Earth ChangesS


Cloud Lightning

Typhoon Vongfong heads for Kansai; 40 hurt, one missing

Beach Storm
© KyodoHigh waves batter a pier in the city of Kochi as Typhoon Vongfong blew through Shikoku on Monday afternoon.
Typhoon Vongfong pummeled Kyushu Monday morning before racing northeast through Shikoku in the afternoon, leaving at least 40 people injured and one missing.

The season's 19th typhoon is likely to sweep through the rest of the archipelago on Tuesday, blowing through the Kansai, Chubu and Kanto regions before heading out to sea off the coast of Tohoku in the morning, where it is expected to fizzle into a tropical depression.

At 4 p.m., Vongfong was blowing through Kochi Prefecture at a speed of 45 kph, with an atmospheric pressure of 975 hectopascals at its center and maximum gusts of 108 kph. It was forecast to reach the Kanto region including Tokyo early Tuesday.

The typhoon hit Sukumo, Kochi Prefecture, at around 2:30 p.m. after making landfall in Makurazaki, Kagoshima Prefecture, at around 8:30 a.m.

Over 400 flights were canceled the same day, many in and out of Kyushu and Shikoku, while the Sanyo Shinkansen Line was forced to suspend service in Hiroshima Prefecture in the morning by strong winds.

Bizarro Earth

Threat of pyroclastic flows from Mt. Sinabung still overshadows Karo residents

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© Volcano Alert @infoVolcano / TwitterLarge pyroclastic flow on Sinabung on 9 Oct 2014
It has been reported that Mount Sinabung in Karo regency in North Sumatra is still prone to emitting deadly pyroclastic flows that could occur at any time. During the past week, the active volcano repeatedly erupted, spewing hot clouds and showering the nearby city of Berastagi with volcanic ash.

Head of the Sinabung observation post, Armen Putra, said the pyroclastic flows were expected to continue as the volcano displayed intensifying activity. He said there was a good chance that Mt. Sinabung would keep erupting during the following days. "Based on our observations Mt. Sinabung is still emitting huge pyroclastic flows that could be discharged at any time in greater volumes than ever," he told The Jakarta Post on Sunday.

He said the pyroclastic flows currently travelled down the slopes to the south of several villages. On Oct. 5 they reached 4.5 kilometers to the south, which was deemed the longest descent so far. As of Sunday at 12 p.m., Mt. Sinabung emitted the hot flows on five occasions, reaching 3 km to the south.

"Residents living around the volcano should remain alert because the pyroclastic flows have been continuously released during recent days," Armen said.

Bizarro Earth

Update: Tropical Storm Gonzalo nears Leeward Islands; Hurricane Watch for Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico

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Hurricane watches and tropical storm warnings have been issued for Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands as Tropical Storm Gonzalo strengthens in the Atlantic Ocean just east of the Leeward Islands. Tropical Storm Gonzalo, the seventh named storm of the 2014 Atlantic hurricane season, formed early Sunday afternoon.

Gonzalo is moving toward the west at 10 to 15 mph, and is expected to steadily gain strength over the next few days. Hurricane watches and tropical storm warnings have been issued for Puerto Rico, Vieques, Culebra, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and the British Virgin Islands.

Tropical storm warnings are also in effect for islands as far south as Guadeloupe in the Lesser Antilles. Gonzalo will spread showers with gusts of tropical storm force across the Leeward Islands through Monday, then into the Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico later Monday into Tuesday.

Gonzalo may near hurricane strength by time it reaches Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands.

Gonzalo is then expected to curl toward the northwest, then north around the periphery of subtropical high pressure in the central Atlantic Ocean.

Cloud Lightning

Millions faced with severe weather across central U.S. - Multi-day severe outbreak begins tonight; three severe thunderstorm watches issued

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The severe weather outbreak is set to begin Sunday night, continuing through Monday and Tuesday as a deep dip in the jet stream swings from the Great Plains into the South.

In addition, the flash flood threat will be in play from this same system as locally heavy rainfall is wrung out over areas that have been soaked in past days.

Below, we have more details on severe weather and flash flood threats across the country. You can scroll down the page, or click on these links to jump to your area of interest.

The Weather Channel TV network will pre-empt regular programming nationwide to bring you continuing live weather coverage from midnight Sunday night (Monday morning) until at least 11 p.m. EDT Monday to cover this severe weather outbreak, along with Tropical Storm Gonzalo as it threatens the Caribbean. We will cut into programming at other times if conditions warrant.

Bizarro Earth

USGS: Earthquake Magnitude 4.0 - Near Mammoth Lakes, California

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© USGS
Event Time
2014-10-13 00:13:50 UTC
2014-10-12 17:13:50 UTC-07:00 at epicenter
014-10-12 17:13:50 UTC-07:00 system time

Location

37.475°N 118.783°W depth=7.1km (4.4mi)

Nearby Cities
25km (16mi) SE of Mammoth Lakes, California
108km (67mi) NE of Clovis, California
108km (67mi) NE of Sanger, California
113km (70mi) NNE of Reedley, California
206km (128mi) SSE of Carson City, Nevada

Scientific data

Comment: Nearly 3 dozen small quakes in 24 hours - Volcanic unrest at Mammoth Lakes?


Cloud Lightning

11 Colombian Indians killed by lightning strike

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© ReutersA building in Colombia, where an indian tribe held a ritual, was hit by ligthing leaving 11 people dead and another 15 injured.
Bogota (AFP) - Eleven Wiwa Indians killed by lightning during a tribal ceremony in Colombia's Sierra Nevada mountains will be left unburied where they died according to their traditions, an official said Sunday.

The community of about 60 families will abandon their remote village in the wake of Monday's tragedy, but it was not yet clear where they would go, said Jose Gregorio Rodriguez, an advisor on the Wiwas at the National Indigenous Organization of Colombia, which represents the country's 800,000 indigenous people.

"The bodies will stay in the 'uguma' (ceremonial hut) where they died and the community will leave the site, as their customs and traditions dictate," Rodriguez told AFP.

The 11 men were killed on Monday when lightning struck the hut during a ceremony, also injuring another 20 participants who suffered second and third degree burns.

Comment: If there is any truth to the idea that the lightning strike on these people, known for their reverence of nature, was in some way connected to "man's turning his back on nature," imagine what mother nature has in store for the peoples of 'developed' countries.


Ice Cube

West Antarctic's Thwaites glacier likely melting from geothermal heat below, not from so-called global warming

A paper published today in Earth and Planetary Science Letters finds evidence that one of the largest glaciers in West Antarctica, the Thwaites Glacier, is primarily melting from below due to geothermal heat flux from volcanoes located along the West Antarctic Volcanic Rift System, i.e. not due to man-made CO2.
antarctic Volcano
© JoNova
CAGW proponents have alleged that West Antarctic glaciers such as such as the Thwaites Glacier and the neighboring Pine Island Glacier are rapidly melting due to man-made greenhouse gases and/or ocean heating, despite observations showing the air temperature in the Antarctic hasn't risen since 1979, Antarctic sea surface temperatures have fallen since 2006, and ARGO ocean heat content of the Southern Ocean shows no increase at any level of the top 2000 meters since the system was put in place in 2004. The authors find the neighboring Pine Island Glacier also overlies the same volcanic rift system and thus may also be melting from geothermal heat below.

The West Antarctic Volcanic Rift System is illustrated by JoNova below, and just so happens to correspond to the areas of notable glacier melt and alleged warming. In contrast, East Antarctica, which holds > 80% of Antarctic ice mass and does not have any known underlying volcanoes, is significantly increasing in ice mass.


Comment: This is another example of how Wall Street-based carbon trading elite (CAGW proponents) created global warming scare-mongering by cherry picking of earth changes data for its own benefit.


The paper joins several others finding geothermal heat largely if not entirely responsible for glacier melt in multiple regions in both Antarctica and Greenland, i.e. not anthropogenic.

Comment: And then there is this: Arctic Ocean leaking methane faster than anticipated


Wolf

Nine people killed by feral dog attacks in Rumbek, Sudan

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© Sudan TribunePacks of stray dogs are roaming the streets of Lakes state capital Rumbek in increasing numbers
At least nine people have died in Lakes state's Rumbek Central county after being bitten by stray dogs.

The public health department in Rumbek has confirmed the deaths, saying the presence of dogs in town is on the rise.

There has been more than 500 separate dog attacks on residents in Rumbek, while 40 people are also undergoing treatment.

Comment: See also: Dog attacks surging in Yarra Ranges, Australia


Wolf

Pit bull attacks its owner in Newfane, NY

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A South Main Street resident was taken to Erie County Medical Center by Mercy Flight on Sunday night after he was bitten by his own dog on both wrists.

The Niagara County Sheriff's Dispatch center fielded a call about the unidentified 27-year-old man about 7:30 p.m. Sunday.

The dog, a pit bull, was removed from the man's apartment by the Niagara County SPCA and the Newfane dog warden, according to the sheriff's office.

Cloud Precipitation

Tropical Storm Gonzalo joins Fay in Atlantic, threatens Puerto Rico with flash flooding, mudslides

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Days after Tropical Storm Fay put an end to the quiet stretch in the Atlantic, another tropical storm has formed in the basin.

An organized area of low pressure has turned into Tropical Storm Gonzalo, just east of the Leeward Islands.

Heavy rain and strong winds will blast the Leeward Islands as Gonzalo tracks over them and heads towards Puerto Rico.

"Torrential rain will advance into the northern Lesser Antilles tonight into Monday," said AccuWeather.com Meteorologist Andy Mussoline.

Gonzalo will bring many dangers with it as it tracks westward. "Life-threatening flash floods and mudslides will threaten the region," said Mussoline.

Gonzalo will likely reach Puerto Rico by early Tuesday morning and will bring the threat for flooding rainfall, mudslides, and power outages to the island as well.

Warm water and low wind shear will allow the system to strengthen over the next few days and Gonzalo very well could be a category 1 hurricane when it strikes Puerto Rico.

"As a precaution, residents and travelers should prepare for prolonged power outages and cutoff of basic services," added Mussoline.