Bald eagles, the symbol of the United States, have a lifespan between 15 and 25 years out in their natural wild habitat.

However, the bald eagle that was recently found dead on a roadside in Henrietta is believed to have been 38 years old, based on the metal band that was wrapped around the majestic bird.

This means that the unfortunate bird was the oldest bald eagle in the United States, some bird experts believe.

According to an official statement released by the state Department of Environmental Conservation, the bird found dead in Henrietta was apparently hit and killed by a moving car.

Large areas of Norway still covered in snow - in June !

There is an extreme amount of snow in the mountains, both in the north and south.

Satellite measurements show that 23 percent of land area in southern Norway is still covered in snow, nearly five times more than normal in June, says senior forecaster Eirik Malnes..

In Northern Norway, the corresponding figure is 35 percent, more than double a normal year.

Daily satellite measurements from the research institute NORUT in Tromsø show that nearly a quarter of the land area in the south and one third in the north are still snowy.

© Dana Angus, The Marine Mammal Center, NOAA Permit #932-1905-01
This Guadalupe fur seal pup was one of many rescued by the Center this year.

"These stranded animals are just the tip of the iceberg in terms off animals affected by the unusually warm water temperatures we've been seeing off the coast"

California sea lions aren't the only pinnipeds in crisis this year. Guadalupe fur seals, a threatened species, seem to be struggling with the same food availability issues and have stranded along our coast at five times the record yearly rate.

With their diminutive snouts, extra-long front flippers and outstretched ear flaps, Guadalupe fur seal pups can appear almost alien-like, especially when wet. But this year, the appearance of these furry "Yodas" is more than just a little unusual—it's downright alarming.

So far in 2015, The Marine Mammal Center has rescued 27 Guadalupe fur seals—more than five times the record high we've seen in our 40 years.

These numbers pale in comparison to the more than 1,100 California sea lions we've rescued during this same time period, but relatively speaking, the influx of Guadalupe fur seals is just as distressing, if not more so.

Wildfires raging in four West Coast states have forced more than 1,000 people to be evacuated from their homes this week in rapidly growing blazes that mark an early start to what experts say may be a particularly destructive fire season.

The fires, spread by wind and exacerbated by very dry conditions, have already consumed more than 100 structures in Alaska, and were threatening others in drought-hit California and Arizona.

In a national forest outside Los Angeles, some 500 firefighters backed by air tankers and bulldozers were battling the Lake Fire, which was raging across some 7,500 acres (3,000 hectares) and was just 5 percent contained, the San Bernardino County Fire Department said.

More than 150 people were forced to evacuate various camps, as officials closed hiking trails and roads, and structures were threatened, the county said.

Tropical Depression Bill pelted Oklahoma with heavy rains, triggering flooding that killed a 2-year-old toddler who was swept out of his father's arms by raging waters, officials said on Thursday.

One person in neighboring Missouri was killed by flooding caused by rains from the storm hitting the region and a woman died in central Texas when she lost control of her car while driving through the storm, officials said.

Bill, the second named tropical storm of the 2015 Atlantic hurricane season, is expected to dump between 2 to 4 inches (5 to 10 cm) of rain as it travels northeast through Arkansas and Missouri into West Virginia.

Some areas could see as much as 12 inches (30 cm), the National Weather Service said. It has issued a flash flood watch stretching from the Texas Coast into Illinois.

© David Kadlubowski/The Arizona Republic via AP

Justin Winsor watches a wildfire from the Breezeway Trailer Park Wednesday, June 17, 2015 in Kearny, Ariz. The blaze is not contained at all, but it's mostly relegated to a riverbed and about 200 firefighters have kept it burning away from the town of 2,000 residents, officials said.

A wind-aided brush fire burned without containment near a small town in central Arizona late on Wednesday, forcing authorities to evacuate an estimated 300 residents from the area.

Authorities ordered the evacuations of the roughly 100-unit Stevens Trailer Park and another 100 residences as the fire raged in a dry riverbed near the community of Kearny, about 90 miles (145 km) southeast of Phoenix.

Initial reports indicated that at least two residences and two other structures, plus a vehicle, had been scorched, said Mike Reichling, Arizona State Forestry Division. There were no reported injuries.

A couple of unexplained large scale changes in the waters off the northeast coast of the U.S. have oceanographers perplexed: an accelerated rate of sea level rise compared to most other parts of the world; and the disturbing signs of collapsing fisheries in the region.

A new study by physical oceanographers at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI), published in the Journal of Geophysical Research, shows that water temperatures in this continental shelf region have been trending upward, with unprecedented warming occurring over the last 13 years. The study also suggests a connection between sea level anomalies and water temperature along the continental shelf.

"The warming rate since 2002 is 15 times faster than from the previous 100 years," says co-author Glen Gawarkiewicz, a WHOI senior scientist. "There's just been this incredible acceleration to the warming, and we don't know if its decadal variability, or if this trend will continue."

The scientists compared their findings with a study of surface waters using data collected by Nantucket Light ship, and other light ships up and down the East Coast between 1880 and 2004, previously analyzed by Steve Lentz of WHOI and Kipp Shearman of Oregon State University. The new study shows that recent accelerated warming is not confined to the surface waters, but extends throughout the water column.

"Others have reported on the temperature increase in this region," says Gawarkiewicz's colleague, WHOI assistant scientist Magdalena Andres, "but they've been confined to looking at the surface temperatures from satellites or buoys." And Gawarkiewicz and Andres wanted to understand how deep the warming went.

The research is based upon a rare collection of temperature data from the waters off the northeast coast of the U.S. that were collected in collaborative effort between scientists and the operators of the container ship Oleander, which routinely travels between Bermuda and New Jersey. The effort, which began in the late 1970s with funding from NOAA/NMFS, involved launching bathythermographs along the ship's track to collect temperature data approximately 14 times each year. Later the program was funded through the National Science Foundation and the University of Rhode Island and Stony Brook University. The bulk of the prior analysis has been on velocity data also collected by the Oleander.

At least two persons were killed and an equal number were injured after being struck by lightning in Saurashtra and Kutch on Wednesday as moderate rains continue to lash the regions.

District flood control room officials at Bhuj said that one person died in Satapar village of Anjar taluka while another was injured. The second deceased was identified as 28-year-old Ramesh Gohil of Jesar village in Bhavnagar who died after being struck by lightning. Ebhal Gohil was injured in the accident and was rushed to a nearby hospital.

The intensity of rains in Saurashtra came down on Wednesday. Moderate rainfall was recorded in Bhavnagar, Amreli, Junagadh and Kutch districts. Maximum rainfall was recorded in Vathali (48mm), Junagadh city (36mm), Junagadh rural (36mm) and Manavadar (27mm) in Junagadh district. In Kutch, Abadasa received (24mm), Nakhatrana (16mm) and Bhachau received 26mm of rainfall.

Meanwhile, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) officials said that light to moderate rains would continue to occur at isolated places in Saurashtra and Kutch regions during the next four days. On Wednesday, people faced uncomfortable weather due to high humidity in Rajkot.

Source: TNN

Anyone visiting Alaska this week would be wise to pack plenty of shorts and T-shirts.

The far-north state is sweltering under unusually hot, dry weather that has broken records and intensified conditions fueling two large wildfires in the state.

The tinderbox setting got an early start during a warm winter with comparably little snow. Here's a brief primer on this summer's baked Alaska:

HOW HOT IS IT?

Summers can get warm even in Alaska, but this week's temperatures set records.

Anchorage, for example, had a record high of 83 degrees Tuesday, topping the old record of 82 set in 1969. The normal high for Alaska's largest city this time of year is in the low 60s, National Weather Service meteorologist Dave Snider said.

Drought-stricken California is not the only place draining underground aquifers in the hunt for fresh water.

It's happening across the world, according to two new studies by U.S. researchers released Tuesday.