Earth ChangesS


Snowflake

Record snowfall of 11 feet at Revelstoke Mountain Resort, British Columbia

 Revelstoke Mountain Resort
Revelstoke Mountain Resort
"Epic Conditions - 340cm of Snow so Far!" More than 11 feet!

"With 2 weeks left before the season starts on December 3rd, Revelstoke Mountain Resort has maintained it's historic snowfall with 340cm of snow so far and a base of 100cm.

"We have record amounts of snow"

See Revelstoke webcams:

Revelstoke Snow Report

No! I need a spade! Not a bloody fishing rod!
No! I need a spade! Not a bloody fishing rod!

Snowflake

Record November snowfall of 43 inches in Xinjiang, China

A person holding an umbrella walks in the snow in Atlay in Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region, on November 15, 2016.
© VCGA person holding an umbrella walks in the snow in Atlay in Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region, on November 15, 2016.
Snowstorms have paralyzed traffic and halted flights in Altay prefecture in NW China's Xinjiang, following 50 hours of blizzards in the region.

In mountainous areas, 43 inches of snow has been reported, setting a new record for November.


Snow cleaners clear snow in Altay, northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, Nov. 16, 2016. The local authority launched a level-four emergency response after the city's snowstorm continued past 50 hours.
© Xinhua/Ye Erjiang Snow cleaners clear snow in Altay, northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, Nov. 16, 2016. The local authority launched a level-four emergency response after the city's snowstorm continued past 50 hours.

Attention

Dead humpback whale found near Klemtu, British Columbia

A dead humpback whale was found entangled in empty aquaculture lines near Campbell River Tuesday — the second time a whale has been trapped at the site since September.
© Michael Dwyer / APA dead humpback whale was found entangled in empty aquaculture lines near Campbell River Tuesday — the second time a whale has been trapped at the site since September.
A fish farming company is reporting that a humpback whale was found dead this week, after being entangled in an anchor support line at one of its empty fish farms in Sheep Passage near Klemtu, B.C.

According to a statement from Marine Harvest Canada, the whale was discovered when staff were taking the system apart on Tuesday. The company said another whale was caught in a similar situation in September, but was safely untangled.

Fisheries and Oceans Canada has been notified and the incident is being investigated.

Marine Harvest Canada, which is based in Campbell River, said it is now looking at similar aquaculture sites to prevent future entanglements from occurring.

Arrow Down

Large sinkhole opens up outside house in Mahanoy City, Pennsylvania

Family fears sinkhole could swallow home
Family fears sinkhole could swallow home
A family in Schuylkill County has been forced out of their home after a giant hole opened up in their backyard.

The family says that massive hole opened within minutes on Saturday night, swallowing up most of their backyard. They worry the hole could widen and take their home.

On Saturday night, Tracey Quick and her husband heard odd noises coming from the backyard of their home on Park Place Road near Mahanoy City. Then they heard louder noises coming from the home.

"It started cracking. The whole house sounded like it was going to go. It was horrible," she said.

Quick woke up her three children and got them out of the home safely because that cracking sound was the foundation of the home shifting as the house began to lean as the backyard gave way. Her husband went into the backyard to check on the noise. He was standing in the area just two minutes before the ground gave way.


Arrow Down

Sinkhole opens up in driveway of home in Toronto

A sinkhole has appeared in the driveway of an Upper Beaches home.
© Mike Nguyen/ CP24A sinkhole has appeared in the driveway of an Upper Beaches home.
A sinkhole has formed outside a home in the city's east end.

It happened in the driveway of a house on Golfview Avenue, in the area of Woodbine Avenue and Kingston Road.

A portion of the road has been closed as a result of the incident.

Ice Cube

Heavy snow, blizzard conditions snarl traffic across midwestern U.S.

While the blizzard has come to an end, lake-effect snow and squalls will continue to develop over the Great Lakes this weekend. For more information, please visit this news story. High winds, heavy snow and localized blizzard conditions caused travel chaos across the midwestern United States late this past week.

After dumping over a foot of snow across the northern and central Rockies on Thursday, a storm with heavy snow and high winds shifted into the Midwest on Friday. The heaviest snow fell from Nebraska and South Dakota to portions of Minnesota and Ontario, where snowfall totals ranged from several inches to nearly a foot. Nearly 14 inches of snow was reported in Cass County, Minnesota.
Storm map
© AccuWeather
There was a sharp variation in snowfall on the northern and southern fringes, where a few miles meant the difference between a couple of inches of snow and more than half a foot. Blizzard conditions unfolded across these areas as wind gusts in excess of 50 mph howled from the north and northwest. The combination of heavy snow and high winds led to blowing and drifting snow, near-zero visibility and extremely dangerous travel along area roadways.

The first flakes of the season in Denver resulted in a deadly 20-car pileup along Interstate 70 near Evergreen, just outside of Denver. Parts of the highway were closed at multiple times throughout the evening. As many as 340 crashes and 550 spinouts were reported on Minnesota roadways on Friday, according to the Minnesota State Patrol. Two people were killed and another 37 were injured.

Arrow Down

Large sinkhole swallows car in Newcastle, Australia

The front part of a car has been completely swallowed up by a one-metre deep sinkhole after a water main break
The front part of a car has been completely swallowed up by a one-metre deep sinkhole after a water main break
A car has been swallowed up by a one-metre deep sinkhole after a water main break.

The incident happened on Albert Street in Wickham, a suburb of Newcastle in NSW, at 6am on Thursday morning, the Newcastle Herald reported.

The force of the rushing water in the burst water main deteriorated soil underneath the road, which then caused the ground to open up.

The burst water main also caused 38 homes in the vicinity to lose water.

Local resident Chris Wheatley told the Newcastle Herald he woke up this morning to see his neighbour's car stuck in a hole.

The car was reportedly still in the hole about 9am on Thursday, with its nose, two front wheels stuck, and the tail end still sitting on the road.


Arrow Down

Massive sinkhole opens up on highway and swallows 5 cars in Algeria

Cars in sinkhole
A large sinkhole has opened up on a highway near Ben Aknoun, a commune of Algiers Province and a suburb of the city of Algiers in northern Algeria, on November 18, 2016. Five cars fell into the hole, injuring a total of 11 people.

According to the Nassim Bernaoui, Algerian Emergency Preparedness communications manager, the hole opened on the highway towards Ben Aknoun, near the city of Sahraoui.

Six people were injured and hospitalized according to initial assessment.

The hole is currently 4 meters (13 feet) long, 6 meters (19.7 feet) wide and 4 meters deep.


Cow Skull

36 million new dead trees spotted in California's forests since May 2016

california trees dying
© U.S. Forest ServiceAn aerial detection survey photo of dead and dying trees on the Sequoia and Sierra national forests in August 2016.
A new aerial survey has identified an additional 36 million trees have died across California since the last count conducted in May, according to a release from the U.S. Department of Agriculture. That brings the total of dead trees spotted since 2010 to more than 102 million — 62 million died in 2016 alone, a 100 percent increase over 2015.

The statement identifies the following causes:
  • Five consecutive years of severe drought in California
  • A dramatic rise in bark beetle infestation
  • Warmer temperatures
The U.S. Forest Service is also having to use more of its resources fight wildfires rather than restoring forests, according to the release. Fire management rose to 56 percent of the Forest Service's budget last year and is expected to hit 67 percent of the budget in 2025. At the same time, dead and dying trees increase wildfire risk, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said in the release.

Attention

Two dolphins dead after stranding in Nova Scotia, Canada

Despite his efforts, Robert Lange of Big Island wasn’t able to help this common dolphin, which died on Wednesday after getting stranded in shallow water.
Despite his efforts, Robert Lange of Big Island wasn’t able to help this common dolphin, which died on Wednesday after getting stranded in shallow water.
Two dolphins found dead on Big Island may have feeding close to shore when the tide dropped, said Andrew Reid of the Marine Animal Response Society.

Big Island resident Robert Lange was returning home from New Glasgow on Wednesday when he saw what he thought was geese in the water.

"Looking through binoculars, I realized it was dolphins and some were coming very close to the Big Island causeway. They were churning up the water as the tide was low, and the dorsal fins were all above the water," he said.

Lange said a few minutes later a small group of the mammals came along the roadway and one swam the wrong way, beaching itself in shallow water.

"It was thrashing around trying to get back to deeper water," he said.

By the time he got to the water's edge, sadly, it was too late.