Earth ChangesS


Arrow Up

Bulusan Volcano in Philippines spews 2km ash plume

Bulusan volcano eruption
Phreatic eruption at Bulusan volcano at 2:40PM today. Grayish to dirty white eruption plume reached 2,000 meters above the summit.
A two-kilometer-high ash plume formed over Bulusan Volcano in Irosin, on Thursday afternoon, according to the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (PHIVOLCS), the latest display of the mountain's continuing restiveness.

The plume was caused by a phreatic eruption that occurred at 2:40 pm and lasted some 16 minutes, according to the agency.

In its Twitter account, PHIVOLCS said that Alert Level 1 (abnormal) remains in effect over Bulusan.

It advised local government units, civil authorities, and the public to avoid entry into the vicinity of the volcano.

Bizarro Earth

Magnitude 6.2 earthquake hits region in eastern Indonesia

Earthquake
A 6.2-magnitude earthquake was felt in the Indonesian resort island of Bali early Friday (Dec 30), an AFP correspondent said, but there was no tsunami alert and no immediate reports of casualties or damage.

The quake hit around 300 kilometres east of Bali at a depth of around 72 kilometres just off the island of Sumbawa at 6.30am (2230 GMT Thursday), the US Geological Survey said.

"The earthquake was quite long. Most people had just woken up and they started running out from their homes. My family and I also ran away because we were afraid," Djunaedi Garib who lives in Hambala, southeast of the epicentre, on the island of Sumba told AFP.

In an initial assessment, the USGS said there was a low likelihood of casualties or damage. Indonesia's disaster agency said officials were checking to see if the quake had had any impact.

Indonesia experiences frequent seismic and volcanic activity due to its position on the Pacific "Ring of Fire", where tectonic plates collide.

Source: Agence France-Presse

Cloud Lightning

Man killed by lightning bolt under bizarre circumstances in Zimbabwe

LIGHTNING
ZimEye.com sources in Gwanda reveal that a yet to be identified middle aged man, was struck by a blow of lightning and died on the spot in Jaunda township this afternoon.

The sources sources further explain that the weather in the town was good with a clear sky since morning before a few clouds gathered followed by a light shower. It is at that moment that it started to thunder and the man was hit by lighting.

According to the sources the showers and clouds immediately cleared after the lightning strike leaving fearful residents superstitious about the circumstances of the little showers and thunder.

There is a general superstitious belief in Zimbabwe that a person can send lightning to strike an enemy when they have failed to come to terms. The "magic" wave is said to be commonly manufactured in the area around Chipinge and most parts of Manicaland.

Snowflake Cold

Rare snowfall in Athens sends vibes of excitement through social media

Snow in Athens, Greece
© mehdirezae / Instagram
Greeks are in awe following a rare snowfall in their country that blanketed the streets, trees, and houses of the capital. Pictures of Athens completely covered in white are filling social media.

"Look !!! We hadn't seen snow in Athens in years !!!" a Twitter post from the capital reads, while another adds: "A patch of snow on my tiny herb garden: Hello snowy Athens!"

"If you are in Athens dress well and go play with the snow!" wrote one more excited user.

Bizarro Earth

Christmas storm blamed for hundreds of starfish washed up on Dutch beaches

Dead Starfishes
© @ikduszelfsoms/TwitterHundreds of starfish wash up on Dutch shores, 27 Dec 2016.
Hundreds of starfish washed up on Dutch beaches on Tuesday. Conservationists from Ecomare believe a storm was behind the animals being washed ashore, NU.nl reports.

Starfish were found on beaches in Callantsoog, Groote Keten, Egmond aan Zee and Wijk aan Zee.

According to Ecomare, a combination of strong winds and low temperatures at sea resulted in the starfish not having enough strength to cling to the ground. They were therefore taken by the tide and washed ashore.

Comment: In 2016, dead starfish have also been found on beaches in the UK, US, Turkey, and Western Australia:

7 Jan 2016: Tens of thousands of dead jellyfish and starfish found on beaches of West Sussex and Hampshire, UK
25 Jan 2016: Thousands of starfish wash ashore at Port St. Joe, Florida
28 Jun 2016: Hundreds of starfish wash up on the shores of the Marmara Sea, Turkey
3 Aug 2016: Up to 1000 dead starfish found on beaches near Fremantle, Western Australia
22 Nov 2016: Thousands of starfish wash up on beach in Southsea, UK


Fireball 3

Wildfires in southern Switzerland: what exactly happened here?

Wildfire Mesocco, Switzerland patches of burnt forest floor
Wildfire Mesocco, Switzerland patches of burnt forest floor.
Several extensive and fast spreading forest fires rage in southern Switzerland, the first of them started on Tuesday night, Dec. 27th, 2016 in the mountains above the towns of Mesocco and Soazza, in the canton of Grison, Switzerland. One more forest fire started in the nearby Calanca valley. A further wildfire in the Leventina valley several dozen kilometers distance was immediately declared to be caused be a campfire of four careless teenagers.

No particular causes other then dry conditions and winds have been proposed for the other two locations. (winds were indeed moderate on site, no high wind speeds were recorded in the models of the Meterological Institute)

Fire

Rare winter wildfire ignites despite snow on the ground in Delta, Alaska

Delta, Alaska
Delta, Alaska
A winter wildfire broke out near the Delta Junction High School last week despite the presence of more than a foot of snow on the ground.

The fire was spotted Dec. 20 by a woman walking her dog on the trails, according to a news release from the Alaska Division of Forestry.

Fire management officer Mike Goyette went to the fire Dec. 21 and found it burning and smoldering in the duff — the layer of dead plant material in the soil. Goyette estimated the fire covered a 50-by-20-foot area and caused between 20 and 30 trees to tip over from having their roots burned.

Goyette and a technician cut down the trees and put the burning moss and duff in a pile to burn itself out and keep the fire from spreading.

Comment: See also this other similar recent report: Forest fires break out in eastern Switzerland (in the dead of winter!)


Snowflake Cold

100% of U.S. 'Warming' is due to NOAA data tampering

Climate Central just ran this piece, which the Washington Post picked up on. They claimed the US was "overwhelmingly hot" in 2016, and temperatures have risen 1,5°F since the 19th century.

Climate Central
The U.S. Has Been Overwhelmingly Hot This Year | Climate Central

The first problem with their analysis is that the US had very little hot weather in 2016. The percentage of hot days was below average, and ranked 80th since 1895. Only 4.4% of days were over 95°F, compared with the long term average of 4.9%. Climate Central is conflating mild temperatures with hot ones.

US average temperature over 95
© Unknown

Comment: See:
NOAA's own data reveals that global climate has cooled over 10 years
Radiosonde data from NOAA shows no warming for 58 years


Cloud Precipitation

Flash flooding hits Melbourne, Australia; mass road closures across Victoria

A car submerged in floodwaters on the corner of Station St and McNicol Rd in Belgrave.
© Michael CollingA car submerged in floodwaters on the corner of Station St and McNicol Rd in Belgrave.
Melbourne is still reeling from flash flooding after a severe downpour hit Victoria on Thursday afternoon, with train services delayed or suspended into the night and roads across the state remaining closed.

Torrential rain hammered Melbourne from about 3pm as roads turned into rivers and flash flooding wreaked havoc.

Major arterials were closed, leaving drivers stranded. The Western Ring Road at Plenty Rd — and dozens of other Victorian roads — remained closed in both directions as of 11.15pm on Thursday, according to VicRoads' website, while the SES had received more than 1500 calls for assistance

Metro Trains was still reporting delays across most of the network, with sections of Sandringham, Hurstbridge and Belgrave lines still suspended as of 11.15pm.




The Elster Canal flooding at the corner of Union St and Hawthorn Rd in Brighton East.
© Anthony HannaThe Elster Canal flooding at the corner of Union St and Hawthorn Rd in Brighton East.

Arrow Down

Vacant house collapses into sinkhole in Martins Ferry, Ohio

House collapsed into sinkhole
© WTOVThe city of Martins Ferry is working to repair another sinkhole after a house collapsed into one last weekend.
The city of Martins Ferry is working to repair another sinkhole after a house collapsed into one last weekend.

Earlier, a sinkhole emerged on 8th Street, and while the city has been busy working on acquiring funding to fix that hole, an empty house collapsed on another lot just before Christmas.

Harry Miller lives next to the house that sunk in during the weekend. During the past 6 years, he's watched the ground below it slowly fall away.

"Oh it's been unreal," he said. "You never know when your house is going to fall in. I don't know what ours is doing "


The house is vacant after the city acquired it in a settlement nearly 2 years ago. Repairs were initially attempted when the problem first started, but nothing seemed to work. Now the city must fill the gaps.

"Under emergency situation, we have to tear that house down," Martins Ferry Mayor Robert Krajnyak said. "After the house is gone, repairs will be made to the culvert that's there."

"They have to fix it someway, otherwise it's going to keep washing out," Miller said.

Krajnyak says despite neighbor's concerns, he doesn't' think the hole poses a risk to surrounding homes.

They're in the process of securing funding to fix it. However, there won't be any buildings on the lot in the foreseeable future. He says the lot will be sold as a side lot.

They're moving along quickly in the grant process, and Krajnyak says he's feeling pretty positive about it.

Comment: Massive 35-yard long sinkhole opens in Martins Ferry, Ohio