Earth ChangesS


Attention

Massive bee swarm descends on London during rush hour

bee swarm
© International News/YouTube
A huge swarm of bees brought rush hour to a standstill in Greenwich, southeast London, on Tuesday night.

Thousands of bees caused frightened pedestrians to duck for cover on Greenwich Church Street, close to the famous Greenwich market.

Footage posted on social media shows a "biblical scene" of insects buzzing around, with onlookers bringing traffic to a standstill.

Abigail Hering, who posted the footage on Twitter, said she saw the bees congregating around the traffic lights as she left her nearby Beadoir jewelry shop.

"When I left work, I went to walk towards my car, they were on the traffic lights.

Hardhat

Earthquake, 'loud sonic boom' startles southwestern Ontario couple watching hockey game

Wheatley, Ontario earthquake
© USGS
A Wheatley woman says a minor earthquake Saturday night startled her and her husband while they watched the hockey game.

The United States Geological Survey says a 2.2 magnitude earthquake hit around 9:50pm on Saturday.

It was reportedly centred about 5 km below the surface near the intersection of Wheatley Rd. and Essex Rd. 8.

Siobhan Cence says it sounded like a sonic boom shook the house, and it freaked her out a little.

"We heard a loud boom and felt the house shake just once really hard and I was shocked and thought was that me or did I feel something? My husband then looked at me and asked did you feel that and I said yeah," says Cence.

Cence says she can't ever remember an earthquake in Wheatley.

Cence says her husband quickly jumped into action because the bang was so loud.

Black Cat

3 villagers attacked by leopard in Maharashtra, India

Leopard
Leopard
Panic gripped Khamble and Bhokni villages as a leopard strayed into residential area from the adjacent jungle and attacked three people, including a girl, at the villages in Sinnar taluka of the district, police said today.

According to Sinnar police, yesterday morning, a leopard entered in Bhokane vasti and pounced on six-year-old girl Komal and injured her. Bhausaheb Davkhar(51), who saw the incident, started throwing stones at the big cat but the animal also attacked and injured him. Later, it run towards Khamble village where he attacked Dayaram Motiram Navle (40) and also injured him.The Khamble villagers gathered on the spot and demanded to catch the leopard.

Police and forest department officials reached on the spot with their team. The forest department team of Sinnar also reached the spot. Two injured have been admitted to Dodi rural hospital while the girl was released after giving first aid.

Source: United News of India

Cloud Precipitation

At least 7 dead following floods and landslides in Sulawesi, Borneo and Sumatra

Floods
At least 7 people have died in Indonesia after a period of heavy rain from 11 May caused landslides and floods in several provinces on the islands of Sulawesi, Borneo and Sumatra.

Indonesian National Board for Disaster Management (BNPB) spokesman, Sutopo Purwo Nugroho, said that a landslide in East Luwu in South Sulawesi (Sulawesi island) on 12 May 2017 left 7 dead, several wounded and 14 houses destroyed.

A landslide in Kranggan, Setu District, South Tangerang near Jakarta on 15 May destroyed in 5 houses, damaged 26 and displaced 153 people according to Indonesia's Disaster Management Centre (DMC).

DMC also reported that around 35,000 people have been affected by floods in West Kutai regency of East Kalimantan Province on Borneo island. As of 15 May, almost 5,000 homes had been inundated.


Cloud Precipitation

Heavy rainfall floods parts of Bangkok, Thailand; more expected

Flooded roads and heavy traffic is a major inconvenience for pedestrians as well as motorists.
© Patipat JanthongFlooded roads and heavy traffic is a major inconvenience for pedestrians as well as motorists.
It's early in the rainy season, but Bangkok commuters are already fighting through flooded areas of the city and more rain is on the way.

Bangkok commuters were confronted Tuesday morning and again Wednesday with flooded streets and traffic congestion across the city following hours of torrential rain overnight.

Several major streets were under water, including all of Soi Sukhumvit 33, much of Sukhumvit Soi 22 around Sainampeung School and much of Lat Phrao Road, traffic police said.

Traffic came to a virtual standstill on Pracha Chuen Road leading to Phong Phet intersection.

Motorists reported the water in Soi Ramkhamhaeng 21 came half way up their vehicles' wheels.

The water was so deep in Lat Phrao 64, it was impassable for small vehicles
. Pracharat Bamphen Road leading to Ratchadaphisek-Huai Khwang intersection was also flooded, traffic police said.

Snowflake

Grouse Mountain in British Columbia receives 25-cm (9 inches) dump of May snow

Grouse Mountain saw 25 cm of snow fall from May 15-16, 2017.
© Photo: Grouse MountainGrouse Mountain saw 25 cm of snow fall from May 15-16, 2017.
Monday night's heavy snowfall was good news for skiers and snowboarders in the Vancouver area but for not so much for drivers on mountain highways in the B.C. Interior.

Grouse Mountain saw a total of 25 centimetres of fresh snow skiers. Cypress Mountain and Mount Seymour both remain closed for the season.

Meanwhile, snowfall is forecasted to continue in the Interior, and Environment Canada has sent out a warning to motorists to expect winter conditions between Hope and Kamloops, as well as along the Okanagan Connector from Merritt to Kelowna. Conditions are expected to get worse later in the day.

Bizarro Earth

6 out-of-season weather events observed this spring

flooding in Pocahontas
© Caitlin Sullinger The photo above shows an aerial view of the flooding in Pocahontas, Arkansas, on May 2, 2017.
Spring 2017 has produced interesting out-of-season weather conditions and in some cases new records have been set.

Below we take a look at several of these recent unusual occurrences.

1) Eastern Pacific Hurricane Season Off to Record Early Start

Tropical Storm Adrian formed May 9, setting a new record for earliest tropical cyclone formation in the northeast Pacific in the satellite era. The previous record was held by Hurricane Alma in 1990, which developed May 12 and became a named storm May 14.

Satellite image of Tropical Storm Adrian
© The Weather ChannelSatellite image of Tropical Storm Adrian on May 10, 2017.
Adrian formed off the coast of southern Mexico and impacts will depend on its track, which is uncertain given that Adrian is expected to be in an area of weak steering currents by this weekend.

Heavy rain, however is likely in portions of southern Mexico and the mountains of Guatemala, which could lead to flash flooding and mudslides. If Adrian stalls off the coast, then rain may persist in the region over several days, increasing the risk of flooding.

Comment: For more coverage on the extreme weather affecting the entire planet, check out our monthly SOTT Earth Changes Summaries. Last month:

SOTT Earth Changes Summary - April 2017: Extreme Weather, Planetary Upheaval, Meteor Fireballs


Tornado2

2 dead after tornadoes strike Oklahoma, Wisconsin

tornado damage in Chetek, Wisconsin
© Dan Reiland/The Eau Claire Leader-Telegram via APFirefighters work the site of the damage after a tornado ripped through Prairie Lake Estates trailer home park, just north of Chetek, Wis., Tuesday, May 16, 2017.
At least two people were killed as a devastating storm system stretching from Texas to the Canadian border whipped up tornadoes, heavy rain and hail.

A tornado flattened several homes in a subdivision south of Elk City, Okla., about 7:15 p.m., about 110 miles west of A sofa sits on damaged trees after a tornado ripped through Prairie

One person was found dead in the storm's aftermath, fire officials said.

"A lot of tornado damage" was reported in the subdivision and surrounding rural area.

Strong winds brought down utility poles and lines, said Beckham County Emergency Management Director Lonnie Risenhoover. He added that cattle had been killed.

It's unclear how many people were injured during the storm.

Another tornado struck a rural area in western Oklahoma, leaving damage in its wake but no immediate reports of injuries.


Cloud Precipitation

Jamaica hit by 'abnormal' widespread flooding

Jamaica floods
© Ian AllenHouse under flood waters in Four Paths, Clarendon during the heavy rain yesterday.

Jamaica has been hit by widespread flooding and a flash-flood warning has been issued for ten parishes, according to media reports.

However, the president of the Jamaica Association of Bermuda said it was still too early to determine the full extent of the damage.

With utilities and communications services affected, Orville Campbell urged Bermuda residents who are concerned about friends and family in Jamaica to stay abreast of developments through the news.

The flooding comes after a trough brought large amounts of rain three weeks ago. After heavy rains overnight, the Meteorological Service of Jamaica extended a flash-flood warning for low-lying and flood-prone areas of St Mary, Portland, St Thomas, Kingston, rural St Andrew, St Catherine, Clarendon, Manchester, St Elizabeth and Westmoreland, and a flash-flood watch for low-lying and flood-prone areas of Hanover, St James, Trelawny and St Ann. These will be in effect until 5pm in Jamaica.

Mr Campbell told The Royal Gazette that Jamaica regularly experiences flooding.

But he said this was "abnormal" because of the time of year and the widespread nature of the flooding.

"I am actually in the process of getting information," said Mr Campbell, who noted that the flooding had been "very, very extensive".


Snowflake

Fresh May snowfall in the Cascades, Washington

cam shot
As this seems to be the winter that never ends, the Cascades are once again under winter weather headlines. A Winter Weather Advisory is in effect for the Washington Cascades until this evening, with accumulating snow as low as Snoqualmie Pass.

An unusually strong low-pressure system for this time of year is currently moving through the region. This movement brings colder temperatures into the mid-levels of the atmosphere. As the temperatures aloft fall, so does the snow level.

This morning, the snow level had fallen to around 3,000 feet. While it's not unusual to see May snow in the Cascades, it is somewhat rare to see accumulating snow this low this late in the year. If you're traveling over the mountain passes today, plan on encountering some slushy snowfall on the range of 1-4 inches. Above 4,500 feet, the totals will be closer to 6-12 inches.