Earth ChangesS


Phoenix

Lynchburg, Virginia facing 'near critical' wildfire conditions despite sub-zero temperatures‏

Steve Hardy
News in Advance
Thu, 27 Feb 2014 14:48 UTC
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© Unknown
Wildfire conditions are "near critical" in Lynchburg and counties to the east this afternoon, according to the National Weather Service.

In a hazardous weather outlook, meteorologists blamed a combination of windy weather and low humidity. Weekend precipitation is expected to lower the risk.

Meanwhile, Bedford and Amherst counties have been placed under a wind advisory through 6 p.m. Forecasters warn gusts may reach up to 50 mph.
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Fireball

Are 'drought conditions' really to blame for winter wildfire outbreak across U.S.? Wildfire breaks out in Florida marshland‏

Rachel Leigh
WFLX.com
Thu, 27 Feb 2014 00:10 UTC
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© WPTVThe fire has spread into an abandoned orange grove.
A 300 acre wildfire is burning in Okeechobee County.

It was first discovered by Florida Forest Service Senior Ranger Gibbs who was scouting smoke plumes, according to the Florida Forest Service.

It is currently threatening a backhoe/tractor and a hunting camp house, the forest service says.

The blaze is now in a marshy area and has slowed down. The fire is approximately 15 miles
northwest of Bassinger.

Comment: There is something seriously weird going on with these winter wildfires as of late. In case you have missed it, here is a sample:
Despite hurricane and record flooding, fire crews dealing with large bog fire near Aberystwyth,Wales
Despite Arctic temperatures, wildfire torches remote building in Woodbury County, Iowa
Wildfire warning issued for Alaska - apparently freeze-dried vegetation can 'spontaneously combust'
Third 'winter wildfire' breaks out in Norway - Second in two days - What is going ON?!
More winter wildfire weirdness as forest fires break out in Oregon
Despite near-freezing temperatures, wildfire rages in Hot Springs, Arkansas

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Phoenix

Wildfires break out across Carolinas despite cool temperatures

Steve Lyttle
Charlotte Observer
Thu, 27 Feb 2014 11:41 UTC
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© Gastonia Fire Department.Crews in Gaston County battled a pair of wildfires Wednesday, including a blaze that scorched about 1 1/2 acres on Chespark Drive in north Gastonia.
Authorities say low humidity and gusty winds will create a high risk of wildfires Thursday across the Carolinas.

This comes one day after crews in Gaston County were called to battle a pair of wildfires. One house was destroyed in those blazes, which scorched more than 7 1/2 acres.

Jake Wimberley of the National Weather Service said the relative humidity will be only 15 to 20 percent Thursday across the region. He said westerly winds of 10 to 15 mph are expected, with gusts to 20 mph.

Westerly winds in the Carolinas typically accelerate drying conditions, meteorologists say.

"Fires can quickly get out of hand under these conditions," Wimberley said.
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Question

Loud booms heard by residents in St. Louis, Missouri

Russell Kinsaul
KMOV
Thu, 27 Feb 2014 07:33 UTC
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© Dschwen
Loud booms around the St. Louis area have residents worried there's been an outbreak of earthquakes, but News 4's Russell Kinsaul talked to experts and found out the "booms" are called "Frost quakes."

Frost quakes occur when water soaks into the ground, freezes, and quickly expands. The quick expansion can suddenly move large amounts of soil and cause small earthquakes.

"I was sitting right here in this room and I heard and really loud boom," Fairview Heights resident Susan O'Mara said.

O'Mara said she heard the sound on Monday at her home. The noise was so loud, she said she looked out side because she thought a car ran into a neighbor's house but didn't see anything.

"I didn't know what it was. A little shake to the house. I thought it was an earthquake."
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Bizarro Earth

Northern Lights illuminate the UK


BBC News
Fri, 28 Feb 2014 06:57 UTC
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© Brian DoyleThe display, which is caused by electrically charged particles from the Sun entering the Earth's atmosphere, led to scenes such as this one at the Stonehaven war memorial, Aberdeenshire.
The Aurora Borealis - better known as the Northern Lights - has been giving rare and spectacular displays over parts of the UK, from the north of Scotland to as far south as Essex and Gloucestershire.

The lights have also been clearly visible in places such as Orkney, Norfolk and south Wales.
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Info

Wild beavers seen in England for first time in centuries on Devon river

Jessica Aldred
The Guardian
Thu, 27 Feb 2014 04:09 UTC
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Two beavers were caught on camera playing at night while a third one (in background) is gnawing a tree on the banks of the River Otter, Devon. Tom Buckley got the footage with a hidden infrared motion sensor camera.
Footage of a family of beavers filmed in a Devon river is believed to be the first sighting of its kind in up to 500 years


A family of wild beavers has been seen in the England countryside in what is believed to be the first sighting of its kind in up to 500 years.

Three European beavers (Castor fiber), believed to be adults, have been filmed together on the River Otter in east Devon and can be seen gnawing at the base of trees, grooming themselves and playing together.

Experts said the sighting was "highly significant" as it strongly suggested a small breeding population of beavers now existed outside captivity.

European beavers were once widespread in the UK but were hunted to extinction by the 16th century in England and Wales for their fur, medicinal value and meat.

There have been successful reintroduction schemes in other parts of the UK. In 2009, three beaver families were released into forest lochs near the Sound of Jura in Argyll, while plans to release the species into the wild in Wales have also moved a step closer. The sighting in Devon would be the first time in centuries that European beavers have bred in the wild in England.
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Nuke

Fukushima clean-up system hit by further problems


RT
Fri, 28 Feb 2014 03:18 UTC
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© Reuters/Kimimasa MayamaMembers of the media and Tokyo Electric Power Co. (TEPCO) employees wearing protective suits and masks walk down the steps of a fuel handling machine on the spent fuel pool inside the No.4 reactor building at the tsunami-crippled TEPCO's Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant in Fukushima prefecture.
The radioactive water clean-up system at the stricken Fukushima plant was hit by another issue as its alarm went off. The warning alerted that one of the two clean-up pumps had stopped functioning.

After the alarm, a pump for sending tainted water into equipment where radioactive materials are absorbed stopped working, the facility's operator Tokyo Electric Power Co. (TEPCO) said.
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Question

Mystery surrounds massive die-off of oysters and scallops off B.C. coast

Mark Hume
The Globe and Mail
Thu, 27 Feb 2014 22:14 UTC
Mystery Die-Off
© The Globe and Mail
When Yves Perreault looks out over the pristine waters of Desolation Sound, where his family annually harvests half a million oysters, he fears for the future of the ocean - and the industry that supplies Canada with half its shellfish.

Something is killing oysters and scallops in dramatic numbers, causing suppliers to warn of shortages and producers to worry about the future of their businesses.

The cause is unknown, but ocean acidification is the main suspect.

"Its a remote area, the water is clean ... we haven't had any environmental concerns, so I'm not sure what's going on," said Mr. Perrault, who owns Little Wing Oysters and is president of the BC Shellfish Grower's Association.

Over the past two years, Mr. Perreault's oyster farm on B.C.'s south coast has experienced 80 to 90 per cent mortality of young shellfish - the normal attrition rate is 50 per cent - and last year, nearby Pendrell Sound had a massive die-off of wild oysters.

"It was in the billions," he said of the Pacific oysters that died only a few months after they hatched.

"It's hard to say without having somebody there monitoring what's going on. It could be food related. Maybe there were too many oysters and there was not enough food and they just starved - or something else [is happening] in the water like the acidity level," he said. "To be frank, we don't know a lot about it and that's what's scary."
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Snowflake Cold

Near-record breaking subzero temperatures in Midwest U.S.

Chris Dolce
Wunderground
Thu, 27 Feb 2014 00:00 UTC
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70 Days With Subzero Temperatures

The number of days with subzero temperatures has reached record or near-record levels for many Midwest cities this winter. We have the rankings for several of these cities, starting with two locations that will log day 70 of subzero temperatures on Friday.

Note: A subzero day is one where the temperature fell below zero at any one point during a particular calendar day.

International Falls, Minn.
  • Number of subzero days this winter: 69 through Feb. 27
  • Friday will mark day number 70, tying the all-time record for the period of Dec. 1 to Feb. 28 set in 1977-1978.
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Cloud Lightning

Update: Tens of thousands of dead seabirds have now washed up in Bay of Biscay


Birdwatch
Thu, 27 Feb 2014 10:35 UTC
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© Tim Ransom
A survey of stranded seabirds on the Atlantic coast of France has found more than 21,000 of their corpses washed up on shores between Brittany and Spain.

A co-ordinated count that took place last weekend (22-23 February) from Finistère to the Spanish border resulted in 21,341 dead birds begin retrieved, along with and another 2,784 brought to veterinary centres to aid recovery. Several thousand dead seabirds were already counted earlier in the month and fishermen and other boat users reported that there were "carpets of dead birds" still floating at sea.

The vast majority were Puffins (more than 12,229 individuals), with smaller numbers of Common Guillemots (5,443) and a lesser percentage of Razorbills (376) and Kittiwakes (no exact figure available yet). The numbers are expected to increase in the coming days and weeks as more birds are washed ashore.

The British Trust for Ornithology (BTO) have already previously reported a record number of British-ringed Puffins being washed up dead on the coasts of France and Spain. Instead of the usual two or three birds reported in a normal winter, the BTO has had more than 35 reported in the last few weeks. The previous highest number of ringed birds found was back in 1979 when 17 dead Puffins were reported.
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