Iceland map lighting up like a Christmas tree! Resurgent earthquake activity near Katla volcano                               22 Dec 10  Dear Robert, Take a look at the map of recent quake activity at the Iceland volcano! The map is lighting up like a Christmas tree with 20+ quakes in past 24-48 hours! Maybe the volcano has a Christmas surprise in store for us! Felix Ruder   http://en.vedur.is/earthquakes-and-volcanism/earthquakes/myrdalsjokull/#view=map Thanks to Felix Ruder, Steven Rowlandson, John v. Kampen, Steve Foster, Bradley Haythornthwaite and Thomas Loherche for this link Mammoth Mt - 15 feet of snow in 4 days More on the way                          21 Dec 10 - More than 12 inches of rain have fallen in parts of the Santa Monica Mountains in southern California and a record 15.5 feet of snow has accumulated at Mammoth Mountain ski resort over the last four days - the most  since records began in 1969 And more is on the way, warns the National Weather Service, with the possibility of thunderstorms, hail, flash floods and even tornadoes. Researchers have coined the ongoing influx of tropical moisture into the state as an 'atmospheric river'. Downtown Los Angeles has already received around six inches of rain since last Thursday, around 40 per cent of the city's average annual precipitation. See entire article: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1340683/Golden-State-warned-flooding-tornadoes-sno w-heavy-storms-smash-California.html Thanks to Tom McHart for this link Danes across the country: Help! We're snowed in (Danskere over hele landet: Hjælp! Vi er sneet inde)

23 Dec 10 - The snow is high all over Denmark. Even in the larger cities it can be a risky endeavor to step out of her door. Many Danes are incarcerated, and that means that they are forced to spend Christmas at home. For some it's a nice opportunity to be with the immediate family. Others can look forward to spend Christmas alone. Bornholm: The kids are sad. In the small town just outside Lørbæk Rønne on Bornholm sits Britta Jeppsen. She could not come to work today, for the whole island of Bornholm is shut down, and all exit discouraged. She can not even get away from his property, which lies a few feet high drifts on the roads outside. 'In all my 37 years I have never experienced that it has snowed so much that you had to stay home on Christmas Eve. But it seems that it is what will happen tomorrow, "she says. http://politiken.dk/indland/ECE1150719/danskere-over-hele-landet-hjaelp-vi-er-sneet-inde/ Thanks to Brian Payne for this link (and translation)

New Zealand's Christchurch hit by strong aftershockslink

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Speaking from Christchurch, Radio New Zealand's Ian Telfer told the BBC it was pure luck that no-one was injured

A series of strong aftershocks from a September earthquake has rattled Christchurch in New Zealand on one of the busiest shopping days of the year.

The most powerful tremor was 4.9 magnitude and its impact was magnified by its proximity to the city centre.
Buildings were damaged, power supplies temporarily cut and a large shopping centre was evacuated.
The city of 370,000 people was hit by a 7.1-magnitude earthquake three months ago, causing widespread destruction.
Two people were seriously injured in that quake, and older buildings including some landmarks were destroyed.
Scientists say the tremors which continue to shake the area are related to the September quake and warn they could continue for some time.
On Saturday, a 7.3 magnitude quake struck under the sea off Vanuatu, but there were no reports of damage or injuries.
'Violent' Correspondents say it was a remarkable stroke of luck that no-one was hurt in Sunday's tremor.
It struck at 1030 (2130 Saturday GMT) within 5km (three miles) of Christchurch at a depth of 12km, said GNS Science monitoring agency.
Shop fronts were shattered and in some places masonry could be seen littering the streets.
Large parts of the central business district were cordoned off as police assessed damage to buildings.
"To witness that first hand, it really scared the living daylights out of me," one witness told reporters. "Buildings were exploding, and I thought it was glass but it was rock!"
One resident, Roger Cleave, who owns a music shop, said the latest shocks did more damage than September's quake.
"When we had the [earthquake in September] we had very little damage to stock. I think only one guitar fell off the wall and a couple of other items fell over. But this one was a lot more violent and a lot more stuff has fallen off."
A Civil Defence Emergency Operations Centre, to co-ordinate the response of emergency services, has been set up.