For the past 36 hours, hurricane-force winds have raked through western Europe as a result of a strong low pressure system crashing ashore in Denmark. The strong winds are causing widespread damage, knocking out power, and interrupting hundreds of flights at some of the busiest airports in the world.

The New Zealand capital's famed Zephyrometer, a weathery sculpture that stands a little over 100 feet tall, met its demise after a thunderstorm struck Wellington on Thursday and a bolt of lightning destroyed the sculpture in a fireball, hurling its fiery remains onto the street below.