Relentless rain continues on New Zealand's South Island

Per the New Zealand Herald, local officials are calling for no unnecessary travel and residents of New Zealand's South Island are being warned to watch for flooding, as more heavy rain and thunderstorms are expected to hit the area today and tomorrow morning. The South Island has already experienced many consecutive days of rain.

Twitterers on the island are commenting on the storm:

1. 
   five15design (Dunedin, New Zealand) Seriously there's flooding everywhere slips on the hill roads. What a mess. Hmm San Diego right now v jealous! 12 May 2009 from Tweetie
2. 
   garyniemi (Dunedin, New Zealand) more rain - yikes 12 May 2009 from TwitterFox
3. 
   blondeklz (Te Anau, New Zealand) sitting at home watching the rain fall and fall. winter gotta love it, bring on summer haha 13 May 2009 from web
4. 
   jockh (Invercargill, New Zealand) out running in the wind, rain and cold, people are beginning to question my sanity. Only one more training run to before the 1/2 marathon 13 May 2009 from web
5. 
   Charis_75 (Queensland, New Zealand) This is the longest spell of bad weather we've had since moving to QT. 8 days of rain now. 13 May 2009 from twhirl
6. 
   Pork49 (Moonlight, New Zealand) I didn't see the rainbow today just lots of heavy rain and hail after work.Some parts of the sky had bright blue sky. 14 May 2009 from web

@five15design of Dunedin also posted this TwitPic of students in the pouring rain:


"#Selwyn College student in 8C pouring rain off to do more drinking, as you do at Uni! Yeah I'm jealous?"

Relentless rain continues on New Zealand's South Island

Montana plane crash kills 14

Per The New York Times, a private jet carrying 14 people including seven children under the age of nine crashed in a cemetery just outside an airport in Butte, Montana on Sunday. The three families on board were traveling to Big Sky, Mont. for a ski vacation at the Yellowstone Club. The cause is still unknown but overloading and ice are being considered as potential factors.

Twitterers share their sadness after hearing the news:

@rkodner (Location not listed): Just saw the unfolding story of Montana plane crash, wiped out several young families. Impossible to hold the tears back. Hug kids today.

@mitchellscott (Spanaway, Washington): Sad to hear about the Pilatus crash in Montana. Also sad that there were 14 people in a 10 person plane.

@DaniBeef (Central, New Jersey): The story about the 14 ppl who died in the Montana plane crash is 1 of the saddest stories ever heard. My heart goes out to their families<3

@imdogface (San Juan Capistrano, California): Stunned by tragic plane crash and loss of 14 lives in Butte, Montana. Prayers going out to Bud and family.

@summah (Alabama): The details of the Montana plane crash are making me sick to my stomach...makes me never want to fly again. So Sad.

@plainjohn1 (California and Indiana): Just learned that several of my friends were classmates and friends of plane crash victims in Montana. My heart goes out to you all.

Montana plane crash kills 14

Massive sandstorm blasts Riyadh

Per Arab News, "A severe sandstorm lashed Riyadh yesterday, spreading an orange-color blanket of dust that led to over 70 road accidents, traffic snarls and cancellation of scheduled luncheon parties."

Twitter users in the capital of Saudi Arabia were highly active during the storm, giving a flavor of the experience.

Some posted TwitPics of the event.

@adriang (Riyadh, Saudi Arabia): http://twitpic.com/1z3pr - There is a massive sandstorm in Riyadh



@khaled (Riyadh, Saudi Arabia): Ok.. This sandstorm over Riyadh just reached here... #Saudi #weather http://twitpic.com/1z3iz


Others relayed personal accounts and various reports.

@chikom (Riyadh, Saudi Arabia): back in office, sandstorm was hell on car & nerves

@chikom (Riyadh, Saudi Arabia): daughter : my teacher said the sandstorm will last 3 days !

@mutairy (Riyadh, Saudi Arabia): HOLLY [expletive]! .. more than 73 accidents so far in #Riyadh !! the police started waving people off major roads! because of all the dust!

@mutairy (Riyadh, Saudi Arabia): hospitals in riyadh are overloaded after the dust mega storm, i told my family to duct tape the windows

@molozonide (Riyadh, Saudi Arabia): sky turning orange / dust and dust and dust and dust / sandstorm in riyadh



@wilbur101 (Riyadh, Saudi Arabia): in the middle of the biggest sandstorm in riyadh i've ever seen. the saudis are agreeing. this is how a bad day on Mars would look like.



After posting a picture himself, @khaled linked to a news organization that compiled a round-up of photos from the event.

@khaled (Riyadh, Saudi Arabia): After today's sandstom, http://bit.ly/P8PDW , rain comes :)

Massive sandstorm blasts Riyadh

Cyclone Hamish threatens Australian coast

The live radar version of this picture is compulsive viewing, and you can see it here.

Per ABC News, large parts of Australia's Queensland coast are bracing for Cyclone Hamish. Up to 10,000 residents in one town have been told to consider evacuating.

Here's how Twitterers in the cyclone's path are tracking Hamish's progress:

@fraser_coast (Fraser Coast, Australia) Batten down - severe tropical cyclone Hamish is on our doorstep and threatens to bring gale force winds and heavy twurl.nl/fe5nvb

@fraser_coast is also posting other tweets on the preparations for Cyclone Hamish



@brucerchapman (Sunshine Coast, Australia) ah crap we've been placed on tropical cyclone watch. Category 4 cyclone 'Hamish' headed straight for my house @http://tinyurl.com/3k83923



@RobertHoge (Brisbane, Australia) Relatively quiet night working in the corridors of power. Cyclone Hamish seems to be quietening down. Fingers crossed.



@zendainc Sleeping through tropical cyclone hamish. Your not so tough are ya?



@33driver (Hawthorne, Australia) Get out while u can ppl, harvey bay is not where I'd be when Hamish hits!



@philliprsmith (Brisbane, Australia) Arrived in Bundaberg chasing TC Hamish for ABC Radio. Into Hervey Bay tomorrow.

Cyclone Hamish threatens Australian coast

Victoria police send historic text

The Herald Sun is reporting that for the first time ever Victoria police have sent a text message to warn people about dangerous weather and fire conditions expected to affect the area Monday night and Tuesday.

Mobile provider Telstra has started sending the message to its customers, and other companies are expected to follow suit.

Emergency Services Commisioner Bruce Esplin said the message was said to reach those who did not listen to radio, watch television or read newspapers, according to the Sun.

At first, there was much confusion in the Twitterverse.

@amoir (Victoria): Anyone else get a text from Vic Police? Or have I signed up for something without realising?



@cj_gray (South Melbourne, Victoria): Anyone know how the Vic police know my mobile number (they sent weahther warning for tomorrow)?



@tsuite (Hobart, Tasmania): Hmm, Vic Police are spamming people with text messages. The question is: why did I get one?



Eventually, Twitterers realized what exactly was going on.

@JayJeffries (Thornbury): Just got a text from Vic Police warning of the fire danger tomorrow. They are really really wanting to warn people this time.



@melwallace (Melbourne): Got a text from Vic Police warning of extreme weather tonight and tomorrow- about time they got a decent warning system in place!!



The message spread incredibly quickly, as this student tweets.

@djmattyg007 (Melbourne): @breakingtweets literally minutes after it got sent out, everyone in my class was talking about it. quite incredible



"Vic Police" trended as high as No. 6 at the height of the conversation on Twitter. It certainly caught people's attention.

@pnbeck (Melbourne): @breakingtweets I got the sms, I was curious how the Police got my number, raised my heart rate for a minute, switched radio on immediately!

Victoria police send historic text

"Snowmageddon" takes over Minnesota, Twitter

Per the Minneapolis Star Tribune, a wintry blast of snow--aptly dubbed "snowmageddon"--hit the Twin Cities area hard Thursday afternoon, making for a hectic rush hour commute and the No. 1 trending topic in the Twitterverse. Snow started falling around noon, fell at a rate of 1 to 2 inches per hour and is expected to top out at six inches in the metro area, per the article.

Twitterers reacted with a mix of humor and advice. 

@chrispollard (St. Charles, Minn.): I hear that Michael Bay has bought the movie rights to #snowmageddon

@Pfutz: #snowmageddon, just got off the phone with Sven, said most of this snow should melt off by this evening...

@nicolenetland (Minneapolis/St.Paul): Commute home wins for most sketchy of the season. Visibility was wicked bad. Be safe tweeps #snowmageddon.

For others, "Snowmageddon" was underwhelming at best. It was also labeled as "Twype," or "Twitter hype that doesn't deliver on the goods," according to @ASI_was_saying.

@jeremyk (Edina, Minn.): This #snowmageddon is overrated. A few inches? Disappointment.

A sense of community permeated the tweets, and everyone wanted to chip in.

@passepartout (USA): #snowmageddon just connected a lot of MN tweeps. I have 9 new followers. I've never been part of something like this before.

The nasty weather also caused officials at the University of Minnesota to cancel Thursday evening classes--a rare event for the school.

An influx of #snowmageddon twitpics also crashed Twitpic.com during peak use.

"Snowmageddon" takes over Minnesota, Twitter