Wildfires and their devastating effect. The facts

The devastating effects of Wildfires

An in depth look at the recent increase in uncontrolled outdoor fires called wildfires around the world that have reached apocalyptic or biblical levels in recent times over the last few years or so. What's causing them, are they actually on the increase, is El Nino to blame, what can be done to control them if anything , or whether as with all the recent world events it's just business as usual around the world?

The recent Alberta Canada Wildfires that started May 2016 illustrate the fact that wildfires in my opinion seem to be getting worse and are a natural disaster force to be reckoned with. Australia a continent renowned

Giant Hail. Is it business as usual on Planet Earth?

Is Giant Hail on the increase?

A recent headline sparked this article it read "8 killed as severe storms lash northern Myanmar"?

On further investigation this is not the first time this has happened, although at present it is not a common occurrence. It seems with the recent change in the world weather verging on the bizarre, "massive hail" seems to be on the increase, not only in the places you would expect it, but increasingly around the world in places that you would not. It's not quite the headline grabber as say Tornadoes, Hurricanes, Earthquakes or Volcanic eruptions but with recent headlines it begs the question "How large can hail get?"

VID: Insane Giant Hail around the Globe. Is it getting bigger? via The Twelve Gates You Tube

Normal sized hail is the size of a pea or maybe marble sized in the extreme, but the latest hail seems to have jumped up in size with hail the size of a baseball or tennis ball being quite common and hail the size of a grapefruit in rarer cases. These sizes do occur but are more a rarity.

Something that size dropping out of the sky at a rapid rate of knots being rock solid in composition can easily damage vehicles and buildings but also when hail gets that size and travelling at that speed, has the potential to cave your head in and potentially kill people as the previously mentioned headline demonstrates! Walking around in a crash helmet whilst walking the streets becomes a rather mad, laughable but very feasable proposition when these sort of situations occur. With these sot of headlines those sort of thoughts start entering your head, you know that we are living in changing times and more to the point........ something is not quite righ here!

Massive Hail is the new Natural Disaster headline in terms of frequency and deadliness, starting to head up their with the other big natural disasters. Large Hail is nothing new, it's been around for a long time but the larger biblical/apocalyptic stuff is rare, that is until recently. Hail stones originate from a Hail Storm, but what exactly is a Hailstorm and what causes hail to form and why do you get these weird occurrences sometimes in the middle of summer?

What is a hailstorm?
Any thunderstorm which produces hail that reaches the ground is known as a hailstorm. Hail has a diameter of 5 millimetres (0.20 in) or more. Hailstones can grow to 15 centimetres (6 in) and weigh more than 0.5 kilograms (1.1 lb). Unlike ice pellets, hailstones are layered and can be irregular and clumped together.

What causes hail to form?
Hail is caused when raindrops are lifted up into the atmosphere during a thunderstorm and then supercooled by temperatures below freezing, turning them into ice balls, says Dr. Dick Orville of Texas A&M University. "The faster the updraft on these balls of ice, the bigger they can grow," he adds.

Vid: 10 seconds Hail Explainer from CBS11 Dallas Fort Worth from Chief Meteorologist Larry Mowry

El Nino is usually the explanation for such strange biblical or apocalyptic weather, but according to meteorologists we are heading out of El Nino?

What does The Weather Channel have to say? A comprehensive article delves a little bit deeper with some interesting facts:

When it comes to severe weather, tornadoes dominate the headlines and are generally the most feared. This is for good reason as they are one of the most violent weather forces on earth. That said, severe storms also come with other hazards that can be a significant threat to people and property. One of those "underrated dangers" is large hail.

The costliest hailstorm in U.S. history hit the Phoenix metro area on Oct. 5, 2010. As estimated $2.8 billion in damage was caused by that storm, according to NOAA's storm data. Hailstones up to three inches in diameter were measured in the West Chandler area.

Typical damage from hail-

Quarter-size (1 inch) - Damage to shingles
Golf ball (1.75 inches) - Dents on cars
Baseball (2.75 inches) - Windshields smashed
Softball (4.5 inches) - Holes in roofs

What sort of damage can a baseball sized hail do to a person?
According to the National Severe Storms Laboratory (NSSL), a hailstone the size of a baseball falls at a speed comparable to a baseball thrown from a major league pitcher - near 100 mph. A good indication of why injuries to a person's body from large hail can be so severe.

Giant Hail Deaths
Deaths from Giant Hail are thankfully fairly rare. the deadliest hailstorm occurred on April 30, 1988 in India when 246 people were killed! But see the recent headline only days ago where 8 people died and another in South Africa in Feb 2016 that killed one.

More Hail Facts:
1. Hailstones 98% of the time are golf ball size or smaller
2. The largest ever Hailstone fell in Vivian, S.D. on July 23, 2010. It measured eight inches in diameter and weighed 1.93 pounds
3. Large hail (at least 1 inch in diameter) is most frequently observed firstyl across an area called Hail Alley ranging from Denver to Rapid City, South Dakota, and east into parts of Nebraska, Kansas, and Missouri. These areas average more than 10 days per year according to reports from 2003 to 2012.
Secondly Hailstorm Alley is an area of south and central Alberta, Canada where hail storms are frequently produced. These storms frequently produce hail that is damaging to property. This area stretches from High River in southern Alberta, northward through Calgary, through Red Deer to Lacombe and then westward to Rocky Mountain House.

Comforting to know but doesn't explain The Freak Giant Hail in Russia, China, Myanmar, Brazil, Italy and many other places. What The Twelve Gates Website looks for is unusual occurrences and events that are out of the ordinary, occuring more frequently in areas not normally known for such events. Recently there has been increasing occurrences along with increasing size in areas known for hail but not of such a huge size.

Recent News:

Nov 2014: Giant Hail kills 200 in Himalayas via The Telegraph

Sep 2015: Hundreds of flamingos battered to death during giant hailstone storm via The Local ES

June 2015: Sheep herders mourn loss of sheep to giant hail stones via Rapid City Journal

Mar 2016: Violent hail storm kills exotic birds at Fort Worth Zoo in Texas via CBS News

Sep 2015: Baseball-Sized Hail Pummels Parts of Italy This Weekend via Weather.com

A compilation video will be accompanying thia article

Biblical References:
The Bible references hail on many occassions in the Old and New Testament but in relation to End Times Prophecy for our times the Book of Revelations mentions hail three times and twice there is mentioned a Great Hail. Hail doesn't have to be ice, it could be stone or rock or even meteorites! Rev 16:21 even mentions the weight of the hail, a talent. A talent is about 75 pounds or about 33kg! If the prophecy of Revelation is correct, what we are seeing now which is only at maximum a pound or 0.5kg and the damage that can cause, 33kg doesn't bear thinking about. You would need to be in a concrete bunker of some considerable thickness or similar undeground facility to have a chance of survival. Buildings would be flattened if such a hail did arrive in our modern times.

The three Book of Revelations quotes below to ponder over:

Revelation 8:7
The first angel sounded, and there followed hail and fire mingled with blood, and they were cast upon the earth: and the third part of trees was burnt up, and all green grass was burnt up.

Revelation 11:19
And the temple of God was opened in heaven, and there was seen in his temple the ark of his testament: and there were lightnings, and voices, and thunderings, and an earthquake, and great hail.

Revelation 16:21
And there fell upon men a great hail out of heaven, every stone about the weight of a talent: and men blasphemed God because of the plague of the hail; for the plague thereof was exceeding great.

The costliest and deadliest hailstorms around the world History courtesy Wikipedia

Tornadoes and their Biblical tendencies?

Tornadoes and their Biblical Tendencies

A delve into the world of Tornadoes also called Twisters. These occur globally but are renowned for forming in the US in the media termed "Tornado Alley". This article takes an in depth look at Tornadoes of various shapes and sizes, admires their sinister beauty and raw destructive force which can verge on catastrophic at times when they are at their most powerful. It's not just the awe inspiring sight of these wind vortexes that fascinates, for me personally it's the path of destruction that they take and how sometimes entire neighbourhoods will be flattened for miles, but for some miraculous reason one house or other object is left untouched and still standing amidst the trail of destruction. Why to this day is a complete baffler even to the worlds leading scientists? Hence the title of this article "Tornadoes and their Biblical tendencies".

This article just like last weeks article on Asteroids and Meteors will have a supporting video which will be released over the weekend over at The Twelve Gates You Tube Channel. A link will also appear in this article. UPDATE VIDEO LINK via The Twelve Gates at You Tube





My definition of a Tornado or Twister is

Fireballs, Meteorites, Meteors and Asteroids. Are they on the increase?

Are Fireball sightings on the increase?

This article takes a closer look at Fireballs, Meteorites Meteors and Asteroids which are all variations on a similar theme. These again have been around since the dawn of time and this article has come about because it just seems that these incidents are on the increase and an asteroid called 2013 TX68 is due to fly by in the next couple of days.. Thought it worth delving a bit deeper.

Are the events of say the last couple of years something to be concerned about, is it fact or has technology made it easier to catch these happenings of the cosmos, or is something else really going on? The fact that the last ice age is supposed to have been brought about by one of these objects impacting/colliding with our planet means that the threat is there and may not be as far fetched as people make out. Maybe not just the stuff of Hollywood films, they are out there, and we are seeing them increasingly, all shapes and all sizes. When you delve deeper into this topic you realise how lucky we have been to not be hit by one of these on a monthly or yearly basis. This article is part scientific and part general observation and part biblical prophecy analysis. It's not an end of the world prediction it's more aimed at increasing awareness of these space objects.

Firstly what is the definition and difference between Fireballs,

The Biblical Nature of Monster Hurricanes?

The Biblical Nature of Monster Hurricanes?

This article takes a closer look at Tropical Cyclones and Hurricanes, the real monsters the Cat 5's. In particular it is focused on two recent record breaking Tropical Cyclones in the Southern Hemisphere including Patricia and more recently Winston and also a look at Chapal then comparing those three  to the infamous Hurricane Katrina that hit the Southern US in 2005 and why these recent two are so different to the one that hit the US.

What is a Hurricane?
A hurricane is basically a massive storm which can sprawl for hundreds of miles with 500-600 being common for the larger ones. Winds are extremely powerful and winds can spiral inward and upward at speeds of 75 to 200 mph. Hurricanes last for a period of a week or so moving slowly over the open ocean at speeds of 10-20 mph. Hurricanes are unpredictable in direction and intensity by the very nature of their heat gathering and energy generation through contact with warm ocean waters.

The Atlantic Ocean’s hurricane season peaks

Increased Earthquake Activity. Fact or Fiction?

Is Earthquake activity on the rise?

Earthquakes on planet earth have happened since the dawn of time and earthquake activity when charted does show some vague pattern with cycles emerging. You could say earthquake activity is cyclical in nature. Certain parts of the world sees more activity than others on a regular basis as a result of being located on or near tectonic plates which form all around the earths crust.

Recently though, certainly in the last decade there has been a huge increase almost a spike in earthquake activity, you could say going off the chart beyond the normal patterns or cycles that have shown up in the past. Even the complete doubters out there have to admit the charts tell a frightening story.

Some scientific explanations as usual