Earth Changes

More than 120,000 lightning strikes recorded within 12 hours over southeast England and northern France

The Times
Tue, 30 May 2017 18:09 UTC

The superstorm, the size of Wales, battered southeast England

More than 120,000 flashes of lightning were recorded in 12 hours over southeast England and northern France early yesterday as a superstorm "the size of Wales" swept across the Channel.

Between 6pm on Sunday and 6am on Monday morning there were up to 500 flashes a minute.

Experts described the conditions as an "intense, dangerous supercellular storm". A supercell storm is the least common — and most perilous — of the four classifications of thunderstorms.

The storm battered Kent from about 1am after a sudden change of course, setting the roof of one house, in Staplehurst, on fire when it was hit by lightning. A second house, in Folkestone, was also struck. Residents described losing TV and phone signals.

Volcanism in the Mini Ice Age, which next eruption will drop Earth's temperate?

Adapt 2030
You Tube
Tue, 30 May 2017 13:48 UTC

Katla volcano, Iceland

All of Iceland's major volcanoes showing unusually high levels of activity which is to be expected as in each mini ice age / grand solar minimum there is one major eruption that cools Earth's climate. We are entering another GSM as we speak so I ask you which of these nine explosive volcanoes will erupt during the 2017-2035 Mini Ice Age?

Sources

Comment: See also this more recent report: Another earthquake registered around Bardarbunga volcano in Iceland

Violent 'Super Storm' hits the UK with 70,000 lightning strikes

Joshua Nevett
The Star (UK)
Mon, 29 May 2017 12:52 UTC

LIGHTNING: 70,000 bolts hit the UK over the bank holiday weekend

Thousands of holidaymakers have been forced to abandon getaways across the country as an "intense, dangerous supercellular storm" struck last night.

Britain's bank holiday "weather curse" has dampened spirits as Brits quit resorts early due to unsettled conditions threatening thundery downpours, flooding and power cuts.

In some regions, up to a month's worth of rain could fall in one hour today with deluges delivering up to 40mm.

The Met Office said the UK was hit with around 70,000 lightning strikes overnight - sparking safety fears across the nation.

Lightning bolt kills farmer in Pangasinan, Philippines

North Bound Asia
Tue, 30 May 2017 12:40 UTC

A farmer from Barangay Laguit Centro in Bugallon town died instantly when was hit by lightning at 7:00 p.m. Sunday.

The victim was identified by the Bugallon police as Elvis Ochoco,30, who suffered third degree burns all over his body.

The incident was reported to the police by Ochoco's live-in partner Mary Jane Cruz, also of Barangay Laguit Centro, more than an hour later.

Investigation conducted by the police showed that the victim was working on the farm owned by an Alex Garacho when the lighting struck.

The remains of the victim now lies at the Angel Funeral Parlor located at Sitio Balat in Cayanga, Bugallon, Pangasinan

Source: Philippine News Agency

Woman found mauled to death after apparent bear attack in Akita, Japan

The Japan Times
Tue, 30 May 2017 12:30 UTC

© KYODO
Police officers put up a no-entry sign at the foot of the mountains in the city of Senboku, Akita Prefecture, on Saturday.

Akita Prefecture is stepping up vigilance against bears attacking people in the wake of the apparent mauling death of a local woman over the weekend.

Masako Oishi, a 61-year-old assistant nurse from the eastern Akita city of Senboku, was found dead shortly after noon on Saturday in the city's mountains. She set off on a hike at around 6 a.m. with a female acquaintance to pick bamboo shoots, a seasonal delicacy.

At around 8:30 a.m., the acquaintance returned to the parking lot at the foot of the mountains, but Oishi did not return, according to police. When locals searched for her, they found her dead, bleeding and lying on the ground.

She had been mauled on several parts of her body, including her head, shoulders and arms, leading the police to suspect she was attacked by a bear.

Dead minke whale found at Long Beach Peninsula, Washington

Janet I. Tu
The Seattle Times
Mon, 29 May 2017 09:16 UTC

© Tiffany Boothe/Seaside Aquarium
People at Long Beach Peninsula, Pacific County, view a small minke whale that had died and washed ashore Sunday.

In a relatively rare sighting, a dead minke whale, with its diaphragm pushed outside of its mouth, washed ashore Sunday on Long Beach Peninsula, Pacific County, about a quarter mile north of Klipsan Beach Approach.

The whale had died before washing ashore, with gases from decomposition building up inside the animal. Once the whale reached the beach, the pressure from the gases combined with its own weight pushed its diaphragm outside of its mouth, causing the balloon-like shape at the head of the whale, said Tiffany Boothe, an administrative assistant at Seaside Aquarium, who took the video and photos seen here.

Seaside Aquarium, based in Seaside, Ore., along with Portland State University, are coordinators in dealing with marine mammals that wash up in northern Oregon and southern Washington.

Stunning Aurora Australis 'southern lights' illuminate night sky above New Zealand

RT
Mon, 29 May 2017 20:13 UTC

People in New Zealand were treated to a spectacular light show Sunday as Aurora Australis, the so-called 'southern lights', lit up the night sky.

Clear skies provided perfect conditions for stargazers, allowing the natural phenomenon to be seen as far north as Christchurch on New Zealand's South Island.

Twitter and Instagram have been flooded with stunning photographs of the aurora since it appeared Sunday. Photographer Ché McPherson captured an incredible time lapse image from the Coronet Peak vantage point, just north of Queenstown.

McPhearson said he was in "total awe" during the experience, adding that the aurora was different from previous ones he'd seen. "This was beautifully dancing as it lit up the sky, with the most intense green I have seen from any aurora," he said.

Comment: On Saturday a large geomagnetic solar storm visible over the Vancouver area created a stunning opportunity for stargazers and photographers to catch a rare glimpse of the aurora borealis (northern lights).

"As Earth passed through the CME's wake, energetic particles poured through a crack in Earth's magnetosphere, sparking strong G3-class geomagnetic storms and bright auroras," reported SpaceWeather.com.

During the celestial event, the lights could be seen as far south as California and Arizona, and as far east as Ontario and Cape Cod, with shades of pink, purple and green lighting up the skies.

Cyclone Mora hits Bangladesh, 300,000 evacuated

Deccan Herald
Tue, 30 May 2017 05:15 UTC

© Photo courtesy: www.cyclocane.com
The storm made landfall on the coast between Cox's Bazar and the main port city of Chittagong.

Cyclone Mora made landfall in Bangladesh today damaging several houses and packing winds of up to 117 kilometres per hour after authorities evacuated hundreds of thousands of people from the coastal areas.

In a special bulletin, Bangladesh Meteorological Department said the severe cyclonic storm 'Mora' moved northwards over North Bay and started crossing Cox's Bazar- Chittagong coast at 6:00 AM (local time). It is likely to move in a northerly direction further, it said.

Under its influence, gusty or squally wind with rain or thundershowers were continuing over North Bay and the coastal districts and maritime ports of Bangladesh., the Daily Star reported.

Maximum sustained wind speed within 64 km of the cyclone centre was about 89 kph rising to 117 kph in gusts or squalls, it said.

As many as 300,000 people had been taken to shelters in more than ten districts most vulnerable to the cyclone, Additional Secretary Golam Mostafa, a spokesman for the disaster management ministry's control room, was quoted as saying by B D News.

"The people were moved out to at least 400 cyclone shelters or safer places like schools and government offices in the coastal areas," a disaster management ministry spokesman said.

At least 2.5 million people in ten districts risk falling in the way of the severe cyclonic storm.

Floods and landslides in Brazil leave at least seven dead, 35,000 homeless

Jill Langlois
Los Angeles Times
Mon, 29 May 2017 23:46 UTC

Flooding in Brazil's northeastern states of Pernambuco and Alagoas has left tens of thousands of people homeless and at least seven people dead, authorities said Monday.

About 35,000 have lost their homes in the state of Pernambuco after nearly 12 inches of rain fell over the weekend, causing authorities to declare a state of emergency in 15 municipalities. At least three people died and two others were missing in the region of the state known as Zona da Mata Sul.

Videos sent to the local station TV Globo show a hospital in the city of Rio Formoso flooded with muddy water as employees and patients, including a woman in a wheelchair, try to leave the building.

Pernambuco Gov. Paulo Camara flew over the flooded areas Sunday before issuing the emergency degree. He noted in a post on Facebook that the damage could have been much worse had the Serro Azul dam not been completed just one month ago.

He is expected to meet with National Integration Minister Helder Barbalho in Brasilia, the nation's capital, on Tuesday to discuss federal aid and rebuilding.