Tropical Storm Niala forms southeast of Hawaii

Flash flooding spurred by heavy rain is expected across the Big Island this weekend as a weather system that has been festering since early this week nears the state. Thunderstorm activity increased throughout Thursday as the disturbance organized to form Tropical Depression 6-C.

 

By 5 a.m. Friday, the depression had strengthened to Tropical Storm Niala as it churned about 505 miles southeast of Kailua-Kona. A tropical storm watch is expected to be issued for the Big Island later Friday. A tropical storm warning was posted for offshore Hawaiian waters Friday morning.

 

“Even if it were not to develop, the Big Island would still be experiencing a rain threat. It really doesn’t matter what happens to this thing, the rain threat is still the same,” said Derek Wroe, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Honolulu. “Most likely, we are looking at Saturday night when we will start seeing conditions sort of ripe for flash flooding, especially for windward areas, and on the Kona side, more toward Sunday.”

 

Current forecast models show a short window for the storm to strengthen further. As of early Friday, the storm was circulating 40 mph winds and tracking northwest at 7 mph. Wroe said it is “highly unlikely” a hurricane will form thanks to strong upper-level winds that are expected to eventually weaken the storm to a depression by Tuesday morning after it passes about a hundred miles south of the Big Island.

 

“It doesn’t matter what happens with this thing the flood threat stays the same,” he iterated.

 

Inclement weather is expected to impact the Big Island through Monday. Wroe said Thursday afternoon that it was too early to estimate the extent of rainfall, but iterated that the island needs to be prepared to be sopped again. A flash flood watch will be posted Friday evening.

 

Since mid-August, leeward areas of the Big Island have seen heavy rainfall that has resulted in evacuations, rescues, flooded homes, businesses and properties, road closures and damaged infrastructure. A flood advisory was posted Thursday afternoon with forecasters reporting rain falling at a rate of 3 inches per hour in some areas between Kailua-Kona and Hawaiian Ocean View Estates in Ka‘u.

 

“The one thing we are confident about is the Big Island will be the most likely to be experience the flooding threat,” he said.

 

The depression’s formation was the 11th tropical cyclone within the Central Pacific basin, forecasters said. The number ties the record for the most active season, which was set in 1992 and repeated in 1994. In 1992, Hurricane Iniki slammed into Kauai packing 140 mph winds.

 

Forecasters, at the start of the season, called for an above-normal season with five to eight tropical cyclones — a category that includes tropical depressions, tropical storms and hurricanes — expected to impact the basin this year. On average, the basin annually sees four to five tropical cyclones in its waters.

 

Elsewhere in the Central Pacific, no tropical cyclones are expected to develop through Saturday afternoon.

 

In the Eastern Pacific, forecasters are keeping tabs on two areas of low pressure off the coast of Guatemala and southwestern Mexico. A tropical depression is expected to form off southwestern Mexico by early next week. The weather system off Guatemala is not expected to develop into a tropical cyclone because of its proximity to land and the disturbance off southwestern Mexico.

 

The Central and Eastern Pacific hurricane seasons continue through Nov. 30.

Courtesy of westhawaiitoday.com

http://tinyurl.com/p7w2z6f

Massive Gas Explosion Destroys Six Townhouses in Columbia, Maryland, USA

Six townhouses in Maryland have been wrecked by a suspected gas explosion which triggered a large fire.

 

Maria Hogg, of the Howard County Fire Department, said the blast was so powerful workers were pulling debris from nearby trees in Columbia.

 

Fire officials said a gas worker who was investigating a reported leak was injured, and a second person was treated for smoke inhalation.

 

Baltimore Gas and Electric spokeswoman Rhea Marshall said the worker was sent to the house after reports of a gas leak.

 

The blast is estimated to have caused $2m of damage.

 

Paul Treffinger, whose house escaped damage, told The Baltimore Sun: “If those people would have been in the house, there is no way they would have survived the explosion, there’s absolutely no way.

 

“It’s scary, because it could happen to any of us.”

 

Lew Kaiser saw the explosion on Wednesday night. He returned to the scene to recover items from his car.

 

He told the newspaper: “It was horrifying because it was a huge explosion, so it rocked the entire neighbourhood.

 

“There were doors [across the street] that opened. It was something that was almost not describable because I’ve never been in a situation like that.”

 

One house was destroyed, while both neighbouring properties were extensively damaged. Three others have been deemed uninhabitable.

Courtesy of Sky News

http://tinyurl.com/oeuvcdd

Tropical storm “Jenny” (Intl name “Dujuan) to strengthen as it heads toward Japan, Taiwan and eastern China

Tropical storm “Jenny” (international name “Dujuan”) is not expected to make landfall in any part of the country. AccuWeather Satellite

Tropical storm “Jenny” (international name “Dujuan) may strengthen into the equivalent of a category 3 hurricane as it heads toward Japan, Taiwan and eastern China, according to a report.

 

AccuWeather Global Weather Center on Friday reported that the tropical storm is expected to become a typhoon later on Friday and may reach the strength of a category 4 hurricane later in the weekend.

 

“Seas will build throughout the Philippine Sea and residents on the southern Ryukyu Islands should be rushing to complete preparations for the impending typhoon and heed evacuation orders,” AccuWeather said.

 

At 4 a.m., weather bureau PAGASA located Jenny 1,120 kilometers east of Calayan Island, Cagayan with maximum sustained winds of 95 kilometers per hour (kph) and gusts of up to 120 kph. It is likely to move west northwest at 7 kph.

 

No public warning storm signal is raised in any part of the country. The tropical cyclone is not expected to make landfall.

 

However, it will continue to enhance the southwest monsoon or “habagat” which will affect Visayas and Mindanao.

 

“Later next week, Dujuan may track farther into eastern China but could instead take a turn to the northeast and threaten more of mainland Japan and even South Korea with potentially flooding rain as a non-tropical system,” AccuWeather said.

Courtesy of philstar.com

http://tinyurl.com/po297zk

MAGNITUDE 2.7 SPAIN

http://www.emsc-csem.org/Earthquake/earthquake.php?id=461478

Subject To Change

Depth: 31 km

Distances: 163 km N of Gibraltar, Gibraltar / pop: 26,544 / local time: 20:14:30.0 2015-09-25
32 km NE of Sevilla, Spain / pop: 703,206 / local time: 20:14:30.0 2015-09-25
21 km N of El Viso del Alcor, Spain / pop: 18,351 / local time: 20:14:30.0 2015-09-25

 

MAGNITUDE 4.9 MARIANA ISLANDS REGION

http://www.emsc-csem.org/Earthquake/earthquake.php?id=461451

Subject To Change

Depth: 17 km

Distances: 466 km SW of Saipan, Northern Mariana Islands / pop: 48,220 / local time: 23:56:42.0 2015-09-25
244 km SW of Merizo Village, Guam / pop: 1,850 / local time: 23:56:42.0 2015-09-25

 

MAGNITUDE 4.4 ASSAM, INDIA

http://www.emsc-csem.org/Earthquake/earthquake.php?id=461473

Subject To Change

Depth: 47 km

Distances: 231 km SE of Thimphu, Bhutan / pop: 98,676 / local time: 22:57:41.5 2015-09-25
91 km SE of Mongar, Bhutan / pop: 2,969 / local time: 22:57:41.5 2015-09-25
18 km NE of Rangia, India / pop: 26,388 / local time: 22:27:41.5 2015-09-25

 

MAGNITUDE 3.4 ISLAND OF HAWAII, HAWAII

http://www.emsc-csem.org/Earthquake/earthquake.php?id=461426

Subject To Change

Depth: 7 km

Distances: 3865 km NE of Majuro, Marshall Islands / pop: 25,400 / local time: 22:27:37.8 2015-09-25
360 km SE of Honolulu, United States / pop: 371,657 / local time: 00:27:37.8 2015-09-25
44 km S of Hilo, United States / pop: 43,263 / local time: 00:27:37.8 2015-09-25
17 km SE of Volcano, United States / pop: 2,575 / local time: 00:27:37.8 2015-09-25

 

MAGNITUDE 4.5 IRAN IRAQ BORDER REGION

http://www.emsc-csem.org/Earthquake/earthquake.php?id=461420

Subject To Change

Depth: 10 km

Distances: 222 km E of Baghdad, Iraq / pop: 5,672,513 / local time: 12:27:59.8 2015-09-25
88 km E of Al Kūt, Iraq / pop: 315,162 / local time: 12:27:59.8 2015-09-25
37 km N of ‘Alī al Gharbī, Iraq / pop: 19,711 / local time: 12:27:59.8 2015-09-25

 

MAGNITUDE 4.9 MINAHASA, SULAWESI, INDONESIA

http://www.emsc-csem.org/Earthquake/earthquake.php?id=461414

Subject To Change

Depth: 40 km

Distances: 664 km S of Malingao, Philippines / pop: 1,121,974 / local time: 16:47:51.4 2015-09-25
92 km N of Gorontalo, Indonesia / pop: 144,195 / local time: 16:47:51.4 2015-09-25

 

MAGNITUDE 4.9 IRAN IRAQ BORDER REGION

http://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/eventpage/us20003nxf#general_summary

Subject To Change

Depth: 10 km

Distances: 36km (22mi) NNW of `Ali al Gharbi, Iraq
55km (34mi) SE of Mehran, Iran
63km (39mi) W of Dehloran, Iran
78km (48mi) ENE of Al Kut, Iraq
214km (133mi) ESE of Baghdad, Iraq