Earth ChangesS


Seismograph

Magnitude 3 earthquake recorded under Teide volcano, Canary Islands

Location of today's earthquake under Teide volcano
Location of earthquake under Teide volcano
Teide volcano (Tenerife Island, Canaries): magnitude 3 earthquake under the volcano

A shallow magnitude 3 earthquake occurred almost directly under the summit of Teide volcano in 3 km depth today (at 12:18 UTC).

Whether the quake is volcanic in origin and might be a sign of a gradual reawakening of the volcano is impossible to say, but it is important to follow the volcano's seismic activity closely.

Ice Cube

Video shows massive pileup on slippery Highway 401 near Toronto

A truck is seen after a crash on Highway 401 on Saturday, Jan. 7, 2017.
© Clarington Fire and Emergency ServicesA truck is seen after a crash on Highway 401 on Saturday, Jan. 7, 2017.
Drivers and passengers involved in a massive pileup on Ontario's Highway 401 on Saturday are speaking out as new video footage of the collisions has emerged.

Close to 100 vehicles were affected in the pileup just outside of the Greater Toronto Area, with the new video showing a transport truck losing control and spinning as it crashes into several vehicles.

"I saw the death in front of me. I thought, 'Okay I'm not going to make it,'" said Kelly, one driver who had the roof of her car crushed in by a different transport truck. "It's going to be really bad and I'm not going to die in a nice way, it's going to be awful."


Snowflake Cold

Heavy snowfall claims 2 lives in Greece, causes road closures

snow
The cold snap that has swept over the country this weekend has claimed two lives and caused chaos on the roadways.

In Pitsinaiika of Nafpaktos a 77 year-old died from what is believed to be exposure and hypothermia while in Komtini an elderly person died due to inhaling fumes from a wood burning heater.

Traffic on the Corinth-Patras highway also caused headaches for travelers as they found themselves stuck on the roadways for more than 10 hours between Aigio and Diakofti due to streets being closed because of heavy snowfall.

The streets reopened around 3:30 a.m. on Sunday morning and vehicles were able to exit the road.



sNOW ROAD

Snow road

Cloud Precipitation

Floods force hundreds of evacuations along northern Nevada mountains

A Santa Clara County Roads and Airport Department worker responds to the scene of downed tree and mudslide on Summit Road in the Santa Cruz Mountains, Calif., Sunday, Jan. 8, 2017.
© Josie LepeA Santa Clara County Roads and Airport Department worker responds to the scene of downed tree and mudslide on Summit Road in the Santa Cruz Mountains, Calif., Sunday, Jan. 8, 2017.
A massive winter storm that could be the biggest to slam the region in more than a decade prompted the evacuation of hundreds of homes in northern Nevada and triggered flooding and mudslides that blocked major highways and stranded motorists in Northern California.

Crews in California cleared trees and debris Sunday following mudslides caused by steady rain accompanying the system that could dump 15 inches in the foothills of the Sierra and heavy snow on the mountain tops before it's expected to move east early Monday. Forecasters warned a second storm is expected to hit the already drenched area Monday night.

In Nevada, emergency officials voluntarily evacuated a total of 400 homes affecting about 1,300 residents in a south Reno neighborhood Sunday afternoon as the Truckee River began to leave its banks and drainage ditches started to overflow south of U.S. Interstate 80.



Sparks firefighters monitor the rising Truckee River, Sunday, Jan. 8, 2017, where it runs near the Grand Sierra hotel-casino along a line that divides the cities of Reno and Sparks, Nev.
© Scott SonnerSparks firefighters monitor the rising Truckee River, Sunday, Jan. 8, 2017, where it runs near the Grand Sierra hotel-casino along a line that divides the cities of Reno and Sparks, Nev.

Cloud Precipitation

Update: Floods in south Thailand leave 21 dead with over a million affected

Thailand’s DDPM carry out flood rescue and relief operations in Chumphon, January 2017.
© DDPMThailand’s DDPM carry out flood rescue and relief operations in Chumphon, January 2017.
Thailand's Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation (DDPM) report that 21 people have now died in the floods affecting southern provinces of the country.

At least 11 provinces are in emergency situations as a result of flooding which has affected over 1 million people. Thai Meteorological Department have forecast further heavy rain until Tuesday, 10 January.

Nakhon Si Thammarat airport closed from 06 January and will possibly re-open today, 09 January. Thai news agency NNT said that the province of Nakhon Si Thammarat has suffered its worst flood crisis in 30 years with 300,000 people affected and seven people dead.

Unusually heavy rain for this time of year, influenced by low depression and the strong northeast monsoon, has caused widespread flooding in southern provinces of Thailand since 01 January, 2017.



Cloud Lightning

Lightning bolt kills man in Dowa, Malawi

Lightning
A 48-year old man has died in Dowa district after being struck by lightning.

Dowa Police Spokesperson Richard Kaponda said the man Zithera Alick on Tuesday went to his garden that is located near Chithowa hills to cultivate.

According to Kaponda, whilst there heavy rains started pouring down in the area and Alick went under a big rock to seek refuge.

Snowflake Cold

Snow and ice covers ground in 49 of 50 states across US

US snow covers Lower 48 states
© NOHRSC/NOAASnow cover analysis of the Lower 48 states early Sunday morning. In the South, sleet accumulations are shown in some areas.
Snow and ice covered the ground in 49 of 50 states this weekend in the wake of Winter Storm Helena.

An analysis of snow cover across the Lower 48 showed that only Florida had no snow or ice on the ground Saturday into early Sunday morning, according to the National Operational Hydrologic Remote Sensing Center (NOHRSC).

It should be noted that in this depiction of snow cover, sleet accumulations may be shown as well. This is the case for parts of the South after Winter Storm Helena.

The NOHRSC analysis says that 66.4 percent of the Lower 48 was covered by snow or ice as of Sunday morning. That's the highest coverage so far this winter season in the U.S.

Some of the deepest snowpack across the nation was in the northern Plains, Great Lakes snowbelts, northern Maine and the mountain West.

If you are wondering about Hawaii, yes, there was snow on ground there too. This satellite image shows the snow-capped volcanic peaks of Mauna Kea and Mauna Loa on the Big Island on Saturday.

Comment: A frigid US: Average temperature 11F


Seismograph

5.8 magnitude earthquake shakes Nunavut, Canada

Nunavut earthquake map
© U.S. Geological SurveyScreenshot showing the site of the earthquake.
A magnitude 5.8 earthquake struck around 89 km southeast of the Inuit hamlet of Resolute in Nunavut, according to the U.S. Geological Survey and Earthquakes Canada.

The quake was detected at 5:47 pm, with its epicentre located in the Barrow Strait waterway. It was initially measured at magnitude 6.4 before being downgraded.

There are no reports of deaths or casualties at this time.

An Earthquakes Canada seismologist told Global News that there is likely little cause for major concern given the distance of the epicentre from Resolute.

"I would expect the damage to be pretty minor, if there was any," Nick Ackerley said.

Resolute has a population of around 240, and is the second most northerly community in Canada.

The last earthquake to hit the Barrow Strait occurred in December 1987, and was measured at a magnitude of 5.4.

Snowflake Cold

Excessive snowfall forecast in some areas of Europe for Jan 8-11, 2017

Snow map
An overview of the pattern through the next 3 days when some areas in Europe will be experiencing excessive snowfall. One of these areas is the E Balkans and Turkey which is influenced by the arctic outbreak airmass associated with stationary upper low centered above the Aegean sea. Dark blue areas should expect 30-50 cm of new snow until Tuesday. Even more seems possible in the mountains of S Turkey, local totals could exceed 100 cm.

Persistent N-NE-erlies across the W Balkan peninsula and central Europe will result in additional snowfall across the N side of the Alps and in SE Italy (Adriatic sea-effect snow) and 30-50 cm seems possible there as well.

Iceland and mountainous Norway should experience deep cyclones moving from N Atlantic into Scandinavia and result in excessive precipitation where higher elevations could receive 40-75 cm of new snow by Tuesday.

Elsewhere, areas around the dark blue areas will be getting some snow, but not very significant or excessive amounts are expected.

Snowflake Cold

Coldest in over 100 years: Moscow breaks records celebrating Christmas with a shiver

Moscow, Russia
© Sputnik/Evgeniy BiyatovWinter in Moscow
On Christmas Eve, the weather in Moscow broke all records.

The temperature in Russia's capital in the morning was a very chilly 30°C below zero (minus 22°F).

The Moskva River and the Kremlin Embankment on a freezing cold day (the temperature has fallen to minus 27°С). The Cathedral of Christ the Savior is seen on the left. The Moscow Kremlin's Vodovzvodnaya Tower, right, and Bolshoi Kamenny Bridge, center.
The Moskva River and the Kremlin Embankment on a freezing cold day (the temperature has fallen to minus 27°С). The Cathedral of Christ the Savior is seen on the left. The Moscow Kremlin's Vodovzvodnaya Tower, right, and Bolshoi Kamenny Bridge, center.
People are seen here on Kozhukhovsky lake in Moscow as lows drop to minus 24 degrees Celsius.  Read more: https://sputniknews.com/photo/201701081049368029-moscow-winter-frost/
People are seen here on Kozhukhovsky lake in Moscow as lows drop to minus 24 degrees Celsius.