Alaska temperature changed by 88 degs in 3 days

A “spectacular chinook” warms Fairbanks, Alaska

The temperature at Fairbanks International Airport dropped  to -44 degrees (44 below zero) on Sunday, the last day of  a  continuous 16-day freeze-up,  the coldest spell in the last 50 years. By Wednesday, the temperature reached a record high  of 44 degrees,  dramatically reversing the trend from one extreme to another. The temperature difference of 88 degrees was reached in just three days.

“Incredible,” said meteorologist Rick Thoman at the National Weather Service in Fairbanks. “Is there any other place in the country that can do that?

Adiabatic warming of downward moving air produces the warm Chinook wind. Chinook is a Pacific Northwest Indian word meaning ‘snow-eater,’ as a strong Chinook can make foot deep snow almost vanish in one day. The snow partly melts and partly evaporates in the dry wind. Chinook winds have been observed to raise winter temperature, often from below −20°C (−4°F) to as high as 10°C to 20°C (50°F to 68°F) for a few hours or days, then temperatures plummet to their base levels. The greatest recorded temperature change in 24 hours was caused by Chinook winds on January 15, 1972, in Loma, Montana; the temperature rose from -48°C (-56°F) to 9°C (49°F), a difference of 105 degrees (source: wikipedia).

“It’s just a spectacular Chinook,” he said.

This spectacular Chinook Arch appeared over Calgary in the late afternoon of January 6, 2003 – during a warm spell when the temperature in the city reached an all-time January record high of 18°C (64°F). Image Credit: CalgaryWikifan. Wikipedia.  GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.2 or later versions.

In Nenana, the temperature rose to 54 degrees Thursday morning, another all-time high, Thoman said.

The previous record high at the airport was 43 degrees set in 1981. Also, the temperature at Birch Lake reached a daily record  high of 54 ºF.

“There’s July days when it’s not that warm at Birch Lake,” Thoman said.

Magnitude 7.4 Earthquake Strikes East of the Kuril Is.

Magnitude 7.4 Quake Strikes EAST OF THE KURIL ISLANDS

Earthquake Details
Magnitude: 7.4
Date-Time:

• Thursday, January 15, 2009 at 17:49:39 UTC
• Friday, January 16, 2009 at 03:49:39 AM at epicenter

20-degree Quake Map Centered at 45°N,155°E  – Source: USGS

Location: 46.861°N, 155.154°E
Depth: 36 km (22.4 miles) set by location program
Region: EAST OF THE KURIL ISLANDS
Distances:

• 430 km (270 miles) S of Severo-Kuril’sk, Kuril Islands, Russia
• 590 km (365 miles) ENE of Kuril’sk, Kuril Islands
• 1785 km (1110 miles) NE of TOKYO, Japan
• 7245 km (4500 miles) NE of MOSCOW, Russia

Location Uncertainty: horizontal +/- 3.6 km (2.2 miles); depth fixed by location program
Source:  USGS NEIC (WDCS-D)
Event ID: us2009bwa8

Source: NOAA/NWS

Tectonic Summary:

The Kuril Islands earthquake of January 15th, 2009 occurred as a result of thrust faulting within the Pacific plate. The event occurred near the outer-rise of the Pacific plate about 30 km to the east of where the Pacific plate subducts beneath the Okhotsk plate. In this region, the Pacific plate moves northwest with respect to the Okhotsk plate with a velocity of about 90 mm/yr.

Large and great earthquakes are not uncommon in this region. The location of this event is approximately 90 km to the northeast of the Mw 8.1 outer rise earthquake of January 13th 2007, which occurred as a result of normal faulting near the Pacific plate outer-rise. On November 15th 2006, an Mw 8.3 subduction-related thrust earthquake occurred approximately 160km to the southwest. [Source: USGS]

Tsunami Warning:
NO destructive Pacific-wide tsunami is expected.

Related Links:

• Earthquakes [Index page]

Second Airbus Plunges into Water

Second Airbus  in less than 50 days plunges into the water

Flying an Airbus? Don’t fly on even days!

A US Airways Airbus with 155 passengers and crew  plunged into the Hudson River in New York City.

The US Airways Airbus A320 crashed less than a minute after taking off from New York LaGuardia Airport heading for Charlotte, North Carolina. All 150 passengers, three flight crew and two pilots were reportedly rescued, however, some passengers were later treated for undisclosed injuries.

The aircraft sank minutes after the rescue operation had ended.

Airbus A320 becomes a submarine. Passengers are rescued in an inflatable raft from a US Airways Airbus 320 aircraft that went down in the Hudson River in NYC on Thursday. (AP Photo/Bebeto Matthews). Image may be subject to copyright.

On November 28, 2008, an Air New Zealand Airbus A320 crashed into the Mediterranean off Perpignan, southeastern France, killing all seven pilots and airline employees. There were no passengers on board.

Flying, Airbus safe?

Fearsome Flying Facts:
Did you know that on a flight from New York to Charlotte, North Carolina [flight duration of 1 hour 47 mins.,] each passenger produces about 1,000 lbs. of   carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e) greenhouse gasses?  That is the equivalent of driving a mid-size car for a month!

Airbus Crash Stats:
If you really have to fly because your life depends on it [sic,] and if you are flying an Airbus, then fly on odd days of the month because the Airbus is statistically twice more likely to crash on even days!

Gremlins’ Slant: “Will keep the trend constant for the next 10 years; will let the odds even out!”

A list of Airbus A-320 crashes in recent years

• November 28, 2008 – Air New Zealand Airbus A320 crashed into the Mediterranean off Perpignan, southeastern France, killing all seven pilots and airline employees. There were no passengers on board.

• October 7 – Qantas Flight 72 an Airbus A330-300 made an emergency landing in Exmouth, Australia after a rapid descent that left about 70 people injured, 14 of them seriously.

• June 10, 2008 – Sudan Airways Flight 109, an Airbus A310, crashed at Khartoum International Airport, catching fire as it broke apart, killing 30 people [another 6 are listed as missing.]

• May 30, 2008 – TACA Airlines Flight 390, an Airbus A320, overruns the runway at Toncontín International Airport in Tegucigalpa, Honduras, killing five (including two on ground).

• January 10, 2008 – Air Canada Flight 190, an Airbus A319, experienced turbulence over the Canadian Rocky Mountains. Ten of  the 88 people on board were injured, and the plane was  forced to divert and make an emergency landing at Calgary International Airport.

• July 17, 2007 – TAM Airlines Flight 3054, an Airbus A320, crashed in São Paulo, Brazil, killing all 187 on board and 12 people on the ground.

• July 9, 2006 – S7 Airlines Flight 778, an Airbus A310, crashed into a barricade and caught fire on landing in Irkutsk, Russia, killing 128 of the 203 people on board.

• May 3, 2006 – An Armenian A320 Airbus plunged into the Black Sea moments after starting its descent into the Russian resort of Sochi, killing all 113 passengers and crew.

• September 21,2005 – JetBlue Airways Flight 292, an Airbus A320, made an emergency landing in Los Angeles because of landing gear steering failure. No injuries were reported.

• August 2, 2005 – Air France Flight 358, an Airbus A340, skids off a runway in Toronto, Ontario, while landing and catches fire; all 309 on board escape without fatalities or serious injuries, but the aircraft is completely destroyed by the fire.

• November 12, 2001 – American Airlines Flight 587, an Airbus A300, crashes into a Queens neighborhood in New York City when the plane’s vertical tail fin snaps just after takeoff. All 251 passengers and nine crew members on board are killed as well as five people on the ground.

• On August 23, 2000. The Gulf Air Airbus A320, on a flight from Cairo, crashed into shallow waters in the gulf as it was attempting to land in Bahrain, killing a 143 passengers and 8 crew on board.

• January 30, 2000 – Kenya Airways Flight 431, an Airbus A310, carrying 169 passengers and 10 crew members, crashes into the Atlantic Ocean off Côte d’Ivoire after takeoff from Abidjan. Only ten people survive.

• December 11, 1998 – Thai Airways Flight 261, an Airbus A310, crashes during poor weather near Surat Thani, Thailand. Of the 146 people on board, 102 are killed.

• March 22, 1998 – Philippine Airlines Flight 137, an Airbus A320, overshoots the end of the runway while landing at Bacolod City in the Philippines, plowing through several houses. None of the passengers were harmed, but three people on the ground were killed and several more injured.

• February 16, 1998 – China Airlines Flight 676, an Airbus A300, crashes into a residential area while attempting to land in Taipei, Taiwan. All 196 people on board are killed, in addition to six on the ground.

• September 26, 1997 – Garuda Indonesia Flight 152, an Airbus A300, crashes into a mountain near Buah Nabar, Indonesia killing all 234 on board.

• March 31 1995 – Tarom Flight 371, an Airbus A310, crashed near Baloteşti, Romania killing all 60 people on board.

• April 26, 1994 – China Airlines Flight 140, an Airbus A300, crashed during landing at Nagoya, Japan killing 264 of the 271 people on board.

• March 23, 1994 – Aeroflot Flight 593, an Airbus A310, crashed into a hillside in Siberia killing all 75 passengers and crew.

• September 14, 1993 – Lufthansa Flight 2904, an Airbus A320, crashed after overrunning the runway in Warsaw, Poland, killing 2 and injuring 68 of the 72 people on board.

• September 28, 1992 – Pakistan International Airlines Flight 268, an Airbus A300, crashes near Kathmandu, Nepal, killing all 12 crew and 155 passengers.

• February 14, 1990 – Indian Airlines Flight 605, an Airbus A320, crashed on its final approach to Bangalore airport killing 92 out of 146 people on board .

• June 26, 1988 – Air France Flight 296, an Airbus A320, made a low pass over Mulhouse-Habsheim Airport in landing configuration during an air show and crashed into trees at the end of the runway, killing 3 of the 130 passengers on board. [Source Wikipedia and others]

Related Links:

• Air New Zealand Flying Coffin Crashes in the Mediterranean
• US Airways Plane Goes Down in Hudson River