Earth ChangesS


Cloud Precipitation

Storm Rachel: 100mph gales leave 2,000 homes without power and cause travel chaos across UK

Aaron Brown
Daily Express, UK
Thu, 15 Jan 2015 06:02 UTC
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© PA/Getty ImagesBad weather has caused travel chaos with lorries queueing to board Dover ferries
Fierce Storm Rachel has left 1,950 homes without power and sparked travel chaos across the UK after a deluge of snow and torrential rain.

Gale force winds of up to 101mph blasted through Britain today as the churning low-pressure vortex - dubbed Storm Rachel - sparked commuter chaos.

But as the storm caused damage, delays, disruption and power failures, forecasters have warned the worst could still be to come.

Some 149 flood alerts and 32 flood warnings have been issued across Britain this morning, the Environment Agency confirmed.

The Met Office has also cautioned a "be aware" weather warning remains in place across the whole of England, Wales, Northern Ireland and central and southern Scotland for rain and high winds.

The highest recorded windspeed in the UK today is 101mph - reported in Great Dunsell, Cumbria while other exposed and coastal areas documented speeds of 70mph.

A Met Office spokesperson said: "After something of a lull, a further spell of very strong winds, this time from the west, is expected from late Thursday morning onwards into the evening, again with gusts of 70mph or more in places.
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Fish

Spate of rare deep sea tropical fish found on Norfolk beaches, UK

Sophie Wyllie
Eastern Daily Press
Wed, 14 Jan 2015 11:17 UTC
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© Ajay TegalaThe ocean sunfish on Blakeney Point, spotted by Ajay Tegala, coastal ranger for the National Trust on the north Norfolk coast.
Nature lovers are surprised at a spate of tropical fish sightings on the north Norfolk coast over the New Year period.

Washed up dead ocean sunfish, known as mola mola, have been spotted on Blakeney Point, Cley and Holkham and Sheringham beaches.

Identified by its distinctive fins, Mola Mola prefer water over 13C - the water around Blakeney Point is around 7C.

The last time this particular fish was spotted on Cley beach and Blakeney Point was two and three years ago, respectively.

Comment: Other recent reports of sunfish turning up where they are not usually found: Rare deep sea Ocean Sunfish found for the first time in Pakistan's waters

Deep ocean sunfish found on beach in North Queensferry, Scotland

"Rare" 300-pound warm-water Mola sunfish washes up on Washington coast

What is that thing? Giant 'fish' pulled up from Seattle's Elliott Bay

Additionally in December 2012 this same area of Norfolk was subjected to a similar event: Sunfish invasion continues as third massive marine beast washed up in Norfolk

It's difficult to decipher exactly what's going on here. Is it simply a case of cold water incursions into warmer waters killing or stunning the fish and subsequently carrying them away? Or are they casualties of something more drastic occurring in the depths of the sea? Releases of methane gas and/or toxic chemicals from the sea floor due to seismic activity for instance: Creatures from the deep signal major Earth Changes: Is anyone paying attention?

Perhaps some combination of these factors is at play?

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Dominoes

Catastrophe in the making: 1 million tons of pressurised CO2 stored beneath Decatur, Illinois

Eric Worrall
Whatsupwiththat.com
Wed, 14 Jan 2015 09:55 UTC
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It was a tenth of that, 100,000 tons, that caused the Lake Nyos disaster

7000 ft below the city of Decatur, Illinois, population 74,710 people, is a high pressure reservoir which contains 1 million tons of CO2.

From the press release:
One of the largest carbon sequestration projects in the U.S., the Illinois Basin - Decatur Project (IBDP) has reached its goal of capturing 1 million metric tons of carbon dioxide and injecting it deep underground in the Mount Simon Sandstone formation beneath Decatur, Illinois. The project is designed to demonstrate the feasibility of carbon capture and storage. IBDP director Robert Finley talked about the million-ton milestone with News Bureau physical sciences editor Liz Ahlberg. Finley is director of the Advanced Energy Technology Institute at the Illinois State Geological Survey, part of the Prairie Research Institute at the University of Illinois.
The reservoir has been created to demonstrate the viability of carbon sequestration - capturing large quantities on carbon, to prevent the CO2 from being emitted into the atmosphere.

Comment: This is a scheme of mad scientists: Not only is CO2 not a major factor in climate change ...

Volcanic eruptions, rising CO2, boiling oceans, and why man-made global warming is not even wrong

... but modern technology coupled with the greed and total lack of control over major corporations invariably leads to disastrous consequences, both for humans and the environment:

Judge rules BP's reckless conduct and gross negligence were responsible for Deepwater Horizon oil spill

Oil from BP's Deepwater Horizon explosion still coats miles of ocean floor in Gulf of Mexico

Over a million birds died during Deepwater Horizon disaster

On top of that the frequency of strong earth quakes is increasing, effectively doubling in 2014:

Earthquake frequency increasing: Rate of strong quakes doubles in 2014

All this taken together, underground CO2 storage is a recipe for disaster.

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Wolf

Two people and dog attacked by fox in Brunswick, Georgia


firstcoastnews.com
Wed, 14 Jan 2015 19:57 UTC
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Wildlife officials in Glynn County are issuing renewed calls for residents to get their rabies shots after two people and a dog were attacked by a possibly rabid fox Monday.

According to a spokesperson for the Georgia Department of Natural Resources, the attack happened off Glass Circle in Brunswick.

Both people are receiving treatment for rabies as a precaution. Tests are being performed on the fox, which was killed following the attack, to determine whether it was, in fact, rabid.
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Binoculars

Lost migrating bird makes rare visit to Mankato, Minnesota

Edie Schmierbach
Mankato Free Press
Mon, 12 Jan 2015 19:26 UTC
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© Chad Heins.This male varied thrush was photographed from a window in the home of Gerald and Jill Binstock of rural Rapidan.
Neighbors probably wondered what's up at Jill and Gerald Binstock's place lately.

People with binoculars - one man stood in their backyard for an hour Saturday - have been showing up outside the rural Rapidan couple's home, obviously looking for something.

Area birdwatchers have been hoping to catch sight of a rare avian visitor to Minnesota. A male varied thrush first started to show up at the Binstocks' feeders Thursday.

"I was watching for the little wanderer," said one of the birders, Chad Heins, who is a biology instructor at Bethany Lutheran College in Mankato.

After an hour or so, Heins got his chance to observe the bird who resembles its cousin, the American robin, but has distinct orange markings near its eyes.

Comment: See also: Cold weather movement? Southern California invaded by dozens of rare varied thrushes

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Arrow Down

30-foot sinkhole opens up in Lafayette, Colorado

Marc Stewart
thedenverchannel.com
Mon, 12 Jan 2015 18:47 UTC
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A massive sinkhole suddenly opened up on a street in Lafayette on Monday morning, collapsing into an old mine shaft and nearly swallowing an SUV.

The 30-foot by 15-foot hole on East Cleveland Street near Foote Avenue is between 15 and 20 feet deep and partially filled with water.

A man who lives in the area had an extremely close call when his car almost fell in early this morning.

"In the moment, my truck was almost on top of me," said Lafayette resident Aurelio Zambrano.

Zambrano's white Jeep was trapped on the edge of the massive sinkhole.

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Cow

Cow jumps from moving truck in Russia

Kara O'Neill
Daily Mirror, UK
Wed, 14 Jan 2015 13:03 UTC
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It's not every day you see a cow perform a daredevil stunt like this one.

Shocked motorists on a high-speed carriageway in Russia captured the hilarious footage of the bovine animal making its great escape from the travelling lorry.

The curious creature sticks it head out of the back of the truck before taking a tentative step onto the icy road below.

After skidding on its knees for a few metres, the cow emerges from the stunt unhurt and promptly stands up to take in its new surroundings.

While it remains unknown whether the animal was being shipped off to the abattoir, this cow wasn't taking any risks as it made a break for it.

Luckily, the vehicle behind the truck had plenty of time to stop, meaning the creature was safe and sound, despite his udderly dramatic stunt.


Comment: See also: Cow flees slaugherhouse in Pocatello, Idaho

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Cloud Precipitation

Flooding in Mozambique and Malawi claims at least 40 lives


Press TV
Tue, 13 Jan 2015 23:34 UTC
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© UnknownFlooded roads in Mozambique (file photo)

Flooding has claimed at least 40 lives in Mozambique and neighboring Malawi, where a state of emergency has been declared over almost a third of the country.

A group of 25 school children was swept away by torrents in Mozambique on Monday, and 18 others have been reported missing in the country, whose large eastern swathes have been swamped.

In the town of Mocuba in central Zambezia Province, where the Licungo River overflowed its banks, 15,000 people have lost their homes. The flooding of the river has been described as the worst since 1971.

The authorities have decreed maximum alert in the north and center of the country, warning that the rains would continue.

Malawi officials said at least 19 people died in the southeast African country, and nearly 3,900 homes had to be abandoned. Much of the country's center and western border region is under water.

The region is likely to face at least two more days of torrential rain carried by late summer storms, according to meteorologists.
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Bizarro Earth

6th earthquake in 2 days rattles Connecticut


WCVB
Tue, 13 Jan 2015 23:16 UTC
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Another minor earthquake has rattled eastern Connecticut.

Boston College's Weston Observatory says the 2.1 magnitude earthquake at about 7:30 a.m. Tuesday was in Plainfield. It was in the same area as five small earthquakes over five hours Monday morning.

The strongest of those was 3.1 magnitude and could be felt in Massachusetts and Rhode Island.

Last Thursday, an earthquake with a magnitude of 2.0 to 2.2 was felt in Plainfield. Homeowners reported it was strong enough to shake picture frames off the walls.

A research scientist at the Weston Observatory said such a series of small earthquakes in the Northeast is not unusual because the eastern U.S. is atop a tectonic plate affected by geological pressure.
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Snowflake Cold

Volcano eruptions found to have cooled global temperatures since 2000

Richard Gray
Daily Mail
Mon, 12 Jan 2015 22:25 UTC
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Eruptions of volcanoes like Tavurvur in Papa New Guinea in 2006 had a greater impact on the climate in the past 15 years than had previously been appreciated and may require climate models to be revised
Small volcanic eruptions over the past 20 years have been protecting the Earth from global warming, according to a new study.


Comment: That's an interesting twist on the facts. The earth is cooling because of increased volcano activity, and this is being presented as good news! We've said it before, and we'll say it again: there is NO global warming problem on Earth. It's a myth propagated by scientists and the PTB to distract the public from the reality of cosmic catastrophes and their role in global weather phenomenon. People ought to be concerned about global cooling, not happy about it "protecting" the Earth from nonexistent global warming.


Scientists have confirmed that droplets of sulphur-rich aerosols spewed into the upper atmosphere by volcanoes have been reflecting sunlight away from the Earth.

Until recently it was thought that only particularly large eruptions had any noticeable affect on the climate.

However, the new study has confirmed results from the end of last year that showed these small eruptions can have an accumulative impact on global temperature.

This could have helped decrease the global temperatures by between 0.05°C to 0.12°C over the past 15 years.

Since 1998, the warmest year on record, the steep increase in global temperatures seen during the 1990s has levelled off, failing to match computer model predictions for climate change.

This pause, or hiatus, has been blamed on weak solar activity and increased uptake of heat by the world's oceans.
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This graph shows average land and ocean temperature anomalies between 1961 and 1990 around the world
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