Earth & Space Weather

~ Space Weather Update~ CME Impact and a Huge Sunspot

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CME IMPACT: A CME hit Earth's magnetic field on Nov. 26th at approximately 0500 UT (Nov. 25th @ 9 PM PST). The weak impact did not cause a geomagnetic storm. Aurora alerts: text, voice.

PRESTO! A HUGE SUNSPOT: Yesterday, sunspot AR1620 was barely visible. Today it is a behemoth wider than a half-dozen planet Earths. NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory recorded the sunspot's rapid growth in a period of less than 20 hours on Nov. 25-26:

AR1620 has a beta-gamma magnetic field that harbors energy for strong flares. Because of the sunspot's proximty to the center of the solar disk, Earth would be in the line of fire of any eruptons. NOAA forecasters estimate a 30% chance of M-class solar flares in the next 24 hours. Solar flare alerts: text, voice.

Scientists say new signs of global warming in Russian Arctic

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Source: Phys.org - 11/21/12, AFP

Herders round up reindeer on snowmobiles near a farm in Lovozero

Herders round up reindeer on snowmobiles near a farm in Lovozero in 2010. The Russian Arctic is losing ice cover and being inhabited by species from the south in the latest sign of climate change, according to a group of Russian scientists.

 

The Russian Arctic is losing ice cover and being inhabited by species from the south in the latest sign of climate change, according to a group of Russian scientists.

 

The scientists spent three months in the Arctic's Franz Josef Land.

 

"We have explored 42 of the archipelago's 191 islands and concluded a reduction of the ice sheet from the last Soviet expeditions in 1957," said head of the expedition Maria Gavrilo, an ornithologist.

Cyclone Medusa Heads for Italy

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Medusa cyclone headed for Italy, 5 regions on alert

File:Medusa Royal Palace Turin.jpg

Head of Medusa, gate of the Royal Palace of Turin
Source: Wikipedia

 

"...beginning on Tuesday, November 27, European weather systems will be affected by the Medusa cyclone, fed by two extremely heterogeneous air masses - i.e. cold air coming off Arctic latitudes and hot air in response from inland Tunisia."
 

More: AGI.it

Floods in UK: Storm front expected to move north

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BBC - 11/26/12

North-east England and north Wales are braced for possible flooding as the weather front which brought heavy rain to southern England moves north.

Many parts of the UK are already under water

There are about 210 flood warnings and 300 flood alerts in England and Wales, and two flood alerts in Scotland.

This weekend 816 homes were flooded, mainly in south-west England.

To read the rest of this story, visit BBC.

UK storms: Two killed as wind and rain batter country

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BBC - 11/25/12

Two people have died after floods and high winds battered parts of Britain.

Duncan Hadland told the BBC the flooding in Malmesbury, Wiltshire, was "the worst it has ever been"

 

A woman was killed by a falling tree in Exeter on Saturday night, while a 70-year-old man died after his car crashed into a swollen river in Cambridgeshire.

Hundreds of homes have been flooded in Devon and Cornwall and elsewhere. One severe flood warning is in place in Helston, Cornwall.

To read the rest of this story, visit BBC.

Space Weather Update~ Declining Chance of Flares and a Rainbow~

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DECLINING CHANCE OF FLARES: Big sunspot AR1618 is in decay, and it hasn't unleashed a strong flare in more than 24 hours. Nevertheless, the sunspot retains a complex ('beta-gamma-delta' class) magnetic field that harbors energy for X-class eruptions. Significant flaring is still possible this weekend. Solar flare alerts: text, voice.

GEOMAGNETIC STORM WATCH: A geomagnetic storm is brewing around Earth's poles following a CME strike on Nov. 23rd. A second CME is en route, due to arrive on Nov. 24th. NOAA forecasters say there is a 65% chance that the second strike will trigger strong storms at high latitudes. Aurora alerts: text, voice.

Auroras from the first CME strike on Nov. 23rd were weak. On the Isle of Lewis in the Outer Hebrides, photographer John Gray knew just where to look--at the end of the rainbow:

"It was not a very strong aurora, but there all the same," says Gray. "I hope it gets stronger [when the second CME arrives]."

KILLER STORMS CAUSE MAYHEM ACROSS BRITAIN

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Express - 11/24/12

THE devastating storms which claimed two lives are forecast to return today.

An aerial picture showing the floods that have hit the South West of England

An aerial picture showing the floods that have hit the South West of England

The country is braced for three more days of “extremely hostile” weather – downpours and hurricane-force gusts of more than 100mph.

Experts said 72 hours of non-stop rain on saturated ground could trigger “the worst flooding in years”.

To read the rest of this story, visit Express.co.UK.

 

Prominent view

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Source: The Watchers - 11/23/12, By Chillymanjaro

The Sun is constantly roiling with nuclear heat and intense magnetism that make sunspots, flares, coronal mass ejections, and all sorts of space weather. When directed toward Earth, those solar blasts can disrupt satellite and radio communications, damage our electric-powered tools and toys, and create auroras. But it is not always easy to know when the Sun is spitting plasma and energy in our direction. This is why NASA launched the Solar Terrestrial Relations Observatory, or STEREO, in October 2006. The twin satellites were sent out along roughly the same orbit around the Sun as the Earth itself. The orbit of STEREO-A (ahead) is slightly closer to...

The Sun is constantly roiling with nuclear heat and intense magnetism that make sunspots, flares, coronal mass ejections, and all sorts of space weather. When directed toward Earth, those solar blasts can disrupt satellite and radio communications, damage our electric-powered tools and toys, and create auroras.

But it is not always easy to know when the Sun is spitting plasma and energy in our direction.

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