Residents took to social media to try to find the source of the noise.
"I didn't see anything," Curry stated of looking outside directly after the noise,"no fire, flames, or smoke."
Earth Changes
Residents took to social media to try to find the source of the noise.
"I didn't see anything," Curry stated of looking outside directly after the noise,"no fire, flames, or smoke."
The storm, currently forming off the coast of Florida before it's expected sweep up the entire eastern seaboard, has been described as a sort of winter hurricane or bomb cyclone due to its rapid formation and heavy impact.
"It's definitely the polar vortex of this year," said Gregg Gallina, a meteorologist at the National Weather Service, in reference to the frigid spell that enveloped much of North America in 2013 and 2014.
Comment: Even if the term bomb has been in use for a while, it's true that year on year strange weather is happening more often and new terminology is created in order to classify it:
- Weather 'bomb' set to go off along US East Coast - Record snowstorms and cold to follow
- US: Polar vortex to bring 'extended period of severe winter weather', amidst already record breaking cold - UPDATE
- Great Lakes storm undergoes bombogenesis, brings down trees and powerlines in Michigan's Upper Peninsula
- Powerful Bering Sea storm undergoes incredible bombogenesis, producing 90 MPH winds in Alaska's Aleutian Islands
- Cosmic rays increased 12% this year plus an awesome 'diamond dust' sun halo sighted in Montana (PHOTOS)
© U.S. Geological Survey via Getty Images
A plume of condensation rises off Mount St. Helens, as viewed from the roof of the Cascades Volcano Observatory December 19, 2006, in Vancouver, Washington.
A plume of condensation rises off Mount St. Helens, as viewed from the roof of the Cascades Volcano Observatory December 19, 2006, in Vancouver, Washington.
The 3.9 magnitude earthquake was felt in Portland but there were no reported injuries or damage. Since that earthquake there have been 16 more earthquakes, averaging about every half hour with magnitudes from 0.6 to 2.6.
It is common to experience swarms of earthquakes at Mount St. Helens. While it is certainly not a sign of an impending eruption, the earthquakes are a result of an active volcanic system.
Comment: It seems that swarms of earthquakes in the area are a more recent development and were not so common in previous years.
Mount St. Helens is most commonly known for its major eruption in 1980, the deadliest and most economically damaging volcanic event in the history of the United States. The stratovolcano is situated just 96 miles from Seattle and 50 miles from Portland, making an eruption especially dangerous.
Comment: In recent years there has been much activity in the surrounding area and the recent quakes are said to be related to magma movement underground. See also:
- Swarm of nine earthquakes at Mount St. Helens
- Earthquake swarms a sign Mount St. Helens is recharging
- Mount St. Helens is recharging
- Supervolcano may be brewing beneath Mount St Helens
- Scientists warn that volcanic "super-eruptions" give very little advance warning
The area of concern is east of Union Gap, east of Thorp Road -- an area also known as Anderson Quarry. A section of Thorp Road has been closed as a precaution and Yakima County Emergency Management has urged some homeowners to evacuate.
The landslide, which is 20 acres in size, is moving at a rate of about 1.3 feet per week and is accelerating each week, according to state geologist Dave Norman. The concern is that the landslide would keep moving, even closer to I-82.
Video shot from a drone showed the landslide in striking clarity, with giant fissures in a hillside, widening, as the earth shifts.
© Rosemary Prince
Snow in Tallahassee, Florida
Snow in Tallahassee, Florida
The weather office in the sunshine state's capital Tallahassee measured 0.25cm (0.1ins) of snow on its roof, marking the first time it had experienced the white stuff since 1989.
Plenty of excited locals - including the police force - took to Twitter to share pictures and videos of the exceptionally rare conditions.
Five to eight centimetres (2-3ins) of snow were expected in northeast Florida, where there have been warnings of icy roads, power cuts and freezing temperatures.
© Medios Públicos
The most intense rainfall recorded in the city for 15 years fell in just over an hour, according to the local fire chief, Romeo Fernández. The hail accumulation, more than 10 centimeters thick in places, trapped cars and blocked roads prompting the Fire Department, Red Cross and other organizations to declare a state of high alert noted El Telegrafo.
Val Thorens has warned that it may get precipitation that equates to up to 2.4m (8 feet) of snow in the next 24 hours but that that will be accompanied by winds that could hit 200kph (125 mph). But there will also be extreme temperature fluctuations so some of that precipitation could fall as torrential rain at times, particularly at lower elevations.
Val d'Isere has already reported winds of up to 125kph on upper slopes.
Already, stories about the epic cold snap have proliferated online. As we pointed out yesterday, a group of good Samaritans helped rescue a dozen elk that had crashed trough a thin patch of river ice and were in danger of freezing to death, or drowning. At the time, temperatures were below freezing across a staggering 92% of the US, with temperatures more than 20 degrees lower than their seasonal averages for this time of year.
Winter Storm Grayson, a very large and powerful winter storm is threatening the East Coast of the United States with heavy snow, intense winds, and record-setting low temperatures. Winter storm watches and warnings have been issued for many coastal regions in north Florida to Maine from Wednesday into late Thursday.
This week's storm may end up being worse than your average nor'easter. That's because meteorologists say it could produce a "bomb cyclone," otherwise known as a bombogenesis, a phenomenon that occurs when a system's central pressure drops steeply - by 24 millibars or more - in 24 hours.
Antony Van Der Meer was on a dream outback holiday at Kings Canyon with his wife Jessica, mother-in-law and his sister and brother-in-law when tragedy struck about 5pm on New Year's Day.
NT Police Superintendent Pauline Vicary said the bolt hit Mr Van Der Meer's metal tripod.
"They were on the Kings Canyon Rim Walk and the incident happened about 500m from the carpark area," she said.
"They were nearly at the end of that walk when two storm fronts came through at the same time, there was quite a bit of rain and lightning and unfortunately the lightning struck the tripod that the deceased person was carrying on his back."
His family spent two frantic hours trying to revive him.
© Tami Chappell / Reuters
The state of emergency covers "much of Southeast Georgia" and took effect immediately and extends through to midnight January 5.
"The state has begun preparations for potential winter weather in the 28 counties, including sending all Georgia Department of Transportation brine trucks and 75 additional plows to the impacted areas," Deal said in a statement. "The emergency declaration ensures all state resources are available if necessary."
Comment: See also: 64 mysterious booms heard all over the world this year. Why?