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AccuWeather.com Meteorologist and Social Media Coordinator Jesse Ferrell writes in his blog: "When I saw this photo this morning on Social Media, I couldn't believe it was real."

Ferrell has vetted the photo and says that it is one of dozens of photos of the photogenic waterspout that came on shore north of Tampa, Fla., Monday night (additional photos on Twitter and Facebook from Denis Philips (ABC) and Paul Dellegatto (FOX)). The photo (and video below) was taken by Joey Mole, of Safety Harbor, Fla.

Joey says he had never seen a waterspout before, and neither had his neighbors, who had lived there for 40 years. It made landfall only 250 feet from Joey's dock and went over his neighbor's home, two houses down. Joey says minor damage occurred, including missing shingles and downed trees.

For more about how Ferrell confirmed the photo's authenticity, read the WeatherMatrix Blog.

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Scuba divers have discovered a primeval underwater forest off the coast of Alabama.

The Bald Cypress forest was buried under ocean sediments, protected in an oxygen-free environment for more than 50,000 years, but was likely uncovered by Hurricane Katrina in 2005, said Ben Raines, one of the first divers to explore the underwater forest and the executive director of the nonprofit Weeks Bay Foundation, which researches estuaries.

The forest contains trees so well-preserved that when they are cut, they still smell like fresh Cypress sap, Raines said.

The stumps of the Cypress trees span an area of at least 0.5 square miles (1.3 square kilometers), several miles from the coast of Mobile, Ala., and sit about 60 feet (18 meters) below the surface of the Gulf of Mexico.

Despite its discovery only recently, the underwater landscape has just a few years to be explored, before wood-burrowing marine animals destroy the ancient forest. [8 of the World's Most Endangered Places]

Closely guarded secret

Raines was talking with a friend who owned a dive shop about a year after Hurricane Katrina. The dive shop owner confided that a local fisherman had found a site teeming with fish and wildlife and suspected that something big was hidden below. The diver went down to explore and found a forest of trees, then told Raines about his stunning find.

But because scuba divers often take artifacts from shipwrecks and other sites, the dive shop owner refused to disclose the location for many years, Raines said.

In 2012, the owner finally revealed the site's location after swearing Raines to secrecy. Raines then did his own dive and discovered a primeval Cypress swamp in pristine condition. The forest had become an artificial reef, attracting fish, crustaceans, sea anemones and other underwater life burrowing between the roots of dislodged stumps. [Images: Mysterious Underwater Stone Structure]

Some of the trees were truly massive, and many logs had fallen over before being covered by ocean sediment. Raines swam the length of the logs.

"Swimming around amidst these stumps and logs, you just feel like you're in this fairy world," Raines told LiveScience's OurAmazingPlanet.

Primeval forest

Raines reached out to several scientists to learn more about the forest. One of those scientists was Grant Harley, a dendrochronologist (someone who studies tree rings) at the University of Southern Mississippi.

Harley was intrigued, and together with geographer Kristine DeLong of Louisiana State University, set out to discover the site's secrets.

The research team created a sonar map of the area and analyzed two samples Raines took from trees. DeLong is planning her own dive at the site later this year. Because of the forest depth, scuba divers can only stay below for about 40 minutes before coming up.

Carbon isotopes (atoms of the same element that have different molecular weights) revealed that the trees were about 52,000 years old.

The trees' growth rings could reveal secrets about the climate of the Gulf of Mexico thousands of years ago, during a period known as the Wisconsin Glacial period, when sea levels were much lower than they are today. [World's Weirdest Geological Formations]

In addition, because Bald Cypress trees can live a thousand years, and there are so many of them, the trees could contain thousands of years of climate history for the region, Harley said.

"These stumps are so big, they're upwards of two meters in diameter - the size of trucks," Harley told OurAmazingPlanet. "They probably contain thousands of growth rings."

The team, which has not yet published their results in a peer-reviewed journal, is currently applying for grants to explore the site more thoroughly.

Harley estimates they have just two years.

"The longer this wood sits on the bottom of the ocean, the more marine organisms burrow into the wood, which can create hurdles when we are trying to get radiocarbon dates," Harley said. "It can really make the sample undatable, unusable."

Editor's Note: This article has been updated to correct the metric conversion of the area the forest spans. It is 1.3 square kilometers, not 0.8 kilometers.

Follow Tia Ghose on Twitter and Google+. Follow OurAmazingPlanet @OAPlanet, Facebook and Google+. Original article at LiveScience's OurAmazingPlanet.

• Images: One-of-a-Kind Places on Earth
• Infographic: Tallest Mountain to Deepest Ocean Trench
• Nature's Giants: Tallest Trees on Earth

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(iStockphoto)

Summer means lots of out-of-doors time. Whether at beaches, barbecues, hanging out in the park or at the pool, most people catch more sun rays this season than other times of the year. In the process, some will get a suntan while others, unfortunately, will experience the painful redness, peeling and blistering that can occur with a bad sunburn.

So what is the skin up to when it starts soaking up sunlight and changing its hue this summer? Essentially, a suntan results from the body's natural defense mechanism kicking in against damaging ultraviolet sun rays. When the defenses are overwhelmed, a toxic reaction occurs, resulting in sunburn.

The defense mechanism is a pigment called melanin, which is produced by cells in our skin called melanocytes. Melanin absorbs ultraviolet light and dissipates it as heat.

"Melanin is a natural sunscreen," said Gary Chuang, an assistant professor of dermatology at Tufts University School of Medicine. "When your body senses sun damage, what it does is it starts sending out melanin into surrounding cells and tries to protect them and shield them from getting more damage." [7 Common Summer Health Concerns]

Everyone has about the same number of melanocytes, Chuang said, but people vary in how much and what colors of melanin they produce. Darker skinned people have more natural sunscreen at their disposal. Even when getting a boost from artificial sunblock creams and the like, though, people are all ultimately vulnerable to the sun's ultraviolet wrath.

"It doesn't matter how much sunscreen you have on - if you are lying there forever and ever, some of the radiation will definitely penetrate through," said Chuang. "Even if you have a tan you can get a sunburn, and people with dark skin types can get a sunburn if out long enough."

DNA buster

Invisible ultraviolet light carries more energy than the light visible to humans, and this energy packs a tiny punch.

When a UV photon strikes the skin, it can damage the DNA in the body's cells. It does this by breaking the orderly bonds between the four nucleotides, adenosine, thymine and guanine. So-called thymine dimers form when two thymine nucleotides bind together, throwing the whole shape of the DNA molecule out of whack.

The cell with the messed-up DNA usually then commits suicide, a process called apoptosis. "The cells receive so much radiation that they undergo apoptosis," said Chuang.

Crimson carnage

The body senses this destruction and over the course of several hours starts flooding the area with blood to help with the healing process. Painful inflammation occurs as well. Usually within half a day of overindulging in the sun, the characteristic steamed-lobster look of a sunburn begins to make itself known, and felt.

With very bad sunburns, thermal damage in the manner of second-degree burns not unlike that caused from being too close to a fire can set in. The skin blisters as a result, with liquid-filled, protective bubbles forming over areas of tissue damage.

Several days after the initial sun-wrought carnage, dead skin cells in the blasted region will start to peel off. "The cell signals the body that it has received enough radiation and has a chance of becoming mutated, so [the cell says] 'Now you need to die off before it becomes problematic,' and you get that sloughing of the skin," said Chuang.

Sometimes the cells with sun-caused mutated DNA do turn into problem cells, however, that do not call it quits and keep proliferating as cancers. "The UV light causes random damages in the DNA and DNA repair process such that cells acquire the ability to avoid dying," said Chuang.

Skin cancer is the most common form of cancer in the United States. People who allow themselves to get sunburnt repeatedly are at much higher risk. The risk for the deadliest form of skin cancer, called melanoma, doubles for someone who has received five or more sunburns, according to the Skin Cancer Foundation.

Beating back the sun

To avoid skin cancer, as well as the painful nuisance of a sunburn, Chuang advises people to cover up and apply sunscreen liberally.

"The sunscreens I like are physical blockers," Chuang said. In sunblock formulas, look for the ingredients of titanium dioxide or zinc oxide, because they "reflect off UV radiation," he said. [Infographic: How to Read Sunscreen Labels]

Chuang is also is a big fan of hats. "Wear hats," he said. "People think hats are going out of fashion, but they are a very basic physical blocker of the sun."

Follow us @livescience, Facebook & Google+. Original article on LiveScience.com.

• Stunning Sands Gallery: A Rainbow of Beaches
• The 7 Biggest Mysteries of the Human Body
• Seven Scenic Summer Drives

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July 10, 2013

The calving front of the Pine Island Glacier seen on Oct. 26, 2012, from NASA's Landsat 7 satellite. (NASA Goddard Space Flight Center)

A massive iceberg, larger than the city of Chicago, broke off of Antarctica's Pine Island Glacier on Monday (July 8), and is now floating freely in the Amundsen Sea, according to a team of German scientists.

The newborn iceberg measures about 278 square miles (720 square kilometers), and was seen by TerraSAR-X, an earth-observing satellite operated by the German Space Agency (DLR). Scientists with NASA's Operation IceBridgefirst discovered a giant crack in the Pine Island Glacier in October 2011, as they were flying over and surveying the sprawling ice sheet.

At that time, the fissure spanned about 15 miles (24 km) in length and 164 feet (50 meters) in width, according to researchers at the Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar and Marine Research in Bremerhaven, Germany. In May 2012, satellite images revealed a second rift had formed near the northern side of the first crack.

"As a result of these cracks, one giant iceberg broke away from the glacier tongue," Angelika Humbert, a glaciologist at the Alfred Wegener Institute, said in a statement. [Photo Gallery: Antarctica - Pine Island Glacier Cracks]

Humbert and her colleagues studied high resolution radar images taken by the TerraSAR-X satellite to track the changes in the two cracks, and to observe the processes behind glacier movements.

"Using the images we have been able to follow how the larger crack on the Pine Island Glacier extended initially to a length of 28 kilometers [17 miles]," Nina Wilkens, one of the team researchers from the Alfred Wegener Institute, said in a statement. "Shortly before the 'birth' of the iceberg, the gap then widened bit by bit so that it measured around 540 meters [1,770 feet] at its widest point."

As the Pine Island Glacier retreats and flows out to sea, it develops and drops icebergs as part of a natural and cyclical process, Humbert said. But, the way the ice breaks, or "calves," is still somewhat mysterious.

"Glaciers are constantly in motion," she said. "They have their very own flow dynamics. Their ice is exposed to permanent tensions and the calving of icebergs is still largely unresearched."

The Pine Island Glacier ice shelf, the part of the glacier that extends out into the water, last produced large icebergs in 2001 and 2007.

The glacier is the longest and fastest-changing on the West Antarctic Ice Sheet. While Humbert and her colleagues did not draw direct connections between this week's calving event and climate change, other scientists, including marine geologists at the British Antarctic Survey, are investigating whether global warming is thinning Antarctica's ice sheets and speeding up the glacier's retreat.

Yet, the flow of the Pine Island Glacier may be driven by other factors, Humbert said. The glacier flows to the Amundsen Sea at a rate of about 2.5 miles (4 km) per year. She says whether the flow speeds up or slows down is based more on changing wind directions in the Amundsen Sea, and less by rising air temperatures.

"The wind now brings warm sea water beneath the shelf ice," Humbert said. "Over time, this process means that the shelf ice melts from below, primarily at the so-called grounding line, the critical transition to the land ice."

Still, if the glacier's flow speeds up, it could have serious consequences, the researchers said. The Pine Island Glacier currently acts as a plug, holding back part of the immense West Antarctic Ice Sheet whose melting ice contributes to rising sea levels.

Follow Denise Chow on Twitter @denisechow. Follow OurAmazingPlanet @OAPlanet, Facebook and Google+. Original article at LiveScience's OurAmazingPlanet.

• Album: Stunning Photos of Antarctic Ice
• Antarctica: 100 Years of Exploration (Infographic)
• Antarctica's Pine Island Glacier Is Rifting | Video

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Wednesday, July 10, 2013

Death Valley National Park (Getty)

Death Valley's record temperature of 134 degrees Fahrenheit (56.7 degrees Celsius) - the hottest ever measured on Earth - was set exactly 100 years ago today. But the tale of how the rocky expanse of California desert came to be known as the world's hottest place involves a lengthy stretch in the number two slot, a mission to set the record straight, and a scientist who disappeared amid a revolution.

For decades, scientists debated whether El Azizia, Libya or the eastern California desert expanse had the definitive claim to the hottest temperature ever recorded on the planet. An international meteorology committee was tasked with investigating the competing claims, made decades earlier, but their efforts were disrupted by a revolution in Libya.

In 2011, at the height of Libya's revolution, Libyan scientist and committee member Kahlid Ibrahim El Fadli was searching for the handwritten records in the Middle Eastern country when he disappeared for several months.

"I didn't know if he was alive for eight months, and then I got a short email from him saying he and his family escaped from Tripoli," Randy Cerveny, a climatologist from Arizona State University, told LiveScience's OurAmazingPlanet.

"He was part of the revolution, and he was holding the same position as before, but with the revolutionary government."

Incredibly, the Libyan records also survived the chaos. They also put to rest, once and for all, which site can claim the title of hottest place. In looking at the original records, El Fadli, director of the climate division of the Libya National Weather Service, discovered the Libyan measurement of 136.4 F (58 C) was way off from surrounding weather stations. A faulty reading of the thermometer is now primarily blamed for the discrepancy, which was enough evidence for the World Meteorological Organization to overturn the record.

This secured Death Valley as the hottest-known place on Earth, with the record-setting temperature marked on July 10, 1913. The park plans a 100th anniversary celebration on July 10 that will feature talks from scientists as well as an invitation for delegates to watch the usual temperature observation. [8 Hottest Places on Earth]

So what makes Death Valley such an oven? A unique set of environmental factors send temperatures soaring in the desert region, forcing adaptations among the plants and animals that live there.

A sun-scorched environment

The biggest factor behind Death Valley's extreme heat is its elevation. Parts of it are below sea level, even though the area is 250 miles (400 kilometers) inland from any major body of water. Also, a major set of mountains (the Sierra Nevada) block moisture from the Pacific from reaching the basin.

That geological combination makes it possible for summer temperatures to reach 125 F (51.6 C), or even higher, as happened in late June. (The temperature in Death Valley on June 29, 2013, was 129 F (54 C), making it the hottest June day on record for the United States.)

"That really allows for the solar radiation to heat up the air, and really dry it out, and make it an incredibly hot environment," Cerveny said.

Other factors conspire to keep air from moving around in the basin, said Christopher Stachelski, a forecaster at the National Weather Service office in Las Vegas. The valley is narrow, trapping any air from circulating in or out. There's also little vegetation to absorb the sun's rays, and there's a desert nearby. Winter temperatures, however, can actually get quite cold because the desert does not retain heat when the surrounding air cools off.

"There are seasons to Death Valley," Stachelski said. "It can get warm in the winter on certain days, but there are days in the winter that can get to freezing. Most days in the winter have 60s for a high."

Nevertheless, plants and animals in this location require both behavioral and physiological adaptations to survive.

Slow growth and slow movements

There are animals in Death Valley, but they tend to be in low densities. Amphibians stick close to any water they can find. Large mammals rest in the shade. Cave bats remain underground until night falls, and birds fly away or to higher elevations. [Hell on Earth: Tour Death Valley]

The lack of water also forces physiological adaptations, as seen in the notable example of tortoises.

"What's cool about tortoises is the ability to concentrate their urine. They can go a year without drinking," said Linda Manning, a wildlife biologist for Death Valley National Park. "Apparently, when they let it go, it's really stinky."

Plant adaptations include small leaves, extremely deep roots, long-lived seeds and also more desert-friendly features such as waxy cuticles and spines. The most important feature, however, is their extremely slow growth, said Jane Cipra, a botanist at Death Valley National Park.

"Shrubs like creosote and blackbrush may not look like much, but they can be hundreds and sometimes thousands of years old," she wrote in an email.

"Blackbrush is largely dormant most of the time and only puts energy into growth and reproduction in really good years."

Even a century after the hottest recorded temperature, these adaptations are still crucial to allowing animals and plants to survive. The late June temperatures in Death Valley were so hot this year that media and scientists speculated the all-time record was in danger of being broken just after it regained its rightful place.

Follow Elizabeth Howell @howellspace. Follow OurAmazingPlanet @OAPlanet, Facebook and Google+. Original article at LiveScience's OurAmazingPlanet.

• The Harshest Environments on Earth
• 50 Interesting Facts About The Earth
• The 10 Driest Places on Earth

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Jim Cantore tweeted this photo at 8:28 p.m. on July 10 and wrote, "Water covered roads in E. Nashville along Shelby Ave. pic.twitter.com/C5qnFFqNG5 via @NashSevereWx. BIG WIND over Franklin, TN NOW !! #tnwx"

Severe thunderstorms packing damaging wind gusts, hail and torrential downpours were pushing eastward late Wednesday, aiming for the central and northern Appalachians.

The storms pose a significant risk to lives and property. A few of the strongest storms could also bring a tornado.

Some communities can be hit with power outages and road closures with wind gusts in excess of 60 mph and 2 inches of rain in an hour's time.

States impacted by the storms into Wednesday night include, Ohio, Pennsylvania, New York, West Virginia, Kentucky, Maryland, Virginia and Tennessee.

RELATED:
Northeast, Ohio Valley Severe Storm, Flooding Risk Wednesday
Photos: Flash Flooding Slams Pittsburgh, More Possible
Humidity to Drop for Chicago, Detroit and Minneapolis

UPDATES: (All times are listed in EDT)

8:50 p.m. EDT Wednesday:

@spann Briarwood High School practice field and track #underwater pic.twitter.com/qet3AmzNGX

- Keri Coker (@EvieGsMommy) July 11, 2013

6:00 p.m. EDT Wednesday: Landslide due to flash flooding on Douglas Road just south of Pittsburgh, Pa., in Elizabeth, reported emergency management.

5:45 p.m. EDT Wednesday: Numerous roads closed and cars stranded due to flash flooding in New Castle, Pa., reported by emergency manager.

5:16 p.m. EDT Wednesday: Excessive flight delays reported at Port Columbus International airport due to thunderstorms and heavy rain. Cleveland Hopkins International Airport cancelled 23 arrival flights and delayed 82. The airport also cancelled 27 departure flights and delayed another 110.

4:40 p.m. EDT Wednesday: Tornado confirmed by trained spotter south of New Castle in Lawrence County, Pa.

4:30 p.m. EDT Wednesday: Killbuck Creek flooded along Route 302 in Wooster, Ohio. Water was as deep as the guard rails on the highway.

4:25 p.m. EDT Wednesday: Police spotted a funnel cloud over North Beaver, Pa., south of New Castle.

4:16 p.m. EDT Wednesday: Wind gusted to 71 mph at Port Columbus Airport, Ohio, recorded by NWS.

4:10 p.m. EDT Wednesday: A train was derailed by thunderstorm winds in Melbern, Ohio, southwest of Toledo, reported by emergency manager. Multiple power lines and trees also downed.

3:46 p.m. EDT Wednesday: Mesonet recorded a thunderstorm wind gust of 86 mph, northwest of Columbus, Ohio, in St. Marys.

2:35 p.m. EDT Wednesday: Possible tornado developing near Cleveland, Ohio.

2:19 p.m. EDT Wednesday: Trained spotter reported rotating wall cloud in Bedford Heights, Ohio.

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Updated Thursday, July 11, 2013, 3:51 p.m. ET

Dave Bondy Tweeted this photo of Baldwin, Pa., on Wednesday and wrote, "Flooding is horrible in Baldwin on Streets Run Rd. pic.twitter.com/woqSC2E3JG"

Part of the I-95 corridor will continue to receive drenching downpours, gusty thunderstorms and the potential for flash flooding Thursday afternoon and evening.

Cities that should be on the lookout for weather-related travel problems from the drenching storms include Norfolk, Va., Raleigh and Charlotte, N.C., Columbia and Greenville, S.C., Atlanta, Mobile, Ala., and New Orleans, La.

A front slowly approaching the area will focus the activity in a swath from southeastern Virginia to North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi and Louisiana.

RELATED:
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The main threat on Thursday will be the potential for flash, urban and small stream flooding associated with downpours from these storms.

Moisture coming up from the Gulf of Mexico this July has already brought an excess of rain to much of the mid-Atlantic. The heavy storms Thursday will re-aggravate the flooding problems from earlier in the month.

The strongest storms have the potential to bring isolated wind gusts to 60 mph, which are strong enough to down large tree limbs and cause sporadic power outages.

Since the front focusing the rainfall Thursday will stall and reverse its motion from earlier in the week, look for showers, thunderstorms and the risk of flooding to expand westward once again to the central and southern Appalachians into the weekend.

​PHOTOS ON SKYE: 50 Must-See Weather Photos

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A building weather pattern in the West will bring needed rainfall, but also the risk of flooding, dust storms and wildfires to some locations.

The developing pattern over the western United States favors the expanse of an annual phenomenon known to locals as the "Monsoon."

The monsoon favors thunderstorms that bring localized torrential rainfall and also those without much rain, but deliver frequent lightning strikes.

Increasing humidity levels have and will continue to result in an uptick in the number and expanse of thunderstorms.

While the storms bring life-giving rainfall to normally arid areas of the region, they also bring the risk of flash flooding and the ignition of new wildfires.

Monsoon Outlook

According to Paul Pastelok, head of the AccuWeather.com long-range forecast team, "Initially the thunderstorms will focus over the Four Corners states but will expand outward to the West, this week into next week."

At the local level, it is impossible to say which areas will be hit by rainfall sufficient enough to cause flooding and which places could be facing dry lightning and new wildfires.

"The area from northern California to eastern Oregon, eastern Washington and much of Idaho will remain relatively free of storms over the next couple of weeks," Pastelok said.

RELATED:
AccuWeather.com Summer Forecast
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Rough Wildfire Season

A disturbance is forecast to drift westward this weekend (July 13-14) into the following week.

"The disturbance is likely to enhance the thunderstorm activity within the monsoon pattern from West Texas to New Mexico, Arizona, southern Nevada and part of Southern California," Pastelok added.

Similar setups in the past have resulted in torrential rainfall and flooding.

However, even before that disturbance arrives, some downpours will reach these areas.

According to Western Weather Expert Ken Clark, "We expect thunderstorms to reach Phoenix and Las Vegas this week, as well as some of the desert areas in California."

While the storms bring a risk of starting new fires, the high humidity works as an aid to firefighters. The higher moisture makes the brush more moist. The more moist brush make it a bit more difficult for existing fires to spread rapidly and lowers the chance of a lightning strike starting a new fire.

Sporadic downpours may also serve as a natural firebreak.

Isolated torrential rainfall caused by the storms can also be very dangerous. A storm miles away can lead to a flash flood hours later downstream. Dry stream beds in the region, called Arroyos, can rapidly fill with water, sweeping away unsuspecting motorists and children playing in the vicinity.

Some of the storms that bring little or no rainfall can also kick up a considerable amount of dust, which can pose another sudden problem for travelers in the region.

For much of the Southwest, the monsoon-driven thunderstorms represent the bulk of the moisture received on an annual basis. Few winter storms release as much moisture as a single, drenching thunderstorm. Much of that winter moisture falls in the form of snow over the mountains.

Wildfire Outlook

According to the National Interagency Fire Center, during 2012 there were 67,774 wildland fires across the nation, which burned 9.3 million acres. As of July 8, for the year so far, there have been nearly 25,000 wildland fires, which have burned 1.9 million acres.

"The prime fire season for the West in general spans August to October," Clark stated. "During September and October, Santa Ana winds and hot weather are a particular problem in Southern California."

By the late summer and early autumn, vegetation has had all summer to dry out.

Last year, drought over the Plains, Midwest and in parts of the East and South during the winter, spring and early summer contributed to a high number of fires early on. This year so far much of the same area has been abnormally wet, which has contributed to a lower number of fires nationally.

While conditions are likely to stay wet in much of the Eastern and Central states into the summer, the national number of wildland fires, driven by conditions in the West will tend to catch up to last year's levels.

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