Earth ChangesS


Snowflake

Global cooling: 'Winterlike weather' in the Northern Rockies

snow
This follows a winter with more snow on the ground than any time in the past 30 years, reports weather.com.

"A few spots in the northern Rockies experienced a more winterlike scene Monday, just two days before the Fourth of July holiday."

"On July 2, it was cold enough for snow to fall in portions of the higher elevations of western Montana and northern Idaho."

Snowflake

Global cooling: Snow at Jasper Park, Alberta - On the 3rd of July

Specifically, at Maligne Lake in Jasper National Park, Alberta, Canada.

Webcam photos, 3 July 2018.

SNOW
Maligne Lake is located about 44 km (27 mi) south of the town of Jasper, and about 850 km (530 miles) directly north of Spokane, Washington.

Cloud Grey

Gloomiest June in 100 years for Reykjavik, Iceland

Reykjavik, Iceland
© Boyloso/iStock/Getty Images Plus/Getty ImagesReykjavik, Iceland
Last June in Reykjavík was so cloudy that you would need to go back a century to find a gloomier one.

RÚV reports that for the entire month of June, the sun has appeared for a grand total of 70.6 hours; less then 10% of the 720 total hours in the month. Consequently, the average temperature was 1.6° below the monthly average, barely reaching 13°.

Meteorologist Elín Björk Jónasdóttir says there has not been a gloomier June in 100 years, and that there is no one explanation for this.

"There has been, for example, an unusual situation in the upper atmosphere, and this jet stream which is so important to us is in the wrong place compared to what we're used to," she told reporters. "Which pours low pressure systems over us... There's also a very cold sea now south and southwest of Iceland."


Sun

Heat wave roasting US East Coast sends power demand surging to highest in years

heat wave, man in sprinkler
The heat wave that has roasted the U.S. East Coast may be slowing down U.S. stock trading and foiling July 4 road trips. But it's the best friend of power market bulls.

Electricity demand across the eastern power market run by PJM Interconnection LLC reached 144,557 megawatts Tuesday afternoon -- the highest since Aug. 12, 2016 -- as people blasted their air conditioners and fans to keep cool. In New York, which was suffering through a fourth consecutive day of temperatures above 90 degrees Fahrenheit (32 degrees Celsius), power use surged to the highest levels since 2013.

Cloud Precipitation

16 dead and 10 missing as floods hit southern China

Tens of thousands forced to leave their homes as storms set in
Tens of thousands forced to leave their homes as storms set in
Sixteen people have died and another 10 are missing in China's southwestern Guangxi region after days of floods and torrential downpours in the country's southern and central provinces.

Roughly 92,000 people had to evacuate their homes in Guangxi over the weekend as storms inflicted 2.9 billion yuan (US$435 billion) in economic losses on the region, state-run Xinhua reported on Tuesday.

In the city of Baise, a number of multistorey buildings collapsed but no casualties were reported.


Attention

Man killed by polar bear in Nunavut, Canada while protecting his children

Polar bear
© Ansgar Walk / Wikimedia Commons
A Canadian man was killed by a polar bear after putting himself between his children and the bear Tuesday night.

According to CBC, 31-year-old Aaron Gibbons was unarmed when he encountered the bear on Sentry Island. Community members say he put himself between his children and the bear.

Gibbons died on the scene and the children were unharmed. The bear was shot and killed by another adult who came to the area.

Gibbons lived in the community of Arviat, Nunavat, where just over 2,500 people live.

Cloud Precipitation

Flood rescues in Houston following nearly 8 inches of rain in 24 hours

Roads were flooded in Houston, Texas, 04 July, 2018.
© Texas Department of TransportRoads were flooded in Houston, Texas, 04 July, 2018.
Heavy rain caused surface flooding in Houston, Texas, on 04 July 2018, dampening Fourth of July celebrations in the city.

At least 18 locations in Harris County recorded more than 7 inches of rain in 24 hours. Some central areas of Houston recorded 7.80 inches (198.12 mm), according to figures from Harris County Flood Control District. Several bayous, including the White Oak Bayou, broke their banks.

By around 13:00 on 04 July, Texas Department of Transport, Houston, reported flooded roads in 17 different locations across Houston.


Houston Police Department said they responded to dozens of calls from stranded motorists. Later the department said via Social Media "Since 6 a.m. - about a 12-hour stretch - we've had 167 vehicles removed and towed." No injuries or fatalities were reported.


Attention

Deadly Asian hornets invading Europe, scientists adding electronic trackers to enable destruction of nests

asian hornet tracking
New technique allows experts to find and destroy hidden nests belonging to invasive predators

A deadly Asian hornet invasion threatening British honeybees could be averted using tiny electronic trackers.

Scientists have attached devices to the large insect predators and followed them back to their hidden nests, which can then be destroyed to stop them harming local pollinators.

They tested the technique in southern France and Jersey, where populations of the invasive species are already well established.

Bee keepers are worried about the Asian hornet, which was first reported in the UK in 2016.

Comment: We're seeing a rise in swarms of pests (and viral plagues), and a total population collapse of other creatures, what is happening on our planet?


Attention

Hail the size of chicken eggs destroys vineyard in minutes in Limoux, France

hail limoux 2018
© lindependant.fr
For the second consecutive year, vineyards in Limoux, Aude, have been hit hard by hail.

On Tuesday of this week, hailstones the "size of chicken's eggs" fell in Limoux, lamented Guillaume Brunet, winemaker at Gardie.

Showers of hail devastated the whole vineyard in a few minutes, and the loss is huge.

"Last year, we lost 80% of the harvest because of a frost, and this year, again, we lose 100% from the hail," said Pierre Tichadou, winegrower.

Comment: Even though many farmers in France attempt to protect their crop from hail damage with nets and controversial hail guns, the ferocity and frequency of these storms is rising so even they are unprepared. Increasingly they also need to be aware of erratic frosts, epic floods, heatwaves, microbursts, the list goes on. The future for farming is looking bleak indeed:


Similar has been occurring all over the world - Italy:


And US:




Cloud Precipitation

Heaviest monsoon rain in decades creates 6m wide sinkhole, kills 9, leaves Lahore, Pakistan underwater - 3 more days of rain forecast

lahore pakistan monsson record 2018
© XinhuaFeatured image: Huge sinkhole opens in Lahore, Pakistan after record-breaking rains flood the city on July 3, 2018.
Heavy monsoon rains, described as the worst in decades, left at least 9 people dead and 10 injured in the Pakistani city of Lahore (population 6.3 million) on Tuesday, July 3, 2018. The city received record-breaking rain that left much of it under water and without power. Heavy rains are expected to continue falling across the region over the next 3 days. Residents are urged to heed official warnings.

The city of Lahore, capital of Punjab Province, received a total of 252 mm (9.9 inches) of rain in 24 hours on Monday and Tuesday, breaking the previous daily rainfall record set in 1980.

Floodwaters left many many people were stranded in their homes and damaged over 200 electricity feeders across the city, leaving much of it without power.

The storm also disrupted air and land traffic, as major roads turned into pools.

Comment: Extreme weather around the world is occurring with increasing frequency and humanity is entirely unprepared: And check this out from 2017 - last year they considered the monsoon's the worst in recent history, it looks like 2018 is set to be even worse: Worst monsoons in recent history kill 1,200 and displace over 40 million in India, Nepal & Bangladesh (PHOTOS & VIDEOS)