Archive | September 8, 2014
Fatal Plane Crash at South Albany Airport in Bethlehem, New York, USA
Emergency crews are on the scene of a fatal plane crash in Bethlehem.
The small plane crash happened at the South Albany Airport in Selkirk.
Albany County Sheriff Craig Apple confirms there were two people on board the plane. Apple confirmed one person is dead and one is in critical condition.
Apocalyptic flooding as wettest day ever recorded in Phoenix, USA
It’s been an interesting few days in Phoenix, Arizona. A huge dust storm — known as a “haboob” — blanketed the area on Saturday, blowing thick sand on wind gusts between 25 to 40 miles per hour. And Monday was the wettest day in the city’s recorded history, breaking a 75-year-old record for rainfall.
It was only 9:30 a.m. on Monday when the rainfall record was broken, with Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport reporting 3.29 inches of rain since midnight, according to Phoenix’s local CBS affiliate. That surpassed the previous daily record of 2.91 inches, the most rain since Phoenix began record-keeping in 1895. As of publication, more than 4 inches of rain had fallen so far in Phoenix.
The rare heavy rainfall led to flooding that inundated freeways and stranded drivers on the side of the road. As The Weather Channel notes, the desert terrain surrounding Phoenix is already incapable of absorbing a lot of water — a situation that gets even worse when heavy rainfall hits the concrete-laden city, which also can’t absorb water.
The storm, brought on by tropical moisture from the former Hurricane Norbert, brought more rain than Phoenix typically sees in an entire monsoon season, the National Weather Service excitedly tweeted on Monday. The American Southwest’s monsoon season generally lasts from July until mid-September.
Monsoon seasons not only bring rains, though — they also bring dust storms, or “haboobs.” Phoenix sees several haboobs every year, driven by strong winds from a moving thunderstorm that blow up dry desert sand.
“The best way to explain a haboob is to say it is a tsunami of sand, in the sense that there is no stopping it or outrunning it,” Fernanda Santos of the New York Times wrote in August. “It is a supreme spectacle.”
For the last 40 years in the American Southwest, dust storms like Saturday’s in Phoenix have been steadily on the rise, according to a University of Colorado study published last year and funded by the National Science Foundation. The increases in dust, according to the study, can be attributed to a combination of factors — more storms with high winds, more drought, land use changes, and even more construction projects.
At least one peer-reviewed paper has suggested that as temperatures rise in the Southwest due to climate change, more dust could be created. Alyson Kenward described it well for Climate Central: “Hotter average temperatures mean the region could become even drier than it is already, making it harder for perennial grasses and plants to thrive. Without these grasses to keep the soil intact, it’s a lot easier for wind to pick the dust up off the ground.”
As for extreme precipitation and flooding events, scientists more readily agree that those can be made worse by climate change.
The way this happens is relatively simple: As carbon dioxide is emitted from burning fossil fuels and destroying tropical forests, it traps heat in the atmosphere. As the trapped heat raises the planet’s average temperature, the heat evaporates water from the ocean and soil, putting moisture into the air.
As global temperatures rise, the atmosphere then holds more moisture — about 4 percent more per degree of temperature increase. Therefore there is more water vapor available to fall as rain, snow, or hail when storms occur.
Torrential rain alert issued for Pacific coastal areas as typhoon approaches
Areas along the Pacific coast should brace for torrential rain Monday due to an unstable atmosphere affected by a weather front, a cold air mass from the north and Typhoon No. 14, which is moving east over the ocean south of Japan, the Meteorological Agency warned Monday morning.
Precipitation may exceed 30 mm per hour in some areas, NHK reported, without naming specific areas that may be affected. The agency is warning that heavy rain may cause landslides and bring floods to lowlands, as well as calling for caution against stormy conditions, including high waves, at sea, it said.
The agency said the typhoon was moving east-northeast at 25 kph over the sea area about 400 km southeast of Tanegashima Island, Kagoshima Prefecture, as of 3 a.m. Monday, with a central atmospheric pressure of 985 hectopascals and packing a maximum wind velocity of 90 kph and maximum instantaneous wind velocity of 126 kph near its center, according to NHK.
The typhoon is expected to continue to grow as it moves northward in sea areas south of Japan, bringing increasingly strong winds to the Izu and Ogasawara island chains during Monday.
The expected maximum wind velocity may reach 65 kph in the Izu island chain and 54 kph in the Daitojima area in Okinawa Prefecture and the Ogasawara island chain.
The Izu island chain may come under strong winds and face very stormy seas Tuesday, affected by the typhoon, according to NHK.
Wildfire flares up near Butte, Silver Bow County, USA
A wildfire burning in remote terrain northeast of Butte began to belch more smoke over the weekend as warm temperatures and low humidity fueled its growth.
The Madison Fire is located several miles north of Delmoe Lake and is estimated at 5 acres in size. The fire is burning in steep and rocky terrain and began to burn more actively as temperatures reached the upper 70s over the weekend. According to the Inciweb fire information system, smoke could be seen as far away as Homestake Pass on Saturday and Sunday.
Due to the harsh terrain and concern for firefighter saftey, there are no people actively attacking the blaze. However, crews continue to monitor the fire from a distance and from the air.
A quick return to cool and wet weather this week could lower the fire’s activity in the coming days.
Wildfire smoke impacts moderate to heavy in some Californian areas today
Smoke dispersion will be limited due to light winds. Smoke will pool into Scott Valley and the Lower Klamath River drainage, if the winds become strong enough to push the smoke south.
Afternoon smoke impacts may reach the moderate range in and around Orleans, Weitchpec, and Somes Bar. Heavy smoke will impact visibility on portions of Highway 96 and Highway 3 today.
Areas of wildfire smoke are predicted to impact the following regions: Del Norte County Humboldt County Trinity County
If you live (or plan travel) in the regions listed above, please watch for Air Quality Alerts, which are issued when unhealthy or hazardous conditions exist.
MASSIVE DIP SPIKES ON THE MAGNETOSPHERE @ APPROX 21:15 hrs UTC
**EXTREMELY URGENT**
MASSIVE DIP SPIKES ON THE MAGNETOSPHERE @ APPROX 21:15 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 4.3 ICELAND REGION
Subject to change
Depth: 2.9 km
Depth: 2.9 km
Distances: Latitude, Longitude 64.662 -17.400
(6.5 km ENE of Bárðarbunga)
Earthquake location 08 Sept 22:00 GMT
Time and magnitude of earthquake 08 Sept 22:00 GMT
MAGNITUDE 5.3 EASTERN NEW GUINEA REG., P.N.G.
http://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/eventpage/usb000safz#summary
Subject To Change
Depth: 229 km
Distances: 108km (67mi) E of Madang, Papua New Guinea
154km (96mi) N of Lae, Papua New Guinea
173km (107mi) ENE of Goroka, Papua New Guinea
206km (128mi) N of Bulolo, Papua New Guinea
456km (283mi) N of Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea
MAGNITUDE 4.5 ICELAND REGION
Subject to change
Depth: 7.4 km
Depth: 7.4 km
Distances: Latitude, Longitude 64.789 -16.970
(11.3 km E of Kistufell)
Earthquake location 08 Sept 22:00 GMT
Time and magnitude of earthquake 08 Sept 22:00 GMT
MAGNITUDE 3.0 ICELAND REGION
Subject to change
Depth: 7.9 km
Depth: 7.9 km
Distances: Latitude, Longitude 64.796 -16.892
(15.1 km E of Kistufell)
Earthquake location 08 Sept 22:00 GMT
Time and magnitude of earthquake 08 Sept 22:00 GMT
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