Earth ChangesS


Cloud Lightning

Massive tornado hits town of Rhome, Texas

Dave Goldman
KYTX
Fri, 08 May 2015 05:42 UTC
tornado damage
© KYTX19 ImagesTornado damage in Rhome, Texas (WFAA)
A trail of damage was left behind by tornadoes in Wise County. The town of Rhome was hit hard, with some residents waking up homeless.


The EF-1 twister tore Greg and Nanette Pickenpaws' home apart, but they say they feel lucky to have their lives. Twisted metal, broken wood, even a refrigerator, were found toppled on the ground. Personal belongings were left out in the open, spread across the grass. The Pickenpaws say they've never experienced a storm like this in the 20 years they've lived in Rhome.

Comment: Check out the SOTT Earth Changes Summary - April 2015:



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Attention

Female pilot whale beached at Kennedy Space Center

Jim Waymer
Florida Today
Fri, 08 May 2015 19:20 UTC
Image
© Hubbs-SeaWorld Research InstituteRescuers from Kennedy Space Center and Hubbs-SeaWorld Research Institute examine a pilot whale that beached itself Thursday at KSC.
Biologists will test whether a measles-like virus that killed more than 1,600 dolphins since July 2013 also did in an 11-foot-long pilot whale that beached itself Thursday at NASA's Kennedy Space Center.

"It's a big female," said Megan Stolen, a research scientist with the Hubbs-SeaWorld Research Institute. "It was emaciated."

Stolen and fellow biologists are examining the pilot whale's remains today (May 8) at Hubb's lab near Melbourne Beach, extracting lung, lymph node and spinal cord tissues to test for the so-called morbillivirus.

The virus has been killing bottlenose dolphins along the Atlantic Coast for more than two years in the worst outbreak of the virus in almost three decades.

The virus claimed 740 dolphins from New Jersey to Florida in 1987.
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Black Cat

Leopard attacks rise in Nashik region India: 12 people killed in five years

Sumita Sarkar
The Times of India
Fri, 08 May 2015 18:27 UTC
Image
© Yathin S Krishnappa/Wikimedia CommonsLeopard.
The rising leopard population in the region has resulted in frequent human-animal conflicts over the past five years. Leopards straying into farms have claimed 12 human lives and caused 6,603 animal deaths since 2010.

Foresters said there have been 10 incidents of leopard straying and/or attacking human beings or animals in the span of past six months. More recently, two attacks were reported in a month in Sinnar area.

The recent attacks in Sinnar resulted in the death of a four-year-old and left a farmer with minor injuries. The forest department laid two cages to trap the leopard but is yet to catch the wild cat.

Forest officials said there has been a significant rise in the leopard population in the region. The recent incidents of leopards straying into human habitats have given rise to the question whether humans have encroached upon their habitats.
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Attention

Frenzied animal attack: Monkey kills 4-year-old disabled boy in Ghaziabad, India

Anu James
International Business Times
Fri, 08 May 2015 17:21 UTC
Image
© ReutersMonkey [Representative image]
A four-year-old disabled boy was reportedly killed by a monkey in Ghaziabad on Thursday, 7 May.

The deceased, Mohan, was playing with his brothers, Golu, 6, Srikant, 6, and Sohan, 4, at their home when the mishap happened in the afternoon.

However, when the incident occurred none of the elders were at home and he breathed his last on the way to hospital.

"The monkey appeared out of nowhere and attacked me and chased my brothers. We all ran outside to save ourselves but Mohan could not. The animal managed to push open the door of the room where Mohan was present. He then grabbed his neck and choked him. I ran out and called my grandmother for help. But to no avail," Golu said, according to the Hindustan Times.

Comment: See also: Baby boy killed in his home by monkey after the animal escaped from a nearby private zoo in Crimea

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Windsock

Waterspout and tornado threaten Bahamas


The Bahamas Weekly
Fri, 08 May 2015 11:07 UTC
waterspout off Freetown 08.05.15
© Jenneva Russell
A huge waterspout was seen off Grand Bahama this morning after 9am.

The first photo above was taken by Jenneva Russell off of William's Town.

In the second photo it that the waterspout has strengthened into a tornado. This photo was taken in downtown Freeport by Celia Mackey of The Bahamas Weekly's News Team. The Casa Bahamas building can be seen in the photo below.

Government schools closed around noon today, and a severe weather warning was issued by the Meteorology Department this morning.

A whatsapp message has been circulating on social media which depicts a radio report for the 'client: Royal Bahamas Police Report", but the Grand Bahama police have clarified that it was not generated by them.
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Cloud Precipitation

Earliest subtropical cyclone affecting U.S. forms off coastal Carolinas

Jon Erdman
Weather.com
Fri, 08 May 2015 13:01 UTC
Subtropical Storm Ana
Infrared Satellite: Subtropical Storm Ana
Late Thursday night, the National Hurricane Center officially deemed the low off the coast of the Carolinas Subtropical Storm Ana, the first named storm of the 2015 Atlantic hurricane season.

For more on what a "subtropical" cyclone is, scroll down the page a bit.

U.S. Air Force Reserve Hurricane Hunters reconnaissance missions measured surface winds from 40-45 mph, justifying going straight to "storm", rather than "depression" status. Once convection became sufficiently organized and persistent within the circulation, the system was named.

Bands of rain already begun to wrap into parts of the coastal Carolinas Thursday. However, rainbands Friday morning appear less concentrated, as the circulation is wrapping some drier air around its eastern flank.

Winds gusted above 30 mph Thursday in Wilmington, North Carolina, and a few coastal Carolina locations experienced gusts over 20 mph.
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Bizarro Earth

Typhoon and active volcano force evacuations in Philippines

Rosemarie Francisco and Ira Cruz
Reuters
Fri, 08 May 2015 09:16 UTC
typhoon noul
© EPAA handout photograph provided by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) shows Typhoon Noul over the West Pacific, east of the Philippines on May 6, 2015. The Philippines is preparing to evacuate residents along its northeastern coast as a typhoon approaches, as well as those near a rumbling volcano that has been spewing steam and ash over a central province, officials said on Friday
The Philippines is preparing to evacuate residents along its northeastern coast as a typhoon approaches, as well as those near a rumbling volcano that has been spewing steam and ash over a central province, officials said on Friday.

Typhoon Noul was about 480 km (300 miles) northeast of the town of Borongan in Eastern Samar province early on Friday, with wind gusts of up to 185 km per hour (115 mph), and was expected to make landfall as a category four storm at the weekend.

Thousands of passengers have already been stranded in seaports along the central and eastern Philippines after authorities stopped vessels from sailing because of rough seas.

The typhoon, the fourth to hit the Southeast Asian country this year, was expected to bring heavy to intense rainfall when it makes landfall in the northeast, the weather bureau said. It was then expected to weaken as it swung northeast towards the Japanese island of Okinawa by Tuesday.

Officials warned that heavy rain from the typhoon could cause "lahar", or flows of mud and debris, around Mount Bulusan, a volcano that has been spewing ash this week.

Comment: See also: Bulusan volcano in Philippines explodes, ejecting steam and ash

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Bizarro Earth

Rare 4.0 earthquake rocks north Texas amid fracking debate


RT
Fri, 08 May 2015 14:28 UTC
Image
© traveltex.com
A magnitude-4.0 earthquake rattled residents in northern Texas on Thursday evening. One of the most powerful quakes ever recorded in the region has fueled speculation that fracking is responsible for this seismic activity.

The earthquake, which struck near Venus, about 30 miles (48 kilometers) southwest of Dallas, at 5:58 p.m., was the most powerful to strike the region since seismic activity began in November 2013. Since then, more than 50 tremors have rattled the region, according to the US Geological Survey (USGS).

Earthquake clusters began to strike northern Texas in 2008. Since then, over 120 quakes have been reported in the region. Prior to that year, researchers say, a felt earthquake had not been reported in the area in nearly 60 years.

Comment: Mother Nature is angry.

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Cloud Precipitation

Tigers and wild animals escape from Tuttle, Oklahoma zoo after tornado hits


The Guardian
Thu, 07 May 2015 12:44 UTC
Image
© Sue Ogrocki/APA vehicle makes its way through deep water following heavy rain in Moore, Okla., Wednesday, May 6, 2015. Forecasters declared a tornado emergency for Moore.
A series of tornadoes, including a major twister, touched down southwest of Oklahoma City on Wednesday, flipping cars and causing the escape of tigers and other animals from an exotic wildlife park, officials said.

There were no immediate reports of injuries but some structures were damaged as a storm system brought severe weather to several Great Plains states, officials said.

Tigers and other animals were able to briefly escape from the Tiger Safari park after a tornado struck the city of Tuttle, about 30 miles (48km) south-west of Oklahoma City, though they were recaptured without further incident, the Grady County Sheriff's Office said.

Residents of Tuttle had been warned to stay indoors by authorities after the escape.

Meanwhile passengers, visitors and employees at the Will Rogers World Airport in Oklahoma City were evacuated to a pedestrian tunnel for about 30 minutes as the storms moved through the area, the airport said on its Twitter feed.

The tornadoes flipped cars, downed power lines and snapped trees. Several roads were closed because of debris, the Oklahoma Department of Emergency Management said.


Comment: See also: Flash flood emergency issued for Oklahoma City following 7 inches of rain in 24 hours

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Cloud Precipitation

Nebraska declares State of Emergency following flooding and storm damage

Richard Davies
floodlist.com
Fri, 08 May 2015 12:15 UTC
Image
© Nebraska Governor’s OfficeDeshler, Nebraska, flood damage 07 May 2015.
Parts of Nebraska saw over 8 inches (200 mm) of rain in 24 hours yesterday, 07 May 2015. Storm and flood damage has been so severe that Nebraska Governor Pete Ricketts declared a State of Emergency for the affected areas.

The Governor surveyed storm damage and flooding in Hebron, Deshler, Roseland, and near Lincoln via helicopter. Following the flight he said, "I have authorized an emergency declaration. At this time the Nebraska Emergency Management Agency is in contact with other state agencies and they are actively monitoring the situation and will provide assistance as needed."
"The good news is nobody was hurt and everybody is safe. Utility crews are out there working. We did have a power outage last night in about a third of the town. As we flew over the state, we saw more utility crews continuing to work to restore power to folks in Roseland."
Other affected areas include the town of DeWitt and the city of Fairbury, where 100s of people have been evacuated. The town of Crete saw 8.10 inches of rain fall in 24 hours. Salt Creek and Little Blue River are reported to be at flood stage at several points in the area.

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