**The person who says something is impossible should not interrupt the person who is doing it.**
LARGEST QUAKES so far today -
This morning -
5.1 NEW BRITAIN REGION, P.N.G.
6.2 KEPULAUAN BARAT DAYA, INDONESIA
5.0 KEPULAUAN BARAT DAYA, INDONESIA
Yesterday, 8/5/2014 -
5.2 SOUTH AFRICA
TROPICAL STORMS -
Current tropical storms - maps and details.
*In the East Pacific -
- Hurricane Genevieve continues to strengthen and is located about 635 mi (1020 km) WSW of Johnston Island.
- Hurricane Iselle marching steadily toward Hawaii, has not weakened and is located about 830 mi (1340 km) ESE of Honolulu, Hawaii. On the forecast track, Iselle will pass near The Big Island of Hawaii Thursday night.
- Hurricane Julio continuing west-northwestward and is located about 1555 mi (2500 km) E of Hilo, Hawaii.
* In the Western Pacific -
- Typhoon Halong is located approximately 239 nm southeast of Kadena AB, Okinawa, Japan.
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RARE Twin Hurricanes Headed Towards Hawaii - Rare twin Category 1 hurricanes are nearing Hawaii as Hurricane Iselle, with 85 mph winds, and Hurricane Julio, with 75 mph winds, steam west-northwest towards the islands. Both hurricanes are expected to weaken to tropical storms before they affect Hawaii.
Iselle is the bigger danger, as it is expected to make a direct hit on Thursday evening, while Julio's center is expected to pass about 100 miles to the northeast of the islands on Sunday. Satellite images show that Iselle has weakened significantly over the past day. Though the hurricane still has a prominent eye, the eyewall's heavy thunderstorms are much reduced in intensity and areal coverage, due to wind shear and dry air.
The main threat from Iselle will be heavy rains leading to flash flooding and mudslides, and the storm will be capable of generating dangerous heavy rains when it reaches the islands. The Wednesday morning 06Z run of the HWRF model predicted that Iselle would dump widespread rains of 8 - 16" over the Big Island, with some regions seeing 16 - 24".
The models have been increasingly enthusiastic about Julio taking a bend to the right in its track this weekend, putting the center of the storm about 100 miles northeast of the Hawaiian Islands on Sunday. On this path, Julio's core of heavy rains of 8 - 16" would miss the islands, and high surf would be the main impact of the storm.
Typhoon Halong headed towards Japan - In the Western Pacific, Typhoon Halong was a Category 2 storm with 100 mph winds at 8 am EDT Wednesday. Satellite loops show that Halong has intensified since Tuesday, with concentric eyewalls and a prominent eye now visible. Halong is expected to affect Southern Japan as a Category 1 typhoon late this week.
Bertha declared extratropical - In the Atlantic, Tropical Storm Bertha has lost its tropical characteristics over the cold waters south of Canada, and NHC has issued its last advisory on the storm. There are no threat areas to discuss in the Atlantic, and none of the reliable models for predicting tropical cyclone genesis forecasts anything to develop in the next five days.
Hawaii Prepares for Double Whammy of Storms - Hawaii's residents scrambled Wednesday to stock up on water, propane and other emergency supplies as the approach of the rare pair of tropical storms prompted warnings of possible damaging winds, flooding and power outages.
SPACE WEATHER -
On Aug. 6, the All Sky Fireball Network reported 39 fireballs. (19 Perseids, 16 sporadics, 2 Southern delta Aquariids, 2 alpha Capricornids)
HEALTH THREATS -
RECALLS & ALERTS:
Relatives of Ebola victims in Liberia defied government quarantine orders and dumped infected bodies in the streets as West African governments struggled to enforce tough measures to curb an outbreak of the virus that has killed 887 people. With less than half of those infected surviving the disease, many Africans regard Ebola isolation wards as death traps. In Nigeria, which recorded its first death from Ebola in late July, authorities in Lagos said eight people who came in contact with the deceased U.S. citizen Patrick Sawyer were showing signs of the deadly disease.
The outbreak was detected in March in the remote forest regions of Guinea, where the death toll is rising. In neighbouring Sierra Leone and Liberia, where the outbreak is now spreading fastest, authorities deployed troops to quarantine the border areas where 70 percent of cases have been detected. Those three countries announced a raft of tough measures last week to contain the disease, shutting schools and imposing quarantines on victim's homes, amid fears the incurable virus would overrun healthcare systems in one of the world's poorest regions. (more at link)
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