The weather service issued multiple flash flood and flood warnings for counties in northern Illinois, northwestern Indiana and southeastern Wisconsin. The storms, which threatened eastern Illinois, Indiana, and parts of Kentucky and Ohio, could include large hail, flash flooding and damaging winds of more than 60 mph. At O'Hare International Airport, one of the nation's busiest, 403 inbound and outbound flights had been canceled by Wednesday evening. The heavy rain also caused hour-plus delays for other flights. Metra, the Chicago area's commuter rail service, also reported delays of more than an hour on one of its lines. Part of one line north of the city was shut due to flooding. Parts of some arterial roads were closed on Wednesday morning due to flooding.
In Wisconsin, the Governor declared a state of emergency in seven southwestern counties after touring flood damaged areas on Wednesday. Several communities in northeastern Iowa on the Wapsipinicon River were also dealing with flooding. In Independence, volunteers filled sandbags to avert flooding and local officials closed several roads.
LARGEST QUAKES -
Live Seismograms - Worldwide (update every 30 minutes)
This morning -
None 5.0 or higher.
Yesterday -
6/26/13 -
5.2 NICOBAR ISLANDS, INDIA REGION
5.7 MOLUCCA SEA
New Zealand - Red-zone quake residents may be left out in the cold. Christchurch residents who continue to live in "red-zone" areas may have to provide their own generator, water supply, sewerage facilities and roads in the future as local authorities will not be fixing services in those areas.
US program to build houses in Haiti falls short - A U.S. government program to build housing in Haiti after the devastating 2010 earthquake will only construct one-sixth of the homes intended because of poor planning.
VOLCANOES -
Volcano Webcams
Alaska volcano erupts with new intensity - Pavlof Volcano disrupts local flights. The eruption at Pavlof Volcano, on the Alaska Peninsula, has picked up again. The volcano is spewing ash to 28,000-feet (8,500 meters), the highest it's reached since the unrest started in early May. That's not high enough to interfere with international air traffic. The volcano has been spewing ash and lava for the past six weeks. It erupted with new intensity early on Tuesday, belching a plume of cinders 5 miles into sky and onto a nearby town.
Both Pavlof and Veniaminof volcanoes acting up again - The two volcanoes are located on the Alaskan Peninsula in Southwest about 60 miles from each other, and are showing their strongest seismic activity yet, reportedly belching smoke plumes and emitting small eruptions of ash and lava.
TROPICAL STORMS -
In the Eastern Pacific -
Tropical storm Cosme was located about 495 mi (795 km) WSW of Cabo San Lucas, Mexico. Large swells generated by Cosme are affecting portions of the Pacific coast of Mexico from near Acapulco to Los Mochis and the southern Baja California peninsula.
Lessons from Larry show cyclones can be ovals - A study of an intense cyclone that his the north Queensland Coast of Australia in 2006 has revealed it was not a perfect circle and had a double eye wall. Severe Tropical Cyclone Larry crossed the coast near Innisfail early on March 20.
SEVERE RAIN STORMS, FLOODING, LANDSLIDES -
Extreme flooding must be 'turning point' on disaster response - A United Nations senior official stressed that this year will be a “turning point” in how governments view and respond to extreme weather events, and floods in particular, which are currently affecting several countries across the world. “India, Nepal, Canada and many countries in Europe have experienced huge losses over the last two months due to intense precipitation events which have triggered extreme flooding affecting millions of people’s well-being and livelihoods.”
Monsoon rains in India this year are believed to be THE HEAVIEST IN 80 YEARS. 7,000 people are still stranded in the mountains after flash floods and landslides. More than 600 people are confirmed dead so far, while 80,000 have been rescued. “The shocking loss of life in India underlines how vitally important it is that we start planning for FUTURE SCENARIOS FAR REMOVED FROM ANYTHING THAT WE MAY HAVE EXPERIENCED INTHE PAST.”
In the Canadian province of Alberta, more than 100,000 people were forced to flee their homes this month as floods triggered by torrential rains hit the region. The floods have washed away roads and bridges, cut off electricity and submerged hundreds of homes. “When we look at the worldwide escalation in economic losses from disasters over the last five years, it is clear that our exposure to extreme events is growing and this trend needs to be addressed through better land use and more resilient infrastructure as we seek to cope with population growth and rapid urbanization.”
250 million people have been affected annually by floods over the last 10 years, and floods are the single most widespread and increasing disaster risk to urban settlements of all sizes. Major contributing factors include poor urban planning which increases flood hazard due to unsuitable land use change, increases in paving and other impermeable surfaces, poorly maintained drainage, sanitation and solid waste infrastructure. “Flood management systems need to be designed so that even if they are overwhelmed by floodwaters, the failure is not catastrophic."
EXTREME HEAT & DROUGHT / WILDFIRES / CLIMATE CHANGE -
Texas - RECORD-BREAKING HIGHS this weekend. Dry upper level high pressure is in control of their weather this week making it hot and mostly sunny. Less wind the end of this week and this weekend will help make it even hotter. Lows in the upper 70s and highs in the upper 90s and 100s.
Alaska Heat Wave - RARE RECORD-BREAKING Scorcher with 90-Degree Temperatures. According to recent weather reports, the country's northernmost city, with a population a little over 250,000, peaked over the 80s and will remain in this record high heat (with possible 90-degree temperatures!) for the area throughout the weekend.
Extreme weather helps GM debate - More farmers are embracing the idea of Genetically Modified crops following a year of atrocious weather and poor crop yields. A poll of over 600 British farmers found a major shift in their stance towards GM in the past year. Nearly a third of those surveyed said they would now be more likely to grow GM crops, if it were legal, than a year ago.
Canada heading towards uninsurable housing market as extreme weather increases - Over the past 15 years, studies have indisputably shown that the frequency and severity of extreme weather events across the planet have increased. In Canada, that's meant claims for water damage have vaulted ahead of fire.
Met Office scientists examine cause of UK extreme weather - Leading scientists from the Met Office had a meeting on Tuesday, June 18, to discuss the unusual weather experienced by the UK over the past two years, and to determine possible correlations with the Arctic ice melt. They looked at recent spates of extreme weather, including the freezing winters of 2010 and 2011, the wet summer of 2012 and this year’s cold spring. Experts will try to understand the causes of these incidences, by looking also at the possible contribution of the Arctic ice melt.
According to the Met Office, as temperatures in the polar regions increase, the jet stream – the system of strong winds that allows the weather to change around the globe – can be weakened. If it moves south more frequently, cold air can reach the UK while they keep the country stuck in the wet weather. “Low pressure systems run along there and drop into a trough and it’s very hard to get them back out again, they get stuck like an eddy in a river. They hit us and come back and we get rain for long periods of time.”
The meeting would not discuss climate change in detail, but rather weather patterns. “The aim is to understand some of the causes behind that variability. A lot of those potential causes cannot easily be attributed to climate change. The more we can understand about these potential causes, the better advice we can give on near-term climate from a month out to about a year ahead.” Other Met Office scientists had previously rejected claims that the meeting was an “emergency”, as stated by a number of right wing newspapers and climate sceptic organisations.
