Extreme Temperatures
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Galaxy

Heaven and Earth: Unusual natural events and strange phenomena from around the world in February/March 2014

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© Martin Rietze/National
This video compiles footages of strange phenomena of all kinds, including awesome natural events or beautiful phenomena from around the world in the last few weeks. Just a small sample of what we've seen already this year!

In the past month or so we have seen: Unusual solar activity including an X class flare - Aurora Borealis much further south than usual, including southern UK - Huge waves off coast of California, Brazil, UK - England battered by record storms, floods and sinkholes - Severe drought in California, followed by extreme storms and floods - US cities in the East frozen still - Strange skies over Europe - Ecuador Tungurahua volcano erupts - Strange 'hailstone' falls over Nevada - Weird pulsating orange Earth phenomena melts ice and boils water - Amazing sinkhole in the Corvette Museum - New York sinkhole swallows car - Popocatelpetl Volcano, Mexico eruptions - Sakurajima, Japan spectacular volcanic eruption - Large fireball over Maine, USA - Huge eruption from Volcano Pacaya in Guatemala

Cloud Grey

ABC, CBS exclude comments from scientists critical of global warming for more than 1,300 Days‏

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Like a simple parlor trick, the networks are able to make skeptical scientists vanish, at least from the eyes of their viewers.

In some cases, the broadcast networks have failed to include such scientists for years, while including alarmist scientists within the past six months. ABC, CBS and NBC's lengthy omission of scientists critical of global warming alarmism propped up the myth of a scientific consensus, despite the fact that many scientists and thousands of peer-reviewed studies disagree.

Comment: When the mainstream media has to work so hard to bolster one side of a debate, while suppressing the other side, it's clear that we are facing a propaganda operation and that the truth is being purposely hidden.


Ice Cube

Great Lakes Snow, ice cover may cause flooding

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This image, provided by NASA, shows the ice covering the Great Lakes. Scientists worry the ice could complicate the coming spring.
Like a boxer who knocked his rival to the mat and who then gets down on his knees to keep pummeling the poor guy, the wicked winter of 2014 may not be done with us yet.

Federal officials Wednesday marveled at the size of the ice sheet that as of this week covered 91 percent of the Great Lakes. That ice cover could produce problems long into the spring.

A fast melt could produce ice jams in rivers and streams that in turn cause flooding, said George A. Leshkevich, a scientist with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Great Lakes Environmental Research Laboratory.

And even if that doesn't happen, Leshkevich said, this winter's deep freeze could make the spring colder than usual, as winds whipping off the frozen lakes continue to chill communities just when it's supposed to be getting warmer.

Leshkevich and Keith Kompoltowicz, chief of watershed hydrology for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in Detroit, joined reporters on a conference call Wednesday to discuss the effect all the snow, ice and cold might have on lake levels.

Bug

Cold weather is killing off bees in Ohio

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The cold weather is responsible for more problems than just potholes, it's causing massive losses for beekeepers. 13abc's Lissa Guyton spent the day in Hancock County at the Keller Bison and Bee Farm to learn more about the serious problem that could affect us all.

The farm normally has about 1,800 hives at dozens of different sites around the Arcadia area but the owner thinks that more than half of them have been lost this winter. Lyle Keller has been a beekeeper for more than three decades. He says this is setting up to be one of his toughest years, "When you start losing 50-60% of your total number it is not easy to recover from that quickly." Bees provide more than honey, they also pollinate fruit and vegetable crops.

We were with Keller on Tuesday as he checked on some of his hives, "The bees need to get out and fly every 4-6 weeks to cleanse themselves and they haven't been able to do the cleansing flights this winter. It's rough on them. They are under heavy snow and in the extreme cold."

In addition to the extreme cold, Keller says pesticides and the lack of quality food sources are two main reasons for the population decrease, "About 25 years ago losing 10% of your hives during the winter was a big deal, this year I'll be happy if I only lose 50%."Keller plans to rebuild hundreds of his hives this spring," I will always have bees. I truly enjoy them. I may just have to scale down a bit because it takes a lot of work and I am not getting any younger."

Honey prices have gone up dramatically in the last few years. Keller expects the increase to continue this year. His bees produce some honey but their main job is the pollination of local fruit and vegetable crops. He takes them to farms around the region to do their work. Each hive costs more than $100 to maintain throughout the year.

Attention

Five dolphins strand on Provincetown flats, Massachusetts

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© Cape Cod Times/Eric WilliamsFive dolphins were found stranded this morning on a Provincetown beach in the East End of town.
Five common dolphins - four adults and a calf - were found stranded this morning on Provincetown low-tide flats in the East End of town.

As of 9:50 a.m., one dolphin is dead but the rest are still live, said RuthAnne Cowing, Provincetown animal control officer.

The tails of three of the dolphins could be seen moving, according to a Times reporter on the scene, where the wind is blowing and it is very cold.

The dolphins stranded off the intersection of Snail Road and Route 6A near the Harbor Hotel.

Rescuers with the Yarmouthport-based International Fund for Animal Welfare arrived at the stranding scene at about 10 a.m.

No further information is available at this time.


Satellite

RSS satellite record: No global warming for 17 years, 6 months (Notify Al Gore!)

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© Wattsupwiththat
Seventeen and a half years. Not a flicker of global warming. The RSS satellite record, the first of the five global-temperature datasets to report its February value, shows a zero trend for an impressive 210 months. Miss Brevis, send a postcard to Mr Gore.

Ice Cube

Hundreds of ducks found dead around Great Lakes due to ice cover

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Hundreds of ducks are being found dead along Lake Erie and Lake Ontario, and the state Department of Environmental Conversation says extensive ice coverage is to blame.

The ducks have been found along the Lake Ontario shoreline, the Niagara River, in the open waters of Lake Erie, and Dunkirk Harbor. Conservationists say the fish eating birds found dead are emaciated and lack water-proofing, which is often a side effect of starvation.

Biologists believe the extensive ice coverage on the lakes has forced wintering waterfowl to concentrate in the limited remaining open water. That, in turn, reduces the food for all and, along with severe cold, is killing off the undernourished birds.

Though the mortality rate is difficult to estimate, the DEC categorized it as "extensive."

Ice Cube

Great lakes ice cover still increasing: second highest on record

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The latest data just in from the Great Lakes Environmental Research Laboratory in Ann Arbor Michigan indicates that as of today, total ice cover reached the second highest value on record 91%, beating the previous 2nd highest value set in 1994 of 90.7%.

See the chart. Source

Snow Globe

The Little Ice Age predicted to start in 2014

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Video discusses astrophysicist Dr Habibullo I. Abdussamatov's prediction that the next Little Ice Age will begin in 2014.

Dr Abdussamatov of the Pulkovo Observatory in St Petersburg, Russia, states that total solar irradiance is the driving factor in climate change, not CO2, and that we're in for an extended period of low solar activity.

A solar minimum lasting decades could have immediate and serious consequences for our climate.

This could affect our food production capability, leading to the starvation of billions.

Source: The Cosmos News

Comment: See also: New Ice Age 'to begin in 2014'


Cloud Lightning

Forget global warming: Southward shift of Jet Stream during 'Little Ice Age' brought stronger and more frequent winter storms

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Click to enlarge
With the recent run of stormy weather in the UK, it is worth reflecting on just how stormy it was during the Little Ice Age, and even before.

Brian Fagan, in his book "The Little Ice Age", states that,"throughout Europe, the years 1560-1600 were cooler and stormier, with late wine harvests and considerably stronger winds than those of the 20th Century. Storm activity increased by 85% in the second half of the 16th Century and the incidence of severe storms rose by 400%.".

HH Lamb comes to similar conclusions, "there was a greater intensity, and a greater frequency, of intense storm development during the Little Ice Age", in his book "Historic Storms of the North Sea, British Isles and Northwest Europe".

Edward Bryant, in the book, "Natural Hazards", gives us a rundown of some of the biggest storms.

Comment: See also:

Study shows sharply accelerating trade winds

Venus' winds are mysteriously speeding up