Tropical Storm Beatriz Part 2

             As of Monday night this storm has been pretty much as strong as it was Sunday. The tropical storm is moving west at 10 miles per hour. The wind gust are clocked in at 34 miles per hour. Their is a very low chance that this storm will reach Hawaii, but it theoretically could I supposed if the conditions are favorable.
             Hurricanes  probably the most dangerous storms because they can cause massive tidal waves, flash floods, tornadoes, etc. The most dangerous part of a hurricane is the right flank because the storm spins counter clockwise. If this storm was to become a hurricane then the safest place to be if you cannot leave in time is the evey of the hurricane. This can be seen in the picture to the right. The center of the storm is clear on the map, while the rest of the of the storm shows.
             I will keep everyone posted as soon as the storm changes.

Tropical Storm Beatriz

          This tropical storm is growing and becoming stronger, and is set to become a hurricane. Right now it is off the coast of Mexico. According to www.weather.com, "This storm can produce flooding, strong gusty winds, and heavy rain."
          This storm is as of 2:00 P.M. a hurricane warning for the coast of Mexico. Some people do not know what the difference between a watch and warning. A watch is their might be signs of a storm. While, a warning is where the conditions are favorable for the storm and the weather service strongly feel this is going to happen. The warning is expected to happen with in the next 36 hours.

           I will not know how strong this storm actually turns out to be because it is expected to reach the coast on Monday or early Tuesday. By then the tropical storm is expected to become a hurricane. It is projected that precipitations will reach 12 inches. The rains are expected to cause flash floods and mudslides. When the storm hits the coast it's expected to cause massive waves. I'll be reporting more on this storm as it happens.

        

Volcanoes: Why are they dangerous?

           Why is a volcano arguable more dangerous then any other storm? because you can survive a tornado, hurricane, etc, but if you get caught in a volcanic eruption their is a really good chance you could die. Scientist are pretty good at predicting when a volcano is going to happen. Even if you escape the eruption, you still have to worry about property damage. Even when your house isn't damaged, the atmosphere is still filled with volcanic ash.
           Why does a volcano erupt? A volcano eruption is caused by being on plates of the earths crust. Then rocks deep in the earth's core causing magma to form and rise through the vents of a volcano causing a big explosion or not.
          
         Hawaii wouldn't be even close to how it looks now if it wasn't for volcanoes. What I mean by this is lava erupts then when it hits the ocean it forms new land masses for Hawaii. This has occurred for the islands for century's.
          I wanted to remind people about volcanoes because I think that most people have forgotten how dangerous they can be. Their has not been a big volcanic eruption in the last couple of years. Even if people say it's not active doesn't mean that it cannot also explode.

Hurricanes: What Are They?

         First, I'll start off with what is the driving force behind a hurricane. The first thing is warm water over the equator. This storm is one that the longer over warm water the bigger the storm is. A hurricane hits land and destroys buildings, floods cities, produces strong winds. Their are five categories for a hurricane.

Saffir-Simpson Scale

1. Produces winds up to 95 miles per hour.
    Hurricane Erin (1995)

2. Winds up 110 miles per hour, and some flood damage.
   

3. Mobil homes are destroyed and 130 mph winds.
Hurricane Ivan, Hurricane Opal, and Hurricane Dennis

4. Most average sized homes are destroyed, winds of 155mph.
Hurricane Katrina

5. Winds over 155 mph, a lot of destroyed property.
Hurricane Camille, Labor Day Hurricane       

Oklahoma's Supercell: Looked Pretty Super

             On Saturday Beaver, Oklahoma had a super cell sighted. Something you may be asking is what is a super cell? A super cell is a thunderstorm that has updraft, and are the least common kind of thunderstorm. These storm systems can effect only a relative small area (20 miles).

             This storm caused hail and some reports of tornadoes. Here is some footage of the super cell, . The reason I'm speaking about this is not because it displaced thousands, or millions of dollars in property damage was caused. I'm reporting it because of how rare these things are.

            These storms are kind of a reminder of how weather isn't always a bad thing, but can actually be spectacular occurrences. Their are many different ways a super cell can look.
           These types of thunderstorms are normally named after alien spacecrafts. For instance this storm was called the mother ship (super cell).
           Can they be dangerous? Yes they can. These storms can produce tornadoes, hail, extreme precipitation, etc.

          This particular storm rained hail according to Dean and Leslie Burton, who are the ones to report this to http://www.weather.com/. This hail that fell on Beaver County, Oklahoma was 4.5 inches in diameter. Nobody was injured and their wasn't any large amounts of property damage report.
                     I'm going to end this post with some pictures of super cell thunderstorms. All these pictures have unique characteristics and really show how diverse that a super cell thunderstorm can.
 

Global Warming: Truth Or Fiction

              Ever since the topic of global warming became a serious view in the public eye, people have blamed this theory for a seeming yearly increase in natural disasters. So the question is global warming a legit problem or does our planet just go through heating and cooling phases.
             The first view I'll share is global warming theory. This theory explains how greenhouse gases (carbon dioxide, water vapor, CFC'S, etc) will melt ice glaciers, causing the sea levels to rise. The major worry is Greenland melting because it is all fresh water.
            People whom believe we are just in heating phase are more science based using actual recorded data unlike global warming supporters who use projected data. These scientist use history to say that earth has had extreme heating years and ice ages.
          My belief is we are causing the earth to heat up because of the charts show that at the beginning of the industrial revolution till now our average air temperate has sky rocketed. However our planet is a tough one and has counter balanced itself before.

El Niño, The Cause Of Bad Weather

        El Niño or "The Christ Child" called that because it occurs during Christmas. I'm discussing this because we are supposed to have one next year, and is predicted to cause a really bad tropical storm season. El Niño and  La Niña are what cause major weather all over the world even in Michigan.
        El Niño is classified as a high pressure system that warms the surface of the Pacific Ocean. El Niña is a low pressure system that cools the surface of the Pacific Ocean. The one to be most worried about is an El Niño because this is the system that causes really bad flooding, and sometimes even tropical storms. 
       The thing is these two high and low systems are off the west coast of South America, and they effect our entire planet. The picture on the right explains how a  El Niño works the surface water warms, and goes east due to ocean currents, and causes the ocean to be warm. This warm ocean causes rain which causes drought in dry areas of the world, and less in other more rain prone areas of the world. This is a phenomena that no one really understands. Some people blame this on global warming, and some believe its just a way of the earth trying to regulate itself. I guess it's up to you to decide. 
       

Tornadoes In Michigan?

        My tornado post continue because we simply keep getting them.Unlike my previous post's though this one was in Michigan. On May 31, 2011 a tornado had landed in Linwood, MI causing minor damage to a city I personally live 10 minutes from.
       The video is just some of the damage that this tornado had caused. After you watch that it should put a lot of perspective on how dangerous a tornado can be, because this one was a tiny one compared to the ones that hit Joplin, Texas, and Oklahoma. I'm currently working on getting photographs of this tornadoes damages.
       This is a rare experience for Bay County because according to www.tornadoproject.com, "Their have only been 9 tornadoes recorded since 1957." This tornado makes 10 which is still a very rare occurrence. Their are places in the United States that get 10 tornadoes in a week.
       If you know of anyone that has property damage due to the tornado, try starting a group to help raise money. I'm not sure who but someones house was pretty badly damaged and they could probably use some help. Like I said before this tornado really didn't cause to much damage. Also always remember you can help by donating time,money, essentials at www.redcross.org.

The Month Of The Tornado

           If you are an regular reader of my blog than you have probably noticed that I have been talking about tornadoes a lot the last couple of post. That is because we are are on track to completely encompass the previous record for tornadoes in a single month. It just seems like every day you turn on the news and their is another tornado ravaging Texas, Oklahoma, or another southern state.     
          In the last week or so we have had a tornadoes in Missouri, Texas, or Oklahoma. "In fact this tornado season has been the most deadliest since 1953", according to www.abcnews.com/. On the left side of the screen is a picture of Joplin, Missouri, after the destructive tornado hit this town.
               Explained by The Associated Press, "The average tornadoes for an entire year in the United States is 1274, and the total number of tornado's we have had through May is 1228." Actually we are on pace to beat our previous record of 1817 tornado's in a single year, in 2004.
               I'll end this like I always do, please contribute in some way. If it's donating or sending supplies, anything is  better then doing nothing, thank you.
          

Tornado's In Joplin

      Before a mile wide tornado struck Joplin, Missouri a couple of days ago most of us probably didn't know where Joplin, Missouri even was. Now, this city is well known, but I'm pretty sure they would rather be a quiet little town again.
      The tornado had killed over 124 people as far as authorities know. Like in the picture to the right, most of Joplin is destroyed. If your interested in see what kind of tornado this was a EF-5 tornado.
     The sad thing is Joplin is on a severe tornado watch again. The tornado could be stronger then the one that completely demolished this city just a couple days ago. President Obama said, "What we can do is show that the rest of America supports Joplin." Something I think would be helpful to do is find a donation foundation, like the American Red Cross. A lot of peoples homes were also destroyed, so getting a hold of "Habitat for Humanity" may be helpful to the citizens of Joplin.

What Can I Do?

            This is a question that most people ask themselves. That is the good thing about our technological advances, we can get a message out to the world in very little time. We can do so many things, donate money, send supplies, donate blood, write letters for moral support, etc.
             I'm sure a lot of people know about the "We Are the World" music video for Haiti. What this music video did was unify a variety of artist for one common goal. I know that a blue collar worker can not do anything like that, but anything that brings awareness to people who need help is important. With the most recent tornadoes in Alabama, we can get a hold of "American Red Cross" to donate.
           Even some of your most popular television shows like "The Colbert Report" advocates to help the victims of Tuscaloosa, Alabama by text messaging  "REDCROSS" for a $10 dollar donation. I guess the point of this post is even one person can make a difference in someones life, so next time you think about buying the newest phone or that pair of jeans for $100.00, think of how people who need  food, laundry detergent, clean drinking water, basic living essentials.
                                                                                               

A History Lesson

               In recent history it seems as if every couple of days a natural disaster effects millions of people, but this is not a recent thing, it has been happening for every. Through out time their have been hurricanes, volcanoes, tornadoes, wild fires, etc. This got me thinking, "How would past disasters compare to the disasters of today?" 
              The earliest natural disaster I could find was in 1500 B.C., a Mediterranean small island, called Stroggli was stuck by a tsunami wiping out the Minoans. Plato called it the site where "The Lost City of Atlantis" was.
              When we hear natural disaster we think of earthquakes, tsunami's, erupting volcanoes, etc, but a natural disaster can be more then physical destruction to our planet, it can be a outbreak, or illness. The Bubonic Plague, (1330A.D.-1350A.D.) is and excellent example of this. This disease also known as the "black death" killed 75 million people.
              Even when their is a physical disaster their could be a different reason for so many deaths. In Tambora, Indonesia a volcano had erupted, but the  181,580,000 deaths were caused by famine because of the lack of wildlife and ability to farm.
             What I've collected through the process of studying about the history of natural disasters is we are saving more lives, but their is a lot more property damage costs. So as a community we need to make sure the people that are saved have a place to call home after the tragedy.If you are interested in reading more about past natural disasters I got my information at www.livescience.com.

Why Natural Disasters Can Effect Us For a Very Long Time

             When a natural disaster strikes, we as a society have been known to come to our neighbors needs. The problem is we also have a tendency to leave before the towns or even country involved has been completely restored to it's former self.
              When Hurricane Katrina went through New Orleans and other parts of the Gulf of Mexico, the United States seen a incredible rise in unity between racial communities, financial classes, religions, etc. Even with this incredible coming together of Americans, parts of New Orleans are still laying in ruins.
               According to http://www.dosomething.org/, "This hurricane caused about $75 billion in estimated damages, the most costly hurricane in history, but it is estimated that the total economic impact in Louisiana and Mississippi may exceed $150 billion."(fact 8). Some causes of such a high damages cost is not having up to date levee systems. This lack of maintenance is the reason for all the unemployment, parents getting separated from their children, deaths, and people not having a place to call home anymore. If your interested in helping any of the more recent natural disasters that have hit Alabama, Japan; I'm up to suggestions on getting something set up.