Earth ChangesS


Tornado2

Rare waterspout filmed over Lake Erie

Jessica Shepherd
mlive.com
Thu, 08 Dec 2016 18:36 UTC
waterspout
A waterspout on the shores of Lake Erie was captured on video by multiple observers Thursday, Dec. 8.

Meteorologist Reed Timmer, a Grand Rapids native, was one of those who spotted the spinning water funnel near the shores of Lake Erie in New York State.

Timmer took to his Facebook page to share footage with his nearly 1 million followers. He also shared a high resolution YouTube video of the waterspout, which was filmed by Thom Smetana and Aaron Rigsby.

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Snowflake Cold

Weather out of whack: North Pole is 25F warmer than Bismarck, North Dakota

Gary Walton
The Big Wobble
Sat, 10 Dec 2016 14:08 UTC
north pole warmer than North Dakota ice age
Experts warning its going to be a lot worse next week!

This morning at 9.am UST, Bismarck North Dakota USA recorded a temperature of minus 32.5C, minus 26.5F, which is 25F colder the North Pole which recorded its temperature at minus 17.3C, minus 1F. These kinds of temperatures are brutal and with the blizzard conditions North Dakota has suffered this week it has been truly treacherous.

Brutal cold lingering across the northern Plains thanks to an invasion of Arctic air. On Wednesday night, Dickinson, North Dakota, experienced an AccuWeather Real Feel Temperature of minus 39, while in Casper, Wyoming, the actual temperature plummeted to minus 33. And it will get worse, if you thought it was cold in the US this week well, next week is going to be even colder as the polar vortex returns to North America. Reuter's reports, forecasters are sending chills down some spines with a prediction that much of the northern half of the United States could see frigid weather next week similar to life-threatening lows the polar vortex brought to parts of the country in 2014.

Comment:

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Cloud Lightning

Erupting Mexican volcano violently spews lava & hot ash into air


RT
Sun, 11 Dec 2016 03:29 UTC
Colima volcano in Mexico
© webcamsdemexicoColima volcano in Mexico
The slowly-erupting Colima volcano in Mexico has spectacularly started spewing lava, sending a huge column of smoke and ash high into the air.

One of the most active volcanoes in North America, the Colima volcano has been slowly erupting since early September. A particularly spectacular eruption in October led to the evacuation of 300 people.
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Seismograph

Enormous earthquakes occur on both sides of the Pacific: Experts warn that San Andreas could "unzip all at once"

Michael Snyder
Activist Post
Fri, 09 Dec 2016 00:00 UTC
ring of fire

Why is our planet shaking so violently all of a sudden? There have literally been dozens of significant earthquakes right along the Ring of Fire within the past 30 days, and two giant ones made headlines all over the globe on Thursday. First, a magnitude 6.5 earthquake struck off the coast of Humboldt County, California, and that was followed later in the day by a magnitude 7.8 earthquake in the Solomon Islands. But of course these latest earthquakes are just the latest examples of increased shaking along the outer perimeter of the Pacific Ocean. Experts are not quite sure what to make of all of this shaking, but they are warning that "the Big One" could strike the west coast at literally any time.

Let's start by discussing the historic earthquake that just hit the Solomon Islands. According to the Washington Post, it was originally determined to be a magnitude 8.0 earthquake before being downgraded to a 7.8...
A massive earthquake erupted along a fault line near the Solomon Islands in the southwest Pacific Ocean on Thursday. The quake was originally detected as a magnitude-8 by the U.S. Geological Service, but has since been reduced to a 7.8 on the Moment-Magnitude scale.

It was followed by a 5.5-magnitude quake, and aftershocks continue to roll through.
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Bizarro Earth

Kamchatka volcano Shiveluch spews ash 11-km above sea level


Sputnik
Sat, 10 Dec 2016 10:21 UTC
Shiveluch volcano
© IVS FEB RAS/Y. DemyanchukShiveluch volcano
A huge ash emission from Shiveluch volcano was registered in the morning on December 10, according to the ministry.

"The height of the ash plume was up to 11,000 meters above sea level. The height of the volcano is 3,200 meters [about 10,500 feet]," the Saturday statement said.

According to the local emergencies authorities, there are no settlements in the path of the ash plume and no Kamchatka residents were affected by the incident.

Comment: See also: Shiveluch volcano spews ash 10.7km above sea level

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Snowflake

Freezing temperatures, snow, icy rain to hit more than 200 million in the U.S.


RT
Fri, 09 Dec 2016 18:41 UTC
Chicago skyline with icicles
© Jim Young/ReutersChicago, Illinois skyline framed by icicles.
Ready, steady, bundle up! Jack Frost is about to dance across the Northeast with a freezing polar vortex making a dramatic return to the US. Chills, snow and rain are expected to make a landfall over the weekend, likely bringing old classics like slippery roads and flight delays.

Meteorologists predict that the freezing blast will cover midwestern and northeastern states for at least five to seven days. So, getting out extra scarves and gloves might be a good idea.

This year's polar vortex, or a shift in a stratospheric weather system, is already been predicted to be just as bad as the one that developed in January 2014, when record freezing temperatures gripped the US.

"Upper-level atmosphere configuration very similar in scale & magnitude as infamous Jan 2014 #PolarVortex popularized by me and @afreedma,"meteorologist Ryan Maue said on Twitter on Tuesday alongside maps comparing the two weather systems.

More than 200 million Americans are expected to be affected by freezing temperatures, snow and rain, or a mix of both.

Comment: See also: Bitterly cold air to come in waves across US into next week

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Seismograph

6.9 magnitude earthquake strikes off Solomon Islands


Reuters
Fri, 09 Dec 2016 20:47 UTC
Seismograph
© Flickr/ Matt Katzenberger
An earthquake of magnitude 6.9 struck early on Saturday off the Solomon Islands, the U.S. Geological Survey said.

The quake had a depth of 10 km (6 miles) and its epicenter was 89 km west of Kira Kira. There was no immediate tsunami threat, the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said.

A 7.8 quake hit the remote South Pacific islands early on Friday, sending residents into the hills and triggering powerful aftershocks.

Comment: See also: Emergency tsunami warnings after 8.0 quake strikes off Solomon Islands' coast

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Snowflake Cold

Extreme cold, Arctic outflow, blizzard and snowfall warnings across Canada

Robert
Ice Age Now
Thu, 08 Dec 2016 18:17 UTC
Cold Yet?
8 Dec 2016 - minus 40 C (-40 F) range by Friday morning. Far colder in some areas

Alberta

Extreme Cold Warning for more than 50 locations (See link below)

With overnight low temperatures in the minus thirties (Celsius) and light easterly winds, wind chill values are expected to reach the minus 40 C (-40 F) range by Friday morning. Wind chill values will abate late Friday morning when temperatures begin to rise.

(Also ab4, ab28, ab5 and ab24 in the address link for the other affected areas)

British Columbia

Extreme cold warnings for the B.C. North Peace River and B.C. South Peace River regions (no temperatures given).

Extreme Cold Warning in effect for Yoho Park - Kootenay Park region. Very cold wind chills expected.
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Igloo

Heavy snowfall in Turkey forces 168 road closures

Robert Felix
Ice Age Now
Thu, 08 Dec 2016 18:05 UTC
Snow in Turkey
© Cumhuriyet
The Governorship of Artvin stated that due to snow and icing, all schools in the provinces of Artvin, Borçka and Murgul were suspended for one day.

According to the Provincial Directorate of Special Administrative Region, heavy snowfall in the center of Artvin province - 20 cm of snow, somewhere close to 1 meter in height - forced closure of 168 rural roads in provinces and districts. (I don't understand why there are two different snow amounts here.)

Due to heavy snowfall and storms in Ardahan, training in Posof, Damal and Hanak districts was interrupted for one day.

Due to the snowfall and storm in Posof, many village roads were closed. At 2500 meters above sea level, linking Posof to the Damal district, Ilgar Mountain crossing is closed at 06.00 and Ardahan-Şavşat Karayolun is closed at 07.30.

Due to heavy snow and storms, primary and secondary schools were closed in Posof, Damal and Hanak districts.

According to estimates of meteorology, snowfall is expected in Istanbul on Wednesday.
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Bizarro Earth

Conservation body warns giraffes undergoing a 'silent extinction'

Marlowe Hood
Yahoo
Thu, 08 Dec 2016 16:18 UTC
giraffes
© AFP Photo/Mark RALSTON
Wild giraffe numbers have plummeted by 40 percent in the last three decades, and the species is now "vulnerable" to extinction, a top conservation body warned Thursday.

The population of the world's tallest land mammal dropped to below 100,000 in 2015, mainly due to shrinking habitat and illegal hunting, the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) reported.

The group added 742 newly-discovered birds to the global species inventory, but said 11 percent were already facing annihilation and 13 previously unknown species have already disappeared in the wild.

"These majestic land animals are undergoing a silent extinction," Julian Fennessy, co-chairman of the IUCN's specialist group on giraffes, said in a statement.

Previously, giraffes held the status of "least concern" on the IUCN's Red List, which tracks the conservation status of fauna and flora and ends with the category "extinct".
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