Wild weather: Tropical storms, bomb cyclones and torrential downpour

Here are some of the big weather stories from around the world this week.

Tropical Storm Sara tore through parts of Honduras, Nicaragua and Belize. At least four people are dead, including a child swept away in the floodwaters.

Parts of Honduras received more than 20 inches of rain, that's over 500 mm. Flooding from the downpour washed out roads and as many as nine bridges. There were also widespread mudslides and significant damage to homes and crops in the region.

Tropical Storm Sara is the 18th named storm of the hurricane season, and the third in November. On average, there are 14 named storms in an Atlantic hurricane season.

A bomb cyclone off the west coast of British Columbia pounded Vancouver Island, coastal B.C. and the Pacific Northwest in the United States. A low pressure system that has a pressure drop of at least 24 millibars in 24 hours or less classifies as a "bomb cyclone."

There were pockets of heavy rain and some heavier snow at higher elevations. But, most of the damage from this storm was caused by the wind. Sustained wind speeds in the 70 to 100 km/h range were reported and some areas had gusts closer to 150 km/h. The storm knocked down trees and downed power lines. At one point, hundreds of thousands of people were without power. At least two people have been reported dead following the storm.

Torrential downpours in Italy’s southern region of Sicily led to significant flooding that caused a number of vehicles to be swept out to the seas. Remarkably, no deaths have been reported. But, there were dozens of people who needed to be rescued from flooded homes and vehicles.