July 15, 2012 – SPACE - “Discovered in 1986, Comet 96P/Machholz is a fascinating comet that has passed through SOHO coronagraph images four times now,” says Karl Battams of the Naval Research Lab. “It’s not a huge comet but it is very photogenic, and puts on quite a display with its beautiful dusty tail.” In an essay posted on his web site, Battams explains why the comet is so fascinating. Many researchers suspect 96P/Machholz is not a native of our solar system; some chemical evidence suggests it came from another star. Also, 96P/Machholz appears to be dynamically related (that is, the comet’s orbit is related) to a diverse collection of other objects in the solar system including asteroid 2003 EH1 and the Quadrantid, Southern Delta Aquariid, and daytime Arietid meteoroid streams. All of these things–the asteroid, the comet, and the meteoroids–might be fragments of a single “foreign” body that broke apart thousands of years ago. Comet 96P/Machholz will be visible in SOHO coronagraphs until July 17th. Battams believes the comet will reach a peak brightness of 2nd magnitude–not its best show. “But who knows,” he says, “maybe Comet Machholz will do something completely and utterly unexpected like fragment into a swarm of Machholzlets.” –Space Weather

Thousands cut off by floods and landslides in Japan

Toshka Lakes in Egypt show signs of rapid drying

 – JULY 16, 2012POSTED IN: SEVERE STORMS, TORNADOES

Powerful wave of tornadoes ripped through the north-western part of Poland on Saturday evening leaving more than 100 houses destroyed and about 400 hectares of woodlands in Bory Tucholskie forest flattened. Tornadoes hit the Kujawy-Pomerania and Wielkopolska provinces. The districts of Bialaczow, Zarnow, Paradyz and part of the Opoczno area were worst hit.

Ten people were injured in the storm, and at least one person was killed. Warsaw Voice reports that the twisters have been categorized by meteorologists as a F2 tornado with wind velocity of up to 200 km/h. There are reports that tornado sucked up water from the lake near Wycinki village. Power lines were also downed leaving homes cut off, roads were closed and train services disrupted. Hundreds of rescuers were working to remove fallen trees.

July 16, 2012 – TEXAS – Two soccer players are dead and another is injured after lightning struck a tree that they were standing beneath to shelter from a storm in Houston. Harris County Sheriff’s Office spokesman Thomas Gilliland says rain halted a men’s league soccer club around noon on Sunday and the players all run for cover under some nearby trees. Gilliland says lightning struck one of the trees, killing one of the men. Two others were also hit and taken to a Houston hospital, where a second man was pronounced dead. The third man is in stable condition at Ben Taub General Hospital. Authorities have not released the names of any of the men. The Houston area has been drenched by rain the past week, flooding between 50 and 100 homes. –CSM

 Cisco Wilkinson of west Pasco took this photo at 4 a.m. Saturday. “It was so bright, I was temporarily blinded,” Wilkinson said. “It looks like it’s daytime.”

July 15, 2012 – WASHINGTON – There were a lot of tired people in the Tri-Cities on Saturday after an early morning electrical storm rattled homes and flashed bright lights through windows. The system that led to a severe thunderstorm warning from the National Weather Service also cooled down the Mid-Columbia after a string of 100-plus degree days. The light show and downpour didn’t appear to cause any significant damage, with police and fire officials surprised at how few calls were received. However, it might not be over, with the forecast calling for a slight chance of thunderstorms through the rest of the week as the temperatures heat up again. Those storms continue to bring the threat of lightning sparking wildfires. The thunder and lightning that moved through the area earlier Saturday seemed anything but normal to the dozens of residents who took to social media to describe the experience. Some referred to it on the Tri-City Herald’s Facebook page as “the best storm ever” or the “most intense” they’ve experienced in the Northwest. People awakened by the loud booms reported staying up through the early morning hours because they were fascinated by Mother Nature’s spectacular display, or simply realized that attempts at sleep were futile. A severe weather alert issued at 2:37 a.m. said two storms were located six miles southwest of Kennewick and moving north at 30 mph. Within minutes, the storms moved over the Tri-Cities and seemed to hunker down for almost three hours, with cloud-to-cloud lightning that often was so bright it appeared to be daytime. The National Weather Service’s warning described it as “a dangerous storm,” and told residents to prepare for damaging winds, destructive hail and deadly lightning that could strike the ground. People were instructed to seek shelter inside a strong building, but away from windows. The weather service took two calls from the public reporting hail the size of a quarter in Kennewick. Public reports of wind speeds in Kennewick ranged from gusts of 35 to 40 mph to gusts up to 60 mph that drove the rain and hail sideways. “I’m sure it’s been a blast for people to watch the lightning,” Brooks said. The weather service had been expecting the storms to form for a couple of days because of instability with a low-pressure system and warm temperatures, Brooks said. –News Tribune

Anchorage Experiences Coldest First Half of July Ever

Looking for relief from the heat over much of the Lower 48 states? Head to coastal Alaska where they are experiencingthe coldest first half of July on record! 
Through the first 14 days of July, the average temperature in Anchorage was 53.1 degrees factoring in daily highs and lows, which makes it the coldest first half of the month on record according to the National Weather Service in Anchorage. 
Should this temperature trend continue, it could threaten the record for the coldest July ever, which occurred in 1920 and had an average temperature of 54.4 degrees. 
Typically this stretch of time is the warmest of the year. Instead, temperatures in the city of Anchorage are running 5.3 degrees below average. 
Somedays have even turned out colder than cities on the Arctic Coast such as Barrow. On July 12th, the high temperature topped out at 54 degrees in Anchorage, while temperatures soared to 62 in Barrow (a whooping 15 degrees above average.) 
Not only has it been cool, but residents of the Alaska city haven't seen much sunlight due to overcast skies and a persistent flow off the ocean. Rainfall through the first 14 days is running slightly above normal at 120 percent. But the clouds and cool temperatures have been the bigger story.

Landslide in Alaska May Be the Largest Recorded in North America

Landslides occur in all 50 U.S. states and territories, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. The Appalachian Mountains, the Rocky Mountains and the Pacific Coastal Ranges and some parts of Alaska and Hawaii have severe landslide problems. AP had a great story yesterday about a massive rock slide in Glacier Bay National Park earlier this summer. The event took place on June 11, 2012, but no one noticed it until a pilot happened to fly past the area a month later. According to AP's story, some are now saying this landslide - which sent rock and ice pouring down a valley, over the top of a glacier - might be the largest ever recorded in North America.