Yellowstone geysers are active again after dormant period - Yellowstone geyser enthusiasts are reporting that a handful of Yellowstone National Park geysers appear to be active again after periods of dormancy, including one geyser that last erupted almost two decades ago. Morning Geyser, quiet for 18 years, is now active, and there is news that an electronic monitor on Echinus in Norris Geyser Basin picked up an eruption. North Goggles Geyser has also started erupting more regularly than the lone annual display it has typically shown over the past few years. The last time it was this active was 2004. Joining the list of newly reactivated thermal features are Fan and Mortar geysers, which may be beginning an active cycle.
Morning Geyser last erupted in 1994. The first reported eruption this year occurred on Wed., June 20. A second eruption was reported the following day, with geyser gazers reporting online that Morning Geyser spewed for up to 30 minutes, reaching a height of 200 feet. For Fountain Geyser, there have been longer intervals between eruptions than seen in recent years. It may be that there is a connection between Morning Geyser and Fountain Geyser, and a change in Fountain Geyser could result in changes in other thermal features in the area. How long will Morning Geyser continue erupting? That’s hard to say, but based on past active cycles, it could be days or weeks. Then again, these two eruptions might be all that’s seen for a while.
Every couple of years, Fan and Mortar geysers take a break and go silent. Prior to this eruption, they were last known to erupt in October 2011. Sometimes they take longer breaks than this, but no one appeared disappointed by the short nap and their recent reawakening. When active, they erupt about every 3-5 days, sometimes appearing to “prefer” nighttime eruptions. It may take a bit longer for Fan and Mortar to fully reactivate.
Echinus Geyser in Norris Geyser Basin is a third geyser that is reactivating. A temperature probe indicated that Echinus erupted at 3:25 a.m. on Mon., June 28; “no one saw it, but it is the first known eruption since January 2011.”
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LARGEST QUAKES -
Live Seismograms - Worldwide (update every 30 minutes)
This morning -
5.0 EASTERN HONSHU, JAPAN
Yesterday -
6/23/12 -
5.3 OFF W COAST OF NORTHERN SUMATRA
5.0 OFF W COAST OF NORTHERN SUMATRA
6.1 NORTHERN SUMATRA, INDONESIA
5.0 FIJI REGION
5.0 ANDREANOF ISLANDS, ALEUTIAN IS.
6/22/12 -
5.1 OFF EAST COAST OF HONSHU, JAPAN
5.1 SOUTH OF KERMADEC ISLANDS
5.1 SOUTH OF KERMADEC ISLANDS
5.6 SOUTH OF KERMADEC ISLANDS
5.1 SOUTH OF KERMADEC ISLANDS
Indonesia - Aceh quake sends patients into panic. Patients at Pirngadi General Hospital in Medan, North Sumatra, panicked after a 6.1-magnitude earthquake hit Subulussalam, Aceh, at 11:34 a.m, but no damages or injuries have been reported.
TROPICAL STORMS -
In the Atlantic -
Tropical storm Debbie was located about 220 mi. [355 km] SSE of the mouth of the Mississippi River in the Gulf of Mexico. A Tropical Storm Warning is in effect for the coast of Louisiana from the mouth of the Pearl River westward to Morgan City, not including the city of New Orleans or Lake Pontchartrain. Debby will be moving over the northern Gulf of Mexico during the next few days. Debby is expected to produce rain accumulations of 3 to 6 inches along the Gulf Coast from southern Louisiana to the Florida Panhandle with possible isolated maximum amounts of 10 inches. Isolated tornadoes are possible over portions of west-central and southern Florida tonight and Sunday.
Tropical Storm Debby formed in the Gulf of Mexico on Saturday, interfering with oil and gas production and putting officials on alert for flooding and strong winds from Texas to Florida.
SEVERE RAIN STORMS, FLOODING, LANDSLIDES -
Afghanistan - Flash floods in Afghanistan triggered by days of torrential rain have killed more than 30 people, with dozens reported missing. Waters swept through villages and parts of the city of Cheghcheran in central Ghor province overnight, engulfing dozens of homes. The floodwaters also destroyed hundreds of hectares of farmland and displaced hundreds of people in the impoverished province.
In the northeast of the country, two days of torrential rains and hail triggered flooding in the remote province of Badakhshan, killing at least eight and destroying up to 100 houses. "This kind of rain and hail is NOT COMMON AT THIS TIME OF YEAR, so people were caught off guard." Hundreds of villagers in high-risk areas have been evacuated as a precaution against further flooding.
Afghanistan's HARSHEST WINTER IN 15 YEARS saw UNUSUALLY heavy snowfalls and experts predicted that rivers swollen by melting snow were likely to flood in the mountainous north in spring. In May, flash floods in Sari Pul province, which borders Ghor to the north, killed 50 people, mostly women and children.
EXTREME HEAT & DROUGHT / CLIMATE CHANGE -
Firefighters in Utah and Colorado struggled on Saturday to contain raging wildfires stoked by high winds that have burned some 200 dwellings in Colorado.
