Earth & Space Weather

~ Space Weather Update~ High Amount of Sunspots~ Solar Wind Speed Above Normal 533

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SUNSPOT SUNRISE: The sunspot number is so high, it is starting to confuse photographers. Consider this story from Beijing, China, on the morning of Nov. 15th: "Beijing is usually very polluted and we often miss seeing the sun rise in the morning," says Shalini Purohit. "Today, however, the morning sky was clear and I decided to take some pictures. When I looked at the image I thought there must be come specks of dust on my lens." In fact, the lens was clean; those specks were sunspots:

When the sunspot number is high, so is the chance of flares. NOAA forecasters estimate a 50% chance of M-class flares and a 15% chance of X-flares during the next 24 hours. As Purohit's image shows, at least four of the sun's spots are facing Earth. If any eruptions do occur, they will likely be geoeffective. Solar flare alerts: text, voice

Beaver Moon 2013 and the Leonid Meteor Shower

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By: Michele Berger, 11/15/2013

It’s time for another full moon this weekend. November’s is known most commonly as the Beaver Moon, but it’s also been called the Frosty Moon or even the Hunter’s Moon (though that’s typically how October’s is referred to). The Beaver Moon peaks overnight Sunday, Nov. 17. It’s part of a trio of night-sky wonders this weekend, along with the Leonid meteor shower and prime viewing of Comet ISON.

 

According to folklore, the Beaver Moon gets its name for one of a few different reasons, both having to do with the dam-building, nocturnal rodents with the oar-shaped tails. The Old Farmer’s Almanac postulates that it is called the Beaver Moon because this month was just the right moment to set beaver traps before the winter freeze. But according to National Geographic, it could also be attributed to the “heavy activity of beavers building their winter dams.”

 

For more on this story visit www.wunderground.com

Typhoon Haiyan: NASA Photo Pinpoints Worst Hit Areas to Aid with Relief

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By: Michele Berger, 11/15/2013

NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), in conjunction with the Italian Space Agency (ASI), Wednesday released satellite imagery to help aid with the relief effort around Typhoon Haiyan. The map, which covers a 27-by-33-mile region, is overlaid on Google Earth and shows “surface changes caused by natural or human-produced damage,” according to NASA, indicated by bright red coloration where the typhoon struck the hardest.

 

For more on this story visit www.wunderground.com

Massive hail buckets down on Queensland's Sunshine Coast

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By: ABC, 11/16/2013

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Sunshine Coast residents have been pelted with hail the size of tennis balls today as dangerous thunderstorms hit south-east Queensland. A line of hail storms battered region this afternoon causing widespread damage in Brisbane, the Gold and Sunshine coasts.

 

The State Emergency Service (SES) is responding to hundreds of calls for help on the Sunshine Coast with damage to homes, cars and buildings. One person was taken to hospital with serious head injuries after he was struck by a large piece of hail this afternoon. SES workers are out repairing damage to roofs and broken windows. Authorities say the worst hit areas were Maroochydore and Mooloolaba. The weather bureau has issued another warning for very dangerous thunderstorms.

 

For more on this story visit www.weatherzone.com.au

Strong 6.8 magnitude earthquake hits far south Atlantic: USGS

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By: AFP, 11/16/2013

WASHINGTON:A strong 6.8 magnitude undersea earthquake struck in the Scotia Sea, between the furthest tip of South America and Antarctica, US monitors said late Friday. There is a low likelihood that the quake, which struck at 0334 GMT on Saturday, will cause casualties or damage because of its remote location, said the US Geological Survey, which monitors earthquakes worldwide.

 

The quake was centered 917 kilometers southwest of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, 1,158 kilometers south-southeast of the Stanley, the capital of the Falklands Islands, and 1,397 kilometers southeast of Ushuaia, Argentina.

 

For more on this story visit http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/us/Strong-6-8-magnitude-earthquake-hits-far-south-Atlantic-USGS/articleshow/25868440.cms

At least 19 dead as floods hit Vietnam

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TheIndependent - 16 November 2013

Floods and landslides triggered by heavy rains in central Vietnam have killed 19 people, left eight missing and forced about 80,000 from their homes, disaster officials and state media said.

The floods forced 64,500 people from their homes in Quang Ngai province, with three dead and three missing, provincial officials said. The military and police are rushing aid and food to villagers cut off by the floodwaters, they said.

Another 16,600 people were evacuated from their homes in the neighbouring province of Quang Nam, where one person died and another was missing, disaster official Nguyen Hoai Phuong said.

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Puntland, Somaliland region reel from post-cyclone rains, flooding

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Sabahi.com - By Barkhad Dahir in Hargeisa and Abdi Moalim in Mogadishu

A view of Tropical Cyclone 03A from outer space as it churns above northern Somalia November 10-11, 2013. [AFP PHOTO/NASA/HANDOUT]

Heavy rains trailing a cyclone, which battered Somalia's Puntland region and left as many as 300 people dead, have also flooded parts of the Somaliland region and done much damage to the port city of Berbera.

In Puntland as of Wednesday (November 13th), the human death toll from the cyclone was confirmed at 143, State Minister for Good Governance Mohamed Farah Isse told Sabahi. The local government said 300 were feared dead and hundreds of others missing.

As many as 100,000 animals -- mostly goats -- perished in the storm, Isse said.

"The rain is accompanied by an extreme cold, wind and a lot of water, which have killed the people and the animals," he said. "We cannot reach the affected areas because the vehicles are becoming stuck in the mud. We provided a small amount of aid to the district of Dangorayo, however, we cannot reach Eyl and Bandarbeyla."

Haiyan's True Intensity and Death Toll Still Unknown

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Wunderground.com by Dr. Jeff Masters Blogs

Figure 1. Infrared VIIRS image of the eye of Haiyan taken at 16:19 UTC November 7, 2013. At the time, Haiyan was at peak strength with 195 mph sustained winds. Image credit: NOAA/CIRA.

A full week after one of the strongest tropical cyclones in world history devastated the Philippines, the full extent of the death and destruction wrought by Super Typhoon Haiyan is still not fully known, nor do we have actual ground measurements of the storm's peak winds and lowest pressure. The Philippines ‪National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council‬ estimates 3432 people were killed, and the U.N. puts this number at 4,460. This makes Haiyan the 2nd deadliest Philippines tropical cyclone in history, behind Tropical Storm Thelma of 1991, which killed 5081 - 8165 people. Damage is estimated at $12 - $15 billion, or about 5% of the Philippines' GDP.

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