Earth ChangesS


Snowflake Cold

Coldest March 17th in the Netherlands since records began


Sott.net
Sat, 17 Mar 2018 21:44 UTC
netherlands cold
© Sjef Kenniphaas
Saturday was the coldest March 17th in the Netherlands since records began. According to Weeronline, at the weather station in the Dutch district De Bilt, the daytime temperature was below zero.

The lowest maximum temperatures were measured in the provinces Flevoland, Gelderland, and Overijssel. At the weather station Hupsel in the area Achterhoek, the maximum daytime temperature was -0.7 °C. Due to the strong east to northeast wind, the wind chill factor was around -5 °C to -10 °C.

A temperature slightly above zero was however measured in some areas of the Netherlands. Accompanying the cold, a light snowfall hit the southern part of the country.
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Eye 2

Signs and Portents: Two-headed boa also discovered to have double hearts in Deerfield Beach, Florida

Maggie O'Neill
Daily Mail
Fri, 16 Mar 2018 19:56 UTC
The breeder brought this two-headed boa to a veterinarian's office where it was discovered that the animal has two different hearts. Additionally, the animal has two separate digestive systems
The breeder brought this two-headed boa to a veterinarian's office where it was discovered that the animal has two different hearts. Additionally, the animal has two separate digestive systems
A Floridian snake-breeder recently ended up with a two-headed boa that has two separate hearts.

The snake, at two weeks old, was featured on a National Geographic program.

The creature was born with two heads, which emerge from a shared body, National Geographic reported.

Both heads check out their surroundings separately and flick their own tongues.

The snake was presented to the office of Veterinarian Dr Susan Kelleher for examination.

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Cloud Precipitation

Trees roll down streets, powerlines explode and roofs are ripped off buildings as Tropical Cyclone Marcus smashes Darwin, Australia (VIDEOS, PHOTOS)

Emily Pidgeon
Daily Mail
Sat, 17 Mar 2018 14:26 UTC
Darwin was ripped apart after Tropical Cyclone Marcus tore through earlier today
Darwin was ripped apart after Tropical Cyclone Marcus tore through earlier today
Darwin has been battered by 130km/h winds as Tropical Cyclone Marcus sent trees flying through the streets and brought down powerlines, prompting the rescue of people from a sinking boat near the city.

The eye of the category two storm has now moved past the city but emergency services say it's still not safe to go outside.

Marcus is now headed towards the Timor Sea and is expected to hit Western Australia's Kimberley Coast on Sunday, bringing wind gusts of up to 150km/h.

The storm brought down hundreds of powerlines and trees and damaged property across Darwin and also affected the city's drinking supply.

Residents have been told to boil drinking water as a precaution until further notice.

Meanwhile, water police were called out to rescue two people from two boats that collided after one of them slipped its moorings in Sangove Creek as the storm struck.

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Fire

Around 31 grassfires sweep across Victoria, Australia

Ben Hill and Claudia Poposki
Daily Mail
Sat, 17 Mar 2018 14:02 UTC
'We'll see fires move around in the night with levels of intensity and fire behaviour that'll be quite erratic,' Emergency Management Commissioner Craig Lapsley said
'We'll see fires move around in the night with levels of intensity and fire behaviour that'll be quite erratic,' Emergency Management Commissioner Craig Lapsley said
Residents near raging fires west of Melbourne have been told it's not safe to leave their homes and to take shelter immediately.

A warning has been issued by the Country Fire Authority said people should stay within their homes as it is 'not safe for you to leave'.

Dramatic video footage shows massive flames and explosions emerging from a substation in Terang, while a grassfire burns out of control in Boorcan, 199km west of Melbourne.

Nearby resident Brett Gasper told the Herald Sun the scene of the fire caused a 'red sky and smell of smoke' which was 'daunting'.

A CFA spokesperson said people had been evacuated from nearby homes.

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Arrow Down

Building collapses under weight of snow in downtown Edmundston, Canada

Elizabeth Fraser
CBC News
Fri, 16 Mar 2018 12:11 UTC
A snow-heavy building used for storage collapsed in Edmundston early Friday morning.
© Bernard Lebel/Radio-CanadaA snow-heavy building used for storage collapsed in Edmundston early Friday morning.
A downtown building that's been part of Edmundston for at least 115 years collapsed early Friday, and city police say it was probably because too much snow had piled up on its flat roof.

Insp. Alain Lang of the Edmundston police said there were no injuries, and no one was near the empty building when it came down around 4 a.m.

The building at Church and Hill streets is owned by Downtown Edmundston, which used it for storing tents chairs, tables and other equipment for a farmers market.

She said the building was initially bought in 2012 and was supposed to be bought to be a tear down and rebuild a farmers market with that lot and the two next to it.


Comment: See also: Another roof collapses due to snow weight in Nakusp, British Columbia - 200 inches of snow in some areas this year

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Attention

Dead Sei whale found on Marathon's bayside, Florida

Katie Atkins
Flkeysnews
Fri, 16 Mar 2018 12:01 UTC
This dead sei whale was found on the bayside of Marathon.
© Shanna ShroederThis dead sei whale was found on the bayside of Marathon.
What caused the death of a 50-foot sei whale found on the bayside of Marathon Wednesday and how it ended up in the warm waters of the Florida Keys is a mystery.

Its stop at the Marathon Yacht Club caused quite a stir. Shanna Shroeder, officer manager of the club, said it was brought to the 33rd Street boat ramp, where biologists took samples and eventually removed it from the property and reportedly disposed of it offshore.

It had "quite the smell," she said.

It didn't actually wash up at the yacht club, but was found dead on the bayside of Marathon and "secured" at the 33rd Street boat ramp next to the club until biologists with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration arrived, said Lt. Andy Cox with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.
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Attention

Bryde's whale carcass washes ashore in Tamil Nadu, India


The Times of India
Sat, 17 Mar 2018 11:15 UTC
Bryde's whale
Bryde's whale
A Bryde's whale (Balaenoptera brydei) weighing more than 10 tonne washed ashore dead at Thondi in Ramanathapuram district on Friday morning. Local fishermen, who spotted the huge carcass floating one km away from the shore, alerted wildlife officials from Gulf of Mannar Marine National Park (GoMMNP).

Based on the information, wildlife officials deployed fishing boats and towed the carcass to the beach. Veterinary doctors inspected the carcass and found that performing an autopsy was very difficult.

Forest range officer S Sathish said that the stomach cavity has been exposed and it should have been dead for more than 20 days. Looking at the carcass, they deduced that it should have been hit by a ship, Sathish said.

However, samples have been collected from the carcass. The whale, a fully grown female, weighed more than 10 tonne, he said.
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Cloud Precipitation

Severe hailstorm leaves behind injuries and havoc in Lesotho (PHOTOS)

Abdur Rahman Alfa Shaban
AfricaNews
Sat, 17 Mar 2018 10:31 UTC
hailstones
The southern African country of Lesotho experiences a devastating hailstorm earlier this week, which incident left in its wake death and destruction of public and private properties.

The event which took place in the southern Quthing district left the windows of cars, homes and other facilities smashed. People caught in the storm were also bruised by the impact as the hailstones left them with cuts on their heads and other parts of the body.

Local media reported that emergency personnel treated a number of school children who were caught out in the open during the storm.
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Snowflake

Heavy snowfall disrupts traffic in northeast China


China.org.cn
Fri, 16 Mar 2018 20:13 UTC
Workers remove snow from train tracks at Shenyang North Railway Station in Shenyang, northeast China's Liaoning province, March 15, 2018.
© XinhuaWorkers remove snow from train tracks at Shenyang North Railway Station in Shenyang, northeast China's Liaoning province, March 15, 2018.
More than 4,800 people have been deployed to clear roads after heavy snow hit northeast China's Liaoning province starting Wednesday night, causing flight delays and expressway closures.

As of 11:00 a.m. Thursday, about 868 pieces of snow clearing equipment were put into use to remove snow from roads.

Snowstorms hit most parts of the province Wednesday evening, and snow was still falling Thursday, the provincial meteorological bureau said.

The bureau issued warnings in 12 cities to watch out ice on streets.
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Snowflake

Late-winter storm piling up snow in the Sierra Nevada, California - over 2 feet in 24 hours


The Press Democrat
Fri, 16 Mar 2018 19:44 UTC
Snow at Squaw Valley, 16th, March
Snow at Squaw Valley, 16th, March
A late-winter storm moving through California is piling up snow in the Sierra Nevada, making travel hazardous and raising avalanche danger.

The National Weather Service says the Heavenly and Northstar ski resorts near Lake Tahoe reported Friday morning they each received more than 2 feet (0.61 meters) of snow in 24 hours.

The Sierra Avalanche Center says there's high avalanche danger at all elevations in the central Sierra backcountry in the greater Lake Tahoe region.
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