Earth Changes

Predicting Weather with a Pig Spleen

Christina Cherneskey
The Old Farmers' Almanac
Fri, 08 Feb 2013 10:47 UTC

Have you ever heard of a pig spleen being able to predict the weather? You can call it folklore - but what do you call it when it works?

Legendary forecaster Gus Wickstrom of Tompkins, Saskatchewan

Gus, a man of Swedish descent who lived in this prairie province all of his life, was a weather forecaster. He predicted weather conditions six months in advance, yet his technology required no fancy equipment, no high-tech razzle-dazzle. All Gus needed was a barn and a farmhand or two standing by. . .because he predicted the weather by looking at a pig spleen.

Every 6 months or so, Gus slaughtered a pig, and in the frugal way of farm families, he found a way to use everything but the squeal, as they say. Gus closely scrutinized the spleen, using a method he learned from his father and Harold Pearson, a neighbor.

Gus's method

(See image to the right.) Gus divided the spleen into six areas, each representing 1 month. The top of the spleen (closest to the pig's head) shows the current month. The bottom indicates the end of the upcoming six-month period. Where the spleen thickens, a change in the weather is indicated, usually pointing to a cold spell. Where there's a pronounced bulge, expect even more inclement weather. Gus could even read wind and rain into the variations in the spleen.

NASA's satellite view of massive Nor'easter - frontal system stretching from Canada through the Ohio and Tennessee valleys, into the Gulf of Mexico

NASA
Fri, 08 Feb 2013 10:23 UTC

A massive winter storm is coming together as two low pressure systems are merging over the U.S. East Coast. A satellite image from NOAA's GOES-13 satellite on Feb. 8 shows a western frontal system approaching the coastal low pressure area.

The satellite image, captured at 9:01 a.m. EST, shows clouds associated with the western frontal system stretching from Canada through the Ohio and Tennessee valleys, into the Gulf of Mexico. The comma-shaped low pressure system located over the Atlantic, east of Virginia, is forecast to merge with the front and create a powerful nor'easter. The National Weather Service expects the merged storm to move northeast and drop between two to three feet of snow in parts of New England.

2 Great Lakes hit lowest water level on record

John Flesher
Yahoo!News
Wed, 06 Feb 2013 09:49 UTC

Two of the Great Lakes have hit their lowest water levels ever recorded, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers said Tuesday, capping more than a decade of below-normal rain and snowfall and higher temperatures that boost evaporation.

Measurements taken last month show Lake Huron and Lake Michigan have reached their lowest ebb since record keeping began in 1918, and the lakes could set additional records over the next few months, the corps said. The lakes were 29 inches below their long-term average and had declined 17 inches since January 2012.

The other Great Lakes - Superior, Erie and Ontario - were also well below average.

"We're in an extreme situation," said Keith Kompoltowicz, watershed hydrology chief for the corps district office in Detroit.

The low water has caused heavy economic losses by forcing cargo ships to carry lighter loads, leaving boat docks high and dry, and damaging fish-spawning areas. And vegetation has sprung up in newly exposed shoreline bottomlands, a turnoff for hotel customers who prefer sandy beaches.

Southern Ontario braces for biggest snowstorm in years

Scott Sutherland
Yahoo! Canada News - Geekquinox
Thu, 07 Feb 2013 00:00 UTC

The Friday morning commute is looking to be an ugly one for Southern Ontario as the Alberta Clipper swinging through the area today is amplified by moisture from another storm system moving up from the United States.

"It might be the biggest storm since 2011," said Rob Khun, a severe weather meteorologist with Environment Canada, referring to the March 2011 storm that dumped 12.5 cm of snow on the GTA.

Snow from the storm system has begun to fall in southwestern Ontario this morning as the Alberta Clipper tracks through the area, and it should arrive in the GTA by this afternoon. This will leave about 2 cm of accumulation on the ground, however the added moisture arriving from the south this evening will turn this to heavy snowfall overnight and into Friday morning.

Total accumulations for southern Ontario are expected to be between 15 and 25 cm of snow, and strong winds will add blowing snow to the mix, making for hazardous driving conditions tonight, through the Friday morning commute, and possibly into tomorrow afternoon as well.

Eastern Ontario is expected to be even harder hit, as snowfall accumulations already forecast to be up to 25 cm from the Alberta Clipper are pushed up to 35 cm or higher by the approaching storm from the south and local amplification due to winds blowing in off of Lake Ontario.

Environment Canada has issued Snowfall Warnings from London-Essex to Kingston-Prince Edward regions, and from Niagara region up into Grey-Bruce along the shores of Lake Huron and Georgian Bay.

Monster blizzard Nemo headed for U.S. Northeast

Matt Daniel
EarthSky Org
Fri, 08 Feb 2013 01:59 UTC

A significant snowstorm is expected, which can be compared to the 1978 blizzard. Snowfall could exceed two feet (.6 meters) in some areas.

The northeastern United States is preparing for a monster storm, which many are calling Nemo, expected on February 8, 2013. It could easily produce over two feet of snow (.6 meters) and wind gusts over 60 miles (96 km) per hour, causing zero visibility and bringing cities to a standstill.

In many ways, we are looking at an historic storm that could paralyze cities such as Boston, Providence, and Hartford. We're expecting blizzard conditions in eastern and southeastern Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island, Northeastern New Jersey, Long Island, southeastern Maine, and New York City.

Moderate to major coastal flooding is also possible. Two storm systems will phase together to create a large pressure gradient that will result in winds sustaining around 35-50 mph with gusts over 74 mph. Tonight is the last night to get ready for a significant snowstorm that can be compared to the 1978 blizzard.

Crepuscular rays over the Gulf of Mexico

EarthSky Org
Fri, 08 Feb 2013 01:54 UTC

Our friend on Facebook, Rick Trommater in St. Peterburg, Florida, captured this beautiful photo of crepuscular rays at sunset on the evening of February 5, 2013.

Crepuscular rays are columns of sunlit air, streaming through gaps in clouds or other objects (for example, mountain peaks). Darker cloud-shadowed regions lie between the sunlit columns.

These rays are really parallel to each other. But they appear to diverge, much as a road that looks narrow in the distance appears wide beneath your feet. This beautiful photo of a winter sunset over the Gulf of Mexico shows them clearly.

More volcanic activity in Solomons quake zone

Radio New Zealand International
Thu, 07 Feb 2013 18:54 UTC

The National Disaster Management Office in Solomon Islands says volcanic activity has increased on an island in Temotu province since the magnitude 8.0 earthquake two days ago.

Sipuru Rove says the uninhabited island of Tinakula, which is about 50 kilometres north of Lata, has being making loud and strange sounds.

He says help and information is needed from technical experts to assess the risk posed to the local community by the volcano as they are worried an eruption could be near.

"The volcanic activity on one of the islands that is off Lata is alarming at the moment. And this will really require scientific special people to assist us in assessing this volcanic activity which is beginning to be abnormal."

Sipuru Rove says there are also significant aftershocks which meant a plane with supplies and medical staff couldn't land and was forced to return to Honiara.

Researcher discovers future megavolcano

Brittany Green-Miner
Fox13 News
Thu, 07 Feb 2013 19:42 UTC

Salt Lake City - A researcher at the University of Utah is making waves in the scientific community with a discovery deep within the Earth that could cause extinction.

Michael Thorne, a seismologist and assistant professor at the University of Utah, has discovered a dark red blob in the Earth's core that could prove devastating.

Research shows that two rock piles the size of continents are colliding, creating a molten rock the size of Florida that could eventually cause a giant eruption.

"Something like the size of Alaska eruption probably coming out in the Pacific Ocean. This is something that might be down the road some 100 million years or so," Thorne said. "This is the kind of eruption that would make a super volcano eruption look pretty small."

New England blizzard - one for the books? Major winter storm on its way

Denise Lavoie and Holly Ramer
Christian Science Monitor
Thu, 07 Feb 2013 08:56 UTC

New England blizzard: Forecasters are predicting more than 2 feet of snow in New England, and blizzard conditions, including high winds, blowing snow, and coastal flooding. A major winter storm heading toward New England may not be one for the record books, but even some of the nation's snow-hardiest people should proceed with caution, according to at least one expert.

The National Weather Service forecasts blizzard conditions in New England by late Friday afternoon.

As much as 2 feet of snow could fall on a region that has seen mostly bare ground this winter, the National Weather Service said. That's exciting for resort operators who haven't had much snow this year.

The storm would hit just after the 35th anniversary of the historic blizzard of 1978, which paralyzed the region with more than 2 feet of snow and hurricane force winds from Feb. 5-7.

"This has the potential for being a dangerous storm, especially for Massachusetts into northeast Connecticut and up into Maine," said Louis Uccellini, director of the weather agency's National Centers for Environmental Prediction.

Dome grows in Alaska's Cleveland Volcano

Associated Press
Wed, 06 Feb 2013 17:08 UTC

© AP Photo/NOAA, Kym Yano
This Monday, Aug. 8, 2011 file aerial photo provided by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration shows Cleveland Volcano, left, located in the Aleutian Islands 939 miles southwest of Anchorage, Alaska. The volcano, which has sent up major ash eruptions in the past, is heating up near its summit. Scientists at the Alaska Volcano Observatory say satellite data obtained a week ago indicates a lava dome is growing in the summit crater. The observatory has changed its alert level for aircraft.

Anchorage, Alaska - Alaska's Cleveland Volcano is heating up and scientists are on alert in case it sends up an ash cloud that could threaten trans-Pacific flights.

The Alaska Volcano Observatory detected elevated surface temperatures Jan. 24 at Cleveland's summit. Satellite data obtained last week indicated that a growing lava dome on the floor of the summit crater had reached about 328 feet, or 100 meters, in diameter.

The summit crater itself is nearly 10 times that size, said Chris Waythomas of the U.S. Geological Survey.

"It does this from time to time and it's a fairly small lava dome," he said Wednesday. "It's not gigantic."

Lava domes form a lid on a volcano chamber that holds magma. When they grow big enough, lava domes can become unstable and collapse. Decompression of the magma chamber can lead to an explosion as the conduit inside the volcano suddenly becomes unsealed and gasses escape.