Earth Changes

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Rare tornado touches down near Richland, Washington

Tri-City Herald
Wed, 01 Apr 2020 00:53 UTC

© Chamise Hartman
Chamise Hartman of the Tri-Cities captured this view of the tornado Tuesday from the parking lot of the At Home store near the Columbia Center mall in Kennewick.

A small tornado appeared to touch down near north Richland on Tuesday afternoon, according to the National Weather Service.

The agency was emailed photos and videos that show a rotating dark cloud column that appears to touch the ground.

Meteorologists checked their radar images and saw possible evidence of a tornado between 2:30 and 2:45 p.m.

"As best we can tell from reports and our own data, it was brief and weak," according to the weather service.

It could have lasted from a few minutes to many minutes, it said.

Shawn Alton was taking pictures of the dramatic spring cloud formations against a blue sky above the Tri-Cities on Tuesday afternoon.

About 1 p.m. she posted a photo of the clouds, saying, "I love spring weather!"

About an hour and a half later she just happened to look up and see the tornado and captured some video of the dark funnel.

M6.5 earthquake strikes in Idaho, largest in the state since 1983

Steve Kiggins
USA TODAY
Wed, 01 Apr 2020 03:08 UTC

The earthquake caused a rockslide on Highway 21 near Lowman, Idaho

It was a typical Tuesday evening at the Albertsons grocery store in this resort town about 100 miles north of Boise.

Until Susie Baker looked up and saw all the hanging aisle signs swinging back and forth.

"Then I thought I heard a sound ... and the floor was moving," said Baker, a checker at the store.

It was the force of the most powerful earthquake to strike the Gem State since 1983, a magnitude 6.5 temblor that jolted people across Idaho and three neighboring states. No injuries or damage were immediately reported.

The quake was centered 73 miles northeast of Meridian, near Boise, according to the U.S. Geological Survey, and, for some, conjured up memories of the state's worst such natural disaster, the 6.9 magnitude Borah Peak earthquake nearly four decades ago that killed two people and resulted in millions in damages, according to the Idaho Geological Survey.

"At first I thought it was thunder, weird thunder, but then the house was moving and I realized this is an earthquake — a really big earthquake," said Melissa Hawkins, 44, who lives in northwest Boise with her family. "It felt like it was in Boise."

Comment: Some other earthquakes to hit the United States very recently include:

Shallow 5.0 magnitude earthquake rattles West Texas (March 26)

7 earthquakes rattle Oklahoma in 24 hours (March 23)

5.7M earthquake strikes Salt Lake City - First ever to directly hit Utah's capital (March 18)

19 people killed in massive forest fire in southwestern China

UNTV News
Tue, 31 Mar 2020 19:20 UTC

A massive forest fire in southwestern China has killed 19 people, according to a state media report on Tuesday (March 31).

Eighteen firefighters and a local guide were confirmed dead, from a group of 21 firefighters who went to fight the blaze that had spread over more than 1,000 hectares of land near Xichang, a city in Sichuan province.

The fire started on a farm on Monday (March 30) afternoon and quickly spread to nearby mountains due to strong winds, according to local reports.

Torrential hailstorm causes icy flooding in southern Spain

Chave Weather
YouTube
Tue, 31 Mar 2020 11:27 UTC

Heavy hailstorms cause floods in Caravaca de la Cruz, Murcia and Hellin, Albacete in Spain. March 30th 2020.

Sources

Massive hailstorm smashes hundreds of windows in Middelburg, South Africa

The Citizen (South Africa)
Tue, 31 Mar 2020 11:04 UTC

The hailstorm that hit Middleburg in Mpumalanga has been described as a "disaster within a disaster".

The storm couldn't have come at a worse time - at the start of South Africa's 21-day coronavirus lockdown.

Evidence of the storm's intensity could be seen by the broken windows of houses and schools, reports Middelburg Observer.

More than 400 windows at Hoërskool Middelburg were destroyed.

The school's principal, Johan Stronkhorst, said while he rushed to move his cars to safety during the storm, he looked up and saw pigeons being struck to death by massive hailstones.

Homes destroyed after floods and mudslides hit Huánuco, Peru

Floodlist
Tue, 31 Mar 2020 10:34 UTC

Floods and mudslides have destroyed homes and a bridge in Huánuco Department, central Peru.

According to Peru's National Institute of Civil Defense (Indeci), 30 homes, a church and a bridge were destroyed and a further 80 homes were damaged in Huacrachuco district, in the province of Marañón, Huánuco region. Drinking water and power supply have been interrupted.

Affected families were evacuated to safe areas and relief items distributed, according to Indeci.

Floods and mudslides struck on 28 March after heavy rain in the area caused local streams to overflow.

Lightning bolt kills 6 farm workers in Maharashtra, India

Times of India
Tue, 31 Mar 2020 09:50 UTC

Six farm workers, including two women, from Kalamb tehsil died on Sunday night after lightning struck the cow shed where they were busy preparing dung cakes. A cow was also killed in the incident.

Resident deputy collector Lalitkumar Warhade of Yavatmal said the six farm workers died at Barad village of Ralegaon tehsil. The incident came to fore when a villager spotted their bodies.

The deceased have been identified as Abhiman Vishvanath Ambadare (60), his wife Mandatai (50), Laxman Bapurao Koyare (50), Subhash Raju Nehare (20), all from village Neemgawhan of Kalamb tehsil, Sahebrao Gulabrao Devnale (45) and his wife Pisabai Devnale (40), both residents of Khodpakhindi village in Kalamb tehsil.

Adapt 2030 Ice Age Report: Twilight Zone city exodus nobody welcome

Adapt 2030
Mon, 30 Mar 2020 22:19 UTC

Something out of the Twilight Zone series, cities empty after a disaster only to be met by angry locals in remote towns and cities and told to keep moving and do not come to this place. We are seeing the same from Europe to the UK to the USA, small towns closing access to part time residents or AirBNB renters escaping. With few airlines flying skies will be clearer to look for incredibly southern Noctilucent Clouds and comet C/2019 Y4 ATLAS as it brightens between the Big and Little Dippers.

Comment: See also:

Severe storms spawn '100-year flood' in Cleveland, Ohio

Akron Beacon Journal
Mon, 30 Mar 2020 20:58 UTC

Authorities say severe weather in Ohio has spawned what forecasters are calling a "100-year flood" in Cleveland and led to a number of water rescues.

Cleveland firefighters say a man was rescued from the basement of an apartment building on the city's East Side. WOIO-TV reports that the man called 911 saying the water was up to his chest. Fire Chief Angelo Calvillo told the station that firefighters broke a window and bent steel bars on the windows to get him out. One firefighter had a minor injury and 10 people were displaced.

Cleveland police say emergency medical personnel took an officer and sergeant to a hospital Saturday night for treatment of exposure after they entered frigid water to aid civilians.

The National Weather Service says the Cuyahoga River in downtown Cleveland is currently at the seventh-highest level recorded. Forecasters say it's considered by the Federal Emergency Management Agency to be a 1-percent flood "commonly known as a 100-year flood."

The National Park Service said the Ohio & Erie Canal Towpath Trail in Cuyahoga Valley National Park has been closed due to flooding. People were being urged to stay off all park trails pending damage assessments.

Breathtaking circumhorizontal arc rainbow captured above Lake Sammamish, Washington

Madison Dapcevich
IFL Science
Thu, 26 Mar 2020 12:03 UTC

As if 2020 couldn't turn more upside-down, we now have nature playing tricks on us as well.

An image shared by amateur photographer Cessna Kutz shows the quick moment a "horizontal rainbow" appeared to almost cover the whole span of Lake Sammamish in Washington State.

"I've seen lots of rainbows over Lake Sammamish, but never a flat one," Kutz told IFLScience in an interview.

The first, wider image shows the rainbow from her window around 2 pm local time and lasted for less than five minutes. A second zoomed-in photograph was taken using her Canon Rebel t5 camera at 300mm, ISO 100 /f11 1/250sec. None of the three images had a filter applied to them, though Kutz says that she did "just a tad bit of adjusting with the contrast."

Comment: As noted above, circumhorizontal arcs appear to be a rarity at Lake Sammamish but it is quite the spot for rainbows - the below is from Sept 2019:

And it's evident that rare, strange and stunning sights in the sky are on the increase everywhere:

Also check out SOTT radio's:

As well as SOTT's monthly Earth Changes Summary - February 2020: Extreme Weather, Planetary Upheaval, Meteor Fireballs: