Weatherzone, By: Max Gonzalez, 11/13/2013

After months of very dry weather, rainfall is finally on the cards for eastern QLD and eastern NSW, bringing the heaviest rains since last summer. Even though April to September are the driest months for areas east of the divide, the past six months have been exceptionally dry for areas extending from Newcastle to Cairns.

The upper Hunter, the Mid North Coast and the southern parts of the Northern Tablelands in NSW received very much below average rainfall from May to October, 100 to 300mm below their six-month average. In QLD, Wide Bay and Burnett and parts of the Central Highlands and Coalfields were the hardest hit, with as much as a 200mm deficit when compared to their April-to-October average. Finally, the season seems to be turning just in time to help mitigate fires along the east with the heaviest falls since last summer.

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Source: Red Ice Creations - 11/12/13, Scott Sutherland

By: USGS

www.earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/

31 earthquakes

    4.7 94km NNW of Talkeetna, Alaska 2013-11-12 13:16:48 UTC-05:00 134.1 km

    5.1 3km WSW of Oreoi, Greece 2013-11-12 13:09:29 UTC-05:00 17.8 km

    4.9 13km NNW of Tartki, Tajikistan 2013-11-12 11:30:28 UTC-05:00 12.8 km

    5.1 Northern Mid-Atlantic Ridge 2013-11-12 10:59:45 UTC-05:00 16.9 km

    4.9 59km ENE of Kainantu, Papua New Guinea 2013-11-12 10:58:36 UTC-05:00 114.8 km

    4.7 Southwest of Africa 2013-11-12 08:39:52 UTC-05:00 15.0 km

    4.7 104km W of Kamiiso, Japan 2013-11-12 06:36:03 UTC-05:00 186.3 km

    4.9 Northern Mid-Atlantic Ridge 2013-11-12 05:41:05 UTC-05:00 10.0 km

    2.7 69km W of Anchor Point, Alaska 2013-11-12 05:26:30 UTC-05:00 99.7 km

thebangladeshtoday.com-Nov 12,2013

MEDAN: A volcano in western Indonesia erupted on Thursday, unleashing a column of dark volcanic material high into the air weeks after villagers were returning home from an earlier eruption, officials said reports UNB.
The explosion at Mount Sinabung, located in North Sumatra province, shot black ash 3 kilometers (nearly 2 miles) into the air, but there were no reports of injuries or damage, said National Mitigation Agency spokesman Sutopo Purwo Nugroho.
He said villages, farms and trees around the 2,600-meter (8,530-foot)
high rumbling volcano were covered in thick gray ash, prompting authorities to evacuate more than 3,300 people. Most were from two villages within 3 kilometers (nearly 2 miles) of the mountain in Karo district.
No lava or debris spewed from the volcano, and nearby towns and villages were not in danger, but authorities warned tourists to stay away from the danger zone located 1.5 kilometers (1 mile) from the crater, Nugroho said.
Last month, more than 15,000 people were forced to flee when the volcano rumbled to life after being dormant for three years, belching ash and smoke and igniting fires on its slopes.
 

You are invited to read more : http://thebangladeshtoday.com/international/2013/10/indonesian-volcano-spits-powerful-burst-of-ash/

ABC, By: David Claughton, Alex Blucher and Skye Manson, 11/12/2013

Rain across parts of New South Wales has improved the mood and prospects for many farmers. There were heavy falls on the north coast and up to 50 millimetres across inland areas that had been dry, although areas in drought in the far west have missed out.

In the state's south-east, farmers were calling it a 'green drought' last week, but Monaro wool grower Brian Clifford says this rain is a godsend. "We got the wind and hot weather in October that really dried the ground right out," he said. "It was disastrous really, until this change. It's cooled off and there's a bit of rain, so especially at our altitude at Shannon's Flat, we're close to 1,200 metres, it'll keep us green until Christmas."

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