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Wed, 27 Oct 2021
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Igloo

Arizona cities buried in rare snowstorm as much of U.S. enjoys balmy weather

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© Joshua Lott/REUTERS
Flagstaff, Arizona was hit with a late winter storm that dumped more than of foot of snow in the area on March 18.
A winter storm and high winds struck parts of Arizona and New Mexico on Sunday, causing hazardous driving conditions, power outages and school cancellations. The fast moving storm forced the National Weather Service to place parts of northern New Mexico under a winter storm warning until midnight Monday as heavy snow and wind from Arizona quickly blanketed the area.

The electric company PNM reported that around 33,000 customers were out of power at one point Sunday afternoon in the Albuquerque area due to high winds. A spokesman for PNM said emergency crews were working to restore power, and by 9 p.m. the number without electricity was down to 4,500.

Heavy winds and blowing dust forced the closure of parts Interstate 10 in southern New Mexico due to low visibility, but the road was back open later in the day. A flight carrying the University of New Mexico men's basketball team home after its loss in the NCAA tournament was delayed due to high winds.

Arizona Department of Transportation crews were fully deployed Sunday after heavy snow in Arizona fell from Flagstaff to the White Mountains. The winter storm forced officials to temporary close Interstate 40 in both directions and parts of Interstate 17. Both highways later reopened Sunday afternoon.

Meteor

Strange Sounds: The Case of the Unexplained California Sonic Boom in 2009

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© Unknown
It was around 9:15 p.m. on a Tuesday evening in March of 2009, when suddenly the residents in Orange County, California experienced a strange sort of rumbling that rattled the windows and shook doors.

What made the rumbling particularly odd was the fact that witnesses reported their homes didn't shake at all - only the doors and windows of their homes shook. In one specific account, one woman reported how she watched the bedroom doorknob rattling as though someone was trying to open the door - yet no one did.

It spooked her greatly, because she was home alone with her 1 year old daughter. That witness told the Orange County register that she didn't hear or feel anything - only her doorknob rattled as though from an invisible hand.

Sun

'Extreme, unprecedented' heat wave reaches fifth day

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© Bev Horne
Records continue to fall as the heat wave reached day five Sunday, notching the fifth straight day with temperatures in the 80s. The "extraordinarily rare" streak could stretch through Wednesday, according to meteorologists.
(Chicago, USA) Records continue to fall during the mid-March heat wave, as temperatures reached 80 degrees for the fifth straight day, and could continue the streak through Wednesday.

"There's extremes in weather, but seeing something like this is impressive and unprecedented," said Richard Castro, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service.

Sunday afternoon's 81 degrees continued the record string of 80 degree days in March, which was previously just two, set in 1986.

The earliest time the Chicago area had four consecutive days in the 80s was April 14-17 in 1976. Data for the earliest streak of five days was not available Sunday night.

"This stretch would be rare for April in this area," Castro said. "To see eighty-plus like that is not even a normal occurrence in the month of May."

Evil Rays

Unexplained Noises Shake Clintonville Homes

(Wisconsin, USA) Authorities in Clintonville say they're looking into unexplained noises and shaking felt around they city Sunday night and early Monday morning.

Police say around 9:30 Sunday night, people started reporting explosion-like sounds shaking their homes.

Police officers say the sounds are like loud bangs with shaking.

The reports were concentrated in the northeast part of Clintonville.

The most calls came in just before 3:00 a.m., but city administrator Lisa Kuss tells Action 2 News the noises then tapered off, and the last report was at 5:30 a.m.

Sun

Manitoba Heat Melts More Weather Records

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© CBC News
People take in the warm weather at Central Park in downtown Winnipeg on Saturday. The mercury peaked at 19.2 C that day, shattering a heat record that was set in 1938.
Canada - A spring-like heat wave is melting what remains of winter across southern Manitoba, breaking even more weather records on Sunday.

It was 20 C in Winnipeg as of 1 p.m. CT on Sunday, well above Environment Canada's previous record high for this day - 8.8 C - that was set in 2000.

In Brandon, the previous record for warmest temperature on this day was 8.9 C, set in 1959. It was 15 C in the Wheat City early Sunday afternoon, according to Environment Canada.

A similar record was broken in Portage la Prairie, Man., where the previous record high was 10.2 C in 1991. It was 15 C on Sunday afternoon, with the mercury expected to reach 23 C.

It was a little cooler in Dauphin, Man., at 8 C as of 1 p.m., but it's still above the previous record high of -6.9 C that was set last year.

Bizarro Earth

2011 - The Year Of The Earthquake: A Visual And Auditory Guide

If there is one thing 2011 taught us is that one totally unpredictable and unexpected event, such as the great March 11 Tohoku earthquake, tsunami, and Fukushima disaster, can wreak massive havoc on otherwise stable economic ecosystems, models and forecasts. According to many, most certainly the Fed, the events in Japan had a major spillover effect on global GDP that lasted for months, in turn forcing fiscal and monetary responses around the world. A true black swan. As the following brief video summarizes, 2011 was the year of earthquakes. Has the earth become increasingly unstable? Will the pattern from 2011 continue into 2012 and beyond? Is mother nature getting angrier? We have no idea, but we do know that the following clip is quite awesome: make sure you have your volume turned up high.


Evil Rays

Rumblings in Sooke Spark Mystery

(British Columbia, Canada) In the last 48 hours a number of people in Sooke have reported feeling powerful tremors that some believe are an earthquake. "I heard what sounded like a freight train coming, that rumble, and it was very brief.


My bed actually shifted," one Sooke homeowner told CTV News. Seismologists say there are no indications of an earthquake in the Sooke area and all calling the recent reports a mystery.

Umbrella

Australia: Cyclone Lua hammers the Pilbara region


As residents in Western Australia's Pilbara region assess the damage caused by Tropical Cyclone Lua overnight, Queensland's Gulf communities are being warned to prepare for a cyclone heading their way.

Pilbara residents emerged from a night of wild weather this morning after a cyclone crossed the coast north of Port Hedland as a category four system yesterday afternoon, before later weakening to category two strength.

There are reports of extensive damage at the small community of Pardoo, while Nullagine, Newman and Marble Bar were also in the firing line overnight.

Bizarro Earth

4.6-Magnitude Earthquake Rumbles Haiti Again

According to the United States Geological Survey, on March 7th at about 9:51:32 p.m. EDT, a 4.6-magnitude earthquake panicked southern Haiti.

The earthquake was centered 22 miles (37 kilometers) southeast of Haiti's capital, Port-au-Prince and was about 3 miles (4.9 kms) deep.

After the devastating earthquake that left many Haitians traumatized on January 12, 2010, the rattle they felt from this year's earthquake caused some residents to run into the streets in fear that their homes would collapse again.

Although the 7-magnitude earthquake killed 314,000 Haitians in 2010, there has been no immediate report of death and serious damages with this 4.6-magnitude earthquake.

Marguerite Supre, an 82-year-old Haitian-born U.S. citizen said, "When I first became aware of this earthquake, I got scared and started to panic because of my daughter. I just wanted to know she was safe."

Her daughter Guerdy Ambroise has been in Haiti her whole life. She explained that during the 2010 earthquake she nearly lost her life.

Cloud Lightning

St. Patrick's Day Strong Storms: Missouri to Indiana

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© Paul K
Photo of a towering thunderstorm cloud, submitted by AccuWeather.com Facebook fan Paul K. on Saturday.
Strong thunderstorms are threatening to ruin St. Patrick's Day celebrations from southern Missouri to southern Indiana into this evening.

The stage is set for potent thunderstorms to erupt from St. Louis and Poplar Bluff, Mo., to Louisville, Ky., with record warmth and moist air in place.

Other cities at risk include Cape Girardeau, Mo., Paducah, Ky., and Evansville, Ind.

Some of the same areas being threatened this St. Patrick's Day were the targets of the massive tornado outbreak earlier this month.

A repeat of that outbreak is not expected since any tornado that touches down into this evening will be an isolated event. Damaging winds, hail and downpours are greater concerns.