Earth ChangesS

Windsock

Adapt 2030 Ice Age Report: Strange winds in the Arctic, early Pacific super typhoon and Antarctic sea ice returns

Super Typhoon Jelawat
© NASA/NOAA Suomi NPP/VIIRSSuper Typhoon Jelawat on March 30, 2018.
Winds are noticeably changing in the Northern Hemisphere due to the continued weakening of the magnetosphere as we descend further into the grand solar minimum. Zonal winds @65N and above had a dramatic reduction, but in the Pacific a super typhoon forms in March. Antarctic sea ice makes a massive recovery nearly breaking above the 1981-2010 average. The shift to a colder polar climate in beginning to show, now add in unstable global winds and I feel the result will be crop yield reductions.


Comment: Jelawat rapidly intensified into the first super typhoon of 2018


Snowflake

UK: Snow, rain and floods make bank holiday travels a trial

snow, cars
Drivers in Nenthead, Cumbria faced treacherous conditions as up to 4in (10cm) of snow fell in the north of the UK.
Travellers returning from bank holiday trips faced delays as heavy rain and snow closed roads.

Up to 4in (10cm) of snow covered parts of Scotland, northern England and north Wales, while torrential rain fell in southern England.

Flood warnings and alerts are in force in England, Scotland and Wales.

The Met Office has issued yellow weather warnings as the AA warns that motorists faced one of the busiest bank holidays on the roads in recent years.

As of 21:00 BST the Environment Agency had issued 41 flood warnings and 217 flood alerts in England, and the Scottish Environment Protection Agency issued one flood warning for people in Scotland.

Natural Resources Wales had one flood warning and 19 flood alerts in place for Wales.

Comment: Ice age on the way: Gulf Stream is slowing down faster than ever, scientists say


Ice Cube

America's North East continues to be battered by storms - with 'Spring snow' to follow

A storm is developing in the central Plains Sunday and rapidly moving off to the east.
© ABCA storm is developing in the central Plains Sunday and rapidly moving off to the east.
The first storm of the holiday weekend moved through the upper Midwest on Saturday bringing as much as a foot of snow in northern Minnesota. Now another storm is developing in the central Plains Sunday and rapidly moving to the east -- with snow likely from Nebraska to Ohio on Easter Sunday.

Snow will reach Missouri and Illinois by the early evening hours, and then move into Indiana and Ohio by Sunday night. Occasional heavy bursts of snow are likely, which will reduce visibility. Although the snow will have some difficulty sticking to roadways, slick and treacherous spots will develop in the region Sunday evening, and travel will be impacted.

Comment: This will be perhaps the fifth Nor'Easter after a string of other storms to hit the US in just under two months: Fourth Nor'easter this month to bring snow and on the first day of Spring - and we can expect more to come

And it's not just the US experiencing unusual cold:


Tornado2

Huge steam vortices filmed above Hawaii's Kilauea volcano

Hawaii volcano vortices 2013 Kilauea
The Volcanic vortices pictured back in 2013.โ€
Several land spouts of twisting lava were seen just above the Pulama pali at sunrise on Thursday, helicopter footage shows.

Mick Kalber, a videographer who was aboard a Paradise Helicopters flights, said: "[A] pink rainbow, amazing land spouts and a veritable plethora of lava flows made for a spectacular lava overflight this morning.

"We have often seen water spouts at the ocean entry, but this morning, due to a head downpour on the 61G flow and the right wind and heat conditions, several vortices [land spouts] appeared just above the Pali."

Comment: While this phenomenon has been recorded before, it's notable that all over the world the appearance of wind vortex formations in the unlikeliest of places appear to be increasing - and that perhaps our understanding of how they form needs to be questioned:


Arrow Down

One killed and three injured by avalanche in French Alps - over 12 such fatalities for the region this year

stock photo
An avalanche in the Alps has killed one person and injured three, French mountain rescuers said.

Searches are under way for others who may be trapped in the snow.

The avalanche hit in the Aiguilles Rouges range near Chamonix, an officer with the Chamonix mountain guides service said.

The area is across from the Mont Blanc massif.

Comment: See also: Avalanche in Swiss resort kills 3 skiers following days of heavy snowfall


Seismograph

Magnitude 6.8 earthquake hits Bolivia

quake
A powerful 6.8-magnitude earthquake struck Bolivia on Monday, but it was so deep that there were no reports of injuries or damage.

The U.S. Geological Survey said the quake struck at 10:40 a.m. local time (9:40 a.m. EDT; 1340 GMT) and it was centered 205 miles (127 kilometers) southeast of Tarija, Bolivia. The epicenter was 346 miles (557 kilometers) below the surface.

The San Calixto Observatory in La Paz said that it is one of the most powerful quakes on record in Bolivia, but that there was no damage because it was so deep.

Arrow Down

Large sinkhole opens up in Maidstone, UK

The sinkhole.
© Sarah NickelsThe sinkhole.
A sinkhole has opened up in Barming.

The void was discovered earlier today and has caused deep cracks in the road and a driveway to crack up. Part of a fence has also subsided into the hole.

It was found at the edge of a field off Broomshaw Road and it is understood authorities have closed off the end of the road and houses lost water for a time.

The area where the sinkhole was seen is near where Taylor Wimpey is set to build hundreds of new homes on the Pea Fields behind Broomshaw Road.

Attention

Turrialba Volcano in Costa Rica continues sporadic eruptions

Turrialba Volcano
Turrialba Volcano
The activity at the Turrialba Volcano in Costa Rica just doesn't stop, on April 1st, two significant eruptions took place early in the morning and carried on for close to 30 minutes.

The biggest eruption was registered at 8:38 a.m. local time and the cameras located near the crater registered a column of ash that reached between 500-700 meters above the active crater. The activity at the volcano started at 6:30 a.m. with ash columns of close to 300 meters above the crater.

Seismic activity continues and a low amplitude tremor.

Several communities in the Central Valley reported ash fall, among them, Hatillo, Curridabat, Coronado, Guadalupe, Moravia, Tibas and Heredia.

Seismograph

Magnitude 6.1 earthquake hits south of the Fiji Islands

quake
An earthquake measuring 6.1 on the Richter scale jolted South of the Fiji Islands on Monday, the US Geological Survey (USGS) said.

An earthquake measuring 6.1 on the Richter scale jolted South of the Fiji Islands on Monday, the US Geological Survey (USGS) said.

The epicenter, with a depth of 83.52 km, was initially determined to be at 24.8965 degrees south latitude and 176.6055 degrees west longitude.

Attention

Dead dolphin found in Harrison County, Mississippi - 28th in the state for 2018 so far

Twenty-eight dolphins have been found on the beach this year in South Mississippi.
© WLOXTwenty-eight dolphins have been found on the beach this year in South Mississippi.
An adult female dolphin was found dead on the Long Beach and Pass Christian line Sunday afternoon.

This marks the 28th dead dolphin found in South Mississippi in 2018. It's a higher number than usual, according to Eric Pulis from The Institute for Marine Mammal Studies.

He expects to see more appear in the upcoming weeks. "This is dolphin stranding season, it lasts last throughout spring,"said Pulis.

The dolphin sighting was reportedly called in by the public. It later was brought to IMMS for a necropsy.