Earth Changes

U.S. bracing for tornadoes, freezing rain as storm moves across country

The Guardian
Fri, 20 Dec 2013 13:01 UTC

East is next in the storm front's crosshairs creating pre-Christmas travel worries from Chicago and Detroit to Boston and New York

© Scott Olson /Getty Images
AAA projected that nearly 95 million Americans would travel 50 miles or more during the holiday period, which runs from Saturday through January 1.

A stew of foul weather, ranging from freezing rain and snow in the Midwest to thunderstorms and possible tornadoes in the South, is arriving just in time for one of the busiest travel weekends of the year.

Much of the nation was bracing for something, with freezing rain then snow likely in the northern Plains, downpours expected from St Louis through Appalachia, and even weekend tornadoes a possibility in Arkansas, Louisiana and Mississippi.

While much of the East awoke Friday to unusually warm weather for this time of year, the region was next in the storm front's crosshairs, creating pre-Christmas travel worries from Chicago and Detroit to Boston and New York.

AAA projected that nearly 95 million Americans would travel 50 miles or more during the holiday period, which runs from Saturday through January 1.

Storms expected to lash France over Christmas

The Connexion
Thu, 19 Dec 2013 00:00 UTC

VIOLENT storms with winds of more than 100kph are expected to lash the west of France and the length of the Channel coast at the start of next week, washing out any hope of a white Christmas.

Forecasters at Météo France say Monday and the next few days could see rainstorms gusting up to 120kph over an area from the Vendée to south Brittany and the Channel.

They do not exclude gusts of up to 150kph on Christmas Day, echoing the violent storm that lashed France in 1999 when winds of more than 170kph struck.

Last night winds that had battered Scotland with gusts of up to 176kph were also touching Brittany where winds of 97kph hit Brest and gusts reaching 122kph were recorded at Pointe du Raz.

Ice Age cometh: Northern Thailand declared cold disaster zone - Snow in Vietnam - In Turkey, animals literally freeze where they stand

P. Gosselin
No Tricks Zone
Fri, 20 Dec 2013 07:52 UTC

A flurry of Middle Eastern and Asian news websites are reporting on "unusual" cold sweeping across vast areas of Asia and the Middle East.

The online Thailand pattayamail.com reports "Hundreds of thousands of residents of northern and northeastern Thailand are suffering from the current cold snap, with many areas having been declared disaster zones. [...] Some 100,000 people are suffering from the cold and in need of winter clothing. "

The German language thailand-tip.com reports that the "Meteorological Institute forecasts temperatures in the north to fall another 4 - 7°C by Thursday."

'Mini tornado' rips through Cork train station, Ireland

Conall Ó Fátharta and Eoin English
Irish Examiner
Fri, 20 Dec 2013 07:18 UTC

The freak weather which ripped through the station moments after the Cork-Cobh train had left the platform at 3pm left a woman in her 20s injured.

Staff and onlookers at the station all spoke of the relief that no one had been killed in the incident, which scattered huge chunks of the roof several hundred metres across the station carpark.

On the platform, a large portion of the roof collapsed onto a train which was not in service, while the rest slumped onto the platform which seconds earlier had contained passengers bound for Cobh.

Train driver Ian Fuller, who witnessed the event, said a train bound for Cobh had left the station 35 seconds before the roof was ripped from the platform by what he said could only be described as a "mini tornado".

The stunningly beautiful Black Roses of Halfeti

Sumitra
odditycentral.com
Thu, 19 Dec 2013 06:38 UTC

Turkish Halfeti Roses are incredibly rare. They are shaped just like regular roses, but their color sets them apart. These roses so black, you'd think someone spray-painted them. But that's actually their natural color.

These stunning black roses would make excellent props in a movie about witches and black magic, or in a heavy-metal video. There's something extremely attractive about them, in an intense sort of way.

Although they appear perfectly black, they're actually a very deep crimson color. These flowers are seasonal - they only grow during the summer in small number, and only in the tiny Turkish village of Halfeti. Thanks to the unique soil conditions of the region, and the pH levels of the groundwater (that seeps in from the river Euphrates), the roses take on a devilish hue. They bloom dark red during the spring and fade to black during the summer months.

The local Turks seem to enjoy a love-hate relationship with these rare blossoms. They consider the flowers to be symbols of mystery, hope and passion, and also death and bad news. Unfortunately, the black roses of Halfeti are an endangered species. They have been under threat of extinction ever since the residents of the village moved from 'old Halfeti' in the 1990s, when the Birecik Dam was constructed.

Huge sinkhole opens up in Land O' Lakes, Florida

Harrison Barrus
cbs12.com
Fri, 20 Dec 2013 05:58 UTC

Two Florida families were forced from their homes today because of a possible sink hole.

Here you can see the huge hole in the ground just next to one of the homes in Land O' Lakes which is about 20 miles north of Tampa.

Neighbors are understandably nervous but so far, there are no reports of injuries.
A company brought in dirt to fill the hole, but tomorrow engineers will be out taking a closer look at the situation.

So far, there are no reports of injuries.

Massive 6.2 magnitude earthquake struck Southland, New Zealand

Reissa Su
International Business Times
Tue, 17 Dec 2013 22:59 UTC

A massive 6.2 magnitude earthquake struck Southland, New Zealand in the early hours of Dec 17. The Southland earthquake was measured 25km deep and centred 125km west of Tuatapere on 1:10 am in the morning.

According to local reports, at least 170 people reported or felt the earthquake with some people coming from further north in Wellington's Naenae. Others reported things falling off their shelves, but aside from that, there was no other damage. A spokesperson for Southland's police department said there were no reports of immediate damage due to the earthquake.

Because of the 6.2 magnitude earthquake, Southland is warned by GNS authorities to expect more tremors. GNS seismologist Caroline Little said the heightened activity in Southland will be associated with the subduction zone as the Australian plate moves under the Pacific plate.

Wild weather batters UK - thousands recover from flooding and power disruption brought on by heavy downpours and gale-force winds

Daily Record UK
Thu, 19 Dec 2013 14:38 UTC

Gusts of up to 90mph are expected to cut across parts of western Scotland, while there are warnings of up to 20cm of snow in Scotland and icy roads across much of England. Storms caused by an Atlantic depression left 7,000 customers without electricity in Northern Ireland last night, though most have now been reconnected, with another 3,500 affected in north-west England and almost 900 without power in south Wales.

Across Scotland thousands of properties have been left without power as gale force winds battered the country.SSE said 5000 of its customers in Oban, Thurso and the Western Isles were left without electricity. While Scottish Power was working to restore power after severe winds left 500 properties offline in the Dumfries area.

A search for a missing sailor who fell overboard from a small cargo ship on the River Trent in North Lincolnshire was called off last night in "very poor" conditions, and a 23-year-old woman died in the Republic of Ireland when a tree feel on her car near Mullingar in Co Westmeath.

Young Australian describes vicious 25 minute attack by two kangaroos

Bridie Jabour
The Guardian
Thu, 19 Dec 2013 14:05 UTC

Jade Bassett's legs were severely gouged in the attack.

A 13-year-old girl suffered a vicious 25-minute attack by two kangaroos while out jogging in the bush in Australia.

Jade Bassett was left bleeding with deep scratches down her legs as well as injuries to her face and arm after confronting the two eastern grey kangaroos in bushland in Oakhampton in the Hunter region of New South Wales.

Her grandfather, Kevin Henderson, had taken her to the track and sat down on a bench to wait for her to return from a 15-minute run.

Bassett had only jogged about 10 metres when she spotted kangaroos, two of which she said were "really big" and one slightly smaller, though still bigger than her.

As she ran towards them they did not move, which Bassett said she found strange, but did not give it much thought as she ran around them.

As she ran past one bounded up beside her and she moved to let it reach the scrub.

"I thought it was weird but I kept running. You usually don't see them beside you, they usually move away," she said.

"I kept going and then I heard a really loud, grunting, hissing, sound. It scared the absolute nutter out of me."

Dramatic decline in industrial agriculture could herald 'peak food'

Nafeez Ahmed
The Guardian
Thu, 19 Dec 2013 13:53 UTC

Most conventional yield projection models are oblivious to the real world say US researchers

Industrial agriculture could be hitting fundamental limits in its capacity to produce sufficient crops to feed an expanding global population according to new research published in Nature Communications.

The study by scientists at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln argues that there have been abrupt declines or plateaus in the rate of production of major crops which undermine optimistic projections of constantly increasing crop yields. As much as "31% of total global rice, wheat and maize production" has experienced "yield plateaus or abrupt decreases in yield gain, including rice in eastern Asia and wheat in northwest Europe."

The declines and plateaus in production have become prevalent despite increasing investment in agriculture, which could mean that maximum potential yields under the industrial model of agribusiness have already occurred. Crop yields in "major cereal-producing regions have not increased for long periods of time following an earlier period of steady linear increase."

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Earth Changes

U.S. bracing for tornadoes, freezing rain as storm moves across country

Storms expected to lash France over Christmas

Ice Age cometh: Northern Thailand declared cold disaster zone - Snow in Vietnam - In Turkey, animals literally freeze where they stand

'Mini tornado' rips through Cork train station, Ireland

The stunningly beautiful Black Roses of Halfeti

Huge sinkhole opens up in Land O' Lakes, Florida

Massive 6.2 magnitude earthquake struck Southland, New Zealand

Wild weather batters UK - thousands recover from flooding and power disruption brought on by heavy downpours and gale-force winds

Young Australian describes vicious 25 minute attack by two kangaroos

Dramatic decline in industrial agriculture could herald 'peak food'

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