Earth ChangesS

Snowflake Cold

In Pictures: Traffic freezes as Spain is covered in snow

Valencia
Valencia
Weather warnings are still in place across most of Spain as more than 300 roads have been affected by the recent bad weather.

The AP-6 has been closed from kilometre 60 to 110 heading to Madrid due to ice, while a lorry has tipped over on the A-1 forcing its closure.

Parts of Alicante are also experiencing slow traffic, especially on the A-79 and A-31.

The bad weather is expected to continue until at least Wednesday, with more snow in northern and central Spain and Cataluรฑa as well as parts of Andalucia.

A full list of the roads affected can be found here.

Even the football has been affected by the drop in temperatures.

Comment: Enough With the Global Warming Nonsense: It's Freezing Out Here!


Bizarro Earth

Receding ocean creates panic in Visakhapatnam, India

Rushikonda beach recedes in India
Rushikonda beach, Visakhapatnam, India
The visitors of Rushikonda beach had a different experience when the sea has receded to about 100 metres exposing all the sharpened stones here on Sunday.

According to fishermen, the ocean has receded as a result of the recent lunar eclipse, thereby, exposing the submerged pits and other material underneath. As there were no tides towards the western side of the beach, the visitors on Sunday enjoyed the evening at the seaside.

Rushikonda is one of the most popular beaches in Visakhapatnam, where thousands of people rush to the beach particularly during the week-ends. According to the scientists of the National Institute of Oceanography, there was nothing to panic when the sea recedes.

However, rumours spread out fast that a tsunami would be expected anytime. Some of the fishermen predicting that the city would be hit by something like a tsunami and the sea will be receded over 50 to 100 metres.

Speaking to The Hans India here on Sunday, scientists said that there was no technical evidence that the sea would recede before the tsunami. Due to the tidal phenomenon and the impact of the local winds, the sea and the blue waters would recede.

"There are several meteorological reasons for the receding of the sea. The tides will come close to the beach and the beach has eroded due to several reasons. Some of the huts of the fishermen were damaged and trees on the beach uprooted due to the heavy tides coming close to the beach.

Similarly, the blue waters will recede and the stones and others which have been submerged earlier could be seen. The blue waters will be affected again before and after the full-moon day," one of the NIO scientists said.

Comment: See also:


Cloud Precipitation

Flooding and landslides cause thousands to evacuate in Indonesia

Indonesia floods
© ReutersFloods in Indonesia has displaced thousands of people
Thousands of residents in Indonesia's capital have been evacuated due to flooding, Jakarta's governor said on Tuesday, though the level of rivers swollen by the release of water from a reservoir upstream was dropping for now.

The torrential rain had also caused landslides in satellite cities around Jakarta, with eight people missing after two landslides around the city of Bogor, police said.

TV footage on Tuesday showed people wading through murky brown water in some neighbourhoods of the capital Jakarta.

City governor Anies Baswedan said about 6,500 people had been displaced by floods in parts of south and east Jakarta.

"We are making sure that those evacuees receive aid," Baswedan said in a statement, adding that flood waters had receded at the Manggarai floodgates in the city.


Eye 2

Signs and Portents: Two-headed snake found in China

two headed snake
While two headed snakes are found in the wild, a snake has one head on each end has shocked a passerby in China.

Mr Yang discovered a 20-centimetre-long (7.9 inches) reptile as he took a walk in a park after lunch in Qingyuan, Zhejiang Province on February 1.

Footage shows it writhing its body on the ground as Mr Yang used a stick to move it around carefully.

The two heads seem to be fighting each other to control the body.

The snake was released back to nature shortly after Mr Yang took a video and shared it online, according to QingYuan News.


Tornado2

Waterspout and strong winds blow away boats, dumpster in Singapore (VIDEOS)

Three boats were seen being swept away by the wind in a video.
Three boats were seen being swept away by the wind in a video.
Heavy rain fell across Singapore on Wednesday (Jan 31), with unusually strong winds sending a dumpster and even a few boats flying in the air at East Coast Park.

Videos circulating online show the fierce gusts blowing leaves and debris up into the air. At least three boats are seen being tossed into the air as well. The person taking the video exclaims and flees when the boats are blown in his direction.

A spokesman for the National Sailing Centre (NSC) confirmed with The Straits Times that it happened near the centre.


Butterfly

Report shows a sharp drop in monarch butterflies wintering in California

Goleta Butterfly Grove
Goleta Butterfly Grove
The number of monarchs wintering in California has dropped to a five-year low, despite more volunteers counting more sites in search of the orange-and-black insect that is arguably the most admired of North American butterflies, a report said on Friday.

The latest tally of 200,000 monarchs in forested groves in California's central coast has dropped from the 1.2 million counted two decades ago, indicating the number of butterflies found west of the Rocky Mountains, or the so-called western population, continues to sharply decline, the Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation said in a report.

"It's certainly concerning," said Sarina Jepsen, endangered species program director for the Xerces Society.

Western monarchs are born on milkweed plants in such states as Arizona, Idaho, Utah and Washington before embarking on a seasonal migration to California.

Cloud Lightning

Lightning bolt strikes 5 people, killing 2 in Zimbabwe

lightning
A grade five pupil and a woman from Nkayi died on the spot while three other people suffered serious burns after they were struck by a bolt of lightning.

One of the victims is said to be in a critical condition and was admitted to Nkayi District Hospital while the other two were treated at a local clinic.

Vusani Dube (13) of Msweli village and Priscilla Nyoni (38) of Mkhantsho village, both under chief Sikhobokhobo died after they were struck by lightning at a grinding mill.

The deceased and those who escaped with burns had sought shelter in a kitchen hut at the homestead of the owner of the grinding mill last Thursday at around 5PM, when the incident occurred.

Snowflake

Bus halted by police in Switzerland with 1.6 tons of snow on roof

Police in the Swiss canton of Solothurn stopped the bus after it was seen travelling with a layer of snow more than 40cm thick on the roof.
© KAPOSOLOTHURNPolice in the Swiss canton of Solothurn stopped the bus after it was seen travelling with a layer of snow more than 40cm thick on the roof
Swiss police say they've stopped a Swedish bus that was traveling along a highway with more than 1.6 tons of snow on its roof.

Police in Solothurn canton (state) said Sunday that the bus was reported to officers on Saturday afternoon. They stopped it on the A1 highway near Oensingen and found that it was carrying more than 40 centimeters (16 inches) of snow on its roof.

The driver was ordered to clear off the snow.

Sheeple

Signs and Portents: Lamb born with 5 legs in Cornsay, UK

This little texel lamb was born two weeks ago at Lodge House farm in Cornsay, County Durham
This little texel lamb was born two weeks ago at Lodge House farm in Cornsay, County Durham
Just when you think you have seen it all.

This little female texel lamb was born two weeks ago at Lodge House farm in Cornsay, County Durham.

Her owner Angie Jewitt named her Hope because she beat the odds to be alive.

She now plans to keep the newborn as a pet.

Five-legged lambs are a one in a million occurrence in the UK.

And it's unclear what the odds of a five-and-a-half-legged lamb are.

Seismograph

Shallow 6.1 magnitude earthquake strikes off Taiwan

MAP TAIWAN
A shallow 6.1-magnitude earthquake hit off the eastern coast of Taiwan late on Sunday, the United States Geological Survey said.

The quake's epicentre was around 15 kilometres north of the port city of Hualien at a depth of around 8 kilometres, the USGS added.

There were no immediate reports of any destruction caused by the tremors. The USGS said there is "low likelihood of casualties and damage".

"Overall, the population in this region resides in structures that are resistant to earthquake shaking, though vulnerable structures exist," the organisation said.

It cautioned, however, that earthquakes in the past have triggered landslides.