From hail and lightning-sparked wildfires in southern California to flash flooding in North Carolina, the weather in the U.S. and throughout the world has been anything but gentle during the last week. In San Bernardino County, Calif., a lightning bolt struck and killed a 40-year-old woman Wednesday as she was standing under a tree in a Fontana neighborhood. In Greensboro, N.C., a woman was killed Wednesday night after being swept away in rushing water created by severe thunderstorms rumbling through central North Carolina, authorities said. Around the world, sand storms have been pounding the refugee camps in northwest Pakistan. In eastern India and Bangladesh, hundreds of thousands of people have taken refuge in government shelters after Cyclone Aila flooded their homes and killed 264 people.
