Summer storm capsizes three boats, two others missing in Gulf of Thailand

PRACHUAP KHIRI KHAN: -- A severe summer storm generating high waves hit central Thailand's Prachuap Khiri Khan shoreline on Thursday capsizing three fishing boats and caused two others to go missing.

Villagers in Thap Sakae in Prachuap Khiri Khan used a tractor to drag three sunken boats onshore after they were slammed by heavy waves and capsized off the shoreline.

A number of boats were badly damaged, but two others were reported missing.

So far, no government agency has offered assistance to the boat owners to help them deal with the boat losses.

It was reported that strong winds and high waves continued hitting the shoreline in Thap Sakae district, and the threat of further bad weather is worrying the villagers who fear that high waves may smash fishing villages along the shore.

On Wednesday, the Thai national weather service warned that the intense high pressure system blanketing upper Thailand and was expected to cause summer thunderstorm in the North, East and South of the country.

People in those locations were urged to be on alert for the severe weather condition for one or two days.

Winds and waves in the Gulf of Thailand will intensify. All ships should proceed with caution and small ships should keep ashore through Friday this week.

-- TNA 2010-03-11

[newsfooter][/newsfooter]

A summer storm?? I thought it was still winter in the northern hemisphere??

In the Northern hemisphere that may be the case, just as the opposite is true for those in the South, whilst Thailand is North of the equator it is still in the tropics.

In the Northern hemisphere that may be the case, just as the opposite is true for those in the South, whilst Thailand is North of the equator it is still in the tropics.

Then surely it should be a tropical storm

Well we can be sure that it isn't summer anywhere at the moment.

Well we can be sure that it isn't summer anywhere at the moment.

If you draw a straight line from the centre of the Sun to the centre of the Earth, and find the point where that straight line passes through the Earth's surface, that's about where it's Summer. Considering we probably can't be too far off the Equinox around this time, I'd like to propose that it's likely to be Summer in Singapore.

Well we can be sure that it isn't summer anywhere at the moment.

If you draw a straight line from the centre of the Sun to the centre of the Earth, and find the point where that straight line passes through the Earth's surface, that's about where it's Summer. Considering we probably can't be too far off the Equinox around this time, I'd like to propose that it's likely to be Summer in Singapore.

Correct, April 25 is usually the equinox with the sun directly overhead and so should be the hottest day of the month. So what were the Thai fishing boats doing anchored on a lee shore as it blows East/ North East until April ? Bad seamanship as usual and you can bet they were all rafted up besides each other and only one had the anchor out !