Earth & Space Weather

Puerto Rico Drenched by Tropical Rains; More on Way

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Wunderground.com, 8/1/13, Danica Rico

 

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico  -- Puerto Ricans are used to wet tropical weather, but the past few weeks have unleashed a series of storms of almost biblical proportions, destroying hundreds of homes, sweeping away cars and leaving tens of thousands without power.

It has been the wettest July ever recorded in the U.S. island territory, with 14 inches (36 centimeters) so far drenching the capital. More rain fell on July 18 than had ever come down in a 24-hour period

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How the universe works: Clockwork and Creation (video)

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The Extinction Protocol, 7/31/13

Scientists have discovered that our solar system is very unique. Earth is located in a star system that is by no means the norm in space. As a matter of fact, our solar system appears to be the exception. A stunning exception, in the way it’s laid out to actually foster the very conditions on Earth which makes life possible. In the universe at large, chaos, explosions, and mind-bending collisions between massive celestial bodies appear to be commonplace. After you watch this video, you may never see our little blue planet quite the same again.

Update on Greenland Ice Sheet

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Accuweather.com - 7/31/13

 

After a slow start, this year's melt extent (below) on the Greenland Ice Sheet is clearly running higher than the 1981-2010 average. Also, this year's peak is already later than the average.

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Incredible Heat Wave in China, Greenland Record

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Wunderground.com - 7/31/13, Christopher C. Burt

While a lot of attention (justified) has been spent on the record heat in Siberia and Europe this past month, the actual big story so far this summer is the heat wave in eastern China. This July will go down as the hottest ever measured for places like Shanghai, Changsha, and Hangzhou. Records for Shanghai date back to 1873 and no such heat has ever been observed there or in much of Eastern China. BREAKING NEWS: Greenland has just reported its warmest temperature on record.

The provinces most affected by the heat this past July are Anhui, Zhejiang, Jiangsu, Hunan, Jiangxi and, of course, Shanghai. The population of these five provinces is about 314 million, more than the population of the entire United States.

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Louisiana's Disappearing Islands

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Wunderground.com, 7/31/13

A string of uninhabited islands in the Gulf of Mexico have gone from teeming with wildlife to nearly non-existent thanks to constant pummeling from tropical systems, and according to some scientists, climate change is making matters far worse.

Restoration efforts on the books to save the Chandeleur Islands, a 50-mile trail of atolls just off the coast of Louisiana, and home to the Brenton National Wildlife Refuge, may be too little, too late.

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Space Weather Update~ Farside Activity, METEOR SHOWER Underway

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Submitted by Lia on

 

SOUTHERN DELTA AQUARIID METEOR SHOWER: Earth is passing through a stream of debris from Comet 96P/Machholz, source of the annual Southern Delta Aquariid meteor shower. The shower's broad peak, centered on July 30th, is expected to produce a meteor every 4 or 5 minutes during the dark hours before local sunrise. Southern hemisphere observers are favored. [meteor radar]

FARSIDE SOLAR ACTIVITY: Solar activity has been low for more than a week. A pair of explosions on the farside of the sun have broken the quiet. During the late hours of July 29th, a southern magnetic filament and a northern sunspot erupted in quick succession, producing a pair of CMEs. The sunspot is circled in this full-sun UV image taken by the STEREO-SDO fleet on July 30th:

The active region is only 2-3 days away from rotating onto the Earthside of the sun. Its arrival could bring an uptick in Earth-directed solar activity. Or not. The ongoing solar maximum is prone to long spells of quiet, and it's not clear that the current quiet spell is really over. Solar flare alerts: text, voice.

Melting Polar Ice Cap Creates A Lake On Top Of The World

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Wunderground.com - 7/30/13, Sean Breslin

North Pole Melt Pond

Taken on July 25, 2013, a North Pole Environmental Observatory webcam captures a melt pond at the North Pole

The North Pole Environmental Observatory has a shocking photo it wants you to see.

The image above, captured by the agency's webcam, shows a sizable thaw pond near the North Pole. Sea ice in the Arctic remains slightly above 2012 levels, but continues to sink below the 30-year average during the summer thaw, according to National Snow and Ice Data Center information.

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