Earth ChangesS


Cloud Lightning

At least 14 people killed as 41,025 bolts of lightning strike in 16 hours across Andhra Pradesh, India

lightning
At least 14 persons were killed and two others injured on Tuesday as over 40,000 bolts of lightning and thunderstorms struck Andhra Pradesh. The Andhra Pradesh State Disaster Management Authority (APSDMA) confirmed that 41,025 cloud-to-ground lightning strikes took place across 11 districts on Tuesday from 07.30am to 11.40pm as per the data available with Earth Networks.

The APSDMA, which predicted severe lightning activity in Srikakulam, Vizianagaram, Visakhapatnam and East Godavari districts, issued thunderstorm alerts from early hours of Tuesday and later lightning continued in West Godavari, Krishna, Guntur, Nellore, Prakasam, and Kadapa.

Snowflake

Storms pelt Las Vegas Valley, Mount Charleston receives snow in May

Mount Charleston sees rare May snowfall
Mount Charleston sees rare May snowfall
May came in like a lion Tuesday, as lightning flashed and thunderstorms pelted parts of the Las Vegas Valley, and snow covered higher-elevation areas on Mount Charleston.

Lightning was seen throughout the western valley, and flashes also were reported with storms over the central and south valley, the National Weather Service said.

"So it's basically everywhere," meteorologist Chelsea Kryston said.

McCarran International Airport received about 0.24 inches of rain in a 24-hour span, Kryston said. Rain fell harder in other parts of the valley, however, as Summerlin saw about 0.27 inches, Centennial Hills recorded about 0.31 inches and southeast Henderson received 0.42 inches.

The weather service issued a flood advisory late Tuesday that was set to end at 10:15 p.m.

Snowflake

Spring snowfall hits the Sierra

snow
Another round of winter weather is hitting part of the Sierra.

Snow and ice falling overnight in Nevada County caused some traffic problems, as Interstate 80 was shut down for a couple of hours due to slick road conditions.

The snow and ice fell on Monday.

Watch the above video to see the white powder falling!


Source: CNN

Seismograph

Powerful earthquake in Bárðarðarbunga, Iceland, one of Vatnajökull's monster volcanoes

Ice cauldron in Bárðarbunga The volcano is hidden beneath the ice cap of Vatnajökull glacier.
© Tómas GuðbjartssonIce cauldron in Bárðarbunga The volcano is hidden beneath the ice cap of Vatnajökull glacier.
The monster volcano Bárðarbunga, one of the most active and powerful volcanoes in Iceland and Europe, trembled yesterday afternoon. A sharp 3.9 magnitude earthquake was detected at 16:13 on Sunday afternoon, followed by a handful of smaller quakes.

The volcano has been relatively calm in 2018, with only a handful of 3+ magnitude quakes. The relative calm comes at the heels of relatively high levels of activity in 2016 and 2017. Since the largest earthquake to hit Bárðarbunga at the end of January, a 4.9 magnitude quake.

A 3.9 magnitude quake is considered a significant seismic event, as any quake in an active volcano which is larger than 3 on the Richter scale is considered a powerful quake. Quakes larger than 4 in volcanoes are relatively rare.

Bizarro Earth

Graphic footage shows lion attacking safari park owner in South Africa

An African lion.
© Stephane De Sakutin / AFPAn African lion.
The founder of a private animal reserve in South Africa is reportedly in serious condition after being mauled by a lion in front of shocked bystanders.

The man, understood to be a British citizen, was attacked inside a lion enclosure at an animal sanctuary in Limpopo, South Africa.

Harrowing footage obtained by News24 shows the moment of the lion attack, which occurred in a rural province bordering Botswana and Zimbabwe.

In the 90-second clip, a man can be seen being dragged away from the gate of a fenced-off enclosure by a male lion. The big cat's victim calls out for help in front of screaming bystanders before a number of gunshots can be heard to ring out.

Comment: While it's not unnatural for a lion to attack a human, what may be strange is that this safari keeper probably had more of a rapport with the lion than if the animal was in the wild, and when we take into account that animal attacks around the world seem to be on the increase, the trend does seem to reflective of changes occurring on our planet:


Seismograph

5.2 magnitude earthquake strikes southwest Iran

Earthquake

A strong earthquake struck Iran's southwestern province of Kohgiluyeh and Boyer-Ahmad Wednesday morning.

The temblor, measuring 5.2 on the Richter scale, rocked the city of Sisakht at 8:38 A.M. local time.

The epicenter, with a depth of 8 km, was determined to be at 30. 835 degrees north latitude and 51.559 degrees east longitude.

Snowflake Cold

Students evacuated in southern France as heavy snow surprises them during hike

Mont-Ventoux
© Photo Francis Nicolas/MaxPPPThe Mont-Ventoux peaks at nearly 2000 meters.
Snow and ice during a strong storm surprised around twenty of the 174 participants in a hike organised this Tuesday by the Ecole SupElec in Paris.

They weren't expecting it, and had to be evacuated by the emergency services as weather conditions deteriorated.

Spring temperatures dropped to make way for winter conditions, leaving the youths poorly-equipped for the non-seasonal weather. The cold surprised them, going so far as to prevent them from continuing.

Firefighters were called to pick them up from the slopes of Mont-Ventoux, which culminates at nearly 2000 meters, in the department of Vaucluse in southeast France.

By 4:15 pm, no one was missing from the call. The hike ended with no injuries.

Translated by Sott.net from here

Snowflake

It's snowing 'like winter' in France - Hikers rescued in Pyrenees

Rescue in the snow for the gendarmes of Luchon in the Pyrenees

Luchon, neige
© Crédit Facebook/PGHM de LuchonThis impressive picture was taken by the PGHM from Luchon during the rescue.
Gendarmes in Luchon intervened this Monday to rescue a couple of hikers buried under snow, one of whom suffered a broken ankle. The intervention took place on the descent of the Pic du Cagire (1912m).

The hiker slipped in the middle of the afternoon and injured her left ankle not far from the Mourtis resort in the south of the Haute Garonne department.

"Initially they thought they could reach the Col de Mente where their vehicle is. But with a growing pain and the weather worsening, the couple resigned themselves to contacting our services for help at around 5:30pm," said the gendarmes.

Despite it "snowing like in winter,"
a team of five gendarmes went to the location. The victim was taken down slopes where 20cm of fresh snow had accumulated.

Translated by Sott.net from here

Bizarro Earth

Gulf of Oman 'dead zone' is far worse than feared - but what is it?

plankton survey dead zone gulf of Oman
Dead zone Gulf of Oman
A large 'dead zone' in the Gulf of Oman is increasing in size, according to scientists who warn the oxygen-scarce area is worse than previously thought and poses a threat to the environment. But what does that mean?

The dead zone in the Arabian Sea is now the world's biggest Oxygen Minimum Zone (OMZ). About the size of Scotland or Florida, the dead zone almost covers the entire Gulf of Oman, which borders Iran, Oman, Pakistan and the United Arab Emirates.

Snowflake

May snowfall in Utah National Park

Alpine, Utah
© Robbie lawlerAlpine, Utah
It may be May 1, but snow was falling across the higher elevations of southern Utah. The snow was expected to stick to grassy surfaces while roads would be just wet near Bryce Canyon National Park, according to the National Weather Service.

A Facebook post from the national park said it was "perfect May weather," in the sense that it "may snow, it may rain, it may thunder a bit later on," the post continued. The park shared this footage of snow along with the post.