Earth ChangesS


Igloo

US: Hail Storm Pounds Northeast Oklahoma

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© T.J. Conley/News On 6 News On 6 viewer T.J. Conley snapped this photo in Coffeyville, Kansas.
Coffeyville, Kansas - News On 6 viewers snapped pictures of a hail storm that fell on parts of northeast Oklahoma and southern Kansas Saturday.

One viewer said hail the size of golf balls covered the ground in Coffeyville, Kansas.

The fast moving storm caused only a few drizzles in the Tulsa metro area as it drifted northeast out of the area.

A return to windy and warm conditions will be likely Sunday through Tuesday with fire danger issues dominating the headlines.

A storm system will brush the state Tuesday evening and there will be a slight chance of storms across the eastern third of the state. A few could be severe if they form.

Radar

5.7 magnitude earthquake in Kashmir

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© Unknown
Srinagar: Jammu and Kashmir's summer capital Srinagar and other parts of the valley were jolted by a 5.7-magnitude earthquake on Monday afternoon, an official said.

Sonam Lotus, the director of the local weather office, said: 'An earthquake measuring 5.7 on the Richter scale hit Srinagar and other parts of the valley at 3.19 p.m.

'The quake was of moderate intensity with its epicentre in the Hindukush region at latitude 36.5 degrees north and longitude 17.9 degrees east,' she said.

The tremors were felt by residents of Srinagar, but no loss of life or property has been reported so far.

Attention

Cover-up? US Coast Guard: Gulf substance is likely sediment

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© Unknown
The Coast Guard says a miles-long patch of discolored goop floating in the Gulf of Mexico appears to be caused by river sediment.

The Coast Guard tested the patch Sunday and found only trace amounts of petroleum that were well below the state of Louisiana's standard for clean water. A news release says The Coast Guard believes the discoloration is the result of sediments brought down the Mississippi River.


Nuke

Japan's disaster toll rises with 18,000 deaths

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© Reuters/Kim Kyung-HoonA photographer holds a radiation detector indicating 0.35 microsieverts per hour at a devastated factory area hit by earthquake and tsunami in Sendai, northern Japan, March 20, 2011.
Fukushima, Japan - The toll of Japan's triple disaster came into clearer focus Monday after police estimates showed more than 18,000 people died, the World Bank said rebuilding may cost $235 billion and more cases of radiation-tainted vegetables and tap water turned up.

Japanese officials reported progress over the weekend in their battle to gain control over a nuclear complex that began leaking radiation after suffering quake and tsunami damage, though the crisis was far from over, with a dangerous new surge in pressure reported in one of the plant's six reactors.

The announcement by Japan's Health Ministry late Sunday that tests had detected excess amounts of radioactive elements on canola and chrysanthemum greens marked a low moment in a day that had been peppered with bits of positive news: First, a teenager and his grandmother were found alive nine days after being trapped in their earthquake-shattered home. Then, the operator of the overheated nuclear plant said two of the six reactor units were safely cooled down.

"We consider that now we have come to a situation where we are very close to getting the situation under control," Deputy Cabinet Secretary Tetsuro Fukuyama said.

Cloud Lightning

USA: The nation's weather

A powerful Pacific storm will pound California and Nevada with heavy rain and high elevation snow. Winter storm warnings are in effect for the Sierra Nevadas of California with up to 2 feet of new snow possible above 7,000 feet. Some lower elevations in California could experience more than an inch of rain, prompting flooding concerns.

High wind warnings are in effect for almost all of California and Nevada as southerly winds will gust up to 75 mph in the lower elevations and up to 100 mph along the ridges of the Sierra Nevadas. The intensity of the wind may potentially knock out power to some populated areas.

Meanwhile, another storm will move into the upper Midwest, spreading rain. The rain will make its way into the Mississippi Valley watershed, adding to an already potentially record-breaking flood season. Flood watches and warnings are already in effect for the Mississippi River.

Temperatures in the Northeast will rise into the 30s and 40s, while the Southeast will see readings in the 70s and 80s. The Southern plains will see temperatures in the 80s and some 90s, while the Northwest will see 40s and 50s. Higher elevations will only rise into the 20s and 30s in the West. Temperatures in the lower 48 states on Saturday have ranged from a morning low of 6 degrees at Crane Lake, Minn., to a high of 89 degrees at Augusta Bush, Ga.

Bizarro Earth

9 dead dolphins found since Saturday in Alabama and Mississippi

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© Press-Register/Harlan Kirgan9 dead dolphins have been found in Alabama and Mississippi since Saturday. Scientists with the Institute for Marine Mammal Studies perform a necropsy on a dead dolphin earlier this year.

Despite what she called an "unusual mortality event" killing dolphins in the Gulf of Mexico, the top federal scientist investigating the deaths, revealed Wednesday that the government has yet to send any tissue samples for laboratory testing to determine a cause. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Blair Mase blamed the delay on complications related to oil spill litigation.

A letter sent by NOAA to groups authorized to collect tissue samples from dead dolphins described the work as "a criminal investigation," according to Mase.

Nine more dolphin carcasses were recovered in Alabama and Mississippi between Saturday and Wednesday, bringing the total for the two states to 62 since Jan. 1, according to a list compiled Wednesday by the Institute for Marine Mammal Studies.

Attention

Coast Guard probing reports of "sheen" in Gulf of Mexico

The U.S. Coast Guard is investigating reports of a "sheen" in the Gulf of Mexico off the coast of Louisiana.

The Coast Guard on Sunday were trying to determine whether the sheen or gleaming at the top of the water, was the result of oil or an algae growth, said Lieutenant Ryan Baxter, command duty officer in New Orleans.

"We have an unknown substance in the water," he said. "We're trying to confirm what it is."

Question

Popular Berlin polar bear found dead in mysterious circumstances

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© John MacDougall, AFP/Getty Images
Knut lived in Berlin's zoo. He was 4 and raised by zookeepers since a cub after his mother rejected him

Now reports say the attention-loving polar bear was found dead in a pool in his cage at the Zoologischer Garten Berlin Saturday, with no immediate cause of death announced.

This is awful," said Berlin's mayor Klaus Wowereit said, according to the Sydney (Australia) Herald. "We had all taken him to our hearts. He was the star of the Berlin Zoo."

Most reports say Knut was alone when he died, as visitors watched him suddenly fall into the water. The celebrity news site TMZ.com carried news of his death and says People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals' German branch had previously complained that his mother and other bears were tormenting Knut. And a PETA rep told TMZ that polar bears don't belong in captivity.

Bizarro Earth

Lava, clouds of hot ash spews from the mouth of volcano in central Indonesia

Manado, Indonesia - Residents in central Indonesia have been evacuated from the slopes of a volcano that has been spewing hot lava and clouds of searing gas high into the air for days.

State volcanologist Surono says Mount Karangetang has been spilling lava and shooting clouds of gas and debris up to 1,900 feet (600 meters) in the air as ash poured down its slopes.

He said Saturday that some 582 people living along its slopes have been evacuated away from the mountain on Siau, part of the Sulawesi island chain. There were no reports of injuries, but several houses and a church were damaged.

Cloud Lightning

Brazil: Heavy rain may delay sugar-cane harvest

Sugar-cane harvesting in the main growing region in Brazil, the world's biggest sugar producer, may be delayed after above-average rainfall in the first weeks of March, according to ICAP Brasil.

"Rains in the first half of March were almost double the average of the last 10 years," Marcos Mine, head of the sugar and ethanol desk at ICAP Brasil, said by phone from Sao Paulo today. "This has already delayed the start in some mills."

The bulk of Brazil's cane crop is usually harvested between March and December in Center South, which accounts for about 90 percent of the country's output. Rainfall may also hamper sugar production at the beginning of the harvest, leading processors to make ethanol instead, according to Mine.