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10th dead humpback washes up on Cape Cod, Massachusetts


Uptoboston.com
Fri, 10 May 2019 11:43 UTC
Humpback whale carcass washes up on East Sandwich beach
© Cape Cod Times
Humpback whale carcass washes up on East Sandwich beach
The carcass of a 45-foot, 40-ton humpback whale named Vector washed up on East Sandwich Beach Monday evening. The adult female whale was first seen in 1984, according to the Center for Coastal Studies, and she often swims the waters around Maine and Massachusetts during this time of year. Sadly, she will no longer be making appearances in Cape Cod Bay waters.

Vector had been seen every year for the past 15 years in many areas of the Gulf of Maine from Massachusetts to Nova Scotia, reports Mass Live. She birthed five calves over the years.

Vector's body was spotted Saturday afternoon floating in Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary. Sharon Boutilier, a representative of IFAW, stated, "She was first known to us floating in the bay on Saturday, so she's been deceased for several days now." It took the humpback whale's body a few days to reach the shore, but on Monday evening, she came to rest on East Sandwich beach.


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Fire

'Unprecedented' wildfire season has begun in Washington, US

John Knicely
MyNorthwest.com
Fri, 10 May 2019 22:29 UTC
Wildfires
© Stephen Brashear/Getty Images
The wildfire season is off to a busy start, and state Public Lands Commissioner Hilary Franz calls it unprecedented. With record money recently approved at the state and federal level, KIRO 7 is looking into what that means for the firefight this season.

"So far to date we've had 170 fires in Washington state," Franz told KIRO 7. "Fifty-three percent of them west of the Cascades and I have to stress that is a new phenomenon. We're not used to having that many fires west of the Cascades and we're not used to having that many fires early in the season."

The state legislature approved a record $50 million in its recent budget, and Congress and President Donald Trump approved $2 billion over the next eight years. That federal money is available staring this season.

"I was just back in D.C. last week thanking them for their leadership on that," Franz said.

Much of the federal money will provide more drones, and KIRO 7 has showed you how drones help fight wildfires. Infrared technology pinpoints hot spots in real-time. Normally firefighters have to take a glove off and use the back of their hands, feeling the ground for hot spots.

Comment: Meanwhile with insurance claims of $12bn, last year's wildfires were the most expensive in California history.

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Snowflake

Early snowfall hits the Eastern Cape, South Africa


All4women
Fri, 10 May 2019 13:36 UTC
Tiffindell Ski Resort

Tiffindell Ski Resort
Snow fell on Wednesday evening at the Tiffindell Ski Resort in the Eastern Cape. Winter is starting to set in across the country as temperatures dip...

Connie Retief sent in a stunning video of snow falling as she was driving from Tiffindell Ski Resort to the town of Rhodes on Wednesday evening.

The footage can be seen below courtesy of Snow Report SA .


Comment: Elsewhere in the southern hemisphere on the following day: Freezing winds, Autumn snow as temperatures plummet across Australia

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Doberman

14-year-old killed in dog mauling in Dighton, Massachusetts


Boston25news
Fri, 10 May 2019 13:16 UTC
canine attack
© Angela Antunes / CC by 2.0
Police in Dighton are investigating an apparent fatal dog mauling.

Police say around 8 p.m. Thursday, a neighbor called 911 to report they found a dead teenager on Maple Swamp Road.

Bristol County District Attorney Thomas Quinn's office says the teenager is a 14-year-old male from neighboring Rehoboth. It's unclear why the teen, whose name has not been released, was in the Dighton neighborhood.

Boston 25 News spoke with the owner of the property, Scott Dunmore, who called the situation heartbreaking, and said he wasn't at the property when it happened and couldn't comment further on the incident due to the investigation. He said his only concern, right now, is for the teen's family.

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Snowflake

Freezing winds, Autumn snow as temperatures plummet across Australia


10 Daily
Fri, 10 May 2019 12:19 UTC
SNOW
A strong cold front is sweeping across eastern Australia, with temperatures plunging by up to 10 degrees.

The front is bringing an icy change to the weather, cooling Victoria, South Australia, NSW and the ACT.

Across the east, the wind chill factor will bring temperatures down by up to 10 degrees -- and the "apparent temperature" down even further.

Apparent temperature is the temperature you actually feel as opposed to the air temp. And the way you'll feel today, if you live anywhere east of WA and south of Queensland, is really cold.

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Cloud Precipitation

Emergency declared after floods worsen in the south of Paraguay


Floodlist
Fri, 10 May 2019 09:37 UTC
Flooding along the Paraguay River in Asunción, Paraguay, 2019.
© Government of Asunción
Flooding along the Paraguay River in Asunción, Paraguay, 2019.
The government of Ñeembucú Department in Paraguay declared a state of emergency on Wednesday 08 May, 2019, after the flood situation worsened in southern areas of the country.

Heavy rainfall over recent days have increased river levels, including the Paraguay River at Pilar, the capital of Neembucu Department. As of 08 May, the river stood at 7.93 metres, well above alert level (7 metres) and close to critical level (8 metres).

The government is distributing food and relief supplies to around 1,000 affected families in San Juan in Ñeembucú. Supplies will also be distributed in the districts of Guazucuá and Tacuaras. Other affected areas include Villa Oliva, Villa Franca, Alberdi and parts of Pilar.

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Better Earth

El Niño events increasing and intensifying according to 400 year coral core study

University of New South Wales
Phys.org
Mon, 06 May 2019 18:56 UTC
coral
© Jason Turl
Researchers dive down to corals to extract coral cores that will give us information about Earth's past climate.
Australian scientists have developed an innovative method using cores drilled from coral to produce a world first 400-year long seasonal record of El Niño events, a record that many in the field had described as impossible to extract.

The record published today in Nature Geoscience detects different types of El Niño and shows the nature of El Niño events has changed in recent decades.

This understanding of El Niño events is vital because they produce extreme weather across the globe with particularly profound effects on precipitation and temperature extremes in Australia, South East Asia and the Americas.

The 400-year record revealed a clear change in El Niño types, with an increase of Central Pacific El Niño activity in the late 20th Century and suggested future changes to the strength of Eastern Pacific El Niños.

Comment: The erratic seasons and observable increase in extreme weather testifies to the situation our planet is facing. However it is also true that this study covers only 400 years and that the evidence shows our planet undergoes incredible shifts in climate with relative regularity: Also check out SOTT radio's:

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Fire

With insurance claims of $12bn last year's wildfires were the most expensive in California history


The Guardian
Wed, 08 May 2019 23:08 UTC
Camp Fire rages through Paradise, California
© AP
A home burns as the Camp Fire rages through Paradise, California, on Thursday, Nov. 8, 2018.
Insurance claims have topped $12bn for the November wildfires in California, making them the most expensive in state history.

The figure released on Wednesday by the insurance commissioner, Ricardo Lara, covers the fire that destroyed the town of Paradise and two southern California blazes.

Most of the damages relate to the Camp fire, which killed 85 people and destroyed nearly 19,000 buildings in Paradise.


Comment: California wildfires: Death toll rises to 71 - 1,000+ missing - 50,000+ remain evacuated - 7,000+ buildings destroyed - Camp Fire deadliest in state's history - UPDATES


California experienced some of the deadliest and most destructive wildfires in its history in 2017 and 2018. A series of sweeping fires in late 2017 had been the most expensive, with claims topping $11.8bn.

The increasing destruction is making it harder and more costly for people to obtain homeowners insurance.

The insurance department has started collecting data on policy non-renewals to better assess patterns and locations where coverage is being dropped, Lara said earlier this year.

"Wildfire has long been part of California's landscape, and insurers understand that California faces major wildfire risk," said Nicole Mahrt-Ganley of the American Property Casualty Insurance Association, which represents about 60% of the nation's property casualty insurance market.
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Ice Cube

Freak hailstorm turns beaches white in Victoria, Australia

Luke Henriques-Gomes
The Guardian
Fri, 10 May 2019 05:21 UTC
Victoria’s Cape Paterson looked like a snowfield after it was hit by a large hailstorm
© Luke Watson/Twitter
Victoria’s Cape Paterson looked like a snowfield after it was hit by a large hailstorm.

The sandy beaches of Victoria's Cape Paterson turned white on Friday after the coastal hamlet was blanketed by a freak hailstorm.

Victorians were bracing for huge rainfall and chilly temperatures as a cold front moves across the state from the south-west throughout the day, with 50mm of rain already soaking some towns west of Melbourne.

But for the residents of Cape Paterson, in Gippsland and about 150km south-east of Melbourne, the stormy weather came with a surprise.

The seaside village resembled a snowfield, forcing residents to shovel hail from their doorsteps, while videos posted to social media showed hail covering local roads.

"I've grown up here and it's not something I've ever seen before," said Glenn Sullivan, who lives in nearby Wonthaggi. "The whole beach was covered. Everyone was just stunned by it. It was an amazing thing to see."

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Seismograph

Magnitude 6.3 earthquake hits near Miyazaki in southwestern Japan


Daily Mail
Fri, 10 May 2019 02:39 UTC
Earthquake in Miyazaki, Japan
© USGS
The U.S. Geological Survey says a magnitude 6.3 earthquake hit near Miyazaki in southwestern Japan
The U.S. Geological Survey says a magnitude 6.3 earthquake hit near Miyazaki in southwestern Japan.

The agency says the earthquake struck at 8:48 a.m. Friday and had an epicenter 39 kilometers (24 miles) southeast of Miyazaki, a city of about 400,000.

The earthquake had a depth of 23 kilometers (14 miles.)

The Japan Times reports that Kyushu Electric Power Co. says no abnormalities were reported at the nearby Sendai nuclear power plant in Kagoshima Prefecture.

The Times also reports that nation's weather agency did not issue a tsunami warning.
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