We humans like to think that we’re in charge of the planet we live on. Without being able to collectively decide how it should be done, we’re at the controls. But are we in control?
The scientific community is, in fact, converging on the idea that we have entered a new phase of Earth’s history — one in which our activity has become a powerful agent of geological change, equal to the other great forces of nature that build mountains and shape continents and species. The proposed name for this emerging period is the “Anthropocene” or the age of humanity.
But nature doesn’t care about that. It’s not conceding anything and reminds us about its power whenever it has the chance. From droughts and wildfires to earthquakes and floods, it has plenty of tools to do so as well.
So we at Bored Panda decided to put together a list of pictures, showing just how chaotic our surroundings can get. Continue scrolling to check them out and upvote the most memorable ones!
#1 So There’s Been A Bit Of Rain In Ireland Recently
Image credits: epicmoe
#2 Over 4 Meters (13 Ft.) Of Snow At Riksgränsen Skii Resort In Northen Sweden
Image credits: Riksgränsen
To learn more about the weather, we contacted Bob McDavitt, a weather guru who uses /\/\etBoB to provide weather information for cruising sailors, primarily for those in the South Pacific.
McDavitt was born in Marton, New Zealand, and was schooled in Wellington. He graduated with B.Sc (hons) degrees in Maths and Computer Science from Victoria University, and has been a meteorologist since 1975.
For twenty years, McDavitt was the MetService Weather Ambassador, and focused on promoting friendly relations with weather users. This involved communicating awareness about any incoming nasty weather, keeping an eye on the impact of the weather on the coming season and any special events, and arranging MetService promotions, displays, and exhibitions.
#3 Dedication On Display For Buffalo Bills Fans
Image credits: TooShiftyForYou
#4 Heavy Rain Turns Stairway Into A Waterfall
Image credits: pdidyking
#5 This Tree Was Struck By Lightning 3 Hours Ago
Image credits: zuki500
“The meteorological way of making a weather prediction is based on the scientific method,” McDavitt told Bored Panda.
“1) Data is gathered to measure what is happening now; 2) This data is turned into a grid of numbers; 3) Computer programs that mimic known physics extrapolate these numbers into a future state/time; 4)These numbers are then converted into text and graphics to send off to users who are warned when defined thresholds are exceeded,” the weather guru explained.
#6 My Sister Rented A Flat Here In North Of Iceland For Christmas. This Is Her View
Image credits: maggipedia
#7 Tornado-Driven Branch Impales My House Directly Above My Kid’s Bed
Image credits: Endarius
#8 This Is What Happens In My Hometown When You Don’t Leave The Faucet Trickling In The Winter. Pipes Bursting In Watertown, NY
Image credits: mynameisadrean
#9 Hurricane Mattew Was A Sod Of A Beach In Daytona
Image credits: thisisnotmyfault
It is said that a five-day forecast can accurately predict the weather approximately 90 percent of the time, a seven-day forecast is right about 80 percent of the time, and a 10-day—or longer—forecast will live up to its words only about half the time.
Models have to use estimates and assumptions to predict the weather. But the atmosphere is constantly changing and those estimates are less reliable the further you get into the future.
“Weather is a mix of pattern and chaos,” McDavitt pointed out. “We can only follow the pattern and attempt to work out the bounds of the chaos.”
#10 When It’s Your Stop And The Doors Open To This
Image credits: 9999monkeys
#11 Welcome To Narnia: Two Days Of Gale Force Winds Along Lake Erie Have Iced Over Many Of The Homes Along The Beach In Hamburg, NY
Image credits: john_kucko
#12 Hail Through Sunroof
Image credits: flashtone
#13 Went To Go See The Golden Gate Bridge
Image credits: thebeardedteach
#14 Summers In England
Image credits: Naggers123
#15 The Sky In Murcia, Spain, Turned Orange Because Of Dust From The Sahara
Image credits: Nightrach
#16 I Hate Freezing Rain
Image credits: DoMi8910
#17 Thickness Of Ice On My Windshield In Romania
Image credits: AndrewwwG
#18 The Roof In My Apartment Collapsed Due To Rain, But The Latex Paint Caught The Drywall
Image credits: CadeVision
#19 Lightning Hit Sidewalk
Image credits: Hyppocryte
#20 Got A Call Earlier That A Tree Fell On My House
Image credits: bven
#21 Mother Nature Decided That This BMW Should Be A Convertible
Massive storm with high winds uprooted a bunch of trees yesterday.
Image credits: Deej-OP
#22 This Tree Collapsed In A Very Strange Way From The Weight Of The Snow
Image credits: SilveradoSurfer16
#23 Our Beloved Hotdog Stand Got Damaged During Hurricane Irma
Image credits: bucciamane
#24 This Poor Lambo I Towed In Calgary Ab After Hail And Flooding
Image credits: Arsenicrenegade
#25 When You Are Flooded, And Don’t Wanna Get Electrocuted, But Hopeful
Image credits: OyVeyzMeir
#26 My Trip To Mount Rushmore Last Year
Image credits: parkourgamer
#27 Hurricane Damaged Boardwalk
Image credits: aryeh95
#28 After Flood, Fire And Rescue Departments Going Door To Door To Check The Safety Of Structures
Image credits: jemillerbalt
#29 Took This Pic When The Sandstorm Was About To Hit
Image credits: nawelasg
#30 This Photo Was Taken At 9 AM On August 17, 2018, In Prince George, British Columbia. The Smoke From The Wildfires Is So Thick It’s Blocking Out The Sun
Image credits: TheCanadianGuy08
#31 The Glass In My Lizard’s Tank Randomly Exploded In The Middle Of A Thunderstorm
Image credits: Andy_The_Punk
#32 In Iceland – Restaurant Had A Broken Door During A Severe Snow Storm
Image credits: North West Hotel & Restaurant
#33 Nearly One Month After Finally Repairing My House From Hurricane Laura, One Of The Worst Rainstorms In 50 Years Hit My Town And Filled My House With Water
Image credits: Balphazzar
#34 There Was A Blizzard Last Night So We Decided To Check On Our Car
Image credits: justinmillerco
#35 Lightning Blew Up My Mailbox Last Night, Of All The Things
Image credits: bytorthesnowdog
#36 Lightning Strikes A Golf Practice Green In Iowa
Image credits: Tuff_spuff
#37 Colorado Got Hit By A Mild Hail Storm
Image credits: catkinson19
#38 A Bit Windy Today
Image credits: redbeanman
#39 Oregon Coast During The Wildfires, Raining Ash
Image credits: Malikalikimakkah
#40 Algeria, Les Fusillés Metro Station This Evening. After The Torrential Rains
Image credits: khaleddrareni
#41 Record Flooding In Seoul, South Korea. 336 Mm/13 In Of Rain In A Day
#42 An Australian Man Goes Shopping For Essential Groceries (Beer) During Flooding And Severe Storms
Image credits: LukeTheBaws
#43 Record-Breaking Snowfall From Canadian Blizzard. 30 Inches Fell On Friday Alone
Image credits: Davidcfmo
#44 Damaging Winds And Severe Storms Just Blew Through Indiana. Patio Table Stuck Into A Wall
Image credits: austin9269
#45 Found This In My Yard After Strong Winds. I Guess You Would Call It A Tumble Weave?
Image credits: wicklifferocks
#46 Coworker’s Kids Left The Van Door Open Before A Storm
Image credits: zeldadorf
#47 Flood Continues In The North Of Yakutia, Russia’s Largest And Coldest Territory. Several Villages Are Now Completely Under Water
Image credits: siberian_times
#48 I Guess I’m Not Driving Anywhere Today
Image credits: thishasntbeeneasy
#49 “I Know You’re Not Feeling Well, Let Me Move Your Car For You.” The Next Morning
Image credits: razorburnoncrotch
#50 Drove Across Half Of The US To Witness The Majesty Of The Grand Canyon
Image credits: sigmmakappa
#51 Iowa Corn Flattened By 100mph Winds
Image credits: Gambler_001
#52 This Tree Fell And Pulled The Whole Lawn Up With It
Image credits: eroback
#53 Wind Did This
Image credits: jedzwik24
#54 Tree In My Town Burning From A Lightning Strike
Image credits: Thunderbolt505T
#55 My Friend’s Car After It Randomly Hailed, With Baseball-Sized Hails, While It Was +20 Degrees, In The Middle Of June
Image credits: twitchmemer89164
#56 Atlasjet A320 Radom And Windshield Seriously Damaged By Hail At Istanbul
Image credits: airlivenet
#57 It’s Been So Cold, I Snapped My Welcome Mat
Image credits: garthanthimum
#58 It Was Supposed To Be My Income For The Next 2 Months. All Were Destroyed Last Night After A Storm. Before vs. After
Image credits: kwhugh
#59 My Friend Was Flying Out Of Phoenix Last Night. He Just Missed The Dust Storm
Image credits: suburbanite
#60 Insane Storms In Australia. Everything Is Flooding After Millions Of Hectares Were Burned Last Year
Image credits: Cloquelatte
#61 Traveled To Norway From Florida, Spent 4 Hours Climbing Pulpit Rock In 40-Degree Weather With Rain To Be Blessed With This
Image credits: JShiner
#62 16 Years Of Ivy Growth Destroyed In A Single Night Of High Winds. The Entire Brick Wall Was Covered To The Top
Image credits: ComradeVISIXVI
#63 My Cousin Is A Long-Distance Truck Driver. He Underestimated The Winds In Arizona
Image credits: 5_Frog_Margin
#64 My Dad Just Finished Remodeling His House Last Month From The Last Major Hurricane. Woke Up At 2 This Morning To 7 Inches Of Water Through The House
Image credits: DatRawDough
#65 Not As Bad As The Guy Who Traveled To See The Golden Gate Bridge, But This Is My Wife And I At The Highest Point On Skyline Drive, Overlooking The Majestic Shenandoah Valley
Image credits: anarchistchiken
#66 St. John’s, Newfoundland, Canada. 75+ Cm Of Snow In Less Than 24 Hours. We Can Barely See The Top Of Our Honda Civic To The Right Of Our Truck
Image credits: TinOfPop
#67 New Orleans Is Flooding At The Moment
Image credits: Launchbay07
#68 Hurricane Irma Sucked All Of The Water Out Of My Canal In Naples, FL
Image credits: gdimeweather
#69 Wind Was A Little High In Colorado
Image credits: kbbn1
#70 Crazy Weather Golfball Size Hail Storm
Image credits: tadnbre
#71 My Neighbor’s Tree Went Through My House Yesterday. Really Bad Storm Ripped Through Central North Carolina
Image credits: SN2Chainz
#72 A Little Windy In Phoenix
Image credits: pocodarkness
#73 My Brother With His Mouth Open In A Dust Storm. I Never Told Him, But He’s My Hero
Image credits: whereswilkie
#74 Going To Need A Bigger Snowblower
Image credits: bulldoggordon
#75 Car Parked In Underground Parking (P3) Covered In Snow Overnight
Image credits: suyuzhou
#76 Made It Out – Eastern Canadian Winter
Image credits: iTakeBaths
#77 My Ceiling Is Leaking And The Storm That Is Causing It Isn’t Stopping Any Time Soon
Image credits: cutereddithing
#78 Storm Doris Had Winds Of Up To 94 Mph
Image credits: mayallrob_
#79 Cedar Tree Explosion
A storm blew through central Kansas this evening and exploded this cedar tree near my house. Someone speculated it was a microburst. I just thought it was neat.
Image credits: iamyourmomletmefeedyou
#80 This Is The Road I’m Supposed To Drive On My Final Driving Test This Morning. Fog My Life
Image credits: lovely_carrot
#81 Pizza Hut Sign Blown Over Onto Truck In Bad Weather
Image credits: trickman01
#82 My Front Yard 12 Hours Ago
Image credits: KaerMorhen
#83 Guy Parks On The Stripes Thinking He Can Avoid The Freezing Rain Only To Be Under A Leaky Pipe
Image credits: tnick771
#84 My Ping Pong Table After Being Left Out In The Rain
Image credits: TheRealLegitCuck
#85 Some Apartments At My Old University Flooded Due To Rain On The First Day Of Classes
Image credits: joshua.a.parker
#86 So It Rained A Little At My Grandparents’
Image credits: larsnation
#87 April On The East Coast. Sunday: Got My Car Out, Ready For Summer vs. Monday: Just Kidding
Image credits: HoggZero
#88 I (Left) Was Excited To See The Tip Of Africa From Gibraltar But… Fog. Still The Closest I’ve Ever Been
Image credits: WhatAJSaid
#89 What Happens In Southern Utah After A Wind Storm
Image credits: funnybunnyhunny
#90 A Bit Of Light Rain At The Office
Image credits: randomsubrepost
#91 Blizzard Peeled The Roof Of My Friend’s Work
Image credits: slayez06
#92 Storms Damaged Helicopters In Norfolk Base
Image credits: Son0FAthens
#93 I Sure Do Love Springtime
Image credits: SpideyMGAV
#94 Hurricane Irma Eroded Away The Dune This Pine Tree Was Growing On. Talbot Island State Park, Nassau Co., Florida
Image credits: I_am_Jo_Pitt
#95 Chilling In The Bathroom With My Parents And Cat During A Tornado Warning
Image credits: scootervigilante
#97 Drove 4 Hours Round Trip To See An Active Volcano, While On Vacation
Image credits: marinefuc86ed
#98 The Wind Is Pretty Strong In Texas Today
Image credits: ShimadaKambei
#99 My Cousin Picked The Best Spot To Park During The Hurricane
Image credits: rodfermain
#100 What Could Go Wrong With Not Tying Down Your Trampoline During A Storm
Image credits: RuRahRulabulah
#101 Bought These Binoculars Specifically To Go To The Grand Canyon
Image credits: Ericalva91
#102 We Had A Little Wind Yesterday. Time To Dig Out
Image credits: I_AM_MEAT15
#103 So There Were “High Wind” Warnings In Oregon. Didn’t Expect This To Happen Though
Image credits: eMF_DOOM
#104 This Is What It Looks Like In New Mexico, Extremely High Winds And Drought. This Was Around Noon
Image credits: rfergie82
#105 It Got Pretty Western With The Wind
Image credits: Church369
#106 There Was A Hailstorm At My Cousin’s House, They Have No Power So They Can’t Vacuum Up The Broken Glass In Their House Yet
Image credits: SpicyHashbrowns
#107 The Weather In Houston Made My House Underwater
Image credits: Tobokie121
#108 We Had A Storm That Lasted 6 Days. On The Last Hour Of The Last Day, It Destroyed Our Wall
Image credits: DGS_Cass3636
#109 A Gas Station Is Unable To Hold Up Due To Severe Snow Weight
Image credits: Nina_Greenleaf
#110 Side Of House Impaled By Trampoline After Severe Weather
Image credits: Morocco_Llama
#111 We Are Having A Very Stormy Weather Over Here In Limerick, Ireland. Friend’s Van Got Crushed Under A Tree, But Thankfully He Wasn’t Injured
Image credits: Luke123halley
#112 Drove Three Hours To Go To The Grand Canyon
Image credits: Hey_Its_Me_23_
#113 A Christmas Morning Avalanche Left Four Foot Of Snow Inside Of The Belleayre Mountain Ski Lodge In NY
Image credits: licecrispies
#114 My Shed Caved In From The Weight Of The Snow
Image credits: Sodafizz_126
#115 5 Minutes Ago We Were About To Start Graduation On Our Football Field. Nature Had Other Plans
Image credits: themuffinmann67
#116 First Day Of Spring Break And The Weather Is Looking Great
Image credits: XxX_22marc_XxX
#117 Left My Truck Parked Next To A Lamp Post Before A Storm
Image credits: PotatoSkans
#118 Here In Amarillo, Winds Got Up To Around 80 Mph And Knocked Down The Sign At The Local Sonic
Image credits: TheMadcapLaughter
#119 Within 2 Days In Texas A Hail Storm And Hurricane Destroyed My Car
Image credits: randomvegasposts
#120 My Apartment After Hurricane Isaias (Philadelphia)
Image credits: intelligentquote0
#121 Snowed In
Image credits: RagnaTheRed
#122 “I Think I’ll Install The Gutters Today. The Weather Is Supposed To Be Clear.” It Wasn’t Clear
Image credits: leatherplates42069
#123 “Boat Will Be Fine” They Said. “Hurricane Moved East” They Said
Image credits: pnbgaff
#124 Photo From The North Dakota, An Underpass On I94 Near Mapleton After The Plows Were Pulled
Image credits: NDHighwayPatrol
#125 This Tree Has Been Through 3 Hurricanes, And Now Because Of Some Flooding Has Gone Through My Pool Cage And Broken A Big Part Of My Roof
Image credits: Accio_sanity
#126 My Backyard After 2 Inches Of Rain Fell In 5 Hours One Week Ago
Image credits: XROOR
#127 Heavy Rains Last Night Made My Wall 3D
Image credits: CarlosDanger1212
#128 So The Wind Is Pretty Strong Here In Wales
Image credits: SealionOfNeutrality
#129 On Our Honeymoon In Hallstatt, Austria
Image credits: Lady-Charb
#130 My Friend’s Garage The Day After Hurricane Sally
Image credits: lovelyloafers