Tuesday, July 1, 2014

Global Disaster Watch - daily natural disaster reports.

**Believe in yourself! Have faith in your abilities!
Without a humble, but reasonable, confidence in your
own powers you cannot be successful or happy.”
Norman Vincent Peale


LARGEST QUAKES so far today -
None 5.0 or larger.

Yesterday, 6/30/14 -
5.3 KERMADEC ISLANDS, NEW ZEALAND
6.2 BONIN ISLANDS, JAPAN REGION
5.0 SOUTH SANDWICH ISLANDS REGION
5.2 ALAMAGAN REG, N. MARIANA ISLANDS
5.3 KERMADEC ISLANDS, NEW ZEALAND
5.7 NORTH OF ASCENSION ISLAND

VOLCANOES -
Central Colombia on 'yellow' alert after 2.9 earthquake hits Nevado del Ruiz volcano. Authorities have issued a “yellow alert” for a region in central Colombia following minor seismic activity in one of the country's most active volcanos.

TROPICAL STORMS -
Current tropical storms - maps and details.

* In the Eastern Pacific Ocean -
- Tropical storm Elida is located about 105 mi (165 km) S of Manzanillo, Mexico. Elida is expected to become nearly stationary on Tuesday and meander off the coast of southwestern Mexico through Wednesday. The center of Elida and the strongest winds are expected to remain offshore of the coast of southwestern Mexico.

- Tropical storm Douglas is located about 450 mi (720 km) SW of the southern tip of Baja California.

* In the North Atlantic -
-Tropical depression One is located about 105 mi (170 km) SE of Cape Canaveral Florida. A tropical storm watch is in effect for the East Coast of Florida.
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Tropical storm Elida moves northwest off Mexico's Pacific coast. Elida moved slowly to the northwest off Mexico's Pacific coast, causing strong winds and heavy rain across the country's western and central states.

Tropical Depression One; ENTIRE SE U.S. Coast Could be Impacted - An area of disturbed weather over the warm waters of the Gulf Stream, located about 130 miles east-northeast of Melbourne, Florida on Monday morning (Invest 91L), has grown more organized.
Surface pressures are falling, and 91L is now at tropical depression status. Satellite loops on Monday morning showed 91L had a well defined surface circulation, with heavy thunderstorms building and steadily organizing into spiral bands. Long-range radar out of Melbourne, Florida showed these bands were already affecting the coast of Central Florida.
Sea surface temperatures in this region were about 1°C above average, 27 - 28°C. The counter-clockwise circulation of an upper level high pressure over Florida was bringing northerly winds over 91L at high altitude, and these winds were creating light wind shear of 5 - 10 knots.
However, water vapor satellite loops show that the atmosphere has dried noticeably to the north of 91L since Sunday, and the northerly winds are driving this dry air in the heart of the storm. This dry air is interfering with development and keeping any heavy thunderstorms from developing on the north side of the circulation.
Steering currents are weak off of the Southeast U.S. coast, but the models are in good agreement on the track of 91L. The disturbance should be very close to the coast of Florida by Tuesday. The system is expected to meander near the coast of Florida on Tuesday and Wednesday, before a trough of low pressure to the north begins pulling the system to the north and northeast on Thursday and Friday.
Heavy rains of at least 2 - 4" will likely affect the Northwest Bahamas and eastern coast of Florida Monday through Wednesday. Heavier rains of 4 - 8" are likely. Heavy rains of 2 - 4" will spread to coastal Georgia, South Carolina, and North Carolina on Thursday and Friday, and tropical storm conditions are possible along the South Carolina and North Carolina coasts on Thursday and Friday.
Dry air, in combination with potentially moderate wind shear, will slow development of 91L. If 91L makes landfall over Florida on Tuesday or Wednesday, interaction with land will also interfere with development. However, the storm will be over the warm waters of the Gulf Stream when the center is offshore, and we should not dismiss the possibility that 91L could reach Category 1 hurricane strength late this week, as some of the members of the 00Z Monday morning European model ensemble were suggesting.
It is more likely, though, that 91L will struggle with land interaction, dry air and wind shear, and be at worst a medium-strength tropical storm named Arthur with 50 - 55 mph winds as it brushes the coasts of South Carolina and North Carolina on Thursday and Friday. There is a lot of uncertainty with this forecast, so stay tuned.

SEVERE RAIN STORMS, FLOODING, LANDSLIDES -

Rain hangs over North and South Dakota after RECORD WEEKEND RAINS - Minot in northern North Dakota got more than 2.6 inches of rain on Saturday, breaking a 62-year-old record for the date.

Derecho Hits Chicago And Milwaukee - 1 Dead, Several More Injured in Iowa. A derecho, a violent wind event, swept from the Midwest to the western Great Lakes Monday, bringing hurricane-force wind gusts, reported tornadoes and heavy rain into Iowa and Nebraska.
The storms are blamed for one death just southwest of Cedar Rapids, Iowa, where police say a man was trapped inside a collapsed building. Several people were injured during a minor league baseball game in Cedar Rapids when they were trying to put the tarp over the field.
In Illinois, flights were cancelled at Chicago's O'Hare and Midway International airports and Commonwealth Edison reports electric power to thousands was disrupted by a derecho that moved across the area Monday afternoon. A second line of thunderstorms behind the derecho intensified as it moved from Iowa into Illinois and became extremely powerful as it crossed the southwestern suburbs of Chicago. Trees up to 50 feet tall were toppled and uprooted in Plainfield. 85 to 90 percent of the city of Morris, including its hospital, was without power late Monday evening after powerful storms knocked down hundreds of trees.
In Iowa, the powerful storms hit Interment Technologies in Fairfax, just southwest of Cedar Rapids, around 3 p.m. A male employee was trapped inside and died. Violent 80-mph winds left more than 95,000 customers without power. In Cedar Rapids, the storms left damage in "just about every neighborhood". Images show large tress down on homes and vehicles, as well as entire structures blown over.
Rescue crews in Cedar Rapids were scouring a storm drain after two teens were swept away by flood waters. One of the teens was able to escape. The other remained missing Monday night. Earlier in the day, a possible tornado was reported near Stuart. Damage to houses and other buildings were also reported in Warren County as storms moved through the area. In western Iowa, late-morning storms dropped giant hail up to 4 inches in diameter in Rockwell City. Harlan reported 3-inch diameter hail, slightly larger than baseballs.
The derecho came one day after severe weather produced heavy rain and wind gusts of up to 70 mph. A highway in Fairfax partially collapsed and the driver of a truck was injured, though additional information was not available. Part of a highway near Mount Vernon also partially collapsed. There were no reports of injuries Sunday.
Heavy rain brought flash flooding into southern Wisconsin Monday. Photos posted on Twitter show main roads in Madison flooded during rush hour. At least 105,000 customers had lost electricity as of Monday night. A wind gust of 72 mph was recorded in the Milwaukee suburb of Mequon. The region dealt with damaging storms Sunday, too.
The same second line of storms that crossed the Chicago area late Monday evening quickly moved across northern Indiana. A wind gust of 86 mph was reported in Lowell. Several tornado warnings were issued across northern parts of the state. Sirens sounded in South Bend as the storms approached. Winds gusted to 68 mph at the city's airport. Early reports indicated extensive tree damage in northern Indiana and far southern Michigan. Some of the trees fell on houses.
In Missouri, an isolated thunderstorm produced a tornado near Gilman City, in the north-central part of the state, Monday afternoon. A tornado warning was issued for parts of the Kansas City metropolitan area around 9:30 p.m. Central time. There have been no confirmed reports of tornadoes, but the storm knocked down a number of trees onto cars in Liberty, just northeast of downtown Kansas City. Part of a roof was blown off an office building in the suburb. (video)