Sunspot AR1778 produced an impulsive M2-class solar flare on June 23rd at 20:56 UT. NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory recorded the extreme ultraviolet flash. The eruption flung material away from the blast site, but the debris does not appear to be heading toward Earth. Except for the effects of the UV flash, which created a short-lived wave of ionization in Earth’s upper atmosphere, this flare was not geo-effective.
A minor solar proton storm is underway around Earth. Registering “S1” on NOAA storm scales, the storm is not yet intense enough to have a significant effect on satellites or air travelers. It is, however, trending upward, so the situation could change.
M-CLASS SOLAR FLARE
Sunspot AR1778 produced an impulsive M2-class solar flare on June 23rd at 20:56 UT. NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory recorded the extreme ultraviolet flash. The eruption flung material away from the blast site, but the debris does not appear to be heading toward Earth.
CORONAL HOLE
The biggest thing on the sun today is not a sunspot, it’s a coronal hole. The yawning dark gap in the sun’s atmosphere is almost directly facing Earth, as shown in this June 25th image from NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory: Coronal holes are places where the sun’s magnetic field opens up and allows solar wind to escape. A stream of solar wind flowing from this particular coronal hole will reach Earth on June 29-30.
A massive dome of high pressure, sometimes referred to as a “heat dome,” has set up shop over Alaska, bringing all-time record temperatures just a few weeks after parts of the state had a record cold start to spring.
94 in Alaska? Weather extremes tied to jet stream
Lately, the jet stream isn’t playing by the rules. Scientists say that big river of air high above Earth that dictates much of the weather for the Northern Hemisphere has been unusually erratic the past few years. They blame it for everything from snowstorms in May to the path of Superstorm Sandy.
Sunday storms add to danger, misery; 99,000 lack power
Sunday morning storms added to what already was a record number of power outages in Minnesota history and brought new flooding and road closures to some communities.
Local residents are working with police to ward off looters after a 5.4-magnitude earthquake in North Lombok, West Nusa Tenggara, on Saturday afternoon injured 24 people and damaged around 1,700 houses.
Nevada seismologists and emergency managers say they’re monitoring an earthquake swarm in Carson City that has the potential to result in a major temblor.
The epicentre was in the Sea of Okhotsk, east of the Russian coast and north of Japan. She said the quake registered 8.0 on the Richter scale. Emergency agencies in the Far East issued a tsunami warning for Sakhalin and the Kuril islands, but lifted it soon afterwards.
India floods: Bad weather delays rescue and mass cremations
Bad weather has halted rescue operations in flood-hit northern India and forced authorities to delay mass funerals for those killed. Air force officials said they were unable to fly helicopters to the temple town of Badrinath to bring down the 5,000 pilgrims still stuck there. And police say the planned mass cremations in Kedarnath town have been postponed following heavy rains.
More communities in the Canadian province of Alberta have been placed on flood alert as high water levels move downstream from the city of Calgary. About 10,000 residents in low-lying areas of the city of Medicine Hat have been ordered to leave their homes. In Calgary, river levels have receded but the city remains under a state of emergency.
The night sky is set to be illuminated later by what will appear to be a much bigger and brighter Moon. The so-called “supermoon” occurs when the Moon reaches its closest point to earth, known as a perigee full moon. The effect is to make the Moon seem 30% bigger and 14% brighter than when it is furthest from the planet.
‘Destruction all around’: Hundreds dead, tens of thousands missing in India monsoon
Early monsoon rains have swept northern India, causing floods and landslides, killing at least 1,000 and leaving tens of thousands missing, officials report. About 100 towns and villages remain cut off since Sunday, and the death toll is expected to rise.
6.4 Mid-Atlantic Ridge Earthquake, No Tsunami Threat to Hawaiʻi
Tsunami hit US East Coast, NOAA says
A tsunami was observed on June 13, 2013 at East Coast, Bermuda and Puerto Rico, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) said. At Newport, Rhode Island tsunami wave reached just under 25cm above sea level. At least two divers were injured in Barnegat Inlet in Ocean County, New Jersey. Minor tsunami damage was reported at the yacht club to the dock and two boats. Scientists are still trying to determine the cause of Tsunami.
Two releases by the World Health Organization (WHO) detail six new confirmed cases of MERS-Coronavirus over the weekend. The laboratory-confirmed cases were reported to the WHO by Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Health.
Visitors to Yellowstone See Rise in Illness
Park officials for Yellowstone and Grand Teton national parks announced recently that there has been a noticeable spike in visitor illness. According to a statement by Yellowstone on their Facebook page, officials are especially worried about norovirus, a common contagion that could be spread through food and water.
Saudis, WHO report 8 asymptomatic MERS cases
Saudi Arabia reported nine new MERS-CoV (Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus) cases in the past 3 days, including six cases that were asymptomatic. In addition, the World Health Organization (WHO) reported on Jun 22 that two Saudi MERS cases that had been announced earlier were also asymptomatic. The Saudi and WHO reports offered the clearest evidence yet of such cases, which suggest the possibility that people can unknowingly carry and spread the virus.