Earth & Space Weather

Tornado destruction in Australia

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Stuff - 3/22/13

Tornado, Victoria

TWISTER: A picture taken at Mulwala, Victoria. Photo: David Jones/Twitter
 

Residents in Victoria, Australia, are recovering after a tornado, sparked by severe storms and flash flooding, swept through the region.

Paramedics treated 20 people after dozens of calls in Yarrawonga and Mulwala, when the storms and tornado came through about 8pm on Thursday (local time). Paramedics said there were as many as 80 ''walking wounded'' in the affected areas.

To watch the video and read the rest of this story, visit Stuff.co.nz.

Previously unknown magma layer in Earth’s mantle offers new insights into tectonics

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The Watchers By Nix – Posted on March 22, 2013

Scientists have debated for decades as to what forces allow the planet’s tectonic plates to slide across the Earth’s mantle. Now, researchers have found a layer of liquefied molten rock in Earth’s mantle, which could potentially be that cause of the tectonic movements. This discovery will also improve our understanding of basic geologic functions of the planet and that of volcanism and earthquakes. Scientists discovered this magma layer at the Middle America trench off Nicaragua’s shores. They imaged a 25 kilometer (15.5 mile) thick layer of partially melted mantle rock below the edge of the Cocos plate where it moves beneath Central America....

Scientists have debated for decades as to what forces allow the planet’s tectonic plates to slide across the Earth’s mantle. Now, researchers have found a layer of liquefied molten rock in Earth’s mantle, which could potentially be that cause of the tectonic movements. This discovery will also improve our understanding of basic geologic functions of the planet and that of volcanism and earthquakes.

Lightning strikes spark grass fires

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WeatherZone.com - 3/21/13

http://www.wpmap.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/australia-map23.jpg

Firefighters are battling several blazes sparked by lightning strikes across southern parts of the state overnight.
A fire at Uleybury near Gawler burnt 100 hectares of farmland near Kentish Road after it started about 4:00am.

To read the rest of this story, visit WeatherZone.com.

Where's spring? 2nd most extreme March jet stream pattern on record extends winter

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Wunderground.com - 3/20/13, Dr. Jeff Masters

After the blizzard, by springsun

Extreme severe winterconditions in the northeast of Germany, Kap Arkona. Source: wetterzentrale

Punxatawney Phil got it way wrong. Pennsylvania's famous prognosticating rodent predicted just three more weeks of winter back on February 2. It's the first day of spring, but winter remains firmly entrenched over the eastern half of the U.S., where temperatures of 5 - 25°F below average have been the rule all week. The culprit is the jet stream, which has taken on an unusually contorted shape that is allowing cold air to spill down over the Eastern U.S. and Western Europe, but bringing near-record warmth to portions of Greenland. One measure of how contorted the jet stream has become is by measuring the difference in pressure between the Icelandic Low and the Azores High. There are two indices used to do this--one called the Arctic Oscillation (AO), which treats the flow over the entire Northern Hemisphere, and another called the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO), which is more focused on the North Atlantic. The two are closely related about 90% of the time.

 

Spring Into... January? March 2013 Nothing Like 2012

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wunderground.com By: Nick Wiltgen Published: March 20, 2013

 

International Falls, Minn.

International Falls, Minn.

Not only are below-average temperatures gripping much of the Midwest and Northeast, but the chill is a stunning contrast to the extraordinary heat wave that was underway at this time a year ago. On the next few pages we provide some comparisons between the current cold snap and last year's warmth.

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