My goodness July 6th was a busy day! 

Have you seen the amazing footage coming from Phoenix, Arizona of the dust storm?  Newsline 9 Internet Director Katie Rosenberg sent this video in my direction earlier today.  The footage of a cloud of dust swallowing up one of the largest cities in the Southwest is just incredible.  Doesn’t it look like something straight out of an epic Hollywood disaster movie?

Not an hour after I saw that video I got word that another large earthquake has struck in the Pacific Ocean.  The latest quake that was centered off-shore from the New Zealand islands measuring 7.6 on the Richter Scale.  It prompted Tsunami Warnings after a 6-foot Tsunami was measured in the ocean.  Luckily nothing major has come from it and those warnings have been lifted.  But it has assuredly rattled quite a few nerves around the South Pacific and in New Zealand in particular after their previous run in with deadly earthquakes this year. 

Here’s a video from the New Zealand Herald explaining the earthquake and tsunami and why it didn’t become another major disaster.

Posted under Uncategorized

I saw an article about “frost quakes” so I thought I’d do a little blog about that tonight.  We covered the pot holes angle this week which has a similar issue in the winter…the cold temps along with moisture getting into the pavement and causing cracks.

So what is a frost quake?  Sometimes people may hear a large boom or feel there place shake, just enough to make it feel like a mini earthquake.  If you don’t live on a fault line or even close this may come as quite a shock.  This is a geological phenomenon that occurs in the winter and is known officially as cryoseisms.

The definition of cryoseism is a sudden cracking of rock or or frozen soil when water or ice saturates the area.  So how does this all happen?  As moisture sweeps into the frozen ground it expands putting pressure on the surrounding area.  When the pressure becomes to much the ground with crack causing the noise and shaking. 

These are normally heard in the night hours especially the first cold snap of the year.  The temperature usually has to drop from above freezing to below zero.  Since the temp is normally coldest overnight that is when they are most commonly reported. 

For more info check out the Maine Geological Survey website.

Posted under Environment, Geology, Nature, Science, Weather NEws, Winter Weather

Something interesting happened in our “neighborhood” recently, something that you don’t see too often – an earthquake (most likely). Perhaps some of you have already read about it. I commented about it on facebook the other day. At first, it was unknown what had caused the a large crack to form in the ground in Menominee county Michigan. An earthquake was suspected, but there was no seismographic evidence. Now a geologist has opined and declared that the crack was most likely the result of an earthquake of magnitude 1 or 2. Read about it here. One thing to remember is that when the word “earthquake” is used in this story it is in a little different context than what you normally associate with the word. Yes the earth did “quake” and move and it fits the literal definition of and earthquake, however this was not directly generated by movements of the large continental/tectonic plates of the earth. It was a local phenomenon caused by some unstable bedrock in Menominee county. It is highly unlikely that any part of the UP is going to slide into lake Michigan anytime soon.

I don’t know about you but hearing a large noise and then going outside and seeing a 5 foot deep crack in the earth would be enough to scare me. Being in the weather business, I see and report on dangerous storms all the time, but there is something about earthquakes that makes me tremble (pun intended). I suppose it is their unpredictable nature and the fact that you cannot run from an earthquake like you can run from a tornado. It would certainly be difficult to protect yourself from the “big one” if and when it hits southern California. A recent study suggests that the “big one” could end up being more devastating than originally thought.

Lastly, an update on the flight of the VSS Enterprise from over the weekend. Here is a nice compilation video of the whole process. One headline called the event a “baby step” on the way toward commercial/private space exploration. I would agree. They didn’t even light the engine yet. I suppose, safety is of utmost importance. One misstep could set back the entire industry for years.

Have a good Tuesday! Meteorologist Justin Loew.

Posted under Environment, Space

First, HAPPY EASTER! I hope everyone had a great one filled with family and friends.   

People in parts of the southwestern US received an interesting surprise on their Easter afternoon.  Another major earthquake struck in northern Mexico, affecting the southern part of California and was felt all the way to Phoenix and Las Vegas articles state.  As soon as the quake happened there was twitter posts galore about the event.  It sure shows you how quickly news can travel these days.  The 7.2 magnitude quake hit just to the southeast of Tijunia, Mexico.   

It happened just after 3:30 pm local time ( 5:30 pm our time.)  It caused a wave like effect in San Diego, and Los Angelos along with knocking out power and setting off alarms.   The nauseating feelings lasted about a minute according to eye witness.  After the first quake there were 5 reported after shocks ranging in magnitude from 5.1 to 3.6. 

There are numerous articles and stories related to the event this evening.  This is one article I read from the New York Times.   

Here is another article that states an update that one person is reported dead in Mexico from the quake.  So far it is the most update that I have found but I am sure more information will be revealed as it comes in.  It is also interesting to read and to see all the ireports of people that experienced the shock. 

Have a great night and I hope everyone had a Happy Easter. Meteorologist Kristen Connolly

Posted under Natural Disasters