Earth ChangesS


Wolf

Pit bull terrier savages 3-year-old boy in Hephzibah, Georgia


wrdw.com
Thu, 01 Dec 2016 19:51 UTC
Dog attack
A three-year-old is preparing for his fourth surgery after a pit bull wanders into a family's back yard and attacks him. His family is devastated, but is hopeful this almost tragic incident will serve as a reminder for both parents and pet owners alike.

"It's awful. I want to forget. You know, it's one of those things I'll never be able to forget."

A day of playing outside turns into a nightmare for Sherri Guzman.

She and her husband were inside their Raborn Road home in Hephzibah Sunday afternoon, worn out from a day of playing ball with their three-year-old son Andrez. The back door was propped open, giving their energetic son enough room to run inside when he decided his day of playing was done.

Their quiet Sunday afternoon would soon turn to chaos when they heard cries coming from the backyard.

"Together we stepped towards the door and we heard dogs growling and we heard a lady screaming for help," Guzman says. "We run around the corner of the house and about 30 feet from our the corner of our home, we saw a bunch of dogs jumping around and the neighbor lady was letting him off the ground."

She says the next thing she saw is the single-most traumatizing sight she's ever seen - her three-year-old son bleeding profusley from his head. She recalls several deep, gruesome cuts to her son's face close to his left ear and an everlasting sound from her injured son.

Comment: See also this report of another brutal canine attack in the same state just 4 days earlier: Baby and toddler attacked by dog in Brunswick, Georgia

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Fish

Thousands of dead fish found on beach near St Austell, UK

maxc73
Plymouth Herald
Sat, 03 Dec 2016 17:27 UTC
Edward Bol's dog Max looks at the dead fish on Pentwean beach near St Austell.
Edward Bol's dog Max looks at the dead fish on Pentwean beach near St Austell.
Thousands of dead fish were washed up on a beach on Cornwall this morning, leaving walkers - and, looking at the picture above, a dog called Max - baffled.

The discovery was made on Pentewan Beach near St Austell this morning.

The dead fish, which are believed to be either mackerel or herring appeared on the popular east-facing beach overnight.

Edward Bol, from Mevagissey, was walking his dog Max, when he saw the fish and said he thinks they are mostly herring with a few mackerel. Posting pictures of the scene on his Twitter account, @edbol he asked: "Why?"

Since the fish were found, Cornwall seaguls have been feasting on the remains and the beach is now covered in bits of fish carcass and seagull poo.

Earlier this year hundreds of jellyfish were stranded on Perranporth beach and the cause was again unknown.
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Attention

2 different species of rare whale wash up on same beach in Thurso, Scotland

Kirsty Stewart
Deadline
Fri, 02 Dec 2016 15:51 UTC
A Pygmy sperm whale, similar to this, was found dead on the same beach.
© Wikicommons/Inwater Research GroupA Pygmy sperm whale, similar to this, was found dead on the same beach.
Experts are investigating after two different species of rare whale were washed up near the same town on the same day.

Locals found a Sowerby's beaked whale on Dunnet Beach near Thurso, Caithness, on Thursday morning.

Later the same day the carcass of a bloodied Pygmy sperm whale was discovered on the same beach.

Both whales are due to be examined by experts Scottish Marine Animal Stranding-Scheme this week to determine the cause of death.

But the fact that two rarely-seen species of whale were found dead together has led some locals to ask whether Royal Navy vessels were in the area at the time.

Donald Mitchell said: "Two rarish species at the same time in the same area. Has the MoD been active in the area?"
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Snowflake

Over 2 feet of snow forecast for high ground in Hawaii


cbsnews.com
Fri, 02 Dec 2016 15:28 UTC
Snow at the Mauna Kea summit Friday afternoon
© UKIRTSnow at the Mauna Kea summit Friday afternoon
The summits of Hawaii's Big Island could get more than two feet of snow, with a winter storm warning in effect through Saturday.

A Winter Storm Warning is in effect through Saturday evening for elevations above 11,000 feet. The summits could get 20 to 30 inches of snow through Saturday, CBS affiliate KGMB.

An upper level low pressure area has brought the sub-freezing temperatures and unstable conditions. The low will combine with moisture surging in from the southeast, which could result in bursts of heavy snow, especially above 12,000 feet.

Conditions on the summits are dangerous. Besides being cold, east to southeast winds of 10 to 20 miles per hour are expected with higher gusts. The strong winds also will cause drifting snow, and freezing fog will reduce visibility to as low as a quarter of a mile.

It may be a while before you can see the white stuff up close. The road to the summit of Mauna Kea is closed at the Visitor Information Station at the 9,200-foot level due to freezing fog, heavy snow and icy roadways. The summit of Mauna Loa is also closed due to high winds and heavy snow. This means hiking and overnight camping is prohibited. The National Park Service said a thick blanket of snow was visible as low as 10,000 feet.


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Cloud Precipitation

Desert floods north of Riyadh, Saudi Arabia


Strange Sounds
Thu, 01 Dec 2016 14:42 UTC
Flooded desert
Flooded desert
Heavy rainfall has transformed the desert north of the Saudi capital, Riyadh, into what resembles a small sea, with only one road rising above the vast expanse of water.

Anomalous weather in Saudi Arabia killed at least 7 within the last two days.

After the anomalous snow that covered deserts in Saudi Arabia one week ago, now, the Riyadh desert is flooded and looks like a huge sea.

If you don't believe me, watch this unbelievable video by Mohammad Al-Taweel which shows the flood waters stretching out for miles:


And now look at the sandy water rushing down the desert:

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Snowflake

Snow records shattered on Prince Edward Island, Canada

Kevin Yarr
cbc.ca
Fri, 02 Dec 2016 14:20 UTC
These sorts of struggles are unusual for the end of November.
© Laura Meader/CBCThese sorts of struggles are unusual for the end of November.
If it seems like there is a lot snow on the ground on P.E.I. for early December, that's because there is.

In fact, there has been a record amount of snow on the ground. Charlottetown Airport broke records on both Nov. 30 and Dec. 1.

Previously, the snowiest end of November/start of December was in 1989. Those records for Nov. 27-29 stand, but 29 centimetres is a new record for Nov. 30 (17 in 1989) as is 32 for Dec. 1 (19 in 1989).

None of the storms this week broke snowfall records on their own, but in combination they have. Three storms brought snow to the Island in the space of five days, and the amount of snow was a surprise to everyone.
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Blue Planet

Powerful New Zealand earthquake exposes new land near Kaikoura


Earth Observatory
Sat, 03 Dec 2016 13:36 UTC
New land in New Zealand
© Sentinel data from the European Space AgencyPhoto acquired November 25, 2016

On November 13, 2016, a powerful earthquake jolted the northeastern coast of New Zealand's South Island. The 7.8 magnitude quake lifted the seabed by 0.5 to 2 meters (2 to 7 feet) along a 20-kilometer stretch of the Kaikoura coast. In one area, the uplift was a remarkable 5.5 meters (18 feet).

The sudden shifting of such a huge quantity of rock produced some unusual sights. From above, satellites captured an image of a thin swath of newly exposed land ringing the Kaikoura Peninsula and other parts of South Island.

On November 25, 2016, a multispectral imager on the European Space Agency's Sentinel 2 satellite captured an image (second) of the newly exposed land near Kaikoura. For comparison, the first image—acquired by the Operational Land Imager (OLI) on Landsat 8—shows the same area on October 12, 2016. The tidal water level was approximately the same in both cases.
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Camera

Fiery sprites photographed over Japan

YUMI NAKAYAMA
Asahi Shimbun
Fri, 02 Dec 2016 13:15 UTC
Sprites over Japan
© Yasuo TakedaSprites appear above cumulonimbus clouds off the coast of Hokota, Ibaraki Prefecture, on Nov. 25.
Photographer Yasuo Takeda thought he was seeing things when strange lights shot up into the sky off the coast from Hokota, Ibaraki Prefecture, east of Tokyo, on Nov. 25.

But he was actually lucky enough to witness sprites, a phenomenon that is rarely observed, let alone photographed, as the natural lights are usually obscured by the lightning that often accompanies them.

Sprites occur about 50 to 90 kilometers above ground and become visible when nitrogen molecules emit light after coming into contact with electrical charges released from lightning clouds.

"It happened in an instant as though it was some sort of optical illusion," said Takeda, 56, of his fortunate chance encounter.

It is believed that sprites occur frequently during the winter off the coast of Ibaraki and Chiba prefectures as well as in the Sea of Japan.

Takeda used his meteorological knowledge as a weather forecaster to work out the time and location where the sprites might appear.

Comment: A couple of months ago 28 sprites were captured above hurricane Matthew as it was rapidly intensifying, and an enormous 'jellyfish' sprite was photographed over the Caribbean Sea. Also this year 'rare' red sprites have been recorded over northern Italy, Texas and Arizona.

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Tornado1

Rare November tornadoes strike Nebraska


Lincoln Journal Star
Thu, 01 Dec 2016 07:16 UTC
Rare November Nebraska tornado
© YouTube/Breaking News (screen capture)
Three tornadoes touched down in south-central Nebraska Sunday afternoon but each spent mere minutes on the ground and caused minor damage, officials from the National Weather Service in Hastings reported Monday.

The twisters marked the first confirmed tornadoes after Thanksgiving in Nebraska since 1975.

No injuries were reported in any of the tornadoes.

The first spawned southwest of Upland in Franklin County just after 4 p.m., spent one minute on the ground and traveled just over a quarter mile with wind speeds reaching 70 mph, the Weather Service said in a report Monday.

Around 4:30 p.m., a tornado ripped through a row of pine trees near a home 5 miles northeast of Red Cloud, the National Weather Service in Hastings said.

The home did not sustain structural damage, but outbuildings were overturned. The tornado overturned two center-pivot irrigation systems on its route.


Comment: Study: Tornado outbreaks are increasing - but scientists don't understand why

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Arrow Up

Man rescued from sinkhole after it opens up and swallows him in Toronto

Andrej Ivanov
Toronto Star
Thu, 01 Dec 2016 18:47 UTC
A man raking leaves at his North York home suffered minor injuries after a 2-meter sinkhole opened beneath him, and swallowed him up to the neck.
© Victor BiroA man raking leaves at his North York home suffered minor injuries after a 2-meter sinkhole opened beneath him, and swallowed him up to the neck.
A man had to be rescued after he fell into a sinkhole that opened up on Tamworth Rd. in Willowdale. The man suffered minor injuries from the fall.

Toronto Fire received a call at 4 p.m. saying a man was trapped in a hole up to his shoulders. The sinkhole is next to a drainage hole, Toronto Police Services reported.

According to witnesses, the sinkhole opened under the man's feet as he was walking down the street.

Toronto fire had to set up a perimeter around the hole to distribute the weight of their equipment. They then set up: a ladder over the opening, a tripod, a harness and a winch, to get the man out.
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