Tuesday, September 04, 2007

Pavlof Volcano rocks and rolls, blasting ash up to 20,000 feet


Pavlof is located on the Alaskan Penisula (click for link to 'listening to volcano').



Pavlof Volcano and Pavlof Sister Volcano


ALASKA DIGEST (click on link to title)
Published: September 2, 2007

Last Modified: September 2, 2007 at 02:20 AM
COLD BAY -- One of Alaska's most active volcanoes sent a billowing white cloud almost 4 miles high late Thursday night, the biggest explosion since the 8,261-foot cone began vigorously erupting last month.
Pavlof Volcano, on the Alaska Peninsula about 600 miles southwest of Anchorage, put up a 20,000-foot plume about 9:30 p.m. Thursday, said Steve McNutt of the Alaska Volcano Observatory.
Pavlof stayed restive Friday and Saturday, blasting ash clouds 10,000 feet to 16,000 feet high, McNutt said.
"It just looked like a tall column rising, kind of like a cumulonimbus (cloud)," said Michael McLaurin, a meteorological technician with the National Weather Service in Cold Bay. "It rose about 18,000 or 20,000 feet and subsided, then built up again."
Clouds blocked the view on Saturday night.
Cold Bay and its 90 residents are about 40 miles southwest of the action.
Ash, a danger to aircraft, likely caused lightning Thursday, McNutt said.
An FAA spokeswoman said no flights were diverted Saturday. It wasn't immediately clear if Thursday's event interfered with air traffic.
The volcano set a personal record for explosions early Thursday morning -- 14 every minute, McNutt said. Seismic instruments began tracking activity at the volcano in 1973.
"I've never seen more than 10 a minute," said McNutt.
To check the volcano's activity, go to
avo.alaska.edu/activity/Pavlof.php.
-- Anchorage Daily News

Trip around the globe - animate loop with controls at site


September 5, 2007
0033 gmt
Global Pacific Satellite



September 5, 2007
0210 gmt
(Click here for loop - then animate with control at site)



September 5, 2007
0027 gmt
Africa-Europe Satellite

There is still plenty of heat to spawn more storms in the Atlantic although the Autuminal Equinox is approaching and the sun's radiation will be crossing to the southern hemisphere.



September 5, 2007
0016 gmt
Tropical Atlantic Satellite



September 5, 2007
0029 gmt
Western hemisphere

The continent reporting stations are all below zero,but,are warmer across the board except for the very high elevations(24 hour loop missing 3 views)


September 4, 2007
1928 gmt
North Pole Satellite


The reason for all this colder weather over Antarctica are the heat storms, hurricanes, cyclones of the Northern Hemisphere.


September 4, 2007
1928 gmt
South Pole Satellite

Easily discerned are very cold high elevations over East Antarctica. There are heat transfer vortexes from nearby land masses, which explains the winds and high level intrusions on the jet stream.


September 5, 2007
1200 AM UTC
Antarctica Surface Winds (Click here for loop)

Except for the peninsula, there is little break in the higher winds. It explains why so much of the continent is the same temperature; as the wind mixes the heat with frigid air.


September 4, 2004
0600 GMT
Jet Stream satellite image for Antarctica (Click here for six day image)

Basically, no surprises. All the higher elevations are untouched by heat transfer vortexes while there is significant heat exchange at lower latitudes.


September 4, 2007
0900 PM UTC
Antarctica


The coldest reporting stations on Antarctica :

Vostok, Antarctica

Time :: 6:00 AM VOST

Elevation :: 11220 ft / 3420 m

Temperature :: -111 F / -80 C

Humidity :: 70%

Dew Point :: -113 F / -80 C

Wind :: 4 mph / 6 km/h from the West

Wind Gust :: -

Pressure :: in / hPa (Rising)

Visibility :: 12.0 miles / 20.0 kilometers


Amundsen-Scott

Time :: 1150 AM NZST

Elevation :: 9285 feet / 2830 M

Temperature :: - 75 F / - 60 C

Conditions :: Blowing Snow Mist

Wind :: 17 mph / 29 km/h / 7.7 m/s from ESE

Wind Gust :: -

Pressure :: 28.32 in / 959 hPa (Rising)

Visibility :: 1.0 mile / 1.2 kilometers

Davis 76.05S 65.02E

Time :: 900 AM DAVT

Temperature :: - 58 F / -50 C

Conditions :: Calm


Warmest Reporting Stations

Palmer Station, Antarctica

Time :: 8:00 PM CLT

Elevation :: 26 ft / 8 m

Temperature :: 22 F / -5 C

Conditions :: Clear

Humidity :: 75%

Dew Point :: 17 F / -8 C

Wind :: 4 mph / 7 km/h from the South

Wind Gust :: -

Pressure :: 29.35 in / 994 hPa (Falling)

Visibility :: 10.0 miles / 16.0 kilometers



Casey 66.28S 110.52E

Time :: 8:00 AM WST

Temperature :: 21 F / -6 C

Conditions :: Heavy Blowing Snow

Humidity :: 92%

Winds :: East at 54 mph/ 87 km/h

Dew Point :: 20 F / -7 C

Pressure :: 28.70 in / 972 hPa (Falling)

Visibility :: 0.0 miles / 0.1 kilometers

The weather at Scott Base, Ross Island, Antarctica (Crystal Ice Chime0 is warmer than usual.


The link at the title will take you to a collection of pictures from the photographers at McMurdo. Questionably the snow in some photos looks rather soft/wet, but, all are quality photos with extensive explanations. I found them enjoyable.

Looks like an abstract rendition of "Day on a Texas Beach" but the waves say it all.


September 3, 2007
Corpus Christi, Texas
Photographer states :: Bob Hall Pier through the rain coated windshield of the truck.

Rain expected to persist through the day (Click on title of entry. Thank you.)
Web Posted: 09/04/2007 11:59 AM CDT
Express-News
Clouds from a Pacific Ocean hurricane streamed across Texas on Tuesday, touching off widespread rains, gloomy skies and flood watches and warnings around South Central Texas.
Hurricane Henriette, near Baja, Mexico, was supplying deep mid- and upper-level tropical moisture streams, supplemented by low-level moisture from the Gulf of Mexico....
...Heaviest rains overnight will bring the threat of flooding to an area from north of Del Rio to San Antonio to LaGrange, the weather service said.

Felix seeks Henriette (12 hour loop click here)


Streets were flooded in La Ceiba, Honduras.


September 4, 2007
2330z
UNISYS Infrared Satellite GOES East

These storms exploded after reaching land nearly at the same time. There is a slight hint of a quasi-eye in the Carribean just northeast Honduras border with Nicaragua. There is also a storm building east of Florida. It will more than likely remain in the Atlantic. There is an odd little storm that formed in a few hours over Lake Okeechobee. Everyone on the North American continent upto the Rio Grande is drenched. Texas and the Mississippi states into the middle of the USA are experiencing rains. This dual system storm is gigantic and very, very dangerous.





Hurricane Felix Strikes Central America (click here)
TEGUCIGALPA, Honduras, Sept. 4 — The hurricane of the moment, the one that smashed ashore in northern Nicaragua today and began inundating the Honduran countryside, was Felix. But it was an earlier storm, the devastating Hurricane Mitch of 1998, that continued to haunt Hondurans.


Merchants recalled Mitch as they packed up their belongings as Felix moved in and hustled to higher ground. Residents told horror stories about Mitch as they hoped and prayed that the new storm would not do what the last one did....