Earth ChangesS


Snowflake Cold

Cold snap envelops south-east Asia

Lee Seok Hwai
The Straits Times
Fri, 29 Dec 2017 19:12 UTC
Heavy snow in Beitun, in China's Xinjiang autonomous region, on Wednesday.
© REUTERSHeavy snow in Beitun, in China's Xinjiang autonomous region, on Wednesday.
Tropical South-east Asia has not been spared the wintry chills.

Thailand, Myanmar, Laos and Cambodia have been enveloped by an unexpectedly cold front, which descended from China last week.

In Samoeng, a district in the northern Thai province of Chiang Mai, the government distributed blankets and winter clothes to 7,000 residents last Friday as temperatures plunged to 5 deg C, The Nation newspaper reported.

Thailand's Meteorological Department has predicted that temperatures in areas, excluding the south, will drop by another 2 to 4 deg C during the New Year holidays.
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Ice Cube

Icy blast from the Arctic causes waterfalls to freeze in northern US

Regina F. Graham
Daily Mail
Thu, 28 Dec 2017 18:48 UTC
The arctic blast that's bringing negative temperatures to several states across the northern U.S.
The arctic blast that's bringing negative temperatures to several states across the northern U.S. is causing waterfalls to freeze, windows to crack and people to suffer life-threatening frostbite with just 30 minutes of exposure outside. Above the frozen Minnehaha Falls in Minneapolis, Minnesota are pictured on Thursday
The arctic blast that's bringing negative temperatures to several states across the northern U.S. is causing waterfalls to freeze, windows to crack and people to suffer life-threatening frostbite with just 30 minutes of exposure outside.

Forecasters are warning for those who are outside to bundle up with layers to protect against hypothermia and frostbite that could happen with exposure in the bitter arctic.

The icy cold weather has turned the Minnehaha Falls in Minneapolis, Minnesota into a beautiful frozen wonderland. The popular attraction has completely frozen over due to the super cold single-digit temperatures that have gripped the state over the past few days.

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Attention

Mysterious 'explosion' heard in Potters Bar, St Albans in Hertfordshire, UK

Chris Flanagan
Welwyn Hatfield Times
Thu, 28 Dec 2017 16:13 UTC
Cranborne Rd in Potters Bar, UK
© Google Street ViewCranborne Road in Potters Bar. Picture: Google Street View.
Confusion has gripped Potters Bar after numerous residents claimed to have heard a deafening "bang" in the town last night (Wednesday)

Described by some as sounding like an "explosion", it was heard by residents in Cranborne Road, Southgate Road, Sunnybank Road, Oakmere and Little Heath, with one person claiming it even reached St Albans.

A police spokeswoman told the Welwyn Hatfield Times that they had received no official reports last night.

Some people claimed on social media that it may have been a sonic boom, but a Ministry of Defence spokesman confirmed no operations were being held in the area last night.

Members of the public also said they had spotted a cloud of smoke near Hatfield Business Park, but it is not known whether this was anything to do with the loud bang.
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Attention

Two thresher sharks found dead on Massachusetts beaches because it's so cold in the U.S. right now

Kristin Hugo
Newsweek
Thu, 28 Dec 2017 14:10 UTC
Two sharks were found dead Wednesday on beaches on Cape Cod, and experts say “cold shock” may have led to their stranding and death.
© Atlantic White Shark ConservancyTwo sharks were found dead Wednesday on beaches on Cape Cod, and experts say “cold shock” may have led to their stranding and death.
The end of the year is bringing freezing temperatures to New England, and it's not just humans who are feeling the cold. Two sharks were found dead Wednesday on beaches on Cape Cod, and experts say "cold shock" may have led to their stranding and death.

Cold shock happens when a person or animal is exposed to sudden, very cold temperatures. Humans can suffer a variety of symptoms such as muscle spasms and cardiac arrest. The program director of the Cape Cod - based Atlantic White Shark Conservancy told The Boston Globe that it's not uncommon for sea turtles to wash up on the beach after experiencing cold shock. However, sharks are water-breathing fish, so when they wash up on a beach, they can suffocate and die.
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Windsock

Cyclone Hilda lashes Western Australia with 120km/h winds and heavy rain


The Guardian (UK)
Thu, 28 Dec 2017 03:40 UTC
Cyclone Hilda
A tropical cyclone lashing Western Australia's northern coast has weakened, but not before leaving a path of destruction in its wake (pictured is Broome after the cyclone)

Wild weather brings down trees in Broome but category-one system set to weaken as it moves inland

West Kimberley residents in northern Western Australia are being warned to prepare for flooding as Tropical Cyclone Hilda lashes the region with 120km/h winds and heavy rain.

The category-one system formed on the coast just north of Broome on Wednesday night before tracking south-south-west.

By late morning Hilda had reached inland south of Bidyadanga and was expected to gradually weaken as it moved further inland on Thursday.

Shortly before 11am (WST), the Bureau of Meteorology issued a flood warning for parts of the Kimberley.

"Heavy rain has occurred over the west Kimberley since Tuesday, with widespread rainfall in excess of 100mm over two days in the Broome area, including over 200mm at Kilto Station," the warning read.

"Heavy rainfall is expected to continue in the west Kimberley on Friday and Saturday, with widespread 48-hour totals of 50-100mm expected and isolated heavier falls of 100-150mm possible."
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Hardhat

'Shook the house, shook the walls': Mysterious explosion heard in Knoxville, Tennessee

Robert Grant
WVLT
Wed, 27 Dec 2017 23:15 UTC
Mystery Boom
A mysterious explosion in North Knoxville left hundreds questioning on social media-what caused the boom?

People said they heard and felt it in Powell, Halls and Mascot Tuesday night, but they found no real answers as to its cause.

Neighbors suggested explanations from thunder to earthquakes, but one possibility stuck out more than the rest.

A video surfaced of at least two men who appeared to be behind some type of small explosion. They said they were blowing up a tree stump off Salem Church Road around 6 p.m. Tuesday.


Comment: The area from Powell to Mascot to Halls, Tennessee covers well over a 20-mile radius. We doubt that the sound heard across that area would be caused by a local crew downing a tree with explosives.


Comment: See also:

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Snowflake

Stunning satellite image shows lake effect snow over the Great Lakes

Brian Manzullo
USA Today
Thu, 28 Dec 2017 20:38 UTC
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Satellites
© NOAAThe National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Satellites Twitter account released this image of lake-effect snow and its impact across Michigan, the Great Lakes and the Eastern United States and Canada on Wednesday, Dec. 27, 2017. The satellite image was taken Tuesday, Dec. 26, 2017
Chances are, you've seen a satellite photo similar to this one that shows Michigan and the Great Lakes during a snowstorm with lake effect. But the snowfall was especially amplified over the last week in places such as Erie, Pa., which was buried in more than 50 inches of snow over a 30-hour span. As of Wednesday, the area has seen more than 63 inches of snow since Saturday.

On Christmas Day, a stationary snow band off Lake Erie dumped nearly 3 feet of snow on Erie, Pa., more than four times the previous Christmas record and 14 inches more than the city's all-time record that has stood for more than 60 years.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Satellites Twitter account tweeted this image Wednesday that shows just how much of a lake effect the Great Lakes had on snowfall across Michigan, lower Ontario and several Eastern states such as New York and Pennsylvania.

Comment: See also these recent reports from places close to the Great Lakes:

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Snowflake Cold

Motorists abandon vehicles, hundreds stranded at airports as snow, ice and heavy winds batter UK

Mattha Busby and Patrick Greenfield
The Guardian
Thu, 28 Dec 2017 00:56 UTC
Snow M Gloucestershire December 2017
© Ben Birchall/PASnow reduces the M5 to two lanes between junctions 14 and 15 in south Gloucestershire.
Motorists have had to abandon their vehicles in icy conditions in the Lake District and hundreds of passengers have been stranded at airports after their flights were delayed, with the bad weather expected to cause further travel disruption across the UK.

The Met Office issued a yellow warning for ice across large parts of the UK stretching into Thursday morning, and isolated snowfall was expected on higher ground in England, Wales and Scotland.

About 300 people were stuck at Stansted airport late on Wednesday evening while waiting to rebook flights following a series of Ryanair and easyJet flight cancellations caused by the weather, the airport said.
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Igloo

Extreme arctic cold continues to grip Canada and northern US


Yahoo
Wed, 27 Dec 2017 19:03 UTC
sledding
© AFP Photo/Mark Makela
A homeless man froze to death at a bus stop in Ohio and people in Pennsylvania resorted to a bulldozer to clear snow Wednesday, as an Arctic snap gripped most of Canada and the northern United States.

In Canada, extreme cold warnings were issued for scores of communities across the country, including the heavily-populated provinces of Ontario and Quebec.

In the United States, a homeless man froze to death at a bus stop in downtown Cincinnati, Ohio, local media said, quoting police and a homeless charity.

While Toronto reported temperatures of minus 15 C (5 F) and Ottawa minus 25 C, the coldest spot in Canada was minus 42.8 C in Armstrong, Ontario, according to Environment Canada.

Extreme cold warnings are issued "when very cold temperatures or wind chill creates an elevated risk to health such as frost bite and hypothermia," the government agency said.
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Snowflake Cold

Siberia, Antarctica warmer than New Hampshire

Jeremy Lane
NH1
Wed, 27 Dec 2017 15:10 UTC
Hampton Beach
© NH1
Mother Nature is giving New Hampshire more than just the cold shoulder to end 2017, she's giving us the back of her hand.

Thanks to a blast of arctic air, we're bracing for temperatures about 20 degrees colder than normal averages over the next week. In Concord temperatures are expected to dip as low as -11.

Of course this doesn't even factor in the wind chill, which we all know provides an extra slap in the face when we walk out the door each morning.

But how does New Hampshire stack up against some of the coldest places on Earth? Should we really be complaining? The answer is yes.

Here are eight surprising places (as of 3 p.m. Wednesday) that will be warmer than New Hampshire over the next week, according to weather.com:

Comment: See also: US: Christmas brings Northeast blizzard, bitter cold in Midwest

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