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© Todd EasterlaThe first confirmed sighting of a yellow-browed warbler in the lower 48 was found by Todd Easterla in Markleeville on Oct. 25.
El Dorado Hills resident and birder Todd Easterla said he was making his rounds looking for birds for his county list when he hit the jackpot.
"I wasn't expecting it," he said. "I went up there hoping to find some water birds, like loons, at the little lakes up there, but I wasn't expecting to find a little passerine, especially one from Siberia."
He said the warbler was his 260th bird that wasn't introduced by humans.
"It was around 4:30 p.m.," he said. "It gets dark up there by 5 and I was panicking because I needed to get a photo of it for the rare birds record committee."
Farmers said the recent wet weather already makes for a tough harvest and Thursday's early snowfall is not making things any easier.
Soybean fields covered in snow are something farmers said they never expect to see in October. This is just the latest blow to area farmers, as they said it has already been a very difficult year.
They said at this point, they're just trying to finish up and move onto next year.
Among his injuries, the man suffered fractures to bones in his head, and was blinded in both eyes. Akita Prefectural Police's Akita-Higashi Police Station is warning residents to remain vigilant in the wake of the attack.
According to police investigators, the eastern side of the man's home faces a mountain forest. They said the man had arrived home and just stepped off his bicycle when an apparent black animal suddenly emerged from the shadows of where he parked his bike and mauled him.
© Rob Griffith/APConservationists fear hundreds of koalas have perished in wildfires that have razed prime habitat on Australia’s east coast.
Some 2,000 hectares of land were burned through in the blaze, around two-thirds of which was koala habitat.
The fire was started by a lightning strike on Friday near Port Macquarie, New South Wales.
Sue Ashton, who runs Port Macquarie Koala Hospital, said there was little optimism about the consequences of the fire.
"If we look at a 50% survival rate, that's around 350 koalas and that's absolutely devastating," she said.
"We're hoping it's not as bad as that, but because of the intensity of the fire and the way koalas behave during fire, we're not holding out too much hope."
She said the search for survivors would begin on Thursday.
© Skijalište Sljeme
According to data from the DHMZ weather station at Puntijarka, 4 cm of snow fell on Thursday on the Sljeme peak. With temperatures hovering around 0 °C and snow on the ground, there was a real winter look to Sljeme which was covered in warm sunshine just days ago.
Several areas in Illinois have decided to reschedule Halloween trick-or-treating to this Saturday because of the cold weather and snow
Strong winds have brought down trees and power lines from Tennessee to North Dakota after tropical Storm Olga swept in from the Gulf Coast.
Forecasters say the severe storms could now hit states from Alabama to New England.
And in just a few hours, temperatures are expected to drop as much as 30 degrees as a cold front blows in from Canada.
A freeze warning has been issued for several states across the country, including Texas, regions in California, the Carolinas and Georgia.
Many of those areas will see temperatures dip into the 20s and 20s starting Thursday and continue on into Friday.
Chicago has already seen it earliest snow fall in 30 years and temperatures below zero are being registered in the Rockies and Great Basin.
In United Arab Emirates, roads were closed in Sharjah and Fujairah as high waves and storm surged caused flooding along the coast. Police urged caution.
Local media reported that around 20 houses were flooded with seawater in Kalba, Sharjah in the United Arab Emirates. Residents of the houses have been evacuated. Businesses and roads were also flooded and schools were closed. Gulf News reported waves of 7 feet (2 metres) in the area.
Disaster authorities in the country said there have been no reports of casualties or injuries.
On Wednesday, in Yavatmal district, lightning struck Gajanan Baliram Pimple (28),a resident of Lonbehal village in the Arni tehsil, while he was standing under a tree.
In Amravati district, three persons got electrocuted after lightning struck at them when they were standing under a tree.
The deceased were identified as Sayyad Nuruddin Sayyad Badryoyaddin (56), Shobha Sanjay Gathe (45) and Sonali Gajanan Bobde (34).
© CBSA person tries to ride a snowboard down the road in Denver Wednesday morning.
The records on Monday and Tuesday were related to the daily high temperatures. Denver only reached 21 degrees on Monday and 18 degrees on Tuesday. It had never stayed so cold on these dates in the past so new "record coldest maximum" temperatures were set for October 28 and October 29.
One final record is expected Thursday morning when the combination of clear skies, mainly light winds, and snow on the ground allows temperatures to plunge below zero along the Front Range. If the temperature manages to drop below -2° early Thursday, the all-time record low for October in Denver will be broken. That record was set on October 29, 1917.
Comment: Elsewhere in India on the same day a lighting strike killed 2 workers in Telangana.