Snow and Ice Storms Blanket Areas of the Northeast United States

Traveling conditions in different regions throughout the United States remain difficult and even dangerous in some areas as snow and ice continues to blanket the country. The Northeast continues to get hit hard as another major accumulation of deep snow and ice was dumped on the mid-Atlantic region yesterday. This particular storm was responsible for the ice accumulation in parts of Texas as late as Sunday and the front moved to the Northeast.

Some spots received a foot of snow which stopped vehicles on the highway completely and caused power outages, and school delays and cancellations. This particular storm canceled more than 2,800 flights and delayed thousands more over the past few days and the dangerous traveling conditions are not expected to cease anytime soon. The winter is already seems to be shaping up to be full of snowy conditions and it is just getting started. Storms like these are predicted to continue in parts of the United States over the course of the next week. A large snowstorm currently traveling north from Virginia is expected to cause freezing rain in New York and Boston, among other places. A snowstorm along the Utah-Arizona border caused hundreds of drivers to be left stranded on the highway and pile-ups are frequently being seen in the news. Take extra time on the roads, check your weather forecasts regularly, and stay safe out there!

(Snowstorm causes dangerous driving conditions in Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah)

Sources:

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/dec/09/us-winter-storm-slams-us

http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/NaturalHazards/view.php?id=82469&eocn=home&eoci=nh

New Report Shows Weakening Of Earth's Crust In New Zealand

Recent surveying of the terrain in New Zealand has scientists convinced that recent powerful earthquakes from 2010 and 2011 have weakened the Earth's surface in areas of the country. Seismic waves detected before and after the earthquakes were analyzed by a network of seismographs across New Zealand and it was determined that a broad region of the area affected by the recent quakes has led to cracking around the fault. This widespread weakening of the crust can be detrimental to New Zealand. The country is located along the Ring of Fire where 90 percent of the world's earthquakes occur. The government needs to look at this information closely as it plans for future hazard mitigation that could occur from stronger earthquakes because of this.

Aerial view of Christchurch New Zealand. This was the site of the 6.3 magnitude earthquake that struck on February 22nd, 2011.

The magnitude 6.3 earthquake in 2011 was the deadliest and most costly in the entire history of New Zealand and just 172 days earlier in 2010 a magnitude 7.1 earthquake also caused millions of dollars in damage, although thankfully nobody was killed. These powerful earthquakes were strong enough to cause abnormal amounts of cracking in the earth along the fault lines in New Zealand. It is possible that another devastating earthquake could occur along the same fault and cause even more damage because of it.

Earthquakes obviously cannot be prevented but mitigation efforts need to be in place now in case another earthquake hits this region. The 'golden hours' after a quake only last so long and emergency relief services need to be well organized in order to act rapidly and efficiently.

(Video of a magnitude 6.5 earthquake in January of this year. Some structural damage was accounted for and thankfully nobody was seriously injured.)

Sources:
http://www.livescience.com/41446-new-zealand-earthquakes-weakened-crust.html

Climate Change and its Effect on Powerful Storms

It has been a slow past couple of days in the severe weather department for the most part so I thought I would shift gears a little bit. One of the best sources for up-to-date severe weather information including statistics, videos, and pictures are the people at weather underground. Recently they came out with a story on global climate change and specifically talked about the rising sea waters that will impact the globe in our lives. They use information taken from a project called "Sea Level Rise in My Lifetime," which is a report on rising waters that was recently done by Florida Atlantic University. TEDxTalks on rising tides

This is an important topic. As I have mentioned in earlier posts, global climate change is happening. There is no debating it and the evidence is overwhelming. With the overall increase in global temperatures, we can see the ice caps melting and record high temperatures happening currently and this is contributing to the rising sea waters that may have a lasting effect on our world's coastlines.

(OK maybe a little extreme)

Climate change is going change not just the amount of ice in the polar ice caps. Climate change can very well cause the frequency and severity of some of our world's most powerful hazards to increase. We have already seen historic storms like Superstorm Sandy and Typhoon Haiyan devastate different populations around the world. Is it possible that we will start to see more of these unprecedented storms gracing a with their presence? Maybe they already are. 

This will be an important time for hazard prevention, protection, and mitigation as we continue down this path. There is no stopping it and unfortunately for us, they may be no stopping these storms. 

*For more information of Weather Underground's report on rising sea levels click here.

Sources:

http://www.wunderground.com/news/future-sea-level-rise-around-us-photos-20131203

UPDATE: Time to Reflect on Typhoon Haiyan

11 days have now passed since the typhoon hit the Philippines on November 8th. Aid is beginning to come in from many countries around the world, most notably the United States, Britain, and Australia, and attempts to estimate the damage of the storm is underway. It is estimated that the storm has killed or has left missing more than 5,000 people and displaced an estimated 4 MILLION PEOPLE! This was not your average typhoon.

Even now, due to the enormous amount of clean-up yet to be done, it is difficult to get aid to people inland who are in dire need of assistance. Transportation systems in some areas are essentially shut down and people are without food and clean water in areas that are the hardest to reach. This typhoon, although it was properly forecast and the Philippine Government made attempts to evacuate some of its citizens, the storm was massive in power and scope. The storm itself was historic. Experts including those at NASA have concluded that it may have been the most powerful tropical cyclone to ever make landfall. EVER!

The storm's width was 370 miles wide and contained sustained winds of 195 mph and gusts were reaching 235 mph. There was a 17 foot high storm surge in the heavily populated city of Tacloban and 27 inches of rain fell as a result of the storm. Some of these numbers are unfathomable. Relief efforts are underway and the time for reflection has started, even as some are waiting with little to no aid reaching them. Did the government do everything it could to protect its people from this storm? Why were thousands still living in unsafe, temporary housing structures as the storm approached? Why were so few people evacuated from the area? I do not know if we should start placing blame on the Philippine Government at this time when millions of people are still in need of help but one thing is for sure, we will be talking about extensively about this storm and the impact that it has had for a long, long time.

Take a few minutes and listen to an National Public Radio (NPR) story that shows hazard mitigation at work as NPR's Christopher Joyce reports on if displaced Filipino's should rebuild their homes in their previous locations due to the regions vulnerability by clicking here.

Sources: 

http://worldnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/11/17/21496134-typhoon-haiyan-a-crisis-by-the-numbers?lite
http://www.wunderground.com/news/americans-killed-philippines-typhoon-haiyan-20131119
http://www.npr.org/player/v2/mediaPlayer.html?action=1&t=1&islist=false&id=245949244&m=246015345

Typhoon Haiyan UPDATE

Recent news reports out of Tacloban, Philippines have been mixed. On one hand, death and destruction are everywhere and thousands are still waiting for help as Philippine and international aid are still on their way in some areas. There is good news though. Philippine President Benigno Aquino was interviewed today and lowered the estimated death count to 2,000 to 2,500. These numbers are far more encouraging than the 10,000 people that were estimated to have died in Tacloban alone after last weeks typhoon.

The path of the storm ripped through the Philippines and traveled all the way into Vietnam late last week. It was one of the most powerful storms ever recorded. Military aircraft and ships from the United States and the United Kingdom are on their way as we speak. Hundreds of thousands are without food, water, or shelter. In fact, there is little information about about the more rural communities that were affected by the storm because it is so difficult to get into those areas and the government has been working to aid those heavily populated areas that were hit hardest. These people need help now. Hopefully more international aid will continue to come into the area over these next few days, or weeks, or months. Some areas have been completely demolished and will take years to build up these areas once again. We just have to be glad that forecasting predicted this storm so accurately and the death toll is not as high as previously estimated because of that.

Sources:

http://www.wunderground.com/hurricane/western-pacific/2013/Tropical-Storm-Haiyan?MR=1

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/chi-typhoon-haiyan-philippines-20131112,0,4089787.story

"Super-storm" Typhoon Haiyan Hits The Philippines

The first "super-storm" (definition of super-storm is up to interpretation) hit the Philippines yesterday. Officials knew the storm was coming and it appeared as though steps were taken to protect the lives of the Filipino people by evacuating thousands away from the coast. Still, the impressive power of the storm threatened millions of people. Reports coming in today have estimated that the death toll in the central Philippine city of Tacloban could reach 10,000 people! The video below shows that the storm was accurately tracked and forecast before it reached land.

It appears drowning and collapsed buildings are the likely factors contributing to the most deaths in the area. The city of 200,000 people has been completely devastated. Hundreds of bodies have already been recovered. The typhoon came through with winds that reached 147 miles per hour and saw wind gusts of 170 miles per hour. The storm could be considered comparable to a Category 4 hurricane and even close to reaching a Category 5. Thankfully, the storm has slowed some and as the it reaches Vietnam today, winds have died down some. It is important that precautions are still taken in these other areas to protect the citizens of mainland Asia that will be affected by the storm.

Currently, the Philippine Government is attempting to restore communications, power, and water in order to aid the victims and rescuers in the area. The United States and other countries from around the world are stepping up to provide disaster relief aid because of the devastation from this unbelievable storm. News reports have called this typhoon "one of the most powerful storms in the history of mankind." However you want to look at it, there are going to be thousands of people dead, hundreds of thousands affected, and communities simply reduced to rubble. Continued updates on the continuation of the storm and the relief efforts in the Philippines will be forthcoming...

Sources:

http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2013/11/09/typhoon-haiyan-philippines-vietnam/3483099/

http://www.latimes.com/world/worldnow/la-fg-wn-officials-typhoon-haiyan-death-toll-could-soar-to-10000-in-philippines-20131109,0,6461436.story

Sonia Upgraded To Tropical Storm As It Approaches Mexico

The United States National Hurricane Center has upgraded Sonia from a tropical depression to a tropical storm as it has gained strength in the pacific. This is yet another powerful storm that is threatening the western coast of Mexico and the Baja California peninsula. There is expected to be very heavy rain, leading to life-threatening flash floods and mudslides that could threaten the people of Mexico when the storm makes landfall.

Winds from the storm have grown to only 40 mile per hour winds but those numbers could grow before Sonia makes landfall. This is an area that has seen an increasing number of tropical storms as of late. Most recently, Tropical Storm Karen moved through relatively the same area. Although North America has been spared of any major hurricanes this year, the western coast of Mexico has been hit with many smaller storms that have dropped heavy rains and caused landslides because of it. Each added storm that reaches areas that already have the ground saturated with water increase the risks of these hazards. Sonia is only a couple hundred miles away from coast now. I will continue to update the storm if its strength picks up.

Sources:

http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/refresh/graphics_ep3+shtml/203222.shtml?5-daynl

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/11/03/tropical-storm-sonia_n_4208321.html?ir=World