Earth ChangesS


Tornado2

3 waterspouts filmed over the Bahamas

Waterspout
A severe afternoon thunderstorm spawned three waterspouts over Lake Killarney and dropped several inches of rain in the capital, according to Senior Meteorological Officer Kaylinda Forbes.

A severe thunderstorm warning was in effect Wednesday afternoon for Andros, New Providence and their adjacent waters.

According to a release from the Met Office at 4.50pm, radar and satellite imagery showed clusters of severe thunderstorms affecting New Providence and Andros and additionally waterspouts were observed over Lake Killarney.

Some of the thunderstorms will be severe at times causing strong gusty winds, dangerous lightening, heavy downpours, hail, waterspouts or tornadic activity.



Ice Cube

Extreme cold freezes waterfall in Brazil

Frozen waterfall in Brazil
© Marilia Oliveira/Prefeitura de Upurema
Temperatures are already below zero in 42 Brazilians cities - and it will get colder in the next few days

Winter is coming. For real.

Brazil has already seen snow in 2016. In the state of Santa Catarina thermal sensation dropped to -22°C (-7.6°F). It was enough to freeze a cascade in the city of Morro das Torres. As you might imagine, this kind of event is not so frequent in Brazil - and it became an instant touristic attraction.

Weather forecasts say that temperatures will continue next to zero in the next few days. In 42 cities in the states of Rio Grande do Sul and Santa Catarina (in the extreme South of the country), temperatures will remain below zero.


Attention

32 whales strand on East Java coast, 15 likely dead

The pilot whales that were not helped back to sea were brought ashore for burial in alignment with local tradition
The pilot whales that were not helped back to sea were brought ashore for burial in alignment with local tradition
Dozens of pilot whales have beached on the coast of East Java, discovered on Wednesday by residents in Probolinggo, East Java. The giant marine mammals are thought to have become stranded due to changes in the sea temperature.

The short-finned pilot whales were seen around the shore on Wednesday afternoon. Most managed to return to the sea but returned to shore as one had become stuck, leaving them all trapped by the sudden low tide.

Wahid, the Maritime Resources Management Office head, said at least 32 pilot whales had been found stranded. Seven of them were less than two meters in length and the local fishermen had tied them to prevent them getting washed further ashore.

"Approximately 25 whales came ashore around the estuary, 15 of these whales are not moving and are likely dead [...] the colony may have been searching for cooler waters but got stranded," he said as quoted by kompas.com in Jakarta on Wednesday night.


Cloud Lightning

Lightning bolt kills child and injures another in Kharkiv, Ukraine

Lightning
Lightning has killed a 12-year-old boy and injured his friend, 12, who was hospitalized after a thunderstorm in Kharkiv Region, Kharkiv police spokeswoman Oksana Kalmykova told Ukrinform's local correspondent.

"The tragedy occurred yesterday in the village of Varvarivka in Volchansky district. Two boys, aged 12, were riding on a swing attached to a tree branch. The thunderstorm began suddenly, and the tree was struck by a bolt of lightning. As a result, one boy died, and the other was hospitalized," said Kalmykova.

She noted the deceased child was visiting his grandparents in the village whilst on vacation.

"As to the other child victim, he lives in this village. He is now being looked after in the clinic. As a result of the neurological shock he suffered, he can't walk on his own. His general state of health is stable," the spokeswoman added.

Cloud Lightning

Lightning bolt kills two and maims another in Odisha, India

lightning
In yet another incident, two persons died while one was maimed for life in Sundergarh district on Thursday.

The tragic incident occurred at Mangaspur village under Tangarpalli block in the district as the persons were working in the farmland. Lightning struck them as they were ploughing the field.

While two of them yet to be identified, died on the spot the other one with critical injuries was rushed to the hospital.

Lightning incidents have become frequent in State especially during thunder storms which is claiming more lives in Odisha more than any natural disasters.

Snowflake

June snowfall for Mauna Kea in Hawaii

 Mauna Kea
An unusual combination of conditions brought snow to the peaks of Mauna Kea on Hawaii's big island, forecasters said.

Hawaii's tropical weather doesn't extend to the state's highest peak, but late Monday, a cold pool of air made temperatures drop below freezing. About the same time, thunderstorms moved over the island, high enough to bring Mauna Kea a dusting of snow.

The unusual event -- it does occasionally happen in winter -- provided some unique pictures of the mountain's observatory for June.

Forecasters said the wetter than usual trade winds will continue through Wednesday with rain expected.


Cloud Precipitation

Heavy rain causes flash floods and landslides in south China; at least 10 dead and 13 missing

mudslide in south China
© YouTube/CCTV+ (screen capture)
At least 10 people have died and 13 remain missing after heavy rain caused flash floods, mudslides and landslides in south China's Hunan, Guizhou, Guangdong provinces and Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region.

In Hunan, continuous rain resulted in swollen rivers, landslides and mud-rock flows. Three people died in Hengshan county, according to the provincial flood control and drought relief headquarters on Wednesday.

Three residents of Xiangtan County have been reported missing after their home was buried by a landslide around 7 a.m. Wednesday, while in Longhui county one person was reported missing. About 530 houses collapsed, and 11,900 people were evacuated, said the headquarters.

In Guangxi, one person was killed by collapsing house in torrential rain, said the regional civil affairs department on Wednesday. Two people ware missing--one swept away by floods while another was buried in a landslide.

The rains and ensuing disasters also destroyed 754 houses, seriously damaged another 408, ruined 20,200 hectares of crops, forced the evacuation of 5,900 people and inflicted a direct economic loss estimated at 150 million yuan (about 22.8 million U.S. dollars).

In Jinping County in Guizhou, five people have died and four are still missing, according to the county's publicity office.


Cloud Precipitation

Large egg-shaped hailstones pound Shanxi, China; over 18,000 cars damaged

Hail Damage
A heavy hailstorm struck Changzhi in northwest China's Shanxi Province on Monday.

The storm lasted for over half an hour and the largest hailstones are more than 45mm in diameter, which caused huge damages to cars that parked outdoors.

Large hail

Attention

Man loses finger in latest bear attack in Japan

Japan has seen a number of bear attacks in recent weeks
Japan has seen a number of bear attacks in recent weeks
A Japanese man lost his little finger after being attacked by a bear in western Japan on Wednesday, police and reports said, the latest attack by the animals on humans.

It came two days after human flesh and hair were found inside the stomach of a bear suspected of attacking at least one of four people in northern Japan who apparently died from such assaults.

On Wednesday morning, a bear believed to be 1.5 metres (4.9 feet) tall, attacked a 63-year-old man who was at a river in Shimane prefecture, area police told AFP.

"His face and left hand were injured," police spokesman Masuhiko Ito said,
without giving details of the injury.

But the Asahi Shimbun daily reported that the man had his little finger severed in the attack. He was conscious and sent to hospital, it added.

"The injury isn't life-threatening," Ito said, adding the bear ran away after attacking the man.

Comment: See also: String of likely bear attacks claims fourth victim in Japan


Better Earth

Unusual seismic activity continues around Yellowstone and California

earthquake map
Over the past few days the mainstream media has been fixated on the largest mass shooting in U.S. history, but meanwhile there has been highly unusual seismic activity along major fault lines in California and near the Yellowstone supervolcano. Let's talk about Yellowstone first. In recent months, the big geysers have been behaving very strangely and this is something that my wife and I covered on our television show. And now, just over the past week there have been three very significant earthquakes in the region. On June 9th, there was a magnitude 3.7 earthquake, on June 13th there was a magnitude 4.3 earthquake and earlier today there was a magnitude 4.0 earthquake. Yes, the area around Yellowstone is hit by earthquakes all the time, but most of them are extremely small. For earthquakes of this size to be striking right around Yellowstone is highly unusual and more than just a little bit alarming.

The map below comes directly from the USGS, and it shows all of the earthquakes of magnitude 2.5 or greater that have hit the western portion of the United States over the last week. The three big earthquakes that struck southwestern Montana are visible on the map, although they are hard to see because the dots all overlap. But the main reason why I am showing you this map is because I want you to see all of the earthquakes that have been happening along the major fault lines in southern California in recent days...