MA-ON Stregthens to Cat 4A Typhoon

Typhoon MA-ON Intensifies to a Cat 4A Storm with winds of about 220km/hr

Most models forecast MA-ON making landfall on the island of Shikoku [see daily updates.]

Typhoon MA-ON with the latest projected track based on several models – IR satellite image [8-km res.] Source: CIMSS. Click image to enlarge.

Typhoon MA-ON Summary of Details (as of posting)

• Location: ~ 445km SE of IWO TO, Japan
• Position: ~ 20.7N 140.7E
• Movement and speed: moving west (275 degrees,) at a forward speed of about 15 km/hr
• Maximum sustained winds: 220 km/hr
• Wind gusts: up to 270 km/hr
• Estimated time of [first] landfall: July 19 @ 20:00UTC [See daily updates]
• Remarks: MA-ON will likely become a super typhoon as it heads NW moving over warmer waters. The typhoon could make a second landfall on the Honshu Island before it exits land, returning to the Pacific Ocean. (FIRE-EARTH forecast based on data from various sources.)

Typhoon MA-ON – MTSAT2 –Full View – IR Satellite Image.  Source: Digital Typhoon. Click image to enlarge. Click HERE to update.

Typhoon MA-ON with the latest projected track based on several models – WV satellite image [8-km res.] Source: CIMSS. Click image to enlarge.

Typhoon MA-ON – MTSAT2 – Source: Digital Typhoon. Click image to enlarge.

MA-ON Animation

• Last 24 Hours : MPEG / WMV
• Last 120 Hours : MPEG / WMV
• Last 240 Hours : MPEG / WMV

Related Links

• MA-ON Racing to Super Typhoon Status Posted on July 14, 2011
• Satellite Imagery
• FEWW New Hurricane Scale

Significant Quake Rattles Tokyo Area

Magnitude 5.5 Quake in Ibaraki Pref Rattles a Vast Area

The 5.5Mw quake, epicentered at 36.3N, 140.1E, struck about 59 km NNE of Tokyo at a depth of 60 km at 21:01 JST (UTC + 9 hrs) on 15 July 15, 2011, Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) said.

There was NO tsunami associated with this quake.

Distances [USGS]

• 47 km (29 miles) WSW (239°) from Mito, Honshu, Japan
• 59 km (37 miles) NNE (25°) from TOKYO, Japan
• 91 km (56 miles) ESE (108°) from Maebashi, Honshu, Japan

Earthquake Location Map. Source: USGS-EHP

Japan Earthquake Forecasts

• Japan Mega Quake Warning Posted  on July 10, 2011

• TOKYO AREA QUAKE WARNING Posted on March 16, 2011
• FIRE-EARTH Forecasts: Japan Earthquakes Posted on March 13, 2011
• MEGA QUAKE STRIKES NEAR THE EAST COAST OF HONSHU
• Tectonics Update – March 10
• Strong Earthquake Strikes East of Honshu, Japan Posted on June 13, 2010
• M6.5 Strikes East Coast of Honshu, Japan Posted on July 5, 2010
• Honshu Earthquake Warning Posted  on November 10, 2010

Related Links

• Magnitude 7.1 Quake Strikes Off Sanriku, Japan
• Japan Earthquakes, Disasters: Recent History and FIRE-EARTH Forecasts

• FEWW Volcano Links
• Volcanoes
• FEWW Earthquake Links

US Weather: SW, SE Continue to Boil

Dangerously hot and humid conditions, flooding and severe weather

Unrelenting heat to continue unabated in the SW and south-central Plains and parts of the Southeast: NWS

Excessive heat is forecast to return “with a vengeance through much of next week.” The NWS hazards assessment map indicates excessive heat would return to two regions, covering parts of at least 24 states. Click image to enlarge.

Triple digit temperatures with heat index of about 120 degrees (49ºC) forecast across the South Thursday, with “no end in sight for the blazing temperatures.”

“Excessive Heat Watches and Warnings and Heat Advisories are in effect over a dozen states and high temperatures are expected to spread again across more of the South.” Forecasters said.

Excessive heat is forecast to return “with a vengeance through much of next week” to two regions covering at least 24 states. See above map.

Thursday’s weather hazards include:

• Dangerously hot and humid conditions across the Southeast
• Flooding continues and worsens in some parts of the northern and central Plains
• Severe weather will be a threat in the north-central Plains and the Upper Midwest

High temperatures for today in parts of the country hoping for relief include:

• Texas: Dallas 101, San Antonio 99, Waco 104, Wichita Falls 106
• Oklahoma: Oklahoma City 101, Tulsa 100, Woodward 101
• Kansas: Dodge City 100, Garden City 100, Goodland 94, Hill City 99, Topeka 94, Wichita 99
• Missouri: Kansas City 91
• Arkansas: Fort Smith 99, Pine Bluff 94
• Louisiana: Shreveport 100
• Mississippi: Tupelo 96

Daily high temperatures through Monday would be in triple digits (NWS forecast), including:

• 105 degrees or more in Wichita Falls, 102 or higher in Waco
• 100-102 in Wichita, 100-105 in Dodge City, 102 and higher in Hill City

U.S. Weather Hazards Map. Click image to enter interactive portal.

Related Links

• Entering 2nd Stage of New Climatic Extremes
• Dangerous heat spreads to Mid-Atlantic
• Dangerous heat, exceptional drought, severe storms, major flooding
• Mega Heatwaves Could Kill Thousands in the U.S.
• Back to the Primordial Future
• Brace for the Worst Ever
• WARNING: Global Disasters to Intensify
• Global Climate Extremes INTENSIFYING

Climate-Related Links

• U.S. Climate June: Extremes of Temp and Precipitation
• Epic flood threats through summer as more rain predicted
• Major Dust Storm Moves Across Arizona
• NO CHANCE: Malnourished kids fleeing Somalia’s drought

External Links

• Heat Safety Information

FIRE halts BP oil production at Valhall platform, North Sea

Valhall oil platform evacuated, production suspended indefinitely

The fire, which started in a compressor on the platform at 15:00UTC, forced BP to evacuated 638 workers and shut down the platform, according to NRK, the Norwegian state broadcaster.

“No persons are injured and no one is missing,” BP spokesman Jan Erik Geirmo told NRK. “We see this as a serious incident.”

“How it was ignited, we have no idea,” he said. “If any place should burn, it was one of the best places for it to happen. It had no big potential to escalate. But a fire is a fire.”

Valhall oil field is located at a depth of about 70 meters in the Norwegian sector of the North Sea some  290 km (180 miles) off southern Norway. Discovered in 1975, the oil field became operational in 1982.

Valhall has a total production capacity of about 180,000 bpd, however it was only producing about  42,000 bpd before the fire because, according to BP, the platform was old.

Hess, a New-York listed company is the majority owner of Valhall oil field with a 64 percent share, with  operator BP holding 36 percent.

Valhall Oil Platform Complex. Source BP. Click image to enlarge.

Related Links

• Disasters Caused by Oil and Gas Drilling, Oil Spills, Leaks, Polluting Land, Water and Air