Earth ChangesS


Cloud Lightning

Pastor killed by lightning bolt at church camp in Adelaide Hills, Australia

Nelson Groom
Daily Mail, UK
Sat, 23 Jan 2016 18:26 UTC
Kris Guglielmucci was working at a church camp when he was fatally struck by a bolt of lightning
Kris Guglielmucci was working at a church camp when he was fatally struck by a bolt of lightning
A young pastor and father has been killed by lightning during a freak storm at a church camp.

Kris Guglielmucci, 39, from Adelaide, was struck and killed by lightning at Cornerstone College oval as a wild storm battered the city just after 2:30pm on Friday, reports The Advertiser.

The father of four has been honoured in a touching tribute from the Victory Church, which is offering counselling to the 100 high school students and 20 leaders who attended the camp.

'Kris was a much loved member of our staff and church and our hearts go out to Lisa and the children during this time,' the statement reads.

'Our priority now is to care for the children who attended Summerfest, the amazing youth leaders of Victory Youth and our church family.'

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Sun

Beautiful sun halo seen in Inner Mongolia


en.people.cn
Sat, 23 Jan 2016 17:09 UTC
Mongola sun halo
© Xinhua/Zou Jianpu
Photo taken on Jan. 22, 2016 shows a view of solar halo over Jinhe Township, Genhe City, Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region. The temperature dropped to minus 48 degrees Celsius in Jinhe Friday.
Mongolia sun halo
© Xinhua/Zou Jianpu
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Arrow Down

Large sinkhole appears at Oregon Institute of Technology, Klamath Falls


Herald and News
Sat, 23 Jan 2016 16:17 UTC
Sinkhole at Oregon Tech campus
© Kevin N HumeSinkhole at Oregon Tech campus
Staff at Oregon Institute of Technology were surprised to find a large sinkhole on campus Tuesday night.

Located in a median near Parking Lot E in the southwest, the sinkhole is believed to have been caused by a leak in a storm drain and worsened by recent rain and snow storms.

"With as wet as it is and as much snow as we've had, it's not to be expected but completely understandable," said school spokeswoman Ashley Van Essen.

She said campus staff are keeping an eye on the sinkhole to ensure it does not pose a threat to persons or property. She said repairs are not likely until warmer weather dries the area later this year.

An email to faculty and students was sent Wednesday morning and said the sinkhole was "of no threat to the campus community."
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Question

Loud mysterious boom rumbles across Tracy, California


Tracy Press
Fri, 22 Jan 2016 15:55 UTC
Downtown Tracy
© Adiaz9710/ Wikimedia CommonsDowntown Tracy
A loud boom heard across Tracy rattled windows and nerves Wednesday evening.

Social media reports began appearing shortly after 8 p.m., describing a muffled boom that reportedly shook local homes.

Residents from Linne to Grant Line roads, as well as in Mountain House and Lathrop, reported the sound.

Tracy Police Department dispatch records include three reports from residents who heard a bang. One caller on Finale Way said it sounded as if someone had come up and hit their living room window.

Tracy police Sgt. Dean Hicks said the department did not receive any calls explaining the sound heard across town. He said nothing had been reported from the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory's Site 300 test site southwest of Tracy.
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Cloud Grey

Surreal tower-like lenticular cloud captured in Lakewood, Colorado


Strange Sounds
Fri, 22 Jan 2016 15:44 UTC
Lenticular cloud
© Mike Herman via VK
The tower-like strange cloud formation was photographed by Mike Herrman at Lakewood, Colorado, USA on January 18, 2016.
Lenticular cloud Lakewood, CO
© Mike Herrman via VK
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Snowflake

Winter storm Jonas: Massive U.S. East Coast blizzard advances north


BBC news
Sat, 23 Jan 2016 02:59 UTC
winter storm jonas
© US National Weather Service/Graphics/AFP
A massive blizzard bringing more than 2ft (61cm) of snow and punishing winds is advancing up the US East Coast.

More than 50 million people across more than a dozen states have been warned to stay at home as it moves north.

The nation's capital, Washington, could lie under a record 30in (76cm) of snow by the time the storm passes on Sunday.

Eight people have been killed, six states have declared states of emergency and thousands of flights have been cancelled.

The weather system affects a huge swathe of the country, from Arkansas in the south to Massachusetts in the north-east.

Supermarkets ran out of food amid a rush for supplies before the first snowflakes fell on Friday.

In summary:
  • More than 6,000 flights have been cancelled for Friday and Saturday
  • The US federal government closed down at noon on Friday
  • President Barack Obama is remain at the White House, officials said
  • States of emergency declared in Tennessee, North Carolina, Virginia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, the District of Columbia and parts of other states
  • Eight people have been killed in car crashes in Tennessee, North Carolina, Kentucky and elsewhere
  • Washington's transport system - the second busiest in the US - will close all weekend
  • Many events, including two sold-out concerts by singer Garth Brooks in Baltimore, have been postponed
Washington's mayor, Muriel Bowser, said this was a major storm with "life and death implications".

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Bizarro Earth

Prelude to the Pacific Northwest 'big one'? Mini tsunami in Washington caught on video

Susan Wyatt
KING 5 News
Thu, 21 Jan 2016 22:28 UTC
rogue wave WA s
© Irene SumiA"rogue" wave rolled in and inundated Joe Creek near Pacific Beach.
People on the Washington Coast got quite a show over the weekend when a "rogue" wave rolled in and inundated a creek and beach near Pacific Beach. Irene Sumi was staying at a friend's home, which overlooks the mouth of Joe Creek, and just happened to flip on her camera when the wave started to come in.

"The tide was coming in but that was definitely a rogue wave that came in quickly and big -- filled up the entire creek bed and beach," she said. Sumi says she visits the area regularly. "I've never seen a big wave come in like that," she said. The wave was carrying logs and debris with it. "It's pretty dangerous when those waves roll through," she said.

She posted the video on Facebook and some people compared it to a "mini tsunami."


"That one you couldn't run fast enough to get out of the way," she said.

Comment: 'Sneaker wave'?

This most certainly is not something that "occurs relatively frequently". The tsunami was perhaps caused by offshore seismic activity like subduction on the sea-floor.

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Binoculars

Wrong time, wrong place: Second Bullock's Oriole found wintering in Canada when they should be in Mexico

Wendy Martin
CBS News
Thu, 21 Jan 2016 19:07 UTC
Bullock's oriole in backyard
© Sue King-Gosse Bird enthusiasts from across Nova Scotia have come to the Gosse's backyard to catch a glimpse of the visitor.
An avid birder in Cape Breton is playing host to an unusual visitor this winter. It hails from a much warmer climate — but shows no signs of wanting to leave its new home.

The Bullock's oriole arrived in Sue King-Gosse's backyard in Whitney Pier in mid-December, following a winter storm with strong westerly winds.

At first, King-Gosse thought it was a Baltimore oriole, a bird rare enough in Cape Breton.

But after she posted some photographs on social media, several fellow birders weighed in with their opinion that it is a Bullock's oriole.

The bird's normal habitat is in the western United States, and it usually winters even farther south, in Mexico and Central America.
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Arrow Down

Sinkhole swallows truck in China

Ben Hooper
UPI
Fri, 22 Jan 2016 16:19 UTC
TRUCK IN SINKHOLE
An overloaded truck on a road in China's Fujian Province caused the road underneath it to give way into a sinkhole that swallowed the back half of the vehicle.

Video of the scene in Zhangzhou Jan. 12 shows the truck move a short distance on the road before the street beneath its rear-end collapses.

The truck is partially swallowed into the newly-created sinkhole, which was blamed on the vehicle carrying too much weight for the street to handle.

Officials suggested muddy conditions under the road may have also contributed to the 13-foot-deep hole forming under the truck.

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Snowflake Cold

As blizzard rages on, Washington D.C. braces for 12-36 inches of snow

Alex Sosnowski
Accuweather
Fri, 22 Jan 2016 09:40 UTC
DC snowfall chart
The Blizzard of 2016 will continue to evolve and shut down travel into Saturday from Washington, D.C., to Philadelphia and New York City, with some areas of the mid-Atlantic bracing for 1-3 feet of snow and strong winds.

According to AccuWeather Chief Meteorologist Elliot Abrams, "This will be a rare event for the region as there are not many storms that bring a foot or more of snow over such a large area and last more than 24 hours."

Be prepared for lengthy power outages, immobilization

Winds and the rate of snowfall will increase as the storm strengthens. Massive drifts will develop, where sleet and rain do not mix in. Gusts along the mid-Atlantic coast will frequent 40-50 mph.

An all-out blizzard will unfold from northern Virginia to southwestern Connecticut. Periodic whiteout conditions will occur farther west from south-central Pennsylvania to part of western North Carolina.
Blizzard chart
Snowfall rates from New Jersey to Virginia and West Virginia will be 1-3 inches per hour at times and the storm can last for more than 24 hours. Thunder and lightning could accompany the heavy snow in some locations. In some communities, roads could be blocked and the power could be out for days.

Multiple state officials have declared a state of emergency and are urging people to stay off the roads or risk being stranded during the storm.

Comment: 'Historic' blizzard expected to hit US east coast on Friday

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