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Snowflake Cold

Cold snap hits northern China, with some areas experiencing lowest October temperatures on record

Sidney Leng
South China Morning Post
Mon, 31 Oct 2016 19:29 UTC
Snow in China

Snow in China
A cold wave is sweeping through northern China, with the lowest temperatures in some places plunging to historical lows on Monday, according to China's meteorological administration.

On Monday morning, 31 weather stations across the middle regions of Inner Mongolia and Liaoning province, northwestern Hebei province and northeastern Shanxi province recorded their daily lowest temperatures for October since records began in 1951, with some reporting temperatures of less than minus 16 degrees Celsius, according to a report by the National Meteorological Centre.

The centre forecast the cold snap would continue across the country in early November. Over the next two days, temperatures in eastern China could decline by four to six degrees, while in areas such as southeastern Heibei, temperatures could drop more than eight degrees, the report said.

Snow in China
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Snowflake

'Rare' circumzenithal arc spotted in southwest Tennessee

Ron Childers
WMC Action News 5
Wed, 26 Oct 2016 17:56 UTC
Circumzenithal arc
© WMC
There was an unusual sight in the sky Wednesday afternoon in Toone, Tennessee. Many citizens looked up and saw an upside down rainbow.

It was a beautiful sight but not one that many have seen before. Typically a rainbow is seen after it rains; the rainbow is typically arched downward toward the ground.

That was not the case Wednesday, and that's because what people saw in the sky was not technically a rainbow: it was a circumzenithal arc.

It's formed by ice crystal in the upper levels of the atmosphere. As light from the sun shines through the crystals it is refracted to form an arc around the sun.

This phenomenon is most common with a full halo around the sun or moon when high level clouds are present. The arc seen Wednesday didn't form a complete arc around the sun because ice crystals were only present at that particular altitude and angle to the sun, but there was just enough to create an unusually beautiful sight to those who saw it.
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Attention

Nearly 20 micro-quakes hit near Salton Sea, California; second swarm in two months

Shelby Grad
Los Angeles Times
Mon, 31 Oct 2016 06:10 UTC
The San Andreas Fault near the Salton Sea.
© Los Angeles Times
The San Andreas Fault near the Salton Sea.
A series of small earthquakes struck near the Salton Sea area overnight.

Nearly 20 micro-quakes — the strongest measuring magnitude 3.3, with others much smaller — struck the town of Niland near the eastern shore of the Salton Sea, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. A magnitude 3.6 quake was recorded near Salton City on the west side of the Salton Sea.

In September, a series of more than 200 small quakes hit the area. That prompted scientists to say for several days that there was an elevated risk for a big San Andreas fault earthquake. Many of the minor quakes were located under the sea itself.

The Salton Sea is one of California's most seismically complex areas. It is located on a web of faults that scientists fear could one day wake up the nearby San Andreas from its long slumber.

Comment: Recent earthquake swarm under California's Salton Sea could lead to massive earthquake on San Andreas fault

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Fish

Dead or dying tuna wash up on the east coast of Malta


The Times of Malta
Sun, 30 Oct 2016 14:33 UTC
Dead tuna

Dead tuna
Dead or injured tuna washed ashore in several areas of Malta's east coast today, a probable consequence of yesterday's Grigalata.

The rough weather also damaged fishfarms and sent a big slick of oily slime along the shore, clinging to seacraft moored in the bays and particularly at the Portomaso marina. Fishfarm operators yesterday denied that the slime had anything to do with them.

The rough sea yesterday was so strong, it even dislodged some tarmac near the old fishmarket in Grand harbour.

Damage was caused to San Giljan waterpolo pitch, the Radisson hotel, several boats and even cars parked close to the sea.

Comment: As well as the pollution and rough weather mentioned above as explanations for this incident, there is a strong possibility it was connected to an undersea earthquake of 4.8 magnitude, 151km east of Malta on the same day. An outgassing event?

The tremor (red dot) was recorded some 151km east of Malta

The tremor (red dot) was recorded some 151km east of Malta


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Cloud Precipitation

Severe flooding hits Eilat, Israel; average annual rainfall saturates city in one night


Ynetnews
Fri, 28 Oct 2016 09:42 UTC
flooding in Eilat
© Meir Ochion
Tractors sent to remove huge quantities of water
Heavy rains swept across Eilat overnight Thursday, causing serious flooding and forcing the local airport to announce an indefinite closure due to dangerous quantities of water on the runways. The airport reported shortly before noon that it would be reopened and resume regular operations.

Booms of thunder accompanied the giant lightning bolts that could also be see lighting up the night skies.

A number of other roads leading to hotels in the popular holiday resort were also closed as tractors were deployed in an effort to remove the huge quantities of water drenching the streets across the city.

Since midnight, 27.7mm of rain fell in the port city, according to facts provided by the National Weather Service, with not less that 21.4mm falling over the course of two hours in the morning.

The amount of rain which saturated the city in just one night therefore, is similar to the entire annual average of rain that usually sunny Eilat sees.

What is more, the torrential rains contrast heavily with the temperatures in the area which are expected to reach up to 31 degrees celsius on Friday.

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Bizarro Earth

Magnitude 5.4 earthquake hits Colombia


Sputnik News
Mon, 31 Oct 2016 06:04 UTC
Colombia Earthquake
© Reuters/Jaime Saldarriaga
Rescue team members wait outside a clinic that was evacuated after tremors were felt resulting from an earthquake in Ecuador, in Cali, Colombia, April 16, 2016
An earthquake measuring 5.4 on the Richter scale occurred on Monday in the center of Colombia, the US Geological Survey (USGS) reported.

Moscow — The earthquake occurred at 00:20 GMT on Monday at a depth of 44 kilometers (about 27 miles) with the epicenter located in 25 miles of the small town of Colombia. The largest urban center relatively close to the earthquake at approximately 67 miles was Neiva with the population of 352,855.

There have been no reports yet of the damage inflicted by the earthquake.
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Seismograph

6.6 earthquake devastates historic churches and buildings in Norcia, Italy


RT
Sun, 30 Oct 2016 22:50 UTC
norica italy earthquake 2016
© The Monks of Norcia
The Basilica of St. Benedict is destroyed, flattened by most recent earthquake.
The ancient town of Norcia in central Italy is in ruins following the powerful earthquake which knocked its historical 13th century Basilica of St Benedict and other buildings to the ground.

Sunday's earthquake was the latest in a series of seismic events to strike central Italy, and comes just two months after another violent earthquake hit the same area of central and southern Italy, killing 300 people and destroying several towns.


There was widespread devastation, with many buildings, already compromised by earlier quakes, suffering severe damage.

Many of the town's residents had been evacuated after quakes on Wednesday, meaning they avoided the worst of the damage. The Civil Protection agency reported several injuries but no fatalities.
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Question

Scientists have no idea why sharks are congregating off northern New South Wales, Australia

Kirrily Schwarz
news.com.au
Sun, 30 Oct 2016 19:49 UTC
Great white shark

Great white shark
A surfer has become the 12th person to be attacked by a shark in Australia this year, escaping with bite marks to his leg after hitting the surf on Monday morning at Broken Head, in northern New South Wales.

It's become the most dangerous stretch of coastline in the country for shark attacks, and the phenomenon has mystified scientists.

"It's impossible to pinpoint causation," said Daryl McPhee, a researcher at Bond University.

He told news.com.au shark attacks have been increasing globally for the past 30 years. "There's no one reason globally, it's a combination of factors," he said, listing things such as weather, environment and proximity to food.

"It's very difficult to work out why there's a concentration on the northern New South Wales coast."

Over the past few years Northern NSW has been the location of the majority of shark attacks.
© news.com.au
Over the past few years Northern NSW has been the location of the majority of shark attacks.
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Attention

2 children injured by bear in Poonch, India

Ishrat Butt
Greater Kashmir
Sun, 30 Oct 2016 19:19 UTC
bear print
Reports said that Muhammad Ilyas, 12, and his sister Sobeya Bi,7, were injured after bear attacked them in Loran area of Mandi tehsil in Poonch district.

A 12-year-old boy and his younger sister were injured in a bear attack in Poonch district of Jammu and Kashmir.

Reports said that Muhammad Ilyas, 12, and his sister Sobeya Bi,7, were injured after bear attacked them in Loran area of Mandi tehsil in Poonch district.

The duo were out to fetch water when the attack took place.
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Attention

Bear mauls man to death in Himachal Pradesh, India


The Times of India
Thu, 27 Oct 2016 18:45 UTC
bear print
In yet another death arising out of the growing cases of man-animal conflict in Himachal Pradesh, a bear mauled a 31-year-old man in a remote village in Kullu district on Wednesday morning.

Though the group of people accompanying Jeet Kumar back to Kehsan village in the district's Anni sub-division scared the animal away by shouting and blowing whistles, Jett succumbed to injuries on the spot. Anni deputy superintendent of police Baldev Thakur said Jeet had returned to the village after selling vegetables in the main market of Anni.

"The bear suddenly came out of the bushes when Jeet along with few others was near the village. He sustained deep injuries around the neck and throat in the attack that just last a few seconds. His body has been handed to his family after the post-mortem," he said.
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