Locomotive collision at Great Central, Loughborough, UK

“Sounded like a bomb had gone off”

THE moment a locomotive collided with the back of the Royal Mail carriage at Great Central Railway in Loughborough has been described as sounding “like a bomb going off”.

Sidney James, of Whitehouse Avenue, took a picture after hearing an “explosion” at the back of his house at 12.30pm on May 12.

“It was like a bomb going off! It shook the house” he told the Echo. “I think it was a Deltic. I’ve heard people say it was a runaway. It ran into a Royal Mail carriage.”

A Great Central Railway (GCR) spokeswoman said the locomotive involved in shunting was Class 37, number 37 198.

She added: “The railway was not open to the public at the time and there were no injuries of any kind.

“The GCR has started an internal enquiry and the Railway Accident Investigation Branch have been informed. While these are carried out there will be no further comment.

“There will be no effect on our passenger train timetable.”

http://tinyurl.com/ncj75p7

MAGNITUDE 3.1 ICELAND REGION

Subject to change

Depth: 4 km

 

Distances: Latitude, Longitude  63.610  -23.407 
(9.6 km SW of Geirfugladrangur)

Earthquake location   15 May 20:50 GMT

Time and magnitude of earthquake   15 May 20:50 GMT

MAGNITUDE 3.0 ICELAND REGION

Subject to change

Depth: 3 km

 

Distances: Latitude, Longitude  63.597  -23.427 
(11.4 km SW of Geirfugladrangur)

Earthquake location   15 May 20:50 GMT

Time and magnitude of earthquake   15 May 20:50 GMT

MAGNITUDE 3.0 ICELAND REGION

Subject to change

Depth: 5 km

 

Distances: Latitude, Longitude  63.609  -23.395 
(9.4 km SW of Geirfugladrangur)

Earthquake location   15 May 20:50 GMT

Time and magnitude of earthquake   15 May 20:50 GMT

MASSIVE DIP SPIKES ON THE MAGNETOSPHERE @ APPROX 19:00 – 20:30 hrs UTC

**EXTREMELY URGENT**

  MASSIVE DIP SPIKES ON THE MAGNETOSPHERE @ APPROX 19:00 – 20:30 hrs UTC. FURTHER EARTHQUAKES, VOLCANO ACTIVITY & ADVERSE WEATHER PATTERNS WILL BE GREATLY INFLUENCED BY THE COSMIC RAYS STRIKING THE EARTH’S CORE

***BE ALERT***

MAGNITUDE 6.3 NEGROS, PHILIPPINES

http://www.emsc-csem.org/Earthquake/earthquake.php?id=378290

Subject To Change

Depth: 30 km

Distances: 351 km NW of Budta, Philippines / pop: 1,273,715 / local time: 18:16:44.7 2014-05-15
214 km SW of Cebu City, Philippines / pop: 798,634 / local time: 18:16:44.7 2014-05-15
163 km SW of Bacolod City, Philippines / pop: 454,898 / local time: 18:16:44.7 2014-05-15
39 km SW of Alim, Philippines / pop: 3,732 / local time: 18:16:44.7 2014-05-15

MAGNITUDE 6.6 STATE OF YAP, MICRONESIA

http://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/eventpage/usb000qngw#summary

Subject To Change

Depth: 10 km

Distances: 96km (60mi) SSE of Ifalik, Micronesia
757km (470mi) W of Weno, Micronesia
767km (477mi) S of Mangilao Village, Guam
771km (479mi) S of Tamuning-Tumon-Harmon Village, Guam

Mayon volcanic activity prompts alert 1

The Albay Public Safety and Emergency Management Office (APSEMO) yesterday morning said the Mayon Volcano seismic network detected four volcanic earthquakes and four rockfall-related events during the past 24-hour observation period.

 

The volcano alert status remains at Alert Level 1, which means that it is at abnormal condition, APSEMO head Dr. Cedric Daep said.

 

In its advisory, Mayon Volcano Bulletin No. 1, the APSEMO said it also observed moderate emission of white steam plumes.

It added that it has measured the sulfur dioxide flux at an average of 487 tons/day since May 6.

 

“Although this means that presently no magmatic eruption is imminent, it is strongly advised that the public refrain from entering the six-kilometer-radius permanent danger zone due to the perennial life-threatening dangers of rockfalls, landslides/avalanches at the middle to upper slope,” Daep added.

http://tinyurl.com/ksyjval

Tropical cyclone intensity shifting poleward, study shows

Powerful, destructive tropical cyclones are now reaching their peak intensity farther from the equator and closer to the poles, according to a new study co-authored by an MIT scientist.

 

The results of the study, published today in the journal Nature, show that over the last 30 years, tropical cyclones—also known as hurricanes or typhoons—are moving poleward at a rate of about 33 miles per decade in the Northern Hemisphere and 38 miles per decade in the Southern Hemisphere.

“The absolute value of the latitudes at which these storms reach their maximum intensity seems to be increasing over time, in most places,” says Kerry Emanuel, an MIT professor and co-author of the new paper. “The trend is statistically significant at a pretty high level.”

And while the scientists who conducted the study are still investigating the atmospheric mechanisms behind this change, the trend seems consistent with a warming climate.

“It may mean the thermodynamically favorable conditions for these storms are migrating poleward,” adds Emanuel, the Cecil and Ida Green Professor of Earth and Planetary Sciences at MIT.

The implications are serious, since the movement of peak intensity means regions further north and south of the equator, which have not previously had to face many landfalls by violent cyclones, may now have greater exposure to these extreme weather events. That, in turn, could lead to “potentially profound consequences to life and property,” the paper states. “Any related changes to positions where storms make landfall will have obvious effects on coastal residents and infrastructure.”

Moving with the trade winds?

 

The paper, “The Poleward Migration of the Location of Tropical Cyclone Maximum Intensity,” was co-written by Emanuel, James P. Kossin of the University of Wisconsin, and Gabriel A. Vecchi of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).

To conduct the study, the scientists used international data from 1982 to 2012, collected by NOAA’s National Climactic Data Center. They used the location of peak intensity of cyclones as a benchmark because it is a more consistent metric than statistics such as storm duration: The duration can be harder to estimate because of difficulties in establishing precisely when a storm should first be considered a tropical cyclone.

 

While there are regional differences in the poleward movement of cyclones, the fact that every ocean basin other than the northern Indian Ocean has experienced this change leads the researchers to suggest, in the paper, that this “migration away from the tropics is a global phenomenon.”

However, Emanuel notes, the global mechanisms underlying the trend are a matter for further research.

“We think, but have not yet been able to establish, that this is connected to independently observed poleward expansion of the Hadley circulation,” Emanuel says, referring to a large-scale pattern of global winds, which in recent years has also moved further poleward. The paper notes the potential impact of vertical wind shear, which inhibits cyclone formation; data suggests a decrease in wind shear in the tropics and an increase at higher latitudes.

Emanuel notes that researchers in the field are continuing to examine the links between storm migration and global warming. Over the past three decades, the incidence of cyclones in the tropics has actually diminished—because while tropical cyclones may become more intense in a warmer climate, it is actually more difficult to generate them.

Ocean temperatures between 82 and 86 degrees Fahrenheit seem to be “ideal for the genesis of tropical cyclones,” Emanuel says, “and as that belt migrates poleward, which surely it must as the whole ocean warms, the tropical cyclone genesis regions might just move with it. But we have more work to do to nail it down.”

http://tinyurl.com/o4a9x4f

Severe thunderstorm / hailstorm causes mayhem in Ohio, USA

Several tornado warnings and severe thunderstorm Warnings were issued during a major weather event that rolled through southern and central Ohio Wednesday.

 

High winds and hail were reported throughout the Scioto Valley, with reports of trees being damaged and golf-ball size hail in and around Chillicothe. Storm damage was reported to a structure in the area of Lake White in Pike County, where a roof was damaged. Softball sized hail was also reported near Latham.

 

South Central Power Company was reporting up to 2,000 customers without service due to downed lines.

The only confirmed tornado in the region, was spotted southeast of Cedarville in Greene County where a house was reportedly destroyed.

Franklin Township Fire Department reported funnel cloud along U.S. Route 23 near Scioto Trails, but could not confirm touchdown.

 

http://tinyurl.com/m5xg3nt