Earth ChangesS


Snowflake

Power out for thousands, evacuations expected as blizzard's impact begins to be felt

John R. Ellement, Peter Schworm, Michael Levenson and Martin Finucane
Boston Globe
Fri, 08 Feb 2013 17:04 UTC
Image
A National Weather Service map showing projected snowfall totals from the blizzard.
A potentially historic blizzard swept into Massachusetts today and is expected to dump more than 2 feet of snow, whip winds up to 70 miles per hour, and batter the coast with giant waves.

Roads are emptying out now as drivers heed an order issued by Governor Deval Patrick that all vehicles be parked by 4 p.m. Sideways-blowing snow is adding to the falling darkness.

More than 5,000 power outages have already been reported as winds down tree limbs and wires.

In Marshfield, officials said they expected to ask shorefront residents to evacuate themselves because of concerns about storm-driven tides tonight and Saturday morning.
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Bug

Think Nemo's bad? In Brazil it's raining spiders

Neetzan Zimmerman
Gawker
Fri, 08 Feb 2013 15:30 UTC
Raining Spiders
© YouTube/Gawker
What's that? You're worried about a little snow falling on your head? How adorable.

Meanwhile, in Brazil, it's raining spiders.

Footage posted online yesterday shows thousands of spiders "falling from the sky" in the southern Brazilian town of Santo Antônio da Platina.

"Still do not know what causes such behavior," writes the video's uploader. "We are researching and will post the answer to the question here."

I know exactly what causes such behavior. A little something called the end of the world.
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Attention

State of disaster declared on Santa Cruz islands


Scoop Independent News
Fri, 08 Feb 2013 14:23 UTC
Image
The Government today has officially declared a State of Disaster for Santa Cruz Islands in Temotu Province following Wednesday's deadly 8.0 magnitude quake and subsequent tsunami that claimed lives and property.

The Minister for Environment, Climate Change, Disaster Management and Meteorology, Hon Bradley Tovusia made the declaration following a decision reached by the National Disaster Council on February 7.
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Igloo

Heaviest snowfall in many years hits Polish-Slovakian border

Robert Felix
IceAgeNow
Fri, 08 Feb 2013 13:59 UTC
Due to heavy snowfall a state of emergency was imposed in 20 towns at the Polish-Slovakian Border, near to Orava. Last night it was seen 75 cm of snow!

More than 1200 residents of the region were left without electricity after heavy snowfall knocked out power lines and substations.

I've never seen such big flakes of snow. They are as big as the coin two euros. Within 24 hours as much snow fell as usual throughout the winter. Snow cover in some places more than five feet, the governor said.

Plows can not keep up with snow removal routes.

Source: WP.PL (In Polish)
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Cloud Precipitation

Major snowstorm in Ontario causes flight cancellations, school closings

Tu Thanh Ha
Globe and Mail
Fri, 08 Feb 2013 11:35 UTC
snowstorm toronto
© Chris Young /The Globe and MailA woman walks down a residential street as snow falls in Toronto on Friday, February 8, 2013.
The worst of a winter storm into southern Ontario landed during morning rush hour, covering the region in a white shroud of snow flurries and sleet, forcing schools to close and disrupting land and air traffic. (For a list of school closures, transit delays and flight information,click here.)

Other vehicles were reported to be stuck in snowbanks, in ditches or blocking lanes after spinning out of control. At the Bayview entrance of the southbound Don Valley Parkway, cars had trouble negotiating the icy in-ramp. The DVP's Bayview off-ramp was reported to be closed because of slippery conditions. On Highway 401, the eastbound collector off-ramp at Allen Road was also closed because of the road conditions.

On the Queen Elizabeth Way, near Fort Erie, a snowplow fell into a ditch and, a few kilometres further north, a salter truck had rolled.

More than 150 highway car collisions had been reported, said Ontario Provincial Police Sergeant Dave Woodford.

There were only minor injuries, mostly from fender benders, he said.
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Windsock

Predicting Weather with a Pig Spleen

Christina Cherneskey
The Old Farmers' Almanac
Fri, 08 Feb 2013 10:47 UTC
Have you ever heard of a pig spleen being able to predict the weather? You can call it folklore - but what do you call it when it works?

Legendary forecaster Gus Wickstrom of Tompkins, Saskatchewan

gus forecast pig spleen
Gus, a man of Swedish descent who lived in this prairie province all of his life, was a weather forecaster. He predicted weather conditions six months in advance, yet his technology required no fancy equipment, no high-tech razzle-dazzle. All Gus needed was a barn and a farmhand or two standing by. . .because he predicted the weather by looking at a pig spleen.

Every 6 months or so, Gus slaughtered a pig, and in the frugal way of farm families, he found a way to use everything but the squeal, as they say. Gus closely scrutinized the spleen, using a method he learned from his father and Harold Pearson, a neighbor.

Gus's method

(See image to the right.) Gus divided the spleen into six areas, each representing 1 month. The top of the spleen (closest to the pig's head) shows the current month. The bottom indicates the end of the upcoming six-month period. Where the spleen thickens, a change in the weather is indicated, usually pointing to a cold spell. Where there's a pronounced bulge, expect even more inclement weather. Gus could even read wind and rain into the variations in the spleen.
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Snowflake

NASA's satellite view of massive Nor'easter - frontal system stretching from Canada through the Ohio and Tennessee valleys, into the Gulf of Mexico


NASA
Fri, 08 Feb 2013 10:23 UTC
A massive winter storm is coming together as two low pressure systems are merging over the U.S. East Coast. A satellite image from NOAA's GOES-13 satellite on Feb. 8 shows a western frontal system approaching the coastal low pressure area.

Image
© NASA
The satellite image, captured at 9:01 a.m. EST, shows clouds associated with the western frontal system stretching from Canada through the Ohio and Tennessee valleys, into the Gulf of Mexico. The comma-shaped low pressure system located over the Atlantic, east of Virginia, is forecast to merge with the front and create a powerful nor'easter. The National Weather Service expects the merged storm to move northeast and drop between two to three feet of snow in parts of New England.
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Arrow Down

2 Great Lakes hit lowest water level on record

John Flesher
Yahoo!News
Wed, 06 Feb 2013 09:49 UTC



Two of the Great Lakes have hit their lowest water levels ever recorded, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers said Tuesday, capping more than a decade of below-normal rain and snowfall and higher temperatures that boost evaporation.

Measurements taken last month show Lake Huron and Lake Michigan have reached their lowest ebb since record keeping began in 1918, and the lakes could set additional records over the next few months, the corps said. The lakes were 29 inches below their long-term average and had declined 17 inches since January 2012.

The other Great Lakes - Superior, Erie and Ontario - were also well below average.

"We're in an extreme situation," said Keith Kompoltowicz, watershed hydrology chief for the corps district office in Detroit.

The low water has caused heavy economic losses by forcing cargo ships to carry lighter loads, leaving boat docks high and dry, and damaging fish-spawning areas. And vegetation has sprung up in newly exposed shoreline bottomlands, a turnoff for hotel customers who prefer sandy beaches.
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Snowflake Cold

Southern Ontario braces for biggest snowstorm in years

Scott Sutherland
Yahoo! Canada News - Geekquinox
Thu, 07 Feb 2013 00:00 UTC
Image
© CBC News
The Friday morning commute is looking to be an ugly one for Southern Ontario as the Alberta Clipper swinging through the area today is amplified by moisture from another storm system moving up from the United States.

"It might be the biggest storm since 2011," said Rob Khun, a severe weather meteorologist with Environment Canada, referring to the March 2011 storm that dumped 12.5 cm of snow on the GTA.

Snow from the storm system has begun to fall in southwestern Ontario this morning as the Alberta Clipper tracks through the area, and it should arrive in the GTA by this afternoon. This will leave about 2 cm of accumulation on the ground, however the added moisture arriving from the south this evening will turn this to heavy snowfall overnight and into Friday morning.

Total accumulations for southern Ontario are expected to be between 15 and 25 cm of snow, and strong winds will add blowing snow to the mix, making for hazardous driving conditions tonight, through the Friday morning commute, and possibly into tomorrow afternoon as well.

Eastern Ontario is expected to be even harder hit, as snowfall accumulations already forecast to be up to 25 cm from the Alberta Clipper are pushed up to 35 cm or higher by the approaching storm from the south and local amplification due to winds blowing in off of Lake Ontario.

Environment Canada has issued Snowfall Warnings from London-Essex to Kingston-Prince Edward regions, and from Niagara region up into Grey-Bruce along the shores of Lake Huron and Georgian Bay.
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Snowflake

Monster blizzard Nemo headed for U.S. Northeast

Matt Daniel
EarthSky Org
Fri, 08 Feb 2013 01:59 UTC
Blizzard_1
© Kelly Keene
A significant snowstorm is expected, which can be compared to the 1978 blizzard. Snowfall could exceed two feet (.6 meters) in some areas.

The northeastern United States is preparing for a monster storm, which many are calling Nemo, expected on February 8, 2013. It could easily produce over two feet of snow (.6 meters) and wind gusts over 60 miles (96 km) per hour, causing zero visibility and bringing cities to a standstill.

In many ways, we are looking at an historic storm that could paralyze cities such as Boston, Providence, and Hartford. We're expecting blizzard conditions in eastern and southeastern Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island, Northeastern New Jersey, Long Island, southeastern Maine, and New York City.

Moderate to major coastal flooding is also possible. Two storm systems will phase together to create a large pressure gradient that will result in winds sustaining around 35-50 mph with gusts over 74 mph. Tonight is the last night to get ready for a significant snowstorm that can be compared to the 1978 blizzard.
Blizzard
© Google/NWSBlizzard warnings are in effect for parts of the Northeast.
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