earthobservatory.nasa.gov- 5/25/13

An ice shelf is a thick plate of ice attached to a coastline on one side and floating over the ocean on the other side. Many ice shelves fringe Antarctica, including the Wilkins Ice Shelf on the Antarctic Peninsula, which underwent a series of breakup events in 1998, 2008, and 2009.

Just as earthquakes can sometimes leave landscapes more prone to future quakes, the breakups on the Wilkins Ice Shelf left it vulnerable to further disintegration. In addition, the sea ice that had long pressed the shelf up against the coastline moved out, putting the remnants of the shelf in direct contact with open water. Ocean waves went to work on the ice, and in early 2013 the fracturing continued.

Wunderblog, 5/17/13, Dr. Jeff Masters

Wunderground.com, 5/9/13- Dr. Jeff Masters

With just three tornadoes during the period May 1 - 7, 2013 has had the third-fewest U.S. tornadoes during the first week of May since record keeping began in 1950. The only year with fewer tornadoes during the first week of May were 1970 (zero) and 1952 (two.) During the ten year period 2003 - 2012, the U.S. averaged 73 tornadoes during the first week of May, with a high of 239 during May 1 - 7, 2003. The three May 2013 tornadoes have all been week EF-0 twisters, and none have hit the Midwest's tornado alley:

May 2: An EF-0 tornado with 70-mph winds hit Boca Raton, Florida, tossing lawn furniture around, downing a few trees and fences, and breaking one window. The tornado stayed on the ground for just four tenths of a mile and was only 50 yards wide; nobody was hurt.

May 4: An EF-0 tornado damaged barns and outbuildings near Elkton, Florida.

May 6: An EF-0 tornado with 50 mph winds passed through Bakersfield, California. The 25-yard wide tornado lasted two minutes and stayed on the ground for 1/4 mile. This tornado was not related to a supercell thunderstorm like most tornadoes are, but instead was a "landspout" tornado, caused by the interaction of the inflow into a thunderstorm with a ground-based swirling area of winds.

Wunderground.com-5/16/13, Christopher Burt

Map of U.S. and location of Quillayute (also known as La Push). The Airport servicing La Push is called the Quillayute Airport and where the weather observations are made. The village is set on a small peninsula that juts out into the frigid Pacific Ocean where the SST would be around 48° this time of year. One can imagine how unusual it is for this site to be one of the hottest in the country on any given day. Photo from AirPhotoNA.com

One of the hottest places in the country yesterday (May 5th) was Quillayute (La Push), Washington located near the northwestern tip of the Olympic Peninsula in Washington where a record 88° was reported. This smashed their previous daily record by 15° (73° in 1994) and made it warmer than even Death Valley, California where it was 87° on Sunday.

Wunderground.com - 5/3/13, Dr. Jeff Masters

Figure 1. Residents look on as a back fire set by firefighters consumes the hillside behind their homes as a wildfire burns on May 2, 2013 in Newbury Park, Calif. (Photo by Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images)