Earth ChangesS


Snowflake

Fascinating photos of rare natural snowballs rolled by the wind in Scotland

Anthony Joseph
Daily Mail (UK)
Thu, 18 Jan 2018 15:19 UTC
These fascinating pictures show hundreds of snow rollers - a strange and rare weather phenomenon consisting of naturally-made snowballs
These fascinating pictures show hundreds of snow rollers - a strange and rare weather phenomenon consisting of naturally-made snowballs
These fascinating pictures show hundreds of snow rollers - a strange and rare weather phenomenon consisting of naturally-made snowballs.

The natural sculptures roll up in the style of a tumbleweed or a hay bale and leave a trail behind them showing how they were made. They are delicate and crumble completely at the slightest touch.

Snow rollers can only be formed when the snow is cold but not frozen and the wind is strong enough to move snow but not break it.

A field full of the unusual snow rollers was discovered in Glassford, South Lanarkshire, by Eunice Clarke on Tuesday.
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Cloud Precipitation

Four killed and flights suspended as storm batters Europe


The Guardian
Thu, 18 Jan 2018 14:50 UTC
A woman clears snow from the pavement in Hamburg, northern Germany.
© Axel HeimkenA woman clears snow from the pavement in Hamburg, northern Germany.
Severe storm batters Belgium, Germany, Netherlands and parts of UK, uprooting power lines and trees

Three people have been killed in the Netherlands and one person in Belgium, and all flights were briefly suspended at Schiphol airport in Amsterdam, as a severe storm battered north-west Europe.

The hub scrapped 260 flights amid gusts of nearly 90mph (140km/h). Schiphol later said some flights would resume as the storm moved inland, but there would be severe delays.


Comment: See also: Storms Batter The Netherlands: All Five Dutch Storm Gates Closed For The First Time In History

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Ice Cube

Great Lakes ice coverage almost 3 times bigger than on this date in 2017

Robert W. Felix
Ice Age Now
Thu, 18 Jan 2018 14:18 UTC
lakes
2018
And more than five times what it was on this date in 2016

Great Lakes Ice Coverage

Today, 17 Jan 2018, total ice cover is 35.5%.
On this date a year ago, ice coverage was 13.5%.
And on this date in 2016, it was 6.7%
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Seismograph

Earthquake in Öræfajökull volcano in Iceland


Iceland Monitor
Thu, 18 Jan 2018 14:12 UTC
The last eruption in Öræfajökull occured in 1727.
© mbl.is/RAXThe last eruption in Öræfajökull occured in 1727.
An earthquake measuring 3.2 occurred at 02:14 AM in the North Eastern part of Öræfajökull volcano. There are no signs of an eruption according to the Iceland Met Office.

Last week, 220 earthquakes were detected using the SIL seismis system at the Iceland Met Office. The week before, 500 earthquakes were detected.
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Arrow Down

Sinkhole opens up and swallows elderly woman in Rome

Rebecca Perring
Daily Mail (UK)
Tue, 16 Jan 2018 13:45 UTC
A woman was left injured after she plunged into the sinkhole
© ilfattoquotidiano.itA woman was left injured after she plunged into the sinkhole
A giant sinkhole has opened up in the middle of a busy street in the Italian city of Rome, which plunged a terrified elderly woman two metres below the road.

A 77-year-old woman was walking on the pavement when she suddenly fell into the two-metre deep crater, which appeared on Tuesday morning.

Emergency services scrambled to the street in Catania, in the Piazza Bologna, to rescue the injured woman.

The woman was rushed to Policlinico Umberto I hospital, where she was treated for minor injuries.

The road was closed off while officials investigated the causes of the crater.
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Attention

Mud volcano erupts in Shamakhi, Azerbaijan


APA
Thu, 18 Jan 2018 13:37 UTC
mud volcano
Mud volcano
A mud volcano erupted in Gushchu village of Azerbaijan's Shamakhi district.

The volcano began to erupt yesterday at about 1:00am in the village of Gushchu and to this day the process of eruption continues, APA's local bureau reported.

Villager Adam Yusifov told APA that local residents were awakened by the sound of the volcano.

"During the eruption of the volcano, mud lava rose to a height of about 10 meters and spread to a territory of 1.5 hectares. Flow of mud is continuing. A smell of gas is reported across of the area. The last time this volcano erupted in 2005," said the villager.

There are about 15 houses in the distance of 20-30 meters from the eruption site. The houses were not damaged.
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Snowflake Cold

Snowstorm leads to over 500 collisions in North Carolina, state of emergency declared

David Byrne
AccuWeather
Thu, 18 Jan 2018 09:18 UTC
500 collisions occur amid disruptive snowstorm in North Carolina
A storm will continue to spread snow from the Carolinas and Virginia to New England throughout the day on Wednesday, challenging commuters and work crews looking to keep the roads clear.

The heaviest snow is expected to fall across portions of central North Carolina and south-central Virginia, where 4-8 inches of snow are predicted to accumulate.

North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper declared a state of emergency on Tuesday ahead of the storm.

"Nearly all of North Carolina will be impacted by this winter storm, and we're making sure North Carolina is ready," Cooper said. "I urge all of our residents to be prepared and to stay safe."

Comment: Earth's climate fluctuates cyclically and the changes in weather patterns we're seeing are those which precede an ice age so these increasingly long and cold winters will become more common place and if our infrastructure isn't upgraded to deal with it, we will see greater tragedies in the very near future: Also check out SOTT's monthly video documenting the changes happening on our planet: SOTT Earth Changes Summary - December 2017: Extreme Weather, Planetary Upheaval, Meteor Fireballs

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Windsock

SOTT Focus: Storms Batter The Netherlands: All Five Dutch Storm Gates Closed For The First Time In History

Bahar Azizi
Sott.net
Thu, 18 Jan 2018 12:25 UTC
storm nederland
© Tineke DijkstraStrong storm on the Dutch coast. The storm led to high water levels near the shore.
When storm Eleanor was sweeping through Europe in early January, the Royal Netherlands Meteorological Institute (KNMI) issued a code orange weather warning for northwestern provinces due to powerful wind gusts. The storm caused widespread damage and chaos in the Netherlands: Trees crashed down blocking the roads, flights were canceled, and several buildings were damaged.

It also led to high water levels, which moved the Dutch infrastructure agency, Rijkswaterstaat, to simultaneously close all five flood barriers for the first time in history. These storm surge barriers are:
  • The Maeslantkering, a flood barrier on the Nieuwe Waterweg, which closes if the city of Rotterdam is threatened by floods.
  • The Hartelkering, another barrier which lies in the city of Spijkenisse. The last time this gate was closed, was in November 8th, 2007, after a storm hit the Dutch coast.
  • The five-mile-long Oosterscheldekering in the province Zeeland, south-west of the country.
  • The Hollandsche IJsselkering in the province Zuid-Holland, near the city of Rotterdam.
  • The Balgstuw Ramspol, an inflatable rubber dam, which lies between the lakes Ketelmeer and the Zwarte Meer, in the province of Flevoland.
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Attention

Mass of dead and dying seabirds on Bay of Plenty shores in New Zealand


New Zealand Herald
Thu, 18 Jan 2018 10:19 UTC
A blue penguin washed up on Mount main beach on Wednesday.
© George NovakA blue penguin washed up on Mount main beach on Wednesday.
The Western Bay and ARRC Wildlife Trusts are urging the public to be aware of seabirds washing up on Bay of Plenty shores.

Julia Graham, Western Bay Wildlife Trust chairperson, said there was a mass seabird mortality with many dead or dying birds being washed up on the beach.

"Many of these are juveniles that cannot survive in this rough weather and episodes of mass die-off are a natural course of events," she said.
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Seismograph

Shallow 5.8 magnitude off Raoul Island, New Zealand


Earthquake Report
Wed, 17 Jan 2018 10:10 UTC
Seismogram as recorded in the scientific station at Raoul Island
Seismogram as recorded in the scientific station at Raoul Island
Most important Earthquake Data:

Magnitude : 5.8

Local Time (conversion only below land) : Unknown

GMT/UTC Time : 2018-01-17 22:56:58

Depth (Hypocenter) : 30.82 km
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