**Grief undermines the quiet agreement to behave and be in control of our emotions. It is an act of protest that declares our refusal to live numb and small. Contrary to our fears, grief is suffused with life force. Grief is alive, wild, untamed and cannot be domesticated. It is truly an emotion that rises from the soul.**
– Francis Weller
LARGEST QUAKES so far today, 6.0 or larger -
6.3 KERMADEC ISLANDS REGION
6.0 KERMADEC ISLANDS REGION
Recent 6.0 and larger quakes -
7/11/16 - 6.3 NEAR COAST OF ECUADOR
6/26/16 - 6.4 KYRGYZSTAN
6/21/16 - 6.3 NEW IRELAND REGION, P.N.G.
6/21/16 - 6.1 NORTHERN MID-ATLANTIC RIDGE
A strong 6.3 magnitude earthquake struck New Zealand's Kermadec Islands in the South Pacific late Wednesday. The quake's epicenter was 201 kilometers (124 miles) north east of Raoul Island - the largest and northernmost of the main Kermadec Islands, striking 12 kilometers below the surface. There were no reports of casualties or damage and no tsunami warning was issued.
Indonesia - One dies in 5.4-magnitude quake. A farmer in Kamang Mudiak village, Kamang Magek district, Agam regency, West Sumatra, was killed when a 5.4-magnitude earthquake rocked the northern part of the province on Sunday afternoon. “The victim was mowing grass for his cattle on a hill of a former limestone quarry when a boulder fell on him during the quake. He was then rushed to the hospital and eventually died there.” The quake, measuring 5.4 on the Richter scale, occurred on Sunday at 4:31 p.m. The quake’s epicenter was on the Semangka fault at a depth of 10-kilometers and 14-km from Bonjol, and 48-km north of Bukittinggi. The quake was strong enough to be felt in Bukittinggi, but there were no reports of casualties or damage to buildings.
TROPICAL STORMS -
* In the Eastern Pacific -
- Tropical Storm Celia is located about 1555 mi (2500 km) W of the southern tip of Baja California. Weakening, there are no watches or warnings in effect.
- Hurricane Darby becomes the third hurricane of the east Pacific season, located about 570 mi (920 km) SSW of the southern tip of Baja California. No watches or warnings in effect, but there is still a chance that a weakened Celia or its remnants could pass just north of the Hawaiian Islands early next week, bringing some high surf and a chance of squalls, but it is too soon to assign any confidence to this possibility.
EXTREME HEAT & DROUGHT / WILDFIRES -
The U.S. Summer is Off to a Record-Hot Start - Last month was the warmest June in 122 years of U.S. recordkeeping, beating out June 1933. Each of the 48 contiguous states came in above its average temperature for June, with Arizona and Utah setting all-time June records for heat. Thirteen other states had a top-ten-warmest June, stretching across the nation from California to Florida.
Could this end up as the hottest summer in U.S. history? The contiguous United States has seen six of its ten warmest summers on record in just the last 15 years. On that basis alone, 2016 has a reasonable shot at becoming our hottest summer yet, especially with the head start provided by a record-warm June. On the other hand, there is plenty of inherent variability from week to week and month to month, even in weather that’s averaged across the country.
Models suggest that temperatures may challenge the 100°F mark as far north as the Dakotas by later next week, with 90s enveloping most of the nation east of the Rockies for what could be an extended period. The 8-14 day outlook from the NWS Weather Prediction Center shows high odds for above-average temperatures over the entire contiguous U.S. except for the Pacific Northwest, with odds favoring below-average precipitation for most of the Plains and mid-South.
If the heat manifests as expected, it may be enough to counterbalance the northern mildness so far in July and keep 2016 in the running for warmest U.S. summer on record, particularly if August stays on the hot side.
HEALTH THREATS -
RECALLS & ALERTS
A gene related to Alzheimer's disease may start to show effects on brain structure and mental sharpness as early as preschool , a new study suggests. Researchers have long known that a gene called APOE is related to the risk of developing Alzheimer's disease. People who carry a variant of the gene known as e4 have a higher-than-average risk. The new study confirms what smaller studies have hinted: The gene's effects may be apparent even in early childhood. Brain scans revealed that young children with the e4 variant typically showed slower development in certain brain areas. These are the same brain regions that often atrophy in people with Alzheimer's disease.
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