Pacific Northwest, USA
The West Coast seems to have all kinds of disasters: Wildfires. Earthquakes. Volcanoes. Landslides.
One thing the West Coast doesn't have, though, is hurricanes.
The reason is simple. The primary ocean currents off the West Coast come from the north, bringing cold water down from Alaska. Any tropical systems that move northward from the Mexican coast lose energy as they move into colder and colder water.
Once in a great while, a tropical storm can make it close to San Diego, but none on record has made it farther north. But this past week, the Pacific Northwest experienced a storm that caused more destruction, death and hardship than many hurricanes have.
An ice storm slickened roads and sidewalks, grounded flights, and cut power to tens of thousands Sunday in a swath from the Southern Plains to the Great Lakes as even colder weather threatened.
The wintry weather was expected to continue through midweek, and ice storm warnings stretched from Texas to Pennsylvania.
A large earthquake has struck in the Pacific Ocean tonight.
The quake measured 7.6 on the Richter scale and was centred about 900 kilometres northeast of New Zealand and several hundred kilometres southwest of Tonga.
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©REUTERS/WildlifeDirect/Handout
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Naja Ashei, a newly discovered giant spitting cobra measuring nearly nine feet and carrying enough venom to kill at least 15 people, is seen in this picture released by WildlifeDirect December 7, 2007.
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A giant spitting cobra, measuring nearly nine feet and carrying enough venom to kill at least 15 people, has been discovered in Kenya, a conservation group said on Friday.
BBCSat, 08 Dec 2007 16:14 UTC
Flood watches are in place across England and forecasters are warning of severe gales and more snow.
Winds are predicted to be strong enough to damage properties and even bring down trees in some areas.
Devon and Cornwall are expected to be the worst hit with winds up to 80mph (129 kmh) building up overnight.
MANAUS, Brazil - In the 1980s, scientists sounded the alarm: The Amazon was burning and would be gone by the end of the century.
LOS ANGELES - Rain began pelting parts of Southern California early Friday as a fierce winter storm from the Pacific Northwest moved in ahead of schedule, triggering fears that recent wildfires may gave left the region susceptible to flash flooding.
A South Korean supertanker has spilled about 66,000 barrels of crude oil into the Yellow Sea off the country's west coast after a collision with a barge, local media said Friday.
The accident occurred on Friday morning when a crane on a barge crashed into the Hebei Spirit tanker, which was carrying 1.8 million barrels of crude oil, near the Taean port, south of Seoul.
Results from Ireland's network of offshore weather buoys confirm the computer-generated wave forecasts by the Marine Institute and Met Eireann last week for waves of up to 14 metres (45 feet) along the west coast of Ireland.