Storms
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Galaxy

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

Last Messages
YouTube
Fri, 07 Mar 2014 10:07 UTC
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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
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Attention

Rare deep sea creature washes up on Dorset beach, UK

Emma Walker
Dorset Echo
Fri, 07 Mar 2014 10:33 UTC
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A rare sea creature which is only usually seen at the depths of the ocean was found washed up on a Dorset beach.

Biomedical scientist Paul Harris was walking along West Bexington Beach when he stumbled upon a Sea Mouse, which can usually be found buried up to 6,600ft beneath the waves.

The rare creature, which feasts on dead animals and is covered in colourful hair, is a type of marine worm.

Dorset's coast has been battered by severe storms in recent weeks and tonnes of rubbish, dead seabirds and unusual finds have been washed up on the county's shores.
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Cloud Precipitation

Storm brings 100-year flood to Christchurch, New Zealand

Tom Yulsman
Discover Magazine
Wed, 05 Mar 2014 03:24 UTC
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© NASANASA’s Terra satellite captured this image of a powerful storm swirling off the coast of New Zealand on March 4. The storm has caused what has been reported as a 100-year flood in the city of Christchurch.
The satellite image above shows the powerful storm that brought gale force winds and 36 hours of heavy rainfall to New Zealand, triggering what has been described as a 100-year flood in the city of Christchurch.

The city has been beset by flooding before, as well as a devastating magnitude 6.3 earthquake in 2011 that killed 185 people.

Authorities warned residents to consider the floodwaters contaminated. It's unclear how many homes were flooded. One account puts the number at up to 100.
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Dollar

Ice storm costs South Carolina $360 million in timber

Paresh Dave
Los Angeles Times
Thu, 06 Mar 2014 03:04 UTC
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© Bruce Smith / Associated Press / February 19, 2014Trees near Lodge, S.C., show damage from the February ice storm.
Snow, sleet and frozen rain damaged a year's worth of South Carolina's timber harvest last month, making it the most damaging storm in the region since 1989, officials reported.

About 11% of the forestland was significantly affected by the pre-Valentine's Day storm, which left an inch of ice across half of the state. Though most of the $360 million in damage was considered "light" by the South Carolina Forestry Commission because some of it could be salvaged, the agency declared a disaster and called on timber companies Wednesday to save as much as they could.

The rest of the South also felt the wrath of the storm, which shut down schools and businesses and snarled traffic from Feb. 10-13.

The storm claimed about $65 million worth of timber in Georgia, the state's Forestry Commission said last week. Among casualties there was the famous Eisenhower Tree, a pine on the Augusta National golf course that was said to have repeatedly caught the former president's tee shots.

Comment: Also see: UK storms caused 'greatest tree loss in a generation'

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Boat

Fishermen still suffering in aftermath of UK storms

Andrew Glover
BBC News
Fri, 07 Mar 2014 02:45 UTC
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The coastline of the UK has been lashed by storms in recent months
The winter storms that battered much of the UK's coastline have also stopped fishermen heading out to sea to bring in their next catch. Now many families are facing financial hardship and wondering where their next pay day will come from.

As the wife of a shell fisherman, Sarah Bentley-Jones is used to a winter lull in her family's earnings.

Her husband Ian, 37, fishes out of Keyhaven, close to their home in Milford-on-Sea, Hampshire, but extreme weather has meant he has hardly spent any time at sea for months.
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Cloud Lightning

UK storms caused 'greatest tree loss in a generation'


BBC News
Fri, 07 Mar 2014 02:24 UTC
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© UnknownA tree uprooted at West Malling Golf Club
The winter storms that battered the UK caused the greatest loss of trees since the Great Storm of 1987 in some areas, the National Trust has said.

More than 50 of the trust's sites were surveyed, with some losing hundreds of trees including valued ancient specimens.

Many trees were uprooted and blown over rather than snapped, due to the saturated ground.

The trust said that despite the damage, the losses could have been worse.
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Cloud Lightning

Apocalyptic storm front appears over Sydney, Australia

Ted Thornhill
Daily Mail, UK
Wed, 05 Mar 2014 15:33 UTC
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Looming: A large storm cloud covers the Sydney Central Business District on Wednesday

A gigantic storm front moved in over Sydney on Wednesday and residents were quick to upload dramatic pictures of it to the internet.

Huge clouds hundreds of feet high, with some shaped like giant tubes, loomed menacingly over the city during rush hour.

As forecasters warned of heavy rain and flash flooding, Twitter and Facebook became awash with pictures of the looming storm, with one describing the conditions as 'apocalyptic'.

Jason Murray tweeted 'b****y hell' as the storm rolled in. Another wrote: 'Bad time for bike comute home. OK, that's a storm alright.'

Josh Noble thought the clouds reminded him of a certain Hollywood blockbuster.

'It's Independence Day,' he wrote.
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Windsock

Rare tornado hits Mesa, Arizona

Jason Volentine
azfamily.com
Tue, 04 Mar 2014 13:44 UTC
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A tornado touched down in Mesa over the weekend, something Valley weather experts said is a very rare occurrence for the area.

The National Weather Service in Phoenix confirmed the tornado on Sunday, one day after strong thunderstorms made their way through eastern parts of the Valley.

Debris that included down trees and an empty hot tub tossed over a brick wall confirmed rotating winds consistent with an EF0 strength tornado with speeds up to 85 mph.

"The EF Scale, which became operational on February 1, 2007, is used to assign a tornado a 'rating' based on estimated wind speeds and related damage," explains the NWS website.

While Arizona sees up to 10 tornadoes per year, almost all of them are in the northeastern part of the state.
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Cloud Lightning

At least 28,000 seabirds have now died in NE Atlantic due to winter storms

Keith Perry
The Telegraph, UK
Tue, 04 Mar 2014 13:26 UTC
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Thousands of seabirds have been wiped out in the winter storms which have also claimed the lives of dolphins and seals found washed up on west country beaches

The winter storms have caused an "unprecedented" wildlife disaster, wiping out thousands of rare seabirds, experts said yesterday.

An estimated 1,600 dead birds have washed up on beaches in Devon, Dorset, Cornwall and West Wales since early last month, the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds reported.

The bodies of a further 1,000 seabirds have been recovered from beaches in the Channel Islands, with more than 20 species, including guillemots, razorbills, puffins and kittiwakes, among the dead.

The RSPB said that a "double whammy" of climate change and winter storms was making it harder for birds to find enough fish to survive. The deaths will have a serious impact on breeding colonies.

At least 28,000 birds have perished across the north eastern Atlantic region, with nearly 22,000 washed up along the French coast, the conservationists said.
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Cloud Lightning

Texas weather turns on a dime: Spring one day, thundersleet the next

Jeff Jamison
CBS - Dallas/Fort Worth
Sun, 02 Mar 2014 17:56 UTC
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© CBS
If there was ever any doubt Texas weather can turn on a dime, it was crushed under the weight of thundersleet today.

After two balmy days in the 80s, temperatures crashed Sunday into the 20s. A precipitous drop with, yes, precipitation to go with it.

We've seen freezing rain and sleet on and off most of the day across North Texas, with some heavier pockets of thundersleet at times. Thundersleet is basically a thunderstorm that produces sleet instead of rain...but it still has lightning & thunder associated with it.
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© CBS
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