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Dozen sheltering sheep killed by lightning in Central Otago, New Zealand

John Lewis
New Zealand Herald
Mon, 16 Jan 2023 11:59 UTC
About a dozen sheep were killed when lightning struck a tree on a Naseby farm.
© Phil Smith
About a dozen sheep were killed when lightning struck a tree on a Naseby farm.
A lightning strike near Naseby, Otago which left a dozen sheep and lambs dead has prompted a sobering reminder to stay indoors during thunderstorms.

Maniototo farmer Phil Smith said five ewes and seven lambs were sheltering under a tree on his property when it was struck by lightning on January 6, killing them instantly.

He said he had heard of it happening on other farms around New Zealand, but it was the first time he had seen it on his farm.

"I didn't know it had happened for the first few days. I only got notified by my neighbour. She walked her dogs down the road and she came across them and rang me about it.
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Snowflake Cold

Tens of thousands of Iranians left without gas amid snow and freezing conditions


The National (UAE)
Mon, 16 Jan 2023 13:31 UTC
Pigeons forage for something to eat in the snow at Tajrish Square in Tehran.
© AP
Pigeons forage for something to eat in the snow at Tajrish Square in Tehran.
Tens of thousands of Iranians were left without gas to heat their homes at the weekend as unusually cold weather swept across the country, the state broadcaster reported.

Gas deliveries were cut to about 90,000 residential users in the north-eastern Razavi Khorasan province by Saturday night, Governor Yaghoub-Ali Nazari said on national television.

Supplies were also disrupted in at least four other northern provinces and several districts at the tail end of the national gas pipeline network near the country's eastern borders, according to reports by state TV.

President Ebrahim Raisi paid an unannounced visit on Sunday to the national gas company and was briefed on the supply situation.

Mr Raisi told employees at the National Iranian Gas Company that the closure of offices and organisations was not a suitable solution in addressing the shortage.

      Read More...
Snowflake

Over 7.5 feet of snow in a week from California storm falls at UC lab in the Sierra

Amanda Bartlett
SF Gate
Sun, 15 Jan 2023 13:13 UTC
A snow blower attempts to clear the roadway on Interstate 80 near Kingvale on Jan. 15, 2022.
© Caltrans
A snow blower attempts to clear the roadway on Interstate 80 near Kingvale on Jan. 15, 2022.
Researchers at the UC Berkeley Central Sierra Snow Lab near Donner Pass said they recorded 21.5 inches of snow between Saturday and Sunday morning as a winter storm warning remains in effect until 10 p.m. Monday for the Sierra Nevada and Tahoe Basin.

"We are now 204% of average precipitation to this point in the water year (Oct 1 to Sept 30) and we have 92% of our average peak seasonal #Snow Water Equivalent (SWE)," the lab tweeted Sunday, noting the snow water equivalent refers to the amount of water that can be collected by melting the snowpack.

At least 7.5 feet of snow has fallen at the lab in the last week. Caltrans said about one inch an hour had fallen over Donner Summit from Friday through Sunday alone.

"It's still coming down hard out there!" the lab tweeted earlier on Saturday. "The snowpack is DEEP with ~10 feet (3 meters) of snow already on the ground!"

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Cloud Precipitation

Latvia hit by worst flood in decades


France 24
Mon, 16 Jan 2023 12:55 UTC
Flooded houses are pictured in Jekabpils, Latvia, on January 15, 2023.
© Gints Ivuskans
Flooded houses are pictured in Jekabpils, Latvia, on January 15, 2023.
Latvian authorities on Sunday urged residents of certain central areas to evacuate their homes in response to the worst flooding the Baltic state has seen in decades.

"It will be near impossible to get you out from among the ice cold sludge once it rushes into your homes," Raivis Ragainis, mayor of the city of Jekabpils, warned on local radio.

Particularly exposed are Jekabpils and the town of Plavinas and surrounding areas, where the flow of the Daugava river has been blocked by pack ice that drifted in from Belarus.

"Chunks of ice and torrents of ice-cold water rapidly took over our city," Jekabpils resident Maris Kodols told AFP.

"These are the worst floods since 1981," he said, adding that current water levels are just five centimetres (two inches) below that year's all-time record.

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Cloud Precipitation

Deadly flash floods in Medellín, Colombia

Richard Davies
Floodlist
Mon, 16 Jan 2023 12:18 UTC
Floods in Medellín, Colombia, 14 January 2023.
© DAGRD – Medellín
Floods in Medellín, Colombia, 14 January 2023.
Government officials in Medellín, capital of Antioquia Department in Colombia, report at least 2 people have died after stormy weather and flash floods struck the city on 14 January 2023.

Streets of the city were flooded following a period of heavy rain. Strong winds of more than 100 km/h also caused damage. Emergency services received over 180 calls for assistance late on 14 January 2023. Around 25 people suffered injuries as a result of the severe weather.

The worst of the flooding occurred in the Conquistadores neighbourhood where firefighters discovered a vehicle completely submerged in flood water with two people dead inside.

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Arrow Down

British woman dies after avalanche in French Alps

Helen Pidd
Guardian
Sun, 15 Jan 2023 11:35 UTC
The Argentière Glacier in the French Alps, one of the Mont Blanc range’s biggest glaciers.
© Konrad K
The Argentière Glacier in the French Alps, one of the Mont Blanc range’s biggest glaciers.
A British woman has died after getting caught in an avalanche as she was hiking with two other people on the Mont Blanc massif in the French Alps, rescue services have said.

The accident happened on Saturday on the Argentière Glacier, one of the Mont Blanc mountain range's biggest glaciers.

Mont Blanc, western Europe's highest mountain at 4,800 metres (nearly 16,000ft), attracts 20,000 hikers and skiers every year.

The 45-year-old woman and her partner were hiking with a mountain guide when an avalanche buried her at about 5.30pm on Saturday, according to Le Figaro.
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Attention

Sperm whale beaches at Fort Stevens State Park, Oregon

Beth Slovic
Oregonlive.com
Sun, 15 Jan 2023 11:15 UTC
A sperm whale beached on the Oregon coast
© Oregon State Parks
A sperm whale beached on the Oregon coast near Fort Stevens State Park on Saturday, Jan. 15. A gash in the carcass suggests a vessel may have struck the whale, which would typically swim in deep waters only.
Visitors to Fort Stevens State Park near Astoria discovered a dead, beached sperm whale Saturday.

The whale beached just south of the Peter Iredale shipwreck, said Michael Milstein, a spokesperson for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Photos show a gash in the carcass, suggesting a vessel may have struck the whale, he said.

As of Sunday, it wasn't clear if the gash caused the whale's death or happened after the whale was already ill in some way.

      Read More...
Seismograph

6.3 magnitude earthquake south of Japan

Riyaz ul Khaliq
Anadolu Agency
Mon, 16 Jan 2023 09:43 UTC
mmmmm
A strong earthquake hit Japan on Monday.

According to US Geological Survey, the magnitude 6.3 earthquake hit the Izu-Ogasawara Islands, south of the capital Tokyo, at around 0449GMT.

The earthquake was estimated to be at the depth of 409.1 kilometers (254.2 miles).

The islands are located some 1,000 kilometers (621.3 miles) south of the capital.
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Seismograph

6.2 earthquake shakes west Indonesia, no casualties reported


Washington Post
Sun, 15 Jan 2023 09:31 UTC
MMMMMMMMMM
An undersea earthquake shook part of western Indonesia on Monday morning, but there were no immediate reports of serious damage or casualties.

The magnitude 6.2 earthquake was centered 40 kilometers (25 miles) southeast of Singkil, a coastal district in Aceh province at a depth of 37 kilometers (23 miles), the U.S. Geological Survey said.

No tsunami alert was issued by Indonesia's Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency.

Indonesia, a vast archipelago of more than 270 million people, is frequently hit by earthquakes and volcanic eruptions because of its location on the "Ring of Fire," an arc of volcanoes and fault lines in the Pacific Basin.
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Snowflake

Many US ski resorts already surpassed their peak total snowpack for last season


SnowBrains
Fri, 13 Jan 2023 14:45 UTC
Mammoth Mountain, CA, has the most recorded snowfall out of any ski area on Earth right now.
© Patrick Griley/Mammoth Lakes Tourism
Mammoth Mountain, CA, has the most recorded snowfall out of any ski area on Earth right now.
The top three resorts in this list have the most recorded snowfall in the world. Let that sit for a second.

Many of the resorts on this list have already surpassed their peak total snowpack for last season and it's only mid-January. Where will the rest of the winter take us? Could it be a record-breaking year? Time will tell but for now you can revel at these massive snowfall numbers and pinch yourself that there's still an entire half of a season left to go.

Open ski resorts with the most snowfall this season to date...
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