Earth ChangesS


Snowflake

Record Denver snowfall is rare for multiple reasons

Ben Reppert
The Denver Post
Tue, 24 Nov 2020 12:18 UTC
Children sledding
© Helen H. Richardson, The Denver Post
Colorado's latest snow storm is wrapping up, leaving the Interstate 25 urban corridor with a winter wonderland, a mess on the roads and a new spot in the history books.

Denver International Airport tallied 5 inches of snow. This is a record daily snowfall for Nov. 24, breaking the old record of 4 inches set in 1946. Even more notably, it was the first daily November snow record to fall in the city since 1994. Snow totals across the rest of the metro area generally range from 3 to 6 inches, with heavier amounts up to 10 inches in the western suburbs.

This was a rare November snowstorm in the Denver area beyond the record-breaking amount. Another rarity lies within the heavy and wet nature of the snow.
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Cloud Precipitation

At least 3 dead, 5 missing after more floods in Kasese, Uganda


Floodlist
Thu, 26 Nov 2020 20:07 UTC
Floods destroyed a house in Kasese, Uganda, 24 November 2020.
© Uganda Red CrossFloods destroyed a house in Kasese, Uganda, 24 November 2020.
Heavy rain in western Uganda has once again caused a deadly flooding in Kasese district.

The flooding occurred in Buhuhira and Bwesumbu sub-counties after the Kuruhe river broke its banks on 24 November.

According to the Uganda Red Cross, a house was destroyed by flood waters in the village of Kinyamagana in Bwensumbu sub-county, leaving at least 3 people dead and 5 more are feared missing. Search for the missing is ongoing.

Uganda Red Cross said "Our search and rescue team recovered the bodies of the three children who were under the rubble. (The) family has lost shelter and has camped at Kinyamagana Full gospel church. We commiserate with the family."

Deadly floods struck in Kasese in May and early November this year.

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Galaxy

Astronomers studying novel atmospheric plasma phenomenon 'STEVE' publish paper on 'pure green sky canonballs'

Cap Allon
Electroverse
Thu, 26 Nov 2020 10:26 UTC
STEVE green cannonballs
Just when you thought "STEVE" couldn't get any weirder, a new paper published in the journal AGU Advances reveals that the luminous purple ribbon is often accompanied by green cannonballs of light that streak through the atmosphere at 1000 mph.

[Below is an abridged version of Dr. Tony Phillip's excellent article-the full version of which is available at spaceweatherarchive.com, dated November 22, 2020.]

STEVE (Strong Thermal Velocity Enhancement) is a relatively recent discovery, first spotted and photographed by Canadian citizen scientists around 10 years ago. It looks like an aurora, but it is not. The purple glow is caused by hot (3000 °C) rivers of gas flowing through Earth's magnetosphere faster than 13,000 mph. This distinguishes it from auroras, which are ignited by energetic particles raining down from space.

"Citizen scientists have been photographing these green streaks for years," says Joshua Semeter of Boston University, lead author of the new paper. "Now we're beginning to understand what they are."

Comment: For more on STEVE, see also:

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Boat

Severe thunderstorms dump heavy rainfall on metro New Orleans, flooding streets - at rate of up to 7 inches per hour


nola.com
Wed, 25 Nov 2020 15:34 UTC
flood
© David Grunfeld
A line of severe thunderstorms dumped several inches of rain on the metro area early Wednesday evening, flooding streets throughout New Orleans and Jefferson parishes.

According to measurements taken by the New Orleans Sewerage and Water Board, 3.71 inches fell in parts of the Lower 9th Ward, 3.27 inches fell in parts of Lakeview, 3.21 in the Upper 9th Ward, 2.97 inches fell at Orleans Avenue near City Park and Broad Street in Midcity, and 2.82 inches fell in parts of Treme. Many other parts of the city got more than 2 inches.

The National Weather Service issued a severe thunderstorm warning just before 4 p.m. on Wednesday for western Orleans and north/central Jefferson parishes.

The warning is in effect until 4:45 p.m. and the city has lifted restrictions on parking on the neutral ground.

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Cloud Precipitation

Cyclone Nivar claims 3 lives in Tamil Nadu, India - up to 9.6 inches of rain falls in 18 hours


Economic Times
Thu, 26 Nov 2020 14:37 UTC
Heavy rains have already flooded parts of Chennai
© EPAHeavy rains have already flooded parts of Chennai
Three people have died and three others are injured in the wake of Cyclone Nivar in Tamil Nadu, Atulya Mishra, Additional Chief Secretary of Tamil Nadu said on Thursday.

Over 2 lakh people are in relief camps in the State. Further, 101 huts have been damaged and 380 fallen trees have been removed.

Chennai witnessed heavy rainfall and strong winds all through Wednesday night before the cyclonic storm moved towards Puducherry.

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Attention

Beauty of frozen methane bubbles on the world's deepest lake shown in stunning video


The Siberian Times
Tue, 24 Nov 2020 14:28 UTC
Bubbles of frozen methane seen through crystal clear ice of lake Baikal.
© Stanislav TolstnevBubbles of frozen methane seen through crystal clear ice of lake Baikal.
A tranquil video of white and silver bubbles of methane caught in newly-formed ice was filmed at Maloye More, a strait that separates the lake's largest island of Olkhon from the western shore of Lake Baikal.

'Ice covering the shallow straits and bays begins to form by the end of November, while the rest of Baikal freezes by the middle of January.

'This kind of ice, the purest, can only be seen in some areas of the lake in November and December', said Stanislav Tolstev, 46, photographer and tour guide from Irkutsk.

'The first time I paid attention to these bubbles was about four years ago, then I learned to distinguish methane from air bubbles.

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Attention

Himalayan black bear attacks couple, mauls woman to death in Uttarakhand, India


Times Now
Sat, 21 Nov 2020 09:41 UTC
When the residents of Vadhuk village were in the forest, they were attacked by a Himalayan black bear (Representative Image).
© iStock ImagesWhen the residents of Vadhuk village were in the forest, they were attacked by a Himalayan black bear (Representative Image).
When the residents of Vadhuk village were in the forest, they were attacked by a Himalayan black bear. The woman's husband climbed a tree and saved himself from the bear attack. Meanwhile, the woman was mauled to death by the bear.

Ashutosh Singh, divisional forest officer (DFO) Badrinath told Hindustan Times that compensation would be granted to the woman's family after the formalities are completed.

According to the forest official, the woman died on the spot. Singh added, "With the onset of winters, bear attacks increase as bears come down from snowy higher reaches in search of food. This is one of the main causes of the surge in man-bear conflict here in winter months."

Comment: Bear attacks increasing worldwide

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Seismograph

6.1 magnitude earthquake jolts Balleny Islands region, Southern Ocean


China.org.cn
Thu, 26 Nov 2020 01:18 UTC
earthquake graph
© Phil McCarten / Reuters
An earthquake with a magnitude of 6.1 jolted Balleny Islands region in the Antarctic Ocean at 2256 GMT on Wednesday, the U.S. Geological Survey said.

The epicenter, with a depth of 10.0 km, was initially determined to be at 61.9292 degrees south latitude and 154.8222 degrees east longitude.

The Balleny Islands are a series of uninhabited islands heavily glaciated and of volcanic origin.
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Cloud Precipitation

Heavy rains flood Annaba, Algeria

PAINFUL EARTH
YouTube
Tue, 24 Nov 2020 19:34 UTC
flood
Annaba is drowning in water after heavy rains. Flood in Algeria, November 23.

After a heavy rain last night: The city of Hajar in Annaba state is drowning in water.

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Tornado2

Confirmed tornado in Arlington, Texas causes some 'significant damage'


CBS Dallas / Fort Worth
Wed, 25 Nov 2020 16:50 UTC
Storm damage in Arlington, Texas
© Jarod JacksonStorm damage in Arlington. The Burger Box.
The National Weather Service confirmed Wednesday that a tornado did touch down in Arlington, Texas Tuesday night, November 24.

Three people were taken to the hospital with minor injuries and dozens of families have been displaced.

Severe storms moved through North Texas Tuesday night, prompting severe weather alerts in several counties.

Chopper 11 was over the scene Wednesday morning to survey the damage. The National Weather Service was expected in the are later in the morning to take a look as well.

The area near Pioneer Parkway and Collins in Arlington received a lot of Damage. The Burger Box in Arlington received major damage. Numerous power lines and trees were down in the area as well.

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