Earth ChangesS


Binoculars

Snowstorm brings Eurasian thrush to Apple River, Canada

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This rare Fieldfare was spotted by Blaine and Kathleen Spicer in Apple River, Cumberland County, on Jan. 31, and again over the next two days.
Kathleen Spicer has seen a lot of different birds in her yard over the years, but very few in North America have been visited by a Fieldfare.

The robin-like European bird was first spotted by Spicer's husband Blaine in an apple tree in their yard during a snowstorm on Jan. 31, and was still being observed there as of Monday.

"Blaine saw it out the window and said, 'I don't know what this is,' so I grabbed my camera and stood on a chair to get a picture of it," aid Mrs. Spicer. "I thought maybe it was a Varied Thrush, because it had a robin shape. But when I looked at the picture, I knew it was something else."

Although she had never seen a Fieldfare before, there was something familiar about the bird. She grabbed a guidebook she had for European birds, and there one was right on the cover.

Snowflake

Boston sets 7-day snowfall record

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© Getty Images
If it's any consolation, we're part of a history-making period in Boston weather. As of 1 p.m. Monday, Boston set a new record for snowiest seven-day period in the city's history with 34.2 inches. The old record of 31.2 inches was set 19 years ago in January, 1996.

Snowfall totals to the north of the Massachusetts Turnpike may reach 15 to 18 inches, with up to 20 inches in some areas. Schools in Boston were closed for Tuesday.

"The safety of our children and families in Boston is always our top priority. Our crews will be working hard to clear all streets and schools tonight and tomorrow as we recover from this ongoing winter storm," Boston Mayor Marty Walsh said.

Tony Troc, of Whitman, Mass., was among those looking on the bright side of shoveling snow, and sees it as a pretty good workout.

"It doesn't bother me at all," said Troc, of Whitman, who works in a supermarket warehouse and spoke Monday after clearing about eight inches of snow from his driveway. "If I didn't like it, I'd be in Florida."

Just a week after a blockbuster blizzard dropped up to three feet of snow in some part of Massachusetts, another winter storm is expected to bring another foot of snow or more.

Red Flag

San Francisco received no measurable rain in January, setting city record

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© Brant Ward, The Chronicle
For the first time in recorded weather history, San Francisco received no measurable rain in January.

The city's streets stayed dry, and the month ended on Saturday with sunshine and the temperature hitting 70 degrees.

The rest of the Bay Area was also dry. Meteorology consultant Jan Null tells the San Francisco Chronicle that other cities, including San Jose, saw at most two one-hundredths of an inch of rain.

The Bay Area is still above normal rainfall totals for this time of year after a wet December. But rain will have to start falling soon to maintain a normal pace. The state, meanwhile, remains in the grips of a drought.

San Francisco's recorded weather history dates back to the Gold Rush era of the mid-19th century.

Black Cat

Cougar attacks 45-pound dog in Placerville, California

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A homeowner came face to face with a mountain lion early Sunday morning in a remote, wooded area of Placerville after it attacked her 45-pound dog.

Susan McPherson knew something was wrong after her dog, Mate, ran into the backyard at 3:30 a.m., and she did not hear his usual barking.

So she followed him - and spotted a mountain lion.

"I saw a large cat walking away," McPherson said. "I yelled at it. And he turned his head, and there was this gray dog (in the mountain lion's mouth) ... like a rag doll. So, I'm like, 'This can't be my dog.'"


Snowflake Cold

Groundhog Punxsutawney Phil 'forecasts' 6 more weeks of winter

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© AP Photo/Gene J. PuskarGroundhog Club handler Ron Ploucha, left, holds Punxsutawney Phil, the weather prognosticating groundhog, during the 129th celebration of Groundhog Day on Gobbler's Knob in Punxsutawney, Pa., Monday, Feb. 2, 2015.
The handlers of Pennsylvania's most famous groundhog, Punxsutawney Phil, said Monday the furry rodent has forecast six more weeks of winter.

Members of the top hat-wearing Inner Circle announced the "prediction" Monday morning.

A German legend has it that if a furry rodent sees his shadow on Feb. 2, winter will last another six weeks. If not, spring comes early.

Attention

150 sea turtles found dead in Mexican Pacific lagoon

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© ProfepaOne of the dead turtles in Guerrero Negro.
Cold temperatures are suspected of killing some 150 sea turtles found in a lagoon of Mexico's Baja California Peninsula.

Investigators with the federal environmental protection agency said Saturday the green sea turtles were found in the Ojo de Liebre lagoon, on the Pacific side of Baja California Sur state. The agency said it would be difficult to determine the exact cause of death due to the advanced state of decomposition of the remains.

The agency said a cold front that lowered temperatures in the region may have caused the deaths but investigators also would try to determine whether some sort of contamination might have played a role.

In mid-January, federal inspectors found the bodies of 14 gray whales at the lagoon, as well as 16 other sea turtles.

Source: Associated Press

Comment: See also these reports from the same region in January: 14 whales and 16 turtles wash up dead on Baja California Sur coast

554 dead seabirds and 4 sea lions found on beaches in Baja California, Mexico


Snowflake Cold

Winter is here: Sub-zero temperatures continue in UK with another week of snow predicted

snow buries car Derbyshire
After extreme weather, a car is almost hidden by several feet of snow near Castleton in the Derbyshire Peak District yesterday afternoon
It's bad news for anyone who didn't pick up a coat in the January sales - last month's icy spell is expected to continue all week.

The mercury was expected to fall to -11C in some parts of the UK overnight, with subzero temperatures expected every night this week and snow predicted across swathes of the nation.

Southern England is gearing up for its coldest snap of the winter, with forecasters saying it will fall to -4C in the South tonight - as cold as your fridge.

Simon Partidge of the Met Office said: 'The maximum temperature on Monday will only be around 4C or 5C which is about the same as inside your fridge.

'And there is a further band of rain, sleet and snow coming in on Monday night which will see some snow in Western parts on Tuesday. It will be dry with sunny spells from Wednesday, but still very cold with some snow on the East Coast.

Binoculars

Another odd bird migration: Painted bunting turns up in Oakville, Canada

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© Cathie Coward,The Hamilton Spectator

Painted Bunting: Meet the tiny bird that has been the big talk of local birders for the past month.
In a backyard in Oakville, there's a tiny, colourful bird that's setting hearts aflutter.

A painted bunting, which usually makes its home in the Southern U.S. and Mexico, mysteriously appeared in the Lakeshore Road East and Winston Churchill Boulevard area before Christmas. The rare creature has created quite a stir, drawing birders from across Ontario and lots of speculation among those who love small things with wings.

Hamiltonian Bruce Mackenzie, an avid birder and retired conservation area manager, thinks the painted bunting is a wild bird that got blown off course by a storm.

Bell

USGS: Earthquake Magnitude 6.3 - 87km NW of La Punta, Argentina

La Punta Earthquake 6.3
© USGS
Event Time
2015-02-02 10:49:48 (UTC)

Nearby Cities

87km (54mi) NW of La Punta, Argentina
93km (58mi) NW of San Luis, Argentina
137km (85mi) ENE of San Martin, Argentina
164km (102mi) SE of Caucete, Argentina
344km (214mi) ENE of Santiago, Chile

Depth

172.3 km

Scientific data

Comment: See: SOTT Summary Video - December 2014: Extreme Weather, Earth Changes, Fireballs, High Strangeness


Cloud Precipitation

2 dead and 5,000 homes damaged following floods and landslides in Indonesia

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© JP/Jerry AdigunaA girl rides her bike through a flooded street in Tanjung Duren, West Jakarta, on Saturday, following heavy rain in the capital and surrounding areas.
Heavy rainfall across Indonesia has caused flooding and landslides, resulting in the death of at least 2 people and damage to over 5,000 homes.

Bali

Floods and landslides killed two people in Karangasem district, Karangasem, Bali on 31 January 2015. Two others were injured in the landslide which occurred after heavy rainfall in the region.