Earth ChangesS


Snowflake

Snow in May surprises drivers in Smolyan, Bulgaria

snow on road
Snow in May surprised the drivers in Smolyan area this morning, after falling into the Pamporovo area and the Preval Pass last night.

In minutes, the road plans are blooming, according to the District Road Administration, the snow cover is about 2-3 cm in the different regions.

The temperatures in the area during the day ranged from 4 to 12 degrees, which also contributed to the rapid melting of snow on the road.

"The roads in the area are wet but there are no signs of trouble. There is snow on both passes, but it is on the sides of the roadways, "they added from the District Road Administration.

Snowflake

Five ski areas open in Colorado for start of May as snow keeps falling - a foot in 72 hours

Winter Park
Winter Park, Colorado
Five ski areas are to open this weekend in Colorado, believed to be the most to open into May for some years.

It has also been snowing hard on higher slopes in the state with Breckenridge and Winter Park (pictured) resorts both reporting 30cm (a foot) of fresh snow in the past 72 hours and Arapahoe Basin Ski Area 40cm (10cm of that in the past 24 hours) and finally Loveland Ski Area over 50cm.


Snowflake

Over 5 inches of snow in parts of Michigan on first day of May

May Snow in Upper Michigan
May snow in Upper Michigan
Folks in Michigan may have been shocked to wake up on the first day of May to see a blanket of snow outside their windows. Areas in the upper tier of Michigan, around Lake Superior, received several inches of snow on Wednesday.

The May 1 snowfall received mixed reactions from social media users. While many users expressed disappointment, a select few expressed excitement about the latest snowfall.


Snowflake

More than 60cm (2ft) of fresh snow predicted to hit Italy

Fresh snow in Italy
© ilmetero.it

"Yesterday and today snow came back on the northeastern mountains of Italy," says Dr Poletto.

"This is a photo taken this morning by Massimo, a friend of mine, living near Pordenone
Fresh snow in Italy
"While we had a dry winter it seems spring will be particularly wet and cold. Global warming seems to be less and less convincing..."

Question

Mysterious explosions concern residents in Berkeley County, West Virginia

Mysterious explosions in WV
© WDVM
Several explosions were reported Tuesday night around 7 pm in the Berkeley County area. Berkeley County Sheriff Keller says emergency calls ranged from as far as the Hedgesville area to Maryland.

However, he says that by the time his deputies got there, there was no evidence of people nor explosions

Residents in the area report hearing loud explosions that shake their homes several times over the span of a few months.

One mother says the explosions frighten her children and her pets, but she also worries for other vulnerable populations.

Rainbow

Circumhorizontal arc seen over Sylvania, Alabama

Circumhorizontal arc over AL
© Carly S Windsor via Twitter
This is the time of year that some neat things happen in the sky as clouds interact with sunlight! High thin cirrus, altocumulus and daytime heating-driven, puffy, white cumulus clouds made for a cool scene over DeKalb County Wednesday afternoon.

This is a 'fire rainbow' (or the scientific name: circumhorizontal arc - here's one from a year ago on WHNT.com.)


Eye 2

Signs and Portents: Three-eyed snake found on Australian highway

3 eyes
© NT PARKS AND WILDLIFE
Wildlife authorities have shared photos of a three-eyed snake that was found on a highway in northern Australia.

The Northern Territory Parks and Wildlife Service described the discovery, which was widely shared online, as "peculiar".

Nicknamed Monty Python, the baby carpet python died just weeks after it was found in March.

Experts said the snake's third eye, on top of its head, appeared to be a natural mutation.

Rangers discovered it near the town of Humpty Doo, 40km (25 miles) south-east of Darwin.

The 40cm-long (15 inch) reptile had been struggling to eat due to its deformity, officials told the BBC.

Snowflake

Snow blankets Utah following spring storms on the first day of May

Mount Superior
Mount Superior
Spring snowshowers swept across parts of Utah, on May 1, prompting multiple warnings from the National Weather Service for sub-freezing temperatures and flooding from snow melt later in the week.


Credit: Andy Hyer via Storyful

Snowflake

National Park covered in snow as spring storm hits Newfoundland

File photo
File photo of Gros Morne
A spring storm left Gros Morne National Park in Newfoundland covered in snow on May 1.

Andre Beyzaei, who captured this footage, told Storyful it's not common to see this amount of snow around western Newfoundland at this time of year. "We usually see something like this in January or February," he said.

Environment Canada issued a snowfall warning on Wednesday for the Rocky Harbour area due to the continued snowfall.


Credit: Andre Beyzaei via Storyful

Windsock

Five killed as giant dust storm sweeps through southern Iraq

Large dust storm hits Najas, Iraq
© YouTube/The World (screen capture)Large dust storm hits Najaf, Iraq.
Five people have died after a deadly dust storm hit southern Iraq.

More than 60 people were also injured after the storm swept through several cities on Monday.

A video filmed in Najaf, where local media reported one person had died, shows a huge sand-coloured cloud slowly descending on the city.

Photos and video footage shared on social media show extensive damage to buildings and cars crushed by the storm.

Victims are said to have suffered from injuries including suffocation and wounds caused by falling debris.


Comment: This deadly dust storm is just the latest extreme weather event to hit the region recently. See also: Flash-flooding, dust-storms, hailstorms, and even snow: Entire Mid-East & North Africa regions pummeled all month long with extreme weather