Earth ChangesS


Windsock

Tornado seen over motorway in the UK

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The rare sighting of the intimidating twister was filmed by motorists who spotted the huge rotating column of air circulating over the M53, just metres in front of them
A passenger in a car records the moment a tornado is seen crossing over the M53 in Merseyside

A dramatic video has emerged of a tornado spotted over the M53 in Bromborough, Merseyside, UK on Wednesday afternoon.

In the footage, captured by a passenger in a car, motorists can be seen pulling on to the hard shoulder to avoid the dangerous driving conditions.

A Met Office spokesman said: "Although tornadic activity is by no means common across the UK, it does occur on occasions when the atmosphere is suitably volatile".


Bizarro Earth

Earthquake Magnitude 6.6 - Southern East Pacific Rise

East Pacific Rise Quake_091014
© USGS
Event Time
2014-10-09 02:32:05 UTC
2014-10-08 19:32:05 UTC-07:00 at epicenter

Location
32.109°S 110.890°W depth=10.0km (6.2mi)

Nearby Cities
567km (352mi) SSW of Hanga Roa, Chile
3436km (2135mi) W of Lebu, Chile
3442km (2139mi) W of Ancud, Chile
3453km (2146mi) W of Chonchi, Chile
2031km (1262mi) ESE of Adamstown, Pitcairn

Scientific Data

Wolf

Elderly woman killed by her pitbull terrier

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An elderly woman was attacked and killed by her own dog Friday afternoon in Cave City.

Sharp County Dispatch received a 911 call around 2:16 p.m. from a woman saying a dog was attacking her mother.

The Cave City Police Department, Cave City Fire Department, Sharp County Sheriff's Department and Spring River Ambulance Service responded to the house on North Melody Lane.

Cave City Police Sergeant Brian Barnett arrived first and found 75-year-old Alice Payne dead in her living room floor with apparent bite marks all over her face, neck, and arms.

The woman's daughter said she saw the dog, a pitbull belonging to her mother, attack her. The dog was put down by officers, and then turned over to a representative with the Arkansas Department of Health for disease testing.

The woman's body was sent to the Arkansas State Crime Lab for an autopsy.

The case is still being investigated by the Sharp County Sheriff's Department and Cave City Police Department.

Comment: A list of dog attacks on their owners or family members in 2014 -

Family dog seized after baby's death in Wales

Couple released on bail over death of 11-month-old girl following dog attack in Blackburn, UK

'Out of control' dog put down after attacking owner in Inverness, Scotland

Liverpool woman mauled to death by her pet dog, UK

Second pet dog attack on a woman owner in Liverpool house within 2 months, UK

Man gets arm 'ripped off' by his two American bulldogs in High Pittington, United Kingdom

13-year-old girl victim of second Waikato dog attack, New Zealand

Hunter viciously mauled by his own dog in Austria

Child killed by family pet dog in Rome

Detroit: Naked man loses hands, feet in dog pack attack

Woman in hospital after dog attacked owner in Brighton, United Kingdom

Baby girl dies after dog attack in Daventry, UK


Snowflake

Autumn snow hampers traffic in the Urals, Russia


The snow has brought a lot of trouble for drivers because most have not yet changed tires.

"I was driving on the highway M5″ Ural ", the roads are very quickly swept out, - says Igor Nikiforov. - Maximum speed was 20 kilometers (12 miles) per hour, and even at this speed it was scary at some turn to go, the car just drifting. There were traffic jams because trucks could not climb the mountain, they stood and idled."

Over the weekend there were forty serious accidents on the roads of the Chelyabinsk region.

Meanwhile, resourceful residents of the South Urals have used the bad weather to open the ski season.

In Zlatoust adults and children began sculpting the first snowman.

Thanks to Argiris Diamantis for this link

Cloud Precipitation

Update: Super Typhoon Vongfong continues towards Japan - 250 kph sustained winds

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© nternational Space StationVongfong, as a super typhoon on Thursday, October 9, viewed from the International Space Station.
While Japan is recovering from former Typhoon Phanfone, Super Typhoon Vongfong will turn northward across the western Pacific Ocean and bring a new threat by the end of the week.

Vongfong brought flooding rainfall and damaging wind to the northern Mariana Islands on Sunday, local time. Wind gusts over 89 kph (55 mph) and rainfall over 75 millimeters (3 inches) were common.

Currently, Vongfong is nearly equivalent to a Category 5 hurricane with sustained winds of 250 kph (155 mph).

"Vongfong became the strongest tropical cyclone we've had all year anywhere on Earth," AccuWeather.com Meteorologist Jim Andrews said.

The strength of Vongfong earlier surpassed that of Super Typhoon Genevieve which, at its most powerful, had sustained winds of 257 kph (160 mph) in the West Pacific.

The combination of light wind shear and warm water allowed Vongfong to rapidly strengthen across the western Pacific Ocean so far this week.

Late in the week, while Vongfong is located south of Japan, the typhoon is expected to slow down and make a turn to the north. While there remains some uncertainty in the exact track of the storm, confidence is high that the powerful cyclone will track north toward Japan with the potential for a landfall in mainland Japan by early next week.

Target

800,000 swarm of killer bees kill Arizona gardener in unprovoked attack

bees
© Reuters / Adrees Latif
A gardener in Arizona has died after being dive bombed by a swarm of killer bees and another man was taken to hospital with 100 stings.

The 32-year-old victim was working on a house in Douglas near the Mexican border with three colleagues who were preparing to cut the lawn of a 90-year-old man when the bees struck.

They were working for a charity that provides work for people with learning difficulties and assists needy or elderly people in the community.

As soon as they turned on their lawn mower they were dive bombed by a huge swarm of bees from a hive which was concealed in the back of the house.

Two of the other gardeners who were not badly stung ran to a neighbor's house to call the fire service but when the emergency services arrived on the scene one of the men had collapsed and was already in respiratory arrest.

Question

More than 50 sperm whales seen off California coast

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© LASANTHI BENEDICTSperm whale pods with more than 50 whales were seen today off the coast of Laguna Beach. Whale experts say the sight is a rare one. Sperm whales are found in tropical or subtropical waters.

More than 50 sperm whales emerged off the Southern California coast in an extremely rare, hours-long sighting that had whale watchers and scientists giddy with excitement.

Pods of mothers and juveniles rolled and played with dolphins Monday a few miles off Laguna Beach, the Orange County Register reported.

They later were spotted off San Diego and were heading south, said Jay Barlow, a sperm whale expert with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

It's by far the largest group ever spotted so near to shore in Southern California, Barlow said Tuesday.

Others agreed.


Comment: There seems to have been a spate of unusual whale gatherings of late, some coupled with odd behaviour. See also: Killer whales of Puget Sound are acting strange with population declining fast

Unusual whale behaviour during migration in Cook Strait, New Zealand

Whales turn up in unusually high numbers in the seas around Ireland


Blue Planet

Atlantic hurricane season among weakest in decades

Storm Man Running
© AP Photo/Gerry BroomeIn this July 4, 2014 file photo, a man crosses a flooded Highway 64 as wind pushes water over the road as Hurricane Arthur passes through Nags Head, N.C.
This year's Atlantic hurricane season is shaping up to be one of the weakest in decades with only five named storms in the region so far this year.

That is the fewest named storms since the full Atlantic season of 1983, when there were four. The 1994 season also had only five named storms into October, then two hurricanes formed in early November of that year.

Forecasters have projected another two named Atlantic storms for the rest of this year's season that ends Nov. 30. But there are no signs of any new ones spinning off Africa's west coast during what is usually the season's peak period - mid-August to late October.

"The tropical Atlantic is just dead," said Max Mayfield, a former director of the U.S. National Hurricane Center in Miami.

A typical June-November hurricane season has 12 named storms, nine of them hurricanes and three of those major.

Cloud Grey

Strange and spectacular cloud formation over Perth

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© Glenn RogersWeird cloud formation, Perth Australia
Several PerthNow readers have woken to a sight described as "out of this world" after spotting a puzzling UFO-shaped cloud in the sky. The unusual cloud formation even had experts baffled, with the Bureau of Meteorology taking some time to investigate what the strange phenomenon may be.

Anyone fearing an alien invasion can now have their minds put at rest as experts at the Bureau of Meteorology have confirmed their original suspicions are true - the strange phenomenon sighted in Perth skies this morning was in fact a Fallstreak Cloud.

According to the bureau's Neil Bennett, the cloud - which was sitting high above Perth Airport - contained extremely cold water particles.

Comment: Strange clouds have been noted over Australia before. Read this article on Chemtrails? Contrails? Strange skies


Attention

Rare, record-sized pygmy whale found dead on Victorian beach, Australia

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© Joe ArmaoMuseum Victoria preparators dissect a rare specimen of an adult Pygmy Right Whale.
A rare specimen of pygmy right whale's body found washed up on a remote Victorian beach has presented scientists worldwide with the unique opportunity to study the elusive species.

Museum Victoria marine mammal evolution expert Erich Fitzgerald said at 6.2 metres in length, it appeared the animal was the longest pygmy right whale recorded.

"This is pushing the envelope of what we know in terms of how large these animals get," he said, adding the specimen would be of interest to local and international researchers. "We have potentially the global record for total body length of the male of the species."

After washing up dead at Wilsons Promontory's Sealers Cove coast last week, the adult male was dissected at the nearby Port Anthony Marine Terminal on Tuesday.

Steven Sparrey was one of three Museum Victoria preparators who started working on the carcass at 9am on Tuesday. By lunchtime they were almost half way through the dissection.