© Alex Kotzias
© Alex Kotzias, adapted by Matthew Cappucci/WaPo
Earth Changes
Thursday update: Newly obtained photo shows off additional dramatic sky phenomena
After posting the original version of the story, Alex Kotzias wrote in with this incredible photo taken from Cannon Mountain's chairlift. The portrait-mode photo captures two more halo phenomena that were high up out of view in the original photograph: a superlateral arc and a circumzenithal arc. The former curves downwards, while the latter opens up like a bowl. Circumzenithal arcs look like upside-down rainbows wrapping around an imaginary point straight above.
That brings the total number of atmosphere phenomena in Franconia Notch on Saturday to nine! Part of the reason? Diamond dust. Kotzias' photo confirms the presence of tiny ice crystals floating around in the air at ground level. That's what those shimmering white sparkles are. The ice crystal overload means the 22-degree ring can even appear to shimmer down on the ground! And like a diamond, the resulting colors were truly priceless.
© Rutgers University Global Snow Lab
Plot of North America November snow cover anomalies from 1966 through 2018. November 2018's record snow cover extent was roughly 1.4 million square miles above the average from 1981 through 2010.
Plot of North America November snow cover anomalies from 1966 through 2018. November 2018's record snow cover extent was roughly 1.4 million square miles above the average from 1981 through 2010.
Last November's average snow cover across North America was an estimated 5.24 million square miles, topping the previous November record of 5.11 million square miles in 2014, according to data from the Rutgers University Global Snow Lab (GSL) dating to 1966.
This extent of snow cover was about 861,000 square miles larger than average, over three times the size of Texas.
© Chris Rogers
Breckenridge
Breckenridge
This year Breckenridge Ski Resort opened two days early, marking the earliest opening day (Nov. 7) in more than a decade. North America's highest chairlift, the Imperial Express Super Chair, had its earliest opening EVER on Thanksgiving Day. (That's ever in the history of the chairlift's existence since 2005!)
Breckenridge received 80 inches of snow in the month of November - the second highest snowfall recorded in November over the past 20 years. The resort recorded 110 inches of snowfall from mid-October through the end of November - the most early season snowfall on record. Season-to-date, the resort has had more than 10 feet of snow.
© James McKenzie
Stranded: The pilot whales washed up in the Firth of Forth. James McKenzie
Stranded: The pilot whales washed up in the Firth of Forth. James McKenzie
Three whales have died after beaching in the Firth of Forth.
Five pilot whales became stranded after they were initially spotted in shallow water near the Fife village of Culross on Tuesday.
The mammals were refloated from the mudflats near Torryburn at high tide on Wednesday evening by a British Divers Marine Life Rescue (BDMLR) team, assisted by the coastguard, Scottish Fire and Rescue Service, Special Operations Response Team and Network Rail.
© USGS
A 6.2 magnitude quake has hit the South Pacific French territory of New Caledonia
A 6.2 magnitude quake has hit the South Pacific French territory of New Caledonia
The quake hit at a depth of 26km (16 miles) about 189km (117 miles) east-southeast of Tadine in the Loyalty Islands, the USGS said.
There were no immediate warnings from the Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre.
It follows a powerful 7.6 quake that hit near New Caledonia on Wednesday.
© Shuttershock
The ground is shifting and sinking under Iran’s capital, Tehran.
The ground is shifting and sinking under Iran’s capital, Tehran.
A recent study based on analyzed satellite data shows that the Iranian capital is sinking at a rate of 10 inches per year
Tehran is sinking. This is not a metaphor connected to American sanctions or the drop in oil prices, but the conclusions of a recent study that analyzed satellite data about the Iranian capital. It found that some parts of the city are sinking into the ground at a rate of up to 25 centimeters (nearly 10 inches) a year. The researchers also found that the sinking areas are expanding and could reach the city's international airport.
The research by two scientists from the GFZ German Research Center for Geosciences at Potsdam was accepted for publication by the scientific journal Remote Sensing of Environment. The findings were also published on the website of the journal Nature. The researchers used satellite tracking data from 2003 to 2017 to track the rate of land subsidence in Tehran. A previous study linked the sinkage to the depletion of the groundwater aquifers under the city, which are being pumped to irrigate the fields surrounding the capital and to supply water to the city's 13 million residents.
Comment: Sinkholes, giant earth cracks and general instability of the earth beneath our feet seems to be increasing. Not all of which is related to the depletion of groundwater aquifers or to areas with historical mining activity. Yellowstone has shown a surge in activity recently.
Why is it that all of a sudden, all over the world, the ground has become so unstable? See also:
- 136 sinkholes opened up on Rome streets in first 10 months of 2018
- Giant cracks appear on banks of river in Argentina - Evacuations ordered
- Gaping fissures and sinkhole open up around school in Ireland, children evacuated
- "Earth splits in two" - Huge fissures appears in the ground in Saudi Arabia (VIDEO)
- 2 French rivers disappear - Geologists suspect through cracks in the ground
- Monster cracks appear in the ground after landslide and heavy rains destroy over 100 buildings in Cusco, Peru (PHOTOS, VIDEO)
- 8 dead as massive sinkhole swallows eight-lane road in Foshan, China (PHOTOS, VIDEO)
This is the first week of December?
The scenes across the Sierra Nevada and Shasta-Cascade ranges are a testament to early-season storms that have swept across the high country in Northern California.
In contrast with last year, all 23 ski areas — big and small — are projected to be open by the Dec. 14-16 weekend, just in time for a banner Christmas holiday season.
© REUTERS/Yiannis Kourtoglou
Divers search a swollen river in Kyrenia, north Cyprus, December 6, 2018.
Divers search a swollen river in Kyrenia, north Cyprus, December 6, 2018.
The victims died when their car was swept away during heavy rain late on Wednesday, media reported. Cyprus residents have reported virtually uninterrupted rain since early Tuesday, with some saying it was the heaviest in memory.
Flash flooding from an isolated downpour is not uncommon on the island, but sustained floods are rare. Further bad weather was expected on Thursday, with the met office issuing a severe alert warning for the next 24 hours.
ZRP provincial spokesperson Inspector Tavhiringwa Kakohwa said he was on leave referring questions to Nyanga district counterpart Assistant Inspector Cuthbert Tanyanyiwa who said they were yet to receive a report on the incident.
According to local villagers Misheck Nheredzo, Jealous Nyabanda and Phenias Mubata died after being struck by lightning while thatching a hut.
"They were thatching a hut when disaster struck. It's sad. Police have been notified but we have been told to go ahead with burial arrangements," said one villager.
Comment: Across the globle within the last week lightning strikes have also killed 2 people in Zamiba, 3 farmers in Maharashtra, India, an individual in Iraq and another farmer in Tanzania.
If you looked into sky on Monday, you might have noticed something just a little different with the sun. It was still there, don't worry. But in North Texas, it was obscured behind a haze of wispy clouds and joined on both sides by what looked like flashes of a rainbow.
Except there hadn't been any rain all day.
Instead, what you were seeing was called a "sundog," which doesn't actually look like much of a dog but is a cool name nonetheless. WFAA meteorologist Jesse Hawila snapped a good picture of Monday's sundog in Frisco. Notice the rainbow-like arch above the sun:
Except there hadn't been any rain all day.
Instead, what you were seeing was called a "sundog," which doesn't actually look like much of a dog but is a cool name nonetheless. WFAA meteorologist Jesse Hawila snapped a good picture of Monday's sundog in Frisco. Notice the rainbow-like arch above the sun:
© WFAA/Jesse Hawila
Comment: Powerful 7.6 magnitude earthquake strikes off New Caledonia in South Pacific - Magnitude 7.0 aftershock