Earth ChangesS


Attention

USGS reports Kilauea volcano wall collapse in Hawaii

Kilauea volcano
© USGS Hawaiian Volcano ObservatoryKilauea volcano
Volcanic activity on Kilauea volcano's East Rift Zone continues, and scientists with the USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory are documenting it.

On February 10 at 8:21 in the morning, a large portion of the northeastern rim of the west pit in Pu'u O'o collapsed. Prior to and during the rim collapse, the adjacent ground also subsided.

There have been several active breakouts and lava channels on the Pulama pali over the past few days.


Attention

Ebeko Volcano on Kurils, Russia sends two-kilometer ash plume into air

Explosive event at Ebeko volcano on 23 May, 2017
© Dr Janine KrippnerExplosive event at Ebeko volcano on 23 May, 2017
Volcano Ebeko is a natural sight featuring quite often in news reports, as it frequently stages spectacular "ash" shows for those living on Russia's Sakhalin island as well as guests to the picturesque Far Eastern region.

On Saturday, the volcano, which lies on Paramushir island on the Northern Kurils sent up into the air an ash plume of about 2 kilometers above the sea level. "The ash cloud has moved east of the volcano," a report by a local volcano eruption response unit [KVERT] of Institute of Volcanology and Seismology, the Russian Academy of Sciences, reads.

Snowflake

Record snowfall for Vancouver, British Columbia - double previous record

Motorists sit in traffic as snow falls in Vancouver, B.C., on Friday February 23, 2018. Environment Canada issued a snowfall warning for Metro Vancouver with 10 to 20 centimetres of snow expected.
© DARRYL DYCK / THE CANADIAN PRESSMotorists sit in traffic as snow falls in Vancouver, B.C., on Friday February 23, 2018. Environment Canada issued a snowfall warning for Metro Vancouver with 10 to 20 centimetres of snow expected.
Almost double the previous record, but "not one single media organization put the term 'record' in the title of their news," says reader David Taylor. Didn't mention the word "record" until 10 paragraphs down.

23 Feb 2018 - "Between eight and 10 centimetres of snow had accumulated in Vancouver by Friday afternoon, Environment Canada said, breaking the Feb. 23 snowfall record of 4.8 centimetres set back in 1940.

"As much as 11 centimetres of snow fell on parts of Richmond during the same time, and the North Shore saw as much as 13 centimetres in some areas.

"Vancouver's director of streets, Taryn Scollard, said even the city's own snowplows and salt trucks are getting stuck."


Binoculars

Environmental stress? Rare '1-in-a-million' Yellow Cardinal sighted in Alabama

Rare '1-in-a-million' Yellow Cardinal sighted in Alabama
© Charlie Stephenson / Facebook
A rare, yellow-colored American Northern Cardinal was spotted in an Alabama backyard in January. The "one-in-a-million" cardinal has excited birdwatchers across the US.

Cardinals usually have red feathers. This bird, however, is a mustard-yellow color, likely due to a pigment mutation.

Charlie Stephenson first noticed the yellow bird in her garden in January. She told the Shelby County Reporter it has made almost daily visits to her backyard ever since.


Comment: See Also:


Tornado2

Three killed across three US southern states following reported tornadoes

Kentucky tornado
A screengrab from a video that a resident shot of a reported tornado near Alvaton, Kentucky.
Three people were killed across three southern states Saturday as the result of reported tornadoes, officials said.

In Arkansas, the Clay County Sheriff's Department posted to Facebook Saturday night, "Clay County Sheriff Terry Miller regrettably reports one fatality from tonight's storms, Albert Foster of Knobel."

The post continued, "Tonight's storms have resulted in severe damage to several areas of Clay County. Reports of power outages, power poles down, and flooded roads have been reported at this time. Sheriff Miller advises residents if they have any damage to their property to call the Clay County Sheriff's Department so information can be given to the Office of Emergency Management.

In Kentucky, an elderly woman was killed in her home in Logan County, the coroner there confirmed. The Logan County Sheriff's Department said the woman lived in a one-story home, which was was among many that were destroyed.

In Tennessee, another victim was found in Springfield. No further details were available on that fatality.

And while there were no reported tornadoes in Missouri, an extreme storm system caused widespread damage.

Comment: A few days ago three tornadoes hit North Texas.


Ice Cube

Intense hailstorm pounds Medina, Saudi Arabia with huge stones, damaging cars and creating traffic chaos

Large hail fell in Medina, Saudi Arabia on February 24, 2018
© twitter (screen capture)Large hail fell in Medina, Saudi Arabia on February 24, 2018
An intense storm produced large hailstones which damaged cars and caused travel chaos in Medina, Saudi Arabia on February 24, 2018 as reported by local media.


Cassiopaea

Spotless sun sparks pink auroras in Norway and rare light pillar sighted in Hawaii (VIDEO)

Spotless sun sparks pink auroras


SPOTLESS SUN SPARKS PINK AURORAS


On Feb. 23rd the sun was completely blank (no sunspots) and NOAA classified solar activity as "very low." Nevertheless, this happened:

"Despite the blank sun, we witnessed a beautiful display of auroras," reports photographer Andrei Andritcu from Tromso, Norway. In addition to the usual green, the lights contained a splash of pink.

In auroras, pink is a sign of nitrogen. Ordinary green auroras are caused by energetic particles from space hitting oxygen atoms 100 km to 300 km above Earth's surface. Pink appears when the energetic particles descend lower than usual, striking nitrogen molecules at the 100 km level and below.

Comment: The quieting Sun means Earth's own fields are becoming weaker meaning more particles can move further into our atmosphere, as well as more cosmic rays, so these 'rare' sights are becoming increasingly common, as well as some never seen before phenomena: Check out SOTT radio's: Behind the Headlines: Earth changes in an electric universe: Is climate change really man-made?


Ice Cube

'Beast from the East' to bring Britain's coldest day in five years - yet spring officially starts next week

UK cold blast feb 24 2018
Snow showers look set to bring travel misery as they hit the south of England over the weekend before spreading across the country
Britain could face its coldest day in five years as a brutally cold polar vortex - dubbed the 'Beast from the East' - sweeps in from Siberia.

This weekend will see temperatures plummet before lows of -10C hit early next week and snow sweeps in from southern England.

The Met Office is predicting highly disruptive snowfall across the country beginning in the South East.

Comment: More on the situation affecting Europe:



The northern hemisphere is experiencing a wild winter; elsewhere the situation is just as unusual:


Albeit at 2,423 m above sea level, this is not far off the coast of the Western Sahara!





Snowflake

Hawaii Island mountain summits buried in snow

snow
Heavy snow occurring on the summits of Mauna Kea and Mauna Loa this morning, as a Winter Storm Warning is in effect until 6 p.m. HST.

Total snow accumulations of 6 to 12 inches are expected, the National Weather Service says. Observatory webcams on Mauna Kea show whiteout conditions.

Forecasters say strong winds are also possible, making travel very hazardous or impossible.

The Maunakea Summit Access road remains closed to the public at the Visitor Information Station at an elevation of 9, 200 feet, ranger say.

Wolf

12-year-old girl ripped apart by stray dogs near Donetsk in Ukraine

canine attack
© Angela Antunes / CC by 2.0
A 12-year-old girl has died in Ukraine after being set upon by a pack of stray dogs as she walked home from school.

Liza Kanareikina's body was torn to pieces and discovered by her parents near Donetsk to the east of the country.

They found her body in woodland where she would walk daily when she failed to return home.

Neighbour Natalia Skiba said: 'The child was walking back home and did not make it. She was found here in the forest, already torn to pieces.'

A local report said: 'Pieces of meat were literally torn off her body, the snow around was red from blood.'