Earth ChangesS


Snowflake

Rare weather phenomenon creates 'snow rollers' in Newfoundland


The Packet
Wed, 21 Dec 2016 21:19 UTC
snow rollers in Newfoundland
© YouTube/Travis Blackmore (screen capture)
Everyone is familiar with the process of rolling snow into balls to make a snowman.

Well, Mother Nature likes to roll snow, too, albeit relatively rarely.

During last week's snowfalls, Travis Blackmore captured a short video of 'snow rollers' forming in Newtown, Bonavista Bay.

According to weather.com, the winter wonder occurs when strong winds pick up moist snow, blowing it along the ground until it builds a cylinder.

The conditions in Newtown last week were apparently optimal for forming the unusual meteorological delight.


Comment: Rare snow rollers also formed in Massachusetts and Idaho this year.

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Sun

'Three suns' phenomenon recorded in São Thomé das Letras, Brazil


Strange Sounds
Mon, 19 Dec 2016 19:46 UTC
Three suns in Brazil
© Via Facebook/Arnaldo Costajr Redeluz
Arnaldo Costajr Redeluz posted on his facebook page a really strange video of the sunset at São Thomé das Letras, Minas Gerais, Brazil.Can you tell me where is the sun? It's as if there were at least 3 suns lighting up the hilly forest. Weird...

Arnaldo Costajr Redeluz recorded this really strange sky phenomenon on December 12, 2016.

So there a three spots where rays from the sun pass through. And in one of these holes you have two incandescent balls of fire. Do we have actually more suns than only one?

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Tornado1

Greenland 'powerhouse' storm may increase North Pole temperatures by 40-50 degrees

Jason Samenow
Washington Post
Tue, 20 Dec 2016 18:33 UTC
earth climate arctic
It's not normal, and it's happening again.

For the second year in a row in late December and for the second time in as many months, temperatures in the high Arctic will be freakishly high compared to normal.

Computer models project that on Thursday, three days before Christmas, the temperature near the North Pole will be an astronomical 40-50 degrees warmer-than-normal and approaching 32 degrees, the melting point.

On some forecast maps simulating Arctic temperatures, the color bar does not even go as high as predicted levels.

The warmth will be drawn into the Arctic by a powerhouse storm east of Greenland. The European weather model estimates its lowest pressure will be around 945 millibars, which is comparable to many category 3 hurricanes.

"That's pretty intense," said Ryan Maue, a meteorologist with WeatherBell Analytics.

Maue explained that depleted sea ice cover east of the Nordic Sea helps create a passageway for warm air to surge north uninhibited. "You have more real estate available to advect the warm and moist air northward," he said.

Comment: The arctic is perhaps the most volatile environment on the planet. These extremes can be seen through ice core samples throughout millennia. The current predicted warm temperatures aren't evidence of AGW pushed by political activists in the media, but they are signs that the earth is experiencing changes that may in fact lead to a new ice age.

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Attention

Thousands of dying freshwater crayfish seen floating down stream in New Zealand

Luke Kireby
Stuff
Tue, 20 Dec 2016 18:53 UTC
A man has witnessed
© Waikato TimesA man has witnessed "thousands" of dead and dying koura floating down a stream in Putaruru.
A man out for a leisurely fish this afternoon was "shocked" after seeing thousands of dead koura floating past him.

Erin Hampson-Tindale headed down to Oraka Stream in Putaruru for a bit of fishing only to find what he described as "thousands" of freshwater crayfish of all sizes and ages floating past him.

"I have spent over an hour here now and there has been a constant flow of them. It's shocking, there are literally thousands and thousands stumbling past," he said.

"They are semi-alive but obviously a whole colony has been wiped out by something because there are even really tiny ones."

He said he had no idea what was causing the koura to slowly die as there were no obvious signs of contamination.

"The water is not as clear as it can be but it could just be from the rain we had yesterday, other than that it really looks fine," he said.
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Arrow Down

Water Authority: 50-foot sinkhole collapsing neighborhood road in Pennsylvania 'naturally occurring'

Mallory Lane
We Are Central PA
Mon, 19 Dec 2016 18:30 UTC
Brittany Drive sinkhole in PA
© WJAC

A massive sinkhole opened up in a State College neighborhood, leaving dozens of residents without water. Monday, crews remained on scene to clean the mess and repair the damage.

The State College Borough Water Authority said the hole was 50 feet wide and 25 feet deep. It formed on Brittany Drive in the Park Forest neighborhood. The authority doesn't know exactly what caused the sinkhole to open because everything underground was completely washed away when they arrived on scene Sunday.

Crews will repair four pipes underground - the sewer line, sewer laterals, water main and water service line.

The Water Authority said water was restored to the 21 homes affected by the incident around 3:00 p.m. on Monday. Those homes will remain under a boil water notice until Wednesday.

Neighbors who were home when the sinkhole formed said they didn't hear anything, but did see water flowing down the street in that area earlier in the day.

"We saw a whole bunch of brown, muddy water flowing down the street and when we came up, it's right across the street from us, we saw it just flowing out of a lump on the ground," Nevin King, who lives nearby, said.

Comment: On December 20th, the local water authority reported that the sinkhole was naturally occurring and not a result of leaking water pipes:
The water authority said after an investigation that their tank levels and pumping times were normal. That means there is no evidence of a leak causing a sinkhole.
See: Sinkholes: The groundbreaking truth

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Black Cat 2

Woman injured in attack by 3 feral cats in New Zealand


India Today
Wed, 21 Dec 2016 15:52 UTC
hree wild or feral cats attacked a Taupo woman and her dog while they were out walking. These are not the cats.
Three wild or feral cats attacked a Taupo woman and her dog while they were out walking. These are not the cats.
A gang of cats in New Zealand has attacked a woman and her dog while she was out for an evening walk with the canine, a media report said today.

Jude Merwood was left with bruises and injury marks and had to visit a doctor after the attack by three feral cats near Tamatea Reserve in Taupo town.

She was out for an early evening walk with her dog Husky Sam when the incident took place, Stuff.co.nz reported.

"They came out of nowhere. They jumped on Sam (dog) first and she was on the lead," Merwood said.

As the woman tried to get the cats off her dog, she fell on the ground after which the cats attacked and bit her.

Jude Merwood says she and her Husky Sam were attacked by three cats while walking in Taupo.
© Steph RangiJude Merwood says she and her Husky Sam were attacked by three cats while walking in Taupo.
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Bizarro Earth

Set to blow? Supervolcano Campi Flegrei reawakening near Naples, could hit 500,000 people


RT
Wed, 21 Dec 2016 15:35 UTC
Pisciarelli fumaroles and mud pools from the Campi Flegrei caldera
© Carmine Minopoli / AFPPisciarelli fumaroles and mud pools from the Campi Flegrei caldera, a super volcano, near Naples.
An Italian supervolcano is showing signs of reawakening, with any eruption potentially affecting half a million people, scientists say. The volcano is located across the Bay of Naples from the famous Vesuvius, which saw one of most destructive eruptions in history.

Campi Flegrei, or the Phlegraean Fields, is a large volcanic area located in the metropolitan area of Naples, one of the most densely-inhabited areas in the world, with over 3 million people. The 13km-wide 'caldera', a large cauldron-like depression, lies mostly underwater and has 24 craters and volcanic edifices.
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Cloud Precipitation

Deadly flooding after days of torrential rain in Valencia and Murcia, Spain

Richard Davies
Floodlist
Tue, 20 Dec 2016 15:17 UTC
Los Alcazares floods, Spain, December 2016.
© Direccion General Seguridad Ciudadana y EmergenciasLos Alcazares floods, Spain, December 2016.
Five people have drowned as torrential rain that began on 17 December caused flooding in south east Spain. Some areas have recorded more than 400 mm of rain in the last few days.

The worst hit areas are Valencia and Murcia where Schools have been closed and many roads blocked. The heavy rain is expected to move to Catalonia and the Balearic Islands over the next days and Orange level warnings have been issued.

This is the fourth deadly flood event to hit Spain since mid October this year.



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Cloud Lightning

Lightning strikes again in Malawi: 38 year old man killed

Golden Kang'oma jnr
Nyasa Times
Tue, 20 Dec 2016 12:47 UTC
Lightning
A 38 year old Yusuf Whitmore of Saiti Village, Traditional Authority (TA) Kuluunda in Salima was struck to death by lightning Sunday afternoon.

The Salima police public relations officer (PRO) Sub-inspector Gift Chitowe confirmed the incident Monday saying Whitmore died on December 2016 as he was fleeing from the heavy rains.

He said the deceased went to his garden to cultivate and whilst there rainfall started hence he decided to return to his house when he met his fate.

"After being struck, he first became unconscious and was rushed to Salima district hospital where he was pronounced dead," the PRO said.
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Rainbow

Moonlit iridescent clouds appear over Trinidad, Colorado


Strange Sounds
Tue, 13 Dec 2016 05:33 UTC
night time Iridescent clouds Trinidad, Colorado, 11 13th December 2016
© SkywatchTamNight-time iridescent clouds illuminated by a super moon
These glowing iridescent clouds were photographed by SkywatchTam over Trinidad, Colorado in the night of the December 12, 2016. Yes, it's actually the rays of the growing Supermoon that created these amazing colors! A pretty rare phenomenon! Iridescent clouds at night! Another rare sky phenomenon!

Comment: Rare phenomena of all kinds are increasing around the world, see Pierre Lescaudron and Laura Knight-Jadczyk's book Earth Changes and the Human-Cosmic Connection for more information.

For a monthly record of these strange occurrences see: SOTT Earth Changes Summary - November 2016: Extreme Weather, Planetary Upheaval, Meteor Fireballs

Also see:

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