Earth ChangesS


Cloud Lightning

Canada: Manitoba Flood Reaching "Unprecedented" Levels

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© CTV.ca NewsA truck creates a huge splash as it drives on a flooded road near Melita, Man.
Officials in Manitoba say that this year's flooding is now covering an "unprecedented" area of the province, with 20 areas now under a state of emergency.

Flood waters have spread across the province, overtaken roads, tested dikes and threatened to shut down businesses in the area completely.

Both the Red and Assiniboine Rivers are expected to rise by more than a foot on Saturday after an ice jam backed up water flow.

Officials in Winnipeg say rivers could see a dramatic rise to the 20-foot mark by the end of the day, but are expected to drop down on Sunday as the ice jam clears.

The rise was not expected to threaten Winnipeg's flood preparations and city officials halting sandbagging operations over the weekend. Officials said they would be monitoring water levels for any sudden changes.

Cloud Lightning

US: Storms Cause Flooding On Way East

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© WCNC.com PhotoPolice in Boone report the parking lot at the Boone Mall, next to Kraut Creek, is flooded.
The immediate Charlotte area is in the clear for severe weather, but big problems were expected this afternoon to the east, where meteorologists are predicting the possibility of a major tornado outbreak.

Earlier Saturday, rescue crews worked in Caldwell County to help campers trapped by flood waters this morning.

A line of gusty thunderstorms raced through Charlotte at midday, and the storms intensified as they moved east.

Authorities in Rowan County report trees and power lines down, and there are reports that strong winds damaged several houses in the Farrington Meadows area along Old Mocksville Road, north of Salisbury. A funnel cloud was spotted in Davie County, but there is no report of a tornado touching down.

A tornado warning was issued for parts of Union, Anson and Stanly counties after the storms moved east of Charlotte, but there are no immediate reports of damage.

Bell

Cuba Faces Its Worst Drought for 50 Years

Cuba is facing its worst drought in half a century, with tens of thousands of families almost entirely reliant on water trucks for essential supplies.
Cuba drought
© ReutersThe BBC's Michael Voss asked people in Havana how they were coping

The drought started two years ago, and reservoirs are now down to a fifth of their normal levels.

The government is providing road deliveries of water to more than 100,000 people in the worst affected areas of the capital, Havana.

The situation in Havana is compounded by a pipe network in poor condition.

The state-run newspaper Granma says up to 70% of water pipes supplying the capital are leaking and in urgent need of repair, the BBC's Michael Voss in Havana says.

Bizarro Earth

Australia: Earthquake Magnitude 5.2 hits Queensland

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© USGS
An earthquake measuring 5.2 on the Richter scale jolted Queensland, Australia at 05:31:19 GMT on Saturday, the U.S. Geological Survey said.

The epicenter, with a depth of 10.00 km, was initially determined to be at 20.0339 degrees south latitude and 147.6587 degrees east longitude.

Bizarro Earth

Yellowstone Supervolcano, by the Numbers

[Removed at request of author]

Bizarro Earth

Flashback Large crack in the ground appears in the Michigan Upper Peninsula

I took a drive to see another YouTube friend today and to take a look at a huge crack opening up here in my neck of the woods. Neat stuff...


Comment: Sott.net has picked up a few more incidents of the ground opening up since this report was made:

February 25: Large Crack Opens in the Earth in Southern Peru

March 7: Pakistan: Giant Fissure / Crack Opens in the Ground in Seagi Gulistan

March 18: Everett, Washington: Land Crack Appears, Neighborhood is Sinking


Cloud Lightning

US: Death Toll From Severe Storms Rises to 17

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© AP Photo/Sue OgrockiA vehicle rests on a tree after an overnight tornado in Tushka, Okla., Friday, April 15, 2011.
Boone's Chapel, Alabama - Vicious storms and howling winds smacked the Deep South, killing at least seven people in Alabama including three family members whose homes were tossed into nearby woods.

In Alabama's Washington County, about 50 miles north of Mobile, a mother and her two children were among those killed, said state emergency management agency director Art Faulkner. One person was reported dead in Mississippi's Greene County.

Combined with earlier reported fatalities in Arkansas and Oklahoma, the confirmed death toll had risen to 17 by early Saturday - the nation's deadliest storm of the season.

Henley Hollon said Saturday that his 65-year-old brother, Willard Hollon, lived across the street from him in the Boone's Chapel community about 25 miles from Montgomery. Henley Hollon said Willard Hollon and Willard's two adult children, Steve and Cheryl, were killed when the storms roared through.

Cloud Lightning

US: 7 killed as storms roar across Alabama; death toll from tornadoes, winds now at 16

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© The Associated Press/The Clarioni-Ledger, Brian Albert BroomVehicles sit destroyed by wind and debris, Friday, April 15, 2011 in Clinton, Miss. A state of emergency has been declared for 14 Mississippi counties after spring storms swept across the state, spawning suspected tornadoes that left many homes and businesses destroyed and at least three people critically injured.
Vicious storms and howling winds smacked the U.S. South, killing at least seven people in Alabama including three family members whose homes were tossed into nearby woods.

In Alabama's Washington County, about 50 miles (80 kilometres) north of Mobile, a mother and her two children were among those killed, said state emergency management agency director Art Faulkner.

Combined with earlier reported fatalities in Arkansas and Oklahoma, the confirmed death toll had risen to 16 by early Saturday - the nation's deadliest storm of the season.

Henley Hollon said Saturday that his 65-year-old brother, Willard Hollon, lived across the street from him in the Boone's Chapel community about 25 miles (40 kilometres) from Montgomery. Henley Hollon said Willard Hollon and Willard's two adult children, Steve and Cheryl, were killed when the storms roared through.

Henley Hollon said he had been watching the weather forecast on television - and thought the worst was over when the winds started to pick up.

"It got up real fast. The lights went out," he said. "We had to feel our way into the hall. It lasted less than a minute."

Sun

Not rare anymore! India: Beholding Sun god with halo around

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© APThis photo of a sun halo viewed from behind a street lamp was actually taken in Kolkata on July 5, 2010.
On Friday morning, residents of the city and its suburbs witnessed a natural phenomenon around 11.15 am. A beautiful, bright halo was seen around the sun, forming a perfect circular ring. The rare sighting triggered intense excitement as word on the celestial wonder spread. The ring lasted about an hour, after which it gradually faded away.

According to MP Birla Planetarium director (research & academic) Debiprosad Duari, the angular distance between the sun and the ring was almost 22'. "This celestial feature, that is sometimes known as 22' halo of the sun, occurs due to refraction of light against ice-crystals present in the thin wisp-like strands of clouds in the sky," he said.

Comment: "Rare" sun halos appear to be on increase, lately. And there is a "dustier" reason for it than shiny ice crystals. Take a look at the following articles:

Have You Seen a Sun Halo in Your Area? North Carolina, US: Solar halo continues this afternoon...
Are Ice Crystals Really to Blame? US: Halo Appears Around The Sun Over The Central Savannah River Area
Build-up of cosmic material in the atmosphere? Indonesia: Mysterious halo around the sun sets people wondering
Spectacular sundogs and ice halo seen from Stockholm
Ghana: Halo Appears Around Sun
Swaziland: Panic Over Sun's Strange Appearance
Mysterious Sun Haloes

Our hypothesis is, that the sun is being refracted by the changed atmosphere. That is, a combination of possible comet dust loading and changes in the layers of the atmosphere.


Sun

Are Ice Crystals Really to Blame? US: Halo Appears Around The Sun Over The Central Savannah River Area

If you looked up in the sky over the CSRA on Thursday afternoon, you might have seen an amazing sight. A halo appeared completely around the sun.


Comment: "Rare" sun halos appear to be on increase, lately. And there is a "dustier" reason for it than shiny ice crystals. Take a look at the following articles:

Have You Seen a Sun Halo in Your Area? North Carolina, US: Solar halo continues this afternoon...
Not rare anymore! India: Beholding Sun god with halo around
Build-up of cosmic material in the atmosphere? Indonesia: Mysterious halo around the sun sets people wondering
Spectacular sundogs and ice halo seen from Stockholm
Ghana: Halo Appears Around Sun
Swaziland: Panic Over Sun's Strange Appearance
Mysterious Sun Haloes

Our hypothesis is, that the sun is being refracted by the changed atmosphere. That is, a combination of possible comet dust loading and changes in the layers of the atmosphere.