Earth ChangesS


Ice Cube

Global warming theorists tripping over themselves to explain America's brutally cold winters

Deadly cold disrupts US
One of Shakespeare's persistent themes in Hamlet is that when people set out to fool others, it will eventually catch up with them. Repeatedly he emphasises that "purposes mistook fall on their inventors' heads", that such people end up "hoist with their own petard", or get caught like a "woodcock" in their own trap.

There was a delightful example of this on our letters page last week, when that well-known propagandist for global warming, Bob Ward, tried to challenge what I had written about the recent series of unusually cold winters in North America.

Mr Ward is employed by the Grantham Institute at the London School of Economics, sponsored by a climate change-obsessed billionaire, and challenges anyone who publicly questions global warming orthodoxy. His point last week was to claim that, contrary to what I had written, recent US winters have not been unusually cold at all.

But the only evidence he could cite to support his point was the latest figures from the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), suggesting that seven out of the past 10 US winters have in fact been "warmer than average".

Comment: It's not just the US or even the northern hemisphere which is experiencing such harsh winters:


Seismograph

Magnitude 6.3 earthquake jolts northern Chile

Chile earthquake
© USGS
The temblor, which was deep at 110 kilometres, struck at 10:06 p.m. local time on Saturday, epicentred at Tarapaca

The US Geological Survey says a magnitude 6.3 earthquake has struck northern Chile.

The quake, which was deep at 110 kilometres, struck at 10:06 p.m. local time on Saturday. The epicentre in Tarapaca was 76 kilometres east of the city of Putre, and 118 kilometres southeast of the Peruvian city of Tacna.

No tsunami threat

Local media in Chile said there were no immediate reports of damage and that the navy's oceanographic service had discarded the possibility of a tsunami.

An earthquake with a similar strength shook Tarapaca last October.

Tornado2

US's first tornado of 2018 touches down during rare storm in Virginia

Virginia tornado
© JOHN BOYER/Times-DispatchA radar map from 10:02 p.m. on Friday, Jan. 12, shows storms that formed a tornado in northern Amelia County. The tornado formed in the rotating, “S”-shaped segment of the thunderstorm between Amelia Court House and Powhatan, near the county line.
The country's first tornado of 2018 has descended upon one Virginia county.

The Richmond Times-Dispatch reports a rare midwinter tornado uprooted trees and destroyed a carport during its two-minute existence on Jan. 12, in northern Amelia County. No injuries were reported.

A survey team from the National Weather Service confirmed Tuesday that the damage along the 0.4 mile (0.6 kilometer) path was evidence of 95 mph (150 kph) winds. The storm's unlikely appearance is attributed to that day's unusual warmth and shearing wind in the lower atmosphere.

January is tied with November as the second-lowest month for tornado activity in Virginia. On average, Virginia experiences only 19 tornadoes in a given year. Amelia County was last hit by a tornado in 2013.

The central Virginia county is considered part of the greater Richmond area.

Alarm Clock

Earthquake swarm hits South Reno, Nevada - More than 230 quakes and counting

South Reno earthquake swarm
South Reno has been shaking, ever so gently, for six days now.

If you live there - near Galena High School or where the Mount Rose Highway goes below the I-580 - you likely haven't felt much, if anything. But earthquake detecting instruments in the area have picked up more than 230 small temblors since late last Thursday.

The largest in the swarm so far, which hit Tuesday afternoon, measured a 2.7 on the Richter scale - a magnitude that University of Nevada, Reno seismologist Ken Smith described as "pretty small."

"You'd have to be right above it to really feel anything," he said, noting they've gotten a few dozen reports from people who've felt the jolts.

While earthquakes in Northern Nevada are commonplace (The Silver State is the third-most seismically active state in the nation), Smith said he and his colleagues at UNR's Nevada Seismological Laboratory pay special attention to earthquake swarms.

Comment: In recent months we have seen other areas of the US experiencing these swarms of mini-earthquakes as well:


Snowflake

Heavy snow and snapping trees concern forest owners in Norway

tree damage
© Berit Heggholmen
Forest owners in Norway say they are concerned about damage to trees and subsequent loss of earnings caused by heavy snow .

"We can no longer be sure of stable winters," forest owner Thor Wraa told broadcaster NRK.

A week of extreme weather with heavy snowfall in several parts of the country has caused significant disruption, with fallen trees dragging down telephone wires and blocking roads.

Wraa, who comes from the northern Telemark county, told NRK that falling trees directly affected his livelihood.

"We are concerned. Trees with as much snow as there is now are right on the limit of breaking or falling," he said.

Snowflake

Over a meter of snow dumps on the Alps in 72 hours, with another meter forecast over next 3 days

snow
A number of ski areas in the Alps have reported up to 1.3m (over four feet) of snowfall in the past 72 hours and forecasters are expecting up to 1.3m (over four feet) of snowfall in the next 72 hours.

All the snow is good news for resort bases, but less good for skiers and boarders in resort at present, or travelling out tomorrow, Saturday 20th January, as ski areas are only able to open limited terrain safely, conditions are frequently poor even in those limited open areas , and travel to and from resorts can be difficult.

Austria's Ziller Valley is reporting 1.2m (four feet) of snow in the past 72 hours with Verbier reporting 105cm and the Portes du Soleil region up to 90cm (three feet) of snow. Many other resorts including Crans Montana, Davos, Laax, La Plagne and Zermatt have had 60-90cm of new snowfall.


Attention

High winds, big waves batter west coast of Vancouver Island, Canada (swells of up to 9.5 metres)

High waves pushed logs up on North Chesterman Beach in Tofino on Thursday, Jan. 18, 2018.
© April FromentHigh waves pushed logs up on North Chesterman Beach in Tofino on Thursday, Jan. 18, 2018.
Several beaches, including those in Pacific Rim National Park, were closed Thursday as the west coast of Vancouver Island was hit with high winds and swells of up to 9.5 metres.

CTV reports that they were some of the largest waves seen on the west coast of Vancouver Island in a decade - possibly the largest ever.

"Mostly, it's the danger of the water," Randy Mercer of Parks Canada told CHEK News of the decision to close the beaches. There's a risk of being knocked down and dragged out by the waves, or being struck by floating logs, he said.


Attention

Over 100 Olive Ridley turtles found dead along coast in Tamil Nadu, India

Over the past week, more than a hundred Olive Ridley turtles have washed up dead on the beaches of Chennai, and many more are believed to be floating dead on Bay of Bengal.
© The News MinuteOver the past week, more than a hundred Olive Ridley turtles have washed up dead on the beaches of Chennai, and many more are believed to be floating dead on Bay of Bengal.
Over the past week, more than a 100 Olive Ridley turtles have washed up dead on the beaches of Chennai, and many more are believed to be floating dead on Bay of Bengal.

The endangered Oliver Ridley turtles, well-known for their coordinated nesting in large numbers, generally make their annual trip up the Bay of Bengal during the breeding months of December and January. However, the use of trawlers and gill nets have historically resulted in sweeping up these sea turtles and drowning them. They are also increasingly consuming plastic waste in the ocean.

Info

Endangered right whale's calving season peaks, but no young seen

In this 2009 file photo, a female right whale swims at the surface of the water with her calf a few miles off the Georgia coast in 2009.
© John CarringtonIn this 2009 file photo, a female right whale swims at the surface of the water with her calf a few miles off the Georgia coast in 2009. Scientists watching for baby right whales off the Southeast U.S. coast have yet to spot a single newborn seven weeks into the endangered species' calving season, a dry spell researchers haven't seen in nearly 30 years.
Scientists watching for baby right whales off the Southeast U.S. coast have yet to spot a single newborn seven weeks into the endangered species' calving season — the longest researchers have gone without any sightings in nearly 30 years.

Bad weather that has limited efforts to look for whales could be to blame, rather than a reproductive slump. But scientists also worry it could point to another low birth year for the imperiled whales after a grim 2017, when 17 confirmed right whale deaths far outpaced a scant five recorded births.

"We basically right now should be at the peak of the season and we haven't seen anything, so that's concerning," said Clay George, a wildlife biologist who oversees right whale surveys for the Georgia Department of Natural Resources. "I'm going from being the optimist I normally am to being pretty pessimistic about it."

Attention

Unusual weather triggered 2015 mass death of quarter million saiga antelopes in Kazakhstan, study says

Saiga antelope deaths
© JOINT SAIGA HEALTH MONITORING TEAM, KAZAKHSTANSaigas died in large numbers across the Betpak-Dala region of Kazakhstan
Humidity and hot temperatures triggered the deaths of more than 200,000 endangered saiga antelopes in Kazakhstan over the course of three weeks, researchers say.

The May 2015 deaths were caused by hemorrhagic septicemia triggered by a bacteria known as Pasteurella multocida Type B, which dwells in the respiratory tract of the animals, according to a study on the event.

"The animals were in a sort of foggy soup, and it looks like the bacteria naturally occupying the tonsils were woken up by this environmental factor," Royal Veterinary College professor of wildlife health and emerging disease Richard Kock told The Washington Post.

Comment: Strangely enough, no one knows for sure why flu viruses appear in winter. Some say that viruses thrive in low humidity because they remain suspended in the air longer, but humidity can be very high in wintertime in many places. Maybe these bacteria and virii are in our bodies all the time and only activate during certain atmospheric conditions. Maybe some bugs need a 'key' to turn them on? Like some other virus or something in the atmosphere?

See also: Sixth Extinction continues: Mass deaths of Saiga antelope in Kazakhstan caused by bacteria