Earth ChangesS

Tornado2

Tornadoes and deadly storms strike in South, Midwest US

Alabama storm damage
© Crystal Vander Weit/The Decatur Daily via APA fallen tree rests on the damaged home of Maggie Jordan, Wednesday, April 4, 2018, in Decatur, Ala. Jordan lost three large trees, three cars were damaged as well as structural damage to her roof after strong thunderstorms moved through the area the night before.
Severe storms battered the South on Tuesday and Wednesday, uprooting trees, damaging homes and buildings and killing one. Several tornadoes were confirmed by the National Weather Service (NWS) throughout the Midwest and South. Jamie Guin, an electric company employee, died in Prentiss County, Mississippi, when he touched a live wire during storm repairs.

Strong winds from a wet microburst collapsed a hangar at Houston's Hobby Airport on Wednesday morning, damaging eight planes, according to KTRK-TV. No one was injured in the collapse, but public information officer Bill Begley told the AP that repairs due to the storm will likely cost millions of dollars.

An EF1 tornado brought winds up to 110 mph to Grove City, Ohio, damaging roofs and scattering debris southwest of Columbus, Ohio. The Columbus Dispatch reported that seven people were trapped in vehicles as the storm knocked down powerlines on Grove City's Hoover Road. Some were trapped for more than five hours. Another possible tornado was reported in Clark County, Ohio, and a confirmed tornado touched down in Xenia, Ohio, flattening buildings.

Homes and buildings sustained damage near Galatia, Illinois, on Tuesday, while a separate storm struck Effingham, Illinois, causing damage to several buildings as well. The NWS also confirmed an EF2 tornado in Vandalia, Illinois.

Torrential rains brought flooding to central Ohio as well as parts of Illinois and Indiana, shutting down roadways. At least a dozen people were evacuated by boat from Mattoon, Illinois, Journal Gazette and Times-Courier reported.

Storms in Decatur, Alabama, injured one person, and damage was reported about 60 miles away in Jasper as well.

Arrow Down

Massive sinkhole covering two-lane highway opens in Pretoria, South Africa

Laudium, Pretoria, SA sinkhole
© eNCA/Silindelo MasikaneThe sinkhole in Laudium.
The cause of the large sinkhole covering both lanes of the R55 in Laudium, Pretoria is yet to be identified by the Gauteng Department of Roads and Transport.

The sinkhole was identified by department officials, who identified cracks in the road, during a routine maintenance check two weeks ago, said provincial spokesperson Melitah Madiba.

"We sent out a statement two weeks ago informing drivers about the sinkhole," she said.

"Our technical team is still running tests to determine the cause of the sinkhole. We should have the report sometime next week."


Snowflake

"Where is spring?" Record snowfall across the Upper Midwest

chart
The Upper Midwest is no stranger to snow. Another winter storm moved through the area on Tuesday and dumped more powder across the region.

Snow bands set up and dropped several inches of snow. A few cities even set daily snowfall records Tuesday too. Many of the new records shattered the previous ones. Wausau, WI set a new record that was almost 4โ€ณ greater than the previous record from 1923.

Snowflake

Multiple cities in Wisconsin set snowfall records in spring storm

snow
A spring snowstorm set daily snowfall records in Appleton, Green Bay, Oshkosh, Wausau and several other Wisconsin cities on Tuesday.

The storm dumped 6.4 inches of snow in Appleton, 8.1 inches in Green Bay, 4.4 inches in Oshkosh and 9.3 inches in Wausau โ€” all daily records in those cities, according to the National Weather Service in Green Bay.

Other cities set records too: Antigo at 7.5 inches, Marshfield at 7.2 inches, Merrill at 7.3 inches, Stevens Point at 8.2 inches, Sturgeon Bay at 11 inches and Wisconsin Rapids at 7.9 inches.

A few parts of Waupaca and Oconto counties got nearly a foot of snow during the two-day snowstorm, but most of the region got between 6 and 8 inches.


Snowflake

Heavy spring snowfall hits Michigan with up to 14 inches

A loader moves sand from a parking lot back to Pere Marquette Beach in Muskegon, Mich.
© Muskegon ChronicleA loader moves sand from a parking lot back to Pere Marquette Beach in Muskegon, Mich.
A spring storm dumped more than a foot of snow in parts of Michigan's northern Lower Peninsula and is blamed for creating hazardous road conditions seen as a factor in three traffic deaths.

A spring storm dumped more than a foot of snow in parts of Michigan's northern Lower Peninsula, creating hazardous road conditions and blamed in at least three traffic deaths.


Question

'Not a nuke': Loud boom heard and felt it Great Falls, Montana

Loud boom in Great Falls, MT
© KRTV
Although the source of the loud boom that was felt and heard in and around Great Falls on Saturday afternoon has not yet been determined, we do know that is was not the result of an accidental detonation of a nuclear missile from Malmstrom Air Force Base.

Hundreds of people reported hearing the loud boom in all areas of Great Falls and even beyond; there has been speculation that it may have been a military jet breaking the sound barrier, a small earthquake, a meth lab explosion, or possibly even a "frost quake" (see below).

While those are all possible, we are confident in stating that the boom was not caused by a nuclear missile.

Someone used a website that lets people create their own "news articles" for humorous purposes in order to make a bogus article claiming that the boom was caused by an accidental detonation. The article is riddled with typos, poor grammar, and false statements, such as that Air Force personnel "...can be seen walking 56th St, 38th St, and 24th St with Geiger Counters, checking for radiation levels."

Snowflake Cold

Snowstorm during Easter dumps up to 11 inches on Nebraska

snow
Wintry weather contributed to crashes in Nebraska this weekend that claimed one life and critically injured a second person.

Snow on Easter โ€” in some areas up to 11 inches โ€” caused about two dozen crashes on Nebraska highways, including one that killed a Grand Island woman.

Ramona Senkbile, 84, died in a crash on U.S. Highway 30 in Grand Island on Sunday, the Nebraska State Patrol said.

Cody Thomas, a patrol spokesman, said Senkbile lost control on the snow and her vehicle was struck by an oncoming pickup.

Comment: See also: Omaha breaks 1899 record for low temperature with more snow back in the forecast


Snowflake Cold

Omaha breaks 1899 record for low temperature with more snow back in the forecast

The stretch of 84th Street between Giles Road and Harrison Street
The stretch of 84th Street between Giles Road and Harrison Street
A record low temperature was set in Omaha early Wednesday.

Eppley Airfield's overnight low at 4:16 a.m. was 13 degrees, breaking the 1899 record of 18 degrees for April 4.

Grand Island also set a record low of 14, breaking the previous record of 16, set in 1920.


Thursday's high should reach the mid-50s. The Omaha area will have another shot for accumulating snow Friday. And another record low may be set early Saturday.

Comment: See also: Snowstorm during Easter dumps up to 11 inches on Nebraska


Fish

Thousands of dead fish found at Land O' Lakes, Florida

dead fish
A subdivision which surrounds Black Lake in Land O' Lakes has seen thousands of dead fish on the banks and floating in the water. Neighbors are sick of the smell and have no idea what is causing the fish kill.

Steve Barrow, who lives near the water, says it started about the middle of last week. The worst of it is over, but a lot of dead fish were still floating Monday.

"A couple of homeowners had family gatherings scheduled for Easter and they canceled them because of the smell," Barrow said.


Attention

Dozens of dead birds found near monastery in Bulgaria

Basarbovo monastery
© peika.bgBasarbovo monastery
Dozens of dead song thrush birds were found in the area of โ€‹โ€‹Basarbovo monastery near Rousse. The Regional Food Safety Directorate investigates the dead birds for bird flu.

This is the second such case within just two weeks in the Rousse region. Walking past the Basarbovo Monastery, Maria Zlatanova's family was struck by dozens of dead birds. The woman admits that she has never seen such a mass death of birds.

I walked yesterday around Basarbovo and on both sides of the road there were countless birds that died, within 200-300 meters there were 40 to 50 dead birds, stunningly bleak thing to see, "Maria Zlatanova told BNT.