Slave lake, Alberta - A wildfire blazing through a northern Canadian town forced the evacuation of nearly 7,000 people, with many fleeing with just a few belongings before buildings were consumed - including the town hall and the main shopping mall.
Nearly a third of the buildings in Slave Lake were destroyed Sunday after strong winds suddenly turned the flames towards the town in Alberta Province, police said.
All residents were ordered to leave Sunday afternoon, but evacuation proved difficult as smoke and fast-moving flames blocked some of the highways. By Monday, however, 90 percent of residents were said to have fled.
"It was certainly a surreal experience seeing the flames against the night sky," Geoffrey Driscoll was quoted by the Calgary Herald as saying. "We could see behind us parts of the town on fire."
Earth Changes
© Chris Hocking Sunday Herald Sun
Zoe and Ella at Falls Creek yesterday after fresh snow fell at the resort
Zoe and Ella at Falls Creek yesterday after fresh snow fell at the resort
Other parts of the state have seen their coldest start to May since records began, with snow already falling in low-lying areas.
Mt Baw Baw has been blanketed with more than 30cm of fresh snow as eager snowboarders take to the slopes well ahead of the official opening to the ski season.
© Unknown
The data comes from the Climate Prediction Center of the U.S. National Weather Service, which noted that large rainfalls have, in some places, exceeded the yearly average in a single day. In many parts of the continent, flooding persistent rains have flooded temporary rivers like the Kuiseb in Namibia and the Boteti in Botswana, both of which have recorded highs over the past year or so.
The map below depicts the rainfall for Namibia and South Africa on May 5, 2011, a day which saw more rain fall in the Namib Desert than normally falls in an entire year.
Earth is inside a solar wind stream flowing from the indicated coronal hole:
© SDO/AIA
Tour Of California Says Sierra Snow Could Cause Crashes Sunday
Lake Tahoe, Calif. -- Don't put your snow shovels away just yet.
The latest weather forecast is predicting 3 inches of snow at lake level in the Tahoe basin this weekend.
"It's going to be a dramatic change from today," said Placerville's Bill Rose as he prepared to hike near Echo Summit.
Forecasters said the snow is expected to start falling Saturday night and continue into Sunday.
"Today couldn't be better. It's sunny and beautiful. But, big weather changes are common this time of year," said backcountry skier Jake Maker.
© KCRA
An image of Lake Tahoe.
An image of Lake Tahoe.
Lake Tahoe, Calif. -- Don't put your snow shovels away just yet.
The latest weather forecast is predicting 3 inches of snow at lake level in the Tahoe basin this weekend.
"It's going to be a dramatic change from today," said Placerville's Bill Rose as he prepared to hike near Echo Summit.
Forecasters said the snow is expected to start falling Saturday night and continue into Sunday.
"Today couldn't be better. It's sunny and beautiful. But, big weather changes are common this time of year," said backcountry skier Jake Maker.
© n/a
One day after officials opened a floodway downriver to speed the flow through the lower Mississippi Valley and spare two of Louisiana's largest cities, the water at Vicksburg hit 56.48 feet on Sunday, more than an inch above the record 56.2 feet set in 1927, according to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
Experts say the river will rise another foot still in Vicksburg before May 19, when it is expected to crest at 57.5 feet -- 14.5 feet above flood level.
The atmosphere in Vicksburg on Sunday remained remarkably calm with the police station closed, although the 911 emergency dispatch line remained open.
The Mississippi, swollen by a rainy spring and melt from an especially snowy winter, continues to rise as it moves south.
© n/a
About 4000 residents of Iidate-mura village and 1100 people in Kawamata-cho town, in the quake-hit northeast, began the phased relocations to public housing, hotels and other facilities in nearby cities.
Their communities are outside the 20km radius from the Fukushima Daiichi power plant, officially designated as an area of forced evacuation due to health risks from the radiation seeping from the ageing and damaged plant.
The government told people in communities such as Iidate-mura they had to leave but authorities are unlikely to punish those who choose to stay.
The Fort Atkinson Fire Department tells us that an electrical transformer blew up early Thursday morning at Nasco International Inc., 901 Janesville Avenue.
The roof of the main office caught fire and had to be extinguished by the fire department. There is substantial electrical damage to the main office as well.
There were no injuries. The Nasco main office is closed for today.
The roof of the main office caught fire and had to be extinguished by the fire department. There is substantial electrical damage to the main office as well.
There were no injuries. The Nasco main office is closed for today.
Sediment-laden water pours into the Gulf of Mexico from the Mississippi and Atchafalaya Rivers. Credit: Norman Kuring, Ocean Color Team.
That's going to cause downstream problems this year... all the way downstream to the ocean. But before we go there, let's take a quick look at how the system works.
© Suburban Journals photo
A tornado siren in Arnold.
A tornado siren in Arnold.
St. Charles County - Authorities believe a transformer fire near the county's fire and ambulance dispatch center in Wentzville about 3:45 p.m. today caused a power surge that tripped tornado warning sirens from the dispatch center for about three to four minutes.
The transformer was atop a pole on West Meyer and May roads, near St. Joseph Health Center, authorities said.
The dispatch center is at 1605 Wentzville Parkway.
The cause of the fire was unknown Saturday. The National Weather Service confirmed that it issued no tornado watches or warnings.
