what is there to distinguish men from beasts?**
Confucius
More severe weather predicted around globe as La Nina set for return season - The weather phenomenon blamed for flooding rains in south-eastern Australia last summer and severe weather in other parts of the world, is returning for another season, US forecasters say. The June 2010 to May 2011 La Nina "contributed to RECORD winter snowfall, spring flooding and drought across the United States, as well as other extreme weather events throughout the world.
LARGEST QUAKES -
This morning -
None 5.0 or higher.
Yesterday -
9/10/11 -
5.0 OFFSHORE O'HIGGINS, CHILE
9/9/11 -
6.4 VANCOUVER ISLAND, CANADA REGION
5.1 AUCKLAND ISLANDS, N.Z. REGION
5.1 EAST OF SOUTH SANDWICH ISLANDS
5.3 ANTOFAGASTA, CHILE
6.4 magnitude quake shakes southwest British Columbia, Canada - A major earthquake that rumbled across Vancouver Island was felt as far away as BC's Okanagan Valley to the east and Seattle to the south, but caused no injuries and apparently little damage when it hit midday on Friday. The Department of Natural Resources' Earthquakes Canada website went down under high traffic in the wake of the quake.
U.S. East Coast Earthquake: Twice What Nuclear Plant Designed to Withstand - The North Anna Power Station operated by Dominion Energy remains offline after losing offsite power in the wake of the 5.8 earthquake, Aug. 24 near Mineral, Virginia.
VOLCANOES -
Time-lapse video of latest Etna eruption - Italy's Mount Etna came back to life again early on Thursday with an eruption that sent lava down its slopes and a cloud of ash into the sky, forcing the nearby Catania airport to reduce flights. On the morning of 8 September, the New Southeast Crater of Etna produced its 13th paroxysmal eruptive episode of the year.
TROPICAL STORMS -
In the Atlantic -
-Post-tropical cyclone Katia was located about 295 mi (475 km) ESE of Cape Race, Newfoundland and about 1960 mi. (3160 km) WSW of Glasgow, Scotland. Katia lost tropical characteristics over the far North Atlantic...expected to bring strong winds to the British Isles as a powerful Post-tropical cyclone on Monday and could cause damage to trees and disrupt transportation and other public services. Hurricane-force winds extend outward up to 80 miles (130 km) from the center and tropical-storm-force winds extend outward up to 310 miles (500 km). The estimated minimum central pressure based on recent reports from a Canadian buoy near the center of Katia is 954 mb. ( UK Met Office monitoring)
-Tropical storm Maria was located about 245 mi. (395 km) E of San Juan, Puerto Rico. There are no coastal watches or warnings in effect. Estimated minimum central pressure is 1007 mb.
-Tropical storm Nate was located about 95 mi. (155 km) NE of Veracruz, Mexico. A Hurricane Warning is in effect for Mexico from Tuxpan to Veracruz. The center of Nate was expected to reach the coast of Mexico in the Hurricane Warning area today.
Uinted Kingdom Hurricane Alert - Storm winds coming as Katia moves in. Britain's Met Office issued a RARE extreme weather alert covering all of Ireland, warning of 130kmh winds on Monday causing sea flooding and "phenomenal" ocean conditions expected to cause danger to ships. Experts said winds were expected to hit 130kmh.
Tropical Storm Maria threatens eastern Caribbean - Tropical Storm Maria swirled toward the eastern Caribbean on Friday, threatening to unleash heavy rain and wind on islands still struggling to recover from a recent hurricane. The center is expected to pass north of the Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico today.
Search Intensifies for 10 Missing Oil Workers - Mexico's state oil company and a Texas-based company searched for 10 missing oil workers on Friday, including four Americans, who evacuated from a disabled research vessel in the Gulf of Mexico ahead of Tropical Storm Nate.
Tropical Disturbance 91W still disorganized as it moves westward across the Western Pacific...will likely develop into a Tropical Cyclone within the next 24 to 48 hours. The system was located about 715 km NNW of Guam.
SEVERE RAIN STORMS, FLOODING, LANDSLIDES -
Brazil declares flood emergency in 10 municipalities in the southern Santa Catarina state. Torrential rains that caused RECORD FLOODING in southern Brazil have reportedly killed three people and forced more than 63,000 residents to evacuate their homes. Three days of continuous downpours have had a severe impact in southern Santa Catarina state, with authorities declaring 32 cities in a state of emergency, and two - Brusque and Rio do Sul in a state of public calamity. Some towns were almost entirely under water as the Itajai-Acu river rose to RECORD LEVELS. The Civil Defence agency said the flooding had affected nearly 790,000 people in 60 municipalities, and warned of a risk of landslides after rains left the ground waterlogged.
The water levels were in marked contrast to the severe drought and forest fires in central-west regions of the South American country. Much of Brasilia was experiencing heavy smoke levels due to wildfires sparked by high temperatures and UNUSUALLY long spells without rain - at this point around three months around the federal capital. "We have not had such a low level of humidity (in Brasilia) since 1960." Over the past 24 hours alone "there have been 50 fires, and we have 500 firefighters working." Smoke was so heavy over parts of the capital that some schools were forced to close early. "I've been living in Brasilia for 40 years, and I've never seen anything like this."
Floods worsen in eastern US after Tropical Storm Lee - Flash flood warnings have been issued from Maryland to southern New England The Susquehanna River reached RECORD LEVELS in Pennsylvania and New York, swollen by torrential rainfall from Tropical Storm Lee. The river rose a record 42.6 feet (13m) in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, on Friday but later receded to 41.4 feet. Flash flood warnings are still in effect for south-central Pennsylvania and have been issued for Maryland.
Tropical Storm Lee made landfall near New Orleans a week ago. It brought torrential rain to many areas as it swept north-east, killing at least seven people. The storm prompted hundreds of thousands to leave their homes. The Wilkes-Barre levee system withstood the cresting Susquhanna river, although much of the damage was concentrated in the surrounding areas. A bridge partially collapsed, interstate highways were closed and water submerged low-lying homes in the wider area. In Binghamton, New York, the river broke a record by spilling over retaining walls. Flooding closed a major highway near the city. Some 20,000 people remain under evacuation orders in Binghamton. Near Wilkes-Barre more than 75,000 people were told to leave. Evacuation orders are expected to stay in place until today or Monday.
UPDATE - Flooding recedes in Pennsylvania. Tens of thousands of evacuated residents were allowed to return home Saturday as rivers swollen by the remnants of Tropical Storm Lee receded across Pennsylvania after flooding in some areas that was THE WORST SINCE HURRICANE AGNES NEARLY 40 YEARS AGO.
EXTREME HEAT & DROUGHT / WILDFIRES / CLIMATE CHANGE -
More wildfires erupt in Texas as it faces its WORST DRY SPELL SINCE 1895 - Texas added 24 new wildfires burning 1154 acres to a disaster that has so far torched more than 1000 homes.
SPACE WEATHER -
FIRST STRIKE: The first of several CMEs en route to Earth struck our planet's magnetic field on Sept. 9th around 1130UT. The impact sparked a strong (Kp=7) geomagnetic storm, which is now subsiding. Friday night Northern Lights were spotted in the United States as far south as Washington, Wisconsin, Michigan, Vermont, Montana, Maine, Minnesota and North Dakota. More geomagnetic activity could be in the offing as one or two more CMEs approach.
Dead NASA Satellite Falling From Space. An out-of-control NASA satellite that is dead in space will plunge back to Earth in the next few weeks, but exactly when and where the spacecraft will fall are still a mystery, space agency and military officials said. The spacecraft, called the Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite, is about the size of a school bus and is expected to re-enter Earth's atmosphere sometime between late September and early October. The nearly 12,500-pound (5,668-kilogram) satellite will fall over a stretch of land more than 500 miles (804 kilometers) long somewhere between northern Canada and southern South America.
But NASA and U.S. military officials tracking the defunct UARS satellite won't have a better idea of where the spacecraft will fall until around two hours before it happens. "We continue to say late September is the best estimate that we can give right now. There are so many factors that will affect it between now and that point in time — the atmosphere changes on a daily basis — that it's impossible to say how that's going to impact this re-entry." Even two hours before re-entry, the military will only be able to pinpoint the area of impact to within about 6,000 miles (10,000 kilometers). There is a 1-in-3,200 chance that a person somewhere on Earth could be hit by falling satellite debris, but the odds of the UARS spacecraft re-entering over a populated area are extremely remote. "So those are actually very, very low odds that anyone is going to be struck by a piece of debris." 26 large pieces of the UARS satellite are expected to survive the re-entry and reach the Earth's surface. Altogether about 1,170 pounds (532 kg) of material from the UARS satellite are expected to reach Earth. The largest piece of debris could weigh nearly 300 pounds (150 kg). "Throughout the entire 54 years of the Space Age there has been no report of anyone being injured or impacted by any re-entering debris."
The $750 million UARS satellite has been dead in orbit since 2005, when it was decommissioned after a 14-year Earth-observation mission. The spacecraft is the largest NASA satellite to make an uncontrolled fall back to Earth in years. It is about 35 feet (10.7 meters) long and 15 feet (4.5 m) wide. On average, a spacecraft as large as UARS falls back to Earth about once a year. In 2010, a total of 400 pieces of satellites or spent rockets fell back to Earth, though most pieces either burned up during re-entry, fell into the ocean or fell over unpopulated areas. "Satellites re-entering is actually very commonplace." NASA is encouraging any member of the public who finds a piece of the UARS satellite to not touch the object and notify local law enforcement authorities. The satellite's remains are still owned by the United States government and cannot be sold to space memorabilia hunters.
NASA and the military's space tracking division are keeping a close watch on the UARS satellite for any changes in its descent over the next few weeks. The space agency is posting weekly updates on the falling spacecraft on a special UARS mission website. The updates are coming from the Joint Space Operations Center at the U.S. Strategic Command at Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif., which is tracking the satellite. "The reason for the updates on NASA's part is to keep you and the public informed. We know we will get a lot of questions about it, so we want to be up front about it."
According to a satellite sleuth in Berlin, Germany, his current analysis — based on couple of different methods — shows a possible decay window between Sept. 29 and Oct. 5. "The last word will be coming from the solar activity over the next two weeks." If the UARS satellite does re-enter over a populated region, it should be a magnificent sight to skywatchers on the ground. But even that is a long shot. "This would be quite a nice show. It is a relatively large vehicle, it would be visible in daylight. "Odds are it's going to happen over an ocean, unlikely to be seen unless it's, you know, from an airliner. We've had reports like that before. "
