Rick Strengthens to Cat 5 Hurricane

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Rick Intensifies to a Ferocious Category 5 Hurricane Near Mexico’s Pacific Coast

Rick is now an extremely dangerous category 5 hurricane headed toward Baja California peninsula.

Satellite imagery indicates that Rick has maximum sustained winds of 260 km/h (160 mph), the U.S. National Hurricane Center said.

A Category 5 hurricane, the highest on the five-level Saffir-Simpson scale, Rick could cause catastrophic damage in its path and beyond.

As of posting, Rick is about 370km (230 miles) south of Manzanillo, Mexico, and threatens to turn toward the Mexican coast on Tuesday, pummeling Baja California by early Thursday, on to mainland Mexico to dump an unprecedented amount of rain.

Rick is the  seventh hurricane of the season in eastern north Pacific.

GOES Northern Hemisphere Composite SECTOR IR Image

Hurricane Rick  at Cat 5  Strength – Northern Hemisphere Composite Sector (IR Ch 4) – still image dated as inset. Click image to enlarge and update.

Unenhanced satellite image of Rick at Cat 5 strength showing textbook eye and near-perfect symmetry

Hurricane Rick – Cat 5 – Still image – Dated as inset. Click image to enlarge and update.

Coastal Watches/Warnings and 5-Day Track Forecast Cone

Still image – Dated as inset. Click image to enlarge and update.

Tropical Storm Force Wind Speed Probabilities – 120 Hours

Still image – Dated as inset. Click image to enlarge and update.

GOES Full Disk East IR- Still image. Click image to enlarge and update. [Images are updated every three (3) hours.]

Other Images of Rick

Hurricane Rick – Cat 5 – AVNColor enhancement-  Still image – Dated as inset. Click image to enlarge and update.

NOAA Polar Mapped Mosaic Composites Showing Typhoon Lupit and Hurricane Rick

Still image – Dated as inset. Click image to enlarge and update.

Other Satellite Images

GOES Satellite: East Pacific :  Hurricane Rick(EP20)

• Visible  Image – Java – Flash
• IR AVN  Image – Java – Flash
• IR Shortwave  Image – Java – Flash
• IR Dvorak*  Image – Java – Flash
• IR Unenhanced  Image – Java – Flash
• IR JSL  Image – Java – Flash
• IR RGB  Image – Java – Flash
• IR Funktop  Image – Java – Flash
• IR Rainbow  Image – Java – Flash
• Water Vapor  Image – Java – Flash

Additional Images:

• FEWW Satellite Imagery List

Related Links:

• Rick Strengthens to a Major Hurricane

VolcanoWatch Weekly [7 October 2009]

VOW:  Ambrym

Destructive acid rain caused by eruption

According to press reports, an eruption from Benbow Crater occurred on 10 February [1979.]  Gases from the eruption caused acid rainfall on the SW portion of Ambrym Island, destroying most vegetation within 24 hours, contaminating water supplies, and burning some inhabitants. Jean-Luc Saos, Director of Mineral Resources for the New Hebrides government, reported a high concentration of HCl and sulfur compounds in the volcanic gases. Although heavy ashfalls have occurred in the area in the past, this is the first report of acid rains. More …

View of the Marum cone at Ambrym looking SW, 7 June 2007. Incandescence from the active lava lakes can be seen reflected in the clouds (left). Courtesy of Steven Clegg.

Lava lake inside Mbwelesu crater within Marum cone at Ambrym, 7 June 2007. Courtesy of Steven Clegg.

A hazy layer of vog—volcanic fog—overlies Malekula and a few other islands of the Vanuatu archipelago in this natural-color satellite image. The source of the vog is Ambrym, a volcano in the southeast (lower right) corner of this scene. The haze extends over the Coral Sea several hundred kilometers to the northwest. Ambrym emits sulfur dioxide—the gas responsible for the formation of vog— intermittently. (Kilauea Volcano has recently affected the residents of Hawaii with similar vog emissions.)  The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) aboard NASA’s Aqua satellite acquired this natural-color image on October 6, 2009. [Large earthquake measuring up to 8.2 Mw struck Vanuatu region  on October 7, 2009 at 22:03 UTC. FEWW] NASA image by Jeff Schmaltz, MODIS Rapid Response, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center. The Rapid Response Team provides twice-daily images of this region. Caption by Robert Simmon.

Ash plume from Ambrym Volcano, Vanuatu October 4, 2004, 23:00 UTC.  Source: NASA/MODIS Rapid Response System.

View into the Mbwelesu crater on the Marum cone at Ambrym, captured 7 September 2008. Lava can be seen through two gaps in the crusted-over lava lake (enlarged insets). Courtesy of Arnold Binas.

Ambrym, a large basaltic volcano with a 12-km-wide caldera, is one of the most active volcanoes of the New Hebrides arc. A thick, almost exclusively pyroclastic sequence, initially dacitic, then basaltic, overlies lava flows of a pre-caldera shield volcano. The caldera was formed during a major plinian eruption with dacitic pyroclastic flows about 1900 years ago. Post-caldera eruptions, primarily from Marum and Benbow cones, have partially filled the caldera floor and produced lava flows that ponded on the caldera floor or overflowed through gaps in the caldera rim. Post-caldera eruptions have also formed a series of scoria cones and maars along a fissure system oriented ENE-WSW. Eruptions have apparently occurred almost yearly during historical time from cones within the caldera or from flank vents. However, from 1850 to 1950, reporting was mostly limited to extra-caldera eruptions that would have affected local populations. Caption: GVP

Ambtym
Country: Vanuatu
Subregion Name: Vanuatu
Volcano Number: 0507-04=
Volcano Type: Pyroclastic shield
Volcano Status: Historical
Last Known Eruption: 2009
Summit Elevation: 1334 m 4,377 feet
Latitude: 16.25°S 16°15’0″S
Longitude: 168.12°E 168°7’0″E

SI /USGS Weekly Volcanic Activity Report
(30 September – 6 October 2009)

New activity/Unrest:

• Chaitén, Southern Chile
• Cleveland, Chuginadak Island
• Galeras, Colombia
• Gaua, Banks Islands (SW Pacific)
• Karymsky, Eastern Kamchatka (Russia)
• Kliuchevskoi, Central Kamchatka (Russia)
• Sakura-jima, Kyushu
• Shiveluch, Central Kamchatka (Russia)
• Soufrière Hills, Montserrat

News From GVP:

On 29 September, people living in Chaitén town, 10 km SW of Chaitén’s Domo Nuevo 1 (Phase I) and Domo Nuevo 2 (Phase II) lava-dome complex, noticed that the eruption column was larger. Scientists conducted an overflight and saw a third lava dome (Phase III) in the SW area of the complex, which had filled up a depression left by a collapse on 19 February.

According to news articles from 2 October, increased seismicity at Gaua was detected during the previous two weeks. Villagers living nearby reported ashfall and sulfur odors.

An explosive eruption from Galeras on 30 September prompted INGEOMINAS to raise the Alert Level. An ash plume rose to an approximate altitude of 12.3 km (40,400 ft) a.s.l. and drifted E, then N. —GVP

Ongoing Activity:

• Batu Tara, Komba Island (Indonesia)
• Dukono, Halmahera
• Kilauea, Hawaii
• Langila, New Britain
• Popocatépetl, México
• Rabaul, New Britain
• Reventador, Ecuador
• Sangay, Ecuador
• Suwanose-jima, Ryukyu Islands (Japan)

Related Links:

• Messages From Earth’s Powerhouse
• Weekly Volcano Watch: 19 March 2009

• A New Era of Intense Volcanic Unrest May Have Begun
• Tonga’s Metis Shoal may be erupting
• Rumble III Volcano “blew its top!”
• Volcanoes
• Earthquakes

FEWW Volcanic Activity Forecast

• Sumatra’s Mt Kerinci Erupts

• Sumatra’s Mt Kerinci Erupts
• Volcano Watch Weekly: 23 April 2009

• Weekly Volcano Watch: 16 April 2009
• Weekly Volcano Watch: 2 April 2009

• FEWW Volcano Links
• Volcanoes
• FEWW Earthquake Links

Other Related Links:

• U.S. Volcano Status Map
• Elevated Activity Page
• U.S. Volcano Webcams

Recent Posts on Chaitén:

• Chaitén: A New Phase of Activity?
• Chaitén Still Awake!
• Chaitén: Volcano with a Mission?
• Chaitén: Volcano that Doesn’t Sleep

Hurricane Jimena Down to Cat 3

Hurricane Jimena Weakens to a Category 3B on FEWW Hurricane Scale

Hurricane Jimena weakens to a Category 3B on FEWW Hurricane Scale (Cat 3 on Saffir Simpson scale) with maximum sustained winds of about 201 km/h (125 mph), still a major hurricane.

Summary of Hurricane Jimena Current Status

Time/Date:  2:00 PM PDT Tuesday, September 1, 2009 (21:00 UTC)

• Location: 21.9°N 111.2°W
  [About 135 Km (85 miles) WSW of Cabo San Lucas, Mexico and About 265 km (165 miles) SSE of Cabo San Lazaro Mexico.]

• Max sustained: 201 km/h (125 mph)

• Moving: NNW (330 degrees) at 19 km/h (12 mph)

• Min pressure: 71.3 cmHg (951 mb)

NHC Warning:

• Hurricane warning remains in effect for the southern portion of the Baja California and other areas [See latest NHC Advisory]

• Conditions are expected to deteriorate over the southern portion of the warning area later today and preparations to protect life and property should be rushed to completion.

• For storm information specific to your area, monitor your national meteorological service.

Palm trees are blown by strong winds in Cabo San Lucas in Mexico’s state of Baja California, as Hurricane Jimena approaches, September 1, 2009. Hurricane Jimena, an extremely dangerous Category 4 storm, barreled toward Mexico’s Baja California peninsula on Tuesday, forcing tourists to flee the Los Cabos resort area. REUTERS/Henry Romero (MEXICO DISASTER ENVIRONMENT IMAGES OF THE DAY).

Jimena is still moving on forecast track in NNW direction at a leisurely speed of about 19 km/h (12 mph), and is expected to continue same next couple of days.

MODIS on NASA’s Terra satellite captured this image at 11:35 a.m., Pacific Daylight Time, on September 1, 2009. At the time this image was taken, Jimena had winds of 215 kilometers per hour (135 miles per hour) with stronger gusts, said NHC. The storm was expected to bring heavy rain—up to 15 inches in some locations, a dangerous storm surge, and battering waves to Baja California. The image has been rotated 17 degrees to the east. NASA image courtesy Jeff Schmaltz, MODIS Rapid Response Team at NASA GSFC. Caption by Holli Riebeek. [Edited by FEWW.]

Click here for the latest loop of the last 12 hours

Related Links and additional images:

• Hurricane JIMENA
• Hurricane Jimena: No Prisoners

Hurricane Jimena UPDATES Are  Posted at:

• Hurricanes 2009

Mag 7.1 Offshore Quake Rattles Honduras

Magnitude 7.1 Strikes Offshore Honduras

Magnitude 7.1 quake struck offshore Honduras, killing at least one person at La Lima and damaging several buildings Thursday.  The quake was felt throughout Honduras as well as  in Belize, where several buildings were also  damaged or destroyed, El Salvador, Guatemala, Mexico and Nicaragua.

Seiche in swimming pools reported at La Ceiba and Roatan, USGS Felt Report said. No tsunami warning was issued.

The mainshock was followed by a 4.8 Mw aftershock, about 40 minutes later.

Location Map. 10-degree Map Centered at 15°N,85°W [USGS]

Earthquake Details:

Magnitude 7.1
Date-Time:

• Thursday, May 28, 2009 at 08:24:45 UTC
• Thursday, May 28, 2009 at 03:24:45 AM at epicenter

Location: 16.729°N, 86.212°W
Depth: 10 km (6.2 miles) set by location program
Region: OFFSHORE HONDURAS
Distances:

• 125 km (75 miles) NNE of La Ceiba, Honduras
• 220 km (135 miles) N of TEGUCIGALPA, Honduras
• 310 km (195 miles) NNE of TEGUCIGALPA, Honduras
• 1185 km (730 miles) SSW of Miami, Florida

Location Uncertainty: horizontal +/- 4.3 km (2.7 miles); depth fixed by location program
Parameters: NST=290, Nph=290, Dmin=316.9 km, Rmss=1.15 sec, Gp= 36°,  M-type=teleseismic moment magnitude (Mw), Version=8

Source: USGS NEIC (WDCS-D)
Event ID us2009heak

NOAA/NWS/West Coast and Alaska Tsunami Warning Center

A strong earthquake has occurred, but a tsunami IS NOT expected along the coasts of Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, U.S. Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico states, and Eastern Canadian provinces. NO tsunami warning, watch or advisory is in effect for these areas.

Based on the earthquake location, magnitude, and historic tsunami records, a damaging tsunami IS NOT expected along the Puerto Rico, Virgin Islands, U.S. Atlantic, Eastern Canadian and Gulf of Mexico coasts. Earthquakes of this size can generate destructive tsunamis along the coast near the epicenter. Authorities in the epicentral region should be aware of this possibility and take appropriate action.

Related Links:

• Earthquake Information for Central America
• FEWW Earthquake Links

Deluge Across the World

Water, Water Everywhere!

“A Conspiracy Against the Public”: For reasons unknown to Moderators, Google has blocked this post.

In the past week dozens of world’s cities and regions have been flooded:

Romania: Areas north of Bucharest
Ukraine: Western Ivano-Frankivsk region
India: Western city of Ahmedabad, the plains of Asam, eastern city of Patna

People make their way along a flooded park in Xiangfan, Hubei province, China, July 23, 2008. REUTERS/Stringer. Image may be subject to copyright. See FEWW Fair use Notice!

Bangladesh: Northeastern regions
New Zealand: Various areas throughout the islands
South Korea: Seoul and the country’s central regions
UK: Shropshire, West Midlands
Mexico: City of Matamoros and nearby regions
United States: Southern Texas, New Mexico, central Alabama, northeast Missouri,
China: Provinces of Jiangsu, Hubei, Sichuan and Hualien

Related Links:

• Photo Album
• Floods in Eastern Europe Kill 26