Welcome to Sott.net
Sat, 16 Oct 2021
The World for People who Think

Earth Changes
Map

Rose

Japan sees earliest cherry blossom since 1400s - and scientists say it's down to climate change

Amar Mehta
Sky News
Tue, 30 Mar 2021 14:26 UTC
Cherry blossom in Japan reached peak bloom earlier than ever this year
© Behrouz Mehri/AFP/Getty Images
Cherry blossom in Japan reached peak bloom earlier than ever this year.
Climate change has led to the earliest cherry blossom season in Japan in 1,200 years, experts say.

The peak bloom arrived on 26 March in Kyoto, the earliest since 27 March 1409, while in Tokyo they reached full bloom on 22 March - the second-earliest date since 1953.

Traditionally, cherry blossom season starts in early to mid-April with residents in Kyoto holding "hanami" celebrations underneath trees to watch the flowers bloom.

The full bloom, or Sakura in Japanese, historically occurs on 17 April - but in more recent times, warmer and earlier springs have meant earlier blooms, according to climate change experts.

Comment: Plants blooming 20 days earlier over last 30 years
What we're seeing, at least in part, is a meandering jet stream causing extremes of weather; unseasonable warmth often followed by record cold.

This year is a good example: See also:


      Read More...
Galaxy

'Wormnado': Herd of hundreds of worms captured moving in spiral baffles scientists


Strange Sounds
Tue, 30 Mar 2021 12:00 UTC
Wormnado
© LiveScience
Wormnado in New Jersey.
Spring rains often bring scores of earthworms to the surface, where they writhe on top of soil and sidewalks. But recently, heavy rainfall in a town near New York City was followed by something a little more unusual: a wormnado.

A resident of Hoboken, New Jersey was out for a morning walk in a park near the Hudson River on March 25, when she spotted hundreds of worms spread along the walkway. The woman, who asked not to be identified, told Live Science that after her initial surprise she noticed something even more bizarre — a number of the worms had formed a cyclone-like shape, creating a spiral where the edge of the grass met the concrete.

The woman took photographs and sent them to Tiffanie Fisher, a member of the Hoboken City Council, who shared the images of the "tornado of worms" on Facebook. "Clearly worms come out after it rains but this is something I've never seen!" Fisher wrote in the post.

Comment: It was recently discovered that numerous marine creatures also exhibit an as yet unexplained circling motion when traveling: Enigmatic circling behavior observed in numerous marine animals

For more unusual vortex action in nature, see:

      Read More...
Snowflake

Blowing snow, howling winds create hazardous travel in Newfoundland


Yahoo! News
Tue, 30 Mar 2021 13:55 UTC
Atlantic Canada walloped by destructive 100+ km/h winds, snow

Atlantic Canada walloped by destructive 100+ km/h winds, snow
It's been a stormy few days in Atlantic Canada with nearly two back-to-back potent spring storms bringing a swath of heavy snow, rain, ice pellets, and powerful wind gusts. This has led to difficult travel. The most recent one left an impactful mark on the region Monday, with damaging winds felt particularly in Newfoundland.

The intense wind gusts and snow will linger into Tuesday, but will be far less potent than on Monday. As the system departs, just some sea-effect snow will continue into Tuesday afternoon for parts of the island. Beyond, Newfoundland and the Maritimes catch a breather mid-week before the next storm rolls in. More on the timing and impact, below.

      Read More...
Snowflake

Winds gusting to 100km/h and lots of snow: Winter strikes back in Saskatchewan

Bryn Levy
The Star Phoenix
Mon, 29 Mar 2021 13:36 UTC
The winter storm pushed into western Saskatchewan early Monday morning and by noon, had reached central regions of the province.
© Brenden Purdy / Global News
The winter storm pushed into western Saskatchewan early Monday morning and by noon, had reached central regions of the province.
Well over a week into spring, conditions in Saskatchewan took a decidedly wintery turn Monday.

A low-pressure system moving in from Alberta brought snow and high winds as it tracked across the province.

Meteorologist Terri Lang of Environment and Climate Change Canada said temperatures that rose well into the mid-teens Sunday helped fuel Monday's storm.

"It's the clash of the really warm air and still that cold air to the north that can form these really potent systems," Lang said.

The storm hit the western portion of the province early Monday morning and was expected to deposit as much as 10 to 15 centimetres of snow in areas around Saskatoon throughout the afternoon and evening.

      Read More...
Snowflake

March ends like snowy lion ...in Hawaii!


Weatherboy
Mon, 29 Mar 2021 13:21 UTC
Snow and ice often caps the higher summits of Hawaii, like this view of Mauna Kea, where more snow and ice is expected today on Hawaii’s Big Island.
© Weatherboy
Snow and ice often caps the higher summits of Hawaii, like this view of Mauna Kea, where more snow and ice is expected today on Hawaii’s Big Island.
With days moving deeper into spring, Old Man Winter is taking his time depart the island of Hawaii with another round of snow and ice falling there. With accumulating snow and ice, the National Weather Service in Honolulu on the island of Oahu is extending a Winter Weather Advisory for Big Island summits of Mauna Kea and Mauna Loa at/above the 12,000 foot level.

According to the National Weather Service, an upper level trough over the Hawaiian Islands will produce layered middle and upper level clouds over the highest summits of the Big Island through the afternoon. These clouds will produce periods of snow, freezing drizzle, and freezing fog; additional snowfall of 1-2″ is expected this afternoon. Winds will also be stiff: winds could gust up to 60 mph, making travel on icy roads even more hazardous.
      Read More...
Snowflake

Three meters of snow in a mountain resort in Vâlcea, Romania

Robert W. Felix
Ice Age Now
Mon, 29 Mar 2021 08:40 UTC
snow
You can't even see the roof of the house.
__________

Three meters (about 10 feet) of snow in the mountain resort Vârful lui Roman, in Vâlcea County, Romania. The images were captured by the owner of a holiday home in the area, who was amazed by the thick layer of snow.

(View video here)
      Read More...
Tornado2

Fierce tornado destroys buildings in Cimenyan, Indonesia

Chave weather
YouTube
Sun, 28 Mar 2021 07:46 UTC
Indonesia tornado
© YouTube/Chave weather (screen capture)
A fierce tornado destroys buildings in Cimenyan, Bandung, West Java, Indonesia. March 28 2021.

      Read More...
Arrow Down

One dead in Alaska avalanche - 36th such death for US this season

Lauren Meyers
wvlt.tv
Sun, 28 Mar 2021 13:07 UTC
avalanche
A woman has died in an avalanche near Matanuska Glacier, between Palmer and Glennallen Saturday.

Alaska State Troopers identified the victim as 40-year-old Erin Lee of Fairbanks. Officials say she was a skier that got caught in the avalanche.

Just after 12 p.m. on Saturday, AST received a report of an avalanche. Lee was taken to an area hospital where she was pronounced dead.

Next of kin has been notified.

Comment: Related: Skier dies in avalanche near Colorado's Beaver Creek Resort - 35th such death for US this season

      Read More...
Attention

Landslide blocks Europe's busiest freight train link in Germany's Rhine Valley


Rail Freight
Thu, 18 Mar 2021 12:47 UTC
landslide rhine
A landslide at the Middle Rhine Valley near Kestert has blocked the underlying railway, with no traffic possible the entire week. On Monday 15 March 5,000 cubic metres of stones and rubble came down, not only affecting the rails but also blocking part of the B42 federal highway between Kamp-Bornhofen and Kaub. Currently, geologists and special forces are securing the area and unblocking the way for transportation.

European rail freight is heavily impacted by the landslide, as it disrupts traffic though Europe's most heavily used freight line: the Rhine-Alpine corridor. According to reports from the site, freight traffic diverts through the left bank of the Rhine using the Bingen route. However, this is not enough since long-distance trains are excluded from this diversion, a situation that also affects the bustling Genoa-Rotterdam route.

Comment: It's likely that this landslide is correlated with the extreme flooding and drought that Europe has seen in recent times, as well as being part of an overall uptick in geologic and seismic events that's also seems to be correlated with the rise in landslides and sinkholes.

However, it's particularly concerning that Europe's busiest freight line is now out of service, because, over in Egypt, the Suez Canal, which is a critical shipping lane for the distribution of goods is also out of service due to a ship becoming stuck: Strange Sounds reports of another landslide that occurred in Germany just a few weeks before. Investigators state that the area, a former mine, was being worked on because it was known to be unstable, but, bearing in mind the above, one wonders if it's related to the general uptick in these kinds of events:
On Thursday 11 March 2021, a large landslide occurred on the banks of an abandoned and flooded open case coal mine site at Knappensee in eastern Germany [...]
landslide knappensee
This bank had been undergoing work recently and was a site with known geotechnical problems. The unslipped areas in the image above have little or no vegetation, suggesting engineering works since the last growing season. [...]

See also: Sinkholes: The groundbreaking truth

Also check out SOTT radio's:

      Read More...
Boat

4 dead, dozens rescued after flash floods in Tennessee - 8 inches of rain in 48 hours

Richard Davies
Floodlist
Mon, 29 Mar 2021 10:49 UTC
Floods in Franklin County, Tennessee, March 2021.
© Franklin Fire Department
Floods in Franklin County, Tennessee, March 2021.
At least 4 people have died after flash floods and severe weather swept through parts of Tennessee USA on 27 March 2021.

State authorities said that severe weather crossed Tennessee on 27 March, bringing two rounds of heavy rain, high winds, flash flooding and tornado warnings. "The mostly localized impacts of the severe storms included flooding of homes and businesses, scattered structures damaged, closed roads, downed trees, and power outages," the government of Tennessee said.

NWS Nashville reported 8.65 inches (219.71 mm) of rain in Franklin between 27 and 28 March and 7.01 inches (178 mm) at Nashville International Airport.

      Read More...
Amazon Smile
Revolt! T-shirts