Scientists have uncovered more evidence for a dramatic weakening in the vast ocean current that gives Britain its relatively balmy climate by dragging warm water northwards from the tropics. The slowdown, which climate modellers have predicted will follow global warming, has been confirmed by the most detailed study yet of ocean flow in the Atlantic.

Most alarmingly, the data reveal that a part of the current, which is usually 60 times more powerful than the Amazon river, came to a temporary halt during November 2004.

The nightmare scenario of a shutdown in the meridional ocean current which drives the Gulf stream was dramatically portrayed in The Day After Tomorrow. The climate disaster film had Europe and North America plunged into a new ice age practically overnight.

Although no scientist thinks the switch-off could happen that quickly, they do agree that even a weakening of the current over a few decades would have profound consequences.

A mother was killed in front of her family when she was struck by lightning on a Brazilian beach.

Rosangela Biavati a 36-year-old married mother of one, died instantly when she was hit by the bolt of electricity during a trip to Guaruja, a popular seaside resort on the coast of Sao Paulo.

The first photograph shows the victim heading towards the water with outstretched arms as she warns her 11-year-old son to get out of the sea because of the gathering storm overhead. The next image captures the electrical discharge streaking down.

A Mitsubishi pickup obscures the moment the bolt hits the woman as she steps towards the water's edge but the tragic outcome is clearly evident in the following image in the sequence of shots.

Three men, including the victim's husband who is wearing white swimming trucks, drag her lifeless body onto the beach.

According to Rosângela's husband, his wife had gone to tell his son and nephews, who were swimming in the sea, to get out because of the bad weather.

As she stepped into the water she was hit by a single bolt of lightning.

'The weather started to close in and we decided to leave. I was putting our bags into the car, and the kids were on the beach.

A Mitsubishi pickup obscures the moment the bolt hits the woman as she steps towards the water's edge but the tragic outcome is clearly evident in the following image in the sequence of shots.

A day after 22 spotted deer died at the Kanan Pendari Zoo Park in Chhattisgarh, investigations have revealed that the deaths were caused due to Anthrax bacterial infection.

"Spotted deer died due Anthrax infection. Analysis of symptoms confirms that the animals were infected by bacteria called Bacillus anthracis", Principal Chief Conservator of Forests (PCCF) Ram Prakash told reporters at the zoo, located about 12 kilometres away from Bilaspur town.

"The dead herbivorous animals showed symptoms of Anthrax Bacteria as blood came out through mouth and anus. The stomach swelled like a balloon because of infection", he pointed out adding that there were 53 spotted deer, including 18 males and 35 females, in the cage.

He said Antharax is a communicable bacterium that spreads very fast through air. "Hence, we have buried all the dead animals instead of consigning them to flames. One of the apparent reasons for the outbreak of Anthrax bacteria is high moisture content in the air due to continuous rainfall in the region. "Even two days ago, it rained heavily in Bilaspur region and there is still moisture in the air", he added.

Asked how only female animals died due to infection, Ram Prakash explained that male deer have a better immune system than female deer. However, he said the state forest department was started a detailed investigation into all aspects of Anthrax infection in animals in the zoo.

Stating that a three member committee, comprising DFO Bilaspur Hemant Pandey, Achanakmar Tiger reserve Deputy Director C L Agrawal and veterinary surgeon P K Chandan, has been constituted to further probe the matter, the PCCF said a team of experts from Veterinary college at Anjora has also confirmed that the deaths were caused due to Anthrax infection.

With this incident, Kanan Pendari zoo will remain closed for general public for the next ten days as a team of doctors have begun vaccination of the animals in the zoo to prevent infection.

As the animals started dying under mysterious circumstances on Wednesday, initially wildlife officials suspected that the herbivorous animals were poisoned by someone.

Tuesday night about midnight, one of the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP)'s water lines broke along 5th Avenue and 13th Street in Manhattan.

The water line that broke was part of NYC's original Croton water system installed in 1877. NYC currently has three water systems that supply drinking to residents: the Croton, Catskill, and Delaware systems; Croton is the oldest of the three. Currently, it provides about 10% of the City's daily demand. According to the DEP, "Croton water is primarily used in low-lying areas of the Bronx and Manhattan, where the water can be conveyed by gravity."

The 36-inch diameter pipe broke, and the water from it washed away the dirt under the asphalt, causing a sinkhole. "The dirt is what supports the pavement," said a spokesperson from the DEP.

The water to that line is now turned off, and the DEP is making repairs. The DEP said that they cannot speculate how long the repairs will take at this point.

5th Avenue is closed between 13th and 14th Street. The B, C, D, E, F, M, and Q subway lines are affected. Service changes can be viewed on MTA's website.

As Santa Ana winds made moisture plunge, plant life wither and wildfire danger soar, Southern California firefighters pounced on several small blazes before they could surge, though another day of dryness awaited.

The Santa Anas, generated by strong surface pressure anchored over the West, were predicted to remain at advisory levels until noon Wednesday. Red-flag warnings for fire danger were expected to remain in effect until Wednesday evening.

Tuesday's wildfires also struck an unusually arid and windy Northern California, where a fire on the small Kimball Island between San Francisco and Sacramento engulfed at least one of the island's 20 buildings and was threatening others, Solano County fire dispatcher Robyn Rains said.

CBS News correspondent Bill Whitaker reports that firefighters say the latest round of fires in the state is the direct result of severe drought conditions throughout the West Coast that have extended fire season longer than normal.

"The lack of rain and the unseasonably dry conditions just makes fire conditions just as bad as in the middle of fire season," said Scott Bahrenfuss of the Rio Vista Fire Department.

The U.S. Coast Guard was helping with evacuations, and Delta Fire Protection District crews had difficulty getting to the blaze because the site is was only accessible by boat.

Wind warning in effect as strong gusts cause power outages, transportation issues

Record winds and temperatures blanketed central Alberta this morning as Environment Canada issued wind warnings of 100 km/h and higher.

Wind speeds up to 70 km/h were been reported in downtown Edmonton, while the international airport recorded wind gusts at 120 km/h, reports CBC meteorologist Stephanie Barsby.

The winds forced Edmonton Transit to shut down the LRT from Century Park to South Campus, as about 15 crossing arms were damaged and others were blowing too close to power lines. Passengers were taken by bus to LRT stops

Sparks - State wildlife officials are trying to figure out why all the fish have died in a northern Nevada marina where the stocked fishery has flourished since the man-made lake was created nearly 15 years ago.

An estimated 100,000 trout, bass and catfish have died over the past month in the Sparks Marina along U.S. Interstate 80 east of Reno, apparently the result of a dramatic, unexplained drop in dissolved oxygen levels, Nevada Department of Wildlife spokesman Chris Healy said Wednesday.

Scientists say a bitter cold snap could have caused oxygen-poor waters to rise from the old rock quarry's bottom to the surface, but they don't understand what sparked the massive die-off.

Fish biologists confirmed low oxygen levels caused the death of an estimated 3,000 fish in one corner of the lake in mid-December, but Healy said they thought at the time that the event was localized and of limited impact. Since then, they've been unable to detect any live fish in the 77-acre lake. Numerous dead fish have been removed from the lake's shoreline, and Healy said it's likely the rest sank to the bottom.

"The 100,000 dead fish figure is something that is probably a pretty conservative guess," said Healy, who estimates they've stocked close to 1 million adult fish in the lake since they started in 1998.

"We don't know if any small fish have survived, but for all intents and purposes, the fishery doesn't exist anymore," he told The Associated Press.

High winds Tuesday pushed a wildfire onto Interstate 80 in central Nebraska and toppled a tractor trailer in western Iowa, tying up interstate traffic in both cases.

Meanwhile, forecasters said to be prepared for "even stronger winds," issuing a high wind watch for Thursday.

The wildfire, whipped by 30 mph winds, closed the westbound lanes of Interstate 80 near Aurora for about one hour.

Area firefighters fought the large grass fire, which started on the north side of the interstate near Hampton at about 2:40 p.m., according to the Nebraska State Patrol office in Grand Island.

Westbound lanes of the interstate were closed at the Hampton interchange and traffic was briefly detoured. Eastbound traffic continued to move slowly through the area.

The fire was brought under control and the westbound lanes were re-opened at about 3:40 p.m., a State Patrol dispatcher said.

Patrol Lt. Bill Keeling said the grass fire was big enough to obscure visibility in the westbound lanes of the interstate. He did not know what caused it.

It was dark and cold, as if hell were freezing over.

Then came the booming sounds that shook the earth and sent area residents running to their windows.

The cracking sound, like an explosion, was heard about 6 p.m. Jan. 7 around Waupun, Fairwater, Brandon, Markesan, Oakfield and Campbellsport.

Dennis Olsen of Waupun thought perhaps his garage had blown up as he peered out into the winter night.

Nope. Everything was quiet.

Then he went to the basement to see if any of his walls had split open.

"Things looked fine. Strange, because it was so loud," he said.

But the next morning, Olsen's grandson was coming up the gravel driveway to visit and came upon a strange sight.

"First time I've ever seen something like this. It was a giant crack, maybe an inch wide and a good eight to 10 inches deep when I stuck a ruler down," Olsen said.

An earthquake of preliminary magnitude 4.4 struck southern California early today, according to the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS).

The earthquake's epicenter was 3 miles (5 km) north of Fontana in San Bernardino County. It originated 3.2 miles (5.2 km) deep and struck at 1:35 a.m. local time (9:35 UTC).

Residents reported light to moderate shaking in the area, as far away as Long Beach and Los Angeles, according to the USGS, but there were no immediate reports of damage.

Earthquakes of this size tend to be felt by people in the area but typically do not cause significant damage, other than possibly broken windows and falling dishes or the toppling of unstable objects. But the damage caused by any single event depends on the quake's depth, proximity to populated areas, building standards in the region, as well as the type of earthquake. The USGS frequently updates the magnitude of an event after more data is analyzed.

An earthquake's magnitude is a measure of the energy released at the source. It is just one predictor of the shaking that may ensue, which is affected by local and regional geology. Scientists know in a general sense what causes earthquakes but are unable to predict specific quakes.