Earth Changes

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Heavy snowfall, strong wind and coronavirus isolate northernmost Norway

Thomas Nilsen
The Barents Observer
Tue, 31 Mar 2020 12:20 UTC

No spring in the north: European route E6 to Finnmark is closed due to snowy storms and alternative drive through Finland is not allowed with closed borders.

Bad weather with heavy snowfalls and low viability have stopped traffic at the only road to Finnmark over Kvænangsfjellet mountain.

Organized convoy driving behind a snow-plow and even fully closed roads are nothing new for drivers inside the Arctic Circle in wintertime. This March, though, has been exceptional with record amounts of snow, and one storm followed by the other.

"We have very demanding driving conditions and have many closed roads both in recent days and throughout this winter," says Siril Veiåker Nilsen with the Norwegian Public Roads Administration to news-agency NTB.

This isn't an April Fool's joke - snow in Dubrovnik, Croatia

Mark Thomas
The Dubrovnik Times
Wed, 01 Apr 2020 11:46 UTC

A bitterly cold northerly wind, freezing temperatures and snow, yes snow, greeted Dubrovnik this morning as April opened with extreme weather.

The hills and mountains in the wider Dubrovnik region have a dusting of snow, like icing sugar on a birthday cake, and still the sleety snow start to fall. The current temperature in Dubrovnik is a chilly 3 degrees and with the northerly wind the real feel is unbelievably minus 6 degrees!

Comment: Further north in the same country on March 31st much deeper snow was evident:

Lightning bolt kills two in Rwanda

Régis Umurengezi
The New Times (Rwanda)
Tue, 31 Mar 2020 11:22 UTC

Residents of Nyabihu District on Monday evening discovered bodies of two persons who are suspected to have been struck by lightning during the weekend heavy downpour.

The bodies were found in a cow barn where the victims had sought shelter during the downpour.

According to accounts by some residents from Basumba cell in Bigogwe Sector where the incident took place, they had experienced heavy downpour notably on Saturday in which thunder would be heard.

The executive secretary of Basumba Cell, Justin Gashegu said that the incident took place over the weekend, however, noting that the bodies were not found on time due to the lockdown that the country is currently observing amid coronavirus pandemic.

Ongoing drought in Brazil, Argentina threatens crucial crop harvests

Courtney Spamer
AccuWeather
Wed, 01 Apr 2020 12:32 UTC

© Gary C. Caskey/UP
FILE PHOTO: Although not as extreme, parts of northern Argentina, only recorded 30 percent to 65 percent of their normal rainfall during the month of March.

An unusually dry end to the summer season across parts of South America is expected to impact the harvests of important crops in the region.

"Rainfall averaged below normal across much of southern Brazil, including [the states of] Rio Grande Do Sul, Santa Catarina, for the month of March, and in many instances the entire summer season," said AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Jason Nicholls.

Some major cities in these states include Porto Alegre, Santa Maria and Florianopolis, although even Curitiba in Parana had a drier-than-normal month of March.

Comment: All over the planet erratic seasons and extreme weather are devastating harvests and have been for a number of years resulting in depleted stocks, this, coupled with the draconian and unfounded coronavirus lockdown measures means there's a good chance many countries could be looking at significant food shortages in the near future: UK's empty supermarket shelves: Panic is not the problem

It's also worth noting that there is good evidence the Americas are subject to cyclical megadroughts during times of planetary cooling, as happens to be the case today: A warning from ancient tree rings: The Americas are prone to catastrophic, simultaneous droughts

Environmental disasters across world in March 2020

Burak Bir
Anadolu Agency
Wed, 01 Apr 2020 11:09 UTC

At least 42 people die in floods, landslides caused by heavy rains in southeast of Brazil

The third month of 2020 saw numerous environmental disasters that impaired climate change and vice versa, including a deadly tornado in the U.S., landslide in Brazil and heavy rains in Pakistan.

Here is a look at the global environmental disasters during the previous month.

March 3:

- At least 19 people die in the U.S. state of Tennessee as a result of a heavy tornado that also causes major damage to buildings, roads, bridges, utilities, and businesses.

- Some 900 people are displaced after flash flood destroys houses in Central Sulawesi, Indonesia.

March 4:

- Hundreds of people are either displaced or left isolated after floods in northern parts of Namibia, according to local media reports.

Large waterspout filmed in Alabama as storms rip through southeastern states

Yahoo! News
Tue, 31 Mar 2020 10:48 UTC

A large waterspout was reported in Mobile Bay, Alabama, on March 31 as severe storms moved across the state.

Strong to severe storms were forecast for southeastern Alabama on Tuesday, with the National Weather Service (NWS) issuing multiple tornado warnings. The NWS said it had received several reports of significant structural damage south of Eufaula.

Kelly Woods told Storyful she filmed this video in Mobile Bay on Tuesday. Local media reported that Mobile County was one of several areas that remained under tornado watch on Tuesday afternoon.

Credit: Kelly Woods via Storyful

Flash floods leave 11 dead, homes destroyed in Afghanistan

Floodlist
Wed, 01 Apr 2020 09:29 UTC

Flood damage in Herat, Afghanistan, March 2020.

Disaster management authorities in Afghanistan report that flash flooding across the country has left at least 11 people dead and 15 injured.

Afghanistan Natural Disaster Management Authority (ANDMA) said on 31 March that 11 people had died in flash flooding across the country. Fifteen people were injured, around 288 houses destroyed, 400 damaged, and about 500 hectares of land damaged.

ANDMA reported they had distributed relief supplies to flood-hit areas of Takhar province (79 families) on 28 March and Shindand district in Herat Province (219 families) on 30 March. Local media reported damage to power supply infrastructure in Salang district, Parwan province.

Rare tornado touches down near Richland, Washington

Tri-City Herald
Wed, 01 Apr 2020 00:53 UTC

© Chamise Hartman
Chamise Hartman of the Tri-Cities captured this view of the tornado Tuesday from the parking lot of the At Home store near the Columbia Center mall in Kennewick.

A small tornado appeared to touch down near north Richland on Tuesday afternoon, according to the National Weather Service.

The agency was emailed photos and videos that show a rotating dark cloud column that appears to touch the ground.

Meteorologists checked their radar images and saw possible evidence of a tornado between 2:30 and 2:45 p.m.

"As best we can tell from reports and our own data, it was brief and weak," according to the weather service.

It could have lasted from a few minutes to many minutes, it said.

Shawn Alton was taking pictures of the dramatic spring cloud formations against a blue sky above the Tri-Cities on Tuesday afternoon.

About 1 p.m. she posted a photo of the clouds, saying, "I love spring weather!"

About an hour and a half later she just happened to look up and see the tornado and captured some video of the dark funnel.

M6.5 earthquake strikes in Idaho, largest in the state since 1983

Steve Kiggins
USA TODAY
Wed, 01 Apr 2020 03:08 UTC

The earthquake caused a rockslide on Highway 21 near Lowman, Idaho

It was a typical Tuesday evening at the Albertsons grocery store in this resort town about 100 miles north of Boise.

Until Susie Baker looked up and saw all the hanging aisle signs swinging back and forth.

"Then I thought I heard a sound ... and the floor was moving," said Baker, a checker at the store.

It was the force of the most powerful earthquake to strike the Gem State since 1983, a magnitude 6.5 temblor that jolted people across Idaho and three neighboring states. No injuries or damage were immediately reported.

The quake was centered 73 miles northeast of Meridian, near Boise, according to the U.S. Geological Survey, and, for some, conjured up memories of the state's worst such natural disaster, the 6.9 magnitude Borah Peak earthquake nearly four decades ago that killed two people and resulted in millions in damages, according to the Idaho Geological Survey.

"At first I thought it was thunder, weird thunder, but then the house was moving and I realized this is an earthquake — a really big earthquake," said Melissa Hawkins, 44, who lives in northwest Boise with her family. "It felt like it was in Boise."

Comment: Some other earthquakes to hit the United States very recently include:

Shallow 5.0 magnitude earthquake rattles West Texas (March 26)

7 earthquakes rattle Oklahoma in 24 hours (March 23)

5.7M earthquake strikes Salt Lake City - First ever to directly hit Utah's capital (March 18)

19 people killed in massive forest fire in southwestern China

UNTV News
Tue, 31 Mar 2020 19:20 UTC

A massive forest fire in southwestern China has killed 19 people, according to a state media report on Tuesday (March 31).

Eighteen firefighters and a local guide were confirmed dead, from a group of 21 firefighters who went to fight the blaze that had spread over more than 1,000 hectares of land near Xichang, a city in Sichuan province.

The fire started on a farm on Monday (March 30) afternoon and quickly spread to nearby mountains due to strong winds, according to local reports.