Earth ChangesS


Snowflake

Deadly ice and snow bring havoc to U.S. South and East

John Bacon
USA Today
Tue, 17 Feb 2015 01:04 UTC
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© H. Darr Beiser, USA TODAY
A wide swath of the nation was digging out Tuesday from a deadly storm that pummeled some areas with heavy snow while others were blasted with treacherous ice.

More than a foot of snow fell in parts of Missouri, Illinois, Kentucky and West Virginia. Arkansas, Tennessee, North Carolina and South Carolina were among states where sleet and freezing rain made roads hazardous.

Near-record low temperatures swept through the South, and some areas were encrusted in at least 1/2 inch of ice, the National Weather Service said. More than 200,000 customers lost power in Arkansas, Georgia and the Carolinas, AccuWeather reported.

The National Weather Service warned that the bitter cold temperatures would remain deep into the week.

"This is not your typical North Carolina winter storm where the sunshine melts the snow and ice in a day or two," Gov. Pat McCrory said Tuesday. "The extended low temperatures and black ice likely will make this a dangerous situation for several days."

In North Carolina, Charlotte-Douglas International Airport officials said more than 2000 passengers spent the night in the terminal; cots, mats, pillows and blankets were distributed. Airlines grounded about 1,500 flights due to the storm — and more than 5,700 flights have been grounded nationwide since Sunday due to back-to-back winter storms.

Washington, D.C., and its environs were hit with 4 to 8 inches of snow, enough to shut down federal offices in the region.

The Tennessee Emergency Management Agency called on the Tennessee National Guard for assistance in several counties where interstate crashes occurred. Icy road conditions and crashes resulted in a 12-mile backup on I-40 late Monday, TEMA said.
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Snowflake

New Brunswick resident shares viral video of insane snowfall


Toronto Sun
Tue, 17 Feb 2015 22:30 UTC
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© Reuters/Nathan RochfordA man walks near a snow plow after a winter storm hit Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island February 16, 2015. Canadian media reported that 80 cm (2.6 feet) of snow hit the province, breaking a single storm record.
One New Brunswick man made it his mission to prove the East Coast has it worst than the rest of the country by uploading a YouTube video documenting just how much snow they've received.

It worked. You win, East Coast. We concede.

Kevin McGrath, a resident of Dieppe, probably wasn't expecting his home video showing off the amount of snow congregating around his house to hit almost 84,000 views on YouTube in two days but that's precisely what happened.

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Fish

Fish with 2 mouths caught in Australian lake

Nelson Groom
Daily Mail, UK
Tue, 17 Feb 2015 21:50 UTC
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The South Australian fisherman uncovered the double mouthed bream on Monday
A string of rare and freakish fish have been emerging from Australian seas of late.

In the wake of the discovery of Goblin shark in New South Wales and prehistoric frill shark in Victoria, another rare and unusual fish has been uncovered in South Australia.

On Monday afternoon, a Riverland fisherman was taken aback when he netted a bony bream with two mouths.
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Info

Chemical contaminants suspect in mystery of Alaska chickadee and other bird beak deformities

Yereth Rosen
Alaska Dispatch News
Mon, 16 Feb 2015 21:27 UTC
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© John Schoen A black-capped chickadee with a deformed beak in the Hillside area of Anchorage, 2010. About 7 percent of Alaska black-capped chickadees have the beak deformity, which is spreading to other birds such as ravens and crows, and to other parts of the world, including Great Britain.
When black-capped chickadees and some other birds in the Anchorage area began turning up in the late 1990s with elongated, weirdly curved or twisted beaks, biologists and bird lovers began to worry.

The deformities range from slight to gross and can have severe consequences for the birds if they are unable to use their beaks to pick up food or groom feathers so their bodies retain heat.

"People, a lot of times when they first see them, think the bird is carrying a twig in its beak," said Colleen Handel, a U.S. Geological Survey biologist who has devoted several years to studying the problem.

The tiny black-capped chickadees are the most afflicted, with 7 percent of Alaska adults developing deformed beaks. The deformities are also showing up in other birds, including ravens and crows, though not as frequently, Handel said.

Now the beak-deformity outbreak has spread north to Fairbanks, south to the Puget Sound region and -- for an unknown reason -- across the globe to Great Britain, where it is showing up among starlings, tits and other species, Handel said.

Comment: See this earlier report from 5 years ago - Birds with Deformed Beaks Appearing in Alaska, Northwest, and Canada at Record-Breaking Rate

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Arrow Down

Sinkhole swallows snow plow truck in New Jersey

Dan Stamm
NBC - New York
Tue, 17 Feb 2015 19:59 UTC
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© Tim WynkoopA sinkhole opened in the morning of Feb. 17, 2015, in the first block of Wordsworth Drive in Lopacong Townshiup, swallowing a plow truck.
A plow truck fell into a sinkhole Tuesday morning along a snow-covered New Jersey road.

The accident happened along Wordsworth Lane in Lopatcong Township in Warren County as a snowstorm moved out of the area around 7:30 a.m., said Mayor Tom McKay.

Instagram user MRLish456 captured the aftermath on Instagram. The township truck's plow could be seen dangled above the truck, which was partially emerged in the hole.

The shaken driver of the plow managed to get out of his vehicle. He was taken to the hospital for observation, said McKay.

The township issued a warning for people to avoid the area. McKay said it could take hours to remove the truck.

Comment: The planet is opening up! See the below map for sinkholes that have occurred in the past 90 days:



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Question

Weird animal behaviour: Residents claim hippo killed and 'ate' 3 goats in Kenya

Reuben Githinji
allafrica.com
Wed, 11 Feb 2015 19:47 UTC
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Hippo charging
Residents have called on the Kenya Wildlife Service to remove a hippo that has been terrorizing them. They said it killed and ate three goats on Sunday (Hippos are herbivourous and can not eat meat). Francis Ndwiga, who works at a firm in Gachuriri village, said the hippo ate the goats and dragged one to River Thiba. He said he woke up when he heard the goats bleating. Assistant chief David Njagi said residents are living in fear.

Comment: See also : Strange animal behaviour: Hippo cannibalism caught on camera in South Africa

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Attention

12 dolphins trapped in Maldives lagoon die, 22 others freed

Shan Mohamed Anees
Haveeru Daily
Sat, 07 Feb 2015 19:22 UTC
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The pod of dolphins trapped in Nadella island's lagoon.
22 out of the pod of dolphins trapped inside Nadella Island's lagoon have been freed and released into the ocean but 12 had died, the island's council said on Saturday.

Faisal Najeeb, the island council's chair said that 38 dolphins had accidentally wandered in to the island's - located in Gaafu Dhaalu atoll - lagoon. He added that there were about four dolphins left to free.

"We caught the dolphins on a net and released them into the ocean" Najeeb said "12 of them died in this process".

"Catching them with nets was the only option we had" he continued.
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Cloud Precipitation

Over 12 inches of rainfall in just 12 hours in Córdoba, Argentina

Richard Davies
floodlist.com
Mon, 16 Feb 2015 17:32 UTC
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Streets were turned into raging torrents after a particularly severe rainstorm
Local media in Argentina are reporting that heavy rain has caused deadly flooding in the province of Córdoba, central Argentina.

La Nacion say overflowing rivers caused flooding that has left 6 people dead, 4 missing and forced 400 to evacuate.

La Nacion say that as much as 320 mm of rain fell in just 12 hours in some areas. WMO report that 79 mm of rain fell at Cordoba Airport in 24 hours from 14 to 15 February 2015.

The severe weather has affected several part of the province, including the city of Córdoba, where authorities have declared an "alert and climate emergency" for 72 hours. Power has been cut off to prevent electrocution.

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Rainbow

Three Suns in the sky over Chelyabinsk


RT
Tue, 17 Feb 2015 17:41 UTC
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© Screenshot from YouTube user Shuriksandr
Citizens of Chelyabinsk, near Russia's Ural mountains, were awed by a rare optical illusion produced by ice crystals in the winter air on Tuesday.

"Weather in the Urals fell to -23 to -25 Celsius. This led to the formation of tiny hexagonal ice crystals in the air above, which cannot be seen by the naked eye. The sunlight refracts through them, creating the halo effect," regional meteorologist Galina Sheporenko told TASS news agency

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Attention

Tsunami and evacuation warnings after M6.9 offshore quake in Japan


RT
Tue, 17 Feb 2015 01:08 UTC
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© USGS
An earthquake measuring at 6.9 magnitude has struck off Honshu island in northern Japan, the US Geological Survey said. A tsunami warning has been issued for Iwate Prefecture.

The quake was recorded at around 8 am local time at a depth of approximately 10 kilometers. The epicenter was located off the Sanriku Coast, extending from southern Aomori prefecture, through Iwate prefecture and northern Miyagi prefecture.

Japan Meteorological Survey has issued a tsunami advisory for the Iwate Prefecture, warning that the waves may reach 1m in height.

Meanwhile, an evacuation order has been issued for coastal towns in Iwate prefecture. Thousands of people are reportedly leaving their homes while boats are sailing out of the harbor.

There were no irregularities reported at the Onagawa and Higashidori nuclear plants in nearby Miyagi and Aomori prefectures, the facilities' operator Tohoku Electric Power Co. said. A spokesman for TEPCO also reported no irregularities at Fukushima Daiichi and Fukushima Daini plants.
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