Uttar Pradesh got a break from five days of continuous heavy rains on Friday. Though light to moderate intermittent rains were reported from many parts of the state, the intensity has decreased. While total rains in the monsoon so far have been 89 per cent above normal, incessant rains have also claimed 18 lives so far, including three more deaths in a house collapse incident in Kanpur on Friday. The weatherman has predicted low rainfall activity for the next 2-3 days. The monsoon, however, will revive again from July 4-5.
According to the monsoon assessment report of UP MET department, the monsoon arrived in UP on June 17, two days behind schedule, but has given ample rains so far. The per district average rainfall in the state between June 1-30 was 170 mm against the normal of 89.8 mm, which was 89 per cent above normal. The west UP received more rains in comparison to the east. The average per district rainfall in west UP was 168.1 mm against the normal of 58.1 mm, which was 147 per cent above normal. In east UP, the average per district rainfall was 117.2 mm, 64 per cent higher than normal 104.1 mm. In Lucknow, the rainfall in the same period was 47 per cent.
Earth Changes
NOAA satellite image taken Wednesday at 1:45 a.m. ET
The heart of Tropical Storm Arlene struck land near Cabo Rojo, a cape just off the mainland between the cities of Tampico and Tuxpan. It had maximum sustained winds of 65 miles per hour and was moving inland at 8 miles per hour, said the US National Hurricane Center in Miami.
Coastal towns appear to have escaped serious damage from the initial storm. Tree branches fell, water accumulated on some streets, and a neighborhood of Tuxpan lost electricity, civil protection authorities reported.
Bazlur Rashid, an official at the Met Office, told bdnews24.com on Friday that the active southwestern monsoon had created deep clouds over the North Bay.
The country's coastal areas, he said, might be affected by heavy winds due to the deep clouds.
The maritime ports of Chittagong, Cox's Bazar and Mongla were advised to keep hoisted local cautionary signal No 3.
Fishing boats and trawlers plying the North Bay were also advised to move cautiously until further instructions.
It is feared that tidal waves, surging 1-3 feet higher than usual ones due to the southwestern monsoon and the appearance of the new moon, could flood the coastal areas of Cox's Bazar, Chittagong, Noakhali, Feni, Lakshmipur, Chandpur, Comilla, Bhola, Barisal, Patuakhali, Barguna, Pirojpur, Jhalakati, Bagerhat, Khulna, Satkhira, and adjacent islands and chars, Rashid said.
Violent storms pelted the area with rain and golf ball-sized hail Thursday night, leaving more than 100,000 ComEd customers without power.
The "supercell" storm hit shortly after 9 p.m. The south suburbs had about 56,000 ComEd customers without electricity. About 16,000 customers did not have power in Chicago and near west suburbs.
The severe storm collapsed part of the roof at the conference center at Illinios Beach State Park and felled trees and snapped utility poles, knocking out power in Waukegan, Beach Park, Zion and Winthrop Harbor and as far north as Racine.
The "supercell" storm hit shortly after 9 p.m. The south suburbs had about 56,000 ComEd customers without electricity. About 16,000 customers did not have power in Chicago and near west suburbs.
The severe storm collapsed part of the roof at the conference center at Illinios Beach State Park and felled trees and snapped utility poles, knocking out power in Waukegan, Beach Park, Zion and Winthrop Harbor and as far north as Racine.
© Stu Atkinson
Panoramic view of Noctilucent Clouds from Kendal Castle in the UK.
Panoramic view of Noctilucent Clouds from Kendal Castle in the UK.
Science writer Will Gater also had a great view of NLCs this morning. Click here to see his animation, or see more of his images and animations at his website post.
© Will Gater
NLCs seen over the UK on July 1, 2011.
NLCs seen over the UK on July 1, 2011.
© Bob Chamberlin / Los Angeles Times
A woman uses an umbrella to get some relief from the heat next to city hall Thursday afternoon. Friday's temperatures are expected to climb reaching triple digits in the valley areas.
A woman uses an umbrella to get some relief from the heat next to city hall Thursday afternoon. Friday's temperatures are expected to climb reaching triple digits in the valley areas.
Although temperatures along the coast are expected to be a few degrees above normal, inland temperatures will see the greatest increase, warming five to 15 degrees above normal, weather service officials said.
Temperatures for some locations in the Antelope Valley and San Fernando Valley were expected to hit or top the 100-degree mark, with daytime highs ranging between 100 and 110 degrees, according to weather service predictions. Some interior coastal foothill locations, such as the Hollywood Hills, might see temperatures top out in the 90s, forecasters said.
© Josh Radtke/The Arizona Republic
Workers reinforce a water-diversion canal along Campbell Road in Flagstaff on Wednesday. Last year, the Schultz Fire left the eastern slopes of the San Francisco Peaks barren and prone to flash flooding.
Workers reinforce a water-diversion canal along Campbell Road in Flagstaff on Wednesday. Last year, the Schultz Fire left the eastern slopes of the San Francisco Peaks barren and prone to flash flooding.
But the potential for tragedy and loss does not end when the flames are extinguished and wildland firefighters move on to battle their next blaze.
Last year, 12-year-old Shaelyn Wilson died not from the Schultz Fire, which burned more than 15,000 acres near Flagstaff, but from the flooding that tore through the burned-out area after a monsoon storm dropped an inch of rain in about 15 minutes nearly three weeks after the fire was contained.
© AFP/File, Antony Dickson
A nuclear power station in eastern Scotland had to shut down its reactors after "high volumes" of jellyfish were found
A nuclear power station in eastern Scotland had to shut down its reactors after "high volumes" of jellyfish were found
London - A nuclear power station in eastern Scotland had to shut down its reactors after "high volumes" of jellyfish were found on its seawater filter screens, the operating company said Thursday.
"Both units at Torness power station were manually shut down on 28 June, due to the high volumes of jelly fish fouling the cooling water screens," said a statement from EDF Energy, which runs the power station near Dunbar.
It explained that the shutdown was purely a precautionary measure and insisted that "at no time was there a danger to the public", nor had there been any impact on the environment. The nuclear regulator had also been informed.
The Omaha World-Herald reported that the incident occurred around 2 p.m. yesterday outside a security building on the grounds of the Ft. Calhoun nuclear plant, but that it was not near any of the reactors.
The worker was reportedly refueling a portable pump when it caught fire. He was airlifted to a nearby hospital with burns on his arms and face.
© BBC
Hundreds more firefighters have been deployed to battle a wildfire near a top US nuclear weapons research lab in New Mexico amid concerns the blaze could reach radioactive waste.
Nearby residents have expressed concern about potential contamination if flames reach barrels stored outside.
But officials are confident the fire will not reach the drums and they say dangerous materials are safely stored.
The town outside Los Alamos National Laboratory was evacuated on Monday.
The laboratory has been closed since then and is not expected to open until Friday at the earliest, officials said.
The Las Conchas fire has now burned 110 sq miles (284.9 sq km), fuelled by dry timber and powered by strong winds. Smoke from the blaze can be seen as far away as Albuquerque 60 miles (100km) away.
