Earth ChangesS


Rose

Flowers blooming early in UK and India

Nathan Rao
The Express
Sun, 01 Jan 2017 21:48 UTC
Daffodil blooms to flower in middle winter UK 2017
© SolentThe flowers do not usually start appearing until February
Photographer Ian Scammell, 41, spotted them as he drove to a friend's house on New Year's Eve.

About 30 of the early bloomers are clustered on a grassy bank by a road in Ramsgate, Kent.

The flowers, which do not usually start appearing until February, have been fooled into blooming a month early by this winter's unusually mild weather in the South.

Comment: See also:

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Binoculars

Rare waxwing birds from abroad that signal harsh winter seen across Gloucestershire, UK as temperatures plummet

Janet Hughes
Gloucestershire Live
Thu, 05 Jan 2017 19:39 UTC
Waxwing
Waxwing
Delighted twitchers came out in force after groups of rare birds said to be a sign of a harsh winter descended on the county in search of berries this week.

Groups of waxwings have been spotted across the county in recent days.

Crowds or birdspotters have been gathering around sites where the feathered winter visitors have arrived from colder climes looking for food.

At the minute many are gathered at Lidl in Cinderford where around 16 Waxwings have been spotted feeding from the winter berries.

Two waxwings have been spotted feeding on berries outside the police station in Cirencester and a pair have been seen at the The Boars Head car park in Berkeley.

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Snowflake Cold

10-15 feet of snow to bury California: Wintry weather also targets South

Doyle Rice
USA Today
Wed, 04 Jan 2017 19:00 UTC
Winter storm map
© Ryan Maue / Twitter
A series of winter storms is forecast to continue hammering California with several feet of heavy snow and driving rain over the next few days and into the weekend, good news for the drought-plagued state and for ski areas, but potentially bad news for travelers and homeowners worried about floods and mudslides.

Meanwhile, a storm could also spread a stripe of snow across the South, all the way from Texas to Virginia, from late Thursday into Saturday.

In the West, "the combination of storms through this weekend has the potential to bring the biggest amount of rain and mountain snow to California since the drought began several years ago," according to AccuWeather meteorologist Jim Andrews.


Comment: U.S. Snowstorm moves across the West into Rocky Mountains

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Fire

Switzerland winter forest fires still going despite 'Arctic outbreak' - It's climate change, but not as we know it

Sacha Dobler
Abrupt Earth Changes
Wed, 04 Jan 2017 18:35 UTC
Forest fire Jochberg, Germany
© picture-alliance/dpa/P. KneffelpictureForest fire Jochberg, Germany
Last week, I reported on unusual out of season forest fires in southern Switzerland and pointed out a few anomalies on the scene. One week later, the largest of the blazes near Mesocco, Switzerland is still not fully contained, but already the Swiss Military termed it the largest deployment of the Swiss Air Force in its history. 8 Helicopters were used full time over several days. The Mesocco fire was not among the largest in Switzerland in terms of surface area but apparently the hardest to put out.


Comment: And all this while an 'Arctic outbreak' descends through central Europe.

See also: Wildfires in southern Switzerland: what exactly happened here?


On New Year's Day, two forest fires erupted in southern Germany, in the northern foothills of the Alps, the larger one, on Jochberg, south of Munich, burnt for 3 days.

Comment: Also read: Forest fires break out in eastern Switzerland (in the dead of winter!)

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Cloud Precipitation

100 year floods hit Denmark


The Local Denmark
Thu, 05 Jan 2017 09:31 UTC
Denmark flood
© Ólafur Steinar Gestsson/ScanpixEmergency preparations in Faaborg on the island of Funen.
Water levels in parts of Denmark reached up to 177cm above normal on Thursday morning after a predicted winter storm swept through the nation. The water rose so high in areas in southern Denmark that the Danish Meteorology Institute (DMI) said that levels reached heights that statistically only come once a century.

"We had 100-year floods in Sønderborg, Bagenkop, Aabenraa, Rødbyhavn, Hesnæs, Rødvig and Køge," DMI spokesman Frank Nielsen told broadcaster DR early on Thursday.

The highest recorded levels were in southern Lolland and Jutland, where water topped out at 177 centimetres above normal. In Copenhagen, water rose 87cm while just south of the city in Dragør the water level was 139cm above normal.

DMI said that the waters wouldn't recede until late morning on Thursday.

Despite the so-called 100-year flooding, the storm's arrival was so well warned in advance that emergency preparations were able to avert major damage.
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Snowflake Cold

U.S. Snowstorm moves across the West into Rocky Mountains

Associated Press
You Tube
Thu, 05 Jan 2017 15:08 UTC
much of the western U.S. (Jan 5)
© AP
States from California to Colorado and Wyoming are dealing with heavy snowfall, as a fierce winter storm moves across much of the western U.S. (Jan 5)

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Sun

Sundogs create the illusion of 3 suns over Minnesota

Ben Hooper
UPI
Wed, 04 Jan 2017 14:09 UTC
SUNDOG
A Minnesota commuter captured video of a sundog illusion making it appear as though there were three suns in the sky.

The video, posted to YouTube by Ryatus Recordings, shows triplet suns on the horizon Tuesday afternoon over the town of Detroit Lakes.

"I was lucky enough to grab a quick shot of this awesome sun dog on the way home from work," the uploader wrote.

Sundogs, also known as phantom suns, occur when the light from the sun reflects from ice crystals gathered in the atmosphere.

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Cloud Precipitation

At least 8 killed and hundreds evacuated due to floods in Bolivia


Euro News
Mon, 02 Jan 2017 13:28 UTC
Hundreds evacuated in deadly floods in Bolivia
Hundreds evacuated in deadly floods in Bolivia
At least eight people have died in massive floods caused by days of torrential rain in Bolivia. Worst affected have been remote communities in the west of the country.

The fast flowing waters have stranded drivers and pedestrians alike with even an ambulance needing to be rescued at one point.

Hundreds of people have had to be evacuated.


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Attention

Dolphin found dead on Isle of Palms, South Carolina

Sandra Ecklund
abcnews4.com
Tue, 03 Jan 2017 13:00 UTC
Dead dolphin
© Mary PringleDead dolphin on Isle of Palms
A young dolphin was found dead on the sands of IOP Tuesday near 21st Avenue.

According to National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration officials, a male bottle nose dolphin was found with mono-filament line wrapped around his lower jaw and had embedded into the bone.

Local author Mary Alice Monroe posted a photo of the find on her Facebook page, dedicated to conservation of marine wildlife.

After a necropsy, officials said the near six foot long dolphin died of septicemia from the wound.
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Cloud Lightning

Lightning strikes kill 2 girls, burn 2 more in Zimbabwe

Whinsley Masara
The Chronicle (Zimbabwe)
Thu, 05 Jan 2017 12:48 UTC
Lightning
Two girls were killed while two others were burnt after separate lightning strikes in Lupane and Tsholotsho.

Matabeleland North acting provincial spokesperson, Assistant Inspector Eglon Nkala confirmed the deaths. The Tsholotsho girl was 12 years old while the one from Lupane was seven.

"I can confirm two girls died after they were struck by a lightning bolt, one in Tsholotsho and the other in Lupane. In Tsholotsho a lightning bolt struck at around 2 PM, while in Lupane the incident occurred at around 4 PM.

"Post mortem was done on both bodies and no foul play is suspected," said Asst Insp Nkala.

Chief Mabhikwa of Lupane said the girl who was killed by lightning in his area was in the company of two others aged 11 and 13 years who are in hospital after they suffered burns.

He said the three girls were herding donkeys in the playgrounds of Somhlanga Primary School when it started raining.
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