Intense Storms Cause 4 Deaths in Argentina

15 February 2016: During the evening hours of 15 February, intense rainstorms pelted the city of Córdoba, Argentina causing devastating floods and damage that resulted in the deaths of four people. Strong flood currents swept away and killed two men. The other two victims of the storm are believed to be children who died of wind and storm damage.

Feroz tormenta ayer en Córdoba Argentina dejó 3 muertos y caos en la Ciudad.https://t.co/nCTAMR3HuEpic.twitter.com/IOdxVY9IXF

— Geól. Sergio Almazán (@chematierra) February 17, 2016

The below image powered by Earth Networks’ PulseRad tool shows the high amount of rain for the area during the hours of the storm. According to both PulseRad and the Observatory of Argentinian National Meteorological Service, more than 70mm of rain was recorded in Córdoba during the torrential storm.

Besides flood-causing rains, the storm system also brought with it hail and winds as strong as 110km/h. Wind gusts reached up to 140 km/h at points throughout the evening storm. The below video powered by Earth Networks Total Lightning Networks shows the storms’ cloud-to-ground and in-cloud lightning strikes. The presence of the in-cloud lightning (purple) during a storm with high winds and hail demonstrates the importance of tracking in-cloud lightning, which is often an overlooked precursor to dangerous weather conditions.

The severity and dangerous nature caused the Municipal Civil Defense to evacuate several families from Villa El Chaparral and from the West sectors as over 100 homes flooded. Other damage from the storm also included the outage of 4 transformer stations and the disruption of the city’s transport systems.

Trágico temporal en Córdoba: ascienden a tres los muertos tras las intensas lluvias https://t.co/FEHhjSXRMZpic.twitter.com/7CvLnYEGPM

— RED 92 – LA PLATA (@RED92cadadiamas) February 16, 2016

Severe storms like this one aren’t uncommon in Córdoba or the rest of Argentina for that matter. Earth Networks has also captured Dangerous Thunderstorm Alerts and storm cell tracks for similar storms in the region, like the one below that occurred just days after the one mentioned above. The DTAs are represented by the purple polygons in the video below. They are the most advanced alerting to severe weather and are powered by Earth Networks Total Lightning.