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Hundreds of birds killed by hailstorm in Ballari, India


The Hindu
Sun, 31 May 2015 19:14 UTC
Image
© The Hindu
A large number of Rose-ringed Parakeet are among the 13 species killed in the heavy rain accompanied by hail storm in Hagari Bommanahalli taluk on Friday night.
Hundreds of birds were killed in the heavy pre-monsoon rain accompanied by hail-storm that lashed in Ballari on Friday night.

For the first time such a large number of birds have been killed in heavy rain. This incident occurred near Krishnapur village, 27 km from Hagari Bommanahalli taluk in the district.

As many as thirteen species of birds, including Plum-headed Parakeet, cattle Egret, pond Heron, Grey Heron, crows, common Myna, Copper Smith Barbet, Rose-ringed Parakeet, Small Pratincole among others, were found dead.

These birds, who depend on the horticulture crops in the vicinity, roost on the coconut trees in the surrounding.

According to Vijaykumar Itagi, a bird watcher from Hagari Bommanahalli, who rushed to the spot on getting the information, as many as 1,570 birds were found dead within a 200 metre radius.
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Snowflake

Almost June and more snow falls in Norway

Robert Felix
iceagenow.info
Sun, 31 May 2015 17:25 UTC
Image
© Jarle Vikane
Vidda in May
Riding through this stuff on a motorcycle must be awfully cold. - Robert

"It happened again yesterday on RV7," says reader.

Cars stuck in snow, another 10-15cm of snow.

Forecast for the next days: Storm with snow over 800m. Even the mainstream media thinks this is special!

I put up some clips on youtube from today's trip in the mountains. Today's road is in the same area as the Suleskardveien in the other video, it's the same area you can find the famous Pulpit Rock in the Lysefjord. Elevation is 800-950m on the highest sections.

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Sun

Death toll nears 2,000 in Indian heat wave

Omer Farooq
San Jose Mercury News
Sat, 30 May 2015 13:17 UTC
Image
© Channi Anand / AP
An Indian vendor sleeps under a temporary shed on a hot day on the outskirts of Jammu, India, Friday, May 29, 2015.
Showers and thunderstorms in parts of southern India on Saturday helped eased a weekslong summer heat wave that has claimed nearly 2,000 lives.

The heat wave, however, was expected to continue in some areas of worst-hit Telangana and Andhra Pradesh states for another 24 hours, said Y.K. Reddy, an Indian Meteorological Department director.

Heat-related conditions, including dehydration and heat stroke, have killed at least 1,490 people in Andhra Pradesh and 489 in Telangana since mid-April, according to state officials.

Daytime temperatures hovered between 40 and 45 degrees Celsius (104 and 113 degrees Fahrenheit) in the two states on Saturday, after soaring to as high as 48 C (118 F) earlier in the week, the meteorological department said.
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Cloud Precipitation

Texas floods death toll reaches 31 and snake bites soar as they flee flooded areas

Kieran Corcoran
Daily Mail, UK
Sun, 31 May 2015 12:31 UTC
Image

Waterways: This couple have turned to a canoe to navigate the streets of Houston as flooding continues. The death toll stood at 31 Saturday evening
The deadly floods in Texas continued Saturday as the number of people killed by the rising waters reached 31.

The latest deaths were confirmed as more bodies were pulled from the water around the Blanco River, which catastrophically burst its banks earlier in the week.

Even more rain fell at the start of the weekend, causing even more flooding in parts of the Lone Star State as the repercussions of the bad weather continue to make themselves felt.

In Houston, which has been devastated by the deluge, the Minute Maid Park baseball stadium was flooded during a game between the Houston Astros and the Chicago White Sox.

Concourses of the stadium were soaked in the afternoon as fans were left to cope with pounding rain - but the game continued, ending in victory for the home team.

Image

Pedal to dry land: An umbrella-wielding cyclist tries his best to navigate flooded Houston
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Sun

The Salton Sea is blowing away


arkansasonline.com
Sun, 31 May 2015 12:09 UTC
Image
© THE WASHINGTON POST / BONNIE JO MOUNT
Boat launches sit stranded above the shrinking Salton Sea, where the dry lake bed holds high levels of arsenic, selenium and DDT.
The bone-dry lake bed burned crystalline and white in the midday sun. Ecologist Bruce Wilcox hopped out of his truck and bent down to scoop up a handful of the gleaming, crusty soil.

Wilcox squeezed, then opened his fist. The desert wind scattered the lake bed like talcum powder.

"That's disturbing," Wilcox said, imagining what would happen if thousands of acres of this dust took flight. It's the kind of thing that keeps him up at night.

The Salton Sea is the largest lake in California, 360 square miles of unlikely liquid pooled in the middle of the Sonoran Desert. Now the sea is slipping away. The Salton Sea needs more water -- but so does just about every other place in California. And what is happening there perfectly illustrates the fight over water in the West, where epic drought has revived decades-old battles and the simple solutions have all been tried.
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Binoculars

A rare raptor visitor turns up near Batesville, Arkansas

Joe Mosby
Log Cabin Democrat
Sat, 30 May 2015 11:52 UTC
Image

Crested caracara
Among the birding community (don't call them birdwatchers) and with much of the public, raptors or birds of prey are something special.

Hawks, falcons, owls, vultures and eagles draw our attention in addition as being the sources for assorted misinformation, exaggeration and even fear.

One incident from close to 40 years ago was at a school assembly in a small northeast Arkansas town. The superintendent introduced Jane Gulley, the Arkansas Eagle Lady, and told the students, "We need to listen to her about eagles even if they do carry off a lot of our deer fawns."

Experts say eagles can lift four pounds at the most. No baby deer, no small children.

Birders and others were excited recently when a crested caracara was captured near Oil Trough on the White River downstream from Batesville.

Comment: See also: Rare tropical falcon turns up near Charleston, South Carolina

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Question

More than 80 kites die in Tumakuru, India

Niranjan Kaggere
Bangalore Mirror
Sun, 31 May 2015 11:44 UTC
Image

Local residents collected carcasses of more than 30 kites near Maralur village in Tumakuru
The incident has left forest officials, bird watchers and conservationists in Bengaluru and Tumakuru shocked

Is it an outbreak of a rare disease or spread of an unknown virus? Mysterious death of more than 80 kites in Tumakuru city (70 kilometers from Bengaluru), has set off alarm bells in both the forest department and animal husbandry department of the state. According to locals, in the last four-days more than 80 kites have mysteriously died and they suspect it to be either due to poisoning or the outbreak of a rare disease.

The incident has left forest officials, bird watchers and conservationists in Bengaluru and Tumakuru shocked. According to sources in the forest department, the incident came to light on Friday afternoon with locals collecting carcasses of more than 30 kites near Maralur village on Tumakuru's outskirts.
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Windsock

Sleepy English village hit by freak mini-tornado

Ian Mat
Shepton Mallet Journal
Fri, 29 May 2015 08:06 UTC
freak UK tornado

Mark Davis and the remains of his greenhouse, post mini-tornado, in Binegar
Freak weather struck one man's home in Binegar this afternoon, causing thousands of pounds of damage in minutes.

Mark Davis, 43, told dailymail.co.uk a mini-tornado was responsible for terribly damaging his home today.

The wind damaged his roof, garage and greenhouse.

Mr Davis told the Daily Mail: "'I've never seen anything like it. It made a deafening noise. I thought it was thunder and lightning to start with.

"The sky went very dark and it started pouring with rain. Some of my neighbours took cover indoors as debris was flying everywhere.

"It only lasted for about two minutes and appeared to be very localised. I would estimate the damage to my property to be around £2,000."

Comment: The UK Met Office is investigating reports that another mini tornado hit Newport on the same day.

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Question

Unusual tremors crack walls, houses on Fiji Islands


The Extinction Protocol
Sat, 30 May 2015 04:11 UTC
Image
Tremors experienced in the district of Nakasaleka and Rakiraki in Kadavu have stopped. The Mineral Resources Department says a team will be going to the villages that experienced the tremors to carry out a geological investigation.

Director Malakai Finau says they will try to find why it is localized. "We need to investigate so we could find out more information about the events such as the centre, the epicentre and the depths and that would help us find out the real causes of these tremors." The tremors were experienced in the past week. Villagers reported cracks to walls of a hall and some houses in Nakasaleka.
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Question

Mysterious bangs heard in Auckland


www.stuff.co.nz
Sun, 31 May 2015 00:38 UTC
Mystery Boom
© www.stuff.co.nz
What was the unexplained bang heard in Auckland on Saturday night?
A mysterious loud explosion has stumped residents of Auckland's central suburbs as to what it could be.

The banging was reportedly heard on Saturday around 11.30pm.

Police say they had no reports of anything that may have caused such an explosion, other than fireworks being let off.

The noise was heard in the Mt Albert, Mt Roskill and Three Kings area - as well as far away as Waterview to the west and Papakura to the south.

Resident Ash Ball said there was a massive explosion which woke up the neighbourhood. "It shook our house and woke us up with a hell of a fright."

But some residents are convinced something more untoward is going on.

One person tweeted that it sounded like a bomb exploding while another emailed to Stuff declaring it to have been a sonic boom.

In June last year, a series of mysterious "explosions" were reported across west and north Auckland leaving police mystified then as well.

Those explosions turned out to be Defence Force training exercises at the Kaipara Bomb Range.
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