Earth ChangesS


Sun

Magnificent ring around the sun seen in Lake Tahoe, California

Amy Graff
SF Gate
Mon, 29 May 2017 14:29 UTC
Solar halo in Tahoe, California
© Amie Quirarte
A 22 degree halo was seen around the sun on Monday, May 29, 2017, in the Tahoe area

SFGate reader Amie Quirarte of Tahoe Vista noticed what's known as a 22 degree halo at around 1 p.m. while sitting in her backyard with her husband, and shared the image above.

"I have not seen this before," Quirarte, who works as a real estate agent in Tahoe, wrote in a message to SFGate. "I looked up in gratitude and noticed a rainbow around the sun. I instantly told my husband to check it out. When he reassured me I wasn't crazy, I took a couple photos and posted them on social media. Within a few minutes, I had comments from friends saying they could see the same phenomenon in the sky.
Read More...
Coffee

Residents across Kent, UK mystified by loud bang


Kent Online
Fri, 26 May 2017 11:54 UTC
Loud boon in Kent
© Kent Online
Police say they are as mystified as everyone else as to the cause of a loud bang heard across large parts of Kent last night.

People living in Medway, the Isle of Sheppey, Deal and as far north as Bromley and Beckenham reported hearing the noise.

One Rochester resident took to social media to say the bang was so loud that birds flew out of a tree.

Read More...
Cloud Lightning

Woman killed by lightning bolt while cycling in Aachen, Germany


The Local de
Tue, 30 May 2017 18:51 UTC
Two bolts of lightning strike in Marl, North Rhine-Westphalia in 2016.
© DPATwo bolts of lightning strike in Marl, North Rhine-Westphalia in 2016.
A 73-year-old woman was struck by lightning and killed in the western city of Aachen.

The woman was riding her bike in the outskirts of the city, and was evidently caught off guard by the thunderstorm, according to a police spokesperson.

Her body was then discovered by a passerby under a tree on Monday evening.

The fire department reported that the surge of electricity had caused the bike chain to melt. When emergency responders arrived, they could not do anything but declare her dead.

The incident comes after warm weather triggered thunderstorms in several parts of Germany on Monday night, going into Tuesday.
Read More...
Cloud Lightning

More than 120,000 lightning strikes recorded within 12 hours over southeast England and northern France


The Times
Tue, 30 May 2017 18:09 UTC
The superstorm, the size of Wales, battered southeast England
© Geoffrey SwaineThe superstorm, the size of Wales, battered southeast England
More than 120,000 flashes of lightning were recorded in 12 hours over southeast England and northern France early yesterday as a superstorm "the size of Wales" swept across the Channel.

Between 6pm on Sunday and 6am on Monday morning there were up to 500 flashes a minute.

Experts described the conditions as an "intense, dangerous supercellular storm". A supercell storm is the least common — and most perilous — of the four classifications of thunderstorms.

The storm battered Kent from about 1am after a sudden change of course, setting the roof of one house, in Staplehurst, on fire when it was hit by lightning. A second house, in Folkestone, was also struck. Residents described losing TV and phone signals.

Read More...
Attention

Volcanism in the Mini Ice Age, which next eruption will drop Earth's temperate?

Adapt 2030
You Tube
Tue, 30 May 2017 13:48 UTC
Katla volcano
Katla volcano, Iceland
All of Iceland's major volcanoes showing unusually high levels of activity which is to be expected as in each mini ice age / grand solar minimum there is one major eruption that cools Earth's climate. We are entering another GSM as we speak so I ask you which of these nine explosive volcanoes will erupt during the 2017-2035 Mini Ice Age?


Sources

Comment: See also this more recent report: Another earthquake registered around Bardarbunga volcano in Iceland

Read More...
Cloud Lightning

Violent 'Super Storm' hits the UK with 70,000 lightning strikes

Joshua Nevett
The Star (UK)
Mon, 29 May 2017 12:52 UTC
LIGHTNING: 70,000 bolts hit the UK over the bank holiday weekend
LIGHTNING: 70,000 bolts hit the UK over the bank holiday weekend
Thousands of holidaymakers have been forced to abandon getaways across the country as an "intense, dangerous supercellular storm" struck last night.

Britain's bank holiday "weather curse" has dampened spirits as Brits quit resorts early due to unsettled conditions threatening thundery downpours, flooding and power cuts.

In some regions, up to a month's worth of rain could fall in one hour today with deluges delivering up to 40mm.

The Met Office said the UK was hit with around 70,000 lightning strikes overnight - sparking safety fears across the nation.


Comment: See also: More than 120,000 lightning strikes recorded within 12 hours over southeast England and northern France

Read More...
Cloud Lightning

Lightning bolt kills farmer in Pangasinan, Philippines


North Bound Asia
Tue, 30 May 2017 12:40 UTC
lightning
A farmer from Barangay Laguit Centro in Bugallon town died instantly when was hit by lightning at 7:00 p.m. Sunday.

The victim was identified by the Bugallon police as Elvis Ochoco,30, who suffered third degree burns all over his body.

The incident was reported to the police by Ochoco's live-in partner Mary Jane Cruz, also of Barangay Laguit Centro, more than an hour later.

Investigation conducted by the police showed that the victim was working on the farm owned by an Alex Garacho when the lighting struck.

The remains of the victim now lies at the Angel Funeral Parlor located at Sitio Balat in Cayanga, Bugallon, Pangasinan

Source: Philippine News Agency
Read More...
Attention

Woman found mauled to death after apparent bear attack in Akita, Japan


The Japan Times
Tue, 30 May 2017 12:30 UTC
Police officers put up a no-entry sign at the foot of the mountains in the city of Senboku, Akita Prefecture, on Saturday.
© KYODOPolice officers put up a no-entry sign at the foot of the mountains in the city of Senboku, Akita Prefecture, on Saturday.
Akita Prefecture is stepping up vigilance against bears attacking people in the wake of the apparent mauling death of a local woman over the weekend.

Masako Oishi, a 61-year-old assistant nurse from the eastern Akita city of Senboku, was found dead shortly after noon on Saturday in the city's mountains. She set off on a hike at around 6 a.m. with a female acquaintance to pick bamboo shoots, a seasonal delicacy.

At around 8:30 a.m., the acquaintance returned to the parking lot at the foot of the mountains, but Oishi did not return, according to police. When locals searched for her, they found her dead, bleeding and lying on the ground.

She had been mauled on several parts of her body, including her head, shoulders and arms, leading the police to suspect she was attacked by a bear.
Read More...
Attention

Dead minke whale found at Long Beach Peninsula, Washington

Janet I. Tu
The Seattle Times
Mon, 29 May 2017 09:16 UTC
People at Long Beach Peninsula, Pacific County, view a small minke whale that had died and washed ashore Sunday.
© Tiffany Boothe/Seaside AquariumPeople at Long Beach Peninsula, Pacific County, view a small minke whale that had died and washed ashore Sunday.
In a relatively rare sighting, a dead minke whale, with its diaphragm pushed outside of its mouth, washed ashore Sunday on Long Beach Peninsula, Pacific County, about a quarter mile north of Klipsan Beach Approach.

The whale had died before washing ashore, with gases from decomposition building up inside the animal. Once the whale reached the beach, the pressure from the gases combined with its own weight pushed its diaphragm outside of its mouth, causing the balloon-like shape at the head of the whale, said Tiffany Boothe, an administrative assistant at Seaside Aquarium, who took the video and photos seen here.


Seaside Aquarium, based in Seaside, Ore., along with Portland State University, are coordinators in dealing with marine mammals that wash up in northern Oregon and southern Washington.
Read More...
Camera

Stunning Aurora Australis 'southern lights' illuminate night sky above New Zealand


RT
Mon, 29 May 2017 20:13 UTC
Southern lights
© janet_j2 / Instagram
People in New Zealand were treated to a spectacular light show Sunday as Aurora Australis, the so-called 'southern lights', lit up the night sky.

Clear skies provided perfect conditions for stargazers, allowing the natural phenomenon to be seen as far north as Christchurch on New Zealand's South Island.

Twitter and Instagram have been flooded with stunning photographs of the aurora since it appeared Sunday. Photographer Ché McPherson captured an incredible time lapse image from the Coronet Peak vantage point, just north of Queenstown.

McPhearson said he was in "total awe" during the experience, adding that the aurora was different from previous ones he'd seen. "This was beautifully dancing as it lit up the sky, with the most intense green I have seen from any aurora," he said.


Comment: On Saturday a large geomagnetic solar storm visible over the Vancouver area created a stunning opportunity for stargazers and photographers to catch a rare glimpse of the aurora borealis (northern lights).

"As Earth passed through the CME's wake, energetic particles poured through a crack in Earth's magnetosphere, sparking strong G3-class geomagnetic storms and bright auroras," reported SpaceWeather.com.

During the celestial event, the lights could be seen as far south as California and Arizona, and as far east as Ontario and Cape Cod, with shades of pink, purple and green lighting up the skies.



Read More...