LAST UPDATED: SUNDAY, JANUARY 24, 2016

Winter Storm Jonas 2016 prompts emergency across Mid-Atlantic United States1

Ice forms as winter storm mixed with high tide causes flooding on Beach Avenue in Cape May New Jersey (Andrew Renneisen/Getty Images via The Weather Channel).

Update

Death toll from the winter storm Jonas has risen to 19. 

Main Post

Winter storm Jonas has prompted multiple states across the Mid-Atlantic United States to declare a state of emergency. 

Recent snow storm has claimed lives of at least ten people; six in North Carolina, one each in Arkansas, Kentucky, Tennessee and Virginia.

Emergency has been declared in Delaware, Georgia, Kentucky, Maryland, New Jersey, North Carolina, Virginia, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, West Virginia and Washington, D.C.

New York City mayor Bill de Blasio has declared a "winter weather emergency" and issued a hazardous travel advisory for the city, encouraging people not to travel.

According to The Weather Channel, blizzard warnings have been sissued for more than 33 million people from northern Virginia to southern Connecticut, including Washington D.C., Baltimore, Philadelphia, and New York City. 

The top snowfall from winter storm Jonas has been recorded in Redhouse, Maryland; a total of 28.5 inches as of Saturday morning. 

"Through noon Saturday, the forecast shows snowfall rates could potentially reach 10 inches every six hours," CNN has written quoting Chris Geldart of the District of Columbia's emergency management agency.

The recent winter storm in United States has been given various names like Jonas (The Weather Channel), Snowzilla (The New York Times), Anna (WFSB), Blizzard 2016 and others.

Tornado of the week: A tall and dusty twister near Wray,

Colorado on May 7, 2016MAY 08, 2016BY  IAN LIVINGSTONIN  TORNADO DIGEST

The most memorable tornado during the week of May 1-7, 2016.In chaser lingo, days like May 7 are typically thought of as products of “High Plains magic.”

It generally doesn’t take much on the High Plains to create beautiful storms. When the ingredients are right, tornadoes become common as well. In fact, the region east of Denver has the highest density of tornadoes in the country, although they are predominantly weak and often form by non supercellular means.Thanks to the elevation of the High Plains, plus the natural rising air which aids convection due to upslope flow as that elevation is gained, eastern Colorado is prime grounds for big stuff from little ingredients. Saturday was no different.

View image on Twitter

 Follow

Stas Speransky   @StasIsChasing

#cowx5:59 PM - 7 May 2016

[Early May tends to be feast or famine for tornadoes]Northeast Colorado found itself near the center of a low pressure system that formed in response to an upper-level trough pushing through the Rockies and toward the Plains.

500mb analysis around the time of the Wray tornado via the GFS model. (Pivotal Weather)

A warm front and dry line were also draped across the region. It was a mild spring day, but not too warm. Not too moist either. The Colorado portion of the warm sector was largely characterized by highs near 70 and dew points in the mid-40s to near 50. In most places, that wouldn’t be cause for much in the way of tornado expectations.

Surface analysis around the time of the Wray tornado. (Weather Prediction Center)

But the ingredients were enough for the High Plains.At least five tornadoes — generally tall and CGI-esque — were confirmed across northeast Colorado. Four in NWS Goodland’s area and one in NWS Denver’s. The most visually compelling and most highly photographed of the group was the second that developed near Wray. It was a stunner, and ultimately rated an EF2 or “strong,” the second of the day after one in Weld County earlier during the afternoon. Unfortunately, the Wray EF2 also hit property and caused several injuries.Here’s the radar at the time Wray was near its most photogenic.

LAST UPDATED: FRIDAY, JANUARY 8, 2016

Magnitude 6.7 earthquake in Manipur kills 11, injures 2007

Earthquake damage in  Dewlaland, Manipur (Twitter Photo/@RockyWahengbam)

Update

At least eleven people have been killed and 200 others have been injured. Six people died in India and five in Bangladesh.

The Union home ministry’s disaster management has warned of a bigger catastrophe with earthquakes with a magnitude of 8.2 or greater on the Richter scale set to hit the Himalayan region. "The interconnected plates across Nepal, Bhutan, Myanmar and India pose a bigger danger, and predicted a disaster of bigger magnitude, National Institute of Disaster Management (NIDM) Director Santosh Kumar said Times of India (TOI).

Main Post

A 6.7 magnitude earthquake in Manipur has claimed lives of atleast six people and injured 100 others. The earthquake occurred around 4:36 a.m. early Monday morning with epicenter at Noney village in Tamenglong district of Manipur, the Indian Meteorological Department reported.

Tremors have been reported from Assam, Manipur, West Bengal, Jharkhand and Bihar states of India including in the bordering regions of Myanmar, Bangladesh and Tibet.The tremor was even felt in Bhutan and eastern Nepal.

“Five people are confirmed dead,” The Hindustan Times has written quoting Anurag Gupta, the National Disaster Management Authority. One man has been reportedly dead of a heart attack following the quake across the border in Bangladesh.

The Northeast Frontier Railway suspended train movement for two hours immediately after theearthquake.

According to the United States Geological Survey (USGS), "The January 3, 2016 M 6.7 earthquakenear Imphal, India occurred as the result of strike slip faulting in the complex plate boundary region between India and the Eurasia plate in southeast Asia."

Moderate-to-large earthquakes in this region are fairly common; 19 other M 6+ earthquakes have occurred within 250 km of the 2016 event over the preceding century. 

LAST UPDATED: MONDAY, JANUARY 25, 2016

Taiwan Snow 2016: Severe weather kills 859

Severe weather in Taiwan has claimed lives of at least 85 people, mostly from hypothermia and the onset of cardiovascular diseases.

Snowstorm killed 66 people in Taipei, New Taipei and Taoyuan, further 16 died in Kaohsiung and three in Pingtung, Shanghaiist reported.

Taipei recorded the lowest temperature in 44 years at 4°C. Atleast 21 people died in Taipei and 10 in New Taipei. Others 35 died in Taoyuan in northern Taiwan.

The 16 deaths in Kaohsiung were mostly caused by the onset of cardiovascular diseases, Focus Taiwan reported.

Snowstorm in Kaohsiung caused crop losses of NT$10 million (US$298,820), the Agriculture and Food Agency said.

LAST UPDATED: WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 6, 2016

Australia: Newcastle hit by heaviest rain in 154 years

An emergency crew member wading out to a car caught in flood waters in Newcastle (ABC/Daily Mail)

Newcastle, Australian state of New South Wales,  has faced its wettest January day in 154 years after torrential rain batters the east coast.

"Newcastle experienced the most rainfall on a January day since records started back in 1862," The Daily Mail has written quoting the Bureau of Meteorology. Around 200.6 millimetres of rainfall has been recorded in Newcastle in last 24 hours.

A person has been missing off the coast of Port Stephens, just north of Newcastle.

The Hunter River broke its banks leading the evacuations of dozens of people in Raymond Terrace. Emergency crews dealt with about 2,000 requests for assistance, including 800 across the Hunter region, ABC reported.

According to the Emergency Services Minister David Elliott, 30 homes and 70 to 80 people have been affected.

Alaskan Volcano Eases After EruptionBy LIAM STACKMARCH 29, 2016

Pavlof Volcano erupted on Sunday. CreditColt Snapp/Associated PressA volcanic eruption in Alaska that sent a cloud of ash more than seven miles into the atmosphere and forced the cancellation of more than 40 flights appeared to ease late Monday, officials said.

Pavlof Volcano, 625 miles southwest of Anchorage near the tip of the remote Alaska Peninsula, began erupting on Sunday afternoon, the Alaska Volcano Observatory said, bringing heightened seismic activity with it.

Lava could be seen spewing from its mouth by local mariners, pilots and residents of the town of Cold Bay, about 40 miles to the southwest, the observatory said.

Get the Morning Briefing by EmailWhat you need to know to start your day, delivered to your inbox. Monday – Friday.

Strong winds carried the ash hundreds of miles into the interior of the state. A nearby village, Nelson Lagoon, was blanketed in a thin layer of it on Monday morning, The Alaska Dispatch Newsreported.

Any danger posed by the volcano appeared to have dissipated by Monday night when the observatory downgraded its alert level from red, meaning a hazardous eruption was underway, to orange, a signal that its hazards appeared to be limited.

The ash cloud created a headache for 3,300 Alaska Airlines passengers on Monday after the airline canceled 41 flights to and from six cities in Northern Alaska, the observatory said.

“We simply won’t fly where ash is present,” John Ladner, the airline’s director of operations, said in a statement.

16 September 2015 (UTC), Mw 8.3, Off Illapel, Chile Tsunami 

The 16 September 2015 magnitude 8.3 Off Illapel, Chile earthquake (31.570°S, 71.654°W, depth 25 km) occurred at 2255 UTC and generated a tsunami that was observed all over the Pacific region and caused damage locally. According to news reports, there were at least 13 dead due to the earthquake ground shaking. In February 2010, a magnitude 8.8 Mw located near the central coast of Chile generated a tsunami that caused 156 fatalities.According to the USGS, the 16 September 2015 earthquake occurred as a result of thrust faulting on the interface between the Nazca and South America plates in Central Chile. In the region of the earthquake, the Nazca plate subducts eastward beneath the South American plate at a rate of 65 mm/yr.

Firefighters travel from Saipan to fight the Happy Camp Fire

While Rae Brooks was assigned to the Happy Camp Complex of fires in northwest California she wrote this story about a crew from Saipan that was working on the fire. The photos were taken by Kari Greer.****Saipan firefighters usually battle scrubby mango and banana tree fires that last a day or two and burn less than five acres. For a month this summer, 15 firefighters from the tiny Pacific island broke in new boots while working on major wildfires in northern California.The cold, dry night air, the 16-hour work days and the new boots took their toll, but the Saipan crew still raved about their month-long assignment.“We all have busted-up feet, we’re sick, but we loved it anyway,” said crew member Derek Gersonde. “It’s a great learning experience.”The Saipan crew flew to California in mid-August as part of a U.S. Forest Service program that brings wildland firefighters to the U.S. mainland to help out when fires are active and resources stretched. In a matter of days, the crew switched abruptly from their sea-level home of sandy beaches and coral reefs to the rugged mountains of northern California.After being issued wildland fire-fighting gear — and buying wildland boots, which aren’t stocked in Saipan stores — they started building line at the French Fire on the Sierra National Forest.Crew boss trainee Alle Recor found the crew tended at first to operate on “island time” and lacked the sense of readiness of the wildland world. On Saipan, fires are close by and easy to reach. But, with a little coaching, that soon changed, said Recor. She found the crew motivated, and eager to have fun and get the job done.

Thirteen of the 15 crew members, who range in age from 22 to 48, work primarily as structural firefighters and are qualified medics for the Saipan Department of Public Safety’s Division of Fire. Although wildland firefighting was a new world, the crew understood fire behavior from their structural background, Recor said. Two others were part of a 2008 Saipan crew that fought wildland fires in CaliforniaThe crew’s fitness and ability to learn new skills quickly impressed crew boss Tyler Van Ormer, who normally works as a battalion chief with the National Forests of Mississippi.“The guys catch on so quickly that sometimes I forget how green they are,” said Van Ormer. “You only have to show them once and it’s like they’re old hands at it.”When Van Ormer got word of his assignment, he had to search Google to confirm the island was actually part of the United States. Saipan is the largest of the Northern Mariana Islands, a U.S. territory in the western Pacific, three-quarters of the way between Hawaii and the Philippines.Instructors from the western United States travel to Saipan each April to provide basic wildland fire-fighting training. Selection to the wildland crew is competitive for course graduates. While wildfires do occur on Saipan, which is smaller than Rhode Island, they are usually caught quickly.“It’s such a small island that a fire usually runs into a structure and slows down,” said Gersonde. “We don’t have these huge vast mountain ranges that just blow up. You come here and see how fast a fire can run.”After the French Fire, the crew spent two weeks at the Happy Camp Complex on the Klamath National Forest.To help hone their practical firefighting skills, five of the Saipan crew embedded with the Sierra Hotshots and some of the hotshots worked with the Saipan crew. The hotshots emphasized safety and proper technique. After a break, the crew returned to Happy Camp for a second stint. They flew home Sept. 17.Crew boss Van Ormer lauded the Saipan crew’s work ethic.“They’re disciplined, they’re nice, they’re polite,” said Van Ormer. “If they don’t know something, they ask. I’ve never heard a complaint. They’re the easiest guys I’ve ever worked with.”The organizational structure behind fighting a big fire boggled the Saipan crew. When they returned to the Happy Camp Complex, 75 crews, 14 helicopters, 108 engines, 20 dozers and 50 water-tenders were working on the fire, which now sprawls over more than 200 square miles.The entire island of Saipan is only 1,400 square miles.After exposure to large-scale fires, some crew members find themselves contemplating a new career path in wildland firefighting on the U.S. mainland.

“A lot of us have it on our minds,” said Gersonde.

Hurricane Patricia Had Maximum Sustained Winds of 215 MPHPublished: 

Feb 4 2015 11:00 AM ESTHurricane Patricia, Stronger Than ThoughtMeteorologist Ari Sarsalari talks about Hurricane Patricia and why it's believed to have been stronger than originally thought. 

Record-breaking Hurricane Patricia had stronger maximum sustained winds at its peak intensity than previously thought, the National Hurricane Center (NHC) said Thursday.

The NHC report says that maximum sustained winds topped out at 215 mph (185 knots) on the morning of Oct. 23, 2015, when Patricia was spinning off the coast of Mexico in the eastern Pacific Ocean. This is 15 mph higher than the 200-mph winds stated in advisories issued by the NHC when the hurricane was ongoing, which already made it the strongest hurricane on record in either the eastern Pacific or Atlantic Ocean basins.

(MORE: Storm Chaser Intercepts Patricia)

Satellite image showing Patricia near its maximum intensity at 5:23 a.m. EDT on Oct. 23, 2015. (RAMMB/CIRA NASA/NOAA)

In addition, the NHC says that the official estimated lowest atmospheric pressure on the morning of Oct. 23 for Patricia has been adjusted to a lower value of 872 millibars (previously estimated to be 879 millibars). This pressure is the lowest on record in the Western Hemisphere, and the second lowest on record for the world just behind the 870 millibars observed in Supertyphoon Tip in 1979.  In general, a lower pressure means a more intense hurricane in terms of its winds and overall destructive potential. Conversely, a higher pressure indicates a weaker system.

(MORE: Stunning Meteorological Images of Patricia)

Another change in the NHC report is that Patricia made landfall as a Category 4 hurricane with top winds of 150 mph. Patricia was originally estimated to be a Category 5 with 165-mph winds at landfall. The point of landfall was near Playa Cuixmala in Jalisco state of southwest Mexico on Oct. 23 at 6:15 p.m. CDT.

Although the core of Patricia's strongest winds impacted a sparsely populated area north of Manzanillo, it still caused severe damage in a small area. More than 10,000 homes were damaged or destroyed and about 100,000 acres of farmland suffered significant damage. Strong winds stripped the vegetation off of most of the trees in the area and concrete power poles were knocked down. The report says that two small villages, Emiliano Zapata and Chamela, suffered the most extreme damage.

(MORE: Before and After Images of Mexico)

Two direct deaths have been blamed on Patricia in the Jalisco state after a tree fell on a campsite in the Tapalpa forest. 

Before and after images showing the vegetation stripped from trees before and after Hurricane Patricia made landfall.   (John Galetzka)

Looking Back at Patricia

Patricia rapidly organized and intensified as maximum sustained winds with the storm increased 120 mph in a 24-hour window from 85 mph at 1 a.m. CDT on Oct. 22 to 205 mph at 1 a.m. CDT Oct. 23.

Just 30 hours after peaking in intensity as the most powerful tropical cyclone ever measured in the Western Hemisphere, former Hurricane Patricia degenerated into a weak remnant low over northeast Mexico.

Hurricane Patricia became the strongest Pacific hurricane on record shortly after midnight CDT early on Oct. 23. Air Force Hurricane Hunters had flown through the eye of Patricia and reported a sea-level pressure of 894 millibars as measured by a dropsonde inside the eye itself. Wind measurements suggested that the pressure measurement was not in the exact center of the eye and was probably not the absolute lowest pressure, prompting NHC to estimate the minimum central pressure at 892 millibars in its special 12:30 a.m. CDT advisory.

Tropical cyclone strength comparisons are typically based on minimum central pressure. At 892 millibars, Patricia shattered the eastern Pacific basin's previous record of 902 millibars set by Hurricane Linda in 1997.

While a number of typhoons in the western North Pacific have been stronger, Patricia is by far the strongest hurricane on record in any basin where the term "hurricane" applies to tropical

cyclones – namely, the central and eastern North Pacific basins and the North Atlantic basin, which includes the North Atlantic Ocean itself plus the Gulf of Mexico and Caribbean Sea.