Earth Changes

Strange banging noises heard throughout Abergavenny, Wales

Tim Butters
Abergavenny Chronicle
Thu, 11 May 2017 16:32 UTC

THINGS that go boom were heard throughout Abergavenny last weekend and as of yet there has been no official explanation as to what caused them.

The Chronicle has been inundated with queries as to the nature of the loud, fierce, and persistent. bangs were which left the town all shook up on the weekend.

As many natives were nursing the last vestiges of their hangovers and settling down to watch the Antique's Roadshow last Sunday evening, the town was collectively unnerved by the mother of all bangs.

One Abergavenny resident said, "It nearly gave me an heart attack it was that loud. A first I though it was shotgun blast or a firework, but it was way too loud for that. It sounded more like a tank going off. My husband said it was probably mini meteors colliding with the earth, but have you ever heard such nonsense?"

Actually we have. The meteor story is not as far-fetched as it sounds. When a massive meteor enter the atmosphere over a specific area it makes a very distinguishable noise. The scientific term for this is 'sonic boom'.

Magnitude 6.2 subduction zone earthquake strikes El Salvador

David Jacobson
Temblor
Fri, 12 May 2017 16:04 UTC

© Temblor
This Temblor map shows the location of today’s M=6.2 earthquake, as well as Global Earthquake Activity Rate (GEAR) model.

A M=6.2 earthquake struck off the coast of El Salvador at 4:41 a.m. local time this morning (12 May 2017). According to the USGS, the quake occurred at a depth of 10 km, approximately 75 km offshore. So far, no reports of damage have come in, and the USGS estimates that economic losses should remain minimal, and that there should be no fatalities as only light shaking was felt in the country, including in the capital city of San Salvador, which is home to over 250,000 people.

Even though the USGS does not have a focal mechanism, based on the earthquake's depth and location, it likely occurred on the Central American subduction zone or just above it. This analysis was also aided by using the Slab 1.0 model by Gavin Hayes at the USGS (which appears in Temblor as "Megathrust" zones). This model is a compilation of global subduction zones geometries. Based on the geometry of this subducting slab, it should be at a depth of 10-20 km in the location of today's event.

USGS data

Once dry waterfalls are flowing again in California's Yosemite National Park due to record snowfall

WQOW
Fri, 12 May 2017 15:19 UTC

Visitors to Yosemite National Park are getting quite the rare and spectacular show.

Thanks to record snowfall that is now melting in the mountains, hundreds of massive waterfalls, that have been dry for years, are once again flowing. Visitors are packing the park to catch a glimpse of the no-longer secret falls.

Park officials say the temporary falls should be active for at least a month.

Record-breaking snowstorm puts an end to California's 'super bloom'

Michael d'Estries
Mother Nature Network
Thu, 11 May 2017 14:52 UTC

© Sicco Rood/Anza-Borrego DRC
A portion of California's recent super bloom was killed off last weekend after a rare spring snowstorm.

Part of the state's most prolific bloom since 1999 is now buried under 10 inches of snow.

A Southern California super bloom so prolific it could be seen from space has been killed off by a last gasp from old man winter.

While many of the spectacular species of wildflowers, from Arizona lupine to desert lilies, were already on the wane, a freak snowstorm that blew through the state on May 7 finished the job. In San Diego, the city recorded its coldest day in 64 years with a high of "only" 59 degrees. Nearby Palomar Mountain, where blooms were still heavy with color, recorded a record 10 inches of snowfall.

Rare May snowfall in Oslo beats 50 year old record; 40 cm (15 inches) of snow

Belarus News
Fri, 12 May 2017 14:25 UTC

Snow covers an outdoor cafe in Holmenkollen, Oslo, Norway, on May 11, 2017

A rare May snowfall hit Norway's capital city overnight between Wednesday and Thursday, and, in some parts of the city, it was the first time in 50 years that there was that much snowfall.

In the Tryvann area north of Oslo, 40 cm of snow was registered, according to newspaper. Aftenposten

Snow also fell in Oslo's Blindern area, where the main campus of the University of Oslo is located.

"Snow was registered at Blindern in May only once before. It happened in 1967," meteorologist Terje Alsvik Walloe told Aftenposten.

On Wednesday, the thermometer did not go above 3.1 degrees in Blindern, marking the lowest temperature ever measured on the same date in Oslo.

Shallow 6.2-magnitude quake registered off the coast of El Salvador

Daily Mail
Fri, 12 May 2017 12:18 UTC

The U.S. Geological Survey says a strong earthquake has struck off the coast of El Salvador.

The quake, with a preliminary magnitude of 6.2, struck at around 4:40 a.m. Friday morning. Its depth was measured at a shallow 10 kilometers (6 miles). It was followed by at least one large aftershock.

The epicenter was about 60 miles (97 kilometers) from the city of Sonsonate, and 79 miles (128 kilometers) from the capital, San Salvador.

There were no immediate reports of damage.

Source: AP

Freak hailstorm hits Koolyanobbing, Western Australia

Adam Poulsen
WA Today
Fri, 12 May 2017 10:02 UTC

Koolyanobbing was hammered with hail on Thursday morning

The Wheatbelt mining town of Koolyanobbing has experienced a spectacular hail storm, transforming it into a wintry dreamscape.

Incredible photos of the aftermath of Thursday morning's storm have surfaced on Facebook, and show thick layers of ice on the ground in scenes more reminiscent of a ski field than the Australian outback.

Ronnie Canning, who posted the photos to facebook and has worked at the local iron ore mine for ten years, said he hadn't seen anything like it.

"It all happened pretty quick to tell you the truth, it escalated quite quickly. It all happened within about ten minutes, so it was quite loud and noisy really," Mr Canning said.

Dead minke whale found on beach in Alnmouth, UK

James Willoughby
Northumberland Gazette
Fri, 12 May 2017 09:21 UTC

The minke whale.

A dead minke whale has been washed up on a Northumberland beach.

The creature was discovered at Alnmouth yesterday. Experts have described it as being an incredibly underweight juvenile and about 4.25metres in length. The cause of death is unknown at this stage.

Jane Hardy, from Alnwick, is a volunteer marine mammal medic for British Divers Marine Life Rescue (BDMLR) and she arrived at the scene at just after 6pm.

She told the Gazette last night: "I am sad to say that I was called out to a minke whale on Alnmouth beach. It was first reported at 5.30pm. Amble Coastguards assisted the BDMLR and samples were being taken. It was dead when it breached, but the cause of death is unknown. It was an incredibly underweight juvenile.

"Coastguards were trying to organise to move it further up the beach so the next tide didn't take it."

Canada floods: Kelowna braces for worst flooding on record

Blaine Gaffney
Globalnews.ca
Wed, 10 May 2017 16:24 UTC

© GARY NYLANDER/The Daily Courier / PNG
Residents with houses along Duck Lake, also known as Ellison Lake, are seeing water creep up to the edges of their property.

It's being called "the perfect storm" and it could lead to thousands of people being evacuated in Kelowna later this week.

The triple-whammy of above normal snow pack levels and already saturated ground in the mountains, warming temperatures and forecasted heavy rainfall could combine to create a once-in-200 year flood event in the city.

"We are planning for the worst and hoping for he best," says Emergency Operations Centre director Brian Reardon. "Citizens should be doing the same. Last week's flooding may prove to be just a dress rehearsal for a much larger event "

He says upwards of 2,500 Kelowna residents could have to leave their homes.

Reardon advises people living in low-lying areas near water courses to start sandbagging now and to prepare a grab-bag of essential items should they be evacuated for an extended period.

About 100 forests ministry personnel will be in the city later Wednesday to help with sandbagging.

"Today is a call to action," says Kelowna Mayor Colin Basran. "This is a serious issue heading our way we need to be prepared."

Comment: Record precipitation levels threaten to trigger widespread flooding in Canada

Small earthquake shakes Seattle area days after swarm near Kitsap Peninsula

Bob Young
Seattle Times
Thu, 11 May 2017 12:21 UTC

After more than a dozen earthquakes, including two early Thursday, struck around the Kitsap Peninsula since early May, another small temblor off Whidbey Island shook the Seattle area

After two earthquakes early Thursday, part of a swarm of minor quakes that have struck the Kitsap Peninsula, another earthquake was detected at 10:56 a.m. off Whidbey Island.

The first quake hit at 12:34 a.m. Thursday, with a magnitude of 3.6 and an epicenter 3.4 miles from Bremerton, according to the University of Washington's Pacific Northwest Seismic Network (PNSN). More than 700 people reported to the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) that they felt some intensity of shaking in places from Vashon Island to Bellevue to Lynnwood.

The second, smaller temblor came at 2:36 a.m., with a magnitude of 2.6 and an epicenter 2.1 miles from Bremerton.

Comment: 20 small earthquakes strike near Kitsap Peninsula, Washington

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Earth Changes

Strange banging noises heard throughout Abergavenny, Wales

Magnitude 6.2 subduction zone earthquake strikes El Salvador

Once dry waterfalls are flowing again in California's Yosemite National Park due to record snowfall

Record-breaking snowstorm puts an end to California's 'super bloom'

Rare May snowfall in Oslo beats 50 year old record; 40 cm (15 inches) of snow

Shallow 6.2-magnitude quake registered off the coast of El Salvador

Freak hailstorm hits Koolyanobbing, Western Australia

Dead minke whale found on beach in Alnmouth, UK

Canada floods: Kelowna braces for worst flooding on record

Small earthquake shakes Seattle area days after swarm near Kitsap Peninsula

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