ZCZC SPCFWDDY2 ALL FNUS22 KWNS 220854 DAY 2 FIRE WEATHER OUTLOOK NWS STORM PREDICTION CENTER NORMAN OK 0354 AM CDT TUE MAY 22 2012 VALID 231200Z - 241200Z ...EXTREMELY CRITICAL FIRE WEATHER AREA FOR PORTIONS OF NERN AZ/NWRN NM... ...CRITICAL FIRE WEATHER AREA FOR PORTIONS OF AZ/NM...PORTIONS OF SRN UT/SWRN CO...FAR SWRN TX... ...SYNOPSIS... AN EXPANSIVE TROUGH AND ACCOMPANYING BELT OF STRONG/VERY STRONG FLOW IN THE MID AND UPPER LEVELS -- OVER THE WESTERN UNITED STATES -- WILL DIG SEWD ACROSS THE CNTRL GREAT BASIN AND CNTRL ROCKIES INTO THE SW STATES AND SRN ROCKIES. AS THIS FLOW OVERLAYS DRY ANTECEDENT CONDITIONS ACROSS PARTS OF THE SW STATES AND SRN ROCKIES...A CRITICAL FIRE WEATHER THREAT WILL EXIST...WITH EXTREMELY CRITICAL FIRE WEATHER CONDITIONS ANTICIPATED ACROSS PORTIONS ... Continue reading →
Image of the Day: Hitch a Slow Ride, Take it Easy A brown booby hitching a ride on an Olive Ridley sea turtle near Los Cobanos beach in El Salvador. According to the journal Biological Conservation, birds are an excellent indicator for learning the effects of climate change, especially in tropical ecosystems. Some birds are particularly susceptible to extreme weather events such as increased rainfall, heat waves, cold spells and cyclones. Credit: Jose Cabezas/AFP/Getty Images « Climate in Context Related Content Continue reading →
The Joplin Tornado, One Year Later: Where Does it Rank? The ferocious tornado that tore the city of Joplin, Mo., apart exactly one year ago today stunned the nation with its tragic death toll and staggering damage. The twister’s winds were estimated to be more than 200 mph, making the tornado an EF-5 on the Enhanced Fujita Scale, which measures a tornado’s intensity. It devastated the city of 50,000, killing 161 and injuring more than 1,000. The Joplin tornado was the first single tornado in the U.S. to result in more than 100 fatalities since a tornado struck Flint, Mich., in 1953. Tornado damage in Joplin, Mo. Credit: National Weather Service. It also ranks as the seventh deadliest in U.S. history, and the deadliest since ... Continue reading →
A high-pressure gas pipeline in Southern California. The Department of Homeland Security revealed a rash of cyber attacks on natural gas pipeline companies last week. (Mike Nelson/AFP/Getty Images) Last week, the Department of Homeland Security revealed a rash of cyber attacks on natural gas pipeline companies. Just as with previous cyber attacks on infrastructure, there was no known physical damage. But security experts worry it may only be a matter of time. Efforts to protect pipelines and other critical systems have been halting despite broad agreement that they're vulnerable to viruses like Stuxnet — the mysterious worm that caused havoc to Iran's nuclear program two years ago. The Frankenstein-like virus infected a type of industrial controller that is ubiquitous — used around the world on ... Continue reading →
Dr. Jaczko, chairman since May 2009 and the longest-serving member of the five-member commission, was an outsider and a maverick. He had drawn sharp criticism for helping to end government consideration of a proposed nuclear waste dump at Yucca Mountain, a volcanic ridge about 100 miles from Las Vegas, and for assuming some emergency powers at the commission after the triple meltdown of Japan’s Fukushima Daiichi reactors in March 2011. He sought to address some longstanding safety problems at America’s nuclear power reactors, but with a background in nuclear physics and nuclear policy but not the nuclear industry, Dr. Jaczko was long viewed with skepticism and mistrust by some industry insiders. In a telephone interview Sunday, Dr. Jaczko refused to talk about his clashes with ... Continue reading →
The White House Office of the Press Secretary For Immediate Release May 19, 2012 Fact Sheet: G-8 Action on Energy and Climate Change At the Camp David Summit, G-8 Leaders recognized that the development of and universal access to environmentally safe, sustainable, secure, and affordable sources of energy is essential to global economic growth and to their overall efforts to address climate change. As such, they identified several actions for the G-8 to take together: Pursue a Comprehensive Energy Strategy – Safely Recognize the value of simultaneously pursuing a wide variety of energy sources in order to meet energy demands, acknowledging each nation’s different needs and different approaches. In pursuing an appropriate mix from all of the above, we recognize that different energy sources have ... Continue reading →
