Friday, May 2, 2014


ANCHORAGE, Alaska -- Mount St. Helens is nowhere near another eruption, but new magma is rising underground, heaving the volcano upward and outward by the length of a fingertip, researchers said here today (May 2) at the annual meeting of the Seismological Society of America.

A small amount of magma started pooling 2.5 to 3 miles (4 to 5 kilometers) beneath the volcano in 2008, said lead study author Seth Moran, a seismologist with the Cascades Volcano Observatory in Washington state. The depth comes from the pattern of surface swelling, measured with GPS, and from earthquakes triggered by the molten rock pushing upward. GPS units moved away from the center of the volcano by up to 0.5 inches (12 millimeters) between 2008 and 2013. (Imagine that Mount St. Helens' magma chamber is like a balloon inflating deep beneath the volcano, pushing everything above it out of the way as it fills with a fresh batch of molten rock.) [Gallery: The Incredible Eruption of Mount St. Helens]

"This doesn't mean it's getting ready to erupt," Moran told Live Science's Our Amazing Planet. "The balloon has inflated, and it could stay inflated for decades. What we can say, is when it is ready to erupt, we will know."

The observatory tracked a similar refueling pattern beneath Mount St. Helens during the volcano's quiet period in the 1980s and 1990s, Moran said. However, the earthquakes were deeper during the first quiet period, at about 4 to 5 miles (6 to 8 km) below the surface, and the magma refueled faster, according to the new results.

Scientists keep a close eye on the Washington volcano, which has erupted on and off since its deadly 1980 blast. Studies of past eruptions suggest Mount St. Helens is more likely to spend the next few hundred years rebuilding a beautiful, snowy peak, rather than blowing the countryside to smithereens.

Even so, the signals from the slumbering volcano are a message to be ready for the next eruption, however small, the researchers said.

"We're like the fire department," Moran said. "We've got to be ready to go."

Email Becky Oskin or follow her @beckyoskin. Follow us @OAPlanet, Facebook and Google+. Original article at Live Science's Our Amazing Planet.

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Residents of the Northeast and Midwest may want to keep an umbrella handy this weekend as showers linger around the regions.

Neither Saturday or Sunday will be a washout, but the showers will be enough to dampen any outdoor activities planned for either day.

Cooler conditions will also accompany the showers with more clouds than sunshine and temperatures running a few degrees below normal.

Fortunately, those attending the Kentucky Derby can count on a dry race as the showers stay well to the north on Saturday.

Folks headed to the ballpark this weekend shouldn't have to worry about any game being rained out. However, a raincoat or poncho may be useful in the event that a shower or two passes over during the game.

Flooding is not anticipated to be a problem, even across the mid-Atlantic where several inches of rain led to flooding and landslides this past week.

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For those looking for drier weather, there is a light at the end of the tunnel.

The system responsible for this lugubrious weather pattern is expected to track over Atlantic Canada early next week allowing for drier weather to make a return to much of the mid-Atlantic.

Not all of the East will be in the clear though, as spotty showers linger around New England, as well as moving though the Ohio Valley.

Similar to what will be seen this weekend, very little rainfall is expected, but it may still dampen any outdoor activities.

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A massive landslide buried a village Friday, May 2, 2014, in Badakhshan province, northeastern Afghanistan, which Afghan and U.N. officials say left hundreds of dead and missing. (AP Photo/Ahmad Zubair)

At least 350 people are dead after a massive landslide occurred in northeastern Afghanistan on Friday, May 2, 2014.

The landslide engulfed the remote Afghani town of Hobo Barik in the Badakhshan province of the country, enclosed between the Hindu Kush and Pamir mountain ranges, on Friday afternoon, burying more than 300 homes in the area and leaving more than 2,000 people unaccounted for, according to the Associated Press.

"There have been heavy showers and storms in the area over the last few days," AccuWeather Meteorologist Dave Samuhel said.

Following the slide, nearby towns were evacuated in case of another landslide.

Aside from the area's rugged and mountainous terrain, more wet weather may hinder search-and-rescue efforts.

"Showers and thunderstorms will be a daily occurrence across the Badakhshan province into next week," Samuhel said. "The region's wettest weather is usually in April and May."

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The United Nations Assistance Mission in the country and authorities already on the ground in the region are working together to try and rescue those still entrapped.

However, lack of equipment is halting some rescue crews, according to the Associated Press.

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A small asteroid about the size of a city bus zipped by Earth at a range closer than the moon early Saturday (May 3), but posed no threat to our planet.

The newly discovered asteroid 2014 HL129 came within 186,000 miles of Earth when it made its closest approach on Saturday morning, which is close enough to pass between the planet and the orbit of the moon. The average distance between the Earth and moon is about 238,855 miles.

You can watch a video animation of asteroid 2014 HL129's orbit around the sun on Space.com. The asteroid is about 25 feet wide, according to NASA's Asteroid Watch project based at the agency's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif. It made its closest approach to Earth at 4:13 a.m. EDT.

Saturday's close shave by asteroid 2014 HL129 came just days after its discovery on Wednesday, April 28, by astronomers with the Mt. Lemmon Survey team, according to an alert by the Minor Planet Center, an arm of the International Astronomical Union that chronicles asteroid discoveries. The Mt. Lemmon Survey team scans the night sky with a telescope at the Steward Observatory atop Mt. Lemmon in Arizona's Catalina Mountains.

NASA scientists and researchers around the world constantly monitor the sky for potentially dangerous asteroids that could pose a risk of impacting the Earth.

Email Tariq Malik at tmalik@space.com or follow him @tariqjmalik and Google+. Follow us @Spacedotcom, Facebook and Google+. Original article on Space.com.

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Numerous showers and gusty winds will usher in fresh cool air for Sunday. Spotty showers and a breeze will linger through Monday.

The winds will calm enough for frost and freeze concerns in parts of northern Pennsylvania, upstate New York, western Massachusetts and northern New England (west of I-95) Monday and Tuesday nights.

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Bradford, Pennsylvania, and the surrounding typically colder areas may even dip to freezing Sunday night.

It will take later in the week for 80-degree warmth to surge back to Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, Baltimore and the rest of the mid-Atlantic as the storm system threatening to spark more severe weather across the Plains heads eastward.



However, the storm may track in such a fashion to prevent the warmth from spilling across upstate New York and most of New England.

"Exactly where the storm's frontal boundary sets up with clouds, showers and thunderstorms will determine which areas hit 80 F and which places only 100 miles away hover in the 50s and 60s," stated AccuWeather.com Senior Meteorologist Alex Sosnowski.



It will be a close call late in the week with the surge of warmth versus stubborn cooler air in New York, Connecticut, Rhode Island and western Massachusetts. This includes New York City, where temperatures have yet to crack the 80-degree mark this spring.

Confidence is higher for the late-week warmth stopping short of reaching Boston, Portland and Burlington, Vermont.

"As far as prolonged warmth for eastern and northern New England, that will likely hold off until the weekend of May 17-18," according to AccuWeather.com Long Range Forecaster Mark Paquette.

Residents elsewhere in the Northeast should not put away their jackets when temperatures spike late in the week.

Paquette anticipates another shot of cool air around Tuesday, May 13 with the threat of frost across the interior Northeast during the following couple of days.

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The new week will bring big changes to the West after a hot and dry start to May.

A low pressure system tracking across the region will be the driving force behind these changes, spreading rain, mountain snow and howling winds over different portions of the West.

Those in the Pacific Northwest may want to keep their umbrellas handy on Sunday and Monday as the system slowly moves onshore and spreads rain across the region.

Most of the moisture associated with this low pressure system is expected to miss California and stay north of Arizona and New Mexico.

The dry conditions paired with howling winds in the interior Southwest will contribute to a heightened risk of wildfires both on Tuesday and Wednesday.

People in these areas are urged take extra precautions to help prevent wildfires. A controlled burn can quickly become a fire burning over several acres under these conditions.

In addition to precipitation and gusty winds on Tuesday and Wednesday, this system is forecast to usher cooler air across the West with widespread temperatures in the 60s and 70s. This is a big change from the widespread 80s and 90s that challenged records in dozens of cities late last week.

However, the deserts of the Southwest can still expect highs in the 80s, only a few degrees below normal high temperatures this time of year.

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Looking ahead to the latter part of this week, the system responsible for the unsettled weather will progress eastward over the Plains.

This will result in near-normal temperatures and calmer winds for the West with only a few spotty showers lingering over the Rocky Mountains.

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The heat set to expand eastward from the southern Plains next week will not be quick to race to the Northeast and may even avoid much of New England.

The return of 75-degree warmth is not in the offering for the Northeast through at least Wednesday.

Some mid-Atlantic communities, including Philadelphia and Washington, D.C., will see temperatures rise into the lower 70s on a couple of days. Otherwise, highs in the 50s and 60s will be common across the Northeast.

Near the eastern Great Lakes and northern New England is where temperatures will mainly be held to the 50s, which--outside of northern Maine--is cool for early May.

Numerous showers and gusty winds will usher in fresh cool air for Sunday. Spotty showers and a breeze will linger through Monday.

The winds will calm enough for frost and freeze concerns in parts of northern Pennsylvania, upstate New York, western Massachusetts and northern New England (west of I-95) Monday and Tuesday nights.

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Bradford, Pennsylvania, and the surrounding typically colder areas may even dip to freezing Sunday night.

It will take later in the week for 80-degree warmth to surge back to Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, Baltimore and the rest of the mid-Atlantic as the storm system threatening to spark more severe weather across the Plains heads eastward.

However, the storm may track in such a fashion to prevent the warmth from spilling across upstate New York and most of New England.

"Exactly where the storm's frontal boundary sets up with clouds, showers and thunderstorms will determine which areas hit 80 F and which places only 100 miles away hover in the 50s and 60s," stated AccuWeather.com senior meteorologist Alex Sosnowski.

It will be a close call late in the week with the surge of warmth versus stubborn cooler air in New York, Connecticut, Rhode Island and western Massachusetts. This includes New York City, where temperatures have yet to crack the 80-degree mark this spring.

Confidence is higher for the late-week warmth stopping short of reaching Boston, Portland and Burlington, Vermont.

"As far as prolonged warmth for eastern and northern New England, that will likely hold off until the weekend of May 17-18," according to AccuWeather.com long-range forecaster Mark Paquette.

Residents elsewhere in the Northeast should not put away their jackets when temperatures spike late in the week.

Paquette anticipates another shot of cool air around Tuesday, May 13 with the threat of frost across the interior Northeast during the following couple of days.

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Severe weather will return to the Plains later this week with an outbreak, complete with tornadoes, likely to unfold on Thursday.

Thursday's outbreak will yield numerous thunderstorms capable of unleashing damaging winds, large hail, frequent lightning, flooding downpours and tornadoes.

At this time, the greatest tornado danger on Thursday, mainly during the afternoon and evening, stretches from eastern Nebraska and Iowa to eastern Oklahoma, northeastern Texas and western Arkansas.

Cities in this zone include Dallas and Tyler, Texas, Oklahoma City and Tulsa, Oklahoma, Fayetteville, Arkansas, Topeka and Wichita, Kansas, Kansas City and Springfield, Missouri, Omaha, Nebraska, and Des Moines, Iowa.

Motorists planning to travel on stretches of Interstates 29, 35, 40, 44, 49, 70 and 80 are at risk. Remember, a vehicle is a dangerous place to be when a tornado is approaching.

According to AccuWeather Enterprise Solutions storm warning meteorologist Rich Putnam, all the ingredients will be coming together for tornadoes to touch down.

"Energy in the upper levels of the atmosphere will arrive just in time for tornado development on Thursday," Putnam stated.

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Putnam continued, "[In the southern Plains], the severe weather looks to initiate very near I-35 and will then move eastward."

A key ingredient for Thursday's outbreak will be the warmth that is challenging records in the southern Plains and set to build northward. Igniting the violent thunderstorms and tornadoes will be the storm that will first bring dramatic changes to the West.

Thursday, however, will not mark the return of violent thunderstorms to the Plains this week.

As the warmth surges northward, mainly hail-producing thunderstorms can start targeting the Upper Midwest as early as Tuesday night around northern Iowa. Another round of similar thunderstorms will also rattle northern Iowa, as well as southern Minneapolis and Wisconsin Wednesday night.

Very spotty thunderstorms with large hail and damaging winds will threaten west-central Oklahoma and central Texas during the late-day hours of Tuesday and Wednesday. An isolated tornado cannot be ruled out.

These thunderstorms will fire along what is known as a dry line, which separates desert air from the West and humid Gulf of Mexico air from the east.

The dry line may activate a bit more for Wednesday night before the worst of the severe weather outbreak commences Thursday afternoon.

"I think in the end, pretty much nothing ends up developing Wednesday, which would in turn make the atmosphere more volatile for severe weather on Thursday," Putnam added.

Thursday night, strong thunderstorms may track across more of the upper and mid-Mississippi Valley toward Lake Michigan as the severe weather danger evolves into a heavy rain threat around the Arlatex.

AccuWeather.com meteorologists will be monitoring the potential for gusty thunderstorms to rattle the Great Lakes on Friday, as well as drenching and stronger thunderstorms across the lower Mississippi Valley and Texas.

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Through the first half of this week, low pressure likely will develop in the East Pacific about a thousand miles southwest of Acapulco, Mexico.

Thanks to warmer than usual sea surface temperatures attributable to a developing El Niño in the East Pacific, there is a good chance that this area of low pressure acquires tropical characteristics.

Current computer model guidance shows the potential track of a storm, which would be named Amanda if it reaches tropical storm strength, generally toward the middle of the Mexican Riviera with a threat for excessive rainfall and potentially strong wind for this area, including Acapulco.

However, there remains considerable uncertainty at this point, and most of our guidance currently indicates a relatively weak and disorganized storm system.

The reason for the northeastward track is that a storm system now moving into the western U.S. and Mexico will create a southwesterly steering flow for this system. This means that any potential tropical cyclone in this area will likely track toward the Mexican Riviera.

This image shows the sea surface temperatures over the East Pacific near Mexico in the area of concern off the Mexican Riviera. Water temperatures are generally 28-29 degrees Celsius, or 82-85 degrees Fahrenheit, in the area where a tropical cyclone may form and move this week.

The track of this potential storm will play a role in how intense it can get. The waters in this area are running 2-3 degrees Fahrenheit (1-1.5 degrees Celsius) warmer than usual for this time of year, in the low to middle 80s Fahrenheit (28-29 degrees Celsius). However, the warmest waters and the greatest depth of warm waters are found over the southern end of the Mexican Riviera.

Therefore, should the storm track toward Acapulco or especially toward areas southeast of there, it has the potential to be stronger than if it were to track more toward Manzanillo or points to the northwest where waters are cooler.

At this point, residents of the Mexican Riviera and others with interests in the area should keep in touch with further developments and make sure that early preparations for the hurricane season are complete by midweek.

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Monday, May 5, 2014

(Getty Images)

Stargazers in the southern U.S. will have some of the best sky conditions in North America to view the Eta Aquarid meteor shower late on Monday night and early on Tuesday morning.

Skies from the Southeast to the central and southern Plains and northern Mexico are expected to be free of clouds during the peak of the meteor shower early in the morning Tuesday.

In addition to the lack of clouds, moonset will occur prior to the peak of the hourly rate of the Eta Aquarids, allowing for a dark sky.

A storm system will produce abundant clouds and precipitation from the Great Basin to the northern Plains, thus obstructing the view of space in those regions.

Sky-watching conditions in rural areas in the Northeast away from the lights of the big cities will be fair to poor. Clouds will be rather abundant north of a front from the mid-Atlantic to central Ohio.

The Eta Aquarid is one of two meteor showers that occurs from the debris trail of Halley's Comet. The other is the Orionid meteor shower that will occur in October.

Halley's Comet will not return to the Earth's vicinity until the summer of 2061.

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The Aquarids can be viewed in the southeastern portion of the sky with 10-20 meteors an hour at the peak prior to dawn on Tuesday. The meteor shower will last into early Wednesday morning, but at lower hourly rates.

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Tuesday, May 6, 2014

(Getty Images)

A surge of heat expanding from the southern Plains to the Midwest and South this week will shun much of the Northeast.

Temperatures soared to over 100 degrees in portions of Kansas, Oklahoma and Texas this past weekend and will continue to challenge records much of this week.

Wichita, Kansas, experienced its earliest 100-degree temperature in 126 years of record keeping on Sunday. A high of 102 F surpassed the prior record high for the date of 94 set in 1963.

Daily record highs were also set in Oklahoma City, Fort Smith, Arkansas, Springfield, Missouri and Amarillo, Texas.

Extreme heat will continue over the southern and central Plains through midweek and it is forecast to swell northward into part of the Midwest and eastward across the South as the week progresses.

One or more days with high temperatures in the 80s will reach Chicago, Detroit, Indianapolis, Cincinnati, Pittsburgh and Washington, D.C.

Ninety-degree temperatures are projected to reach Charlotte, North Carolina; Columbia, South Carolina; and Richmond, Virginia, where record highs will also be challenged. Temperatures will reach well into the 80s most days this week in Atlanta.

Meanwhile, the warmth will not make it into portions of the Northeast and upper Great Lakes.

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On one or more days an extreme temperature contrast zone is forecast from southwest to northeast over the mid-Atlantic. A distance of 100 miles could mark the difference between temperatures in the 80s and the 50s.

Cool air is likely to hold its ground across New England and much of New York state.

An area of clouds, showers and thunderstorms may accompany the temperature contrast zone. As a result, temperatures may fluctuate substantially from one day to the next along the contrast zone.

According to senior meteorologist Brett Anderson, "The boundary of warmth and chill is likely to meander north and south across the Upper Midwest and mid-Atlantic this week."

While millions of people may welcome the warmth with open arms, some may find it difficult to adjust to the sudden surge of summerlike conditions.

Be sure to increase your intake of fluids as the temperature increases.

Remember to never leave children and pets unattended in vehicles. Even in early May the temperature inside a closed vehicle can climb to life-threatening levels in a matter of minutes.

According to the San Francisco State University, Department of Geosciences, in the United States, the number of children that died from heatstroke by being left in vehicles during 2013 was 44.

As you trade long-sleeve clothing for short-sleeve items be sure to increase your use of sunscreen.

On portions of the Plains, the combination of extreme heat, gusty winds and dry air will continue to elevate the wildfire danger. A wildfire that broke out in Guthrie, Oklahoma, spread rapidly on gusty winds amidst dry conditions. Much of the central and southern High Plains continue to struggle with building drought.

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Tuesday, May 6, 2014

A wildfire burns through a grove of Red Cedar trees as firefighters continued to work on containing the blaze Monday, May 5, 2014, in Guthrie, Okla. (AP Photo/Nick Oxford)

Gusty winds, low humidity and dry conditions will combine to create a high wildfire threat across the southern Plains and parts of the Southwest this week.

The fire danger is especially high in the southern Plains, where extreme heat and low humidity over the past couple of days are creating increasingly dry fuels.

A wildfire in Guthrie, Oklahoma, last Sunday killed one person, and according to Oklahoma Forestry Services, the Governor of Oklahoma has declared a burn ban in 36 counties across the state.

Eighty-seven counties across Texas have instituted outdoor burn bans, according to the Texas A&M Forest Service.

Afternoon temperatures in the southern Plains through the middle of this week will likely smash more records.

Low humidity and wind gusts of 30-40 mph will help contribute to the high fire danger.

While it will not be as hot across Arizona and New Mexico, a few thunderstorms are expected to move through the Four Corners region on Wednesday. These thunderstorms will contain cloud-to-ground lightning and very little rain.

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A single lightning strike can ignite a fire, and gusty winds and dry conditions can help flames spread quickly.

The southern Plains and portions of the Southwest are in the grip of worsening drought conditions, as some areas have received less than 25 percent of their normal rainfall since early March of this year. Much of southern Arizona has received less than 5 percent of their normal rainfall over the last 60 days.

Showers and thunderstorms are expected across portions of the southern Plains on Wednesday and Thursday. While the rain will be beneficial, it will not be enough to end the drought.

Some of the storms can be severe and contain damaging winds, large hail and tornadoes.

Cooler air will settle over the southern Plains on Friday in the wake of these storms.

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