Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year 2008

Photo (wallpaper) of the most warming defense against extreme polar weather.

by Tertulia Team

Solstice Full Moon and Mars

24th December 2007 - Mars approaching Moon - 03:20 am

23th December - Conjunction Of Mars and Moon - 23:30 pm

Full Moon on 23 December 2007 (Sintra, Portugal)

Full Moon on 24 November 2007 (Montejunto, Portugal)

Winter storm pounds northeastern United States

BOSTON, Dec 16 (Reuters) - A snowstorm that blanketed parts of the Midwestern United States barreled into New England on Sunday, bringing snow, freezing rain and high winds that grounded flights and made driving treacherous.
Roads were slick with snow and ice, and local airports reported hundreds of flights canceled across New England.
Upstate New York received as much as a foot (30 cm) of snow, while the storm spared New York City, leaving only a coating of icy slush. Thousands of people were without power in New Jersey, Long Island and parts of Connecticut.
In New England, about 8 inches (20 cm) of snow fell around Boston, though the precipitation changed to rain across coastal areas by afternoon, according to the National Weather Service.
It dropped more than 10 inches (25 cm) across parts of Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts and Rhode Island. Forecasters said high winds would continue through the evening and parts of northern New England could receive as much as 14 inches of snow. They warned that with sub-freezing temperatures expected overnight, much of the rain that fell on the region late in the day would turn to ice.
The wintry blast came a week after a Midwest ice storm was blamed for 13 deaths and cut power to hundreds of thousands.

Volcanic Eruption by Vatnajökull Glacier Imminent?

Hundreds of small earthquakes have been detected in the region Upptyppingar since Friday last week, located about 20 kilometers east of the volcano Askja and north of Vatnajökull glacier. Experts say a volcanic eruption may follow.

Most of the earthquakes occurred at a depth of 13 to 15 kilometers. If their source moves closer to the surface by a few kilometers, the likelihood of a volcanic eruption increases, Sigthrúdur Ármannsdóttir, a geographer at the Icelandic Meteorological Office, told Fréttabladid.
There were, however, fewer earthquakes in the area yesterday than in the days before, but that may only be a temporary condition, Ármannsdóttir said.
According to Magnús Tumi Gudmundsson, a professor in geophysics at the University of Iceland, the area north of Vatnajökull glacier is volcanically active though there has not been an eruption there for 1,000 years. The volcano Askja last erupted in 1961.

More evacuations ordered as B.C. ice jam grows

An ice jam described as unstable and unpredictable forced more residents to leave their homes in Prince George, B.C., on Saturday. About 40 evacuation notices were delivered Saturday morning to people in a low-lying area of the city as officials examined a trail of slushy ice extending for six kilometres along the Nechako River. In total, about 50 evacuation orders have been issued over the past week. Another 12 business owners were ordered to leave, while a number of businesses in a light industrial area along River Road remained closed on the weekend because flooding made them inaccessible.

Molten Lava May Be Melting Greenland's Ice Cap

Global warming may not be the only thing melting Greenland. Scientists have found at least one natural magma hotspot under the Arctic island that could be pitching in. In recent years, Greenland's ice has been melting more and flowing faster into the sea — a record amount of ice melted from the frozen mass this summer — and Earth's rising temperatures are suspected to be the main culprit. But clues to a new natural contribution to the melt arose when scientists discovered a thin spot in the Earth's crust under the northeast corner of the Greenland Ice Sheet where heat from Earth's insides could seep through. The corner of Greenland where the hotspot was found had no known ice streams, rivers of ice that run through the main ice sheet and out to sea, until one was discovered in 1991. What exactly caused the stream to form was uncertain. "Ice streams have to have some reason for being there, and it's pretty surprising to suddenly see one in the middle of the ice sheet." The newly discovered hotspot, where Earth's crust is thinner allowing hot magma from Earth's mantle to come closer to the surface, is just below the ice sheet and could have caused it to form. What caused the hotspot to suddenly form is another mystery. "It could be that there's a volcano down there, but we think it's probably just the way the heat is being distributed by the rock topography at the base of the ice."

US Plains ice storm leaves 270,000 without power

NEW YORK, Dec 10 (Reuters) - An ice storm knocked out power to more than 270,000 customers in the Central Plains and Midwest on Sunday and Monday, local power companies reported Monday morning.
The system entered Oklahoma early Sunday, bringing freezing rain that caused significant ice accumulation on trees and overhead power lines. The weight of the ice downed tree branches and power lines, cutting power.
That system has now moved into Kansas, Missouri and Illinois.

Over the next day or so, meteorologists expect the storm to move across Missouri, Illinois and Indiana, likely knocking out more customers as it moves. (Reporting by Scott DiSavino, editing by Matthew Lewis)


These trees are hundreds of years old and huge and limbs and trees are everywhere, it is sad. The pictures that my daughter sent were weird, because the ground was still warm enough to keep the streets clear, although ice laden tree branches were taking out power lines and transformers all over town. Last report had 100,000 people in Tulsa alone without power. With more weather on the way and falling temperatures, it could get really bad. Here is a picture, this morning, of the tree in my daughter's front yard. It had already lost a lot of the bigger branches and she had to have them dragged out of her driveway just to get the car out of the garage. Note the splitting branch in the center of the pic... another one getting ready to go.

Cyclone Daman reduced to storm

Tropical cyclone Daman has now been reduced to a storm after causing damages in several areas in Fiji. “We had been talking about tropical cyclone Daman simply because it was a grade four hurricane and last night we had taken that off simply.
“This is because it is now a storm and still weakening further so that is simply why we have taken out the word ‘severe’ from the special weather bulletin for Fiji,” said he.
Celua added gale force wind warnings continue to remain for some islands in the Lau group.


Houses lose roofs as Daman passes by

Hurricane Daman (category 4) flattened and partially damaged seventeen homes on Cikobia Island.
National emergency operations centre - DISMAC head acting Commissioner Samuela Sadranu told fijilive that 13 houses in Vuninuku and Nalele village were without roofs as they were blown away early this morning while four homes were completely flattened.He said there are still no reports of any injury or causalities.

‘Daman worse then Kina’


Aerial assesment on Daman


Daman heads for Tonga


Rain eases, but danger not over

SUVA: Rain that caused flooding in low-lying areas in the central and southern divisions of Fiji and claimed a life eased yesterday.
But the Nadi weather office has warned that the heavy trough of low pressure over the Fiji group could lead to further rain and flooding.

A landslide in Colo-i-Suva forced all traffic to be diverted through the Kings Road. Some motorists were stuck for hours waiting for the road to clear.
Thousands of chickens were buried in the landslide and houses damaged.
The flood-prone Navua district near Suva suffered heavy damage. Parts of the town and some residential areas were under water.

Fiji braces as Cyclone Daman intensifies, heads toward populated islands - Cat. 4

A powerful tropical cyclone packing wind gusts up to 250 kilometers an hour (155 miles an hour) headed Friday toward northern Fiji, where islanders braced for heavy rain and coastal sea surges overnight, officials said.

Cyclone Daman, rated a category 4 cyclone by the South Pacific nation's Nadi Meteorological Center, was expected to cause "major flooding" and "pretty serious damage" to islanders' houses and to low-lying coastal areas after smashing ashore later Friday, senior forecaster Matt Boterhoven said.

Big waves a California dream for local surfers

Photo By Rob Varela/Staff Photographer a surfer rides a fifteen-foot wave and tries to avoid others as they paddle out Wednesday at the Rincon, near the Ventura/Santa Barbara County line. Area surfers enjoyed another banner day as high surf hit Ventura County beaches, ahead of an impending storm.

Photo By Rob Varela/Staff Photographer
A surfer gets caught in a wall of white water Wednesday at the Rincon, near the Ventura and Santa Barbara County line. Area surfers enjoyed another banner day as high surf hit Ventura County beaches ahead of an impending storm.

70 feet deadly wave in Santa Cruz, California

Legendary Monterey Bay surfer Peter Davi, 45, drowned at Ghost Tree on Tuesday afternoon, according to the Monterey County Coroner's Office. According to Ghost Tree local Don Curry, the day started out incredibly. Thirty foot sets that stretched out to 70'+ wave faces rolled into the scenic Ghost Tree. It was the biggest Ghost Tree had ever been ridden.In the mid-morning, Davi, who was paddling into the waves, broke his leash and began swimming in. One tow team offered Davi a ride in but the surfer refused. Another tow team offered Davi a PFD but again Davi refused according to Curry.

Winter Season Arrives Early To The WestCoast

Surfing 14 mt waves in Ireland

Alistair Mennie is one of the pioneeers of tow surfing in Ireland having experienced big wave spots in Hawaii. Photo: Kelly Allen

Duncan Scott, 29, from Newquay in Cornwall is dwarfed by the waves estimated at 55ft (16.7m) breaking on the reef at Mullagmore Head in Donegal Bay on the west coast of Ireland. Picture: Kelly Allen

The waves are thought to be bigger than the record 44ft (13.4m) swell officially recorded in Galway Bay in 2005. Photo: Kelly Allen

Midwest Storm Closes Airport, Expected to Bring 16 Inches of Snow

DES MOINES, Iowa — Snow and ice plastered a wide area of the Midwest on Saturday, disrupting campaigning by presidential hopefuls, making highways hazardous and closing Des Moines' airport.
The National Weather Service posted winter storm and ice warnings across parts of Nebraska, Iowa, Minnesota, Wisconsin, the eastern Dakotas and northern Michigan, although some warnings were lifted by midday. Six to 16 inches of snow was forecast in parts of Minnesota.

Volcano Popocatépetl is smoking

El Popocatepetl lanzó hoy una fumarola de vapor y ceniza que alcanzó una altura de unos 3 mil metros. Las autoridades mantienen la alerta amarilla, que implica que no hay riesgo para la población
AFP

Puebla, México (1 diciembre 2007).- El volcán Popocatépetl, situado 60 kilómetros al sureste de la Ciudad de México, lanzó hoy una espectacular fumarola de vapor y ceniza que alcanzó una altura de unos 3 mil metros, informaron las autoridades. "Se trató de un evento explosivo grande, totalmente diferente a los que habíamos visto desde el año 2000 y que está relacionado con la ruptura de un domo de lava formado al interior del cráter", explicó el director del Plan Operativo Popocatépetl, Ramón Peña. A pesar de la fumarola, que comenzó a las 6:20 horas, las autoridades mantienen la alerta amarilla, que implica que no hay riesgo para la población. En la ciudad de Puebla, la más cercana al volcán, comenzó a caer ceniza un par de horas después de la exhalación y se esperaba la caída de dicho residuo en varias comunidades en los estados de Puebla y Tlaxcala. Durante los últimos 13 años, el volcán ha incrementado su actividad en el mes de diciembre. La semana pasada lanzó una fumarola de unos dos kilómetros de altura, pero en esa ocasión no expulsó ceniza. Desde 1994 miembros del Ejército Mexicano restringen el acceso al volcán, el segundo más alto de México con 5 mil 452 metros sobre el nivel del mar, en un radio de 12 kilómetros.