**Be kind to everyone and start with the person standing next to you.**
Mother Teresa
LARGEST QUAKES so far today -
5.3 NORTH OF ASCENSION ISLAND
Yesterday, 2/8/15 -
5.2 SULAWESI, INDONESIA
5.0 KURIL ISLANDS
2/7/15 -
5.3 MOLUCCA SEA
2/6/15 -
5.3 NEAR COAST OF NICARAGUA
5.2 MINDANAO, PHILIPPINES
2/5/15 -
5.3 SOUTH INDIAN OCEAN
5.0 TACHIRA, VENEZUELA
5.7 SOUTH OF PANAMA
5.3 TACHIRA, VENEZUELA
VOLCANOES -
Guatemala's Fuego volcano calmed down Sunday after an eruption blanketed nearby towns in ash. Guatemala City's La Aurora airport remained closed due to ash that had fallen on the runway. Ash had stopped falling on the city, the volcano institute said, warning however that columns of soot could still drift back towards the city.
The Fuego volcano spewed large columns of ash on Saturday, prompting an orange alert and forcing nearby residents to wear protective masks. Officials issued a warning to the country's civil aviation agency, and flights were halted as a result. The nation's natural disaster agency, meanwhile, advised people to remain on alert in case the volcanic activity increases.
Located in southwestern Guatemala, Fuego is one of several active volcanoes in Guatemala. Periodic volcanic eruptions in Guatemala can reach over 5,000 feet (1,500) meters into the sky and cause frequent travel warnings. In 2012, several thousand people were evacuated from Fuego's slopes after a large eruption spewed thick ash into the atmosphere.
Tongan volcano created new island - A Tongan volcano has created a substantial new island since it began erupting in December, spewing out huge volumes of rock and dense ash that has killed nearby vegetation. The volcano, about 65 kilometres (40 miles) southwest of the South Pacific nation's capital Nuku'alofa, rumbled to life on December 20 for the first time in five years.
The volcano was erupting from two vents, one on the uninhabited island of Hunga Ha'apai and the other underwater about 100 metres offshore. Experts took a boat trip to view the eruption on Thursday and confirmed it had transformed the local landscape. "The new island is more than one kilometre wide, two kilometres long and about 100 metres high. During our observations the volcano was erupting about every five minutes to a height of about 400 metres, accompanied by some large rocks... as the ash is very wet, most is being deposited close to the vent, building up the new island."
Ash and acidic rain was deluging an area 10 kilometres around the volcano. "Leaves on trees on Hunga Tonga and Hunga Ha'apai have died, probably caused by volcanic ash and gases."Debris from the eruption was not being thrown high into the atmosphere. Tonga, which is almost 2,000 kilometres northeast of New Zealand, lies on the so-called Pacific "Ring of Fire", where continental plates collide causing frequent volcanic and seismic activity.
TROPICAL STORMS -
* In the Western Pacific -
Typhoon Higos is located approximately 658 nm east of Andersen AFB, Guam.
* In the South Indian Ocean -
Tropical cyclone Fundi is located approximately 840 nm south of Antananarivo, Madagascar.
HEAVY SNOW / EXTREME COLD -
3 Mondays, 3 snowstorms in Northeastern U. S. - This is the continuing story of the Winter of 2015. Boston is in the cross hairs again, but winter storm warnings are in place across large portions of the Northeast, including Massachusetts, New York, Connecticut, Rhode Island, Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine.
The National Weather Service forecasts 12 to 16 inches of snow by the time the storm ends Tuesday. For Upstate New York, the numbers are 8 to 14 inches. Schools in parts of the Northeast, including Boston, will be closed Monday and Tuesday. "These storms that we're getting are UNPRECEDENTED. We've never seen this type of snow in the city of Boston at any other time in the history of our city."
The storm was snarling air traffic again, but not as bad as in past weeks. FlightAware.com showed more than 1,500 flights into and out of the United States canceled for Monday, on top of the more than 700 flights scrubbed Sunday.
Two other storms have hit the Northeast in the past two weeks, closing airports, canceling classes and creating mountains of snow along cleared roadways. Boston has set a record for the snowiest seven-day period in history, with over 40 inches, the National Weather Service said last week. The city is way past its average annual snowfall of 47 inches.
EXTREME HEAT & DROUGHT / WILDFIRES -
Southwestern Australia - A vigorous bushfire threatened homes in Western Australia.
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