Earth ChangesS


Igloo

Chicago Blizzard of 2011

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© John Gress, ReutersPedestrians cross State Street in Chicago February 1, 2011. A colossal winter storm stretching from New Mexico to Maine hit the middle of the United States on Tuesday with blizzards and freezing rain, and experts said the worst is still to come as it moves northeast.
We were warned. And Mother Nature did not disappoint.

The great blizzard of 2011 roared into Chicago with mighty force at around 3 p.m. and continues to pound the area.

The deluge of snow and wind knocked out power to tens of thousands of customers, blew out windows and delayed many commuters. Some are still trying to make their way home.

"Main city streets downtown leading to the expressways are now JAMMED," said reporter Dick Johnson, who braved the conditions en-route to a live report. "Seems not enough took the endless warnings and storm start time seriously."

Igloo

US: Illinois Governor Quinn Calls in the Guard

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© Getty
More than 500 troops have been called upon for help.

Gov. Pat Quinn has activated more than 500 Illinois National Guard troops to assist during Chicago's pending snow deluge.

The move is part of state efforts to prep for what could be one of Chicago's biggest blizzards ever. According to a statement from the governor's office, guards will be stationed at rest areas along highways, including I-70 and north of I-70, to help stranded motorists and work with Illinois State Police to ensure driver safety.

Troops will carry emergency supplies, such as water, snack bars and roadside safety tips. They'll also relay info about road conditions and accidents to police.

Bizarro Earth

How Cyclone Yasi Compares Around the World

Yasi_1
© News.com AustraliaDate/Time: 2011:02:02 13:29:18
IF you're struggling to grasp the magnitude of Tropical Cyclone Yasi, consider this: it is so large it would almost cover the United States, most of Asia and large parts of Europe.

Most of the coverage about the scale of Yasi has tried to compare it with storms of the past - it's bigger than Larry, more powerful than Tracy.

But just as powerful is this comparison, showing this storm is continental in size. The main bloc of the cyclone is 500km wide, while its associated activity, shown above in a colour-coding to match intensity, stretches over 2000km.

The storm's scale of destruction is as shocking as it is inevitable. In the map above, the United States from Pennsylvania in the east to Nevada in the west, from Georgia in the south to Canada in the north and well into Mexico would be battered with 300km/h winds and up to one metre of rain.

The economic impact would be felt around the world.

Igloo

Canada: Blizzard Warning Issued for Southwestern Ontario

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© Weather Underground/Associated PressThis U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration satellite image taken Tuesday at 12:45 a.m. ET shows a storm system over Texas and the central U.S. The front is expected to hit southwestern Ontario Tuesday evening with heavy snow and high winds
Environment Canada has upgraded a warning about a snowstorm expected to hit Ontario late Tuesday, saying there will be blizzard conditions in certain areas of southwestern Ontario.

"This major winter storm is quite large in size and will have a major impact on travel, especially tonight and on Wednesday," Environment Canada said in a warning issued Tuesday.

It will be "the strongest storm of the season" for urbanized areas like Toronto that are outside the Ontario snowbelt.

The weather agency had upgraded a winter storm watch in southern Ontario, stretching from Windsor to Kingston, to a winter storm warning.

Environment Canada added the blizzard warning for London, St. Catharines, Sarnia and Hamilton just after 3:30 p.m. ET on Tuesday.

A warning is typically issued between six and 24 hours before the start of severe weather.

By the time the storm finishes Wednesday, large swaths of southern Ontario could have snowfall accumulations of between 20 and 30 centimetres, the agency predicted.

Heavy snow is expected to hit southwestern Ontario on Tuesday evening and the Toronto area around midnight. It is then predicted to move into eastern Ontario on Wednesday morning.

The snow will be accompanied by gusting winds of 50 to 70 km/h at their strongest, Environment Canada said. The high in Toronto is forecast to be - 5 C on Wednesday, and the low will dip to - 9 C.

Plenty of people in Toronto were dashing out to stores on Tuesday to stock up on storm supplies.

Fraser Perkin was doing a brisk trade in salt and shovels at the Home Hardware location he manages at Highway 7 and Woodbine Avenue in Markham, Ont., Tuesday afternoon.

Bizarro Earth

US: Hundreds More Fish Found Dead In Arkansas River

Little Rock - Nearly 500 fish were found dead in the Arkansas River near Ozark late last week, about a month after 83,000 fish were found dead or dying in same area, Arkansas Game and Fish Commission officials said Monday.

The latest find occurred Friday in the river near the Ozark Lock and Dam, said Chris Racey, assistant chief of fisheries with the commission.

More than 83,000 dead or dying fish were found in the same area on Dec. 29.

Cloud Lightning

Tropical Cyclone Yasi

Cyclone Yasi
© Earth Observatory, NASATropical cyclone Yasi, acquired February 1, 2011.
On February 1, 2011, Tropical Cyclone Yasi continued on its path toward Queensland, Australia. The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA's Terra satellite captured this natural-color image at 10:00 a.m. Queensland time (00:00 Universal Time) on February 1. The storm extends over the Solomon Islands and grazes Papua New Guinea. Part of the Queensland coast appears in the lower left corner.

At 1:00 a.m. Queensland time on February 2, the U.S. Navy's Joint Typhoon Warning Center (JTWC) reported that Yasi was roughly 450 nautical miles (835 kilometers) east-northeast of Cairns, Australia. Sporting a well-defined eye, Yasi had maximum sustained winds of 120 knots (220 kilometers per hour) and gusts up to 145 knots (270 kilometers per hour). True to earlier forecasts, favorable conditions led the storm to intensify rapidly over the Pacific Ocean.

Igloo

U.S. Colossal storm roars through nation's heartland

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© Associated Press/L.G. PattersonChris Gubbels walks his dog, Frank, in the snow in Columbia, Mo.
Chicago - A winter weather colossus roared into the nation's heartland Tuesday, laying down a paralyzing punch of dangerous ice and whiteout snow that served notice from Texas to Maine that the storm billed as the worst in decades could live up to the hype.

Ice-covered streets were deserted in Super Bowl host city Dallas. Whiteouts shut down Oklahoma City and Tulsa. And more was on the way. Chicago expected 2 feet of snow, Indianapolis an inch of ice, and the Northeast still more ice and snow in what's shaping up to be a record winter for the region.

The system that stretched more than 2,000 miles across a third of the country promised to leave in its aftermath a chilly cloak of teeth-chattering cold, with temperatures in the single digits or lower.

Winds topped 60 mph in Texas. The newspaper in Tulsa, Okla., canceled its print edition for the first time in more than a century. In Chicago, public schools called a snow day for the first time in 12 years, and both major airports gave up on flying until at least Wednesday afternoon.

Sun

Coronal Hole Spewing Stream Of Solar Wind Into Space

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A dark croissant-shaped hole has opened up in the Sun's atmosphere, and it is spewing a stream of solar wind into space. NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory took this picture of the vast opening during the early hours of Jan. 31st.

Researchers call this a "coronal hole." Solar rotation is turning the coronal hole toward Earth. The stream of solar wind pouring from it will swing around and hit our planet in early February, possibly sparking polar magnetic storms. High-latitude sky watchers should be alert for auroras between Feb. 2nd and 4th.

Bizarro Earth

US: Earthquakes rattle Wyoming

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© USGS
Minor earthquakes have rattled two areas of Wyoming.

The U.S. Geological Survey says a temblor with a magnitude of 3.0 struck early Tuesday about 25 miles northwest of the ghost town of Jeffrey City.

The quake comes almost a week after another minor earthquake struck Wright. A 3.2 magnitude earthquake struck at 10:16 p.m. Thursday. It happened just 7 miles northeast of Wright, about 5 miles underground.

At first the USGS thought it might be a mine blast, but later deemed it a genuine earthquake.

David King, Campbell County's emergency management coordinator, said the county sits on several fault lines which have caused 10 recorded earthquakes since 1967.

Thursday's quake is the county's fourth quake since 2000. Quakes in 2009, 2008 and 2004 all occurred about 17 miles underground away from Gillette at a magnitude of about 2.5.

The county's largest earthquake occurred in September 1984 west of Gillette by the Johnson County line at a magnitude of 5.1. There were two other earthquakes in the county that year - a magnitude 5 and 2.5.

There are no recorded earthquakes in Gillette.

Bizarro Earth

US: Earthquake Magnitude 3.1 - Idaho

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© USGS
Geologists say a small earthquake has rattled a remote and unpopulated area west of the central Idaho town of Salmon.

The U.S. Geological Survey reports a quake with a magnitude of 3.1 was detected Tuesday at 4:25 a.m. in rugged, mountainous terrain 29 miles west of Salmon near the former mining town of Cobalt.

The quake was first detected by staff at the Earthquake Studies Office at the Montana Bureau of Mines and Geology. Director Mike Stickney says a 3.1 magnitude is barely enough to cause people to notice and it's not likely the tremor caused any serious damage to the landscape.

Stickney says it's not uncommon for small quakes to jolt the vast, mountainous backcountry north of Salmon and Challis.