**An individual has not started living until he can rise above
the narrow confines of his individualistic concerns
to the broader concerns of all humanity.**
Martin Luther King Jr.
There will be no update on Tuesday this week.
LARGEST QUAKES so far today -
6.2 NORTH ISLAND OF NEW ZEALAND
5.1 KURIL ISLANDS
Yesterday, 1/19/14 -
5.1 NEAR N COAST OF PAPUA, INDONESIA
5.0 NEW BRITAIN REGION, P.N.G.
5.0 NORTH INDIAN OCEAN
5.0 KURIL ISLANDS
1/18/14 -
5.4 NORTHERN MID-ATLANTIC RIDGE
5.4 BONIN ISLANDS, JAPAN REGION
New Zealand - Central New Zealand, including the capital Wellington, was shaken by a magnitude 6.3 earthquake on Monday, but there were no reports of injuries, and damage was mostly superficial.
TROPICAL STORMS -
Current tropical storms - maps and details.
* In the Western Pacific -
- Tropical depression Lingling is located approximately 344 nm west of Koror.
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New Caledonia cleans up after Tropical Cyclone June - New Caledonia's north is cleaning up after the area was struck by Tropical Cyclone June on Saturday. The system caused flooding and cut a number of roads. The storm also felled trees and cut power some communities. Saturday's flight schedules were also affected, with international flights delayed and some domestic services cancelled. The fast-moving cyclone weakened into a depression as it veered southwards and moved into cooler waters.
Tropical cyclone June is expected to move onto the upper North Island later today. Since 2000, New Zealand has missed a number of major tropical storms, but the most recent damaging one was Cyclone Wilma in early 2011, which caused damage to parts of Northland and Coromandel. A number have reached New Zealand but have fizzled just a few hours before reaching land. Cyclone June is not expected to be as strong as Cyclone Wilma.
Tonga - Lack of water supplies in Ha'apai causing health issues for people in Tonga, a week after Tropical Cyclone Ian devastated the country's northern islands.
Indonesia - Extreme weather pounds Yogyakarta. Yogyakarta residents have been urged to remain cautious as extreme weather, caused by a meeting of tropical cyclones, is expected to hit several areas in Yogyakarta at the end of the month.
The Yogyakarta chapter of the Meteorology, Climatology, and Geophysics Agency’s climate forecast official said that the meeting of a tropical cyclone from northern Java with another cyclone heading toward the north from the southern part of the island was predicted to take place this week. As a result, there would be an arrangement of clouds over Java Island that will produce heavy rains and high waves in coastal areas. In high-altitude areas such as Sleman regency, there is expected to be higher rainfall.
"The weather even will be quite extreme. The height of waves is expected to be between 4 and 7 meters. This is very dangerous for small boats." Many local fishermen, however, are still going out to sea despite the high waves. “It’s a lobster season now. They are selling at quite a high price.”
SEVERE RAIN STORMS, FLOODING, LANDSLIDES -
France - Two people have died and more than 150 people have been airlifted to safety after floods hit south-eastern France. One man died in his basement and another was swept away in his car while a third person was missing in a boat in the Var area. Some 4,000 homes have been left without power.
A local official told a news conference that there had been "RECORD RAINFALL. The situation is very worrying, and it's not going to get any better tonight," he told reporters on Sunday, amid forecasts of further rainfall. By Sunday evening, 155 people had been airlifted from the worst-hit areas and the evacuation of residents by boat was continuing.
One woman, who was evacuated by helicopter with her five-year-old daughter, said she had seen a huge wave wash her empty car away. "It was really staggering. We had called the fire brigade who told us to move the furniture upstairs... We had very little time, the house flooded very quickly." Some 100mm (4in) of rain has fallen in the Mediterranean resort of Nice since Thursday evening, compared with the average of 85mm for the entire month of January. An orange alert was declared by the French authorities in response to the flooding.
HEAVY SNOW / EXTREME COLD -
Polar Vortex Expected to Return for Super Bowl XLVIII? - Since the very moment MetLife Stadium was chosen to host Super Bowl XLVIII, there has been seemingly endless concern about potential weather threats. In fact, the concern is so great that the NFL has even planned ahead to reschedule the game in the event of an extreme weather situation.
“[If] it’s necessary due to matters of public safety or there are impracticalities, then rescheduling scenarios have to be considered,” the executive V.P. of events said in mid-December. “Saturday would be as early as we would consider at this point. We have contingencies that take us into Monday and Tuesday. There are postponement scenarios or rescheduling scenarios for 256 regular-season games each year. Same thing for Super Bowls since the beginning of Super Bowls. We’ve had those in place. … The fact is we’ve been in cold weather cities before, we’ve been in situations where snow has fallen ahead of the Super Bowl.”
What would be considered extreme enough to prompt a rescheduling of the NFL's premiere event and one of the most popular sporting events on the planet? Well, that's a subjective question, but the polar vortex and blizzard experienced by much of the Northeast over the first two weeks of the New Year might be enough to warrant rescheduling consideration. And, as fate would have it, early indications are that's exactly the kind of weather facing Super Bowl XLVIII.
A meteorologist who works for the National Weather Association predicts that from Tuesday, January 21st through early February, the Northeast will experience its second Polar Vortex of the New Year with temperatures of 20-30 degrees below average. The worst of this second round of the Polar Vortex is expected to hit sometime over the next 10-14 days — the tail end of which is just in time for Super Bowl XLVIII.
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