Earth ChangesS


Cloud Precipitation

Flood rescues following record rain in California

Overturned car in flooded river in Santa Clarita, California, March 2018.
© Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff’s StationOverturned car in flooded river in Santa Clarita, California, March 2018.
Emergency services in California carried out several flood rescues after a powerful storm and record rain brought flooding and landslides.

The storm lasted around 3 days and affected areas from Sacramento County to Los Angeles County. The worst of the storm is now thought to be over and many of the flood warnings have been cancelled.

Paso Robles in San Luis Obispo County recorded 1.91 inches (48.54 mm) of rain in 24 hours to 22 March. Storm total rainfall for Paso Robles was 4.26 inches (108.2 mm) as of 17:00 on 22 March.

National Weather Service said that an automated gauge at El Rio (near Oxnard) in Ventura County reported 0.64 inches (16.25 mm) of rain in 1 hour during the evening of 22 March.


Snowflake

Late March winter storm drops 12-16 inches of snow in Northeast Iowa

Iowa snow storm
© Mathew Putney
Those who had packed away their winter coats, shovels, snowblowers and snowmobiles were suddenly unpacking Saturday.

A winter storm dumped more than a foot of snow in parts of Northeast Iowa, including the Cedar Valley, sending drivers, cities and event organizers alike back into winter-weather mode just four days after the official start of spring.

Temperatures in the 50s and emerging perennials earlier this week yielded to thundersnow and blizzard-like conditions Friday night well into Saturday afternoon, bringing the snowplows back and canceling or postponing events from Easter egg hunts to a gun violence protest march.

"Safety is our number one concern, whether you're talking about the right for students to feel safe in their schools or keeping folks off the road when conditions are this bad," said Christopher Schwartz, community organizer for Americans for Democratic Action Iowa, which postponed its March for Our Lives rally in Cedar Falls.

The storm blasted its way through north and Northeast Iowa, with 16 inches of snow falling by 3 p.m. Saturday in parts of Cerro Gordo, Floyd and Mitchell counties, according to the National Weather Service.

A Winter Storm Warning was extended through 7 p.m. Sunday. Most area cities declared snow emergencies.

Comment: Elsewhere in the US this week:

Philadelphia has 2nd snowiest March on record.

In New York City this year marks the fifth consecutive season that at least 30 inches of snow have fallen. The only other recorded time it snowed this much, for this long a period, was back in the 1880s (records begin in the 1869-1870 season).

Record snowfall hit Dulles, doubling the previous record set in 1964, as a FOURTH March Nor'easter dumped 8 inches of snow on Washington, DC leaving thousands of flights cancelled and Federal offices closed.

Almost 16 feet of snow fell in 18 days across California's Sierra Nevada.


Attention

Mayon Volcano emits lava, ash anew in the Philippines

Mayon volcano
Mayon volcano
After days of a generally restive behavior, Mayon Volcano again emitted lava and ash on Friday morning, the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) said.

The agency recorded a lava collapse from 10:39 a.m. to 10:50 a.m.

"The emission may be due to the lava build-up which may have been triggered by possible rainfall in the area," Phivolcs project research officer Jerome de Lima said.

Minimal ash fall was also recorded in the towns of Camalig and Anoling.

Comment: An update on the 25th of March from the The Philippine Star: Mayon lahar threat: 80,000 face evacuation :
More than 80,000 residents around Mayon Volcano may be evacuated due to the threat of lahar, according to the Office of Civil Defense (OCD) in Bicol.

In a report yesterday, the OCD-Bicol said 25 to 30 milimeters of rain for three hours could mobilize newly extruded volcanic materials while three hours of torrential rains could push old volcanic debris.

OCD-Bicol operations officer Jsar Adornado said more than 25,000 residents of this city face evacuation; 22,556 from Daraga; 8,353 from Tabaco and Camalig, and 5,847 from Guinobatan and Malilipot.

Residents of Sto. Domingo, Ligao and Bacacay are also at risk due to lahar.

Adornado said lahar deposits are in the gullies in Barangay Basud in Sto. Domingo, Quirangay in Camalig and the Sto. Domingo-Legazpi-Daraga-Camalig stretch of the volcano.

Phivolcs resident volcanologist Ed Laguerta said Mayon had extruded around 65 million cubic meters of volcanic materials, of which 13 million cubic meters are potential lahar sediments.

Weather forecaster Michael Francisco said a low-pressure area spotted off Mindanao could develop into a tropical depression and bring rains when it is near the Bicol region on Tuesday.

Cedric Daep, chief of the Albay Public Safety and Emergency Management Office, said they would issue a lahar advisory depending on the distance and strength of the tropical depression.


"It is not safe yet to make predictions on the impact of this low-pressure area...at this time that it is still outside the (Philippine area of responsibility)," Daep said.

In its latest bulletin, Phivolcs said active river channels and those perennially identified as lahar-prone areas should be avoided during bad weather or when there is heavy and prolonged rainfall.

Mayon remains under Alert Level 3. This means that although the volcano's unrest continues, there is a decreased likelihood of hazardous explosive eruption.



Snowflake

Drone video: Massive, growing snow-dump hill looms over town in Sweden

How to make a mountain out of a snow hill.
© Joacim Eriksson/ScreenshotHow to make a mountain out of a snow hill.
A growing hill at a snow dump site in the town of Sundsvall has wowed local residents and gone viral in Sweden.

Sundsvall, on Sweden's east coast, has had an unusually snowy winter, as The Local has previously reported. Snow ploughs and trucks have been hard at work clearing the snow from the city centre and dumping it on the outskirts of town, creating this "mountain".

Joacim Eriksson shared this incredible drone video of the snow mountain. Watch it below:


Sundsvalls Tidning reports that the hill is made up of 500,000 cubic metres of snow.

Snowflake

Delayed spring in Romania means delayed crops

snow in Romania
Most of Romania covered by snow - A "very rare event."

"From what I've noticed spring is delayed by a month this year, which is not a joke," says reader. "It will subsequently affect the crops that will be delayed."

"March was another winter month in most of Europe, which is extremely unusual. Myself I can't remember such a thick snow by this day in many areas.

"Most of Romania is covered by snow at 24th March. Very rare event, I'm not sure if it happened before since the weather is recorded.


Attention

Agitated moose attacks car and shatters driver's windshield in Norway

Moose attack
Moose attack
A man in Norway who attempted to guide a young moose off the road ended up with a shattered windshield when the animal became annoyed.

The video, filmed this week, shows the man following the moose on a road in Baerum.

The man attempts to guide the moose out of the road, but the animal instead continues to move forward on the paved path.

The video shows the moose eventually become agitated at the approaching vehicle and jump up on the hood, shattering the windshield with its hooves.

The man said the moose fled the area after breaking the glass.


Tornado2

'Snow-nado' filmed near Ammanford, Wales

SNOWNADO
A so-called "snow-nado" was captured swirling around a field in Llandyfan, near Ammanford, Carmarthenshire.

It is a fairly rare phenomenon that occurs when surface winds generate a vortex over snow cover, resulting in a whirling column of snow particles being raised from the ground.

The footage was captured on Sunday after snow had hit the area.

Part of the reason they are uncommon is because there are rarely large volumes of snow in the UK. More commonly seen is a so-called "dust devil", where a similar spectacle is created from dust particles in the summer.


Arrow Down

Huge sinkhole discovered in Limerick, Ireland

The huge sinkhole
© Pat MurphyThe huge sinkhole
Two birdwatchers have raised the alarm about a suspected sinkhole, measuring 25ft by 16ft, near Limerick.

Pat Murphy from Limerick and his friend Tony Ryan where out on Thursday evening trying to catch a starling murmuration when Tony discovered the massive suspected 'sinkhole'.

"We were out Thursday evening to catch a starling murmuration and my friend Tony Ryan discovered it just as we were walking on the bank," Pat told Independent.ie. "Luckily it was still bright otherwise who knows?"


Snowflake

'Avalanche' of sand-covered snow buries cars at Russian ski resort

Avalanche in Russia
© Rez Karden / YouTube
Footage on social media showed how a massive avalanche roared down the slope of Europe's highest peak, Russia's Mount Elbrus, burying over a dozen cars.

The rapid flow of snow hit the parking lot at the foot of Mount Elbrus in the North Caucasus republic of Kabardino-Balkaria on Saturday, emergency services said. Peaking at 5,642 meters, Mount Elbrus is in the top ten most prominent mountains in the world, and has some very popular ski resorts.

Comment: RT described it as 'rapid', but as you can see, it's clearly anything but. In fact, it's weirdly slow!

Maybe that has something to do with the coating of 'Saharan' sand on the snow?

See also: Dust storm from the Sahara turns southern Russia yellow


Cloud Precipitation

Floods in Gauteng, South Africa after a month of rain falls in one day

floods
Parts of Gauteng Province in South Africa were hit by a severe storm from 22 March, 2018. Some areas recorded more than a month's worth of rain in 24 hours.

Areas around Johannesburg and Pretoria were particularly badly hit. Strong winds have downed trees and heavy rain had flooded several roads, causing major traffic problems.

A massive sinkhole appeared on the M24 Route between Gauteng and Valhalla.

The Johannesburg Roads Agency (JRA) has asked road users to be careful following heavy rains, particularly when crossing bridges.