11/4/2013 Daily Update: Freezing Morning, Haiyan Poses Threat to Philippines Late Week

Good morning everyone!

A very cold start with temps bottoming out in the teens and 20s. Not much better in the afternoon... it's a jacket-type day.

TODAY: Sunny with highs in the lower to mid 40s. Winds from the N at 5 mph.

TONIGHT: Partly cloudy with lows in the lower to mid 20s. Light winds.

TOMORROW: Mostly sunny with highs in the mid to upper 40s. Winds from the S at 5 mph.

• Chilly rain showers in the Upper Plains along a cold front. Also rain in Texas fueled by tropical moisture from Sonia.
• Sonia in the Eastern Pacific made landfall in Western Mexico
• Krosa is being ripped apart in the Western Pacific
• A tropical depression is currently soaking the Philippines
• Tropical Storm Haiyan forms well east of the Philippines but that will give it time to strengthen into a potentially strong typhoon by late week.
• Western Europe is being soaked with rain, snow across the north.
• Aussie has a few showers south; heavy rain/storms impacting New Zealand.
• Space weather is steady, the sunspots moving away are weakening, but the new sunspot group, enumerated 1890, is large and could be a source for M-class flares. Otherwise, sunspots are mostly quiet.

Tropical Storm Haiyan - the latest threat in a slew of
Wpac tropical cyclones (Credit: Wunderground)

Sunspot 1890 is the primary region to watch... (Credit: SolarHam.net)

Yes, the rain keeps on falling in Europe (Credit: WeatherOnline)

11/3/2013 Daily Update: Much Colder Today, Sonia Forms and Threatens Western Mexico

Good morning everyone!

Going to be cool and breezy today. A very cold night in store... some may actually get down into the teens!

TODAY: Mostly sunny with highs in the lower to mid 40s. Winds from the N at 10 to 15 mph.

TONIGHT: Clear skies and cold, lows in the upper teens to lower 20s. Winds from the N at 5 mph.

TOMORROW: Sunny with highs in the mid 40s. Winds from the N at 5 mph.

NATIONAL WEATHER

• Morning snow flurries for a few parts of the Northeast today, colder
• Cool and less humid in the Southeast
• Milder air surging into the South and the Midwest
• The Northwest and the upper Rockies are dealing with a storm system boasting mostly rain showers but also snow for the mountains.

WORLD WEATHER

• Tropical Storm Sonia forms off the west coast of Mexico, bringing the potential for more flooding rains there
• Typhoon Krosa weakens to a Category 1 and aiming SW for Vietnam
• The storm chains keep on forming in the Western Pacific; two new depressions having been declared.
• Rain for Western Europe
• Few showers in Western Europe. Showers and storms toward New Zealand.

Western coast of Mexico nailed again... (Credit: CIMSS)

The WPac doesn't know how to sleep like the Atlantic...
two more depressions popped. (Credit: CIMSS)

EARTHQUAKES

• A M6.2 earthquake shook Tonga: http://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/eventpage/usb000krlz#summary
• Followed by a M6.0 off the coast of the Philippines: http://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/eventpage/usb000ks1g#summary

SPACE WEATHER

• Had a M5 solar flare from Sunspot 1884 which has strengthened and is now regarded as a threat for M-class or X-class flares. 1887 is developing also. 1890 in the SE limb is a monster...going to be interesting to see what it does when it rotates into Earth's view.
• NASA ENLIL is showing a glancing CME hitting Earth mid-week.

Credit: NASA ENLIL

Sunspot 1890 is interesting... recent far side blasts
may signal increasing activity in the near future
(Credit: SpaceWeather.com)

11/2/2013 Daily Update: Mild November Day, East Coast Partial Solar Eclipse Tomorrow Morning, OK Earthquake Swarm

Good afternoon everyone!

After a wild, windy day yesterday, we are awarded with a mild, November day with plenty of sunshine. A cold front along a trough pushes through tonight with a slight of showers but moisture should be scarce. Much cooler for Sunday.

TODAY: Partly sunny with highs in the lower to mid 60s. Winds from the NW at 5 to 10 mph.

TONIGHT: A slight chance of showers, perhaps a few snow showers in higher elevations. Otherwise mostly cloudy with lows in the mid 30s. Winds from the N at 5 to 10 mph.

TOMORROW: Much cooler. Partly sunny with highs in the mid 40s. Breezy, with winds from the N at 5 to 15 mph, with gusts near 30 mph possible.

A Gentle Reminder: Daylight Saving Time ends on November 3rd at 2:00 AM. Turn your clocks back 1 hour before heading to bed tonight.

SNE SNOWFALL CONTEST UPDATE

• It's been a typical first half of autumn with no accumulations from any stations so far. A few towns saw snow flurries early this week but it didn't amount to much.

NATIONAL WEATHER

• A few showers crossing the Northeast today
• Dry and comfortable for the Southeast, a few showers/storms for Florida
• High bringing fair weather in the middle portion of the country
• A coastal storm is impacting the Northwest bringing strong gusts and heavy rain.

WORLD WEATHER

• Typhoon Krosa is heading straight for Vietnam, though weakening in the process.
• No stopping the rain in the U.K. Western Europe is getting drenched by another system.
• A few showers for southern parts of Australia, another in northern Western Australia

EARTHQUAKES

• Oklahoma is experiencing an earthquake swarm this morning. Four earthquakes registered M2.5 or greater. Strongest was a M3.7 near Edmond.
• There were no earthquakes rated at or above M6 yesterday or so far today.

This morning's Oklahoma earthquake swarm (Credit: USGS)

SPACE WEATHER

• A partial solar eclipse will unfold at sunrise tomorrow morning for much of the East Coast as far west as eastern Ohio down to Georgia. Look to the east between 6:30 to 7:00am EST. A piece of the sun will be missing. However, clouds may hinder viewing in the Northeast so it's all dependent on the skies. There's hope though that clouds may clear just enough for viewing.
• This eclipse is a rare and special type, a hybrid solar eclipse... it starts out partial before becoming a total solar eclipse along a narrow path. Only about 5% of eclipses are hybrids in over 10,000 documented eclipses spanning 5,000+ years. The greatest totality will be seen primarily in Africa during the afternoon hours local time. Below is a map showing the eclipse can be seen and links for additional info: http://earthsky.org/astronomy-essentials/get-ready-hybrid-solar-eclipse-on-november-3 http://www.universetoday.com/105651/rare-hybrid-solar-eclipse-on-november-3-2013-how-to-see-it/
• Sunspot 1884 produced a M6-class solar flare yesterday. No CME was detected from it though. A few far-side blasts were observed, on the other side of the sun away from Earth's view. Despite recent surge of flaring, no geomagnetic storms have been observed. These Earth-facing spots are the ones to watch today.

1884 has energy for an M-flare (Credit:
SpaceWeather.com)

Map of the eclipse from earthsky.org via skyandtelescope.com

11/1/2013 Daily Update: Windy Accompanied by Showers Today, 2 6-pointer Earthquakes Hit Taiwan and Chile

Good morning everyone and Happy Friday and Happy November!

Wind Advisories have been issued for gusty conditions due to a powerful system with a low centered in Southeast Canada. Gusts could reach as high as 50 mph. Also, some light showers in the area this morning with a few downpours possible later. The winds and showers gradually subside into the evening making for a wonderful and mild Saturday after the front passes with less wind.

TODAY: Showers with highs in the mid to upper 60s. Winds from the SW at 15 to 25 mph, with gusts as high as 50 mph. Accumulations in the low range.

TONIGHT: Winds die down, partly cloudy with lows in the mid 40s. Winds becoming light.

TOMORROW: Mostly sunny with highs in the lower to mid 60s. Winds from the W at 5 to 15 mph.

• Gusty showers and storms are impacting the Northeast today. Minor damage and power outages are possible from the high winds reaching over 50 mph.
• Typhoon Krosa, after making landfall in the Phillipines, is tracking for Vietnam.

More headed your direction Vietnam! Krosa looks like a huge
doughnut on the water vapor image. (Credit: CIMSS)

• A low pressure system is impacting Western Europe. Rain showers throughout the day.
• Showers and storms are moving into southern Australia. A trough is producing an isolated shower and storm in the western interior.
• Took two strong earthquakes yesterday: first a 6.3 in Taiwan and then a 6.6 in Chile. (Taiwan earthquake: http://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/eventpage/usc000ksdy#summary, Chile earthquake: http://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/eventpage/usb000kqnc#summary)
• Solar wind ramped up to around 500 km/s yesterday from an incoming CME but was not strong enough to produce a geomagnetic storm. Sunspots are turning more equatorial and 1884 in the middle have the energy for a moderate to strong flare. Also, a coronal hole stream may impact Earth early next week. M-class flare chances in the next 24 hours: 40%. X-class flare chances in the next 24 hours: 5%.

Sunspot 1884 is a likely source for flaring
(Credit: SpaceWeather.com)