Earth ChangesS


Bizarro Earth

Hurricane Ophelia to Batter Bermuda with Heavy Winds, Rain


USA Today
Sat, 01 Oct 2011 10:57 UTC
Image
© Weather UndergroundThis satellite image taken at 1:45 p.m. EDT Friday shows Hurricane Ophelia about 580 miles south of Bermuda with maximum sustained winds up to 115 mph.
Bermuda is bracing for tropical storm winds and heavy surf as Hurricane Ophelia barrels northward as a Category 3 storm.

The Bermuda Weather Service said in a statement that the storm will pass more than 100 miles east of the island on Saturday night.

The National Hurricane Center in Miami, Florida, said Ophelia has winds of 120 mph and was 225 miles south-southeast of Bermuda late Saturday morning.

The storm is moving north at 21 mph and is expected to start weakening Sunday.

A tropical storm watch has been issued for Bermuda.
Read More...
Bug

US: Hairy, Crazy Ants Invade from Texas to Mississippi

Janet McConnaughey
The Associated Press
Sat, 01 Oct 2011 10:12 UTC
Image
© Mississippi State Entomological Museum/Blake LaytonNylanderia pubens (ants) and their larvae are seen in Starkville, Miss.
It sounds like a horror movie: Biting ants invade by the millions. A camper's metal walls bulge from the pressure of ants nesting behind them. A circle of poison stops them for only a day, and then a fresh horde shows up, bringing babies. Stand in the yard, and in seconds ants cover your shoes.

It's an extreme example of what can happen when the ants - which also can disable huge industrial plants - go unchecked. Controlling them can cost thousands of dollars. But the story is real, told by someone who's been studying ants for a decade.

"Months later, I could close my eyes and see them moving," said Joe MacGown, who curates the ant, mosquito and scarab collections at the Mississippi State Entomological Museum at Mississippi State University.

He's been back to check on the hairy crazy ants. They're still around. The occupant isn't.
Read More...
Binoculars

Rare White Whale Calf Spotted Off Australia


The Telegraph, UK
Thu, 29 Sep 2011 02:20 UTC
An extremely rare white humpback whale calf has been spotted near Australia's Great Barrier Reef in an event witnesses described Thursday as a "once in a lifetime experience."

Image
© Wayne Fewings/Getty ImagesThe white humpback whale calf breaching in Cid Harbour in the Whitsunday Islands
Believed to be just a few weeks old, the baby humpback was seen at Cid Harbour in the famous reef's Whitsunday Islands area by local man Wayne Fewings, who was with his family in a boat when he spotted a whale pod.

"We were just drifting when I noticed the smaller whale in the pod was white. I couldn't believe my eyes, and I just grabbed my camera," Fewings said.

"Then the white calf approached my boat, seeming to want to check us out. I was just so amazed at seeing this animal, it made me think how truly astounding the Great Barrier Reef is," he added of the sighting on Saturday.
Read More...
Binoculars

Australian Koalas' Loud Noises "Made by Human-Style Voice Boxes"

Andrew Hough
The Telegraph, UK
Thu, 29 Sep 2011 03:15 UTC
Male koalas in Australia bellow so loud during mating season because their voice boxes are akin to those found in humans, scientists have discovered.


Despite the tree-dwelling mammal having a cute and furry appearance, a 15 pound koala is as loud as a cow weighing more than a tonne, a study found.

Researchers discovered the marsupial emitted a louder sound as a way of attracting sexual partners during mating season.

The team of Australian and Austrian scientists, writing in The Journal of Experimental Biology, also found their cries were a way of boasting about their body size and intimidate rival lovers.
Read More...
Sun

Record UK Temperature for October as Heatwave Continues


The Telegraph, UK
Sat, 01 Oct 2011 08:50 UTC
The maximum daily temperature record for the UK as a whole for October has been broken with 29.5C recorded at Gravesend at 13:27 BST, according to the Met Office.

Image
© John Walton/Press AssociationChildren play in a fountain in the centre of Sheffield
Forecasters say temperatures are still rising and may even top 86F (30C) or higher in some parts of the country.

The forecast comes as the country entered its fourth day of an unprecedented Indian summer which has seen it experience temperatures higher than the Bahamas and Hawaii.

The previous record value was reported at March in Cambridgeshire on 1st October 1985.

Many headed to the south's beaches as the temperatures rose to an all-time October high - over 85 degrees F.

In Bournemouth, Dorset, over 100,000 sunseekers were on the seven miles of golden sand enjoying conditions better than Spain.
Read More...
Roses

UK: Flowers bloom for a second time this year


BBC
Thu, 29 Sep 2011 08:45 UTC
Image
© Press Association
UK plants are flowering for a second time this year because of the unseasonably warm weather.

With temperatures soaring, plants such as foxglove and cowslip, which usually flower in the spring, are in full bloom six to eight months early.

Cold nights experienced across the UK in August are thought to have led to the early onset of autumn colours.

This warmer spell now has plants acting like it is spring.

Gardeners at the National Trust's Wakehurst Place gardens in Sussex said they are working from a "new rule book" to keep up.

"It is a very unsual year...I've been gardening for 30 years and have never seen anything like this," said Wakehurst Place's head Andy Jackson.
Read More...
Bizarro Earth

2nd Typhoon in Week Lashes Rain-Soaked Philippines

Oliver Teves
The Associated Press
Sat, 01 Oct 2011 05:10 UTC
Image
© AP Photo/Bullit MarquezResidents wade through the floodwaters as they evacuate to safer grounds following massive flooding in Calumpit township, Bulacan province, north of Manila, Philippines.
The second typhoon in a week battered the rain-soaked northern Philippines on Saturday, adding misery to the lives of thousands of people, some of whom were still perched on rooftops from previous flooding.

Thousands of people were ordered to evacuate their homes after Typhoon Nalgae slammed ashore south of northeastern Palanan Bay in Isabela province with winds of 100 miles (160 kilometers) per hour and dangerous gusts of 121 mph (195 kph). At least one person was killed in a landslide.

The fast-moving typhoon blew westward, barreling across the mountainous regions of Luzon Island. It weakened slightly as it reached the shore of La Union province around 4 p.m. (0800 GMT), about seven hours after it made landfall.

Forecasters said it will be over South China Sea by Saturday night and is expected to regain strength over the water as it heads farther west toward Hainan and Vietnam.
Read More...
Question

Florida, US: Dead bee mystery has state officials buzzing

Margaret Kavanagh
13 News
Fri, 30 Sep 2011 07:57 UTC
Image
© UnknownMillions of dead bees mysterious turn up in the southern part of Brevard County.
Millions of dead bees mysterious turn up in the southern part of Brevard County.

Officials with the Department of Agriculture are trying to figure out what caused them to die. They have gathered samples of the dead bees and send them to the state lab to be tested.

Officials with the state told News 13 over the phone that it appears some type of aerial application of a pesticide might have been sprayed on the area. However, they said it is too early in the investigation to know for sure.

Two beekeepers were affected and this mystery is a huge loss for both of them.

Fellsmere beekeeper Charles Smith said the dead bees were supposed to be bound for California to help pollinate almond trees.
Read More...
Bizarro Earth

Landslides hit Santiago y Santa Cruz Mitlatongo - Mexico

Erick David Torres López
Demotix
Tue, 27 Sep 2011 16:21 UTC
Habitants of Santiago y Santa Cruz Mitlatongo have been told to evacuate by the Director of State Institute of Civil Protection, Manuel Alberto Maza Sanchez, as landslides, cracks in urban and overturn rocks hit the area.

Image
© demotiximages
Read More...
Bizarro Earth

US: Huge waves knock down bikers, joggers - in Chicago


MSNBC
Fri, 30 Sep 2011 15:57 UTC
High winds produced dangerous, 10- to 16-foot waves along the lakefront path, knocking down morning bikers and runners on Friday.


Police closed off the path from North Fullerton Avenue, but some runners and bikers didn't heed the warnings. NBCChicago helicopter footage showed several people taking spills into the waves, though no injuries were reported.

By 9 a.m., police were standing at the path to reroute bikers and runners. The path will remain closed until further notice, they said. The waves aren't expected to recede until the afternoon, said meteorologist Andy Avalos.

Overnight, 30 to 35 mph winds with gusts of up to 50 mph hit parts of the area, knocking out power to about 27,000 ComEd customers. The strong winds also were blamed for a building collapse in Little Village and a fire in Glenview, among other local damage.
Read More...