Heavy dust storm envelopes Dubai, reduces visibility

The National Center of Meteorology and Seismology has issued a warning to residents to be careful if they are going for outdoor activities.

Dubai and other parts of the UAE were suddenly engulfed in heavy dust today evening, which greatly reduced visibility and caused traffic snarls on busy roads.

The National Center of Meteorology and Seismology has issued a warning to residents to be careful if they are going for outdoor activities.

Drivers have been asked to exercise extreme caution and drive only if absolutely necessary.

http://tinyurl.com/nju9oop

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Plane ventures perilously close to the spectacular erupting Bardabunga volcano in Iceland

A plane flying over the Bardarbunga volcano spewing lava and smoke in southeast Iceland

A small aircraft looks perilously close to lava spewing from an erupting volcano in Iceland.

 

The country’s largest volcano has been rocked by hundreds of daily tremors since mid-August, prompting fears of a full explosion.

 

The aerial picture taken on Sunday captures the force of the 2,000 metre high Bardarbunga volcano.

 

It is situated on Iceland’s second-highest peak and under Europe’s largest glacier.

Lava flowing out of the Bardarbunga volcano in southeast Iceland

 

The aviation industry has previously been warned about the possibility of flight disruptions caused by the activity at the volcano in southeast Iceland.

 

In 2010 an ash cloud caused by the eruption of its Eyjafjallajokull volcano shut down much of Europe’s airspace for six days and more than 10 million people were affected.

http://tinyurl.com/mehl6cu

Plane crashes at Massachusetts airport, USA

Emergency crews responded to a Berkley airport Tuesday morning after a small plane left the runway and crashed into a wooded area.

According to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), an amateur-built aircraft flown by town resident Murray Randall crashed at about 10:45 a.m. The agency said it appears as though he lost control while landing on a grass strip at Myricks Airport.

Randall was transported to Charlton Memorial Hospital for treatment, but his condition is not yet known.

The pilot was involved in another crash at the same airport more than a decade ago. The FAA said a Piper PA-18-150 being flown by Randall struck trees and power lines while landing back on April 19, 2004.

The cause of the crash remains under investigation.

http://tinyurl.com/q6acwx4

Ex hurricane Odile leaves trail of destruction along Baja, heavy rain poised to inundate parts of Southwest

Even though the Atlantic hurricane season is certainly not very busy, the impacts from tropical cyclones on people and places within the United States cannot be ignored. We are about to see once again how tropical moisture from an east Pacific system gets pulled northward in to the Desert Southwest and causes all kinds of issues.

 

In this case, it’s the remnant circulation of once powerful hurricane Odile. So far, we are seeing quite a bit of evidence of damage to parts of the southern Baja peninsula where Odile made landfall as a strong category three hurricane just a couple of nights ago. There are a lot of people who are without fresh water and other basic needs due to the hurricane and its unlikely path right in to Cabo San Lucas. That story will continue to play out over the coming days as rescue and recovery efforts unfold.

 

Meanwhile, the moisture from what is still tropical storm Odile will continue to move northward towards Arizona and New Mexico. As a result, flash flood watches have been posted for most of Arizona, parts of southeast California and southern Nevada and a good deal of southwest New Mexico. The threat of excessive rainfall across the region is high over the next few days and this could lead to major issues for areas not used to this much rain.

 

It looks as though the heaviest rain will come tomorrow and in to Thursday when the bulk of the moisture from Odile arrives. The possibility of seeing 3 to 5 inches of rain raises the odds that significant flooding will occur but the exact location of this is impossible to know right now. Being alert for rapidly changing conditions and being ready to move to high ground will be essential to keeping safe. Anyone traveling across the region is advised to keep a close watch on the local weather conditions and do not try to cross any flooded roads, no matter what you’re driving. Swift moving water can overpower your vehicle in a matter of seconds, we saw this during last week’s flash flood along I-15 northeast of Las Vegas. This is a serious flood threat for the region and people need to take it as such.

 

I am currently in Tuscon working to document and report on the situation over the next few days. My team and I will will make use of some of the same equipment we use in hurricane storm surge with the idea being that we try to capture video of a dangerous flooding situation without having to be there ourselves. There are numerous low spots, washes, dry stream beds, etc that we can place an unmanned camera close enough to capture video of a flash flood. With the amount of heavy rain forecast for the area, I don’t think we will have too much trouble and in fact, will have to make sure we are well away from those areas when the flooding begins.

http://tinyurl.com/m7485dv

Typhoon Kalmaegi Targets Vietnam After Striking Philippines

Tropical Cyclone Kalmaegi is currently churning west-northwest in the South China Sea, generating waves up to 22 feet, according to the Joint Typhoon Warning Center (JTWC) forecast. JTWC expects Kalmaegi to graze northern Hainan Island, traveling through the Gulf of Tonkin, and making landfall slightly north of Vietnam’s capital of Hanoi late on Tuesday, September 16 (local time, NASA). Bulletins are also being issued by the Hong Kong Observatory, with the latest indicating flights to Hong Kong International Airport may be affected.

 

Kalmaegi (known in the Philippines as Luis) developed in the northwestern Pacific Ocean on September 10 and intensified into a typhoon before striking northern Luzon, Philippines, on the evening of Sunday September 14, unleashing fierce winds and torrential rains. The latest update from the Philippine government’s disaster mitigation agency, National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC), reports 17,633 people affected, with displaced persons inside 64 evacuation centers.

 

Prior to the storm’s arrival, the Philippine government issued numerous public storm warnings for dangerous storm surge and intense rainfall that could trigger landslides and flash flooding, evacuated flood prone and low-lying areas, and pre-positioned food packs in northern communities for displaced families. In addition, army and police forces were on standby for possible search and rescue operations.

http://tinyurl.com/oognwnc

MAGNITUDE 5.4 ICELAND REGION

Subject to change

Depth: 7.7 km

 

Distances: Latitude, Longitude  64.692  -17.378 
(9.2 km NE of Bárðarbunga)

Earthquake location   16 Sept 22:15 GMT

Time and magnitude of earthquake   16 Sept 22:15 GMT

MAGNITUDE 4.5 ICELAND REGION

Subject to change

Depth: 1.1 km

 

Distances: Latitude, Longitude  63.728  -19.323 
(9.6 km NE of Básar)

Earthquake location   16 Sept 22:15 GMT

Time and magnitude of earthquake   16 Sept 22:15 GMT

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

**EXTREMELY URGENT**

  MASSIVE DIP SPIKES ON THE MAGNETOSPHERE @ APPROX 19:30, 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 3.7 VIRGIN ISLANDS REGION

http://www.emsc-csem.org/Earthquake/earthquake.php?id=400183

Subject To Change

Depth: 25 km

Distances: 91 km N of Road Town, British Virgin Islands / pop: 8,449 / local time: 16:03:50.0 2014-09-16
100 km N of Charlotte Amalie, Virgin Islands, U.S. / pop: 20,000 / local time: 16:03:50.0 2014-09-16
164 km NE of San Juan, Puerto Rico / pop: 418,140 / local time: 16:03:50.0 2014-09-16

MAGNITUDE 4.8 ICELAND REGION

Subject to change

Depth: 5 km

 

Distances: Latitude, Longitude  64.677  -17.470 
(4.9 km NE of Bárðarbunga)

Earthquake location   16 Sept 20:55 GMT

Time and magnitude of earthquake   16 Sept 20:55 GMT