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Tue, 26 Oct 2021
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Earth Changes
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Cloud Grey

'Hand of God': Huge lenticular 'fireball' cloud appears over Madeira, Portugal

'Hand of God' lenticular 'fireball' cloud
© MERCURY
A cloud that took the form of a 'hand of God' holding a fireball dominated the skyline above the north coast the Portuguese island of Madeira.

And weather blogger Rogerio Pacheco, 32, could not believe his luck when he looked up at the clouds while commuters made their way to work in the morning rush hour.

The awe-inspiring snaps have since been shared online after Rogerio opted to post them on his blog.

Amazed onlookers have compared the bright orange cloud to everything from a flaming fist of fury to the iconic comet featured in the classic video game Final Fantasy VII.

Rogerio said: "As soon as I saw the sky, I was immediately intrigued and I just had to grab my camera to take photo.

"For me, the cloud looks like an outstretched hand with a fireball.

"I was not the only one who seemed to notice it and I could see other people also looking up at the sky.

"A lot of people seemed pleasantly surprised when they looked up at the sky and saw the cloud."

Comment: Increasingly unstable weather patterns may be assisting the formation of bizarre cloud patterns observed around the world recently. Factors which may contribute to these 'strange skies' are possible comet dust loading and changes in the layers of the atmosphere.


Cloud Precipitation

Icy swamps replace knee-deep snow in Moscow after what meteorologists say is "abnormal" warming

Moscow streets turn into icy swamps
© Vladimir Pesnya / Sputnik
Muscovites have been taken aback as knee-deep snow has been replaced virtually overnight with torrents of dirty water and icy swamps. Add in some biting winds, and the Russian capital has turned into one massive skating rink.

A heavy rainfall hit Moscow overnight, coinciding with a sudden warming and temperatures rising to plus two degrees Celsius - normally it would be around 10 below zero. Meteorologists say the "abnormal" warming combined with rain will persist.

Meanwhile, the rain washed away the piles of white snow from Moscow streets, replacing it with slush and mud. A lot of people found it quite difficult to get to work Friday morning, as the streets were blocked with "rivers," with dozens of complaints streaming in to the city authorities.

Muscovites took to social media to show images of cars trapped in water in the middle of the street, and people hanging on to fences in an attempt not to fall into the deep puddles. Some of them blamed the disastrous situation on the roads on the poor work of public utility services.


Comment: Moscow has already received twice the average amount of snow for January


Map

Coast Guard preps for possible Cascadia Subduction Zone quake

Anthony Kenne, chief of planning and force readiness with the U.S. Coast Guard Columbia River sector, speaks to members of the Coast Guard about available shelter and supplies at Fort Clatsop National Historical Park in Warrenton during a tsunami prepared
© AP
Anthony Kenne, chief of planning and force readiness with the U.S. Coast Guard Columbia River sector, speaks to members of the Coast Guard about available shelter and supplies at Fort Clatsop National Historical Park in Warrenton during a tsunami preparedness drill.
When the men and women of U.S. Coast Guard Sector Columbia River came to work Monday morning, they were told they had 20 minutes to reach Fort Clatsop.

In a Cascadia Subduction Zone earthquake, 20 minutes is about all the time residents would get to find higher ground.

For the evacuation drill, about 100 members left their posts near the Astoria Regional Airport and ran 1.4 miles to the fort in Lewis and Clark National Historical Park, where the Coast Guard would set up an incident command center in an actual emergency.

Anthony Kenne, chief of planning and force readiness with the Coast Guard, said the guard was searching for a location that was relatively close, was out of the tsunami zone and had existing infrastructure.

The evacuation drill was staged the day before the 316th anniversary of what scientists believe was the last large Cascadia earthquake and tsunami on Jan. 26, 1700.

Bizarro Earth

7.0 quake strikes Russia's far eastern Kamchatka

kamchatka
© earthquake.usgs.gov
A strong, deep 7.0-magnitude earthquake rocked Russia's far eastern Kamchatka peninsula on Saturday, the US Geological Survey reported.

The quake hit 106 kilometers north of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatskiy, the capital city of Russia's Kamchatka Region.

The depth of the earthquake was reported at 153 kilometers. There have been no immediate reports of serious damage or casualties.

Meanwhile on social media, frightened witnesses posted descriptions of the strong tremors felt in the region.

Arrow Down

Officials baffled by widening sinkhole in Rainier, Oregon

sinkhole rainier oregon
A widening sinkhole in Rainier has plenty of water running through it but no one knows where it's going — and it's costing ODOT about $10,000 a day to keep it from getting worse.

The sinkhole was spotted December 11, during the record-setting rainstorms that flooded parts of Oregon. It's affecting the back of Earth and Sun stove shop , and co-owner Jewel Forrest said the water is "just going somewhere and they're not sure where and how the damage, what it's really caused."

ODOT spokesperson Lou Torres told KOIN 6 News they cannot allow this to continue to happen. "We're going to have to do something."


Comment: This was just a little puddle compared to these two:

Two MASSIVE sinkholes swallow both sides of Highway 101 in Harbor, Oregon


Attention

Two MASSIVE sinkholes swallow both sides of Highway 101 in Harbor, Oregon

Oregon sinkhole
© Oregon DOT
A huge sinkhole that won't stop growing has shut down a stretch of Highway 101 in coastal Oregon.

"It's massive. There's just no other way to describe it," Jared Castle, Department of Transportation spokesman for southwest Oregon, told NBC News.

The state closed down part of 101 in Harbor, Oregon, on Thursday night due to the sinkhole, which is the second sinkhole in as many months in the area. The first one opened on Dec. 13 in a restaurant parking lot next to the highway and, like Thursday's sinkhole, just kept growing. The two sinkholes "probably have now met," Castle said, creating one gaping hole in the highway. "It's a monster," he said. Officials did not know how big it was, but said its depth exceeds 60 feet.

There have been no injuries or evacuations, and officials have re-routed traffic to a detour that runs parallel to the highway, which Castle says will only add 5 or 10 minutes to drivers' commutes. The sinkholes formed after a series of heavy rains pounded the Oregon coast, causing a landslide north of Harbor and shutting down other highways due to debris flow.

Sinkholes and landslides frequently occur in the region because of the geology of the area, Castle said. "It's just part of the battle of having the Oregon Coast Highway located where it's at. It's a road built in a place where Mother Nature never intended for there to be a road," he said.


Comment: As you can see, it was actually two sinkholes, side-by-side!

These were the second and third such sinkholes in the area in recent months: Large sinkhole opens up in parking lot in Harbor, Oregon

And they're trying to tell folks the above one was a '1-in-20-year event'.

No folks, this 'aint normal.

Note also WHERE this happened... along the Cascadia Subduction Zone:

Cascadia fault line in North America: A now still and silent subduction zone where disaster awaits


Question

Hundreds of dead seagulls found on Sea of Galilee beach, Israel

A poisoned seagull being treated
© Ramat Gan Safari
A poisoned seagull being treated at the wild animal hospital at the Ramat Gan Safari, January 28, 2016.
Hundreds of seagulls have been found dead on the Sea of Galilee's western shore, with an initial inquiry pointing to botulism poisoning.

Another 78 injured birds were given emergency first aid at the Tel Afeq National Park veterinary hospital's quarantine station in Tel Aviv, with some being tested to eliminate any suspicion that they may have contracted bird flu, the Walla website reported Thursday.

The gulls were subsequently transferred to the wild animal hospital at the Ramat Gan Safari, some of them in serious condition.

Botulism spores are commonly found in soil and water. They produce the botulinum toxin in conditions such as low oxygen and hot temperatures.

Cloud Lightning

Lightning bolt kills 3 villagers in Zimbabwe

Lightning
A sombre atmosphere engulfed the Mutikwanda Village under Headman Chivhunze on Monday where three villagers were burnt beyond recognition after a lightning bolt struck a hut they were in.

Chipinge District police spokesperson, Assistant Inspector Blessing Kadzuraumera, confirmed the incident which occurred around 3pm. He identified the victims as Tulani Dube (35), Adam Chivhunze (25) and a Mozambican national, Tichaona Sithole (14).

When The Manica Post visited the area on Monday, villagers were still struggling to put off the fire which had gutted the thatched hut where the late villagers and two survivors were sitting.

Member of National Assembly for Chipinge Central, Cde Raymore Machingura, also toured the scene and assisted the affected families with coffins and transport for burial.

Police from Chipinge Urban and a hospital ambulance reacted swiftly and took the two survivors to Chipinge District Hospital where they were treated and discharged on Tuesday.

Snowflake Cold

Snow falls in Kuwait for 'the first time ever'

Saudi Arabia snow
© Storm Centre
This photo from Kuwait this week probably shows hail, not snow. Even this, however, is extremely unusual for the hot desert country.
Snow fell on Kuwait on Thursday morning for the first time in the country's history, pictures sent to Middle East Eye show.

Footage sent to MEE showed snow flakes falling in the Gulf state, where temperatures have plummeted in recent days.

Comment: Kuwaiti meteorologists are claiming that hail, not snow has fallen in the country. However, the video evidence looks suspiciously like snow.


Attention

Bryde's Whale washes up on beach in Mumbai, India

Dead whale

The whale weighs around 20 tonnes.
A nearly 40-foot whale drew large crowds on Mumbai's popular Juhu beach on Friday until it was removed with the help of a crane. The whale, weighing around 20 tonnes, had washed up on Thursday night.

It was noticed by lifeguards and joggers who called the police.

A forest official assessed that the "Bryde's Whale" had been dead for two or three days.

"There are no wounds. A postmortem will be done and we will try to preserve its skeleton," said Makarand B Ghodke, conservator in the Mumbai Forest Department.