Earth ChangesS


Snowflake

Heavy snowfall cuts power, disrupts transport along Sea of Japan coast


The Japan Times
Fri, 10 Feb 2017 14:27 UTC
Snow Japan
Heavy snow plastered much of the Sea of Japan coast on Friday as a cold wave hit the archipelago, disrupting transportation and causing power outages.

The Meteorological Agency warned the snowfall could continue through Sunday and spread to the Pacific coast.

In Kurayoshi, Tottori Prefecture, around 1,300 households lost power after a snow-laden tree fell onto a power line, Chugoku Electric Power Co. said.

Snow also prompted West Japan Railway Co. (JR West) to suspend part of the Inbi Line in Tottori and Okayama prefectures and part of the Geibi Line in Hiroshima Prefecture. Delays were also reported on the Sanin Line.

A glitch apparently caused by snow also left around 40 passengers in a cable car to Mount Koya trapped for about 90 minutes in the town of Koya, Wakayama Prefecture, Nankai Electric Railway Co. said.
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Bug

Locust swarms cause state of emergency in Bolivia


Euro News
Wed, 08 Feb 2017 13:59 UTC
Locusts
Locusts
Bolivia is under a state of emergency after a vast agricultural area of around 1000 hectares has been laid to ruin by a plague of locusts.
Locusts Destroy 2,700 Acres of Farmland in Bolivia https://t.co/JaKesjtHOC pic.twitter.com/Kso9p8eq3l

— Datatech Software (@DatatechAg) February 8, 2017
The locusts first appeared about one week ago in an area near Santa Cruz where most of the country's food and meat is produced.

President Evo Morales has announced a contingency plan that includes 655,000 euros in extra funding for fumigation.

Bolivia's Agriculture Secretary, Mauricio Ordonez said: "We will create a 500-metre-wide ring around the area affected and fumigate inside, working alongside the local authorities."

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Sun

Sydney hit by record temperatures during heatwave

Lisa Herbertson
The Daily Telegraph
Fri, 10 Feb 2017 08:04 UTC
Sydney heatwave
The beaches are expected to be packed as people seek relief from the heat.
With temperatures over 40C in parts of Sydney, it is now officially the hottest summer in the city's 158 year recorded history — with 10 summer days over 35C.

At Sydney Airport, temperatures reached 42.9C at 2.30pm today, and broke the previous record for the area set in 1980.

And the worst heat could be still to come.

Tomorrow, for the first time in the history of Sydney grade cricket, all matches have been called off due to the extreme heatwave.

Cricket Australia and NSW doctor John Orchard pushed strongly for the unprecedented step to be taken, and NSW Cricket has advised all associations to follow suit and cancel junior and senior matches.

Similarly at Royal Randwick, tomorrow's much-anticipated racing has been postponed until Monday.

While residents have yet to be hit by power outages, locals in the inner west were given a short preview of what could occur if power shedding is necessary.
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Snowflake

Storm shuts down Jackson Hole resort in Wyoming, knocks out power across area

Robert Pursell
GrindTV
Wed, 08 Feb 2017 15:59 UTC
jackson hole
© Courtesy of Jackson Hole ResortWhile Jackson Hole’s iconic tram looks beautiful cloaked in snow, all of the recent storms have caused major troubles for the resort.
Jackson Hole Mountain Resort in Wyoming has been beset by heavy snow and extreme winds which knocked down multiple power lines Tuesday night, left all of Teton Village without power and forced the resort to announce on Wednesday that it was closed down for the day with no immediate timetable listed for its reopening.

The Jackson Hole News and Guide reports that between 3,500-4,000 people in the area were left without power after strong winds knocked down multiple utility poles in the areas surrounding Teton Village and Jackson Hole.

According to Snow Brains, the winds were as strong as 90 miles per hour, and the Casper Star-Tribune reports that the storm downed 17 utility poles. The Jackson Hole News and Guide lists the number of destroyed utility poles at 10.
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Fish

Mass stranding of whales on New Zealand coast

Nina Hindmarsh, Hannah Bartlett and Warren Gamble
Stuff/ Nelson Mail
Fri, 10 Feb 2017 00:34 UTC
As new aerial footage shows the overwhelming scale of NZ's third-largest whale stranding, rescuers warn the coming hours will be critical.
Mass whale stranding New Zealand
© Martin De Ruyter/Fairfax NZThe view from the air shows the overwhelming scale of the stranding.
Experts and an army of volunteers spent Friday morning fighting to keep surviving whales alive after about 416 of them beached themselves at Farewell Spit in Golden Bay. Department of Conservation Golden Bay operations manager Andrew Lamason said latest reports were that an estimated 70 per cent of the whales had died overnight.

Rescuers managed to refloat the survivors on Friday morning, but now whales have begun re-stranding again.
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Bizarro Earth

Blizzard Warnings as Winter Storm Niko hammers US Northeast


Weather Channel
Thu, 09 Feb 2017 21:20 UTC
US East coast storm
© National Weather ServiceWinter Weather Alerts

Winter Storm Niko continues to lash the Northeast with heavy snow, high winds and, in some areas, blizzard conditions, making travel treacherous, if not impossible in Boston and New York City.

A blizzard warning has been issued for Boston and all of eastern Massachusetts, including Cape Cod, Martha's Vineyard and Nantucket, as well as parts of Rhode Island, including Providence, much of Long Island in New York, and southeastern Connecticut.

Winter storm warnings stretch from Maine southward through New England, eastern New York and into northern/eastern New Jersey. This includes Hartford, Connecticut, Albany, New York, and New York City.
US East coast winter storm
© Weather ChannelAreas shown in darkest teal have the best chance of snow. Areas in pink may see either snow, sleet or freezing rain. Areas in purple may see sleet or freezing rain. Areas shown in darkest green have the best chance of rain.
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Eagle

Symbolic? Bald eagle photographed with trap attached to its talons near Gettysburg, Pennsylvania

Tom Knapp
Lancaster Online
Mon, 06 Feb 2017 21:00 UTC
A mature eagle, shown in a photo provided to wildlife rehabilitator Wendy Ebersole Looker, is flying in the Gettysburg area with its talons caught in a small-game leg trap.
© Wendy Ebersole LookerA mature eagle, shown in a photo provided to wildlife rehabilitator Wendy Ebersole Looker, is flying in the Gettysburg area with its talons caught in a small-game leg trap.
An Elizabethtown native is circulating photos of an eagle that's flying in the Gettysburg area with its talons caught in a trap.

"Horrors!!!" Wendy Ebersole Looker, who now lives in Hanover, wrote on her Facebook page Sunday.

Looker, a state-certified wildlife rehabilitator, said the photos were sent to her by a local photographer who hoped she could track down and save the eagle.

But, she noted Monday, "until he weakens or gets snagged we cannot catch him."

The eagle appears to be caught in a steel leg-hold trap designed for small game.

EAGLE
© Wendy Ebersole Looker

Comment: See also this update: Good news: Adams County eagle caught in steel trap has slipped the trap

For more recent bald eagle symbolism see: Symbolic? Bald eagle rescued from Florida storm drain (VIDEO)

Heavy symbolism? Bear swats bald eagle with deadly blow on Kodiak Island, Alaska

Symbolic? Fishing vessel named 'American Eagle' catches fire for a second time this year

Symbolic: Trump attacked by bald eagle during Time Magazine photo shoot

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Bizarro Earth

And...another round of heavy rain, snow pounding U.S. West

Linda Lam
Weather Channel
Thu, 09 Feb 2017 21:12 UTC
West US storm
© Weather ChannelCurrent conditions and radar
Another fairly warm and wet low-pressure system is bringing heavy rain and snow to the West and will continue to impact the region into Friday, renewing the threat for flooding and landslides in California.

An atmospheric river event brought a prolonged period of moderate to heavy rain to portions of northern California on Tuesday. That rain combined with snowmelt in some areas brought flooding and several mudslides to parts of California and Nevada.

The next system in the parade of storms is now pushing into the West and will impact the region with rain, snow, ice and gusty winds through Friday.

Precipitation rates will be lower with this late-week system and snow levels will be slightly lower. However, given the recent rainfall, it will not take much additional rain to aggravate the flooding risk in smaller creeks.

Flood watches and warnings have been posted from parts of Washington and Oregon southward into northern and central California. Any heavy rain on the saturated ground or in previous burn areas could lead to additional flooding.
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Bizarro Earth

Heavy rain, rapid snowmelt in California and Nevada triggers dam break, mudslides

Pam Wright and Ada Carr
Weather Channel
Thu, 09 Feb 2017 20:58 UTC
Santas Cruz CA flooding
© AP/Marcio Jose SanchezA man is waste deep in water while taking cell phone images of rescue crews in Felton, CA.
Heavy rain and rapid snowmelt in the Sierra Mountains has led to widespread flooding in parts of Nevada and California, triggering numerous mudslides and road washouts. In Oroville, water opened up a massive hole in a dam.

Officials shut down flow from the Oroville Dam after chunks of concrete went flying from the spillway and created a 200-foot-long, 30-foot-deep hole on Wednesday. Officials stopped the water after noticing it was flowing irregularly and the erosion became apparent with the water held back.

The dam break poses no threat to the public but is expected to grow before engineers can make the necessary repairs, according to the Sacramento Bee.

High snow levels across parts of California and western Nevada have led to rain falling on areas where feet of snow have fallen in recent weeks, prompting flooding near the Sierras and in the central valley.

The final in a series of storms is making its way into the West Coast Thursday and Friday, said weather.com meteorologist Chris Dolce. Flood watches and warnings are posted from parts of Washington and Oregon southward into northern and central California.

Slideshow

Comment: Meanwhile...

Northeast US braces for biggest blizzard of the year

Historic U.S. winter storm dumps more than 5 feet of snow in parts of Montana

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Snowflake Cold

Whistleblower: No more global warming, NOAA scientists falsified temperature data, MSM ignores

Adapt 2030
You Tube
Wed, 08 Feb 2017 18:02 UTC
Unstable land readings
Unstable land readings
Retired NOAA climatologist Dr Bates, comes out with the bombshell of the century that there is no global warming.

NOAA changed temperature data to show warming to effect political will to get USA and other countries to sign 2015 IPCC global climate accord.

Also $100 billion in funding to be lost if no warming continues.


Sources
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