Weather

You've heard the age-old advice of not going and chasing waterfalls, but avalanches might need to be added to the mix -- or at the very least, get out of their way if you can.

A British guy named Harry Shimmin posted this wild footage taken Friday out in Kyrgyzstan, where he says he was on a guided tour with 8 others through the Tian Shan Mountains ... at one point through which the group reached the highest point possible by hiking.

That's when an avalanche from a nearby peak started to unfold, barreling down on Harry -- who had separated from the group a bit to take photos on his own. As he looks on at the snow, which seems to be quite some distance away, he quickly realizes it's coming closer.

Soon, the reality sets in ... that he's about to be buried by this thing if he doesn't take cover. Acting as a bit of a daredevil, Shimmin waits 'til the very last second to do exactly that.

HS explains that he knew he'd be alright all along -- as he was right by a ridge where he could duck under when the snow came over him -- but admits ... it was risky business.

Halsey's fans didn't get a concert, but they certainly got wet ... all thanks to some serious rain that shut down the show before it even started.

The "Without Me" singer was set to perform at the Merriweather Post Pavilion in Maryland Wednesday night, but mother nature had other plans -- with a forecast that predicted some serious rains -- however, Haley's crew stayed optimistic that the show could still go on.

Videos of the rain and flooding from the venue look like something out of a movie, with rain pouring down and water rushing through the stands. The show's start time was delayed a couple hours before the whole thing was called off.

Halsey jumped onto an IG Live to explain and apologize to fans -- saying the weather experts they work with while on the road didn't expect the downpour to be as bad as it was.

Master P is joining the recovery effort in his hometown -- after a deadly tornado tore through New Orleans, he's put together a team to, literally in some cases, pick up the pieces for victims.

The rapper tells TMZ ... his "Team Hope" currently has 25 people in the area, and it's comprised of his friends, family and other community members. So far, they've helped more than 100 families in NOLA's 9th Ward by handing out essential supplies, and helping the elderly fill out damage claim forms.

Most importantly, the crew is already starting the rebuilding process by cleaning up the damage and salvaging what they can from wrecked homes.

The tornado cut through several parts of the city late Tuesday night, injuring multiple people and killing at least one person. As it passed through, it flipped cars and ripped roofs off of houses.

Sadly, the city and its residents aren't strangers to mother nature's wrath, but Master P tells us, "New Orleans is stronger together ... it's time to clean up and rebuild. We have done this so many times we have to be thankful for life."

P is feeling that gratitude because, as his own relatives narrowly dodged disaster this time around -- he says they live 7 blocks away from where the twister touched down.

Back when NOLA was reeling last year from Hurricane Ida ... Master P's provided much-needed relief, distributing clean drinking water through one of his companies.

Machine Gun Kelly's turning hotel bellmen into tour roadies and proving the ol' show biz adage is true ... even in the face of a deadly storm in South America.

Yeah, the show totally went on for MGK Tuesday night just outside the lobby of his hotel in Paraguay ... where the rocker set up giant speakers, cranked it up to 11 and grabbed a mic. Fans had swarmed the building after his scheduled concert venue was flooded out, forcing promoters to pull the plug on the show.

Megan Fox was right by her fiance's side when he came out to greet the fans, and then decided to give 'em a mini-concert.

Paraguay was rocked by a storm that tore roofs off buildings and had rivers overflowing their banks. Five people reportedly died and more than 80 were injured in the severe weather.

There is not a new 'Little Mermaid' ride at Disney World, but guests might feel like it as major flash flooding left parts of the theme park underwater.

Disney's Hollywood Studios -- one of the 4 Disney parks in Orlando -- was inundated Monday night, but the unprepared tourists seemed to take in stride ... albeit, very wet strides.

As "When You Wish Upon a Star" blared some people were pushing strollers through knee-deep (for little kids) water.

You can imagine ... the younger park-goers were eating this up, having an absolute blast playing, skipping or just flopping down in the flooding. Not ideal for parents, but hey -- ya came all that way, might as well soak up the Disney magic.

The National Weather Service says an estimated 4 to 5 inches of rain ended up falling in the area. Gotta love Florida, baby!!!

A volcano eruption off the island of Tonga has sent literal shockwaves around the world -- so much so, that now authorities have warned ... we here in the U.S. could be at risk.

The underwater explosion took place Friday, which was actually noticeable from satellites all the way up in space ... and the images captured of the moment the volcano blew are mind-blowing, giving you a true sense of how powerful this thing was -- and how devastating too.

The real-world effects were felt almost immediately ... not only did people hear and see the mighty boom, but soon -- there were massive waves crashing ashore on the island of Tongatapu. Several videos were posted of the early damage, and even then ... it was bad.

Check out some of these clips ... you can see water tearing through residential areas and ripping down gates and fences. Some areas seem to have been hit harder than others.

There's one video that looks like it's straight out of a movie (in a bad way), with massive waves bursting their way onto the city streets ... and cars having to do quick U-turns to get the hell out of there.

So far, there are no reports of injuries or deaths -- but at the same time, much of the island is without communication or internet at the moment ... that's how rocked they've been over the past 10 hours or so.

Now, the rest of the world (at least on the Pacific side) is starting to feel the ramifications from this ... including here in the States, where weather officials have issued tsunami warnings in Hawaii, Alaska, British Columbia and all up and down the west coast of the U.S.

There are reports of massive waves crashing against the shorelines in cities like Monterey and elsewhere ... and locals have been told to steer clear of the area for a while.

Tornados ripped through Kentucky, Illinois and other states last night ... and the death toll could reach 100 ... and it could even go higher.

The images are horrifying ... one tornado traveled 223 miles, ripping through county after county in Kentucky. Governor Andy Beshear said, "We have deaths in multiple counties. This is one of the toughest nights in Kentucky's history."

And, there was at least one death in Arkansas Friday night, when a tornado ravaged a nursing home, causing the building to collapse.

And, there's this ... workers inside a Kentucky candle factory posted Facebook audio ... showing the sheer terror of the weather event. The workers can be heard sobbing and begging for help ... "Please y'all, give us some help. We are at the candle factory in Mayfield. Please, please. Y'all! Please send us some help. Somebody, please send us some help, we are trapped."

She goes on ... "The wall is stuck on me. Nobody can get to us, y'all, we can't move."

Willard Scott -- the iconic "TODAY" show weatherman who preceded the Al Roker era -- has died.

Al himself confirmed the news this weekend, taking to IG with an honorary post for Willard and writing ... "We lost a beloved member of our @todayshow family this morning. Willard Scott passed peacefully at the age of 87 surrounded by family, including his daughters Sally and Mary and his lovely wife, Paris."

AR adds, "He was truly my second dad and am where I am today because of his generous spirit. Willard was a man of his times, the ultimate broadcaster. There will never be anyone quite like him."

Willard started at "TODAY" in 1980, and became famous for his jovial anchoring -- be it during a weather segment, or any other special event he ended up hosting for NBC thereafter. The dude's antics were hilarious -- he'd dress up in crazy costumes, joke around like crazy on the air (and during MOTS interviews) ... and was just an overall hoot of a personality.

He's also perhaps best remembered for wishing Americans a Happy 100th Birthday in an ongoing Smucker's segment ... in which he'd feature different centennials who hit the milestone. Willard also hosted some of America's most memorable celebratory moments -- covering presidential inaugurations, holiday parades and parties, expos and more.

He was pretty much the Al Roker of his day, and did indeed pass on the baton when he retired from anchoring in the mid-to-late '90s. Still, they remained great friends ... and Al credits him as his mentor.

BTW, Willard also had quite the history in clowning around -- literally. He played the very first incarnation of Ronald McDonald in TV ads during the '60s, and even had a turn at playing Bozo the Clown too. Dude was just an all-around joy-spreader -- from start to finish.

He's survived by his wife, Paris Keena, and his children. Willard was 87.

The remnants of Hurricane Ida led to fatal flooding and destruction in New York and New Jersey, and the area's under a state of emergency Thursday as everyone deals with the aftermath.

The National Weather Service issued a flash flood emergency in NYC for the first time -- not to mention a tornado watch -- as torrential rains flooded streets and subway lines, swept away cars, suspended flights, and destroyed buildings and homes overnight.

Sadly, the storm has also resulted in 9 reported deaths, including a mother and her 22-year-old son who were killed when a building partially collapsed in Queens.

NYC Mayor Bill de Blasio called the storm a "historic weather event" and warned citizens to stay inside and away from the dangerous conditions on the city streets. A travel ban was also imposed until 5 AM to keep people safe.

Photos and videos from the storm show just how terrifying and dangerous things got, with cars almost completely submerged on the streets and passengers standing on the seats of a bus trying to make its way down Broadway in Queens.

The severe storm conditions weren't limited to the Northeast either ... Cardi B's also dealing with flooding hundreds of miles south in her 22,000-sq-ft Atlanta-area mansion.

Hurricane Ida has forced the Saints to move their season-opener against the Packers out of New Orleans ... with the NFL announcing the game has been officially relocated to Florida.

The league said on Wednesday that due to storm damage and the ongoing efforts to recover from it all in New Orleans ... the Saints' highly anticipated Sept. 12 Week 1 matchup will now be played at TIAA Bank Field in Jacksonville.

"The decision was made, in consultation with state and local officials and both clubs, in the interest of public safety," the NFL said, adding the game's kickoff time will remain at 4:25 PM ET.

It's unclear if any further Saints games will need to be moved.

The Saints announced earlier this week that the Superdome did not sustain any major damage as Ida pounded the city ... though the team's head coach, Sean Payton, did say he now expects the Saints to be away from New Orleans for about a month.

John Schneider's production studio lot in Louisiana has been ravaged by Hurricane Ida, and while his life was spared, the actor needs some help.

The 'Dukes of Hazzard' star's movie/TV magic sanctuary in Holden, LA got torn up this week as Ida continues to rip through the area. Among the casualties on his property was a massive tree that toppled over, crashing down onto his orange "General Lee" stunt car.

Don't worry ... it ain't John's one and only -- he has several models on hand.

John's rep tells us he's doing just fine, but was off the grid for a while due to bad cell service ... he's leaving for Nashville in just a few hours.

With that said ... JS uploaded a video that's pretty sad to watch considering the devastation he -- and thousands of other Louisianans -- are going through right now. He's asking the public to give him a hand by going to his studio store and buying merch ... which is gonna go a long way to getting the place up and running again.

French Olympian snowboarder Julie Pomagalski -- who won a World Championship in 1999 -- has died after an avalanche in the Swiss Alps on Tuesday.

She was 40.

The French Ski Federation made the announcement Wednesday .. saying Pomagalski and a guide, Bruno Cutelli, died in the accident.

Police say the cause of the avalanche is unknown at this time.

Pomagalski was a two-time Olympian for France ... finishing 6th in the parallel giant slalom at the 2002 Salt Lake City games ... and also competed in the 2006 games in Torino, Italy.

She was also the 1999 World Champion in snowboard cross, and won the 2004 Snowboard World Cup and was Vice-World Champion in parallel giant in 2003.

Skiing runs in Pomagalski's family ... her grandfather, Jean Pomagalski, invented the first ski lift in 1934 and is the founder of POMA, a manufacturer for chairlifts.

The French Olympics team made a statement Wednesday, saying "the tragic death of Julie, snowboard world champion and Olympian, leaves the France OLY team in mourning for one of their own."

The same day an avalanche in Utah killed four skiers in Salt Lake Valley, another one about 200 miles east swallowed up a pack of snowmobilers ... who lived to tell the tale.

Check out this video that was captured and shared Saturday somewhere in the Uinta Mountains in northeast Utah ... where four to five guys in snowmobiles were riding around on the side of a mountain, when all of a sudden they felt the ground below them rumble.

The guy who posted this, Miles Penrose, says he then saw a wave of snow barreling down at him and his friends and got swept up in the debris -- this after his avalanche backpack chute (almost like an airbag to keep people safe) failed to deploy.

BTW, you can see the avalanche coming ... and it's absolutely terrifying. Incredible that the cameraman was able to hold on and not lose his phone.

Luckily, Miles says he was only taken out about 20 yards, and was able to keep himself on top of the massive snow pile. Next thing he knew, he was searching for his little brother and pals ... the former ended up being buried about five feet deep, but was alive.

So were his other friends, who were scattered about ... but again, seemed relatively unscathed. The same sadly can't be said for a group of four skiers who were killed in a separate avalanche the same day out in Mill Creek Canyon -- while 4 others were badly injured.

Tragic news -- 3 backcountry skiers in Colorado were found dead following a huge avalanche this week ... after being buried in more than 20 feet of tumbling ice and snow.

A group of 7 skiers was traveling between Silverton and Ophir when they accidentally triggered an avalanche near a well-known area called "The Nose" on Feb. 1, according to the Colorado Avalanche Information Center (CAIC).

The report says the incident happened at an elevation of approximately 11,500 feet ... and 4 members were caught up in the avalanche.

The CAIC states the group was able to find and dig out one of the missing members ... who suffered only minor injuries.

Authorities conducted search and rescue operations to find the remaining 3 skiers … but efforts were suspended after 2 days due to "considerable" avalanche danger for the safety of the search and rescue team.

Unfortunately, the 3 other skiers were found dead, according to San Juan County officials.

Eagle County and the town of Eagle released a joint statement Wednesday ... saying, "the families of Seth Bossung, Andy Jessen and Adam Palmer are allowing us to share their names, so we can all openly acknowledge their deaths and grieve together."

"The families are surrounded by loved ones, and we are asking everyone to respect their wishes as to when and how they wish to communicate with others."

A helicopter is now required to retrieve the 3 bodies due to the damage caused by the avalanche and rugged terrain ... and they will be taken to the San Juan County Coroner's office for positive identification.

Officials say the Ophir Pass has been suspended and people should continue to avoid the area.

2020 has brought us a deadly pandemic, a devastating hurricane, tornados, shocking examples of police brutality ... so really, how surprising is a big earthquake in North Carolina?

A 5.1 quake rocked Sparta, NC Sunday, just after 8 AM. The epicenter is near the Virginia border and was felt in South Carolina and Georgia.

It's the biggest earthquake to hit the area in more than 100 years.

Check out the video ... the beauty salon surveillance video shows the force of the quake as items all around sway back and forth.

The Mayor of Sparta said the quake was so loud it sounded like a train roaring down the track.

Fortunately, no injuries and only minor damage, but the shaking was real.

A 5.1 is a big quake, but typically significant damage usually occurs when a quake is in the 6's or higher. Of course, depending on the way buildings were constructed ... a 5.1 could do serious damage ... though not the case here.

Several states down south are dealing with tornadoes and tornado warnings -- forcing officials to tell residents to take cover, while also social distancing ... if possible. Trying times, to say the least.

With tornadoes having already touched down in Texas and Louisiana this weekend, the Mississippi Emergency Management Agency sent out a tweet Sunday showing staffers monitoring the volatile weather patterns that's coming their way soon.

The agency says, "Director Michel and our team are monitoring the weather and standby ready to assist."

They also add a directive regarding social distancing, saying ... "If you go to a public shelter please wear a mask, bandanna, or scarf around your nose and mouth. Practice social distancing. We will get through this!"

Mississippi's guidance on how to properly take shelter in public is similar to what emergency agencies in other states have provided. The common guideline for all is ... socially distance if you can, but hunkering down against something like a tornado -- which could kill you instantly -- is job 1.

Oklahoma said just that in its own directive ... "The need to practice social distancing and prevent the spread of COVID-19 brings added complications to taking shelter from severe weather." Again, they're giving top priority to tornado protection over the virus.