Earth ChangesS


Cloud Precipitation

Mississippi River flood is longest-lasting in over 90 years, since 'Great Flood' of 1927

Flood waters from the Mississippi River
© Kevin E. Schmidt, APIn this Friday, May 3, 2019, aerial file photo, flood waters from the Mississippi River surround Modern Woodmen Park in Davenport, Iowa. Officials in Davenport say the city's public works department has spent over $1 million on flood-fighting efforts and that figure will surely rise as more costs are added in preparation for the potential of future flooding.
Flooding in at least 8 states along portions of the Mississippi River - due to relentless, record-breaking spring rainfall - is the longest-lasting since the "Great Flood" of 1927, the National Weather Service said.

The 1927 flood, which Weatherwise magazine called "perhaps the most underrated weather disaster of the century," remains the benchmark flood event for the nation's biggest river.

Anytime a modern flood can be mentioned in the same breath as the Great Flood is newsworthy: During that historic flood, hundreds of thousands of people fled their homes as millions of acres of land and towns went underwater.

At one point in 1927, along the Tennessee border, the Mississippi rose an astonishing 56.5 feet above flood stage, and in Arkansas, the river ballooned to 80 miles wide, according to the book Extreme Weather by Christopher Burt.


Comment: The record-breaking spring rainfall has devastated crop production in the US Midwest. See also:



Camera

Solar winds spark 'rainbow auroras' northwest of Calgary, Canada

Earth is inside a stream of solar wind flowing from a hole in the sun's atmosphere. First contact with the gaseous material on May 29th produced an outburst of colorful auroras over Canada. Harlan Thomas photographed the display northwest of Calgary:

Rainbow auroras NW of Calgary
© Harlan Thomas
"The outburst was filled with amazing hues from blue to pink," says Thomas. "The aurora danced the dance of colors that only it can produce."
Rainbow auroras NW of Calgary
© Harlan Thomas
NOAA forecasters expect solar wind effects to continue for another 24 to 48 hours. Full-fledged geomagnetic storms are unlikely, but intermittent auroras may be seen in northern places where the waxing midnight sun has not yet wiped out the night sky.

Tornado2

Multiple tornadoes and severe storms plague the US from coast to coast

tornado wabash county 2019
© Will Woodward / ReutersTornado is seen in Wabash County, Indiana on May 27, 2019.
The National Weather Service confirmed tornadoes in Kansas and Pennsylvania on Tuesday night, marking the 13th consecutive day of severe storms.

Severe storms stretched across the nation Tuesday, including tornadoes in Kansas and Pennsylvania, while catastrophic flooding puts other states at risk. It's only the latest outbreak of extreme weather that's been plaguing the U.S. for nearly two weeks.

Tuesday's violent weather marks the 13th consecutive day of such severe storms, coming a day after a series of devastating tornadoes hit western Ohio late Monday. That dangerous streak included an average of 27.5 tornadoes occurring each day.

Storms capable of producing hail, damaging winds and tornadoes have hit from the Central Plains into the mid-Atlantic, according to the National Weather Service. Police confirmed Tuesday evening that a tornado hit southwest of Lawrence, Kansas, in the eastern part of the state.

The National Weather Service issued a tornado emergency for the areas around Kansas City and urged residents to take shelter, advising them to seek the lowest level in the most interior room.

Rainbow

'Rare' fire rainbow seen at New Jersey Shore

Fire rainbow at Jersey Shore
© Packy McCormick/Twitter
A rare fire rainbow was spotted at the Jersey Shore on Sunday.

Twitter user @packyM captured the rare site on the beach in Avalon, NJ near 64th Street.

These are neither fire nor rainbows. Technically they are known as a circumhorizontal arc, an ice halo formed by hexagonal, plate-shaped ice crystals in high-level cirrus clouds. The halo is so large that the arc appears parallel to the horizon, hence the name.

These appear mostly during the summer and only in particular latitudes. When the sun is very high in the sky, sunlight entering flat, hexagon-shaped ice crystals gets split into individual colors just like in a prism.

Comment: Twitter user @MeganErber also photographed the strange cloud over Sea Isle beach in New Jersey:
Fire rainbow over Sea Isle beach, NJ
© Via Twitter@MeganErber
Twitter user @PackyM also posted another picture from a friend of a circumzenithal arc over Japan that same day:




Sun

Japan heat wave kills 5 people, hospitalizes nearly 600

Japan heatwave
© KYODOPeople cross a street in Obihiro on Sunday. The mercury hit 38.8 degrees in the city in southeast Hokkaido, the highest on record there.
At least five people have died and nearly 600 have been hospitalized as a heat wave grips Japan.

Shortly after 2 p.m. Sunday, the temperature hit 103.1 degrees in the coastal town of Saroma on the island of Hokkaido, according to the Japan Times. The Meteorological Agency said that is the highest temperature at any observation point in Japan for the month of May. The temperature in Saroma climbed above 90 again Monday.

Fifty-three of the Meteorological Agency's 926 monitoring posts registered temperatures of 95 degrees or higher on Sunday. In 513 locations in the country, the mercury climbed above 86 degrees, Kyodo News reported. On Monday, 400 posts saw temperatures rise above 86 degrees.

On Sunday, a man died in Shimizu, Hokkaido, and another died in Tome, Miyagi Prefecture, because of the heat, Kyodo News reported. At least 575 people nationwide with symptoms of heatstroke have been taken to hospitals.

On Monday, a 42-year-old woman died in Mito, Ibaraki Prefecture; an 88-year-old woman died in Hanyu, Saitama Prefecture; and a woman in her 90s was also found dead in a field in Oshu, Iwate Prefecture.

Comment: Three months ago record cold temperatures of minus 24.4 C gripped Hokkaido, Japan.


Ice Cube

Adapt 2030 Ice Age Report: Buy more stuff the sea levels are down - It's a Climate Emergency

church of climatology
AOC says we have 12 years to save Earth and only 100 companies spew out 70% of all CO2 but the message is Buy More Stuff as NASA confirms sea levels are declining.

Arctic sea ice follows the Atlantic water temperatures on its 60 year cycle and a look at Alternative View 10 when I presented in the UK but that is now sensitive material on Twitter.


Sources

Cloud Precipitation

Severe Hailstorm Rocks Romania

hailstorm
Strong gusts of wind with heavy rain and egg-sized hail hit the Romanian cities of Baia Mare, Zalau, and Fagaras. The hailstorm reportedly lasted about 10-15 minutes.

The hailstorm, which affected several regions of Romania, has damaged dozens of cars and caused serious damage to buildings.

Note: in the above video, it appears that the hail is passing through dense foliage and causing bark or something similar to fall from the trees. That is to say, it does not seem to be true that 'brown rocks' are falling from the sky.

Black Cat

Mountain lion attacks boy at Los Peñasquitos Canyon Preserve, California

A cougar
© DreamstimeA cougar
A 4-year-old boy is lucky to be alive after being attacked by an 80-pound wild cat, likely a mountain lion, in a Rancho Penasquitos canyon on Memorial Day, a wildlife official said Tuesday.

A female mountain lion suspected of attacking the boy was shot and killed by wildlife officers hours later, California Department of Fish and Wildlife (DFW) spokesperson Lt. Scott Bringman said.

The boy was hiking with a group of six adults and five children in the Los Peñasquitos Canyon Preserve, in an area known as Carson's Crossing at the center of the preserve, when the animal attacked at about 2:30 p.m., SDFD Battalion Chief Rick Ballard told NBC 7.

Bringman said the boy's father should be commended for his quick actions. While the rest of the group dispersed, the father "threw rocks and the animal left the scene."


Comment: Some recent history of mountain lion attacks in California:




Cloud Precipitation

Deadly floods in China after torrential rain - 7 dead, 200,000 affected

floods
Heavy rain and floods in China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region has left 7 dead and 9,000 displaced.

According to Chinese news agency Xinhua, rainstorms have affected 21 counties of seven cities in Guangxi over the last few days, causing floods and landslides. Over 9,000 hectares of crops have been damaged and 185 houses destroyed. A total of 200,000 people have been affected.

China Meteorological Administration (CMA) reported widespread heavy rainfall over southern areas between 27 to 28 May. Tiandeng in Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region recorded 242.8mm in 24 hours to 28 May, 2019.


Comment: The South China Morning Post on the 27th of May also reported that one city received 19 inches of rain overnight.


Snowflake

Huge early snow storm dumps 2 feet in 72 hours at Australian ski resorts

Mt Hotham
Mt Hotham
The southern hemisphere's 2019 ski season will begin this Friday, May 31st, after Australian ski areas received a big pre-season snowfall this week.

The first areas that had been scheduled to open were in New Zealand, a day later on Saturday, June 1st, with Cardrona and Whakapapa opening some terrain.

However the Antarctic snowstorm that has so far deposited up to 65cm (two feet, two inches) of snow in 72 hours (at Mt Hotham, pictured top) and is still going, has led Australia's largest area, Perisher, to announce it is opening a week earlier than planned.

The ski area says it has had 60cm (two feet) of snow in the past 72 hours.