Earth ChangesS


Cloud Precipitation

Almost a month's worth of rain in several hours soaks Danbury, Connecticut

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© H John Voorhees III / Hearst Connecticut MediaA tractor trailer tries to make its way around a stalled car on Main Street in Danbury on Tuesday after heavy rains flooded parts of the city.
City crews were out Wednesday repairing drainage problems and clearing debris.

The damage was relatively minimal considering the intensity of the storm that unleashed nearly a full month's worth of rain Tuesday, causing flash floods and knocking out power to more than 1,000 customers.

Emergency crews pulled a driver out of a car at the Beaver Brook Road underpass and another at the West Street underpass, Assistant Fire Chief Mark Omasta said. No one was injured.

The city sustained several lightning strikes, Eversource spokesman Mitch Gross said.

The heavy rain and lightning pushed tree branches onto wires, disrupting electrical service.

Danbury received 3.15 inches of rain between 3:30 and 8 p.m., according to the Connecticut Weather Center. The heaviest rain fell within about two hours,
according to meteorologist Bill Jacquemin.

The city's average rainfall for July is 4.4 inches.

Eye 2

Portents and signs: Two-headed lizard hatched in Birkenhead, UK

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Rare two-headed lizard
It looks more like something from the TV series Game of Thrones, only this two headed dragon is just a couple of inches long.

The rare two-headed lizard hatched from a clutch of eggs being incubated by a reptile breeder in Birkenhead in the Wirral, Merseyside in the UK.

The tiny leatherback bearded dragon has two separate heads but shares the same body, legs and tail.

Although rare, the condition, a form of polycephaly, most commonly occurs in reptiles - particularly in snakes - and is thought to be the source for mythological monsters.

The bearded dragon, which has been named Olaf after the snowman character in Disney's Frozen, is thought to be one of only four bearded dragons known to have hatched with two heads in the world.

Stephan Evans, 34, who has been breeding bearded dragon lizards for 17 years, discovered the two headed creature on Thursday while checking a clutch of eggs.

Eye 2

Portents and signs: Rare two-headed Russell's viper born in Hyderabad, India

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A rare and dangerous snake Russell’s viper gave birth to two-headed one at the shelter of the Friends of Snakes Society in city.
Recently for a group of animal activists from Hyderabad, Russell's viper was saved by the organisation. As per details saved Russell's viper gave birth to 18 live young ones all are healthy but one was born with two heads in a case of rare genetic condition at Friends of Snakes Society's shelter.

As per the members of the NGO, this is the first time in two decades of the organizations where a dangerous snake birth to two-headed young one. The members of organization observing that one with genetic condition called polycephaly.

Avinash Visvanathan, general secretary of the society said that "Dangerous snake Russell's viper gave birth to 18 young one, among those 17 are healthy and one was born with two heads due to the genetic condition. This may occur normally in wild, however those will not alive for long period. Both heads of snake were functional, still processing two heads is a disadvantage in terms of flexibility and management. They may hunt for food till adulthood or might be face death due to inefficient hunting abilities".

This two headed Russell's viper will be kept in captivity at the shelter and care will provide to it.

Attention

2 dolphins die on beach at San Simeon Cove, California

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© Carolyn SkinderThis baby dolphin died after being found on the beach at San Simeon Cove.

Two dolphins were found early Monday, July 6, on the beach at San Simeon Cove.

The adult marine mammal was dead when it was spotted under the San Simeon Pier. The baby dolphin, found somewhat north of that, died as trained rescuers frantically tried to keep it alive, even though they knew the odds were heavily stacked against that effort being successful.

It's not known yet whether the two short-beak common dolphins were together, perhaps as mother and her about 3-foot-long baby.

"It was heartbreaking, so sad" to hear the dying baby calling out, said Carolyn Skinder, program coordinator for the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary's southern region. She was one of those called for the rescue effort.

Officials say they don't yet know what killed the animals.

Skinder said the carcasses have been shipped to Sausalito, where scientists will do necropsies (the animal equivalent of an autopsy). They hope to determine whether the two dolphins were related, and what may have killed them.

Attention

Dead minke whale washes ashore on beach in Babylon, New York

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© Riverhead FoundationDead minke whale
Experts are investigating the death of a 12-foot minke (MIHNK'-ee) whale found on a Long Island beach.

Rob DiGiovanni of the Riverhead Foundation for Marine Research and Preservation says the whale was found Wednesday night at Robert Moses State Park.

He says the adult male appears to be about 3 years old. The whale appeared to have shark bites, but he says that may have happened after it died.

A necropsy is being performed to determine the cause of death.

DiGiovanni says minke whales are common in the waters off Long Island.

In recent weeks, a humpback and a True's beaked whale have also washed up on Long Island beaches.

Source: The Associated Press.

Igloo

Coldest snap in five years to hit Australia with predicted snow and hail

Sydney
© Getty Images
Sydneysiders could expect an average maximum temperature of 59F (15C) for four days – a two year record.
Temperatures will drop to freezing on much of Australia's east coast this weekend in what could be the region's bitterest cold snap in five years.

Strong cold winds, rain, snow and hail were expected to batter the nation's south-east for days.

Sydneysiders could expect an average maximum temperature of 59F (15C) for four days - a two year record.

And temperatures across the region were expected to drop three to seven degrees below average for up to five days, according to Weatherzone.

The NSW Bureau of Meteorology warned of a burst of cold weather caused by a series of cold fronts set to move through the state on Friday and continue over the weekend.

Snow was expected at higher elevations overnight on Thursday.

Arrow Down

Large sinkhole opens up in Toronto

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© Googlefabulous/InstagramToronto police have cordoned off this part of Eglinton Avenue West near Keele Street where a huge sinkhole is creating havoc for commuters.
Toronto police are warning people to avoid a section of Eglinton Avenue West where a large sinkhole has opened up.

Police said the six-metre long sinkhole — large enough to swallow a car — opened up on Eglinton Avenue West, between Keele Street and Richardson Avenue.

Anne Marie Aikins, a spokeswoman for Metrolinx, said construction on the Eglinton Crosstown LRT line was not responsible for the sinkhole.

"As soon as we heard about the issue this morning we sent our team to the site and they determined it's unrelated to our construction and hasn't impacted their work on the Crosstown," Aikins wrote in an email to CBC News.


Cloud Lightning

SOTT Focus: SOTT Earth Changes Summary - June 2015: Extreme Weather, Planetary Upheaval, and High Strangeness

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© Sott.net
With the dollar-led global economy on the verge of systemic collapse, increasing chaos in the political and social spheres is mirrored by climate chaos. In June 2015, thousands of wildfires broke out across western North America, with the entire continent on course for its fieriest season in recorded history. June is the peak of tornado season in the US, but the intensity of the storms that brought them was stunning. The worst death toll from a tornado occurred in central China, where a waterspout capsized a cruise ship on the Yangtze River.

The record May rainfall in Texas and Louisiana... just kept falling out of the sky last month, with the Red River reaching its highest level in 70 years. Parts of southern China also saw their worst flooding in over 70 years. Localized flash-flooding struck the world over, not least in Accra, capital of Ghana, where hundreds were killed when a gas station exploded. Tbilisi, Georgia, was similarly impacted when a 'wall of water' washed through, killing 20 people and half the city zoo's animals. Other capitals inundated in deluges last month include Ankara, Bangkok, and Madrid, while Oman saw 5 years' worth of rain... in a single day.

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© Sott.net
Intense monsoon rains last month also killed thousands of wild animals at a sanctuary in India, while thousands of pigs drowned in southern China's floods. Animal die-offs included millions of crabs on the Californian coast, and hundreds of thousands of antelope in Kazakhstan. The heatwave that killed thousands in India in May moved into Pakistan last month, where it killed some 1,200 people. In normally hot, dry climates, there were yet more bizarre scenes of inches - and sometimes FEET - of hail trapping cars on roads. While Alaska baked in record hot temperatures, Norway had five times more snow cover than normal for June.

In addition to auroras and noctilucent clouds being seen much further south than usual, strange objects or lights in the sky were caught on camera, including three objects leaving Earth's atmosphere. Strong seismic activity came in the form of another powerful eruption of Indonesia's Mount Sinabung, while Malaysia was hit with its strongest earthquake since 1976. There is also incredible footage of enormous sinkholes opening up across the US in June, swallowing moving cars, roads, driveways, backyards, and golf greens. And don't miss the eruption of multiple methane-infused mud geysers on another golf course in Canada!


Ice Cube

Almost 50% of Hudson Bay still covered in ice

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There is still a lot of sea ice in Hudson Bay, Foxe Basin, Davis Strait and Baffin Bay this week - more than average for this date - with slightly less than average in the Beaufort Sea. Past behaviour of Western and Southern Hudson Bay polar bears suggests the mean date that bears come ashore for the summer this year will be later than average due to the plentiful ice available, regardless of when polar bear biologists decide that "breakup" has occurred.

Hudson Bay, with almost 50% of the bay still covered in ice, has the third highest coverage this week since 1992 (after 2009 and 2004); Davis Strait has the highest coverage since 1992; and Foxe Basin and Baffin Bay have the highest coverage since 1998. For this week, the Beaufort Sea this week has the second highest coverage since 2006 (after 2013), and more ice than was present in 1971, 1982, 1987, 1988 and 1998 - among others.

Snowflake

2,000 alpacas killed by snowstorm in Peru

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© Correo PunoAlpacas
Although data of the losses caused by the snowstorm last weekend are still being consolidated, regional deputy manager and head of the Civil Defense Operations Center Regional Emergency (COER), German Chaiña Quispe gave some preliminary scope.

He said that eight provinces received snowfall, with the hardest hit being San Antonio de Putina, Carabaya and Sandia.

Snow killed more than two thousand alpacas in Puno, while more than 2000 families and 73 thousand animals were harmed in the town of Ananea.

He added that the other affected districts are Quilcapunyo, Putina and Sina.

Thanks to Argiris Diamantis for this link