Earth ChangesS


Cloud Lightning

US: Groundhog Day Monster Storm

A large, dangerous storm will take shape in the eastern third of the nation early next week, spreading a swath of snow, rain, damaging thunderstorms, flooding and high winds northward from the Gulf of Mexico.

AccuWeather.com Meteorologists are confident a major storm will affect the eastern part of the nation Monday (Groundhog Day) into Tuesday of the coming week.

The storm will be large in size, encompassing over 2 million square miles. The system will grab copious amounts of moisture from the Gulf of Mexico with potential to unleash 1 to 2 inches of rain or 1 to 2 feet of snow on some areas. The storm will also intensify as it moves on a nearly south-to-north heading. Warm air south and east of the storm will lead to damaging thunderstorms.

The exact track of the storm will determine the nature of the beast that will pummel an area from the entire, immediate Atlantic coast to nearly as far west as the Mississippi River.

There is a multitude of tracks the storm could take, ranging from just off of the Atlantic coast to a track just to the west of the Appalachians. Over the coming days, computer models will get more in line to one track, and our meteorologists will hone in on the details. For now, we want you to be aware of the consequences of the different tracks the storm could take.

Igloo

US: Long lines, long wait for power after ice storm

Two-week delay possible for hundreds of thousands; new deaths feared

Ice Storm South US jan 2009
© Tim Rand / Associated PressA yard is covered with branches in Paragould, Arkansas, January 28, 2009. The ice storm that came through the area downed trees, poles and powerlines. Most of the city was without power.
Cadiz, Kentucky - Hundreds of thousands of ice storm victims hunkered down in frigid homes and shelters Thursday, expecting to spend at least a week without power and waiting in long lines to buy generators, firewood, groceries and bottled water.

Utility companies in Missouri, Kentucky, Ohio, Arkansas and West Virginia warned that many of the estimated 1.3 million homes and businesses left without electricity wouldn't have power back before Saturday at the earliest, and at worst, as late as mid-February.

Utilities typically count 3 or 4 people per home so the outage in terms of people is significantly greater than 1.3 million homes and businesses.
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Already, the situation was becoming dire for some communities in Kentucky, where the power outages crippled pumping stations and cut off access to water.

Bizarro Earth

Magnitude 5.4 Earthquake - Leyte, Philippines

Image
© USGS

Date-Time

* Thursday, January 29, 2009 at 22:43:51 UTC

* Friday, January 30, 2009 at 06:43:51 AM at epicenter

Location 10.896°N, 124.806°E

Depth 60 km (37.3 miles)

Distances 45 km (30 miles) SSW of Tacloban, Leyte, Philippines

100 km (65 miles) W of Guiuan, Samar, Philippines

115 km (75 miles) NE of Cebu, Cebu, Philippines

585 km (365 miles) SE of MANILA, Philippines

Bizarro Earth

Magnitude 5.6 Earthquake - Acre, Brazil

Image
© USGS

Date-Time

* Thursday, January 29, 2009 at 22:28:06 UTC

* Thursday, January 29, 2009 at 05:28:06 PM at epicenter

Location 8.111°S, 71.284°W

Depth 612.7 km (380.7 miles)

Distances 155 km (95 miles) ESE of Cruzeiro do Sul, Acre, Brazil

360 km (225 miles) E of Pucallpa, Peru

435 km (270 miles) WNW of Rio Branco, Acre, Brazil

2685 km (1660 miles) WNW of BRASILIA, Distrito Federal, Brazil

Bizarro Earth

US: Quake registered in Wright's Corner, New York

Wrights Corners was the epicenter of a feeble earthquake on Monday at 1:55 a.m. The quake registered 2.1 on the Modified Mercalli Scale according to U.S. Geological Survey service.

The location was 43.255 north latitude and 78.723 west longitude. That's 2 miles from Newfane, 6 miles from Olcott, 6 miles from Lockport and 25 miles from Buffalo.

A feeble quake is felt only by a few people at best, especially on the upper floors of buildings. Delicately suspended objects may swing.

Bizarro Earth

US: Quake hits near Williamsburg, Kentucky

A minor earthquake occurred at 6:20 a.m. Tuesday near Williamsburg, according to the University of Kentucky's Kentucky Geological Survey Web site.

The magnitude 3.1 earthquake centered 16 miles underground. According to the U.S. Geological Survey, earthquakes classified as minor occur between the magnitude of 3 and 3.9 on the Richter scale.

A 911 dispatcher in Williamsburg said no damage or injuries had been reported by Wednesday.

Better Earth

Earthquake Hits Northwest Trinidad

map
© SKNVibes
Residents of the Northwestern areas of Trinidad were shaken out of their daily routines yesterday (Jan. 28) when an earthquake struck in the afternoon at about 1:30.

According to the University of the West Indies (UWI) Seismic Unit, the preliminary location of the quake was 11.30°N, 61.48°W. The earthquake's focal depth was recorded at 23km with a magnitude of 3.6.

While local media reported no structural damage, the effects of the earthquake were felt in Diego Martin, Champs Fleurs, St. Augustine, Tunapuna, Port-of-Spain, Woodbrook and Morvant.

Bizarro Earth

Caterpillar plague strikes west Africa

A throng of crop-eating caterpillars is threatening food supplies across west Africa, and could prove hard to control with pesticides. The crawling menace has appeared in northern Liberia, where hundreds of millions of the black larvae are devouring plants, fouling wells with their faeces and even driving farmers from fields.

They are now crossing into neighbouring Guinea, and the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) warns that in two to three weeks they will turn into moths that can fly hundreds of kilometres and could spread across west Africa, worsening food shortages in the region.

"The species is so far unknown," FAO entomologist Winfred Hammond told New Scientist from Accra in Ghana, where Liberian specimens were being flown for analysis.

Better Earth

4.2 Quake Shakes Isles Off California coast

A small earthquake near the Channel Islands off the California coast early Thursday was felt by many in Catalina Island's main city of Avalon, but there were no apparent damages or injuries.

The magnitude-4.2 earthquake shook in the Pacific Ocean at 12:41 a.m. about 40 miles south of Avalon and 60 miles off the coast of San Diego, said seismologist Randy Baldwin of the U.S. Geological Survey.

Better Earth

Earthquake Hits Andaman Islands

A moderate earthquake struck northern parts of Andaman islands early this morning, Met Department said.

The tremor measuring 5.4 on the Richter Scale was felt at 02:00 hrs (IST) at latitude 13.7 degree north and longitude 92.9 degree east, the Met department said.