Earth Changes
Banos, Ecuador -- Tungurahua Volcano spews ash as high as 10km (33,000-feet) into the air, triggering residents to evacuate and officials to divert flights. Known as "Throat of Fire," Tungurahua is one of eight active volcanos in Ecuador.
Ecuador's "Throat of Fire" volcano erupted today spewing ash that forced hundreds of residents to flee, authorities said.
Loud explosions shook the ground and rattled windows near the volcano, known as Tungurahua in the indigenous Quechua language, 81 miles southeast of Quito, officials said.
© Debbie Roome
Image of Earthquake Damage to the Basilica in Christchurch 2011
Image of Earthquake Damage to the Basilica in Christchurch 2011
Christchurch continues to experience aftershocks as the national state of emergency in New Zealand draws to a close. As from May, the Christchurch Earthquake Recovery Authority (CERA) will take over the planning and recovery process in the city.
Another Large Aftershock Felt in Christchurch
At 7:08am on Saturday 30th April, Geonet recorded a 5.2 aftershock in the Christchurch region. It released 879 tons of energy and was rated as 6 on the Mercalli scale. This rating describes potential effects as follows: "Felt by everyone. Difficult to stand. Some heavy furniture moved, some plaster falls. Chimneys may be slightly damaged." The motion was somewhat subdued in Christchurch due to the distance but was still obvious as a significant aftershock. Facebook comments within minutes indicated the large area affected and included the following: "Really felt it here in Oxford! Almost felt like September again just shorter. Threw me out of bed! Woke me up in Kaiapoi but I wasn't quite sure if we were having one. Everyone else still asleep. Too tired after staying up late last night to watch the wedding. Felt that in Redwood, so much for a sleep in. Felt that in Belfast - also heard from dad in Rakaia who said his house shook really badly. Felt it in Ashburton. Woke me up with a sudden jolt."
Christchurch experienced five aftershocks in the 24 hours preceding the 5.2 shake. These ranged from a 2.8 to a 3.8.
US meteorologists warned Thursday it would be a mistake to blame climate change for a seeming increase in tornadoes in the wake of deadly storms that have ripped through the US south.
"If you look at the past 60 years of data, the number of tornadoes is increasing significantly, but it's agreed upon by the tornado community that it's not a real increase," said Grady Dixon, assistant professor of meteorology and climatology at Mississippi State University.
In the aftermath of a severe tornado, owner Frank Evans stands on the rubble that was the Quik Pawn Shop in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. US meteorologists warned Thursday it would be a mistake to blame climate change for a seeming increase in tornadoes in the wake of deadly storms that have ripped through the US south."It's having to do with better (weather tracking) technology, more population, the fact that the population is better educated and more aware. So we're seeing them more often," Dixon said.
But he said it would be "a terrible mistake" to relate the up-tick to climate change.
The tornadoes that ripped through the US south this week killed over 250 people, in the worst US weather disaster in years, with residents and emergency workers sifting through the rubble on Thursday.
Violent twisters that famously rip through the US south's "Tornado Alley" are formed when strong jet winds bringing upper-level storms from the north interact with very warm, humid air mass from the Gulf of Mexico, said David Imy from the NOAA Storm Prediction Center in Norman, Oklahoma.
"If you look at the past 60 years of data, the number of tornadoes is increasing significantly, but it's agreed upon by the tornado community that it's not a real increase," said Grady Dixon, assistant professor of meteorology and climatology at Mississippi State University.
In the aftermath of a severe tornado, owner Frank Evans stands on the rubble that was the Quik Pawn Shop in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. US meteorologists warned Thursday it would be a mistake to blame climate change for a seeming increase in tornadoes in the wake of deadly storms that have ripped through the US south.
But he said it would be "a terrible mistake" to relate the up-tick to climate change.
The tornadoes that ripped through the US south this week killed over 250 people, in the worst US weather disaster in years, with residents and emergency workers sifting through the rubble on Thursday.
Violent twisters that famously rip through the US south's "Tornado Alley" are formed when strong jet winds bringing upper-level storms from the north interact with very warm, humid air mass from the Gulf of Mexico, said David Imy from the NOAA Storm Prediction Center in Norman, Oklahoma.
© Mark Harrison / The Seattle Times
A research team with the Cascadia Research Collective, conducts a necropsy on a 27-foot long gray whale found Monday.
A research team with the Cascadia Research Collective, conducts a necropsy on a 27-foot long gray whale found Monday.
A second gray whale has been found dead in Puget Sound. KIRO-TV reports the carcass washed up Monday on a beach near Blaine.
A whale expert says it's a little unusual to have two dead gray whales in Puget Sound at the same time.
John Calambokidis of Cascadia Research in Olympia planned to take part in Tuesday's necropsy on the whale that washed ashore Monday near Blaine.
© National Aeronautics and Space Administration
Kamchatka volcanoes: A cluster of snow-capped volcanoes stretching across eastern portions of Russia's Kamchatka Peninsula.
Kamchatka volcanoes: A cluster of snow-capped volcanoes stretching across eastern portions of Russia's Kamchatka Peninsula.
Ash from Shiveluch soared nearly five miles high near some key trans-Pacific aviation routes.
RIA Novosti reports an eruption of Kizimen volcano brought hazardous conditions to areas inhabited by wild animals, including some endangered species.
The news agency said reindeer were leaving their normal habitat because their usual winter food supply of moss was buried beneath a thick crust of ash-covered snow.
Experts from the Krontosky Nature Reserve told reporters that reindeer numbers may be reduced to less than 1,000 as a result of the eruption.
© National Weather Service Forecast Office
This image shows tornado reports from Wednesday's outbreak. There were more than 160 reports of tornadoes, most of which were in Mississippi, Alabama and Tennessee.
This image shows tornado reports from Wednesday's outbreak. There were more than 160 reports of tornadoes, most of which were in Mississippi, Alabama and Tennessee.
It takes a very particular setup of "ingredients" for a rare event like Wednesday's to happen. What is even more rare is to have setups like this be so repetitious in April, with tornado outbreaks occurring about every few days and yielding nearly 900 reports of tornadoes for this month so far.
"In my 25 years as a meteorologist, this is the worst April I've ever seen," said AccuWeather.com Senior Meteorologist Henry Margusity.
© Gary Cosby Jr / AP
A large tornado sweeps through Limestone County, south of Athens, Ala., on Wednesday. Until now, no April on record had surpassed the 267 tornadoes recorded in 1974.
A large tornado sweeps through Limestone County, south of Athens, Ala., on Wednesday. Until now, no April on record had surpassed the 267 tornadoes recorded in 1974.
"The air was palpable with the potential," said DeBlock, the warning-coordinator meteorologist at the National Weather Service office in Birmingham.
By the time the storms ended early Thursday, the destruction awed even veteran storm observers - 148 reported tornadoes, winds perhaps exceeding 300 mph, and at least 297 deaths from Alabama to Virginia.
Overall, it was a dramatic climax to one of the wildest months in U.S. weather history. The atmosphere has been in a state of riot.
At least 750 tornado sightings have been reported this month, according to the government's Storm Prediction Center. Those figures include some double-counting, and the final total should be around 600. Until now, no April on record had surpassed the 267 tornadoes recorded in 1974.
What's going on?
A 4.3 earthquake shook part of West Texas and Northern Chihuahua late Wednesday, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.
The temblor was centered in the state of Chihuahua about 40 miles south of Fort Hancock, Texas, said Aaron Velasco, a seismologist and chairman of the Geology Department at the University of Texas at El Paso.
UTEP has a seismograph that records seismic activity.
Velasco said the earthquake occurred in an area that includes a valley used for agriculture and some mountains.
The earthquake began just before 11 p.m. on Wednesday and emanated from about 6.2 miles deep in the earth. The region of the epicenter is about 84 miles southeast of El Paso.
Velasco said the shaking took place in a region that does not appear to have a history of significant earthquake activity.
"There was a whole sequence of events," he said. "There was a 4.3 and a 4.1 earthquake and six to seven smaller ones. We're going to study this further."
The temblor was centered in the state of Chihuahua about 40 miles south of Fort Hancock, Texas, said Aaron Velasco, a seismologist and chairman of the Geology Department at the University of Texas at El Paso.
UTEP has a seismograph that records seismic activity.
Velasco said the earthquake occurred in an area that includes a valley used for agriculture and some mountains.
The earthquake began just before 11 p.m. on Wednesday and emanated from about 6.2 miles deep in the earth. The region of the epicenter is about 84 miles southeast of El Paso.
Velasco said the shaking took place in a region that does not appear to have a history of significant earthquake activity.
"There was a whole sequence of events," he said. "There was a 4.3 and a 4.1 earthquake and six to seven smaller ones. We're going to study this further."
© AP Photo/Darron Cummings
Flood waters from the Ohio River crash against a step of a home along the river in Utica, Ind., Monday, April 25, 2011.
Flood waters from the Ohio River crash against a step of a home along the river in Utica, Ind., Monday, April 25, 2011.
The rising waters are expected to top levels set during February 1937. This mark is the middle Mississippi Valley's equivalent to the 1993 event farther north along Old Man River.
Even if rain were to fall at a normal rate for the remainder of the spring, the consequences of what has already happened in the Midwest will affect way of live, property, agriculture and travel/shipping/navigation for weeks in the region.
While the amount of evacuees currently numbers in the hundreds, it could soon number in the tens of thousands as levees are topped or breached and rivers expand their girth into more farming communities, towns and cities.
