Earth Changes

Source of window-rattling boom in Oregon still unknown

East Oregonian
Fri, 06 Jan 2017 23:26 UTC

A mysterious boom rattled windows, and a few nerves, around Hermiston Friday afternoon.

Residents in various part of the city, and in surrounding areas, reported hearing a booming sound, that shook windows and homes about 2:45 p.m. The noise resulted in several calls to law enforcement and widespread speculation on at least one social media group forum on Facebook.

Hermiston Police Chief Jason Edmiston said his department received calls about the incident and he also heard whatever it was himself. "I was in a closed-door meeting in my office and it rattled my windows," Edmiston said.

Edmiston, one of his captains and another officers drove around the city to investigation, but nothing was found to explain the noise. "It would not surprise me if it turned out to be something at a high altitude," he said, like a meteor or a sonic boom from an aircraft.

As of early Friday evening there was no confirmation of what caused the sound, which some people described as sounding like an earthquake. The U.S. Geological Survey has not recorded any earthquakes in either Oregon or Washington state over the last 24 hours.

Extraordinary dashcam video captures lightning bolt blasting truck in Russia

RT
Sat, 07 Jan 2017 15:57 UTC

Amazing video footage of a lorry being blitzed by a powerful bolt of lightning as it traveled down a highway in Russia has been filmed by a passing driver's dashcam.

The shocking incident took place on a busy stretch of road running alongside the Black Sea on the highway between Krasnodar and Sochi.

The bolt struck the vehicle during a spell of heavy rainfall and rumbles of thunder.

The footage was recorded from a car traveling in the opposite direction from across the road barrier. Several trucks and cars were traveling beside the unfortunate truck when it was suddenly struck from above.

Rossiyskaya Gazeta are reporting that, despite the violent blast that took place so close to the recording vehicle, the dashcam car's driver managed to avoid a collision and safely brought the car to a halt. However, the status of the truck driver is not known.

Heavy snowfall, icy weather grip Italy, Greece and Turkey

Jan M. Olsen
Yahoo! News
Sat, 07 Jan 2017 15:02 UTC

Heavy snowfall in Italy

Heavy snowfall and below-freezing temperatures continued to sweep the European continent Saturday, causing more than a dozen deaths, grounding airplanes and crippling ferries in Italy and Turkey.

At least 10 people have died in the cold that has gripped Poland in recent days, included seven men ages 41 and 66 who died Friday, authorities said. A 51-year-old died of asphyxiation with carbon monoxide from a malfunctioning heater.

Temperatures in Poland dropped below -20 degrees Celsius (-4 F) on Saturday, and weather forecasts said they would sink more overnight.

A man died also died Saturday in Belgium when his truck slid off a highway.

Swimmer receives 10 stitches after being bitten by a shark at Merimbula Main Beach, Australia

Alasdair McDonald
Illawarra Mercury
Fri, 06 Jan 2017 14:13 UTC

A 20-year-old Victorian man has received 10 stitches after being bitten on the foot by a shark while standing in waist deep water at Merimbula Main Beach.

Mitchell Collins was swimming just 10 to 15 metres from shore during low tide around 6pm on Tuesday when he felt a bite to his foot.

"I had my feet on the ground, I went to step and as I did it bit my foot," he said.

"I knew it was a bite straight away and it knocked me down.

"It felt really sharp but it wasn't that painful and I was in shock I think.

"I didn't see it but I got a good feel of it."

Man attacked by shark in Satellite Beach, Florida

Tracking Sharks
Thu, 05 Jan 2017 14:06 UTC

On January 5, a man was bitten by a shark in Satellite Beach, Florida.

The 47-year-old was surfing in waters off Patrick Air Force Base Blockhouse Beach around 12:30 p.m. when he was bitten on the foot.

Johannes Friess who was visiting from Munich, Germany, heard his girlfriend yell to him that the unidentified man needed help. Friess paddled out to the man and assisted him back to shore.

Once they were back on the beach, Friess assessed the wound and noted several holes in the bottom of the man's foot. Friess also saw the man had one deep hole that looked to be around a half-inch (1.27cm) deep and around 3 inches (7.62cm) long.

A frigid US: Average temperature 11°F

Roy Spencer, Ph.D.
drroyspencer.com
Sat, 07 Jan 2017 23:23 UTC

As predicted here ten days ago, portions of all of the Lower 48 states are below 32 deg. F at 6 a.m. EST this morning (animation here):

The spatial average temperature over the Lower 48 at 6 a.m. is 11 deg. F, which is fully 9 deg. (!) colder than at any time last winter (20 deg. F) which occurred twice in January of 2016.

Most powerful storm in a decade moves into Northern California; flooding, heavy snow

Hailey Branson-Potts, Joseph Serna, Tony Barboza and Hailey Branson-Potts
Los Angeles Times
Sat, 07 Jan 2017 20:21 UTC

The first band of what forecasters predict will be the region's most powerful storm in a decade moved into Northern California on Saturday, prompting official warnings of widespread flooding and epic snowfall.

"People are definitely in a state of panic right now," said El Dorado County Sheriff's Sgt. Todd Hammitt. "We're getting a lot of calls asking if we're going to be able to deal with everything. It's the general pandemonium of not knowing what's coming."

Bone-chilling cold: Blizzards, snowstorms and floods wreak havoc across Europe

RT
Sat, 07 Jan 2017 14:54 UTC

Bone-freezing cold, heavy snowstorms, and floods have been plaguing the European continent this week, causing power outages, traffic jams, cancelled flights, and even a stream of plastic eggs with toys washing up on a German island.

On Saturday, heavy precipitation paralyzed Istanbul, Turkey. Around 6,000 passengers found themselves stranded as hundreds of flights to and from the city's main Ataturk Airport were cancelled due to the snowstorm.

The Bosphorus Strait was closed to ships due to poor visibility, cutting off the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea from the Mediterranean.

Many drivers abandoned their cars and walked rather than waiting for streets to be cleaned. Istanbul's metro system operated throughout the night to deal with a sudden passenger spike.

Comment: At least 9 dead as blizzards and icy weather grip parts of Europe

At least 9 dead as blizzards and icy weather grip parts of Europe

Alison Mutler
Daily Mail
Fri, 06 Jan 2017 16:26 UTC

Bosnian worker tries to clear a mountain road near Sarajevo, Bosnia, on Friday, Jan. 6, 2017. The region is bracing itself for a spell of extremely cold weather with temperatures expected to remain between - 11 and - 26 degrees centigrade (from 5 to - 14.

© AP /Amel Emric
Bosnian worker tries to clear a mountain road near Sarajevo, Bosnia, on Friday, Jan. 6, 2017. The region is bracing itself for a spell of extremely cold weather with temperatures expected to remain between - 11 and - 26 degrees centigrade (from 5 to - 14.8 degrees Fahrenheit).

Blizzards swept parts of Europe on Friday, causing at least nine deaths, closing roads and resulting in traffic accidents, travel delays and medical evacuations.

In Poland, the cold snap was blamed for five deaths in 24 hours. Three people died from hypothermia, while two more died from carbon monoxide poisoning caused by malfunctioning heaters, the government Security Center said.

Officials in neighboring Ukraine reported that four people had died from effects of the cold in the Lviv region near the Polish border.

In Romania, authorities said 90 people were rescued from stranded cars and that crews were working to save people stuck in some 30 cars on a major highway. More than 40 trains were not running due to snow on the tracks.

Senior emergency situations official Raed Arafat said Romanian authorities also evacuated 622 people who needed dialysis and 126 pregnant women. The blizzard is expected to ease off late Friday.

A man with frost on his face runs along the bank of the Neris river as temperatures dipped to -21 degrees Celsius (-5.8 degrees Fahrenheit) in Vilnius, Lithuania, Friday, Jan. 6, 2017.

© AP/Mindaugas Kulbis
A man with frost on his face runs along the bank of the Neris river as temperatures dipped to -21 degrees Celsius (-5.8 degrees Fahrenheit) in Vilnius, Lithuania, Friday, Jan. 6, 2017.

Heavy snowfall disrupts life in Himachal, India: Electricity, water supply hampered in Shimla

Hindustan Times
Sat, 07 Jan 2017 15:25 UTC

People walking on the snow covered road at Sanjauli, Shimla on Saturday.

Winter's first heavy snowfall intensified the cold wave while it disrupted normal life in the state's capital Shimla and its surroundings.

Strong western disturbances brought intermittent spell of snow in the capital town that affected the normal life. Shimla's highest point Jakhu recorded 15 centimetres of the snow.

Snow covered roads disrupted the traffic movement in the capital town, hampering supplies of daily commodities. Kalka-Shimla national highway remained block beyond Taradevi, as the vehicles could not ply on the snow laden roads. Thunderstorm that lashed the town during the last 24 hours also impacted electricity supply in the town.

Many areas of the town including brockhurst, Jakhu, US Club and Khalini were affected . Kufri the closest tourist destination from states capital recorded 24 centimetres of the snowfall. The strategic Hindustan Tibet road has been closed for traffic beyond Sanjauli. The famous tourist resort Narkanda experienced 30 centimetres of snow.