Otherworldy Subterranean Dreamscape

This morning I first became aware of a series of amazing images. surrealistically H.R. Giger-esque, captured by an intrepid young Russian photographer in an abandoned salt mine complex several hundred feet under the city of Yekaterinburg, Russia. The mineral responsible for staining these salt deposits is one that before today I do not ever recall seeing or hearing ought of, to wit, Carnallite. For further details and additional photographs for this set visit HERE.

All photographs by Mikhail Mishainik (all rights reserved).

Something Never Before Seen

To my knowledge tonight is the first time this pattern and large-scale aerial coverage of Red Flag Warning has ever been seen over California any time of year let alone during the Dead of Winter. Most odd is the presence of such fire conditions in the Northern Sierra Nevada Range and in the temperate rainforests of Northwest California all the way out to the coastline itself. Typically the former is receiving feet of snow this time of year and the latter is receiving feet of rain this time of year.

I was initially unable to secure this image but thanks to USFS Region 5 Predictive Services and Wildland Fire Meteorologist Brenda Belongie of the United States Forest Service in North Ops (Northern California region) we can all view this incredible image. So incredible was this scene that Ms. Belongie saved it for her own edification for which we are all thankful! In an email exchange she told me:

  "Red Flag Warnings issued in January last occurred in the north…..like, uh, never. THAT’s the barn burning, unprecedented part about it up here at least, and it’s very rare if ever been done before in January for the south. Also like you, I don’t recall ever seeing the state under a Red Flag Warning from north to south border, even in the dead (middle) of fire season. And I’ve been around awhile in this business."

Most Awesomest Ice Shove Footage Ever

I was shown this by a friend some weeks ago on his cell phone courtesy of Youtube. I made a note at the time to check it out more thoroughly when I got home and post it here. However, since then I kept forgetting to do either of those things until tonight. At the time I was shown this I was under the false impression it happened and was filmed on a smart phone during Polar Vortex event earlier this month. However, as it turns out it happened last Spring on the morning of May 11, 2013, at Mille Lacs Lake, Minnesota, dontcha know. This ice shove footage seems like a wonderful counterpoint to the post previous.



UPDATE: here is a great view of the aftermath of this event.

Power Ball

I would like to know the mechanics of how this amazing and awesome phenomenon occurred in Lachine, Quebec, Canada, the other night as a result of a wind storm disabling the electrical distribution system in this suburb of Montreal.