Earth ChangesS


Solar Flares

Astronomer predicts freezing weather, famine and earthquakes as sun enters solar minimum

Chris Pollard
The Sun
Thu, 14 May 2020 14:58 UTC
clouds sun
© Getty Images
The sun has entered a 'lockdown' period, which could cause freezing weather, famine

Our sun has gone into lockdown, which could cause freezing weather, earthquakes and famine, scientists say.

The sun is currently in a period of "solar minimum," meaning activity on its surface has fallen dramatically.

Experts believe we are about to enter the deepest period of sunshine "recession" ever recorded as sunspots have virtually disappeared.

Astronomer Dr. Tony Phillips said: "Solar Minimum is underway and it's a deep one."

Comment: It would appear that a "super grand" solar minimum is one factor in a confluence of cycles that are upon us: Also check out SOTT radio's:

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Boat

Severe floods hit Santa Lucía, El Salvador

Infotainment
YouTube
Sat, 16 May 2020 17:39 UTC
floods
Heavy rain caused severe floods in Santa Lucía, Ilopango, El Salvador

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Cloud Precipitation

Extreme hailstorm slams Piornal, Spain on May 15

Tetova News
YouTube
Sat, 16 May 2020 10:30 UTC
hail
Piornal is a municipality located in the province of Cáceres, Extremadura, Spain. According to the 2005 census (INE), the municipality has a population of 1532.

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Cloud Precipitation

Heavy rainfall floods homes, streets in Louisiana and Texas - nearly 16 inches of rain recorded

Jan Wesner Childs
The Weather Channel
Fri, 15 May 2020 10:00 UTC
Heavy rains in St. Charles, St. Tammany
Heavy rains in St. Charles, St. Tammany
Parts of southern Louisiana and Texas were inundated with rain Thursday and Friday, flooding homes and roadways and prompting high water rescues.

An observer near Covington in St. Tammany Parish reported 15.63 inches of rain late Thursday night, with more still coming down.

The St. Tammany Parish Sheriff's Office rescued residents from flooded homes and vehicles. Some roads in the area were still closed Friday afternoon, and first responders were standing by as the waters continued to rise.

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Windsock

Rare wake lows, heat bursts observed during Oklahoma storms

Melissa Scavelli
KOKH FOX25
Thu, 14 May 2020 08:44 UTC
Oklahoma storms
© KOKH/Chance ColdironThis picture was taken of a severe storm near Sayre on May 13 which was part of a cluster of storms that passed through Oklahoma.
Storms rolled through Western Oklahoma Wednesday, May 13, evening leaving behind some wind damage and large hail.

While some strong winds came in with the storms even stronger winds came with a wake low behind the storms.

You might be wondering how some areas saw wind gusts of 60 to 70 mph without storms. That is where a wake low comes in.

A wake low is a rare weather phenomenon that typically prompts the National Weather Service to issue high wind warnings as they did around 4 am Thursday morning.

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Seismograph

Magnitude 6.5 earthquake rattles Nevada - UPDATE: Largest in 66 years

Jay Croft and Carma Hassan
CNN
Fri, 15 May 2020 12:01 UTC
Screenshot of earthquake near Toponah, Nevada.
© USGS.govScreenshot of earthquake near Toponah, Nevada.
An earthquake with an initial magnitude of 6.4 hit Nevada on Friday morning, about 225 miles northwest of Las Vegas near the California border, the US Geological Survey says.

The quake occurred at 4:03 a.m. local time, the USGS says. It was 4.7 miles deep. At least four aftershocks were reported.It was about 35 miles west of the town of Tonopah, east of the Sierra Nevada range.

The earthquake was "widely felt," USGS spokesman Paul Laustsen told CNN."There have been almost 8,000 'Did you feel it' reports, with people logging into USGS to report it," Laustsen said.

Esmeralda County Sheriff's Deputy Jacob Stritenberger felt the main earthquake and it was the biggest one he's ever experienced, he said.Deputies are checking out reported damage on US 95."North- and southbound is undriveable around mile marker 89," Stritenberger said. "According to people who called it in, it's buckled really bad."

Comment: Comment:

Update: On 16 May CNN reports:
An earthquake with a revised magnitude of 6.5 hit a remote area of Nevada on Friday morning, about 225 miles northwest of Las Vegas and near the California border, the US Geological Survey says.

The quake, which was 4.7 miles deep, occurred at 4:03 a.m. local time, the USGS says.The revised ranking makes the quake the first large one since 1954, said Graham Kent, director of the Nevada Seismological Laboratory.

"As the third most seismic state in the nation, we kind of had a streak of not having big earthquakes for 66 years," Kent said.

"This was a magnitude 6.5, and it was certainly felt in the Reno-Tahoe area, and also throughout the San Joaquin and Sacramento valleys in California," Kent said.

The USGS said in its aftershock forecast that there will be between 63 and 260 aftershocks with a magnitude of 3.0 or greater over the next seven days.


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Tornado1

Typhoon Ambo (Vongfong) leaves trail of destruction in central Philippines

Ellie Aben
Arab News
Fri, 15 May 2020 20:14 UTC
typhoon Vongfong
© APFloodwaters caused by typhoon Vongfong inundate a village as it passed by Sorsogon province, eastern Philippines on Friday May 15, 2020.
Typhoon Ambo (Vongfong) has left a trail of destruction in the central Philippines as it continues to hit other parts of the country, adding to the woes of hundreds of thousands of Filipinos who had to be evacuated amid the coronavirus lockdown.

In Eastern Samar, where it made its first landfall on Thursday, the storm caused "unimaginable" damage to infrastructure, Governor Ben Evardone said on Friday.

Among the damaged facilities were schools that have been converted into COVID-19 quarantine centers.

Pictures shared by netizens showed roofless buildings, uprooted trees and toppled electric poles. Several major roads were blocked by floodwater and debris.

In a radio interview, Evardone said that many areas in the province were left without power and communication lines were down.

"As of now, the storm has subsided but electricity and communications lines are down in some of the towns. Even the radio facility of the province was destroyed," he said.

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Bizarro Earth

Kilauea volcano has growing lake that could lead to explosive eruption in Hawaii

John Murphy
AccuWeather
Fri, 15 May 2020 20:02 UTC
Halema‘uma‘u crater
© Joshua Stevens / Landsat data from the U.S. Geological SurveyThe sequence of satellite images above shows Halema‘uma‘u crater before the lava lake drained (left), after the caldera floor had collapsed (middle) and after water pooled on the crater floor for nine months (right).
The Halema'uma'u crater on Kilauea, located in Hawaii, has been relatively quiet over the last year after a frenzy of activity in 2018, which all began with an explosive eruption of ash 30,000 feet into the air during May. But, since at least 2019, there has been a change that scientists believe could pose a potential danger to the Big Island. Water has started to collect in the caldera to form a lake.

A caldera is a large crater left behind in a volcano after an eruption. From 2010 until 2018, a lava lake had filled the caldera rather than water. That changed in May 2018 when the eruption caused the lava lake to drain, collapsing the caldera floor and causing a hole nearly as deep as the 1,776-foot One World Trade Center. The eruption also created a 459-foot cliff (140 meters) north of the crater.

About a year later, a helicopter pilot flying over the volcano noticed a mysterious green pool of water in the Halema'uma'u crater. A second report of the same findings from a helicopter passenger prompted USGS-Hawaiian Volcano Observatory researchers to survey the green pool of water.
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Cloud Lightning

Giant red sprites filmed above electric storm over Texas


Spaceweather.com
Fri, 15 May 2020 20:22 UTC
sprites texas
© Stephen HummelOur changed atmosphere: A huge line of thunderstorms 100 miles away generated a fantastic display of red sprites, as seen from McDonald Observatory. They were easily visible with the naked eye, although not in color. Bands of airglow colored the sky red and green, although those features were not apparent to the naked eye. The large storm system generated gravity waves, which caused a ripple effect in the airglow.
An astronomer at the McDonald Observatory has discovered a planet with fantastic red and green ripples in its atmosphere. It looks a lot like Texas.

Stephen Hummel was walking across the famous University of Texas observatory grounds a couple hours after sunset on May 13th when he noticed the flash of lightning from a distant thunderstorm. "I saw a large column of sprites leaping into the sky and rushed to set up my camera," he says. Aiming southeast towards the city of Alpine, he recorded this movie:


Comment: There was a time when capturing a sprite on camera was rare. Now they occur daily and can be seen without special cameras...

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Snowflake Cold

Parts of UK see record low temperatures

Peter Stubley
The Independent
Thu, 14 May 2020 18:39 UTC
Katesbridge has recorded its coldest ever May temperature
© Johnston Press ResellKatesbridge has recorded its coldest ever May temperature
Parts of the UK saw some of their lowest May temperatures on record overnight, according to the Met Office.

Katesbridge and Castlederg in Northern Ireland plunged to -6.1C and -3.9C respectively overnight thanks to a combination of clear skies and Arctic air coming in from the north.

It followed a chilly Wednesday which saw a minimum temperature of -5C in Tulloch Bridge, Scotland, and a maximum temperature of 15C in Gosport, Hampshire, and Porthmadog, north Wales.

However forecasters predict that temperatures will begin to rise over coming days to reach around 25C by the middle of next week.
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