Mauna Loa volcano, the world’s largest active volcano, erupts for the first time in nearly four decades

The US Geological Survey assures that even though lava is flowing down one side of the volcano, the eruption does not pose any threat to the communities. The volcano is in Hawaii Volcanoes National Park. The agency issued an advisory and said - “All indications are that the eruption will remain in the Northeast Rift Zone.” Referring to an area where the volcano is splitting, allowing for lava flow, it added - “Volcanic gas and possibly fine ash and Pele’s Hair (strands of lava glass) may be carried downwind.” However, a “trace to less than one quarter inch” of ashfall could accumulate on parts of the island. That is what the National Weather Service in Honolulu. The state Transportation Department also issued an advisory for those who plan to fly. It said - “Passengers with flights to Hilo International Airport (ITO) or the Ellison Onizuka Kona International Airport at Keahole (KOA) should check with their airline prior to heading to the airport due to the volcanic activity at Mauna Loa.” The airline also announced that Southwest Airlines is not operating from Hilo International Monday because of the eruption. It has canceled five flights to and from Honolulu. Hawaii’s Mauna Loa is erupting for the first time since 1984. The US Federal Aviation Administration issued a statement saying – it is “closely monitoring the volcanic eruption and will issue air traffic advisories once the size of the ash cloud is determined.”

The agency confirmed there is no threat to nearby communities, and no evacuation orders issued. However, as a precaution, two shelters have opened. The weather service says falling ash can damage vehicles, buildings, and lead to contamination of water supplies, disruption in sewage and electrical systems, and damage or destruction of vegetation. Moreover, abrasive volcanic ash could lead to irritation of eyes and lungs. Those who suffer from respiratory illnesses should remain indoors to avoid inhaling the ash particles and anyone outside should cover their mouth and nose with a mask or cloth. Hawaii, or the Big Island, has an area of about 4,000 square miles. It is the largest of the Hawaiian chain but has a population of just over 200,000 people. This works out to less than 50 people per square mile. Most of them live in cities and communities around the coast.

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The powerful storm in California left one person dead and two others missing. Floodwaters in a canal swept them away while a tornado touched down in Sacramento County. According to the National Weather Service, the tornado touched down at 1:40 p.m. a few miles outside the town of Galt. It blew away a tin roof on a barn and downed utility lines. The stormy weather raised concerns because it was Election Day and it could keep people from voting. Moreover, there were warnings of flash flood in some areas. The Ontario Fire Department mentioned about a current in a canal in the city that swept six people away. One of them died while firefighters rescued three others. Search is on for the missing persons. 1 dead, 2 missing after floods, snow, tornado hit California on Election Day.

Heavy rain drenched Orange County. There are very close contests here and the result could play a major role to decide which party controls Congress. The Republican Party of the County urged members to vote early and avoid getting stuck in the rain on Election Day. The storm came on Monday and was forecast to continue through Wednesday. This led to issue of evacuation orders in parts of Southern California. The Met department in Northern California warned about the heavy rainfall with consequent debris flows and flash floods in the areas devastated by wildfires in Colorado. The National Weather Service issued a winter storm warning for the greater Lake Tahoe area. It could lead to heavy snow in the region with consequent backups in major highways in the area. The agency cautioned that driving in the region would be extremely difficult, if not impossible. Drivers could face whiteout conditions and sub-zero wind chills along ridgelines and near the mountain passes.

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Tropical storm Kay strikes parts of Southern California with winds of over 100 mph

Regions in Southern California faced winds of 100 mph or more. These set off alarms related to coastal flooding and mudslides. The storm system along the northern coast of Mexico’s Baja California peninsula could deliver heavy rains, flash flooding, strong winds and muggy conditions. The tropical storm Kay lay about 130 miles off the coast of San Diego. Meteorologists are surprised that the storm has managed to maintain much of its strength even as it moved into the chilly waters near California. Usually, tropical storms lose much of their punch s they move north. That is the opinion of a meteorologist of the National Weather Service in San Diego. Kay continued to produce strong gusts in Southern California. Forecasters indicated Kay was producing 2 to 4 inches of rain in the southernmost areas of California. Some isolated pockets received 6 to 8 inches. Tropical Storm Kay ‘keeps punching’ as it hits SoCal with 100-mph winds, intense rain. Heavy rains and winds of 100 mph struck the mountains in San Diego County. The National Weather Service issued a flash flood warning for the northeastern some part of the county.

Singer Alicia Keys postponed her sold-out concert at San Diego State University in view of the possibilities of foul weather. However, the game between the Dodgers and Padres took off as scheduled at Petco Park. There are dangers of flash flood in the mountains of Southern California. The warnings apply to parts of the desert. Areas near the Imperial Valley were under a flash flood warning. The intense winds led to damaged power lines and uprooted trees in San Diego County. Incidentally, it was in 1997 that Southern California last felt the effects of a tropical storm. At the time, it was Tropical Storm Nora. It led to floods, disruption of power apart from traffic crashes. There was also destruction of homes in Orange County.

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Three people died due to severe storms accompanied by damaging winds, heavy rains and flash floods in parts of the Midwest and the South. The dead included a couple of two children in Michigan and Arkansas apart of a woman in Ohio. Loss of power led to cancellation of classes in many schools as well as problems to hundreds of thousands of homes and businesses in Indiana and Michigan. One of the girls killed in the Michigan City was a 14-year-old who was electrocuted in the backyard of her home. She had come into contact with an electrical line knocked down by a thunderstorm. In the Detroit-area community of Warren, two boys were hospitalized. One of them touched a power line that was down. Moreover, in Arkansas, an 11-year-old boy lost his life after being swept into a storm drain during heavy rainfall. A woman who tried to help the child was also pulled from the drain and had to be moved to a hospital for treatment. 3 killed, including 2 children, after severe storms hit the Midwest and South.

The National Weather Service revealed that slow-moving thunderstorms brought heavy rainfall to the area and caused localized flash floods. An official of the weather service in Tulsa, Oklahoma, said – “Those heavy rains, when they fell, a lot of them fell really quickly and in a short time." In Ohio, a woman lost her life after a tree fell on her behind her home in Toledo. At that time, a strong storm had passed through the area. Threw were widespread storms in Michigan, Ohio and Indiana. High speed winds downed branches of trees and power lines at different locations. Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves declared a state of emergency after excessive rainfall added to the problems in one of the water-treatment plants. It caused to low water pressure through much of the capital city. Incidentally, a swollen Pearl River led to floods in Jackson. It happened after storms dumped heavy rain. The flooding in Mississippi was less severe than flooding that caused death and destruction recently in Kentucky. At the time, the floods left at least 39 dead and robbed thousands of families of all of their possessions.

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11 killed in South Carolina floods – Governor Nikki Haley says such floods not seen in 1,000 years.

South Carolina is reeling under heavy floods due to rainfall of up to 14-inches that has taken at least 11 lives and has left tens of thousands without power or drinking water. Governor Nikki Haley has described it as the floods the like of which has not been seen in the region for 1,000 years.
This has been reported in ibnlive.com dated 6 October 2015.

President Barack Obama has signed a disaster declaration so that federal aid would be available to the southern state. A tropical air mass over much of South Carolina starting had dumped 14 inches (36 centimeters) of rain. This was a new record, as indicated by the National Weather Service.
That downpour caused sudden and dramatic flooding, bursting dams and leaving residents scrambling for safety. Nearly 26,000 people had no power and 40,000 had no drinking water. At least four people lost their lives in weather-related traffic accidents, while seven more have drowned. Those killed included five who were trapped in vehicles overcome by flood water.
(Image courtesy wikimediacommons.org)

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Hawaii is in the eye of a storm named Kilo which is raging across the Pacific and is on a trajectory that could threaten the Hawaiian Islands once it strengthens into a hurricane early next week. This has been indicated by the National Weather Service.
This is as reported in zeenews.india.com dated 22 August 2015.

At present, Kilo, was centered roughly 500 miles (800 km) south-southeast off Hawaii`s Big Island and, as per forecast, would remain on a northwesterly path before possibly taking a sharper turn north later.
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#newyorksnowstorm #billdeblasio #climatechange #globalwarming The weatherman has warned that a massive snowstorm is headed for the US Northwest and New York and Boston can expect dumping of 2 to 3 feet of snow from New Jersey to Connecticut.
As the National Weather Service has indicated, it was a "potentially historic" and a blizzard warning was issued for New York and Boston. The National Weather Service has added that the storm would bring heavy snow and powerful winds starting Monday and into Tuesday.
Bill de Blasio, the Mayor of New York City has added that it could be a storm the likes of which has never been seen earlier. It seems this snowstorm could go on top of a list that dates back to 1872 – the list is that of the city’s top 10 snowstorms.
Preparations have already begun to take care to face the snowstorm. There is an increase in the number of snow shovels, snow brooms and ice-melting pellets sold and transit officials are trying to keep the subways running smoothly by using modified subway cars loaded with de-icing fluid to spray the third rail that powers trains.
In Boston, wind gusts of 60 mph or more are possible on Cape Cod as informed by the weather forecasters.
Without doubt, such natural disasters in the form of snowstorms are results of climate change and global warning – we have to face the facts or perish.

Fury of Nature seen in New York and Brisbane – snowfall and storms cripple lives

Lady Nature is unhappy at the way our environment is being destroyed and the ecological balance is getting disturbed and she is expressing it in her own unique way – by unleashing storms and snowfall in different parts of the world.
Over a four-day period, New York received nearly seven feet of snow – as per reports, the total snowfall in western New York was staggering. Wales Center and Hamburg witnessed an incredible 85 inches (seven feet) of snow. According to records maintained by the National Weather Service, the largest snow event on record in Buffalo, N.Y, was 81.6 inches in 2001 and that had accumulated over a period of five days.
After the large scale snowfall that crippled the life of New York, she has now moved on to Australia and crippled Brisbane, the third largest city. It was lashed by its worst storm in decades, with roofs flying off and wind, rain and hailstorm resulting in cutting power lines, flooding streets and injuring a dozen people.
As reported by the state-owned electricity supplier Energex, up to 90,000 homes had been without power, with trees and hundreds of power lines brought down by winds gusting at 87 mph and, as it gained in intensity, 68,000 homes remained blacked out.
The storm struck and caught commuters unawares – they remained stuck for hours in the stalled electric trains due to the power cuts. The electronic media went to town with the news and showed the devastation caused in the form of smashed high-rise windows and light planes flipped upside down on an airfield while cars were nearly submerged in flooded streets.
Queensland State Premier Campbell Newman has described the storm as the worst to hit the city of 2.2 million people since 1985.