Well what a week it’s been in the weather world!

All the talk lately has been about wind – whether in Canterbury, where farmers are still cleaning up from the huge and destructive windstorms, or, a little further from home, and the winds in San Fransisco, pushing Team New Zealand towards victory – or not, as the case may be.

One community that wouldn’t quite be as enamoured with the sporting events in the US is the State of Colorado – who’ve had their own problems to deal with this week. Intense rainfall caused widespread flooding, caused mass evacuations and even stranded the National Guard. The pictures are pretty spectacular, and you can check out our coverage here. Some residents have returned to their homes to find things not where they used to be – tragically, many have lost homes and property – particularly in areas north of Denver.

South of the border, and Mexico has been battered by two separate deadly storms this week – with hundreds of people either confirmed dead or listed as missing by national authorities. More mass evacuations have occurred in Acapulco, while transport has been at a standstill throughout many coastal areas.

In Japan, typhoon Man-Yi has been causing chaos, particularly around the damaged nuclear power plant at Fukushima. The powerful typhoon made landfall in Toyohashi, Aichi prefecture, shortly before 8:00 am (11am Monday NZ time) on Tuesday, packing gusts of up to 162 kilometres per hour, the Japan Meteorological Agency said. Flights were cancelled around the country, and emergency provisions distributed to many in need, and tragically several deaths have been confirmed.

It’s all been a bit glum, really, so on a slightly lighter note, a North Carolina man aiming to be the first to cross the Atlantic Ocean, suspended from 370 helium filled balloons, has been…let down. Jonathan Trappe, the 39-year-old IT project manager from Raleigh, North Carolina, was forced to make an early landing in a remote part of Newfoundland, Canada, because of a technical issue. He says he’ll be back to give it another pop though.

And closer to home, on Friday, the capital experienced a narrow band of pretty heavy weather making its way up the North Island – causing power cuts, flash flooding and some slips in areas around Wellington and the Wairarapa.

Wow! What a week – let’s hope next week is a little bit more settled – and lets us get our breath back. What’s your take on the major stories of the week? Let us know below, in the comments.

– Image: CNN

– Drew Chappell for Weatherwatch