Earth ChangesS


Snowflake

US: Will Winter Kick into High Gear Soon?

Alex Sosnowski
Accuweather
Fri, 06 Jan 2012 05:12 UTC
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© Louis DiBacco/Photos.comEven a normal second half of the winter would be a big change for many folks.
There are signals pointing toward a return to large storms over part of the United States along with another cold wave from the Midwest to the East beginning during the middle of January.

While record warmth in the West and a Sierra Nevada snow drought may continue, folks in the East were recently reminded that winter can still pack a punch.

Temperatures dipped to 17 degrees Wednesday morning in Washington, D.C. This matched the lowest temperatures of the entire season last winter. Tuesday was warmer in Calgary, Alberta, (50 degrees) than it was in Walt Disney World (49 degrees). Lake-effect snow finally hit depositing 1 to 2 feet of snow in some of the snowbelts.

Much of the nation is experiencing a lack of storms this week.

However, while there is still some uncertainty what the balance of the winter will bring, signals are pointing toward additional cold waves coming to the East and an uptick in large-scale storms beginning toward the middle of the month. The details will unfold soon.
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Snowman

Oddly Mild Winter Leaves Much of U.S. on Thin Ice

Zach Howard
Reuters
Fri, 06 Jan 2012 05:13 UTC
Unusually mild winter weather is spoiling the fun for hockey players, skaters and ice fisherman across the Northeast and Midwest as officials warn of uncommonly thin ice.
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© Reuters/Jessica RinaldiA thin ice warning posted at White's Pond in Concord, New Hampshire January 6, 2012.

Fish and game officials in several northeastern states have issued advisories in recent days, saying ice conditions were unsafe on lakes where ice typically reaches 10 inches thick.

In Minnesota, officials warned ice was unreliable in the southern part of the state, where temperatures topped 60 degrees for the first time on record in the first week of January.

With no ice yet recorded on Lake Erie, organizers of Buffalo's public hockey tournament of 1,000 amateur players say they may have to cancel the February 10 event for the first time in its 5-year history.

An extraordinarily mild December and early January failed to deliver the cold needed to freeze most lakes and ponds.
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Bizarro Earth

Plutonium From Fukushima Made It Around The Planet

Sayer Ji
GreenMedInfo
Fri, 06 Jan 2012 18:00 UTC
Map
© GreenMedInfo
A recently published study in the Journal of Environmental Radioactivity confirms that the radioactive fallout from the Fukushima nuclear disaster reached Europe (Lithuania), and included plutonium, the most deadly manmade element (nanogram for nanogram) in existence.

Jetstream
© GreenMedInfo
According to the study's authors the radionuclide concentrations measured indicate there was "long-range air mass transport from Japan across the Pacific, the North America and the Atlantic Ocean to Central Europe as indicated by modelling." What this means is that every region under the jet stream -- which includes half of the planet north of its equator -- could have been exposed to some degree of plutonium fall-out; a fact that is all the more disturbing when we consider there is no such thing as a safe level, and that the harm (on the human scale of time) does not dissipate: the half life of plutonium-239 is 24,200 years, and that of uranium-238 is 4,460,000,000 years, which is older than our planet.
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Bizarro Earth

Hundreds evacuate as activity rises at Indonesia's Mount Lewotolok

dts Nachrichtenagentur
Europe Online Magazine
Fri, 06 Jan 2012 07:40 UTC
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© UnknownMount Lewotolok
Hundreds of people living near a volcano in the Indonesian province of East Nusa Tenggara were evacuated on Thursday because of increased volcanic activity, the Antara news agency reported. About 500 people residing near Mount Lewotolok in Lembata district abandoned their homes amid the volcano's mounting activity.

"Most of them left for the nearest city, Lewoleba," said Lembata Deputy District Chief Viktor Mado Watun, as quoted by Antara. "All related government officials will soon hold a coordination meeting to deal with the latest situation." "Black smoke columns are coming out of the mountain's crater, the air is filled with the smell of sulfur while rumbling sounds are heard around the mountain," he added. Residents decided to leave due to the increasing activity of Mount Lewotolok over the past few days, even though the government has not yet announced an evacuation plan.
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Bizarro Earth

US: Tornadoes in 2011 Set Deadly Records

Mark Fischetti
Scientific American
Wed, 28 Dec 2011 00:00 UTC
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© Xpda on FlickrJoplin, Mo., after a severe May 22 tornado
Many of us may remember the jaw-dropping images of the May 22, 2011, tornado that tore through Joplin, Mo., killing 158 people and leaving an incredible 14-mile path of destruction. But that system was only one of the record-breaking tornado events this year. Data compiled by meteorologist Jeffrey Masters shows that when deaths, damage and financial losses are considered, 2011 can be called the worst U.S. tornado year on record.
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Target

Quake rattles Dominican Republic


Dominican Today
Thu, 05 Jan 2012 10:48 UTC
Dominican quake
© USGS
Santo Domingo - A moderate tremor of 5.3 magnitude has rattled the entire Dominican Republic, at around 5:32am local time, whose epicenter was located 17 kilometers south-southeast of the city of San Jose de Ocoa, at a depth of 10 kilometers.

The tremor shook doors and windows for around 30 seconds, startling people to scurry out of bed.

Emergency Operations Center director Juan M. Mendez said there are no reports of damages or injuries thus far, although cracks in structures have been reported in the country's south region.

Jose Mateo, on the phone from the town of Fundacion, in the southern city of Bani, said his house under construction "has some cracks," with no major damages.
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Bizarro Earth

Europe's highest active volcano rumbles back to life


BBC.co.uk
Thu, 05 Jan 2012 09:19 UTC
Europe's highest active volcano has rumbled back to life.

Italy's Mount Etna on the Mediterranean island of Sicily has released a column of ash up to 5,000 metres (over 16,000 feet) above sea level.

Lava was also seen flowing from a new crater according to the Catania Institute of Geophysics and Vulcanology.

Officials have held a crisis meeting at the nearby Catania airport but for the moment flights have not been halted.

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Sun

US, South Dakota: Farmers Have Mixed Feelings About Warm Winter

Jeff Rusack
KDLT
Wed, 04 Jan 2012 12:29 UTC
Golfers have been hitting the links and South Dakota cities are saving on their snow removal budget, but the warm weather is starting to make farmers nervous.


"I'm 83 years old and I never have," said Marion Van Zandbergen, when asked about the warm winter.

Randy Van Kalsbeek of Iowa said called the weather is "strange, a nice strange though."

While South Dakota in January usually is covered with a layer of snow, warm temperatures have left corn and soybean fields thawed and bare.

"If we don't start getting some snow or rain, we're in deep trouble," said Willis Lienart, a farmer worried about his crop yields this year.
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Cloud Lightning

Landslide Kills 25 at Gold Mine in Southern Philippines; More Than 100 Believed Still Buried


The Washington Post
Thu, 05 Jan 2012 00:00 UTC
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© ABS OBNA deadly landslide occurred in the southern Philippines around 3 a.m. on Thursday.
A landslide buried dozens of people Thursday at a small-scale gold mining site in the southern Philippines, leaving at least 25 dead months after government officials warned miners that the mountain above them was guaranteed to crumble.

The landslide struck around 3:00 a.m. (2100 GMT Wednesday), when most residents were asleep. Aside from those confirmed dead, more than 100 people are believed to be buried in the rubble in Napnapan village in Pantukan township, Compostela Valley provincial Gov. Arturo Uy said.

Army Lt. Col. Camilo Ligayo said about 120 soldiers were heading to the area to help dig for survivors and bodies.

Environment and Natural Resources Secretary Ramon Paje said he had warned residents and local officials last year of a fissure on a ridge of the mountain that geologists said was "highly susceptible" to landslides that could occur anytime.

"We were absolute that it will give in," he told The Associated Press. "It was a 100 percent warning. We told them it's just a matter of time. ... This is it. This is what happened this morning."
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Attention

Chile battles 3 huge wildfires; 1 killed, tourists evacuated, losses in millions


The Washington Post
Wed, 04 Jan 2012 17:11 UTC
Chile forest fire
© Associated PressA helicopter works to dampen an area of the Torres del Paine national park in Torres del Paine, Chile
Firefighters in Chile battled three huge wildfires Monday that have burned about 90 square miles (23,000 hectares) of forest, destroyed more than 100 homes and have driven away thousands of tourists while causing millions of dollars in losses.

The fires also claimed their first victim: an elderly man who refused warnings to leave his home.

Chile's normally rainy southern regions are suffering from a nationwide heat wave, on top of a drought that makes fires increasingly likely. The country was battling 48 separate fires on Sunday alone, and red alerts were declared for the regions of Magallanes, Bio Bio and Maule.

"We have a situation of extreme vulnerability," said President Sebastian Pinera, who called for toughening sentences for arson.
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