Joplin, MO hit by massive twister, 116 dead

At 1 a.m. Israel time Motzei Lag Baomer, just as the speakers turned off in Meron after a million people made pilgrimage to the gravesite of Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai, and precisely the day after the world was supposed to end and "believers" were meant to be saved, a mile-wide tornado with a rank of EF4 (attributed to less than 1% of all tornadoes) ripped through the town of Joplin, Missouri, a major commercial, medical and cultural hub of the Southerastern United States, killing at least 116 people and leaving entire neighborhoods flattened and 30% of the town destroyed, including the town's hospital, where patients had to be evacuated. Many are reported as still trapped in destroyed homes.

Meanwhile, I saw this on the Seven Universal Laws blog:

However, keep in mind: rainbows are not a good thing. A rainbow is a sign that the world is deserving of a flood in the proportions of the flood in the time of Noach, but because of God's promise that He would not again destroy the world, we are spared the flood and given the rainbow as a sign of our situation. In fact, it is said that because of his righteousness, in the days of Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai, the world did not see a rainbow. (Perhaps that's why Hashem waited until the end of the Hilula.)

Nancy Grace: State of emergency declared in California

Nancy Grace insists that the governor of California governor has declared a state of emergency following the nuclear radiation hazard from Japan. Her weatherman disagrees.

Nancy Grace may not be a scientific authority, but she is asking the questions that no one else is. Last week the IAEA said if the radiation in Japan continues, the health hazard to the US would have to be reassessed. This week temperatures at Fukushima are rising and the radiation continues. Who's reassessing the threat?

Yesterday, the EPA measured an aberration in Hawaii radiation levels:

As of 6:30pm (EDT) preliminary monitor results in Hawaii detected minuscule levels of an isotope that is consistent with the Japanese nuclear incident. This detection varies from background and historical data in Hawaii. This isotope was detected at our fixed monitor in Hawaii, and it is far below any level of concern for human health. The sampling filter from this monitor is being sent to our national radiation lab for further analysis.

California's state of emergency may be complicated by nuclear fallout, but at this point it's weather-related. The governor declared a state of emergency in California following heavy rainstorms across six counties. According to forecasts, the strongest part of the storm is set to hit California Wednesday morning. Two have already died from the storm.

Is California taking the next hit? A few months back, scientists warned of a deadly California superstorm in the state's future. Now a Newsweek columnist says after Chile, New Zealand and Japan, California is next up for a major quake.

And today, March 23rd, the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's two tsunami warning centers in Alaska and Hawaii will be simulating earthquake and tsunami warnings along major Pacific ocean fault lines.

It's a sunny day in Jerusalem

While the world is in turmoil at every corner (Iranian ships are entering Suez, Egypt is bolstering the Egypt-Libya border after what the Hague has called Libya's crimes against humanity, New Zealand has been hit by what tourists have called New Zealand's '9/11')...

...It's a beautiful, sunny day in the middle of winter in Jerusalem!

ליהודים היתה אורה ושמחה ששון ויקר כן תהיה לנו = לכל עם ישראל

US Storm to Affect 100 Million this week

From weather.com:

A storm beginning Monday night through Thursday could affect 100 million people across the U.S.: 

- Snow up to 6" from Colorado to Ohio + powerful winds = blizzards

- Severe storms containing damaging winds and tornadoes from Texas to Alabama.

- On Wednesday the storm could move from the midwest to the Northeast, bringing heavy snow and icing

Meanwhile in Jerusalem there are strong winds and heavy rain, reminiscent of the first big rain of the year, which followed the Carmel Fire.

weather and miracles

Despite the severe weather in Israel, there have been countless miracles:

A minibus carrying a group of mentally challenged adults was stuck in a flooded area in Tel Aviv. Fireman unloaded all 13 passengers unharmed.

A commercial vehicle flipped over and went up in flames. All 13 passengers of the vehicle successfully removed themselves. There were 2 injuries but no fatalities.

The number of saved passengers in both cases is 13, which is equal to Hashem's 13 qualities of compassion.

In another incident, a tree fell and severely damaged a school building in Yizhar at night, when no students were present. According to INN, "The fact that the trees collapsed into the empty buildings at night and not during school hours is a miracle," said Yitzhar's residents.

May Hashem have rachamim on all of am yisrael and keep us one and safe in these times.