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Groundhog Punxsutawney Phil 'forecasts' 6 more weeks of winter


Morning Sun
Mon, 02 Feb 2015 22:13 UTC
Image
© AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar
Groundhog Club handler Ron Ploucha, left, holds Punxsutawney Phil, the weather prognosticating groundhog, during the 129th celebration of Groundhog Day on Gobbler's Knob in Punxsutawney, Pa., Monday, Feb. 2, 2015.
The handlers of Pennsylvania's most famous groundhog, Punxsutawney Phil, said Monday the furry rodent has forecast six more weeks of winter.

Members of the top hat-wearing Inner Circle announced the "prediction" Monday morning.

A German legend has it that if a furry rodent sees his shadow on Feb. 2, winter will last another six weeks. If not, spring comes early.
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Attention

150 sea turtles found dead in Mexican Pacific lagoon


Washington Times
Sun, 01 Feb 2015 21:22 UTC
Image
© Profepa
One of the dead turtles in Guerrero Negro.
Cold temperatures are suspected of killing some 150 sea turtles found in a lagoon of Mexico's Baja California Peninsula.

Investigators with the federal environmental protection agency said Saturday the green sea turtles were found in the Ojo de Liebre lagoon, on the Pacific side of Baja California Sur state. The agency said it would be difficult to determine the exact cause of death due to the advanced state of decomposition of the remains.

The agency said a cold front that lowered temperatures in the region may have caused the deaths but investigators also would try to determine whether some sort of contamination might have played a role.

In mid-January, federal inspectors found the bodies of 14 gray whales at the lagoon, as well as 16 other sea turtles.

Source: Associated Press

Comment: See also these reports from the same region in January: 14 whales and 16 turtles wash up dead on Baja California Sur coast

554 dead seabirds and 4 sea lions found on beaches in Baja California, Mexico

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Snowflake Cold

Winter is here: Sub-zero temperatures continue in UK with another week of snow predicted

Jack Crone and Ben Spencer
Daily Mail
Mon, 02 Feb 2015 08:58 UTC
snow buries car Derbyshire

After extreme weather, a car is almost hidden by several feet of snow near Castleton in the Derbyshire Peak District yesterday afternoon
It's bad news for anyone who didn't pick up a coat in the January sales - last month's icy spell is expected to continue all week.

The mercury was expected to fall to -11C in some parts of the UK overnight, with subzero temperatures expected every night this week and snow predicted across swathes of the nation.

Southern England is gearing up for its coldest snap of the winter, with forecasters saying it will fall to -4C in the South tonight - as cold as your fridge.

Simon Partidge of the Met Office said: 'The maximum temperature on Monday will only be around 4C or 5C which is about the same as inside your fridge.

'And there is a further band of rain, sleet and snow coming in on Monday night which will see some snow in Western parts on Tuesday. It will be dry with sunny spells from Wednesday, but still very cold with some snow on the East Coast.
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Binoculars

Another odd bird migration: Painted bunting turns up in Oakville, Canada

Emma Reilly
The Hamilton Spectator
Mon, 02 Feb 2015 16:44 UTC
Image
© Cathie Coward,The Hamilton Spectator


Painted Bunting: Meet the tiny bird that has been the big talk of local birders for the past month.
In a backyard in Oakville, there's a tiny, colourful bird that's setting hearts aflutter.

A painted bunting, which usually makes its home in the Southern U.S. and Mexico, mysteriously appeared in the Lakeshore Road East and Winston Churchill Boulevard area before Christmas. The rare creature has created quite a stir, drawing birders from across Ontario and lots of speculation among those who love small things with wings.

Hamiltonian Bruce Mackenzie, an avid birder and retired conservation area manager, thinks the painted bunting is a wild bird that got blown off course by a storm.
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Bell

USGS: Earthquake Magnitude 6.3 - 87km NW of La Punta, Argentina


U.S. Geological Survey
Mon, 02 Feb 2015 13:55 UTC
La Punta Earthquake 6.3
© USGS
Event Time
2015-02-02 10:49:48 (UTC)

Nearby Cities
87km (54mi) NW of La Punta, Argentina
93km (58mi) NW of San Luis, Argentina
137km (85mi) ENE of San Martin, Argentina
164km (102mi) SE of Caucete, Argentina
344km (214mi) ENE of Santiago, Chile

Depth
172.3 km

Scientific data

Comment: See: SOTT Summary Video - December 2014: Extreme Weather, Earth Changes, Fireballs, High Strangeness

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Cloud Precipitation

2 dead and 5,000 homes damaged following floods and landslides in Indonesia

Richard Davies
floodlist.com
Mon, 02 Feb 2015 13:28 UTC
Image
© JP/Jerry Adiguna
A girl rides her bike through a flooded street in Tanjung Duren, West Jakarta, on Saturday, following heavy rain in the capital and surrounding areas.
Heavy rainfall across Indonesia has caused flooding and landslides, resulting in the death of at least 2 people and damage to over 5,000 homes.

Bali

Floods and landslides killed two people in Karangasem district, Karangasem, Bali on 31 January 2015. Two others were injured in the landslide which occurred after heavy rainfall in the region.
      Read More...
Wolf

Feral dogs kill 5-yr-old in Bareilly, India: Third fatality in a month of 10 attacks

Priyangi Agarwal
The Times of India
Sun, 01 Feb 2015 20:03 UTC
Image
In what is becoming a serious menace, wild dogs attacked and killed a child on Saturday afternoon in Baheri tehsil, making him the third fatality of such an attack in almost a month. Over 10 children have also been injured in wild dog attacks in the past month. Ironically, while the attacks are continuing, district authorities continue to quibble over jurisdiction issues.

According to reports, daily wage labourer Anis Ahmed and his 15-year-old son Mujammil, residents of Lakhanpur village of Baheri, had gone to work at a local brick kiln. After some time, Anis went to his fields. When Mujammil did not join him after a long time, Anis went out to search for him.

That was when he saw Mujammil being attacked by a pack of dogs near the brick kiln. He somehow managed to chase away the dogs by attacking them with a spade but was not able to save his son, who was declared brought dead at a hospital.

Comment: Other recent notable attacks by packs of feral dogs on people -

Denison, Texas woman attacked and severely injured by dog pack

Man likely to have died from a dog pack attack in Madison, North Carolina

Pack of feral dogs attack 2 children, killing one, Nanfang, China

Feral dog pack found to have killed woman on Wyoming Indian reservation

Man found dead near New Mexico reservation may have been attacked by dog pack

Pack of stray dogs maul 17-month-old boy outside his house in Bangalore, India

Nine people killed by feral dog attacks in Rumbek, Sudan

      Read More...
Cloud Lightning

Lightning strikes kill 6 in South Africa


The Citizen (South Africa)
Sun, 01 Feb 2015 19:03 UTC
Image
© Thinkstock
Three people died after being hit by lightning near Vryheid, KwaZulu-Natal on Saturday, paramedics said. Another three were killed in Colenso.

Two women, aged between 70 and 80, and a man, believed to be in his sixties, were confirmed dead at the scene, said Emergency Medical Services spokesman Robert McKenzie.

They were believed to have been in a house at the time.

Three other women sustained serious injuries when they were struck by the lightning.

"Paramedics stabilised them on the scene before transporting them to the local eDumbe Community Health Centre," said McKenzie.
      Read More...
Black Cat

Cougar attacks pipeline worker near Grande Prairie, Canada

Alexa Huffman
Grande Prairie Daily Herald-Tribune
Sun, 01 Feb 2015 18:49 UTC
Image
Alberta Fish and Wildlife officers are currently investigating a cougar attack involving a pipeline worker south of Grande Prairie Friday.

According to Dan Laville, an Alberta Justice and Solicitor General spokesperson, at around 3 p.m. on Friday, Jan. 30, a cougar attacked a male pipeline worker, approximately 90 kilometres south of Grande Prairie.

Laville says a co-worker came to the victim's aid and was able to stop to the attack. The workers called 9-1-1. RCMP officers responded to the call and shot a cougar near the scene of the attack.

The Fish and Wildlife officers that are investigating the incident are using DNA analysis to confirm the cougar shot is the same animal involved in the attack.

Both workers sustained injuries and Laville says the injuries did not appear to be life threatening.

Comment: See also these other reports of cougar attacks on humans in 2014: A third cougar attack within a month leaves six-year-old California boy injured

Some wild animals are losing fear of humans: Biologist recovering after cougar assault in Grand Prairie, Alberta

Teenager attacked by cougar in Waterton Lakes National Park, Alberta

From 2013: Man fights off cougar with skateboard; Parks Canada tracking animal

Cougar attack in British Columbia leaves woman in critical condition

      Read More...
Cloud Precipitation

Floods and mudslides strike Peruvian Amazon


BBC
Sat, 31 Jan 2015 18:17 UTC
Image
Large parts of the Peruvian Amazon are under water after torrential rains caused rivers to burst their banks.

More than 3,000 families have been affected and a state of emergency has been declared.

Laura Westbrook reports.

      Read More...
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