Earth ChangesS


Seismograph

Shallow 6.0 magnitude earthquake hits Western Indian-Antarctic Ridge

quake
Magnitude Type: mww

USGS page: M 6.0 - Western Indian-Antarctic Ridge

USGS status: Reviewed by a seismologist

Reports from the public: 1 person

6.0 magnitude, 10 km depth
Western Indian Antarctic Ridge

Doberman

Girl mauled to death by 3 pit bulls in Detroit

PIT BULL ATTACK
A 9-year-old girl riding her bike in an alley was mauled to death by three dogs Monday in Detroit as neighbors tried to stop the attack, including throwing bricks and firing shots, police said.

The girl, believed to have lived on the next block, was attacked in an alley near Central and Smart on the west side at about 4 p.m. Monday, said Sgt. Nicole Kirkwood, a spokeswoman for the Detroit Police Department.

The Wayne County Medical Examiner's Office identified the victim as Emma Hernandez. She died of multiple injuries, and her death was an accident.

Within hours of the attack, the owner of the dogs, a 33-year-old man, was arrested Monday night and two dogs were seized after officers obtained a court order, Officer Dan Donakowski said. Another dog involved in the attack had been shot earlier, police said.


Cloud Lightning

Cow fatally struck by lightning caught on camera in Murrayville, Illinois

cow lightning
A video sent to our newsroom is showing just how dangerous lightning can be.

We want to warn you, this video may be disturbing.


Cloud Precipitation

Flash floods in Valencia Region, Spain after 40mm of rain in less than 1 hour

Floods in Benicarló, Castellón, Spain, 20 August 2019.
© Government of BenicarlóFloods in Benicarló, Castellón, Spain, 20 August 2019.
A severe storm hit the Valencia Region of Spain on 20 August, 2019, causing flash flooding in parts of the provinces of Castellón, Alicante and Valencia. Some areas recorded more than 40mm of rain in less than 1 hour.

The worst hit areas were the towns of Peñíscola and Benicarló along the coast, where at least 6 vehicles were left stranded after flash floods inundated roads. Teams of firefighters were called out to rescue stranded passengers and drivers from the trapped vehicles. Benicarló was cut off for some time during the storm. A state of emergency was declared in Peñíscola.


Fire

Apocalyptic scenes in Brazil as smoke from major Amazon wildfires turns cities dark by lunchtime

sao paulo wildfire smoke
© @AndreTheSolo
Brazil's space agency has revealed a record number of fires are burning across the Amazon rainforest as smoke chokes cities across the country.

President Jair Bolsonaro is facing increasing pressure to take action against illegal deforestation fires that have spread across vast areas of the largest rainforest on the planet.

It comes as the city of Sao Paulo was brought to a grinding halt on Monday after choking smoke from fires in the states of Amazonas and Rondonia - almost 3000km away - caused a complete power blackout.




Cloud Precipitation

Microburst filmed bombing Lake Balaton in Hungary

Lake Balaton
© Twitter/severe-weather.EUShocking 'Mushroom Cloud' Forms Over Lake Balaton in Hungary (Video)
A giant "atomic bomb" cloud was seen looming over Hungary's Lake Balaton in the village of Alsoors on Friday.

The outstanding phenomenon is called a 'wet microburst'. Part of the cloud over the lake mixed with a strong localised downpour, leading to a stunning rainbow on the surface of the water.

''There were people swimming on the lake at the time. The cloud was spectacular. I have not seen this before,'' filmmaker Alexandra Gregor said, as quoted by the Evening Standard.

Comment: Microbursts and downbursts are on the rise these days:


Snowflake

It's Snowing in August all over the world

snow
Snowfall has been reported where you'd expect it should - Australia, New Zealand and the South American Andes where it's still wintertime; but also in the northern hemisphere's summertime in the Alps, Scandinavia and North America, where snow in August is more of a rarity.

The snow in Australia (including at Perisher, above) is the latest in a series of big snowstorms that have hit the country since late May, giving resorts there some of the deepest bases they've reported for two decades, with several having more than two metres lying.

It's been less of an epic season, until now, in New Zealand, where 30cm+ of snow in the past few days has finally given some deep powder cover.

Comment: Further details of the unseasonal snow in the northern hemisphere: Heavy summer snowfall hits northern British Columbia

Glacier National Park in Montana sees snowfall in August

Fresh snow in the Alps (Yes, it's August)

Additionally, summer snow was filmed falling in the Pyrenees on August 20th:



Alaska on August 21:



Mount Evans in Colorado on August 17:




Tornado2

Waterspout filmed in Bay St Louis, Mississippi

waterspout
A waterspout formed off the coast of Bay Saint Louis, Mississippi, on August 20, as seen in this footage uploaded to Twitter.

The clip shows the waterspout near the Bay Saint Louis Municipal Harbor. Other social media uploads also showed a waterspout forming in the area.

The National Weather Service warned of showers and thunderstorms developing along the coast.



Credit: @letthebigdognaw via Storyful

Tornado2

Waterspout filmed in Langkawi, Malaysia

Screen grab courtesy of Langkawi Mai Mai facebook.
Screen grab courtesy of Langkawi Mai Mai facebook.
A waterspout was seen near Telaga Habour Park at Pantai Kok here for about 10 minutes, earlier today.

Langkawi Civil Defense Force officer, Captain Shahfikri Darus said the incident occurred at about 11am followed by heavy rains and strong winds.

"However, as of 2pm, no reports of any damage had been reported.


Cloud Precipitation

August rainfall brings UK wheat harvest to 'shuddering halt'

Rain clouds over the wheat fields at Dunsden, south Oxfordshire.
© Geoffrey Swaine/Rex/ShutterstockRain clouds over the wheat fields at Dunsden, south Oxfordshire.

National Farmers' Union says only farms in south-east England able to start harvest


August's wet weather has brought this year's wheat harvest to a "shuddering halt", the deputy president of the National Farmers' Union has said.

Guy Smith said farmers outside the south-east of England had been left unable start their harvest their crop because of heavy rainfall this month.

He said the wet weather had made it more difficult to use combine harvesters in the fields."It has brought the harvest to a shuddering halt for the past 10 days, outside of the south-east," he said.

"The good news is that yields seem to be above average, but the bad news is that the price is significantly on the slide, not helped because of a heavy harvest."

Smith said farmers in the south-east had been able to begin their harvest earlier because of earlier hot weather, but that very little had been done in the west and north of England.

Comment: See also: