Earth ChangesS


Cloud Lightning

US: East Tennessee wakes up to massive storm damage


WBIR
Thu, 28 Apr 2011 16:49 UTC
Thursday morning, East Tennesseans along with most of the South are recovering from deadly storms.

In the 10News viewing area Cocke and Greene counties were the hardest hit. Greene County officials are reporting five fatalities. WCYB in the Tr--Cities is reporting that 7 people are dead in Washington County, VA. Bradley County was also hit hard with five confirmed dead in Cleveland.

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Radar

Bad Science Propaganda: Iceland - Would an Eyjafjallajökull repeat eruption ground airplanes again?


Aircargo Asia Pacific
Thu, 28 Apr 2011 16:42 UTC
iceland,eyjafjallajokull,volcano
© ReutersLava and ash explode out of the caldera of Iceland's Eyjafjallajokull volcano
The ash first emitted by Icelandic volcano Eyjafjallajökull when it erupted one year ago has been assessed as dangerous to airplanes and the resulting airport closures as justified, a study by earth scientist Sigurdur R. Gíslason of the University of Iceland says.

He studied the eruption with Susan Stipp from the University of Copenhagen and their findings indicate that any future eruption should be treated the same way until any ash clouds can be proven safe for aircraft.

"We demonstrated the ash had very fine particles and was carried long distances by air currents," Gíslason said.
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Radar

Europe rebuked for supplying false volcano ash info to air passengers


Click Green
Thu, 28 Apr 2011 16:37 UTC
Airport terminal
Thousands of flights were grounded in last year's ash alert
The European Ombudsman, P. Nikiforos Diamandouros, has criticised the misleading information given to air passengers by the European Commission during the volcanic ash crisis in 2010.

The official inquiry followed a complaint from the European Regions Airline Association about, among others, inaccurate information concerning compensation for delayed luggage.

The Ombudsman asked the Commission to inform him by 31 May 2011 of the measures taken to prevent such a problem from occurring in the future.
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Cloud Lightning

At least 250 dead as hundreds of tornadoes devastate Southern US

Greg Bluestein & Jay Reeves
Associated Press
Thu, 28 Apr 2011 13:56 UTC
Image
© REUTERS/Marvin GentryOvernight tornadoes leaves part of Pratt City, a suburb of Birmingham, Alabama, in ruins April 28, 2011.
Pleasant Grove, Alabama - Dozens of massive tornadoes tore a town-flattening streak across the South, killing at least 250 people in six states and forcing rescuers to carry some survivors out on makeshift stretchers of splintered debris. Two of Alabama's major cities were among the places devastated by the deadliest twister outbreak in nearly 40 years.

As day broke Thursday, people in hard-hit areas surveyed obliterated homes and debris-strewn streets. Some told of deadly winds whipping through within seconds of weather alerts broadcast during the storms Wednesday afternoon and evening.

"It happened so fast it was unbelievable," said Jerry Stewart, a 63-year-old retired firefighter who was picking through the remains of his son's wrecked home in Pleasant Grove, a suburb of Birmingham. "They said the storm was in Tuscaloosa and it would be here in 15 minutes. And before I knew it, it was here."
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Fish

Record number of whales, krill found in Antarctic bays


Physorg.com
Wed, 27 Apr 2011 12:13 UTC
Image
© Unknown

Scientists have observed a "super-aggregation" of more than 300 humpback whales gorging on the largest swarm of Antarctic krill seen in more than 20 years in bays along the Western Antarctic Peninsula.

The sightings, made in waters still largely ice-free deep into austral autumn, suggest the previously little-studied bays are important late-season foraging grounds for the endangered whales. But they also highlight how rapid climate change is affecting the region.

The Duke University-led team tracked the super-aggregation of krill and whales during a six-week expedition to Wilhelmina Bay and surrounding waters in May 2009. They published their findings today (April 27) in the online science journal PLoS ONE.

"Such an incredibly dense aggregation of whales and krill has never been seen before in this area at this time of year," says Duke marine biologist Douglas Nowacek. Most studies have focused on whale foraging habitats located in waters farther offshore in austral summer.
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Radar

Exotic birds fly into Wales

Sion Morgan
WalesOnline
Thu, 28 Apr 2011 07:11 UTC
Image
© UnknownBee-eater
They're normally spotted in the more exotic climes of Africa, South America and the Mediterranean. But changing global climates are bringing some unusual avian visitors to Wales, as Sion Morgan reports

From the African plains to the mountains of the Himalayas, from the wilderness of Alaska to the South American jungle, it seems the world's most exotic birds are increasingly visiting our Welsh shores.

A number of exotic species are now appearing in our gardens and could soon change the landscape of the countryside forever.

Bird watching is changing and the scale of rare, colourful and plain alien species in Wales has been revealed by the Welsh Ornithological Society (WOS).
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Cloud Lightning

Snow storm covers town during UK heatwave

SWNS Reporter
Small World News Service
Thu, 28 Apr 2011 06:39 UTC
These incredible pictures show that while the rest of the country basked in a heatwave one Leicestershire village was actually covered - in SNOW.
freak UK snow storm
© Unknown
Residents living in Birstall, Leics., were stunned when a huge snow and hail shower swept overhead on an otherwise cloudless day.

The 20-minute mini-blizzard at 5pm on Saturday afternoon left cars and roads under 3ins of snow and ice while just a mile away temperatures soared to 27.2C (81F).

Shocked Sian Colver, 28, captured the storm, which battered the village with ice balls the size of large marbles, on camera from her bedroom window.

The RSPCA volunteer said: "It was fascinating. I was having a lie down and heard this odd sound.

"I looked outside and hail stones were bouncing all over the road.

"I went outside afterwards and paint had chipped off the windows. The stones were the size of your thumbnail and really hard like bullets."
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Cloud Lightning

US: Storms kill at least 77 in South, head to East Coast

William M. Welch & Doyle Rice
USA Today
Thu, 28 Apr 2011 01:50 UTC
Image
© Dusty Compton, The Tuscaloosa News, via APA car is overturned and buildings are destroyed Wednesday in Tuscaloosa, Ala.
A vicious series of tornadoes and powerful storms lashed the South on Wednesday, killing at least 77 people in the region and leaving behind a trail of massive damage.

At least 61 people were killed in Alabama alone. At least 16 more died in neighboring states - 11 in Mississippi, four in Georgia and one in Tennessee.

Tuscaloosa Mayor Walter Maddox said 15 died in his city, home to the main campus of the University of Alabama. He said sections of Tuscaloosa were destroyed and its infrastructure decimated. An additional 11 people were killed in Jefferson County surrounding Birmingham.

One twister battered the university campus in Tuscaloosa, severely damaging buildings nearby. The university turned a student center into an emergency shelter for students displaced from off-campus housing, and at least 100 people were treated at a hospital emergency room.

The university canceled classes for today and suspended normal operations on campus. TV news video showed flattened homes in the city.
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Nuke

US: Storms knock out TVA nuclear units and power lines

Eileen O'Grady
Reuters
Wed, 27 Apr 2011 22:38 UTC
tornado
© AP
Houston - Severe storms and tornadoes moving through the U.S. Southeast dealt a severe blow to the Tennessee Valley Authority on Wednesday, causing three nuclear reactors in Alabama to shut and knocking out 11 high-voltage power lines, the utility and regulators said.

Governors in Alabama, Arkansas and Tennessee each declared a state of emergency as more than 20 deaths were blamed on a recurring round of severe storms this week moving eastward across the southern United States.

All three units at TVA's 3,274-megawatt Browns Ferry nuclear plant in Alabama tripped about 5:30 EDT (2230 GMT) after losing outside power to the plant, a spokesman for the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission said.
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Bizarro Earth

US: Tornadoes Rock Alabama and Georgia, One of the Largest Tornado Outbreaks In History


The Intel Hub
Wed, 27 Apr 2011 22:04 UTC
Image
A FOX 5 viewer posted this photo of a tornado over Tuscaloosa on Wednesday, April 27, 2011 on our Facebook page
Devastating tornadoes have rocked the south

Update: 7:52pm pst: Associated Press report moves death toll to at least 64.

Photos from Fox Atlanta document the devastation. Search and Rescue taking place in Ringgold after tornado strikes.

Update: 7:41pm pst: 130 tornadoes and counting!

Update: 7:31pm pacific: A new Associated Press report has confirmed that at least 54 people are dead. My Fox Atlanta is also reporting that a government building is gone.
Tuscaloosa, Ala. - The mayor of an Alabama city hit hard by a tornado says at least 15 people have died there, bringing the death toll from severe weather to 54 around the South.

In all, 40 people died in Wednesday's storms in Alabama.
Update: Cullman County Alabama has been devastated. This now being labeled one of the largest tornado outbreaks in American history. At 31 people have died.

The Weather Channel is reporting that mass fatality trailers are being brought to Alabama. Massive devastation with debris falling up to a 100 miles away.

Mass Causalities units have been requested in Catoosa County Georgia where a State of Emergency has been declared. A report on the Weather Channel indicates that a 3 story building has been destroyed in Georgia.
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