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10-foot deep sinkhole closes streets in Tucson, Arizona

Whitney Clark
JRN.com
Mon, 16 Mar 2015 16:54 UTC
Image
© WGUN
A massive sinkhole shut down part of a street in midtown Tucson, and it could take weeks to fix.

The 10 foot deep hole was caused by a ruptured water line near the intersection of Swan Road and Glenn Street. Tucson Water has closed off the block of Glenn Street between Swan and Tornio.

Fernando Molina with Tucson Water says the burst pipe brought recycled water to about 15 schools and businesses. Molina says the water was used for irrigation purposes, and they have had issues with that pipe before.

"We're not exactly sure what the problem is. We don't know if it's the soils that are just very aggressive and are causing the pipes to deteriorate," Molina said.

For now, Molina says the impacted businesses are getting water from another pipeline.
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Chalkboard

200-pound ice boulder crashes through apartment roof in Wilmington, Massachusetts


CBS News - Boston
Wed, 18 Mar 2015 16:44 UTC
Image
© Wilmington Police Department
A huge chunk of ice crashed through the roof of a Wilmington Apartment building on Sunday. Luckily nobody was hurt.

The ice boulder weighing about 200 pounds landed in the back stairwell of the Avalon Oaks Apartments. Residents who were home when it happened say they heard a huge 'bang' when the ice came crashing through the ceiling.

"It was like this big," Kathleen Trowbridge said, holding her arms the width of her doorway, "and it just came through solid. It didn't break up." She then called 911.

Wilmington Police say the giant ice block fell from the highest part of the apartment building's roof, crashing onto a lower roof and through the back stairwell, leaving a gaping hole.

"Luckily nobody was there," a male resident said. "That was the most important thing. If somebody had been hit by that, they'd probably be dead."

Residents say that maintenance crews did shovel off the roof from past storms, but the ice buildup did not go away. Some are still concerned.

"If it's going to happen here, is going to happen in the front?" Trowbridge questioned. "There's icicles up there."

"I'm just very disappointed and very nervous for my health, for my kids' health," another resident voiced.
      Read More...
Bizarro Earth

Severe geomagnetic storm lights up New Zealand's sky


Stuff.co.nz
Wed, 18 Mar 2015 03:01 UTC
Aurora Australis
© Stephen Chadwick
The Aurora Australis, or Southern Lights, in the sky at Himatangi Beach on Tuesday night, March 17.
A severe geomagnetic storm has whipped through Earth's magnetosphere, putting on a light show at both ends of the earth.

The storm, which began on Tuesday, is among the strongest in the current 11-year solar cycle, earning a rating of a "severe" G4 on a one-to-five scale, which means it had the potential to affect power grids, high-frequency communications and satellite operations.

Interestingly, there was no radiation storm, which typically accompanies geomagnetic storms of this magnitude. Therefore, NOAA's Space Weather Prediction Center was not expecting disruption to satellite electronics or polar-routed aviation.

But the changes in density in the ionosphere - the very high levels of Earth's atmosphere - could cause more drag on low-orbit satellites, which operators may have to adjust for with thrusters. Simple GPS technology, like the kind in your car or on your smartphone, could be affected in the form of difficulties locating your position.
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Cloud Lightning

Heavy rain and high winds pummel Portland, Oregon, leaving thousands without power

Teresa Blackman
KGW.com
Wed, 18 Mar 2015 00:40 UTC
landslide portland oregon
© KGW
A landslide in NW Portland.
Heavy rain and high winds combined to create problems in the Portland and Vancouver metro areas Sunday.

Area residents reported trees down, along with some power lines. On Sunday, Portland General Electric reported 45,000 customers without power. The number dropped to about 1,700 by 5 p.m. Monday.

Pacific Power and Clark Public Utilities no longer reported widespread outages due to the storm Monday afternoon.

In Vancouver, crews responded to more than 30 reports of downed trees or large branches that were blocking streets, including the busy East Mill Plain Boulevard.

"Crews concentrated on quickly cutting up and clearing out a big fallen tree so traffic could get through safely on the busy arterial, a major route for emergency services," said Loretta Callahan, a spokeswoman for the Department of Public Works. "Meanwhile, Operations Signal crews spent the day restoring traffic signals that were entirely out of service or operating in flashing red due to windstorm power outages and surges."
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Cloud Lightning

Yet another cyclone heading for Australia's northeast coast

James Reagan
Reuters
Tue, 17 Mar 2015 08:01 UTC
tropical cyclone nathan

The category two cyclone is heading towards the north-east of Cairns.
A cyclone in the Coral Sea is forecast to intensify before slamming into Australia's northeast coast later this week, less than a month after the area was pummeled by one the most powerful cyclones on record to hit Australia, the national weather forecaster said on Tuesday.

Australia's Bureau of Meteorology expects Cyclone Nathan to turn toward the coast in the next 24 to 48 hours, with the storm's epicenter reaching land about 300km (185 miles) north of the Great Barrier Reef city of Cairns in Queensland state, driving winds reaching as high as 224km (135 miles) per hour.

Comment: Last month Northeastern Australia was struck by two cyclones almost simultaneously:

Double cyclones to strike Northeastern Australia

      Read More...
Bizarro Earth

USGS: Earthquake Magnitude 6.2 - 134km NW of Kota Ternate, Indonesia


US Geological Survey
Tue, 17 Mar 2015 23:39 UTC
Ternate Quake_180315
© USGS
Event Time
  1. 2015-03-17 22:12:28 (UTC)
  2. Times in other timezones
Nearby Cities
  1. 134km (83mi) NW of Kota Ternate, Indonesia
  2. 136km (85mi) NW of Ternate, Indonesia
  3. 151km (94mi) E of Bitung, Indonesia
  4. 165km (103mi) W of Tobelo, Indonesia
  5. 1083km (673mi) SW of Koror Town, Palau
Scientific Data
      Read More...
Snowflake

Heavy snowfalls cause dearth of essential goods for 3 months in Mugu, Nepal

Raj Bahadur Shani
ekantipur.com
Tue, 17 Mar 2015 20:11 UTC
Image

Snow-covered roads have hampered movement in Mugu.
An acute shortage of daily essentials has been felt in the district due to the halt in transport services for the past three months.

As heavy snowfalls have blocked the roads that connect the remote mountainous district with the rest of the country, businessmen in district headquarters Gamgadhi have not been able to replenish their stocks and have started running out of daily essentials such as rice, lentils, flour, edible oil, spices, and noodles, among others.

Around two dozen trucks laden with daily essentials and other goods from Surkhet and Nepalgunj have been stranded in Ghucchi, Bulbule, and Dablek due to the blockade, causing a severe shortage of daily essentials in many parts of the district.
      Read More...
Igloo

Twice as much snow falling in the Russian Ural mountains than 100 years ago...Leading to more tree growth

P Gosselin
NoTricksZone
Mon, 16 Mar 2015 19:15 UTC
German public radio Deutschlandfunk (DLF) reported earlier this year that scientists have discovered that twice as much snow has been falling in the Ural Mountains than 100 years ago.
Yugyd Va National Park
© Public domain photo
Yugyd Va National Park.
Hat-tip: Die kalte Sonne here.

The DLF reports:
Ural: snow causing the tree line to rise.

Climate change does not only mean that the temperature is increasing, it can also change the precipitation patterns. In the Ural Mountains of Russia significantly more snow is falling in the wintertime than 100 years ago. The development is having surprising consequences: The bigger amounts of snow is causing the tree line to rise. [...]

In the summertime in the Urals its has not gotten notably warmer over the past 100 years. The wintertime temperatures, however, have increased from minus 18°C to minus 16°C. Warmer low pressure systems are bringing more precipitation to the mountains. In the Urals today twice as much snow is falling than 100 years ago. And that is having an impact on the treeline."
According to the DLF, a team of German and Russian scientists say the tree line is currently rising at a rate of about 4 to 6 meters per decade.

The scientists believe that the doubled snowfall serves to protect young saplings during the winter and allow soil conditions that foster growth during the summer time. Photos of the region has allowed the scientists to determine treelines that today are up to 60 meters higher than 100 years ago.
      Read More...
Health

Man in serious condition following attack by his pet zebra in Searcy, Arkansas

Danielle Kloap
arkansasonline.com
Tue, 17 Mar 2015 18:49 UTC
Image

Zebra
A Searcy man is still at a Little Rock hospital in serious condition after his pet zebra attacked him Sunday night, police say.

Officers were called to the White County Medical Center about a man who had been attacked by his own zebra, Searcy Police Department spokesman Cpl. Steve Hernandez said.

The man had already been transported to the UAMS Medical Center in Little Rock by the time police arrived, Hernandez said.
      Read More...
Arrow Down

Sinkhole swallows several cars in succession in Corpus Christi, Texas

Yvette Garcia
kristv.com
Tue, 17 Mar 2015 17:41 UTC
Image
© Guy Gates
Tuesday morning sinkhole, one vehicle is being swallowed up by sinkhole.
City crews are currently at the site of the sinkhole on South Alameda and Chase Drive. City officials say the water main break was the cause of the sinkhole, the pipe that broke was a cast iron pipe build in 1955.

Crews are expected to be there all day repairing the water main.

They plan to put a patch over the hole until city street crews can repair the damage.

Early Tuesday morning residents on South Alameda and Chase Drive got a rude awakening when they heard the sounds of a vehicle in distress.

One resident says they were woken around 4:15 a.m when they heard a loud noise. When the resident went outside he saw the car was stuck in a giant sink hole.

      Read More...
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