Earth Changes

Freak Afghan hailstorm in late April grounded scores of NATO helicopters

Emma Graham-Harrison
The Guardian
Thu, 27 Jun 2013 21:10 UTC

Hailstones the size of golf balls left some damaged helicopters out of action for more than three weeks

A freak hailstorm over one of the biggest Nato airbases in Afghanistan grounded more than 80 helicopters, putting several of them out of action for more than three weeks, it has emerged.

The half-hour storm in late April split rotor blades, cracked windows, ruptured the choppers' metal skin and damaged other parts. The hail was so intense that after an intensive repair programme eight of the choppers were still inoperable more than three weeks later, according to a Nato spokesman.

Videos show hailstones the size of golf balls pelting down on the airbase, which is at the edge of a desert and in summer endures temperatures that can climb above 50C.

Large sink hole strands motorist in New Hampshire neighborhood

Mark Hayward
New Hampshire Union Leader
Thu, 27 Jun 2013 18:20 UTC

© David Lane/Union Leader
A sinkhole opened at the intersection of Morning Glory and Stonington drives in Manchester Wednesday. A Water Works official said a ruptured water line may have washed away the sand and gravel supporting the roadway.

Manchester - The city cut off water to more than a dozen homes this morning, after a sink hole in an upscale south Manchester subdivision opened up and stranded an automobile in the early morning hours.

Manchester Water Works officials said they hope to restore water to homes along Stonington Drive and Morning Glory Drive by 5 p.m. But they cautioned they are unsure of the extent that Morning Glory Drive has been undermined.

Three other sink holes developed on a steep portion of the roadway, signaling the likelihood of further undermining of pavement.

"It's like an earthquake," said Nancy Washburn, who lives at the corner of Stonington and Morning Glory. The streets are part of the Rosecliff subdivision.

Early start for noctilucent clouds

Eleanor Imster
EarthSky Org
Thu, 27 Jun 2013 17:16 UTC

Every summer, above the North Pole, ice crystals begin to cling to dust and particles high in the atmosphere, forming electric-blue, rippled clouds - called noctilucent or "night-shining" clouds - that stretch across the sky at sunset. Their season is eagerly anticipated by skywatchers in the high latitudes.

This year, noctilucent clouds got an early start. NASA's Aeronomy of Ice in the Mesosphere (AIM) spacecraft first saw them on May 13. The season started a week earlier than any other season that AIM has observed, and quite possibly earlier than ever before, said Cora Randall of the Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics at the University of Colorado.

The four images above show Earth's upper atmosphere, centered on the North Pole, as observed by the AIM satellite. The image on the upper right shows noctilucent clouds on May 23, 2013; the upper left image compares the same week from 2012. The two bottom images show the extent of noctilucent clouds in mid-June of each year. The brighter the clouds in each image, the denser the ice particles. Areas with no data appear in black, and coastal outlines are traced in white. You can view a daily composite projection of noctilucent clouds by clicking here during the northern summer months.

USGS: Shallow Earthquake Magnitude 4.3 - 25km N of Leavenworth, Washington

US Geological Survey
Thu, 27 Jun 2013 15:34 UTC

Event Time:
2013-06-27 02:45:35 UTC
2013-06-26 19:45:35 UTC-07:00 at epicenter

Location:
47.824°N 120.689°W depth=9.1km (5.7mi)

Nearby Cities:
25km (16mi) N of Leavenworth, Washington
52km (32mi) NNW of Wenatchee, Washington
54km (34mi) NNW of East Wenatchee, Washington
91km (57mi) ENE of Snoqualmie, Washington
188km (117mi) ENE of Olympia, Washington

Technical Data

Rare jaguar roams Southern Arizona mountains

Associated Press via Yahoo News
Thu, 27 Jun 2013 15:22 UTC

New photographs show that a rare male jaguar apparently has been roaming in Southern Arizona mountains for at least nine months, indicating the animals are occasionally moving into their historic range from northern Mexico and into the American Southwest.

The Arizona Daily Star reports that remote cameras have photographed the big cat in five locations in the Santa Rita Mountains' eastern flank on seven occasions since October. Those photos were taken for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service by University of Arizona cameras after a hunter gave state authorities a photo of a jaguar's tail that he took last September in the Santa Ritas.

The images were provided to the Star this week by U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in response to a Freedom of Information Act request. Federally financed remote cameras photographed the jaguar west of the proposed Rosemont Mine site in the mountains southeast of Tucson.

It is the only jaguar known to live in the United States since the 15-year-old cat known as Macho B died in Arizona in March 2009.

Dangerous heatwave settles over U.S. Southwest - temps to hit 120 F in Arizona

The Extinction Protocol
Wed, 26 Jun 2013 11:26 UTC

A ridge of high pressure will cause elevated temperatures across most of the Western United States, from Arizona and California, northward to the US/Canada border. This also may bring the first monsoon storms to the region as this abnormally large ridge of high pressure takes hold. It's that time of the year again, where a hot desert meets the Summer. Temperatures in the 100s across Phoenix will turn to 115+, with 120+ along the Colorado River Valley as a ridge of high pressure builds in the area. This ridge will be very large, bringing temperatures 15-20 degrees higher than normal for Arizona, California, Oregon, Washington, Idaho, New Mexico, and Utah. Other areas like Montana, and Wyoming may also be in the outer fridges of the heatwave ridge. With that heat will bring monsoonal moisture into play, California, Nevada, Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah may see the first monsoonal thunderstorms of the season with this event. More information will be given as the data is compiled, but if in these regions, prepare for increased heat and humidity by the end of the week and into this weekend. There are indications this lasts through next week as well. - Weather Space

Thousands of migratory birds invade man's property in Del Valle,Texas

Omar Lewis
kxan.com
Fri, 21 Jun 2013 14:09 UTC

Del Valle property owner left with few options

Thousands of migratory birds invade man's property

Thousands of migratory birds have taken over a Del Valle man's property.

The egrets set up shop in his back yard on Elroy Road about four weeks ago. Already, there are mounds of feces, dozens of dead trees, and a putrid smell that's leading to health problems.

But since the birds are protected by both federal and state law, it's creating a "sticky" situation.

"I love birds, I've always loved birds, but there is nothing to love about this," said David Gibson, who lives on the property.

Frank Bauer has owned the property for decades, but this is the first year the migrating egrets have decided to nest on his property.

Last year, the birds were a mile down the road and completely destroyed Bauer's neighbor's yard.

"It's infringing on my rights," he said. "My rights to fresh air, my rights to trees, so its an invasion."

At least 50 of Bauer's trees are now dead and the foliage on the ground is completely covered in feces. He usually rents out portions of his property to tenants, but he says with the new, unwelcome guests, no one will rent from the property.

New Zealand: Bitterly-cold winds, freezing temps and up to 1 metre of snow

iceagenow.info
Tue, 18 Jun 2013 00:00 UTC

"This is a significant event which is expected to persist through until Friday morning," MetService said in a severe weather warning at 9.42am.

South Island residents are getting ready for it.

Freezing conditions were expected in much of both islands, bringing snow, rain and gale force winds to many areas.

Heavy snow was expected about Canterbury and southern parts of Marlborough above 300m. Snow was also expected to low levels about Southland and southern Fiordland. Snow was expected about Banks Peninsula.

"A very strong and cold southerly flow spreads over the South Island tonight, with snow expected to lower to near sea level about southern and eastern areas," MetService said.

Accumulations of snow were likely to exceed 50cm above 300m, and 100cm above 500m. Smaller amounts of snow were expected below 300m.

Erupting Shiveluch volcano blankets Kamchatka villages in ash

The Moscow Times
Thu, 27 Jun 2013 12:27 UTC

An ash cloud from the erupting Shiveluch volcano is spreading over the Kamchatka Peninsula in Russia's Far East covering several local villages in ash and disrupting local aviation services, a news report said Thursday.

Showers of ash were reported in the village of Klyuchi in the Ust-Kamchatsky district forcing authorities to distribute gas masks among residents, Interfax said.

Local residents said that the streets are covered with a layer of ash and that there is a strong smell of sulphur in the air. The village is located 47 kilometers away from the volcano.

The plume of ash, spewed into the air by the Shiveluch volcano Thursday morning, reached a height of 10 kilometers above sea level.

All public facilities in the village continue to function despite the ashfall, while local firefighters and rescuers are sending out text messages warning people to stay inside.

The Emergency Situations Ministry's local office said the lives of local residents were not in danger.

More evacuations as rail cars get stuck on collapsing bridge in Calgary

Josh Wingrove and Jeff Jones
The Globe and Mail
Thu, 27 Jun 2013 12:00 UTC

© Jeff McIntosh/The Canadian Press
A Canadian Pacific freight train sits derailed on a failing bridge over the Bow River in Calgary, Alta., Thursday, June 27, 2013.

A collapsing Calgary rail bridge appears to have "stabilized somewhat," city officials say, but five cars carrying a flammable, diesel-like substance remain stranded and at risk of falling into the Bow River.

Officials now hope to use heavy cables to secure the final five cars, as well as a sixth empty one, and keep them out of the river.

"The last thing we want is these cars running down the river, and causing problems downstream at other bridges or anything else," Acting Fire Chief Ken Uzeloc said Thursday morning, after earlier stressing: "Right now, the public is safe."

Emergency crews evacuated an 800-metre radius of the site after the 3:30 a.m. derailment. The evacuated section includes a section of Deerfoot Trail, a major Calgary thoroughfare. That closure will further leave traffic in near-gridlock in Alberta's biggest city, as flooding closures were already causing extensive delays.

The CP rail train was mostly over the bridge early Thursday morning when its crew noticed it had partially derailed. They called 911.

There were no injuries and no leaks are yet reported, CP spokesman Ed Greenberg said in an e-mail. "The cause is under investigation," he added.

Crews are setting up booms downstream, to catch some of the diesel-like substance if it is ultimately spilled.