Earth ChangesS


Snowflake Cold

150,000 customers without electricity in the Montreal area


cbc.ca
Mon, 05 Jan 2015 16:17 UTC
Image
© CBCA Hydro-Québec pole teeters as freezing rain casts the province in ice.
As of 4 p.m. ET on Sunday, more than 150,000 Hydro-Québec customers were without electricity on and around the island of Montreal after freezing rain encased southern Quebec in ice.

The power failures began on Sunday afternoon and affected small pockets around the greater Montreal region.

However, by late afternoon the blackouts were widespread across Montreal, the Montérégie (South Shore and areas west of the island of Montreal), the Richelieu Valley and elsewhere in southern Quebec.

Hydro-Québec spokeswoman Elaine Beaulieu said many of the power failures are due to fallen branches.

"Our crews are presently patrolling to find out where the power outages are and trying to restore the power as soon as possible. It's mainly due to the weather conditions," Beaulieu said.

Some Hydro poles and wires seemed to bow to the weight of the ice. Tree branches snapped and fell to the sidewalks and roads below in the Montreal region as the day wore on.

Read More...
Binoculars

Rare Arctic Ivory gull spotted in Quincy, Illinois

Bryant Clerkley
wgem.com
Sat, 03 Jan 2015 21:27 UTC
Image
© Brandon StehlIvory Gull
Bird enthusiasts from all over the Midwest descended upon Quincy Saturday to get a glimpse of the extremely rare Ivory Gull.

"It's a fairly small gull but very elegant, pure white with very dark eyes and legs, with this cute little bill that's dark with a yellow tip on it," biology professor Jim Mountjoy said.

It was rainy, cold, and damp. But that didn't stop Knox College Biology Professor and bird expert Jim Mountjoy from getting a glimpse of the Ivory Gull. He says the bird is a native of the high Arctic Islands and is rarely seen in the lower 48.
"This is an exceedingly rare bird to spot this far south," Mountjoy said. "Anywhere in the continental United States it's pretty hard to see, even if you go to Alaska it's sometimes quite difficult."

Mountjoy says he's been bird watching for over 40 years, and has only spotted the Ivory Gull one other time. He calls Saturday a very rare sighting in the state of Illinois.

Read More...
Attention

Dead whale washes up on Sandøy, Norway


newsinenglish.no
Mon, 29 Dec 2014 21:06 UTC
Image
Locator map of Sandøy, Sogn og Fjordane, Norway
Norway's Coast Guard faced a grim and smelly task over the weekend: Discarding a dead whale whose cadaver was in danger of exploding.

The dead whale had washed up in a bay at Sandøy outside Bergen on Norway's West Coast. It was found by a local resident on Friday and immediately raised concerns because it was showing clear signs that gas had formed inside the whale's stomach.

That meant it could explode, so the coast guard ended up towing the dead whale out to sea and shooting it to puncture the inflated intestines, so the cadaver would sink.
Read More...
Snowflake

Indo-Tibetan Border Police sound high alert after early heavy snowfall on Himalayan border


The Tribune (India)
Sat, 03 Jan 2015 20:21 UTC
Image
© Sanju PantHeavy snowfall at an ITBP camp on the China border in Pithoragarh.
The ITBP, which guards the high-altitude Himalayan border posts with China, has sounded a high alert as moderate to heavy snowfall has been reported in the region in the last 24 hours.

The snowfall continued in the higher reaches of this part of the Himalayas today, ITBP sources said here. "The snowfall has broken records of recent years. After 2005, dense snowfall used to occur in this part of the Himalayas after January 15, but this year it has started early," said Kedar Singh Rawat, an ITBP officer.

According to ITBP sources, while 120 cm snowfall was recorded at Joligkong Ridge, near the China border in the Vyans valley of Dharchula subdivision, the last border post at China border at Nabhidhang received 90 cm snowfall in the last 24 hours. "The snowfall, which started ahead of the Garbiyang post of the ITBP, witnessed 40 cm to 80 cm snowfall in the last 24 hours," said Rawat.

In Munsiyari, the peaks of Panchachuli, Rajrambha, Chiplakedar and Hansling received heavy snowfall in the last 24 hours. Weather Department sources said snowfall in higher reaches and rainfall in lower valleys would continue for the next 24 hours.
Read More...
Arrow Down

Pope embraces false prophets of doom - Why I'm disassociating myself from the Vatican and church

P Gosselin
NoTricksZone
Sun, 04 Jan 2015 18:59 UTC
Vatican
© NoTricksZone
I'm Catholic and this Sunday I'm announcing that I'm disassociating myself from the Vatican and its pope. I urge other skeptic Catholics to consider doing the same. This is not a step I've taken lightly.

I'll be opting out of Germany's Kirchensteuer (Church Tax) and will not attend any services in the future. With their latest planned encyclical they are indicating that they have shifted back to the Dark Ages of bad-weather witches, superstitions and Medieval indulgences. Worse, they are openly subscribing to nutty end-of-times theories.

This comes on the heels of a recent announcement that Pope Francis intends to issue an encyclical on climate change. I am not renouncing Catholicism, rather I am solely renouncing my recognition that the Vatican and Pope are the faith's administrator and moral compass. It's the last straw in an unending string of corruption, child sexual abuse and scandals that have raged within the Catholic Church in recent times.
Read More...
Arrow Down

15-foot-deep sinkhole appears on Pierce Street, Omaha

Alissa Skelton
Omaha World-Herald
Sat, 03 Jan 2015 15:38 UTC
Image
© Rebecca S. Gratz/The World-HeraldA sinkhole has formed on Pierce Street, east of the intersection with 20th Street.
A large portion of Pierce Street near 20th Street caved in on New Year's Day, exposing a hole 15 feet deep.

The sinkhole spans both lanes of traffic, an estimated 25 feet in diameter, said Craig Christians, manager of Omaha's sewer maintenance division.

"This cave in is on a much bigger scale than we usually see," Christians said. "A big one like this we don't see very often."

The city shut down Pierce Street east of 20th Street on Christmas Day after someone noticed the street sagging, he said. Pierce is 12 blocks south of Dodge Street.

Maintenance workers who opened a manhole cover discovered that a brick manhole, more than 100 years old, had collapsed, allowing water to wash out the soil underneath the street.

Christians said a hole at the bottom of the manhole likely started everything.

City workers monitoring the street on New Year's Day saw the giant hole for the first time.

"The pavement, under its own weight and (with) no support under it, collapsed," Christians said.

Because the hole is so deep, Christians said, it could take months to repair the street.

The last major sinkhole Christians could remember was at the intersection of 20th and Farnam Streets. A leaking pipe caused that sinkhole, which spanned about a quarter of the intersection.
Read More...
Attention

Temple elephant goes berserk and kills one person in Maharashtra, India

Saurabh Gupta
ndtv.com
Sat, 03 Jan 2015 14:53 UTC
Image
The elephant went out of control during a procession which was part of Khandoba celebrations.
One woman was killed and another injured when a temple elephant went out of control during a temple procession in Maharashtra on Saturday. The incident took place in Pali village of Satara District, during a procession to celebrate the regionally popular Khandoba festival. Three lakh people were part of the procession and many had a lucky escape.

"There was a huge crowd. Two women were injured and amongst them one woman died. People were running helter-skelter to save their lives and that is when the accident took place," Police Sub-Inspector Mohan Tawde told reporters

"We were sitting in one place. Suddenly the elephant went out of control and trampled people," said an eyewitness.

Another eyewitness said, "The elephant suddenly charged towards us. People ran and in the chaos my son got hurt in the leg."

The incident once again brings to light the dangers of keeping elephants in captivity and using them in religious and marriage processions. While this a common practice in India it often leads to stress for pachyderms and lead to accidents.
Read More...
Bizarro Earth

2 quakes with more than a dozen aftershocks strike north of Los Angeles


RT
Sun, 04 Jan 2015 07:30 UTC
Image
© google maps
Two earthquakes, of 4.2 and 3.0 in magnitude, have occurred 80 kilometers to the north of Los Angeles, generating over a dozen aftershocks.

The first tremor shook the area at about 7:00 pm local time on Saturday (3:00 am GMT on Sunday). It occurred 13 kilometers from the town of Castaic, and was reported to be a foreshock to the second tremor.

It happened at 7:18 pm local time on Saturday (3:18 am GMT on Sunday), about 10 kilometers from the town of Castaic and 80 kilometers from Los Angeles, the US Geological Survey reported.

Initially, the magnitude of the second tremor was reported at 4.5.
I don't care how minor it was, my bed was rolling #laquake

- Ageless Vintage (@ageless_vintage) January 4, 2015

Comment: See also: Two earthquakes strike San Francisco Bay area in a span of-5 minutes shaking felt in South Bay

Recent earthquake in Los Angeles a warning that California overdue for a big earthquake

Four San Francisco fault lines have built up enough seismic strain to unleash destructive earthquakes

Read More...
Cow

Zimbabwean man gored by cape buffalo


iol.co.za
Tue, 30 Dec 2014 14:04 UTC
Image
A Zimbabwean man survived an attack by a charging buffalo by hanging on to its horns, The Chronicle reported on Tuesday.

His intestines protruding from a first goring by the buffalo, Given Ndlovu, 38, claims he managed to grab hold of the animal's horns and then its nose, hanging on until it gave up the attack.

"The lone buffalo came charging towards me as I was herding cattle on Saturday. It attacked me with its horns in the stomach and I fell down.

"I then held its horns as it attempted to attack me again. I then left the other horn and grabbed its nose and held it for some time," Ndlovu reportedly said from his hospital bed.

Afterwards, in his weakened state, Ndlovu stripped off his T-shirt and bandage his stomach before calling relatives. He had surgery and was recovering in a hospital in Bulawayo.

The attack happened in the Mvuthu district, near Victoria Falls and other game-rich forestry and safari areas in western Zimbabwe.

Officials reportedly suspect Ndlovu may have been trying to poach an animal in the area.

Source: Sapa
Read More...
Snowflake Cold

Brutal arctic cold to blast Midwest and East U.S.

Alex Sosnowski
Accuweather
Sat, 03 Jan 2015 17:17 UTC
Image
In a pattern fitting for January, waves of cold air will flow into the Midwest and East with brutal blasts of arctic air poised to sweep southeastward next week.

Following a large storm that bring snow and ice to a large part of the Upper Midwest and interior Northeast this weekend, multiple blasts of cold air will follow.

The first blast will have many people shivering as they head back to work and school in the Midwest early next week.

Another batch of arctic air set to move during the middle to second half of next week is likely to bring the lowest temperatures of the season so far to parts of the Midwest and much of New England and the mid-Atlantic.

With the frigid air moving in, temperatures may hold in the single digits around Chicago and the teens around Chicago or lower on multiple days next week.
Image
It is possible temperatures fail to climb above zero F on one or more days in northern New England. Highs may be in the single digits across upstate New York and central New England with night time lows well below zero.

Highs will be in the 20s on multiple days from Boston to New York City and Philadelphia. Atlanta is likely to have highs in the 40s most days next week, despite sunshine.

Gusty winds accompanying the arctic outbreaks will produce much lower AccuWeather RealFeel® Temperatures. Because of this the air will be beyond painful, reaching dangerous and life-threatening levels in much of the Midwest and Northeast for those who spend a significant amount of time outdoors without proper protection.

Comment: See: Feeling chilly? It's good for you!

See also the thread on our forum on cold therapy.

Read More...