Ralph Marston
LARGEST QUAKES -
Live Seismograms - Worldwide (update every 30 minutes)
This morning -
5.2 EASTERN KAZAKHSTAN
Yesterday -
8/14/14 -
5.6 TARAPACA, CHILE
8/13/14 -
5.0 SOUTHEAST OF LOYALTY ISLANDS
5.5 CENTRAL MID-ATLANTIC RIDGE
5.0 FED. STATES OF MICRONESIA REGION
5.4 OAXACA, MEXICO
5.5 NEAR N COAST OF NEW GUINEA, PNG.
5.4 ROTA REGION, N. MARIANA ISLANDS
VOLCANOES -
Italy - Europe’s most active volcano is back with a bang. Mount Etna began eruption again on the island of Sicily last Monday.
There’s almost constantly some kind of seismic activity at the 3,350 m high volcano but the mountain entered a new period of activity last Saturday which intensified until Monday. An ash plume is rising about 100m over the volcano which sits on the east of the island of Sicily and towers over the coastal city of Catania. The first volcanic activity at Etna is believed to have occurred about half a million years ago and the site has been a volcanic hotspot continuously.
Etna’s last major eruption happened last December when lava flows lit up the night sky and caused travel disruption with the closure of Catania airport. A photo taken by an astronaut from the International Space Station showed Etna erupting with along with Mount Stromboli, a volcanic island north of Sciliy which is also spewing ash into the air above the Tyrrhenian Sea.
TROPICAL STORMS -
In the East Pacific -
Tropical storm Karina has weakened further over the open Pacific Ocean, about 770 mi (1235 km) WSW of the southern tip of Baja California.
Dry Air Dominates the Atlantic Ocean - There are two tropical waves in the Eastern Atlantic worth mentioning today - one right at the coast of Africa, and another about 700 miles to its west, a few hundred miles southwest of the Cape Verde Islands.
Both of these waves are headed west-northwest towards much drier air, and none of the reliable models for tropical cyclone formation is predicting development during the coming five days - though the wave farther from the coast of Africa has the UKMET model and a few model ensembles showing some weak development.
In their 8 am EDT Friday Tropical Weather Outlook, NHC gave the disturbance near the coast of Africa 2-day and 5-day odds of development of 0% and 20%, respectively. Dry air dominates the tropical Atlantic, and it will be difficult for a tropical storm to form in the coming week.
El Niño weather pattern credited with lessening Atlantic hurricane season. Hurricane season runs from June to November.
SEVERE RAIN STORMS, FLOODING, LANDSLIDES -
Australia - RECORDS SET TO BE BROKEN in major rain event that will drench Queensland. A major rain event is about to hit Queensland, with thousands of drought-stricken farmers set to receive their best August rainfall in years.
Maine - RECORD RAINFALL in Portland causes flooding, road washouts, evacuation of hundreds. (photos & video)
RECORD-BREAKING RAIN Floods Long Island, New York Region - A rain storm saturated the New York City area for 10 hours on Wednesday morning, breaking records and flooding many communities. The storm dumped an entire summer's worth of rain on parts of Long Island.
EXTREME HEAT & DROUGHT / WILDFIRES / CLIMATE CHANGE -
Crippling California drought levels off, latest map shows - According to the latest assessment released Thursday, more than 80% of California continues to suffer extreme drought conditions.
Brazil Drought - São Paulo Could Run Dry in Less Than 100 Days.
Cloud-Seeding Can't Save China's Farmers from Serious Drought.
Global 'Weirdness' -
Two US states 'swap weather systems' - UNUSUAL WEATHER in the Western US has caused an apparent "swap" in weather conditions between two states.
In Phoenix, Arizona, which is famously dry at this time of year, heavy rain caused a canal to flood leaving more than a dozen people marooned on flooded streets. Meanwhile in Washington State, an enormous dust storm rolled over parched land, creating an eerie scene and causing numerous traffic accidents.
Warmer Arctic air reason for extreme weather in U.S. and Europe - "The large number of recent high-impact extreme weather events has struck and puzzled us."
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