Earth ChangesS


Attention

US: More Heavy Rain, More Flooding Problems for Minnesota


KARE 11
Tue, 21 Jun 2011 00:00 UTC
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© unknown
Rain, wind and lightning have knocked out power to thousands of customers in the Twin Cities metro area.

Xcel Energy says more than 8,000 customers were without service Tuesday morning.

And KARE 11's Jonathan Yuhas says the rough stuff might not be over.

More heavy downpours are likely Tuesday afternoon across the Metro area, which could lead to some spot flooding. Rain is forecast again on Wednesday with the potential for a few strong storms in the early afternoon hours from the Twin Cities Metro area east into Wisconsin.

All this moisture, on top of other recent heavy rains and thunderstorms are causing river levels to rise across Minnesota and western Wisconsin. The Minnesota, St.Croix and Mississippi Rivers will approach flood stage this week and remain near flood stage into the weekend.
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Cloud Lightning

US: Heavy Rain Slams Monongahela Valley Area


Pittsburgh Tribune-Review
Tue, 21 Jun 2011 00:00 UTC
Heavy storms pounded the Mon Valley early Monday morning, with torrential rains causing flood damage throughout the area, but mostly in Charleroi and Fallowfield.

According to Charleroi fire Chief Bob Whiten Jr., the Twilight basin off Lincoln Avenue Extension was hardest hit.

"We were out there for three hours last night," Whiten said. "It's the worst I've seen it in a long time."

Maple Creek Distributing was hit hard, but business was not affected.

"It's been a very long day," said Elaine McGaughey, who owns the business with her husband, Joe. "When I walked outside at 11 p.m. last night, the water was coming over the bridge."

The water did not reach levels high enough to affect merchandise.

The business' garage, located in the rear of the building, was filled with mud and debris, and a truck had to be hauled away after being swallowed by the water.
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Cloud Lightning

US Iowa: Unexpected Storm in New Sharon

Emily Carlson
WHOtv.com
Tue, 21 Jun 2011 22:25 UTC
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© KCCI-TV/KCCI.comStorm damage in New Sharon, Iowa, on Monday, June 20, 2011.
People in the town of New Sharon are cleaning up today after a tornado touched down there early Monday morning. The National Weather Service says an EF-1 tornado touched down around 5 a.m.

No one was injured in the early morning storm, but the weather that hit the small community in southern Iowa left a half mile path of damage behind.

The strength of this storm surprised everyone from residents to the National Weather Service. Sunday night they issued an alert, but only for winds up to 50 miles an hour. It was a shock to everyone when a tornado formed bringing winds up to 110 miles an hour.

"One of my tenants said, I hate to tell you but your 1971 Charger is in ditch and your building is across the road in the cemetery," says Terry Anderson, who owns a storage company in New Sharon.

It wasn't the wake up call Anderson wanted to hear. When he finally arrived at his company, he stumbled into a disaster area. The tornado winds were so strong, they sucked up the foundation of his building and carried 60 pound pieces of wood over one 100 yards away.

"We had no warning on this one. We usually get one if we have a severe thunderstorm coming at us, they give us warning to alert us and can decide if we want spotters out. This one we didn't have anything," says New Sharon Fire Chief Steve Gerard.
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Igloo

US: Snow Falling in Colorado on Eve of Northern Hemisphere's Summer Solstice

Brian K. Sullivan
Bloomberg
Mon, 20 Jun 2011 14:07 UTC
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© Sky-Hi Daily NewsThe unofficial snow report from a picnic table at Arapahoe Basin shows 6 new inches Monday morning. The ski area is closed this week but will be open Fri-Sun through Fourth of July weekend. Arapahoe Basin / Facebook page
The calendar says summer starts tomorrow in the Northern Hemisphere. The snow falling in the mountains of Colorado tells a different story.

A storm that has prompted a tornado watch across Nebraska and Kansas today also left 2 to 4 inches of snow in the Rocky Mountains, said Joe Ramey, a weather service meteorologist in Grand Junction, Colorado.

"It is unusual," Ramey said. "Here it is the last day of spring."

A winter storm advisory has been posted in the mountains of Colorado above 10,000 feet until 6 p.m. local time, and at least one tornado was reported in Kansas, according to the weather service. The Northern Hemisphere summer starts at 1:16 p.m. New York time tomorrow.
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Attention

US: Flood Risk Prompts 12,000 Evacuations in Minot, North Dakota


CNN
Tue, 21 Jun 2011 08:03 UTC
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© Forum Communications CompanyThe swollen Souris River flows straight through Minot and is expected to overwhelm area levees.
Authorities have ordered the evacuation of some 12,000 people from the city of Minot, North Dakota, and surrounding areas because of expected record flooding, officials said Tuesday.

The swollen Souris River flows straight through the city and is expected to overwhelm area levees, said Cecily Fong, spokeswoman for the North Dakota Department of Emergency Services. Minot, located in the north central part of the state, is the fourth-largest city in North Dakota.

The evacuation order covers between a quarter and a third of the city's population, Fong said. Residents have until 6 p.m. CT Wednesday to leave their homes.
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Cloud Lightning

Hurricane Beatriz Lashes Pacific Resorts in Mexico


BBC News Latin America & Caribbean
Tue, 21 Jun 2011 16:36 UTC
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Surf's up: Waves whipped up by Beatriz sweep a car out to sea in Acapulco
Hurricane Beatriz has weakened to a tropical storm as it moves away from the east coast of Mexico.

Beatriz had been threatening some of Mexico's most popular resorts and left tourists sheltering in hotels, but all warnings have now been cancelled.

Pacific ports which were closed along the coast are gradually being reopened.

The US National Hurricane Center said winds had fallen to 110km/h (70mph) and were expected to continue weakening over the next two days.

The first Pacific hurricane - Adrian - formed earlier this month, causing no damage, but forecasters predict a busier hurricane season over the Atlantic.

Casualties have been light. One tourist is reported to have been injured by a falling tree in Acapulco.

The Mexican government issued a red alert for areas around the resort city of Manzanillo.

And hurricane warnings were issued along coast from Lazaro Cardenas north to Cabo Corrientes.
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Stop

US: A generation of trees disappeared in the great Western Massachusetts tornado

Scott Coen
Mass Live
Tue, 21 Jun 2011 13:36 UTC
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© UnknownWestern Massachusetts lost tens of thousands of mature trees in the June 1 tornado.
For the past few weeks we've been bringing you the stories of loss and destruction from the tornado that tore through Western Massachusetts on June 1.

The effects of the tornado will be felt for years to come, but one of its lasting legacies will be the loss of all the mature trees that once dotted the area's landscape.

Those beautiful trees that dotted places like Springfield's Court Square, and Wilbraham Mountain into Monson, took generations to mature, and just minutes to disappear.

"I think that I shall never see a poem as lovely as a tree," wrote American poet Joyce Kilmer almost 100 years ago. Chances are he was inspired by trees like the ones that now stand sideways and uprooted over many parts of the Pioneer Valley.
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Bizarro Earth

Antarctic Region Hit By Series Of Moderate Earthquakes

Mark Dunphy
Irish Weather Online
Sun, 19 Jun 2011 14:26 UTC
Earthquake Swarm_1
© Irish Weather OnlineDrift ice near South Thule, South Sandwich Islands, Antarctica.
A 5.5 magnitude earthquake struck the South Sandwich Islands region, situated around 750km south east of South Georgia, in the South Atlantic early Sunday. It was the latest in a series of quakes to hit the Antarctic Region during the past 24 hours.

The moderate quake struck at 9.37am GMT at a depth of 137km and was centred 69 km (42 miles) NNW of Visokoi Island and 330 km (205 miles) NNW of Bristol Island.

The last significant earthquake to be recorded in the South Sandwich Islands region occurred on 08 December 2010 when a magnitude 6.5 quake struck 85 km (55 miles) ENE of Visokoi Island.

The unpopulated islands consist of a chain of eleven volcanic islands, connected by a low submarine ridge, bending in an arc around 400km long. They are an overseas dependency of the UK, but also claimed by Argentina. The 337km islands lie 750 km (470 miles) south east of South Georgia in the South Atlantic Ocean.

This morning's earthquake was followed by a 4.9 magnitude quake along the Pacific-Antarctic Ridge at 12.05pm. The quake was measured at a depth of 10.3 km (6.4 miles).
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Blackbox

What you don't know about the summer solstice

Joe Rao
MSNBC / SPACE.com
Tue, 21 Jun 2011 12:15 UTC
For one thing, the earliest sunrise and latest sunset do not coincide with it

The summer solstice shouldn't come as a surprise. It arrives at pretty much the same time every year. But some of the little-known facts behind and surrounding the solstice are fascinating. First, the basics:
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© Starry NightThe seasons are caused by Earth's tilt. In the Northern Hemisphere it is summer when the Northern Hemisphere is tilted toward the sun.

Summer in the Northern Hemisphere will officially arrive on Tuesday at 1:16 p.m. EDT: the June solstice. At the same time, winter officially begins for the Southern Hemisphere.

At that moment, the sun will reach the point where it is farthest north of the celestial equator. To be more precise, when the summer solstice occurs, the sun will appear to be shining directly overhead at a point on the Tropic of Cancer (latitude 23.5 degrees north) in the Great Bahama Bank, roughly halfway between Andros Island and central Cuba.
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Bizarro Earth

Happy Feet? Emperor penguin found far from Antarctic home

Nick Perry
MSNBC / Associated Press
Tue, 21 Jun 2011 11:44 UTC
A young Emperor penguin took a rare wrong turn from the Antarctic and ended up stranded on a New Zealand beach - the first time in 44 years the aquatic bird has been sighted in the wild in the South Pacific country.
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© Richard Gill / APThis Emperor penguin got lost while hunting for food and ended up stranded on Peka Peka Beach in New Zealand on Monday.

Local resident Christine Wilton was taking her miniature Schnauzer dog Millie for a walk on Peka Peka Beach on the North Island's western coast when she discovered the bird Monday evening.

"It was out-of-this-world to see it ... like someone just dropped it from the sky," Wilton said. "It looked like Happy Feet - it was totally in the wrong place," Wilton said, referring to the 2006 animated musical featuring a young penguin who finds himself far from home.

Conservation experts say the penguin is about 10 months old and stands about 32 inches high. Colin Miskelly, a curator at Te Papa, the Museum of New Zealand, said the bird was likely born during the last Antarctic winter. It may have been searching for squid and krill when it took a wrong turn.
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