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Rare red sprites photographed over southern Arizona

Jeff Beamish
KVOA Tucson News
Wed, 27 Jul 2016 02:00 UTC
Red sprites over Arizona
© Kevin Rimcoski
A local storm chaser caught a rare phenomenon on camera.

Kevin Rimcoski took this photo from Mount Lemmon's Windy Point on Sunday night. Along with the stars and storms, Rimcoski's picture also captured red sprites. What are these and how do they form?

Red sprites are weak electrical discharges that can form directly above a decaying complex of storms. They occur roughly 50 miles above the Earth's surface. For perspective, most lightning strikes happen within a few miles above the Earth.

Red sprites are also triggered by positive lightning strikes. These are bolts that travel from the tops of the clouds down to the valley floors. Positive lightning strikes can be 10-100 times more powerful than their negative counterparts, due to the amount of required energy to travel through the atmosphere.

Comment: A couple of months ago other 'rare' red sprites were filmed bursting out of supercell storm in Texas. See also:

Red Sprites - A strange and beautiful form of lightning

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Bizarro Earth

Drought ravaged Lesotho forced to import food as vital water reserves exported to South Africa

Julie Jammot
Phys.org
Fri, 12 Aug 2016 00:00 UTC
drought Lesotho

Shephard Ts'olo Lesofe secretly takes his sheep down to drink from the controversial Katse dam in Lesotho, which only provides water to South Africa
For farmer Mohlakoane Molise, the view of the enormous Katse dam from his smallholding high in the mountains of Lesotho taunts him daily.

His country is suffering through its worst drought in 35 years, but the vast and vital water reserves remain out of reach, destined instead for export to neighbouring South Africa.

"I am very angry about that water, because it could benefit us, we could use it to water the crops when there is a drought. But that's not happening," the 65-year-old widower told AFP.

Kneeling in front of his round, thatch-roofed hut, he sorted through his maize, examining each grain, one-by-one.

The operation didn't take long. His total annual harvest filled just two large sacks, in place of the usual dozen.

According to the World Food Programme (WFP), the 2016 harvest for Lesotho's primary crop maize is estimated at 25,000 tonnes, a dramatic drop from last year's 78,000-tonne haul.

Instead, the mountainous kingdom - - entirely landlocked by South Africa - - must import food from its larger neighbour.
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Attention

Risso's dolphin that died near San Francisco airport was dehydrated, malnourished

Aaron Kinney
The Mercury News
Thu, 11 Aug 2016 19:09 UTC
A Risso's dolphin is stranded in the mud near San Francisco International Airport on Tuesday, Aug. 9, 2016
© ABC 7 News/KGO-TV
A Risso's dolphin is stranded in the mud near San Francisco International Airport on Tuesday, Aug. 9, 2016
Preliminary results from a necropsy show a Risso's dolphin that died in a shallow channel near San Francisco International Airport was severely malnourished and dehydrated, the Sausalito-based Marine Mammal Center said Thursday.

A team from the center, along with the San Francisco Fire Department, retrieved the body of the dolphin Wednesday from the mudflats south of the airport, where the animal became stranded earlier this week.

An analysis of tissue and organ samples will help determine whether there was an underlying illness that caused the dolphin to stop eating. Risso's dolphins are rare visitors to San Francisco Bay. They typically make their home in the open ocean and travel in pods.
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Fire

Mysterious 'volcano' fire appears in Limpopo, South Africa

Dale Hes
The Times (South Africa)
Fri, 12 Aug 2016 18:26 UTC
The Council for Geoscience is on its way to investigate this strange ground fire in Limpopo.
© Mbusi Ka-Mphezulu/AENS
The Council for Geoscience is on its way to investigate this strange ground fire in Limpopo.
Scientists from the Council for Geoscience are on their way to Limpopo to investigate the mysterious appearance of a lava-like fire which has injured three people after burning unabated for three weeks at Zaaiplaas Village in Sehlakwane.

In July the Limpopo Provincial Disaster Management Centre (PDMC) received a call from the Sekhukune District Municipality regarding the emergence of unusual fire, mud and grey ash in a damp wetland area on the outskirts of the village.

"The PDMC visited the area to conduct rapid assessment. The assessment revealed that the smoke and fires started three weeks ago. There is hot mud and grey ash in the area and three people were burnt by hot ash," said PDMC spokesperson Michael Moja.

The fire has steadily burnt through an area larger than a rugby field, transforming the wetland into what looks like an active volcanic field. A community member, Mbusi Ka-Mphezulu, posted photos on Facebook of a lava-like substance glowing from underneath the ground.
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Attention

Addressing the 300-pound gater in the room: Man surprised to find 9-foot reptile in his garage in Fulshear, Texas

Brandon Walker
Click 2 Houson
Thu, 11 Aug 2016 16:59 UTC
300 pound gator
A man in Fulshear got quite the shock when he opened his garage door Thursday evening. "I took two steps in and his head was literally right there," said Doug Dallmer, describing the nearly 9-foot long alligator that had crawled its way inside the garage. "It was a little nerve-wracking," Dallmer said.

Dallmer called Fulshear police, which in turn called a wrangler to remove the alligator. "It was a big one. We were surprised by how big it was," said Capt. Mike McCoy, Fulshear police. Dallmer recorded video on his cellphone, as a group tried to lasso a rope around the alligator's head. During the recording, the alligator could be heard hissing. It also opened its mouth in an attempt to defend itself.

Alligator sightings are common in Fulshear, as are removals, officials said. Still, this case was odd. "It's unique for an alligator this size. This alligator is quite big," Capt. McCoy said. The official measurement came in at 8 feet, 9 inches long, weighing upwards of 300 pounds.

"It's quite a story. No doubt about it," Doug Dallmer said, breathing a sigh of relief that he and his family are safe. The alligator will be taken to an alligator farm in El Campo, Texas, where it will live on a refuge, officials said. "That was our goal here," said McCoy. "Not to harm the alligator."

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Cloud Lightning

Lightning bolt kills man and injures 4 others in Poughkeepsie, New York

Christopher Mele
New York Times
Fri, 12 Aug 2016 14:52 UTC
Emergency personnel put a victim onto a stretcher in Mansion Square Park in Poughkeepsie, N.Y., on Friday, after a powerful thunderstorm hit the park.
© Alex Wagner/The Journal
Emergency personnel put a victim onto a stretcher in Mansion Square Park in Poughkeepsie, N.Y., on Friday, after a powerful thunderstorm hit the park.
A lightning bolt that struck during a fast-moving storm killed one person and injured four, two critically, at a park in the center of Poughkeepsie, N.Y., on Friday afternoon, the police and the mayor of the Hudson Valley city said.

The most severly injured of the three unresponsive victims who had been taken to the trauma center at Vassar Brothers Medical Center in Poughkeepsie died Saturday around 1 a.m., a hospital spokesman, Tim Massie said. The man, who was not immedietely identified, was 50 years old, Mr. Massie said. The two others remained in the hospital's intensive care unit. All three were men in their late 40s to early 50s who had been sitting together on the same park bench, he said.

The other victims were taken to MidHudson Regional Hospital in Poughkeepsie. Their conditions were not immediately available.


Comment: Electric universe: Lightning strength and frequency increasing

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Attention

Bear attacks continue to increase in Akita, Japan


Tokyo Reporter
Wed, 10 Aug 2016 14:10 UTC
Asiatic black bear

Asiatic black bear
Following the deaths of four persons due to attacks by bears earlier in Kazuno City this year, Akita Prefectural Police are investigating three more incidents, reports the Asahi Shimbun (Aug. 9).

At 4:50 a.m. on Tuesday, Kiyomi Abe, 77, suffered injuries to her head and back after she was attacked from behind by a bear in a field at her home in the Hachimantai area. After the woman let out a scream, the bear fled the scene along a national highway.

Ten minutes later, a bear scratched the right thigh of Taeko Abe, 75, in a field about 200 meters away from the first attack. In fleeing the area, the woman broke her left ankle after she jumped down from a height of 1.5 meters. The bear was last seen heading into a forest.

Police suspect that the same animal, measuring about one meter in length, attacked both women.

Comment: See also: Man loses finger in latest bear attack in Japan

and

String of likely bear attacks claims fourth victim in Japan

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Attention

Man killed by sun bear in Malaysia

Sulaiman Jafaar
New Straits Times
Thu, 11 Aug 2016 13:49 UTC
A Thai man died after he was attacked by a sun bear at a durian orchard near the Renok Baru Kesedar settlement here today.
© Wikimedia Commons
A Thai man died after he was attacked by a sun bear at a durian orchard near the Renok Baru Kesedar settlement
A Thai man died after he was attacked by a sun bear at a durian orchard near the Renok Baru Kesedar settlement here today.

The body of Mat Didik@Madidi Basa, 40, was found by his son Muhamad Naim, 15, who went out to search for him about 6am.

District police chief Superintendent Rajab Ahad Ismail said the victim had gone out alone to the orchard about 10pm and most likely came across the bear.

"Villagers claimed that they had seen a bear prowling in the orchard. People have also spotted a bear eating durian on a tree. He could encountered the bear while he was collecting the durian and was attacked by the animal.

"There were slash wounds on his head," he said.

Meanwhile, Kelantan Wildlife director Mohamad Khairi Ahmad Said said the department received the information at 8.15am and has deployed five staff to investigate the incident.
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Camera

Tornadic waterspout illuminated by lightning storm captured over Adriatic Sea


Strange sounds
Fri, 12 Aug 2016 06:25 UTC
water spout over Adriatic Sea
© Olivier Staiger
While seeking Perseid meteors, Olivier Staiger found tornadic waterspout! This incredible night thunderstorm was captured east of Cattolica, Italy off the Adriatic Sea on August 10, 2016.

Olivier Staiger explains: Wednesday, August 10th, 2016, I drove about 700km in the afternoon from Switzerland to Italy to chase a rare potential situation for waterspouts with Perseid meteors in the Adriatic Sea.
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Snowflake Cold

Early cold temperatures hit Denver, Colorado; Summer snow falls on Pikes Peak

Chris Spears
CBS News - Denver
Fri, 12 Aug 2016 09:48 UTC
Summer snow at Pikes Peak
A cold front brought a taste of early fall to Colorado on Friday including a dusting of snow on top of Pikes Peak.

It's not uncommon for Colorado's highest mountains to record occasional summer snow.
Pikes Peak snow
Friday's temperatures started off in the 40s across the mountains with a few valleys dipping into the 30s.

Metro Denver saw overnight lows fall into the lower and middle 50s with a few upper 40s on the fringes of the city as reported by CBS4 Weather Watchers.

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