Earth ChangesS


Bizarro Earth

Miles-long crevice opens up overnight near Nariobi in Kenya's Rift Valley

Doyle Rice
USA Today
Wed, 04 Apr 2018 21:28 UTC
crack east african rift valley
© Buzz60Experts say Africa will be split into two different continents in the future. Amassive crack appeared in the East African Rift Valley of Kenya.
It'll take tens of millions of years, but Africa may eventually split into two parts.

While geologists have known about this possibility for a while, it became news recently when a large crack, stretching several miles in length, made a sudden appearance in southwestern Kenya following heavy rain.

The tear, which continues to grow, collapsed part of a highway and "was accompanied by seismic activity in the area," said Lucia Perez Diaz, a postdoctoral researcher on tectonics at Royal Holloway, a university in London.

The crack is located in a region known as the East African Rift Valley. It measures more than 50 feet in depth and 65 feet across, according to National Geographic. A rift valley refers to a lowland region where tectonic plates rift, or move apart.

Comment: The earth has been literally 'opening up' in various locations around the globe, due in part to the current slowdown in earth's rotation:

Read More...
Cloud Lightning

'Rare' red sprite season begins early with elusive bolts snapped during storm over Czech republic


The Watchers
Thu, 05 Apr 2018 20:13 UTC
red sprites april 4 2018
© Martin PopekRed sprites over western Czeckia on April 4, 2018
Two red sprites, transient optical phenomena appearing as luminous reddish-orange flashes, have been recorded over the Czech Republic on April 4, 2018, marking the early beginning of 2018 sprite season in the northern hemisphere.

Lucky photographer this season was again well known Martin Popek who captured them above storms over western Czeckia on April 4 below Pleiades star cluster:

Because sprites are associated with thunderstorms, they tend to occur in late spring and summer. However, western and central Europe recorded more than 100 000 lightning strikes over the past 48 hours. It was enough to produce sprites and allow us to photograph them.

"Sprites are a true space weather phenomenon," lightning scientist Oscar van der Velde of the Technical University of Catalonia in Spain explained. "They develop in mid-air around 80 km [50 miles] altitude, growing in both directions, first down, then up. This happens when a fierce lightning bolt draws lots of charge from a cloud near Earth's surface. Electric fields [shoot] to the top of Earth's atmosphere - and the result is a sprite. The entire process takes about 20 milliseconds."

Comment: See also: Also check out SOTT radio's: Behind the Headlines: Earth changes in an electric universe: Is climate change really man-made?

Read More...
Sheeple

Death toll for Scotland's lambs sees a sharp increase after heavy snow


BBC
Thu, 05 Apr 2018 19:31 UTC
lambs
The death toll on Scottish sheep farms has seen a sharp increase following spells of heavy snow this winter, according to official figures.

Farming leaders said sheep farmers were facing a "war of attrition" from the weather after a severe winter followed a wet summer and autumn.

And they warned that it could affect productivity for the rest of the year.

Gary Mitchell, vice-president of NFU Scotland, said spring lambs were having a "really tough time".
Read More...
Attention

Attack of the zombie raccoons! Currently on show in Youngstown, Ohio


kgmi.com
Tue, 03 Apr 2018 19:18 UTC
raccoon
Police are investigating reports of "zombie-like" raccoons in northeast Ohio.

WKBN-TV reports Youngstown police have received more than a dozen calls in the past three weeks about raccoons acting strangely in the daytime.

Photographer Robert Coggeshall says he was playing with his dogs outside his home last week when one such raccoon approached them.

Coggeshall says the animal would stand on its hind legs, show its teeth and fall over backward.

Read More...
Seismograph

6.2 magnitude earthquake hits off the southern Philippines, tremors felt 130km away

Charlie Moore
Daily Mail
Thu, 05 Apr 2018 18:27 UTC
An earthquake of magnitude 6.2 struck off the southern Philippine island of Mindanao on Thursday, the US Geological Survey said.
An earthquake of magnitude 6.2 struck off the southern Philippine island of Mindanao on Thursday, the US Geological Survey said.
A massive 6.2 magnitude earthquake struck off the southern Philippine island of Mindanao on Thursday.

The quake hit at a depth of 61km at 11.30am local time. Shocked residents felt the tremors in the island's key city of Davao, 128km away.

There were no immediate reports of casualties or damage.
Read More...
Cloud Precipitation

Hailstorm destroys orchards, vegetables in several areas of Kurram Agency, Pakistan

Umer Jamshaid
Urdupoint
Thu, 05 Apr 2018 18:18 UTC
hail damaged
Heavy rain and hailstorm has destroyed fruit orchards and vegetable fields in most of the areas of Kurram Agency the other day.

According to Peshawar correspondent , the Kurram Agency areas of Zeran, Malana, Karman Boghki and Para Chamkani were hit by heavy rain and hailstorm where scores of fruit orchards and fields of vegetables were destroyed.

In Zeran Brabata area, the roof of the house of a poor man, Ilayas caved in causing him losses of thousands of rupees besides death to his two cattle. On other side thousands of acres of land along side Kurram River was in danger of being washed away due to lack of protected embankments.
Read More...
Bizarro Earth

Rare 'fire bubble' photographed in Hawaii

Laura Geggel
Live Science
Wed, 04 Apr 2018 14:25 UTC
Lava Dome Fountain
© USGSThis impressive blob is a 65-foot (20 meters) high lava dome fountain that was photographed in Hawaii on Oct. 11, 1969.
At first glance, it looks like a fiery monster out of The Incredibles. Or maybe a glowing alien orb, or a giant, irritated zit popping up above the Earth's surface.

But it's neither. Rather, it's an incredibly rare, 65-foot-tall (20 meters) lava-dome fountain.

Normally, volcanoes erupt lava in powerful jets that look like fountains gone wild. But in this photo - captured Oct. 11, 1969, in Hawaii - the lava spurted out symmetrically, forming an aesthetically pleasing lava-dome fountain.

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) tweeted the photo on March 29 for Throwback Thursday (#TBT), a popular hashtag used when people post nostalgic photos from their past on social media.

Comment: Huge steam vortices filmed above Hawaii's Kilauea volcano

Read More...
Windsock

Powerful windstorm leaves thousands without power in Ontario, Canada


CBC.ca
Wed, 04 Apr 2018 05:59 UTC
Crane snapped in Ontario
© @RositaLanger/TwitterA crane was snapped amid the storm in the Eglinton Avenue and Glen Erin Drive area in Mississauga, Ont., west of Toronto.
Strong winds battered region Wednesday - knocking down trees, cranes and a brick wall

Tens of thousands of people were without power in southern Ontario after heavy winds tore through the region Wednesday.

About 60,000 customers were estimated to be without power by late evening, according to the utility company Hydro One. That number was more than 80,000 earlier in the day. Toronto Hydro said there were numerous reports of downed power lines and that about 3,300 of its customers were blacked out by about 10:10 p.m. ET, down from some 21,400 customers.

The winds are also limiting restoration efforts as bucket trucks can't be used because of safety concerns. Toronto Hydro said restoration times aren't available but efforts will continue into Thursday.

Spokeswoman Tori Gass said the blackouts scattered throughout the city were directly related to the wind, which had been gusting upwards of 90 kilometres an hour.

Gass said extra crews were currently working to fix the downed lines and repair outages; however, priority is given to cases where there is risk to the public's safety.
Read More...
Arrow Down

Avalanche kills man in Sweden


The Local (Sweden)
Wed, 04 Apr 2018 14:13 UTC
People walking on Kebnekaise.
© Stian Lysberg SolumPeople walking on Kebnekaise.
A man who was caught in an avalanche north of Sweden's highest mountain Kebnekaise has died.

The avalanche occurred at 14:00 on Tuesday, moving from the Sielmatjåkka peak towards the Nallostugan mountain lodge, which lies just east of the popular Kungsleden hiking trail in northern Sweden.

A large mountain rescue operation took place once the alarm was raised, with Norway sending an air ambulance and avalanche dogs to help. A Norwegian man in his 60s was the only person hurt.

Comment: Check out this compilation of these seemingly increasing events involving fatalities for 2018 thus far: One killed and three injured by avalanche in French Alps - over 12 such fatalities for the region this year

Avalanche in Swiss resort kills 3 skiers following days of heavy snowfall

Avalanche kills 2 women in Pakistan

Avalanche kills 2 skiers with another 2 missing in Valais, Switzerland

Four skiers killed by avalanche in French Alps with another 2 such deaths in the Pyrenees

Father and daughter killed by avalanche in the French Alps

Avalanche kills two Alpine Rescue members in Italy

Three skiers killed by avalanche in the Pyrenees, France

Avalanche hits central Italy ski resort - two dead

Avalanche kills two skiers in Kals, Austria

With record snow depths on certain mountain ranges there are likely to be many more deadly avalanches when a full thaw eventually sets in over the northern hemisphere this spring.

Read More...
Cloud Lightning

Lightning bolt kills 3, injures 2 in Uganda

Betty Angatai
New Vision
Thu, 05 Apr 2018 14:08 UTC
lightning
Three people were killed and other two injured when lightning struck during a downpour in Bukasero village in Bukatube sub-county, Mayuge district on Sunday.

The Police identified the deceased as Muniru Dembele, 41, Rashid Mutebe, 27, and Ronald Okware 16, all residents of Bukasero. The survivors are Kadiri Kadabo, 17 and Matia Mugalya, 27.

Moses Kato, the LC1 chairperson said the incident happened on Easter day.
Read More...