**In youth we learn, in age we understand.**
Marie von Ebner- Eschenbach
LARGEST QUAKES -
This morning -
None 5.0 or higher.
Yesterday -
8/1/10 -
5.1 PALAU REGION
TROPICAL STORMS -
No current tropical cyclones.
Atlantic - The threat of tropical storms and hurricanes will increase this month. The first tropical storm should form over the Atlantic near 13N 45W by Tuesday morning, reach the Bahamas on Saturday and the Florida coast Monday or Tuesday (August 9 or 10). This will be the first of possibly 4 storms to affect the U.S. during the month.
Two or three very strong storm systems are moving - or preparing to move - across the Atlantic Ocean from North Africa. This is the beginning of what may turn out to be a difficult month for coastal areas as these systems evolve into tropical storms and possibly hurricanes. The first one was already over the Atlantic on Sunday, August 1. The low will likely become a tropical storm by Tuesday morning, reaching the Bahamas on Saturday. It looks like it will be a compact storm and may become a small hurricane. The current track will take it to northern Florida then it will either move north toward South Carolina or slice across north Florida and into the northeast Gulf of Mexico.
The best estimate is for it to have winds as high as 90 mph as it crosses the Bahamas and 75-80 mph at U.S. landfall early next week.
A tropical depression could form in the western or central Gulf of Mexico around August 15th. Another tropical storm or hurricane will reach the Bahamas or Puerto Rico and Hispaniola about August 18. The first storm will likely affect plywood supplies as people buy it for protection, especially with the threat of it making landfall over the Southeast. If the storm does slice across north Florida and into the Gulf of Mexico it will pose a significant threat to the oil fields and have an impact on the oil spill.
PHILIPPINES - Three to four tropical cyclones are expected to enter the country this month, according to the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration. One of the storms might enter the country this weekend. Three cyclones have entered the Philippine area of responsibility this year. These are “Agaton,” “Caloy,” and “Basyang,” which caused the most damage. The fourth cyclone would be named “Domeng.” Pagasa said that this month, cyclones would most likely head towards Northern Luzon. Pagasa is currently organizing a teleconferencing system to improve its weather forecast.
SPACE WEATHER -
Coronal mass ejection heading directly for earth - Scientists have just witnessed a complex global eruption involving almost the ENTIRE Earth-facing side of the sun. On August 1st around 0855 UT, Earth orbiting satellites detected a C3-class solar flare. The origin of the blast was sunspot 1092. At about the same time, an enormous magnetic filament stretching across the sun's northern hemisphere erupted. Despite the ~400,000 km distance between them, the sunspot and filament seemed to erupt together; they are probably connected by long-range magnetic fields. A coronal mass ejection produced by the event is heading directly for Earth. High-latitude sky watchers should be alert for auroras when it arrives on or about August 3rd.
NEW MEXICO - 7/31/10 - Dawn came early to New Mexico on Saturday around 4:54 am local time when a brilliant meteor exploded near Santa Fe. "It turned night into day." ( Video)
