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US, Colorado: Landslide spills debris, sediment into Dillon water supply

Caddie Nath
Summit Daily News
Thu, 14 Jul 2011 20:18 UTC
mudslide in Dillon colorado
© Summit DailyA portion of the mudslide that's causing some trouble for Dillon's water supply in Straight Creek.
Town will pull from Lasky Gulch while Straight Creek clears

A landslide crashed into Straight Creek on U.S. Forest Service land last week, threatening Dillon and Dillon Valley's primary water supply.

But the town and the valley will be able to pull clean drinking water from the high Lasky Gulch for at least a few months while waiting for the sediment from the slide to clear.

"The immediate concern was the question: Was it a large enough slide to where it could deposit enough material to create a blockage on Straight Creek?" Dillon town manager Devin Granbery said. "There would be a potential for the build up of water behind a blockage and then a release. and there was a potential for damage to property and life safety issues there."

A release of water from a behind a landslide dam could also damage the Dillon and Dillon Valley diversion plants downstream, which pull water from the creek to be filtered for drinking water.
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Bizarro Earth

US: Largest landslide in New York history creeps down Adirondacks

Zach Howard
Reuters
Thu, 14 Jul 2011 10:58 UTC
Image
© Reuters/Andrew KozlowskiThe edge of a landslide in Keene Valley, New York is shown in this May 17, 2011 handout image.
A mile-wide landslide that is unleashing hundreds of millions of tons of debris in New York's Adirondack Mountains is the largest in the state's history, but also one of its slowest.

Geologists say an 82-acre piece of earth on Little Porter Mountain in Keene Valley, New York, is creeping downhill at a rate of between just six inches and two feet per day, dragging boulders, trees and house foundations along with it.

Andrew Kozlowski, associate state geologist at the New York State Museum, said the uncommonly lazy slide was triggered by excessive groundwater from this year's heavy snows and rain.

The slide began May 6 and could last considerably longer, from a few months to many years, he said.

"That's the side of a mountain that's in full motion right now," Kozlowski said. "This thing isn't even close to being at equilibrium yet. There's every indication that this is going to continue to move for some time."

The landslide's mass is at least hundreds of millions of tons, he said. Measuring 0.8 of a mile wide, it is the largest landslide in New York history, he said.
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Cloud Lightning

Alberta, Canada: Suspected Tornado hits southwest

Clara Ho
Calgary Herald
Thu, 14 Jul 2011 10:48 UTC
Image
© Grant Black, Calgary HeraldA slab of shingles rests on the lawn of a home on Val Gardenia Place S.W. on Wednesday evening after a fierce summer storm damaged several homes on the Calgary cul-de-sac.
The fire department received numerous reports Wednesday evening of what looked like a tornado hitting homes on the western edge of the city.

Environment Canada could not confirm whether a tornado had actually touched down, but dark swirling clouds and high winds that ripped through roofs and eavestroughs on the 300 block of St. Moritz Drive S.W. forced residents to take shelter.

Fire spokesman Brian McAsey said calls started pouring in shortly before 8 p.m. about funnel cloud sightings and homes being damaged, including a call about part of a roof torn off a home.

Another house was believed to be hit by lightning, he said, adding there were also reports of flooding and manhole covers being blown off -but no reports of injuries.

Area resident Long Ren was home with his wife and daughter when he saw the trees moving around "crazily" in his backyard.

"Suddenly I saw a lot of stuff blowing into the sky and realized it could be a tornado," he said.
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Bizarro Earth

New Zealand: 'Snow and ice everywhere' across south

Jared Morgan and Alana Dixon
The Southland TImes
Thu, 14 Jul 2011 10:45 UTC
Image
© BARRY HARCOURT/The Southland TimesON TOP OF THE WORLD: Te Anau builder Tony Rayfield thinks he still has the best job in the world regardless of the weather. With the Murchinson Mountains as a background, where in the world would you rather be.
Snow is falling intermittently in Invercargill while heavier dumps are beginning to affect roads and other services across the south.

However, most of the white stuff so far appears to be confined to the Fiordland region and the eastern coast of Southland and the Clutha district.

Warren Dickie, who farms on the Clinton-Matarua highway, said today's snow was not yet as bad as last year's big snow in September. ''Its just a bit cold and slippery, isn't it," he said.

Earlier this morning the snowfall had just been a light dusting on the ground but things changed quickly: "It's definitely ... a lot worse."

If the snow hung around as predicted for the next few days it could become more of a problem, he said.

Motorists appear to be heeding calls to be careful on southern roads, with no incidents reported to emergency services so far.

Te Anau police report a fresh cold snap this morning, with "snow and ice everywhere''.
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Cloud Lightning

US, Idaho: Severe Thunderstorms Move Through Upper Snake River Plain


Local News 8
Tue, 12 Jul 2011 22:27 UTC
A severe thunderstorm warning remains in effect until 315 pm mdt for north central Bonneville county, At 248 pm mdt, national weather service doppler radar continued to indicate a severe thunderstorm with hail up to 1 inch in diameter. This storm was located near Iona, or 8 miles northeast of Ammon, moving northeast at 20 mph. Locations that could be affected include, rural northern Bonneville county, Precautionary/preparedness actions, Stay tuned to this broadcast for the latest updates and information. To report severe weather only, call 1 800 8 7 7 1 9 3 7.

Severe Thunderstorm Warning: The NWS in Pocatello has issued a severe thunderstorm warning for: central Bingham county in southeast Idaho, this includes the city of Blackfoot, Until 330 pm mdt. At 242 pm mdt, national weather service doppler radar indicated a severe thunderstorm capable of producing quarter size hail, and damaging winds in excess of 60 mph. This storm was located near Gibson, or near Blackfoot, and moving northeast at 15 mph. Locations that could be affected include, Blackfoot, Rose, Precautionary/preparedness actions, This is a dangerous storm. If you are in its path, prepare immediately for damaging winds, destructive hail, and deadly cloud to ground lightning. People outside should move to a shelter, preferably inside a strong building but away from windows. Stay tuned to this broadcast for the latest updates and information. To report severe weather only, call 1 800 8 7 7 1 9 3 7.
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Bizarro Earth

Typhoon Ma-on Poses New Threat to Japan

Jason Samenow
The Washington Post
Wed, 13 Jul 2011 14:00 UTC
Typhoon Ma-On
© Joint Typhoon Warning CenterSatellite image of Typhoon Ma-on at 10:00 a.m. ET.
Still in the midst of its long recovery from the earthquakes and tsunami of early March, Japan must now keep a watchful eye on typhoon Ma-on, rapidly intensifying in the western Pacific. The storm could impact the disaster-ravaged country early next week.

The Joint Typhoon Warning Center (JTWC) reports this morning that Ma-on, about 655 miles east-southeast of Iwo-Jima, has shown "steadily improving organization" over the past six hours, with convection "consolidating around the core" and the emergence of an eye.

The storm's current peak winds are 75 mph, equivalent to category 1 hurricane.

The storm is expected to remain within a tropical airmass with low wind shear and warm sea surface temperatures as it continues west through the northern Philippines Sea. Consequently, significant intensification is forecast over the next 72 hours, with peak winds predicted to reach 125 mph by Saturday morning, equivalent to a category 3 hurricane. JTWC cautions there is no reason to expect signficant weakening until the storm makes landfall.
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Bizarro Earth

Chile: Rare Snow in Atacama Desert


Earth Observatory, NASA
Wed, 13 Jul 2011 13:21 UTC
Atacama Desert_1
© MODIS Rapid Response Team at NASA GSFCAcquired - July 7, 2011
Atacama Desert_2
© MODIS Rapid Response Team at NASA GSFCAcquired - July 7, 2011
Ordinarily, the flashes of white in South America's Atacama Desert rise from salt pans. But on July 7, 2011, when the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA's Terra satellite acquired these images, the white came from a far rarer commodity: snow.

Starting on July 3 and lasting several days, a cold front dumped up to 80 centimeters of snow (32 inches) on the driest desert in the world, reported BBC News.

The images above show the largest snowfall the region has witnessed in a half-century. The top image provides a photo-like, natural color view of the snow. A few clouds hang over the white desert, marring the view slightly. The lower image, which includes both visible and infrared light, helps distinguish between snow and clouds. Snow is dark red, while clouds are lighter shades of orange and white.
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Snowman

Thousands Stranded by Worst Snows in Bolivia for 20 Years

Robin Yapp
The Telegraph, UK
Tue, 12 Jul 2011 11:56 UTC
snow to the capital La Paz
© EPAA cold snap that brought fog and snow to the capital La Paz at the start of this month killed at least 35 people
Thousands of people have been left stranded by the worst snow storms in Bolivia for 20 years.

President Evo Morales was reported to be considering declaring a state of emergency in the region of Potosi to mobilise the army and national guard.

Some 7,000 people belonging to farming families are in need of help in the region, according to officials.

More than 40,000 llamas and alpacas are also without food and farmers have lost their crops under a thick blanket of snow.

The snow has hit the remote highlands of Potosi, which lies in the south-west of the country and generally remains dry.
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Cloud Lightning

Heavy rains strike north of Sweden


The Local
Tue, 12 Jul 2011 10:38 UTC
Image
© Per Eriksson/Scanpix
On Tuesday torrential rain flooded many roads in Sundsvall on the eastern coast of Sweden, a major power outage in the area was caused by the ensuing thunderstorms and a man in his sixties was taken to hospital after being struck by lightning.

Emergency services in Sundsvall are now putting all their efforts into draining the infrastructure. Head of local emergency services, Mats Granat, is counting on being busy all night - if the weather clears.

"If the rains continue we'll be working much longer," he told news agency TT.

So far the water level hasn't risen enough to pose a threat to the general public, according to Granat.
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Cloud Lightning

Canada: Heavy rain causes flooding in Eckville, Alberta


CBC News
Tue, 12 Jul 2011 10:02 UTC
Image
© CBCFlooding was caused by heavy rain that fell over the area Monday.
Heavy rains in central Alberta caused flooding in the town of Eckville Monday.

"People are just kind of dumbstruck," resident Sharon Walker said. "We have had washouts of roads. Some people have got 10 to 14 inches of water in their basements ... we've never seen anything like it."

Signs of flooding were everywhere Tuesday. Belongings from water-filled basements were out on lawns and there was a sinkhole on the side of a busy road.
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