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!
This post may include affiliate links.
Heavy Rain Turns Stairway Into A Waterfall
So There's Been A Bit Of Rain In Ireland Recently
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.
This Tree Was Struck By Lightning 3 Hours Ago
The portal to the **upside down, "stranger things". Edit, thanks for the correction
Lightning Hit Sidewalk
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.
"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.
My Friend Was Flying Out Of Phoenix Last Night. He Just Missed The Dust Storm
This Is The Road I'm Supposed To Drive On My Final Driving Test This Morning. Fog My Life
My Sister Rented A Flat Here In North Of Iceland For Christmas. This Is Her View
Summers In England
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."
Over 4 Meters (13 Ft.) Of Snow At Riksgränsen Skii Resort In Northen Sweden
The Sky In Murcia, Spain, Turned Orange Because Of Dust From The Sahara
When It's Your Stop And The Doors Open To This
I've post holed for a whole mile before. Definitely would just stay on the train at this point.
Hurricane Mattew Was A Sod Of A Beach In Daytona
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
Dedication On Display For Buffalo Bills Fans
What Happens In Southern Utah After A Wind Storm
Hail Through Sunroof
Went To Go See The Golden Gate Bridge
This is pretty common. I lived there for almost 13 years and I can tell you the fog doesn't burn off. And even if you are visiting in summer, bring layers because it gets cold. Can always tell the summer tourists - shorts with a SF novelty sweatshirt because they didn't bring the right clothes. And don't ever expect to go swimming without a wetsuit because it is so cold.
Lightning Strikes A Golf Practice Green In Iowa
The golfer's joke is that if you're ever out in a thunderstorm, hold up a one iron. Even god can't hit a one iron.
Took This Pic When The Sandstorm Was About To Hit
Tree In My Town Burning From A Lightning Strike
Thickness Of Ice On My Windshield In Romania
Damaging Winds And Severe Storms Just Blew Through Indiana. Patio Table Stuck Into A Wall
Found This In My Yard After Strong Winds. I Guess You Would Call It A Tumble Weave?
This Is What Happens In My Hometown When You Don't Leave The Faucet Trickling In The Winter. Pipes Bursting In Watertown, NY
Tornado-Driven Branch Impales My House Directly Above My Kid’s Bed
I saw the box and thought, "that's your child's bed...?" Then I saw the actual bed under it. XD
Came here for this comment, I'm not alone thanks goodness
Load More Replies... 
Tornadoes can make pieces of straw imbed itself in telephone poles. I've seen images of that, and it's freaky as hell.
Load More Replies...
I had a pine tree fall on my house during a hurricane and it looked very similar to this.
Was it the Minecraft poster or Zelda sword that gave it away? And given the close call, maybe a life needing reexamination?
Load More Replies...
Thank goodness your child was out flying and eating bugs when there's occurred
I'd remove that ceiling fan long before I'd remove that branch. Spectacular.
It's Been So Cold, I Snapped My Welcome Mat
I Guess I'm Not Driving Anywhere Today
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
Lightning Blew Up My Mailbox Last Night, Of All The Things
My Trip To Mount Rushmore Last Year
This Tree Fell And Pulled The Whole Lawn Up With It
A Bit Windy Today
After Flood, Fire And Rescue Departments Going Door To Door To Check The Safety Of Structures
I Hate Freezing Rain
Record-Breaking Snowfall From Canadian Blizzard. 30 Inches Fell On Friday Alone
Hurricane Damaged Boardwalk
Our Beloved Hotdog Stand Got Damaged During Hurricane Irma
This Poor Lambo I Towed In Calgary Ab After Hail And Flooding
Iowa Corn Flattened By 100mph Winds
Got A Call Earlier That A Tree Fell On My House
The Roof In My Apartment Collapsed Due To Rain, But The Latex Paint Caught The Drywall
I (Left) Was Excited To See The Tip Of Africa From Gibraltar But... Fog. Still The Closest I’ve Ever Been
Algeria, Les Fusillés Metro Station This Evening. After The Torrential Rains
The dude in the bottom pic cracks me up. Surrounded by water and he's still playing on his phone like nothing happened
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
I got the same view at Mt Rainier last fall. No sign of a mountain there. Mountain, what mountain?
There Was A Blizzard Last Night So We Decided To Check On Our Car
Mother Nature Decided That This BMW Should Be A Convertible
Massive storm with high winds uprooted a bunch of trees yesterday.
Beautiful cherry lumber that would have some amazing figuring if milled properly.
In Iceland - Restaurant Had A Broken Door During A Severe Snow Storm
When You Are Flooded, And Don't Wanna Get Electrocuted, But Hopeful
Hurricane Irma Eroded Away The Dune This Pine Tree Was Growing On. Talbot Island State Park, Nassau Co., Florida
Sooo, if the sand is gone, what do we now stick our heads into to pretend climate change isn’t real?
Colorado Got Hit By A Mild Hail Storm
Made It Out - Eastern Canadian Winter
Chilling In The Bathroom With My Parents And Cat During A Tornado Warning
It Was Supposed To Be My Income For The Next 2 Months. All Were Destroyed Last Night After A Storm. Before vs. After
Traveled To Norway From Florida, Spent 4 Hours Climbing Pulpit Rock In 40-Degree Weather With Rain To Be Blessed With This
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
The Wind Is Pretty Strong In Texas Today
My Brother With His Mouth Open In A Dust Storm. I Never Told Him, But He's My Hero
Record Flooding In Seoul, South Korea. 336 Mm/13 In Of Rain In A Day
An Australian Man Goes Shopping For Essential Groceries (Beer) During Flooding And Severe Storms
Atlasjet A320 Radom And Windshield Seriously Damaged By Hail At Istanbul
First Day Of Spring Break And The Weather Is Looking Great
We Had A Little Wind Yesterday. Time To Dig Out
Storms Damaged Helicopters In Norfolk Base
Oregon Coast During The Wildfires, Raining Ash
Drove Across Half Of The US To Witness The Majesty Of The Grand Canyon
Side Of House Impaled By Trampoline After Severe Weather
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
My Dad Planted This Palm When I Was 3. I'm 33 Now. Two Days Of -2° Temperatures In Texas Broke It And Every Other Palm We Had
To add insult to injury, one of the -2° days was my dad's birthday.
Crazy Weather Golfball Size Hail Storm
Blizzard Peeled The Roof Of My Friend's Work
That looks so strange! Like the roof was soft/flexible like a gym mat or something.
Hurricane Irma Sucked All Of The Water Out Of My Canal In Naples, FL
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
Going To Need A Bigger Snowblower
Flood Continues In The North Of Yakutia, Russia's Largest And Coldest Territory. Several Villages Are Now Completely Under Water
Car Parked In Underground Parking (P3) Covered In Snow Overnight
The Glass In My Lizard's Tank Randomly Exploded In The Middle Of A Thunderstorm
16 Years Of Ivy Growth Destroyed In A Single Night Of High Winds. The Entire Brick Wall Was Covered To The Top
Coworker’s Kids Left The Van Door Open Before A Storm
Co workers kids would be out digging that with spoons if I was co worker
Storm Doris Had Winds Of Up To 94 Mph
This Is What It Looks Like In New Mexico, Extremely High Winds And Drought. This Was Around Noon
Pizza Hut Sign Blown Over Onto Truck In Bad Weather
I Sure Do Love Springtime
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
Insane Storms In Australia. Everything Is Flooding After Millions Of Hectares Were Burned Last Year
My Cousin Is A Long-Distance Truck Driver. He Underestimated The Winds In Arizona
April On The East Coast. Sunday: Got My Car Out, Ready For Summer vs. Monday: Just Kidding
My neighbor did something similar with his 1995 Mustang, which I call the "blue beauty." I suspect that next spring he'll wait a bit longer to take it out.
Wind Did This
My Neighbor's Tree Went Through My House Yesterday. Really Bad Storm Ripped Through Central North Carolina
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
Guy Parks On The Stripes Thinking He Can Avoid The Freezing Rain Only To Be Under A Leaky Pipe
My Friend's Car After It Randomly Hailed, With Baseball-Sized Hails, While It Was +20 Degrees, In The Middle Of June
Drove 4 Hours Round Trip To See An Active Volcano, While On Vacation
What Could Go Wrong With Not Tying Down Your Trampoline During A Storm
Snowed In
My Front Yard 12 Hours Ago
Some Apartments At My Old University Flooded Due To Rain On The First Day Of Classes
So It Rained A Little At My Grandparents'
Oh, I think that's from the flood in Germany a while back. Horrible. People are still waiting for government support and are unable to repair their buildings from what I've heard.
Wind Was A Little High In Colorado
Photo From The North Dakota, An Underpass On I94 Near Mapleton After The Plows Were Pulled
A Bit Of Light Rain At The Office
My Cousin Picked The Best Spot To Park During The Hurricane
A Little Windy In Phoenix
A Christmas Morning Avalanche Left Four Foot Of Snow Inside Of The Belleayre Mountain Ski Lodge In NY
On Our Honeymoon In Hallstatt, Austria
"I Know You're Not Feeling Well, Let Me Move Your Car For You." The Next Morning
My Ceiling Is Leaking And The Storm That Is Causing It Isn't Stopping Any Time Soon
My Ping Pong Table After Being Left Out In The Rain
We Had A Storm That Lasted 6 Days. On The Last Hour Of The Last Day, It Destroyed Our Wall
on the bright side, at least they didn't have to wait days without their walls while the storm was still going on
My Friend's Garage The Day After Hurricane Sally
So There Were "High Wind" Warnings In Oregon. Didn't Expect This To Happen Though
My Backyard After 2 Inches Of Rain Fell In 5 Hours One Week Ago
So The Wind Is Pretty Strong Here In Wales
5 Minutes Ago We Were About To Start Graduation On Our Football Field. Nature Had Other Plans
"I Think I'll Install The Gutters Today. The Weather Is Supposed To Be Clear." It Wasn't Clear
My neighbor's solution to an unattached downspout is to place a 1-square foot of wood underneath the opening to disperse the rain. That's instead of just reattaching the downspout. 🙄
New Orleans Is Flooding At The Moment
Bought These Binoculars Specifically To Go To The Grand Canyon
Left My Truck Parked Next To A Lamp Post Before A Storm
Here In Amarillo, Winds Got Up To Around 80 Mph And Knocked Down The Sign At The Local Sonic
It Got Pretty Western With The Wind
"Boat Will Be Fine" They Said. "Hurricane Moved East" They Said
Within 2 Days In Texas A Hail Storm And Hurricane Destroyed My Car
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
A Gas Station Is Unable To Hold Up Due To Severe Snow Weight
My Apartment After Hurricane Isaias (Philadelphia)
Heavy Rains Last Night Made My Wall 3D
Drove Three Hours To Go To The Grand Canyon
Every now and then, Nature likes to remind us just how small we really are.
Yep, them trees falling always perfectly on houses and cars and doing other suspiciously precise damage is proof of that
Load More Replies... 
if I had to choose iceland snow 10 feet deep or summer heat wave & drought, I would still choose summer heat... that's just me... summer-or-...57d924.jpg 
Snow ain't that bad and the colder it is the warmer you dress up so for me rather winter.
Load More Replies...
County crew clearing a road in New York State near Lake Ontario. I will never live there again. Snow-5-631...a873f1.jpg 
This is not Mother Nature Showing Its Wild Side, This is human destroying nature and the consequences
I live in Daytona. Hurricane Matthew is somewhat legendary here. Another freak event that happened (many years ago, though; I didn't see it) was an 18-foot (5.5-meter) rogue wave that randomly hit Daytona Beach. No clue how that happened; our waves are always so calm! Nature is absolutely crazy.
not enough summer pix of the 105 degF heat this summer with drought hot-texas-...6dcc67.jpg 
It seems to me that a LOT of people in the USA don't know that trees need to put down deep roots. You cannot expect a tree growing in 3" of soil to withstand winds.
I'm so graterul living in a city where snow, tornadoes of lightning is not a thing.
Be careful! Mother Nature has been known to occasionally say, "Watch this sh**!".
Load More Replies...
I wish there was a feature to hide the comments. Too many stupid ones
Just don't read them? Many pandas enjoy the comments more than the lists themselves!
Load More Replies...
Every now and then, Nature likes to remind us just how small we really are.
Yep, them trees falling always perfectly on houses and cars and doing other suspiciously precise damage is proof of that
Load More Replies... if I had to choose iceland snow 10 feet deep or summer heat wave & drought, I would still choose summer heat... that's just me... summer-or-...57d924.jpg
Snow ain't that bad and the colder it is the warmer you dress up so for me rather winter.
Load More Replies... County crew clearing a road in New York State near Lake Ontario. I will never live there again. Snow-5-631...a873f1.jpg
This is not Mother Nature Showing Its Wild Side, This is human destroying nature and the consequences
I live in Daytona. Hurricane Matthew is somewhat legendary here. Another freak event that happened (many years ago, though; I didn't see it) was an 18-foot (5.5-meter) rogue wave that randomly hit Daytona Beach. No clue how that happened; our waves are always so calm! Nature is absolutely crazy.
not enough summer pix of the 105 degF heat this summer with drought hot-texas-...6dcc67.jpg
It seems to me that a LOT of people in the USA don't know that trees need to put down deep roots. You cannot expect a tree growing in 3" of soil to withstand winds.
I'm so graterul living in a city where snow, tornadoes of lightning is not a thing.
Be careful! Mother Nature has been known to occasionally say, "Watch this sh**!".
Load More Replies... I wish there was a feature to hide the comments. Too many stupid ones
Just don't read them? Many pandas enjoy the comments more than the lists themselves!
Load More Replies... 