Earth ChangesS


Cloud Precipitation

Storm Gloria causes major damage to agriculture in Spanish regions of Murica and Valencia


Fresh Plaza
Wed, 22 Jan 2020 20:17 UTC
flood
Delays in the vegetable harvest and severe impact on citrus crops

Many vegetable fields in the Spanish Region of Murcia have been flooded after more than two days of intense rainfall.

The abundant water covering part of the leafy vegetable crops, as well as the broccoli, cauliflower and artichoke fields, is making it difficult to carry out the harvesting tasks. For many producers, it will be impossible to enter the fields in the next few days, so delays in harvests and shipments are expected.

The intense cold and the cloudy days are slowing down the vegetative growth, which is taking a toll on the supply. This is significant, taking into account that Murcia is the main producer for this type of vegetables in Europe during the winter months. Broccoli and cauliflower prices are the ones that have risen the most so far since the temperatures started falling.

Comment: ...for the fourth year running:

Read More...
Snowflake

One meter of heavy snowfall shuts roads, closes schools in south east Georgia

Nini Dakhundaridze
Georgia Today
Fri, 24 Jan 2020 19:57 UTC
snow
© Shuakhevi City Hall
Heavy snowfall in mountainous villages of the Adjara region resulted in the weather-related closure of 17 schools.

The Ministry of Education, Science and Culture reported that students were not able to get to schools due to snow on the roads. The snow has reached the height of one meter in Khulo.

The heavy snowfall also caused problems with electricity, the Khulo district Government reports.

Read More...
Seismograph

Major 6.8M earthquake strikes eastern Turkey - At least 20 dead, felt as far south as Tel Aviv- - UPDATE


Sputnik
Fri, 24 Jan 2020 19:10 UTC
earthquake turkey
© Reuters
On 23 January, a 5.4 magnitude earthquake hit the western Turkish province of Manisa with no people being injured or killed in the incident, according to provincial Governor Ahmet Deniz.

A strong 6.8 magnitude earthquake struck eastern Turkey at 17:55:10 GMT, the European Mediterranean Seismological Centre (EMSC) reported. The epicentre of the earthquake was located 210 kilometres northeast of Gaziantep and 10 kilometres north of Doganyol, Turkey at a depth of two kilometres, according to the centre.

According to the EMSC, the earthquake was felt in Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, and Israel.

Comment:

UPDATE 21:15 CET

The death toll has risen to 4, and the quake was reportedly felt in Tel-Aviv, Israel. The damage looks bad. Expect the death toll to rise.

Update: 25th Jan. 09.09 CET

Anadolu Agency reports:
At least 20 people were killed and more than 1,015 injured Friday after a deadly earthquake rattled eastern Turkey, according to authorities.

The 6.8-magnitude quake hit eastern Elazig province at 8.55 p.m. local time, with its epicenter in Sivrice district, along with neighboring provinces and countries including Syria and Georgia.

The Disaster and Emergency Management Presidency (AFAD) said 922 others were injured; 560 in Elazig, 226 in Malatya, 37 in Kahramanmaras, 34 in Sanliurfa, 34 in Diyarbakir, 25 in Adiyaman, 6 in Batman.

Health Minister Fahrettin Koca announced the updated death toll, saying: "We have approximately 30 residents under the wreckage in Elazig."

The search and rescue operations are continuing and the death toll could rise, said Koca.

Update 26 Jan 15:00 CET

24 hours later, a mother and her baby have been rescued from the rubble in Elaziq:




Read More...
Snowflake

Mount Baker Highway in Washington closed because of avalanche danger after 2 feet of snow in 24 hours

Robert Mittendore
The Bellingham Herald
Wed, 22 Jan 2020 15:13 UTC
SNOW SLIP
Mount Baker Highway was closed from early Thursday morning to Friday morning because of avalanche danger, the Washington state Department of Transportation said.

"The safety of the traveling public is our top priority, so WSDOT will close the highway at milepost 37, east of Glacier, at 4 a.m. due to anticipated avalanche risk," WSDOT spokeswoman Andrea Petrich said in an email.

Mount Baker Highway, also called state Highway 542, was last closed for avalanche danger in 2009, Petrich said.

A powerful sub-tropical storm is dumping rain in the Whatcom County lowlands and heavy snow in the higher elevations of the North Cascades, the Nation Weather Service said in online forecasts.

Read More...
Snowflake

Breckenridge Ski Resort in Colorado cops 15 inches of snow in 24 hours

Breanna Sneeringer
Out There Colorado
Thu, 23 Jan 2020 14:23 UTC
snow
Thursday is serving up another great powder day across most mountains in Colorado.

Breckenridge Ski Resort received 15 inches of fresh powder over the last 24 hours, with 10 inches of fresh flakes falling overnight and 5 more inches of snow Thursday morning (and counting).

Eleven lifts are spinning, with more than 2,700 acres and 171 trails open for exploring.


Read More...
Attention

6 new mud volcanoes emerge in a week on Trinidad

Carolyn Kissoon
Trinidad Express
Fri, 24 Jan 2020 13:18 UTC
MUD VOLCANO
Senior Geologist Xavier Moonan has revealed six new mud volcanoes along this country's southwestern coast.

Moonan stated that samples were collected for analysis and the activity was being monitored.

He posted photographs of the mud volcanoes to social media.

Moonan wrote, "New mud volcanoes!!! At least 6 new mud volcano cones have appeared over the last week in RE Trace, Los Iros. The new cones all occur along the trace of the August 21st 2018 earthquake fault rupture which completely offset the roads along RE Trace."

He said an oil sheen and strong sent of hydrocarbons accompanied the mudflow.

Read More...
Rainbow

Rare fogbow photographed on the Cardigan Bay coast, Wales


BBC
Thu, 23 Jan 2020 08:00 UTC
fog bow wales
© Brett CritchleyBrett Critchley captured the meteorological phenomenon in Tywyn, Gwynedd
A rare white rainbow has been pictured over a seaside resort in Gwynedd.

The meteorological phenomenon was spotted by people in Tywyn on the Cardigan Bay coast on Thursday morning.

Also known as a fogbow, cloud bow or ghost rainbow, the arc is formed when sunlight interacts with small water droplets contained in fog, mist or cloud.

Comment: Strange and rare sights in our skies are becoming ever more common:

Read More...
Binoculars

Wrong place, wrong time: 3 summer tanagers that normally winter in Central, South America turn up around San Francisco

Amy Graff
SF Gate
Fri, 24 Jan 2020 12:46 UTC
A bright red summer tanager made San Francisco's Glen Park Canyon home in January 2019.
© SF Rec And ParkA bright red summer tanager made San Francisco's Glen Park Canyon home in January 2019.
A brilliant red bird — the sort you'd expect to find in a tropical forest — has made an unusual appearance in San Francisco's Glen Canyon Park.

The summer tanager is what birders call a "vagrant," a bird that ends up far from its usual migratory destination.

The medium-size song bird typically breeds in southern portions of the United States and migrates to Central America and northern South America for the winter. Dylan Hayes, who has worked in the canyon as a San Francisco Recreation and Parks naturalist for more than 15 years, said he has never seen this species in the city.
Read More...
Butterfly

Monarch butterflies in California at critically low level for 2nd year in a row

Ella Torres
ABC
Thu, 23 Jan 2020 16:36 UTC
Monarch butterfly
© Smith Collection/gado/Getty ImagesA monarch butterfly collects nectar from a flower in the People's Garden, in Washington, D.C. in 2014.
The number of monarch butterflies wintering in California remains at a critically low level, according to a new study.

The total number of monarchs observed this year during The Xerces Society Thanksgiving count was 29,418, according a press release issued Thursday by the nonprofit, which focuses on conserving invertebrates.

While that number is slightly higher than the 2018-2019 count -- which saw an all-time low of 27,218 -- the organization warned that this year's numbers "are no better."

Comment: As we are seeing with most life on our planet, it's likely that what's affecting the butterflies is the impact of humanity, but a more significant contributor could be Earth Changes: Also check out SOTT radio's:

Read More...
Cloud Precipitation

Widespread flooding in Mozambique leaves at least 28 dead and more than 58,000 affected


ZimEye - Zimbabwe News
Fri, 24 Jan 2020 06:17 UTC
Mozambique floods
© Canal de Noticias Mundo (stillshot)
At least 28 people have been killed and more than 58 800 affected in the latest floods to hit the disaster-prone Mozambique.

Some 66 people have been injured during the crisis affecting regions still recovering from the Cylones Idai and Kenneth early last year.

The Cabo Delgado, Sofala and Zambezia provinces are the hardest-hit but Gaza, Manica, Maputo, Nampula, Niassa and Tete are also affected.

More than 10 200 houses have been damaged or destroyed, including 2 589 completely shattered, and at least 47 schools have been affected.

In Zambezia, the province with the highest number of people affected, flooding since the beginning of 2020 has damaged infrastructure, destroyed crops and led to displacement.

Nearly 2 300 hectares of crops are currently flooded, less than two months before the planned harvest.


Comment: The back-to-back cyclones, Idai and Kenneth, that ravaged Mozambique last year were unprecedented in recorded history according to the UN. See: UN: Pattern of Mozambique storms 'unprecedented'

Read More...