Earth ChangesS


Ice Cube

At least 13 died in deadly U.S. winter storm

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© Kiichiro Sato/AP Photo
A park crew clears the snow around Annish Kapoor's stainless steel Cloud Gate sculpture at Millennium Park, Jan. 2, 2014, as snow continues to accumulate in downtown Chicago.
At least 13 deaths have been attributed to the winter storm that walloped the Northeast with snow overnight and delivered bone-chilling temperatures today. Much of the Northeast is getting bone-chilling temperatures in the aftermath of the storm.

Several deaths occurred because of bad conditions on the roadways, according to The Associated Press. And in western New York, a 71-year-old woman with Alzheimer's disease reportedly froze to death after wandering from her rural home.

Though most of the snow had stopped falling by this morning, officials continued to warn residents against spending too much time outside.

Ice Cube

Newfoundland in massive blackout after storm wallops Atlantic Canada

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Much of Newfoundland, including in the St. John's area, is in the dark after a fire at a power station early Saturday knocked out power in the province.

Newfoundland and Labrador Hydro's Sunnyside terminal station caught fire causing the Holyrood Generating Station to shut down.

Newfoundland Power on Twitter said that about 125,000 customers are affected and full restoration may not happen until Sunday.
Here's a glimpse into the fire at sunnyside: http://t.co/QUvaCuKV9F -
Ariana Kelland (@arianakelland) January 04, 2014
Newfoundland had already been grappling with rolling blackouts implemented Thursday evening by the utility as it tried to cope with increased demand because of bitterly cold temperatures.

The blackout comes as much of Atlantic Canada spent Saturday cleaning up after a powerful blizzard which is blamed for cancelled flights and dangerous driving conditions.

The weather system whipped through the Maritimes Friday before passing southeast of Newfoundland's Avalon Peninsula overnight.

Wolf

From the steppe to central Spain, Europe echoes to the howl of the wolf

The shepherds' ancient foe is back in numbers - and now packs are breeding a mere 40 miles from Madrid

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© Steven Ruiter/CorbisSpain is now a wolf stronghold. There are thought to be more than 250 breeding groups and more than 2,000 individuals.
A twig snaps, a crow calls, but nothing moves in the dense pine forests of Spain's Guadarrama mountains. Vultures and eagles soar over the snowcapped peaks and wild boars roam the valleys below, as they have for centuries. But for the farmers who work this land, a threatening and worrying comeback is taking place in this timeless landscape, home to Spain's newest national park.

After an absence of 70 years, the wolf is back in the Guadarrama hills and breeding just 40 miles from Madrid.

There have been sightings for several years of lone males, but camera traps recently picked up a family of three cubs, two adults and a juvenile. To the consternation of the farmers who believed that this ancient foe had left the hills for ever, breeding packs are expected to follow. The bloody results are plain to see. In the past two months around 100 sheep and cattle have been killed near Buitrago, in the northern foothills of the Guadarrama mountains, says Juan Carlos Blanco, a wolf specialist and adviser to the Spanish environment ministry.

"Guadarrama can support two, even three, packs. We think there are now six packs within 100km of Madrid. When they arrive in a new area the shepherds do not know what to do. Then they find ways to protect their flocks with dogs or fences. It's a natural event and the wolf will not go away now," he says. "Maybe hunters will exterminate one pack, but others will take its place. Wolves are very flexible and resilient."

Snowflake Cold

Historic freeze could break Midwest temp records

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It has been decades since parts of the Midwest experienced a deep freeze like the one expected to arrive Sunday, with potential record-low temperatures heightening fears of frostbite and hypothermia - even in a region where bundling up is second nature.

This "polar vortex," as one meteorologist calls it, is caused by a counterclockwise-rotating pool of cold, dense air. The frigid air, piled up at the North Pole, will be pushed down to the U.S., funneling it as far south as the Gulf Coast.

Ryan Maue, of Tallahassee, Fla., a meteorologist for Weather Bell, said records will likely be broken during the short yet forceful deep freeze - a perfect combination of the jet stream, cold surface temperatures and the polar vortex - that will begin Sunday and extend into early next week.

"All the ingredients are there for a near-record or historic cold outbreak," he said "If you're under 40 (years old), you've not seen this stuff before."

Before the polar plunge, Saturday marked the day Earth is the closest it gets to the sun each year. The planet orbits the sun in an oval and on average is about 93 million miles away. But every January, Earth is at perihelion, and on Saturday, it was only 91.4 million miles from the sun.

But that proximity doesn't affect the planet's temperatures, and the predictions are startling: 25 below zero in Fargo, N.D., minus 31 in International Falls, Minn., and 15 below in Indianapolis and Chicago. At those temperatures, exposed skin can get frostbitten in minutes and hypothermia can quickly set in as wind chills may reach 50, 60 or even 70 below zero.

Arrow Down

UK weather: part of cliff collapses near Rock-A-Nore in East Sussex

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A camera captures the moment that a cliff partially collapses during rough seas in Rock-A-Nore outside Hastings in East Sussex


In the video, part of the cliff can be seen crumbling to the ground during rough seas on the East Sussex coast.

Kevin Ice, who filmed the collapse, can be heard in the video shouting "here it goes" as part of the cliff starts to break away.

Nobody is thought to have been injured in the collapse on Friday at about 1.30pm.

The public has been urged to stay away from the coast and promenades.

Cow

Bizarre deformed calf with TWO HEADS born in Moroccan mountains

  • Born on December 30, calf named Sana Saida, 'Happy New Year' in Arabic
  • Animal has been attracting a lot of attention in Sefrou, a village less than 20 miles from Fez in northern Morocco
  • Calf is known as polycephalic, which means having more than one head
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This two-headed calf was born in the northern Moroccan village of Sefrou, which is less than 20 miles from Fez
A village in northern Morocco has been shocked by the birth of a two-headed calf.

Born on December 30, the young animal was named Sana Saida, which means 'Happy New Year' in Arabic.

Since its birth, the creature has been attracting a lot of attention, with locals of Sefrou, a village less than 20 miles from Fez, flocking to the farm to see it.

Cloud Lightning

Record tides and floods in Ireland could cost $500 million

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The River Liffey flooded Dublin's financial district
Over $500 million in damage already caused by floods and high winds

The latest storms to hit Ireland will cost the economy almost half a billion dollars - with more on the way over the weekend.

Record tides and devastating flood and gales lashed the country on Friday with Ireland's weather forecast service warning of a repeat on Sunday.

Experts have branded the freakish winds and rain as the worst series of storms to hit the country in over 15 years.

And economists have warned that the price of home insurance will increase after estimating the current damage at over $500million.

Galway and Cork were worst hit with flooding while the River Liffey in Dublin also reached record levels.

Ice Cube

Global warming: After the snow... a 'polar vortex': U.S. braces for the coldest temperatures in 40 years after blizzards ground 5,000 flights

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© APShards: Sunlight streams through the windows of a building which caught on fire in Plattsmouth, Neb., Friday, Jan. 3, 2014, and the water sprayed on it by fire fighters froze
Experts have warned that Friday's freezing temperatures were simply a warm-up and that this weekend will bring a big chill for 140 million people - almost half the nation - that could prove fatal for the unprepared - and will continue through the winter.

With the Northeast still reeling from the huge storm that dumped as much as two-feet of snow across the region and was responsible for the deaths of 13 people, a new weather system is threatening to bring record low temperatures to the Midwest as a polar vortex barrels over the United States.

'It's the mother lode of cold air,' said Weather Channel coordinating meteorologist Tom Moore. 'On the heels of what will be the coldest air of the season, will be dangerous, life-threatening winds.'

The temperature predictions are startling: 25 below zero in Fargo, North Dakota, minus 31 in International Falls, Minnesota, and 15 below in Indianapolis and Chicago.

Moore said that as the freakishly cold weather hits the region, authorities need to act fast to avoid a human catastrophe because of the chill. 'Anybody living out on the streets needs to be rounded up and put into a shelter,' said Moore to MSNBC News. 'The repercussions for not could be deadly, and I'm afraid we're going to see cases like that.'

The temperature predictions are startling: 25 below zero in Fargo, North Dakota, minus 31 in International Falls, Minnesota, and 15 below in Indianapolis and Chicago. The so-called 'polar vortex' will send cold air piled up at the North Pole down to the U.S., funneling it as far south as the Gulf Coast.

Weather expert Andrew Freeman of Climate Central explains that the rarity is 'an area of cold low pressure that typically circulates around the Arctic during the winter, spreading tentacles of cold southward into Europe, Asia, and North America at times. Except this time, it's not a small section of the vortex'.

Additional images

Cloud Precipitation

UK swept by destructive, '17 year-high' tidal surge

uk storms
© Reuters/Cathal McNaughtonWaves crash against the coastal wall in the village of Carnlough as high tides and strong winds cause some flooding in coastal areas of Northern Ireland January 3, 2014.
Coastal areas in the south and west of the UK have been swept with waves of up to 10 meters (30 feet) high, causing flooding and destruction. With around a hundred flood warnings active on Saturday, the country could yet expect more severe storms.

Gale force winds accompanied by monster waves, twice the height of a double-decker bus, eroded Britain's Atlantic coast on Friday. Dozens of houses were flooded, piers damaged, roads and railway tracks, including major ones, affected.

At Heathrow several flights had trouble landing because of the wind, while connections to and from Gatwick were hampered by the bad weather.

More than a hundred flood warnings were issued by Environment Agency Saturday morning. Four of those were severe. That was one-fifth Friday's rate. However weather forecasts for the coming days say it's not yet time to relax.

Ice Cube

December 31 global sea ice area was the largest ever recorded

Climate experts say that global warming is melting sea ice faster than expected, which is why the poles currently have the most sea ice ever measured for the date.
Global sea ice area
© Unknown
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