Earth ChangesS


Sun

UK set to sizzle, heat wave to last two weeks

Sarah Wescott
Express.co.uk
Mon, 07 Jul 2014 14:35 UTC
Image
© Getty ImagesBritain could reach temperatures of 86F this summer.
Britain is set to sizzle in a two-week heatwave with temperatures hotter than parts of the Mediterranean, forecasters said last night

The mercury could even climb as high as 86F (30C) in some areas and swathes of the UK are likely to bask in the high 20s.

This compares to just 70F forecast for Barcelona and the South of France where it will hit 77F in Nice.

Experts say the hot weather will arrive at the end of this week and last for a fortnight.

The South is once again expected to get the best of the warmth and sunshine, but temperatures will also be pleasant in the North.

Comment: Long-range forecast for UK: 2014 will be a scorcher!

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Telescope

More cometary dust in the atmosphere: Noctilucent clouds appear above Gateshead in the UK late at night

Sara Nichol
The Chronicle
Mon, 07 Jul 2014 14:11 UTC
Image
Residents bemused by coloured lights in night sky above Felling at around 12.45am this morning - did you see something similar?

These strange lights had residents bemused when they appeared in the nighttime sky above Gateshead.

The dazzling lights, which appear to change colour, were initially captured on camera by Chronicle reader Paul Dobson.

They appeared in the night sky above Felling at around 12.45am this morning.

Mr Dobson took video and pictures from his home on Victoria Avenue.

Warning: The video below contains some strong language


Comment: See also: SOTT Exclusive: NASA blowing meteor smoke as noctilucent clouds intensify

Meteor Smoke Makes Strange Clouds - Imbedded in Noctilucent Clouds

The Harbingers of Change Can Now Be Seen All Around the World! Mysterious Noctilucent Clouds Brighten Up Night Skies

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Phoenix

Flashback Long-range forecast for UK: 2014 will be a scorcher!

Nathan Rao
Express.co.uk
Wed, 09 Apr 2014 14:27 UTC
Image
© PABathers are expected to flock to beaches, like here in Southend, Essex, this summer.
The latest long-range forecasting models indicate record temperatures for much of May, with the mercury likely to hit a sizzling 90F within a month.

And the blazing hot early summer will hold out for nearly 100 days with above-average temperatures forecast for each of the next three months.

Experts say Britain is on course for a 'exceptionally unusual' summer which could even put last year's near historic heat wave in the shade.

Jonathan Powell, forecaster for Vantage Weather Services, said next month could break all records with weeks of wall-to-wall sunshine across the UK.

The rest of summer will be charged with extreme 'heat spikes' pushing the mercury up into the 80s or even higher, all the way until the end of August.
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Bizarro Earth

USGS: Earthquake Magnitude 6.9 - 2km NNE of Puerto Madero, Mexico


US Geological Survey
Mon, 07 Jul 2014 14:23 UTC
Puerto Madero Quake_070714
© USGS
Event Time
2014-07-07 11:23:55 UTC
2014-07-07 06:23:55 UTC-05:00 at epicenter

Location
14.742°N 92.409°W depth=60.0km (37.3mi)

Nearby Cities
2km (1mi) NNE of Puerto Madero, Mexico
22km (14mi) SW of Tapachula, Mexico
29km (18mi) NW of Suchiate, Mexico
29km (18mi) WNW of Ciudad Tecun Uman, Guatemala
204km (127mi) W of Guatemala City, Guatemala

Scientific Data
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Boat

Tsunami warning triggered by 7.9 earthquake, western Aleutian Islands

Laurel Andrews
Anchorage Daily News
Mon, 23 Jun 2014 13:22 UTC
Image
© NBC Bay Area
A magnitude-7.9 earthquake off the western Aleutian Islands shortly before 1 p.m. Monday triggered a tsunami warning over a wide area but generated only a small wave in one community, according to the National Tsunami Warning Center.

No reports of damage or injury related to the quake had been received by the Alaska Department of Homeland Security by 5 p.m. Monday, said department spokesperson Jeremy Zidek.

An initial tsunami warning for coastal areas from Nikolski to Attu, plus the Pribilof Islands to the north, was downgraded to an advisory a couple of hours after the 12:53 p.m. quake, and the advisory was canceled by 4:45 p.m., according to the NTWC.

The agency had advised people in the warning area to move to higher ground inland and to avoid the coast until local emergency officials indicated it was safe to return.

At 1:43 p.m., a small tsunami of just over half a foot was recorded at Amchitka.

Comment: The Aleutian Islands are a very busy area for earthquakes:

Earthquake Felt in Aleutian Islands
Powerful 7.2 quake shakes Alaska's Aleutian Islands
Alaska: Earthquakes Hit Remote Aleutian Islands
Alaska: Earthquake Magnitutde 6.3 - Andreanof Islands, Aleutian Islands
Alaska: Earthquake Magnitude 6.1 - Andreanof Islands, Aleutian Island
Alaska: Earthquake Magnitude 6.4 - Andreanof Islands, Aleutian Islands
US: Alaska - Earthquake Magnitude 5.1 - Fox Islands, Aleutian Islands
US Alaska: Earthquake Magnitude 7.2 - Fox Islands, Aleutian Islands
US Alaska: Earthquake Magnitude 5.8 - Fox Islands, Aleutian Islands
USGS: Earthquake Magnitude 6.2 - Fox Islands, Aleutian Islands, Alaska
Fox and Aleutian Islands, Alaska - Earthquake Magnitude 6.8
Magnitude-6.1 quake shakes Aleutian Islands, Alaska
Earthquake 'swarm' observed at remote Aleutian volcano - 5 volcanoes in Alaska are now simultaneously active
Near Islands, Aleutian Islands, Alaska - Earthquake Magnitude 6.1
Alaska: Earthquake Magnitude 5.6 - Andreanof Islands, Aleutian Islands
Earthquake Magnitude 6.0 - Aleutian Islands, Alaska
Alaska: Earthquake Magnitude 6.7 - Fox Islands, Aleutian Islands

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2 + 2 = 4

Stupid: Earthquakes double in 2014, but scientists say they are not linked

Becky Oskin
CBS News
Tue, 01 Jul 2014 10:10 UTC
Image
If you think there have been more earthquakes than usual this year, you're right. A new study finds there were more than twice as many big earthquakes in the first quarter of 2014 as compared with the average since 1979.

"We have recently experienced a period that has had one of the highest rates of great earthquakes ever recorded," said lead study author Tom Parsons, a research geophysicist with the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) in Menlo Park, California.

But even though the global earthquake rate is on the rise, the number of quakes can still be explained by random chance, said Parsons and co-author Eric Geist, also a USGS researcher. Their findings were published online June 21 in the journal Geophysical Research Letters.

With so many earthquakes rattling the planet in 2014, Parsons actually hoped he might find the opposite -- that the increase in big earthquakes comes from one large quake setting off another huge shaker. Earlier research has shown that seismic waves from one earthquake can travel around the world and trigger tiny temblors elsewhere.

Comment: It is possible that earthquakes are caused by the impact (or overhead explosion) of space rocks.From 2008, Meteorites, Asteroids, and Comets: Damages, Disasters, Injuries, Deaths, and Very Close Calls:

"Over the past few years, while SOTT.net has been tracking the increasing flux of fireballs and meteorites entering the earth's atmosphere, we have been, by turns, amused and horrified at the ignorant reactions and declarations that issue from academia and the media regarding these incursions. A few years ago, we read that "this is a 'once in a hundred years' event!" Not long after it was a "once in a lifetime" event. Still later, after a lot more incidents it became a "once in a decade" event. More recently, it has been admitted in some quarters that meteorites hit the ground (as opposed to safely burning up in the atmosphere) several times a year! And of course, we have discovered the fact that the governments of our planet are well aware that there are atmospheric explosions from such bodies numerous times a year. We have also learned in this series that the frequent reports of unusual booms and shaking of the ground is often due to such overhead explosions. Yet the media steadfastly refuses to honestly address this issue, though we have noted a plethora of recent articles presenting opposing academic arguments designed to put the populace back to sleep, to reassure them that there is nothing to worry about, that such things only happen every 100,000 years or so, and certainly, the Space Watch Program is going to find all the possible impactors and take care of things."

See also: Impact Hazards on a Populated Earth?

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Info

Swarm of earthquakes reported in northwest Yellowstone National Park


Trib.com
Tue, 03 Jun 2014 17:30 UTC
Image
© National Park Service
Seismographs have picked up a swarm of earthquakes in the northwestern corner of Yellowstone National Park, including dozens early Tuesday.

The University of Utah Seismograph Station reported five small earthquakes including those with magnitudes of 3.4, 2.7 and 3.2 in a 20-minute period starting at 3:33 a.m. in an area 16 to 18 miles south of Gardiner.

Earthquake information specialist Paul Roberson said there were another 20 to 30 small quakes Tuesday morning that hadn't yet been posted on the university's website. He called it a fairly normal swarm for Yellowstone. He didn't expect there to be any damage.

Seismographs recorded 31 quakes in the same area south of Gardiner on Saturday, while another 23 were reported last Wednesday and Thursday in an area between 18 and 19 miles east-southeast of West Yellowstone.
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Attention

Earthquake rocks southern Mexico; houses destroyed, 3 dead


RT
Mon, 07 Jul 2014 14:06 UTC
Image
© Via twitter@chriscelada
At least 3 people have been killed after a powerful 7.1-magnitude quake struck the southern Mexican state of Chiapas and neighboring Guatemala.

The earthquake struck 14km offshore from the city of Mazatan in Mexico, but strong tremors were felt across the border in Guatemala. Significant damages were reported in the region of San Marcos in Guatemala where the quake damaged buildings and triggered landslides.

"This quake was pretty strong. There are houses destroyed," Luis Rivera, governor of the San Marcos region, told Reuters. A spokesperson from the local emergency services said three people had been reported dead in the area.
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Sun

Rare halo display in Finland's sky (VIDEO)


Mnhopkins.blogspot.fr
Sun, 29 Jun 2014 12:06 UTC
halo Finland
© Spaceweather.com
Looking at the sun can be a wincing, painful experience. Yesterday in Tempere, Finland, it was a rare delight. "On June 24th, multiple arcs and rings of light appeared around the sun," reports Ville Miettinen of Kuopio. "What a spectacular view!" He dashed inside and grabbed his camera to record the amazing vista.

Comment: This phenomenon seems to be getting more and more frequent. See also some pictures from Sun halos in:

Venezuela:Halo solar cautiva a los venezolanos este domingo
Mexico: Otro halo solar: esta vez en Saltillo, México (Video)
and Honduras: Fenómeno óptico solar en la capital hondureña

And these in just in the last two weeks! Another sign of the times as the atmosphere continues cooling...

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Umbrella

Massive Nebraska hailstorm thrashes homes, buildings, cars with devastating force

Harrison Jacobs
Businessinsider.com
Wed, 02 Jul 2014 10:50 UTC
Image
© Mike Hollingshead/Extreme Instability
Storm photographer Mike Hollingshead has been chasing the worst storms in America for the better part of the last two decades. He's seen quite a few storms and yet, he's never seen one quite like the storm he experienced last month in his hometown of Blair, Nebraska.

On June 3, heavy winds and large hail ripped through Nebraska and other parts of the Midwest in what meteorologists called a "land hurricane." The storm was so unique because it combined elements of a derecho storm with a supercell, producing incredible hail with devastating results.

A derecho is a windstorm that has extremely powerful straight-line winds, but rarely produces hail. Supercells are massive thunderstorms, characterized by a deep, persistent, updraft. Supercells often produce hailstones, but the cyclical nature of supercell wind ensures that large hail usually just hits the roofs of buildings, doing little damage.

When the two combined, it produced massive hailstones being whipped at buildings, houses, and cars with devastating force.

Comment: See also: Baseball-sized hail strikes Nebraska during storm

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