grow. Eurostar plans to increase its current fleet in the next decade, offering services to five countries, including France , Belgium, the Netherlands , Germany and Switzerland. The announcement sees a three-stage plan put in place, with the focus being on the redesigning of the international arrivals and departures area of the station by 2028. There will be investment in border control and security too, with hourly passenger numbers set to increase from around 2,500 now to 5,000 by the time the second stage of the three-part plan concludes in four years' time. The station currently welcomes some 45,000 Eurostar passengers every day, with research commissioned by London St Pancras Highspeed earlier this year concluding that demand looks set to triple by 2040, increasing from 11 million to 35 million passengers per year. London St Pancras Highspeed owns and operates the UK's only international high-speed rail link and the stations along the route including St Pancras International, Stratford International, Ebbsfleet International and Ashford International. Eurostar currently has a fleet of 51 high-speed trains, serving 28 destinations across Europe. British tourists can currently reach Paris, Lille, Brussels, Rotterdam and Amsterdam on direct routes from London. New destinations Geneva and Frankfurt, coming in the early 2030s, are expected to be popular with business travellers as both cities are international finance centres. Andrew Davies, Partner & Transport & Infrastructure lead at architects Hawkins\Brown said the plans were trying to meet the need for 'affordable, high-speed, and sustainable journeys to and from Europe.' Richard Thorp, Chief Operating Officer at London St Pancras Highspeed said of the announcement: 'With growing passenger demand for international train travel, it is important that St Pancras International station is future-proofed and optimised to accommodate this. 'With a shared ambition and collaborative approach, we can ensure our iconic station is ready to support this demand, and we're looking forward to getting started on a new era of connectivity between London and Europe.' Last month, Eurostar announced plans to launch its direct train services from London to Switzerland and Germany. The train journey between London and Frankfurt is likely to take around five hours while the trip between London and Geneva is expected to take five hours and 20 minutes. Eurostar has said it expects to see strong demand from passengers travelling on both routes . The new routes will depend on a fleet of 50 new trains, expected to cost around £1.7bn (€2bn). The operator has yet to reveal which stops each route might include and whether passengers could get off along the way. CEO Gwendoline Cazenave says: 'We're seeing strong demand for train travel across Europe, with customers wanting to go further by rail than ever before and enjoy the unique experience we provide. 'Despite the challenging economic climate, Eurostar is growing and has bold ambitions for the future. 'Our new fleet will make new destinations for customers a reality - notably direct trains between London and Germany and between London and Switzerland for the first time. 'A new golden age of international sustainable travel is here.' The new trains would also allow Eurostar to boost the frequency of existing routes. Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander says: 'I am pleased to welcome this exciting investment into Eurostar services, which is a huge step in promoting green travel across Europe and boosting our international rail connections.' In May, the UK signed a 'memorandum of understanding' with Switzerland where both countries committed to working together to launch a new direct train route between the two. In light of the new Eurostar announcement, Alexander adds: 'Last month, I signed a landmark agreement to deliver a direct rail link between London and Switzerland, paving the way for direct commercial services. 'Today's announcement by Eurostar shows that the government's plan for change is rapidly strengthening the links between major cities in counties across Europe, creating more opportunities to travel, work, and socialise.' Eurostar carried 19.5 million passengers in 2024, a rise of 5 per cent on traveller numbers in 2023.