Earth ChangesS


Snowflake Cold

Record-breaking cold sweeps across eastern United States

record cold across eastern US
An Arctic surge will bring bitter cold air to the Northeast this weekend, with record low temperatures expected.
So much for a warm and fuzzy Valentine's Day.

About 20 cities across the East endured record-breaking cold Sunday, forecasters say.

New York City's temperature plummeted to 1 below zero at Central Park, shattering the record of 2 degrees, set during World War I.

Boston reported 9 below. Toronto's temperature reached 16 below over the weekend.

And those are just the real temperatures.

Factor in strong winds, and states from northern Pennsylvania to Maine felt wind chills well, well below zero.

In all, more than 75 million people from the Midwest to the Eastern Seaboard are expected to be affected by snow and freezing rain into Tuesday.

New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio urged residents to brace for dangerous conditions.

"The city is facing some of the coldest temperatures and wind chills we've seen in the last 20 years," de Blasio said. "Extremely cold weather can be life-threatening -- especially for seniors, infants and people with medical conditions."

The mayor thanked first responders.

"I think, the combination of the way New Yorkers have heeded the warnings, and the fact that our first responders are out constantly scanning for anyone who might need help, it's been very effective. And thank God, we have no reports to date of any fatalities," he said.


Attention

Tens of thousands of sharks seen migrating off Palm Beach, Florida

swarm of sharks
This picture shows a swarm of sharks migrating a short distance from the coast in Palm Beach, Florida
With temperatures plummeting below freezing in parts of the country, you may be temped to escape to some winter sun in Florida.

But if you do hit the sunny beaches, you may want to avoid going for a swim.

That's because tens of thousands of sharks are migrating in huge swarms, and it's happening just off the coast.

Florida Atlantic University biological sciences professor Stephen Kajiura took video from the air of blacktip sharks invading the waters of Palm Beach, on Florida's Atlantic coast


Comment: Unusual migratory patterns and deaths of sea creatures around the world seems to be increasing: As the number of volcanoes erupting right now is greater than the 20th century's YEARLY average, a comparable escalation in activity of their underwater counterparts seems logical.

It is estimated there are up to one million submarine volcanoes on our planet. Effects from this volcanic activity, combined with increased methane outgassing, radiation from the Fukushima disaster are probably also causing the ongoing devastation of marine life, mass fish die offs and strange migratory behaviour we are currently witnessing.

See also: Around 500 manatees crowd into a Florida spring to stay warm


Attention

Magnitude 4.1 earthquake strikes Pu'u O'o volcano in Hawaii

Epicentre
A magnitude 4.1 (+/- 0.1) earthquake has struck on the Southern flank of Pu'u O'o Volcano in Hawaii, part of the greater Kilauea volcanic complex located on the "Big Island".

The earthquake struck in the middle of the Southern lava fields off the Pu'u O'o caldera which reaches all the way from the peak of the Volcano into the ocean (several miles away).

The earthquake may be a byproduct of large volumes of moving lava (magma) from the large flow which was observed coming from Pu'u O'o a several weeks ago.

Pu’u O’o caldera

Snowflake Cold

Arctic blast hits Central and Eastern Canada; temperatures minus 45 celsius

If you want to go outside when the temperatures plunge, a facemask can protect from frostbite and windburn.
© Pawel Dwulit/Canadian PressIf you want to go outside when the temperatures plunge, a facemask can protect from frostbite and windburn.
Bitter cold is gripping parts of Central and Eastern Canada as temperatures dipped to -45 C with the wind chill in some areas.

Environment Canada issued cold or winter storm warnings on Saturday for provinces from Manitoba to Newfoundland and Labrador.

The national weather forecaster said temperatures could fall to -45 C in Ottawa on Saturday with the wind chill, warming up to -35 C overnight.

In New Brunswick, temperatures were expected to hover between -35 C and -40 C with the wind chill until Sunday.

Quebec and Manitoba can expect much of the same, with temperatures warming up early next week.

Meanwhile, Newfoundland was bracing for a winter storm that could bring up to 20 cm of snow to eastern parts of the island.


Attention

Zhupanovsky volcano in Kamchatka erupts; ash plume 10km high

Zhupanovsky volcano
© Tatyana KozorogZhupanovsky volcano
A stronger eruption occurred in the evening of 12 Feb, producing an ash plume that rose to estimated 34,000 ft (10 km) altitude and drifted more than 300 km east over the Pacific. VAAC Tokyo maintains Aviation Color ORANGE.

Ash plume from Zhupanovsky volcano
Ash plume from Zhupanovsky volcano

Cloud Lightning

Lightning strike kills three in South Africa

lightning
Lightning struck a tree under which members of the Shembe Nazareth Baptist Church were worshiping, KwaZulu-Natal's Emergency Medical Services said.

Three women, aged between 50 and 65, were killed instantly and 38 others survived the strike but sustained injuries, spokesperson Robert Mckenzie said.

Those injured were taken to nearby hospitals and were currently in a stable condition, Mckenzie said.

Authorities cautioned people against using trees as a cover in cloudy conditions, particularly in the middle of summer when lightning takes place frequently.

Thunderstorms, generating big electrical discharges, are common in South Africa's eastern and northern provinces between October and March.

South Africa has one of the highest lightning ground strike densities in the world. Particularly in recent years, deaths from lightning are growing in rural areas.

The annual average number of lightning-related deaths is 6.3 per million of the population, more than 15 times the global average, according to the South African weather service.

Source: Xinhua

Cloud Lightning

SOTT Focus: SOTT Earth Changes Summary - January 2016: Extreme Weather, Planetary Upheaval, Meteor Fireballs

sott ec summary january 2016
© Sott.net
Mass whale strandings in India and northwestern Europe - Record 'snowzilla' blizzard thanks to Winter storm Jonas in the US Northeast - Record cold wave in the Far East and South East Asia bringing snow to Vietnam, Taiwan and southern China - The first recorded snowfall in Kuwait - Severe flooding in the central US, UK and many other places - The earliest Pacific cyclone on record, and the earliest Atlantic hurricane since 1938 - Major earthquakes in Russia's Far East and Alaska - Significant volcanic eruptions in central America, Russia's Far East and Antarctica.

Here are some of the 'signs of the times' in January 2016...


Comment: Update February 18th, 2016

With the pace of Earth Changes apparently quickening in 2016, we've decided to publish this second Summary video for the month of January:

SOTT Earth Changes Summary - January 2016 - Part 2: Extreme Weather, Planetary Upheaval (BONUS VIDEO)


Bizarro Earth

'Severe' magnitude 5.9 earthquake hits Christchurch, New Zealand

Christchurch earthquake
The quake hit the suburb of Sumner, about 15 kilometres east of Christchurch's city centre

Paramedics responding to calls for help after 5.9 magnitude earthquake hits New Zealand's South Island, which is still recovering from a fatal quake in 2011


Several people have been injured and a cliff has collapsed into the sea on New Zealand's South Island after a "severe" magnitude 5.9 earthquake struck close to Christchurch, which is still rebuilding following a devastating tremor in 2011.

The earthquake hit shortly after 1pm (11am AEDT) on Sunday, according to GeoNet, which monitors seismic activity in New Zealand.

It was centred 15km east of Christchurch and was 31km deep.

Paramedics were responding to a number of calls from people who fell over during the tremor. One building in the city was evacuated after items tumbled down and computer monitors smashed.


Igloo

Researchers estimate 150,000 Adelie penguins have died after being landlocked by colossal iceberg in Antarctica

Adelie penguins
© ReutersAdelie penguins walk on the ice at Cape Denison in Antarctica, on 12 December 2009.
An estimated 150,000 Adelie penguins living in Antarctica have died after a huge iceberg the size of Luxemburg became lodged near their colony. The grounding of the colossal iceberg in Cape Denison in Commonwealth Bay left the colony effectively landlocked.

This meant the mid-sized penguins, that range from 46cm-71 cm (18in-28in), had to trek 60km to the sea to feed on their favoured krill. Their habitat used to sit on the edge of a large expanse of open water but in 2010 a massive iceberg measuring 2,900km sq became lodged in the bay, rendering the colony of Penguins landlocked.

In the last five years the colony was dwindled in size, as the perilous journey has claimed the lives of 150,000 of the penguins, according to research carried out by the Climate Change Research Centre at Australia's University of New South Wales. And scientists warned that the colony is set to disappear in just 20 years unless the sea ice breaks up or the iceberg, named B09B, becomes dislodged.

Researchers in an article in Antarctic Science said: "The arrival of iceberg B09B in Commonwealth Bay, East Antarctica, and subsequent fast ice expansion has dramatically increased the distance Adélie penguins breeding at Cape Denison must travel in search of food. "The Cape Denison population could be extirpated within 20 years unless B09B relocates or the now perennial fast ice within the bay breaks out. This has provided a natural experiment to investigate the impact of iceberg stranding events and sea ice expansion along the East Antarctic coast."

But all is not lost, a study of another colony of Adelie penguins located just 8km from the coast of Commonwealth Bay is thriving, the researchers said. And new findings from other studies suggest that between the last ice age through to 1,000 years ago, some species of penguins have benefited from climate warming and retreating ice.

Attention

Dead whale calf found off Samaná, Dominican Republic was 'stillborn'

 A whale calf
A daed whale calf
A whale calf was found dead Friday in the waters of the Cabo Samaná Natural Monument, where according to the Environment Ministry was apparently stillborn.

In a statement, Environment said a preliminary report on the dead whale's condition showed that people weren't involved.

Moreover, the 4.35-meter long calf didn't show visible signs of entanglement or bruises.

"The calf was found dead floating on the water next to the monument of Talanquera, as confirmed by the provincial director and rangers from that district," the statement said.

"Apparently, this whale was a few hours old since it still had the umbilical cord. It's normal during the humpback whales visitation season," said marine biologist Omar Reynoso, quoted by elcaribe.com.do.