Streets blocked by downed trees were so common in some Minneapolis neighborhoods that emergency vehicles and buses were forced to humt for routes through the wreckage left by the storms that began Friday morning and continued through the weekend. Damage was widespread with more than 505,000 homes without power in the Twin Cities, St. Cloud and across the state, more than twice as many as the previous largest power outage in 2007.
By Saturday evening, over 112,000 were still without power as storm clouds continued to brew across the state. It may be Wednesday before all customers have power again.
**To be bitter is to attribute intent and personality to
the formless, infinite, unchanging and unchangeable void.
We drift on a chartless, resistless sea.
Let us sing when we can, and forget the rest.**
H.P. Lovecraft
LARGEST QUAKES -
Live Seismograms - Worldwide (update every 30 minutes)
This morning -
None 5.0 or higher.
Yesterday -
6/24/13 -
6.5 NORTHERN MID-ATLANTIC RIDGE
5.5 NEW BRITAIN REGION, P.N.G.
5.6 NEW BRITAIN REGION, P.N.G.
6/23/13 -
5.3 NORTHERN MID-ATLANTIC RIDGE
5.1 COSTA RICA
5.0 NEW BRITAIN REGION, P.N.G.
6/22/13 -
5.2 LOMBOK REGION, INDONESIA
5.1 SOUTH OF PANAMA
5.0 SOLOMON ISLANDS
5.0 GUAM REGION
6/21/13 -
5.3 GUAM REGION
5.0 TONGA
5.3 NORTHERN ITALY
Nevada - Seismologists keep eye on Carson City after 122 minor quakes strike this month. Nevada seismologists and emergency managers say they're monitoring an earthquake swarm in Carson City that has the potential to result in a major temblor. But officials stress they can't predict how the sequence of over 120 minor quakes that began June 1 will play out or if it will result in larger events.
Indonesia - A 5.4-magnitude earthquake struck North Lombok, West Nusa Tenggara, on Saturday, causing injuries to around 50 people and damage to more than 5,000 homes. Hundreds of local people were still homeless on Sunday.
Magnitude 5.2 quake hits Italy, minor damage in rural areas - At least one person was injured and dozens evacuated. The epicentre of the quake, which hit at about 12:33 p.m. (6.33 a.m. EDT) on Friday, was between the towns of Massa and Lucca in Tuscany and La Spezia in the Liguria region. The tremor was felt in Milan. There were "big problems with communication" in the towns and cities near the epicentre of the quake, slowing efforts to check damage caused.
Fear that slum will replace earthquake camps in Haiti - Three-and-a-half years after a devastating earthquake that killed 200,000 people, Haiti is slowly returning to normal. There used to be 1.5 million people living under tents in the immediate aftermath of the quake - that number has now dropped to 320,000.
VOLCANOES -
Volcano Webcams
Eruptions at Pavlof and Veniaminof in Alaska Continue - The eruption inside the caldera at Veniaminof continues onward, at least according to the seismic information. Tremor continues to be recorded on the operating seismic stations. Recent satellite images show elevated surface temperatures at the cinder cone inside the Veniaminof caldera consistent with continued effusion of lava. No plumes have been observed in satellite images.
The eruption at Pavlov volcano is on going. Seismic tremor continues. Possible elevated surface temperatures consistent with lava effusion were detected in satellite images. A possible small ash plume from the summit vent was also seen in satellite data.
At Cleveland volcano - No elevated surface temperatures were observed in satellite images throughout the week. No other reports of activity at the volcano. Sudden explosions of blocks and ash are still possible with little or no warning.
Philippines - 9 earthquakes were felt near Taal Volcano in Batangas and Mayon Volcano in Albay over 24 hours but the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology on Saturday said there was no need to raise the alert levels at the two volcanoes.
ABNORMAL TIDES -
King tide, extreme weather along Australian coast - The Bureau of Meteorology is warning of extreme weather, dangerous surf conditions and a king tide is expected for the NSW coast. Winds of up to 100 km/h and heavy rain is expected to hit Sydney, as well as the mid-north coast, Hunter region, central tablelands, southern tablelands and Snowy Mountains.
TROPICAL STORMS -
In the Eastern Pacific -
Tropical storm Cosme was located about 335 mi (535 km) SW of Manzanillo, Mexico. Cosme is expected to become a hurricane on Tuesday. Heading away from land, swells generated by Cosme are affecting portions of the Pacific coast of Mexico from near Manzanillo through Cabo Corrientes. These swells are likely to cause life-threatening surf and rip current conditions.
Tropical Storm Bebinca made landfall in the coastal regions in south China, bringing heavy rainfall that will likely last through Tuesday, forecasters said. Tropical storm Bebinca will continue to bring gales and downpours and was the first tropical storm to make landfall in China this year. Bebinca made landfall in the city of Qionghai in South China's Hainan province. Bebinca disrupted 147 flights and left more than 8,000 passengers stranded in the airport.
Man-made particles lowered hurricane frequency - Higher levels of air pollution reduced the frequency of North Atlantic hurricanes and other tropical storms for most of the 20th century.
SEVERE RAIN STORMS, FLOODING, LANDSLIDES -
Canada - The massive floods that devastated Calgary, Canada late last week have raced downstream, and are now bringing the HIGHEST FLOOD WATERS EVER RECORDED to Medicine Hat, Alberta's 5th largest city (population 67,000.) The flood peaked early Monday morning in Medicine Hat, which had evacuated 10,000 residents in anticipation of the flood. The homes of nearly all of the residents evacuated have received flood damage.
The meteorological set-up for the flood began when the jet stream got "blocked" into a high-amplitude pattern that brought record heat to Alaska, but forced heavy rainfall to fall across the Bow River Basin on Wednesday night, with up to 190 mm (7.51”) falling in some areas over just a 24-hour period. Widespread heavy rains of 50.8 mm (2”) blanketed the entire river basin, sending the Bow River to near-record flood levels. At the peak of the flooding, the Bow and Elbow rivers were flowing through Calgary at three times their peak levels from a 2005 flood that caused $275 million in damage.
Calgary, Canada's 5th largest city (population 1.2 million), was forced to evacuate 100,000 people, and the downtown area was submerged by the flood waters. Three people died. Over the weekend, 65,000 people were allowed to return to their homes, but the city remains under a state of emergency. The Calgary flood will be ONE OF THE MOST DAMAGING FLOODS IN CANADIAN HISTORY. While it is too early to come up with a reliable figure for the damages, insurance industry experts said on Friday that the Calgary floods could cost $500 - $800 million -- two to three times the cost of the city's 2005 floods.
The June 2013 Alberta flood has the potential become the most expensive flood in Canadian history, exceeding the $800 million price tag of the April 4, 2011 flood in Southern Manitoba, along the Assiniboine River and Lake Manitoba. In 2011, water levels rose so high in Lake Manitoba that some beach front homes ended up three km into the lake. (photos & video)
North Carolina - RECORD-BREAKING RAIN over the weekend causes minor wrecks. When it rains, it pours, and if you don't believe it, then just ask a host of Sunday drivers and the N.C. State Highway Patrol troopers who responded to weather-related accidents on almost every major road in the region.
EXTREME HEAT & DROUGHT / WILDFIRES / CLIMATE CHANGE -
RECORD-BREAKING HEAT WAVE hits Alaska - Highs hitting from the mid-70s to high 90s are breaking records left and right. In the town of Talkeetna, temps hit 96 degrees, breaking a record high set in 1969. The National Weather Service was forecasting a likely return of record-breaking temperatures to Alaska, this time to the usually cloudy and rainy Southeast Alaska Panhandle. Sunday, the NWS estimated that as many as 12 Southeast communities could break daily heat records on Monday.
In the past few months, it hasn't been difficult to find people complaining about the weather. The snow was late, but then it lasted too long. It was cold, but then it thawed too early, then froze again. Tuesday, while the record-breaking temperatures persisted, most people didn't have anything negative to say. As Alaska hits more extreme temperatures, Alaskans are reluctant to complain. But most agree that the hot summer is a little strange.
Beachgoers were thrilled to be weeks into sunshine and clear skies. It took just a short time to change the climate. A month ago, Southcentral had a late-season snowstorm in a normally warmer month. Those who have lived in Alaska their whole lives admit it's weird. . "It was never this warm, so it's a little scary."
"It's such a short time we can enjoy the sun here in Alaska, so we enjoy it as much as we can -- no complaints." Everyone is aware that days like this will soon be a distant memory.
HEALTH THREATS -
Saudi Arabia reported nine new MERS-CoV (Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus) cases in the past 3 days, including six cases that were asymptomatic.
Taiwan reports first human H6N1 infection - Health authorities in Taiwan announced the first known human infection with H6N1 avian influenza, in a 20-year-old woman who was sick with pneumonia in May and has since recovered.
A lull in the number of H7N9 cases in China has given experts a chance to sift the data to fine-tune the clinical picture of the disease, which now suggests that it is less serious than earlier assessments, with more mild infections than previously thought.
