11/14/2013 Daily Update: Back to Normal Weather, Haiyan Death Toll Far Less than Estimated, Comet ISON Brightening...

Good morning guys! I'm back!

Sorry for the lack of an update yesterday...it's been a busy week! Though there's nothing really substantial to report on other than the cold yesterday following our first snowfall in some spots on Tuesday. The chill departs today and we are back to typical mid-November weather. Temps into the 50s this afternoon with plenty of sun. Winds from the W and SW are responsible for the change. Similar day tomorrow, maybe  a few degrees warmer...no showers expected up until Sunday. Enjoy your day!

• U.S. - Warming up for the Northeast and also warmth surging into the Great Lakes from the South, Cooler across the Southeast, Rockies, Northern Plains, and the Northwest. Mainly quiet weather throughout the nation today... not the case this weekend as we are watching a late-season severe weather potential in the Mississippi to Ohio valley. Stay tuned.
• Europe - Rainfall for Western Europe...doesn't want to stop, does it?
• Australia - Northern Queensland may see some gusty storms, areas of showers in northern and western Australia
• A major hailstorm hit Swaziland which caused panic among motorists. The area was also hit by a hailstorm two weeks ago.

(Credit: RSOE EDIS)

• The death toll from Super Typhoon Haiyan may be less than initially feared. The final count is likely to be around 2,500; not the widely speculated number of 10,000 (shame, shame, shame - news media outlets and myself! Shouldn't have trusted them but I really thought so! Ugh, I hate being wrong.) Nonetheless, it's still a tragedy and people need help there.
• 2 M6+ earthquakes to note:
• 11/12/2013 7:03 UTC - M6.6 - 172km S of Ust'-Kamchatsk Staryy, Russia http://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/eventpage/usb000kw1x#summary
• 11/13/2013 23:45 UTC - M6.1 - Scotia Sea (weird place to have a large earthquake, it's so close to Antarctica...) http://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/eventpage/usb000kxhr#summary
• Disappointing in the space weather department. A CME did jolt Earth's magnetosphere yesterday but it was very weak and really didn't even register on the Kp index. That's like expecting 6" of snow to fall the next day but failing to receive a single snowflake. Yeah. Anyways, more spots coming in on the sun... so far been quiet but could change with a single blast.
• As you may have heard, Comet ISON is approaching the sun in the vicinity of Earth right now and could put on a show around December. News medias were quick in dubbing it the "Comet of the Century" which is total exaggeration given the uncertainly whether it can survive the trip to the sun and stay intact. Though it appears the comet has brightened significantly in the past 24-48 hours and is "outbursting". If the trend continues, the comet may be viewable with the naked eye soon. We shall see what happens.

Sunspot 1899 is a beast but tame as of now... (Credit: SolarHam.net)