**Whether you think you can or think you can't,
either way you are right.**
Henry Ford
LARGEST QUAKES so far today -
5.6 NORTH PACIFIC OCEAN
5.1 EAST OF KURIL ISLANDS
5.0 KERMADEC ISLANDS, NEW ZEALAND
5.1 KERMADEC ISLANDS, NEW ZEALAND
5.3 KERMADEC ISLANDS, NEW ZEALAND
5.1 MID-INDIAN RIDGE
5.1 BONIN ISLANDS, JAPAN REGION
5.1 RAT ISLANDS, ALEUTIAN ISLANDS
6.6 RAT ISLANDS, ALEUTIAN ISLANDS
5.1 RAT ISLANDS, ALEUTIAN ISLANDS
5.6 RAT ISLANDS, ALEUTIAN ISLANDS
Yesterday, 6/23/14 -
5.4 EAST OF THE VOLCANO ISLANDS
5.1 KERMADEC ISLANDS, NEW ZEALAND
5.1 KERMADEC ISLANDS, NEW ZEALAND
5.9 KERMADEC ISLANDS, NEW ZEALAND
5.5 KERMADEC ISLANDS, NEW ZEALAND
5.4 KERMADEC ISLANDS, NEW ZEALAND
5.1 KERMADEC ISLANDS REGION
5.4 KERMADEC ISLANDS, NEW ZEALAND
5.3 KERMADEC ISLANDS, NEW ZEALAND
6.2 KERMADEC ISLANDS, NEW ZEALAND
6.3 KERMADEC ISLANDS, NEW ZEALAND
7.0 KERMADEC ISLANDS, NEW ZEALAND
5.9 RAT ISLANDS, ALEUTIAN ISLANDS
5.1 RAT ISLANDS, ALEUTIAN ISLANDS
5.9 RAT ISLANDS, ALEUTIAN ISLANDS
6.0 RAT ISLANDS, ALEUTIAN ISLANDS
7.9 RAT ISLANDS, ALEUTIAN ISLANDS
5.3 EASTERN NEW GUINEA REG., P.N.G.
5.1 EASTERN NEW GUINEA REG., P.N.G.
5.1 VANUATU
5.2 TONGA
Magnitude 7.9 Alaska quake spawns small tsunami - A strong earthquake near Alaska's Aleutian Islands triggered a tsunami warning Monday, but only small waves measuring several inches hit coastal communities.
The National Tsunami Warning Center, which initially issued a warning that significant inundation was possible, kept advisories in place for parts of the sparsely populated islands, saying conditions could be dangerous to people near the water. "There could be strong currents, but still stay away from the beach." The magnitude-7.9 earthquake struck early Monday afternoon, centered about 13 miles southeast of Little Sitkin Island, or about 1,400 miles southwest of Anchorage.
There were no reports of damage. Residents in some communities like Adak, which were first in line for the tsunami, did evacuate. "We're seeing water leave our bay, so we do have everybody up on the Bering Hill area, where our primary evacuation center is at." After the warning was canceled, everyone in town remains on alert. If anything significant were to happen, a siren will sound. "We will expect everyone to go back on the hill ASAP."
About 200 miles west, a tsunami wave of about 7 inches was reported at Amchitka Island. The wave diminished the further it traveled, reaching only a couple of inches at Adak and Shemya. But the earthquake was widely felt in Adak, one of the largest cities in the affected area. Shaking could also be felt in Shemya and other villages along the island chain.
The prolonged shaking from the temblor put it in the top 10 of those felt recently. "Everybody in our building went out, watching the vehicles shake and waiting for it to end." Shemya Island is where the U.S. military operates Eareckson Air Station, which serves mainly as an early warning radar installation. Air Force officials said there was no damage to the air station. Amchitka Island is where the government tested nuclear weapons underground in the 1960s and 70s. The tests included one of the United States' largest nuclear explosions.
Monday's earthquake was initially reported with a magnitude of 7.1, but that was upgraded to 8.0. In the review of data hours after the quake, the magnitude was downgraded to 7.9. There were several strong aftershocks, with magnitudes ranging from 3.5 to 5.9. Nyland said those would be too small to trigger a tsunami.
A tsunami advisory remained in effect late Monday afternoon for coastal areas between Nikolski and Attu, which is near the tip of the Aleutians. A separate advisory stretching from Nikolski to Unimak Pass, which is further east, was canceled. That area includes Unalaska, a community of about 4,000 people and home to Dutch Harbor, one of the nation's largest fishing ports. An advisory means strong currents or dangerous waves are expected, but widespread inundation isn't likely.
Magnitude 7.2 quake strikes off Kermadec Islands, no tsunami alert. The earthquake struck off New Zealand's Kermadec Islands, the most northern group of islands in New Zealand, at a depth of 5 km (3 miles).
TROPICAL STORMS -
Current tropical storms - maps and details.
No current tropical storms.
SEVERE RAIN STORMS, FLOODING, LANDSLIDES -
Minnesota Rivers Rising as Forecast Calls for More Drenching Rain - Rivers are spilling over their banks in many areas.
Australia - Extreme weather forecast for Sydney. The UNUSUAL WEATHER FRONT delivering blizzard conditions to the Alpine Peaks will bring damaging winds to Sydney. The Bureau of Meteorology is predicting damaging winds around 60 to 80 km/h with peak gusts of 90 to 110 km/h for the Metropolitan area on Tuesday.
The Bureau said a vigorous frontal system will cross New South Wales Monday with land gales expected to affect coastal districts from parts of the Hunter, Metropolitan, Illawarra and South Coast, as well as Central Tablelands by Tuesday afternoon. Winds of this strength could fell trees over homes and power lines. "Tomorow is a day where you should try and stay indoors and stay safe."
EXTREME HEAT & DROUGHT / WILDFIRES -
May 2014: Earth's 2nd Consecutive Warmest Month on Record - May 2014 was Earth's WARMEST MAY SINCE RECORDS BEGAN IN 1880, beating the record set in 2010. The planet has now had two BACK-TO-BACK WARMEST MONTHS ON RECORD.
Drought has Sierra, Nevada forests ready to burn - "The drought has really affected the moisture in the trees."
North Korea army mobilised as rivers run dry in worst drought in years - The drought is the worst in North Korea for over a decade, state media reports have said, with some areas experiencing LOWEST RAINFALL LEVELS SINCE 1961.
'GLOBAL WEIRDNESS' / CLIMATE CHANGE -
Meandering air flows cause extreme weather - Large meanders in the flow of air around the planet are a major cause of prolonged bouts of extreme weather throughout Europe, Asia and North America, say scientists. The so-called planetary waves weave throughout the Northern Hemisphere's lower atmosphere, marking the boundary between cold Arctic air to the north and the warmth of the tropics to the south.
A new study, published in the journal Nature Climate Change, says that larger planetary waves can lead to droughts in Europe, central Asia, and the central belt of North America. But their effects are not the same everywhere. On the east coast of Canada and the US, the chances of cold spells increase, while western Asia is more likely to be exposed to prolonged wet spells.
'The impacts of large and slow-moving atmospheric waves are different in different places. In some places amplified waves increase the chance of UNUSUALLY hot conditions, and in others the risk of cold, wet or dry conditions.' The past decade has seen a number of extreme weather events across the Northern Hemisphere. In 2003, western Europe was gripped by a stifling heat wave, claiming an estimated 70,000 lives.
Earlier this year, temperatures plummeted to record lows across a number of US states, affecting up to 190 million people. Some scientists have suggested that these events were caused by large planetary waves, and that such events might become more frequent as the global climate warms.
'Many people will have heard weather forecasters talking about the influence of the jet stream on our weather. These planetary waves are slightly different. They are related to the jet stream but they occur lower down in the atmosphere, and are associated with low and high-pressure weather systems.' The waves are able to suck colder air from the north, or tropical air from the south, into UNUSUAL territory, triggering changes in weather patterns affecting large swathes of the Northern Hemisphere.
They have not attempted to predict changes into the future. As the world warms up, the effects of planetary waves may end up being overwhelmed by the rising temperatures.
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