ZZTORMZZ

with all the storms and rain we have been having it has been a spectacular opportunity to take photos the likes of which we have not seen.
these storm clouds had the most spectacular light show happening inside them. it's just a pity that my camera did not do justice to the reality that was unfolding infront of us. It was TOTALLY spectacular!
This monster of a cloud sat in the South East all day and then on dusk the light show inside it began. Lightning went sideways and up and down, it went from side to side and lit up different bits of cloud. The show was out of this world!I think it was sitting above Braidwood.
enjoy these photos as best you can. I will try to magnify them.

NSW bracing for more severe storms

NSW could be in for more severe weather after thunderstorms and heavy rain lashed Sydney, the south coast and parts of the state's inland.Afternoon storms on Tuesday dumped about a month's worth of rain in less than a few hours, prompting the Bureau of Meteorology (BoM) to describe it as a "one in 20-year event".BoM senior forecaster Chris Webb said a storm front which dropped 18mm of rain in the 30 minutes to 6am (AEDT) on Tuesday at Orange, in the state's central tablelands, was due to hit the Sydney Basin from 7am.The front could weaken by the time it reached Sydney, but storms forecast for Wednesday afternoon might resemble Tuesday's deluge, Mr Webb said."The Illawarra area, parts of the south coast, also Sydney metropolitan and parts of the Hunter as being the prime areas for some severe weather this afternoon," Mr Webb told AAP."I think it's a real possibility."Storms on Tuesday dumped 35mm of rain in 30 minutes on parts of Sydney's south-western outskirts, while Cringila, near Wollongong, copped 44mm in 30 minutes.The heaviest rainfall in Sydney was recorded at Strathfield, where 17mm of rain fell in just 15 minutes.Rose Bay, in Sydney's east, was hit with 26mm in a short period.At Bilpin, in the Blue Mountains, 70mm of rain also fell in 90 minutes early on Tuesday night.The spectacular lightning and thunder that hit parts of Sydney early on Wednesday morning did not bring much rain.

Sparrow sized Pterodactyl fossil found

As pterodactyls go it was small, toothless and had unexpectedly curved toes -- yet scientists are welcoming their new find as another piece in the puzzle of ancient life."We have this really amazing creature, sparrow sized, which lived essentially in the trees, showing us a very new, very interesting side of the evolutionary history of those animals," said Alexander W. A. Kellner of the National Museum of the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil."We would never have thought of it," Kellner said in a telephone interview.Pterodactyls are best known from giant examples of the ancient flying reptiles, and most specimens have been uncovered in coastal areas.
Dubbed Nemicolopterus crypticus -- hidden flying forest dweller -- the new fossil was uncovered in the western part of China's Liaoning province, a region that was forested when it lived there about 120 million years ago."We just had one side of the story of pterosaur evolution, Kellner said. "This is now providing us with information about pterosaurs that were living deep inside the continent.""It's a new species. It's showing us a new chapter of the evolutionary history of those animals," Kellner went on.Speaking at a news conference in Rio on Monday, Kellner said the find "opens a brand new chapter in the history of the evolution of these flying vertebrates."The curved toes, he said, indicate that the pterosaurs lived most of the time in trees. "Because they were flying animals, their fossils are extremely rare. So, discoveries such as this are fundamental to understand the evolution of these winged vertebrates," he said.It was the smallest of its group of flying pterosaurs, he said, and when first uncovered the researchers thought it was a baby.The skull was not fully fused, meaning it was not yet an adult, but the ends of the bones were developed, so it was not a hatchling either."How much could it grow? We have no idea," he said. "But even if it would double its size it would still be the smallest of its particular group."The researchers said the legs and feet of Nemicolopterus had attachments for muscles indicating that it could grasp limbs, and unlike most pterodactyls, it lacked teeth. They speculated it might have eaten insects.Matthew Carrano, a paleontologist at the Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History, said some smaller specimens have been found but those were clearly younger than this animal."It is interesting to see some clear arboreal adaptations in this species," said Carrano, who was not on the research team. "It confirms a suspicion we had, that pterosaurs were more diverse in their habitats than we knew from the record.""Once again, the Liaoning region is bringing out all sorts of new things," Carrano said.

Do you know what the definition of insanity is?
It is to do the same thing over and over again, and expect different results.

Any fool can be quarrelsome and belligerant. Being
half good and half bad takes neither effort nor skill.
But being a man of peace requires bravery.

Cycles in earth changing events

Tuesday over 50 devastating tornadoes riped through the US southern states. Today (Wednesday)two volcanoes are erupting Thursday we will witness an annular solar eclipse. This will be followed by a 'full lunar eclipse' on February 21.Is there cause for concern? The 'science of cycles' suggests there certainly might be. I would suggest this would be a time of extra caution. History tells us there is always a significant earth changing event i.e. earthquakes, volcanoes, tornadoes (14 days prior to and 14 days after) a full lunar eclipse. Past evidence. Below is a list of dates of 'full lunar eclipse' from 2001 to 2011. According to past events The "science of cycles" tells us we should in fact witness escalated earth changes over the next 24 day period (give or take a few days).In America storm fatality Continues to Rise. America's Super Tuesday was spoiled by more than 50 tornadoes that hit the southern States and caused at least 45 casualties plus hundreds of wounded. The most serious toll was suffered in Tennessee (26 dead). Arkansas 13 dead, Kentucky 7 and Alabama 1.
Ecuador's Tungurahua Volcano Erupts, Prompts Evacuation Order for 3,000
Chile Volcano Spits Out Lava, Experts Warn of More
Chile's Llaima, one of South America's most active volcanoes, belched ash and a nearly mile-long river of lava crept down its slopes on Wednesday as geologists warned activity could intensify. Columns of ash and smoke rose from the crater, some of them as high as 16,400 feet (5,000 metres) above the volcano that is located 435 miles (700 km) south of the capital Santiago.
Looking at history and the scientific evidence of "cycles" and in this case as it relates to "full lunar events".Here are the dates of a 'full lunar eclipse' from 2001 to 2011
2001 Jan 09
2003 May 16
2003 Nov 09
2004 May 04
2004 Oct 28
2007 Mar 03
2007 Aug 28
2008 Feb 21
2010 Dec 21
2011 Jun 15
2011 Dec 10
And here is what happened: The following events occurred within two weeks prior and/or two weeks after the last seven full lunar eclipse.January 25 2001 - (India) A magnitude 7.6 earthquake shook the Indian Province of Gujarat. It was one of the two most deadly earthquakes to strike India in its recorded history. The death toll was 19,727, number of injured at 166,000, over 600,000 people were left homeless, with 348,000 houses destroyed and an additional 844,000 damaged.
May 2 2003 - (Turkey) At least 176 people have died and 521 people were injured after a magnitude 6.4 earthquake that shook the eastern Turkey?s Bingol province. Several public buildings collapsed in the centre of Bingol city and its vicinity. May 21 2003 - (Algiers) A strong earthquake measuring 6.8 magnitude struck the coastal region east of Algiers and the Tell Atlas mountains of Algeria. 2,251 people died, another 1,200 missing, 10,243 were injured and 200,000 made homeless.May 26 2003 A 7.0 magnitude earthquake hit northern Japan, however, there were no casualties and very few people were injured due to the depth (about 44 miles underground) of the epicenter of the earthquake.November 17 2003 - (Alaska) A 7.8 earthquake hits Aleutian Islands, Alaska; tsunami warning issued.April 2004 - (United States) Yellowstone Super Volcano experienced over 400 quakes within three days. This type of increase in earthquake activity is called a "swarm". Parts of the caldera were closed to the public with areas of surface temperatures reaching over 200 degrees Fahrenheit. Some reports were telling of the sole of on-lookers shoes were melting just prior to the area's closing.October 23 2004 - (Japan) A series of powerful earthquakes the strongest with a magnitude of 6.7 jolted northern Japan, killing at least 30 people and injuring more than 2000 people largely as the result of building collapse. Thousands of landslides were triggered by the earthquakes and aftershocks with much associated damage to roads, agricultural fields, and residential.
March 3 2007 - Two strong earthquakes shook the west coast of the Indonesian island of Sumatra on Tuesday, killing at least 70 people, 460 serious injuries have been reported, spread across many towns and regencies in West Sumatra. Over 43,000 houses were damaged.August 15 2007 - Large 8.0 earthquake hits Peru. Over 514 died, with 1,090 injured, and around 40,035 families rendered homeless. A further 30,542 families have been affected.
Addendum
as I'm blogging here I can hear a long low deep rumble. there are no trucks going by or planes flying over or thunder rolling. I don't know what is causing the sound.

Tornados USA/torrential downpours Australia

Historic Outbreak of Extremely Dangerous
Tornadoes is Primed to Erupt by Mitch Battros - Earth Changes Media feb5
Beginning late today a severe outbreak of tornadoes is likely across a widespread area from Arkansas to Ohio. By Wednesday, the strong storms will reach the East Coast.Storms similar to those that normally occur in middle to late spring will erupt late today along and ahead of a cold front separating warm moist air from the Gulf of Mexico and a cold air mass moving across the country.This is the first time in ten years that a high risk alert has been issued in the month of February. The Severe Weather Center lists the storm-related watches and warnings in effect across the Southeast and the mid-South states.This has the potential to be a very dangerous situation, especially overnight. Anyone in the threat zone should monitor media outlets for weather alerts and should be prepared to evacuate or take precautionary action at a moment's notice.

And in Australia we have storms and floods.
Lightning has struck a power station in Sydney's south, leaving tens of thousands without electricity as a wild storm dumped more than 30mm of rain over parts of the city.The NSW Fire Brigades said the lightning bolt hit a transformer at Menai power station about 1.10pm (AEDT).Fire crews isolated the burning 132 kilovolt transformer from the power grid and used carbon dioxide to smother the flames.Energy Australia said the single lightning strike had temporarily cut off power to 15,000 people in the Sutherland area.A further 26,000 on Sydney's northern beaches also lost electricity due to lightning strikes as thunderstorms and heavy rain swept north towards the Hunter region. more than 30mm of rain in half an hour had been recorded at Peakhurst, Woronora Dam and Lucas Heights.Residents of Sydney's western suburbs, where some 7,000 homes are still under tarpaulins awaiting repairs of storm damage earlier this summer, faced further damage with the sudden appearance of storm cells over the area.The State Emergency Service (SES) issued a warning to stay away from creeks and storm drains and not to walk, ride bikes or drive through floodwater.The SES also advised the public to unplug computers and appliances, avoid using phones during the storm, stay indoors away from windows, and keep children and pets indoors.
Mr Phillips said the storms had resulted from a humid air mass meeting a southerly change and had intensified due to the presence of colder air in the upper atmosphere.

Blue Eyes, baby's got blue eyes

All blue-eyed people can be traced back to one ancestor who lived 10,000 years ago near the Black Sea. Throughout history they have been the eyes that are prized. According to a team of researchers from Copenhagen University, a single mutation which arose as recently as 6-10,000 years ago was responsible for all the blue-eyed people alive on Earth today. The team, whose research is published in the journal Human Genetics, identified a single mutation in a gene called OCA2, which arose by chance somewhere around the northwest coasts of the Black Sea in one single individual, about 8,000 years ago. The gene does not "make" blue in the iris; rather, it turns off the mechanism which produces brown melanin pigment. "Originally, we all had brown eyes," says Dr Hans Eiberg, who led the team. And most people still do. The finding that a rare mutation, probably dispersed in the rapid wave of colonisation that followed the end of the last ice age, highlights one of the great mysteries of human evolution: the oddness of Europeans. Those from Europe and the Near-East have many characteristics that set them apart from the rest of the human race. Not only are Europeans far more likely to have blue eyes (95 per cent in some Scandinavian countries), they also have a far greater range of skin tones and hair colour than any other ethnic grouping. it is only in Europe that you will find large numbers of blondes and redheads, brunettes, pale skins and olive skins, blueeyed and green-eyed people living together in the same communities. Across the rest of the world people are almost uniformly darkhaired and dark-eyed. One theory is that Europe's cold weather and dark skies played a part. Fair skin is better at making Vitamin D from the 8 per cent of the world's population have blue eyes weak sunlight found in northern latitudes.Perhaps the most plausible theory is that blonde hair and blue eyes arose because of a mechanism called sex selection. This is where males and females choose as their mates those who have one unusual physical characteristic, not necessarily associated with "fitness" per se but simply something unusual. Sex selection comes to the fore when there is a lot of competition for mates of one sex or the other. The theory is that in Europe, where men had to spend weeks at a time out on the hunt, males were in very short supply. In such societies, women who had flaxen locks stood a better chance of standing out and attracting the attention of the few men that would have been available for mating.

Sun cycles and jet streams

Recent studies show El Nino cycles to be in line with the Sun's cycles. NOAA's latest research shows a 4-6 year El Nino oscillation which is in perfect rhythm with the Sun's 11 year solar cycle. Solar cycle is 4-6 years to "maximum" and 4-6 years "minimum". El Nino and La Nina are driven by "jet streams". Jet streams drive ocean currents. Shifting ocean currents cause "extreme weather".
ENSO (El Nino-Southern Oscillation) is a coupled ocean-atmosphere effect that has a sweeping influence on weather around the world. Scientists found that during El Nino winters, the position of the jet stream is altered from its normal position and, in the U.S., storm activity tends to be more intense in several regions: the West Coast, Gulf States and the Southeast.
A just released study by NOAA , University of Colorado at Boulder lead researcher Amy Solomon, and CIRES (Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences), has confirmed this integral connection between ocean and jet stream currents perpetrated by charged particles.Researcher Amy Solomon says: "Earlier climate studies suggest that the El Nino-Southern Oscillation (ENSO), which affects weather around the world, evolves independently of interannual-to-decadal North Pacific Ocean climate variability. Our study shows that the two are really quite connected through a large-scale 'atmosphere-ocean tropical-subtropical feedback loop.' In other words shifting jet streams dictate shifting ocean currents.Solomon's study is the first to separate feedbacks one at a time in an atmosphere-ocean coupled model. Through this process, Solomon and her colleagues found a clear extra-tropical signal in the El Nino-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) cycle.
NOAA/Solomon's study suggests the mechanism that connects the two latitudinal regions is an ocean subduction zone, around 30 degrees North, where water sinks and moves south until it rises again at the equator. The subduction is caused by wind stress where the tropical easterlies meet the mid-latitude westerlies."When we didn't allow the northern Pacific to interact with the equatorial Pacific area, we observed a sharp 2-year ENSO cycle, with El Ninos happening every other year, which is not what we see in real life. By adding in the extra-tropical feedback, we produced a more realistic 4-6 year ENSO cycle, with El Ninos occurring every few years," explained Solomon.NOAA's and Solomon's team as outlined above - shows their equation to match with solar cycles. It takes 4-6 years to reach solar "maximum", and 4-6 years to reach solar "minimum".
So what is driving the ocean currents to shift, which is what we know as Southern Oscillation? Simply put - 'shifting ocean currents'. But what causes the shifting of ocean currents? Well, it appears to be winds. Not just jet stream winds, but also 'solar winds'. What has been found is when the Earth's magnetic field shifts, it simultaneously causes a shift in ocean and jet streams. How is the Sun causing the ocean currents to shift? Turns out it's the Sun's impact on the Earth's magnetic field that has a causal effect on the Earth's ocean currents. So could this be the driving force behind shifting ocean currents? Batross reported "Complex and distorted magnetic fields travel with the CME cloud and sometimes interact with the Earth's own magnetic field to pour tremendous amounts of energy into the space near Earth." End result: turbulence in the atmosphere and water.