Earth Changes
WHAT A STORM ⛈
A storm cell passed through Coolah and Dunedoo late this afternoon and brought large hailstones.

The North Fork of the Kaweah River, which flows from Sequoia National Park, is seen swollen with frothy, black water, Monday in Three Rivers, Calif.
A low-pressure system hovering some 200 miles off the coast of Seattle sent a cold front hurtling all the way to the Southland, battering the area with significant rain for the first time in seven months.
The storm topped out at a 943-millibar pressure level, which is exceedingly low and signifies "a very intense storm," said David Sweet, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Oxnard.
"Seeing that in October is very impressive," he said.
Some Los Angeles County metro and coastal areas recorded more than an inch of rain. Just under half an inch fell over downtown L.A., according to the National Weather Service. Beverly Hills recorded 1.12 inches and Bel Air got 1 inch.
Several foothill communities saw even more moisture, with East Pasadena and nearby La Cañada-Flintridge both receiving 1.32 inches.

Cars were left stuck in the flood water in Greenpoint, Brooklyn on Tuesday as heavy rain hit the city
On Long Island, the weather station in Ronkonkoma saw 3.33 inches of rain fall by Tuesday evening - smashing the previous daily record of 1.50 inches, set in 1981. In New York City, JFK airport also set a new record, with 2.05 inches of rain falling - the most since 2002.
Power company Con Edison, which supplies the region, said there were 'scattered outages' on Tuesday night, and urged people not to go near downed power lines.
As of Tuesday night, Massachusetts was beginning to feel the force, with Cape Cod and Boston being hit. The state was reporting about 11,000 power outages, as the storm brought down trees along the coast.
The Des Moines International Airport recorded 2.91 inches of rain Sunday, more than tripling the previous record for Oct. 24 of .96 inches set in 1908, according to the National Weather Service. It was also the third-highest daily rain total for an October day ever recorded in Des Moines.
Other records set included the 2.4 inches of rain that fell Sunday in Ottumwa, which had a previous record of 1.05 inches from 1967, and Waterloo's 1.41 inches, which broke 1908's record of 1.09 inches.
Through Oct. 19 many parts of Iowa including Polk County were still in moderate or severe droughts. Des Moines normally gets 2.78 inches of rain in October. Before Sunday's showers, Des Moines had gotten just 1.83 inches this month.

File image of a car stuck on the heavily waterlogged Delhi-Gurugram Expressway after rains in Gurugram
The year 2021 has been a really wet one for Delhi.
According to the data of the India Meteorological Department, the national capital — as of 25 October — has received 1,502.8 mm of rainfall. This makes it the second wettest year since 1933 where it had recorded 1,534.3 mm rainfall.
On an average, Delhi receives 779 mm of rainfall, which means that 2021's has brought almost double the rain that the city expects in a year.
Moreover, data reveals that this is only the fourth time — after 1933, 1964, and 1975 — that Delhi has received more than 1,200 mm of rainfall.
According to the Bureau of Meteorology (BOM), which takes its official records from its Mt Lawley site, the previous record for the month was 96.4 millimetres, set in 1999.
The Perth site officially surpassed that figure during the night, with total rainfall for the month currently at 119 millimetres, and there is more to come.
BOM forecaster Pete Klegg said it was the wettest October in more than 50 years if taking previous measuring stations into consideration.
"It's the wettest October, if we're looking back at previous sites, since 1965," he said.
The phenomenon is uncommon in the UAE and but can occur when the conditions are right. Several have been seen before off the coast of Sharjah, Ras Al Khaimah and Abu Dhabi.
According to forecasters, they normally happen during periods of unstable weather, especially in the transition of summer to winter, or vice versa.Official definitions describe it as a column of water formed by a whirlwind over the sea. They start from the surface and extend upwards, in a swirling body of condensed water vapour.
Experts say they are fairly static and hardly move, but they may prove dangerous to nearby vessels at sea.
Fujairah has been experiencing heavy rain, which led to the formation of the waterspout.
Footage from the state broadcaster VTV showed people moving belongings and furniture out of flooded homes in Quang Nam province, with water gushing out of a damaged wall in one residence.
In Quang Ngai province, where at least 4,500 people were evacuated at the weekend, children sat on a makeshift raft to move along one street as others waded through knee-deep floodwater, some pushing stalled motorcycles.
Comment: Update: Floodlist reported on October 26:
Vietnam - 7,000 People Displaced by Floods in Central Provinces
At least one person has died and thousands have evacuated their homes in central Vietnam after days of heavy rainfall. More severe weather is likely to affect the country as Tropical Depression 'Invest' moves eastwards over the South China Sea.
Heavy rain affected central areas of the country from late 22 October 2021, in particular in Quang Ngai and Quang Nam Provinces. In a 24 hour period to late 23 October, Binh Khuong in Quang Ngai recorded 600 mm of rain; Hanh Dung (Quang Ngai) 598 mm; Binh Tan (Quang Ngai) 577 mm; Tra Phu (Quang Ngai) 54 6mm; Tam Tra (Quang Nam) 539 mm; and Tam Ky (Quang Nam) 488 mm.
Further heavy rain fell in the following 24 hour period, with Tam Tra in Quang Nam province recording 368 mm; Tra Kot (Quang Nam) 324 mm; Tra Giap (Quang Nam) 306 mm; Tra Hiep (Quang Ngai) 327 mm; Tra Phong (Quang Ngai) 301 mm; and Tra Phu (Quang Ngai) 257 mm.
Vietnam's Disaster Management Authority (VDMA) reported 5,373 houses were flooded in Quang Nam Province, mostly in Nui Thanh, Thang Binh and Phu Ninh districts and the cities of Tam Ky and Hoi An. Flood waters were over 1 metre deep in some locations.
VDMA also reported 11,038 houses flooded in Quang Ngai Province. The worst affected areas included Binh Son, Son Tinh, Tu Nghia, Nghia Hanh districts and Quang Ngai city. One person drowned in flood waters in Nghia Hanh district. VDMA also reported three fishermen were missing after a small boat was sept away.
Over 7,000 people were evacuated to safety from flooded areas and areas at risk of landslides in Quang Nam (2,535 people) and Quang Ngai (4,541 people).
The National Centre for Hydro-Meteorological Forecasting (NCHMF) said Tropical Depression 'Invest' is likely to bring heavy rain and strong winds over the coming days. As of early 26 October the storm was located around 250 km off the coast of Ninh Thuan.
Rick reached land at approximately 5:00 a.m. in La Unión de Isidoro Montes de Oca, a municipality that borders Zihuatanejo to the north and Lázaro Cárdenas, Michoacán, to the south.
The National Meteorological Service said the hurricane, which has since been degraded to a tropical storm, brought sustained winds of 165 kph with gusts of up to 205.
The only ski areas currently open already for the 21-22 season in North America are in Colorado, but now California's Mammoth Mountain says it plans to open two weeks earlier than originally intended, this coming Friday, ready for Halloween weekend. It's not yet clear if other areas will open early, Heavenly (pictured top) has indicated its sticking to its original November opening date.
Mt Rose posted the biggest snowfall so far (38-42″ / 95-105cm) but Palisades Tahoe (formerly Squaw Valley) came close saying it had had at least three feet (90cm) at the top of the mountain and posted the image below.












Comment: Related: Massive October snowstorm dumps up to 42 inches of snow in 36 hours on Sierra Nevada ski resorts