Major Disaster Declared for Connecticut

Connecticut Declared Federal Disaster Area

Connecticut Severe Winter Storm and Snowstorm (DR-4213)

The White House has declared a major disaster exists in the State of Connecticut due to the damage and losses caused by a a severe winter storm and snowstorm during the period of January 26-28, 2015.

Areas in the Constitution State [“Corrupticut”] that have been worst affected by the severe winter storm and snowstorm are New London, Tolland, and Windham counties.

Additional designations may be made at a later date if requested by the state and warranted by the results of further damage assessments, said the Federal Coordinating Officer for federal recovery operations in the affected area.

Related Links

• Major Disaster Declared for Rhode Island April 5, 2015
• Federal Disaster Declarations
• Drought
• Agricultural Disasters Index

Connecticut Declares Ebola Health Emergency, Authorizes Quarantines

GLOBAL HEALTH EMERGENCY
EMERGING & RE-EMERGING INFECTIOUS DISEASES
VIRAL HEMORRHAGIC FEVERS
EBOLA HEALTH EMERGENCY IN CONNECTICUT
EBOLA EPIDEMIC IN WEST AFRICA
SCENARIOS 797, 444, 333, 080, 011
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CT Gov. authorizes quarantines, after declaring Ebola a ‘public health emergency’

Gov. Malloy has declared a “public health emergency” for the state of Connecticut and signed an order on Tuesday authorizing the Department of Public Health to quarantine potentially infected individuals/groups.

“We are taking this action today to ensure that we are prepared, in advance, to deal with any identified cases in which someone has been exposed to the virus or, worst case, infected,” said Malloy.

“It is essential to be prepared and we need to have the authorities in place that will allow us to move quickly to protect public health, if and when that becomes necessary,” he added.

“While local health officials are certainly on the front lines of this effort, at the ready to address any situation, having this order in place will allow us to have a more coordinated response in the event that someone in Connecticut either tests positive for Ebola or has been identified as someone who is at risk of developing it,” said Commissioner Mullen of the Department of Public Health.

With the the emergency proclamation in place, “we don’t have to scramble in the event I need to take action.” said Mullen.

There are no Ebola cases currently in Connecticut, and the order is meant as a precaution in case someone with either a confirmed infection or suspected of carrying the virus enters the state.

Other U.S. states seem to have been left with little option but to follow the precedent set by the Connecticut governor.

In Massachusetts and New Hampshire, the respective state health commissioners have the authority to quarantine anyone suspected of exposure to Ebola virus.

Ebola in Brief

Symptoms of Ebola include

• Fever (greater than 38.6°C or 101.5°F)
• Severe headache
• Muscle pain
• Weakness
• Diarrhea
• Vomiting
• Abdominal pain
• Unexplained hemorrhage (bleeding or bruising)

Symptoms may appear anywhere from 2 to 21 days after exposure to Ebola, but the average is 8 to 10 days.

Recovery from Ebola depends on the patient’s immune response. People who recover from Ebola infection develop antibodies that last for at least 10 years. [Source: CDC]

Global Health Emergency

WHO declared the Ebola outbreak in West Africa  a ‘Public Health Emergency of International Concern,’ under the International Health Regulations on August 8, 2014.

Related Links

• Ebola outbreak devastating West Africa could spread globally October 1, 2014

States of Emergency Declared for NY & CT

EXTREME WEATHER AND CLIMATIC EVENTS
STATES OF EMERGENCY
DEADLY ICE & SNOWSTORM
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Major Storm Continues to Pound U.S. Northeast

States of emergency have now been declared for 12 states in the south, southeast and northeast since the weekend, as a deadly storm continues to track up U.S. Northeast.

New York: Gov. Cuomo declared a state of emergency Thursday, his  fifth so far this year, as the deadly snowstorm impacted much of New York and the East Coast.

Cuomo’s  declaration is for Clinton, Essex, Franklin and St. Lawrence counties and covers the mid-to-lower Hudson Valley, New York City and Long Island, as well as the North Country, central New York and the Capital Region.

“The roads are dangerous,” declared Cuomo!

Connecticut: Gov. Malloy declared a State of Emergency in Vermont as the storm dumped up to 12 inches of snow on parts of the states, straining Vermont’s reserves of road salt.

Additional snow was forecast to fall early morning Friday, keeping schools closed.

120 Million of People Affected

The massive storm system has affected an estimated 120 millions people in 22 states from Texas to Maine, leaving at least 14 people dead and many injured, as of posting.

Winter Storm Warnings, Watches and Advisories were in effect from Georgia to Maine, Tuesday through Friday. Forecasters have warned the powerful system could dump up to 18 inches (46 cm) of snow over the Atlantic Coast through Saturday.

• 7-day Storm Animation [valid February 8 – 14, 2014 ]

Latest Weather Forecast by NWS

Winter Storm Moving through the Northeast

The same storm that brought heavy snow and significant ice accumulations to the Southeast and Mid-Atlantic has moved up the East Coast, bringing significant winter weather to the Northeast. Heavy snow and gusty winds are expected in parts of the Appalachians and New England into Friday. Conditions will begin to improve as the storm pulls away into the Canadian Maritimes by Friday afternoon.

U.S. Weather Hazards Map (Hazmap)  for Thursday, February 14, 2014. Issued at 3:32UTC. Source: NWS. UPDATE

States of Emergency Declared for 12  States

Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, Maryland, New Jersey, Tennessee, New York and Connecticut have now declared States of Emergency due to the massive storm.

“This is not the storm we had two weeks ago, where we were playing in the snow and building snowmen. This is an ice storm,” said Gov Haley, as she declared a State of Emergency for South Carolina.

Flight Cancellations and Delays

More than 12,000 flights into, within, or from the United States have been canceled and thousands more delayed Tuesday through early Friday. The trend is expected to continue through weekend.

Federal Emergency Disaster Declared for the State of Georgia

The White House has declared a federal emergency in the State of Georgia resulting from a severe winter storm beginning on February 10, 2014, and continuing.

The emergency disaster declaration will provide federal disaster relief to “lessen or avert the threat of a catastrophe” in the counties of Banks, Barrow, Bartow, Carroll, Catoosa, Chattooga, Cherokee, Clarke, Cobb, Dade, Dawson, DeKalb, Douglas, Elbert, Fannin, Floyd, Forsyth, Franklin, Fulton, Gilmer, Gordon, Gwinnett, Habersham, Hall, Haralson, Hart, Jackson, Lincoln, Lumpkin, Madison, Murray, Oconee, Oglethorpe, Paulding, Pickens, Polk, Rabun, Stephens, Towns, Union, Walker, Walton, White, Whitfield, and Wilkes.

White House Issues Federal Emergency Disaster Declaration for South Carolina

The White House has declared a  Federal Emergency Disaster in the State of South Carolina resulting from a severe ice and snowstorm beginning on February 10, 2014, and continuing.

Energy Emergency

The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) extended on Wednesday the regional States of Emergency Declarations, Waivers, Exemptions & Permits for transporting propane throughout the United States.

A total of at least 36 states and District of Columbia are currently impacted by shortages of propane and other heating fuels.

States covered by the emergency declarations include:

• Western Service Center: North Dakota and South Dakota
• Southern Service Center: Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina and Tennessee
• Eastern Service Center: Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia and West Virginia
• Midwestern Service Center: Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, Ohio and Wisconsin

Colorado Gov Issued Emergency Declaration to Authorize Temporary Exception to Hours of Service Regulations for CMVs Used for Propane Transport on February 7, 2014.

Texas Gov Renews Proclamation Declaring Liquefied Petroleum Gas Emergency [Feb. 4, 2014.]

Connecticut Provides Emergency Exemption from Hours of Service of Drivers [Feb. 11, 2014.]

S. Carolina Gov Issues Emergency Declaration for Severe Winter Weather Impact [Feb. 11, 2014.]

S. Carolina Gov Issues Executive Order to Waive Truck Restrictions  [Feb. 11, 2014.]

N.  Carolina Governor Temporarily Suspends Motor Vehicle Regulations … [Feb. 11, 2014.]

Related Links

• State of Emergency Declared in Tennessee February 13, 2014
• NJ Declares State of Emergency Ahead of Deadly Snowstorm February 13, 2014
• State of Emergency Declared in Maryland February 12, 2014
• Virginia Declares State of Emergency Ahead of Deadly Storm February 12, 2014
• Deadly Ice and Snow Blanket U.S. South February 12, 2014
• States of Emergency Declared in 4 States February 11, 2014
• States of Emergency Declared in New York, Pennsylvania February 6, 2014
• Disaster Emergency Declared in Multiple States Feb. 5, 2014
• State of Disaster Emergency Declared in Kansas Feb. 5, 2014
• State of Emergency Declared in New Jersey  February 4, 2014

Energy Emergency Links

• Never Mind the Salt, Propane Shortage Biting Hard Feb.  6, 2014
• Deadly Winter Storm Prompts States of Emergency in Georgia, Carolinas  January 29, 2014
• States of Emergency Declared in Alabama, Louisiana, Minnesota, Mississippi …  January 28, 2014

• Wisconsin Declares State of Emergency over Extreme Cold, Fuel Shortage January 26, 2014
• Louisiana Declares 2nd State of Emergency due to Dangerous Cold January 25, 2014
• State of Emergency Declared for Louisiana January 24, 2014

• Energy Emergency Declared for Alabama January 24, 2014
• Tennessee Declares Statewide Energy Emergency January 22, 2014
• Ohio Declares Statewide Energy Emergency January 20, 2014
• State of Emergency Declared in Oklahoma due to Propane Shortage January 8, 2014

Crop Disaster Declared For 8 States Due to Extreme Weather

EXTREME WEATHER & CLIMATIC EVENTS
MULTIPLE CROP DISASTERS
.

Crop disasters declared in 43 counties due to drought, flash flooding, flooding, excessive heat, excessive rain, lightning, high wind…

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has designated ten counties in two states—Maine and New Hampshire—as crop disaster areas due to losses caused by flash flooding, flooding, excessive heat, excessive rain, lightning and high wind that occurred April 1 – October 31, 2013.
Those counties are

• Maine: Androscoggin, Oxford, Sagadahoc, Cumberland, Franklin, Kennebec, Lincoln and York counties.

• New Hampshire: Carroll and Coos counties.

Excessive Moisture and Heat

USDA has designated a total of eight counties in Massachusetts and Connecticut as crop disaster areas due to losses caused by excessive moisture and heat that occurred during the 2013 crop year.

Those counties are

• Massachusetts: Hampden, Hampshire, Berkshire, Franklin and Worcester counties.

• Connecticut: Hartford, Litchfield and Tolland counties.

Crop Disaster Declared for 25 Counties in Four States due to Drought

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has designated 25 counties in four states as crop disaster areas due to the recent drought. The disaster designations are for the states of California, Oregon, New Mexico and Colorado.

• The disaster designation areas in California are Del Norte, Humboldt and Siskiyou counties.

• Oregon: Curry and Josephine counties.

• New Mexico:  DeBaca, Harding, Rio Arriba, Taos, Chaves, Los Alamos, Roosevelt, San Miguel, Colfax, Mora, Sandoval, Santa Fe, Guadalupe, Quay, San Juan, Union and  Lincoln counties.

• Colorado: Archuleta, Conejos and Costilla counties.

Notes:
1. USDA trigger point for a countywide disaster declaration is 30 percent crop loss on at least one crop.

2. The total number of counties designated as agricultural disaster areas includes both primary and contiguous disaster areas.

3. The U.S. has a total of 3,143 counties and county-equivalents.

4. A number of counties have been designated crop disaster areas more than once due to multiple disasters.

5. The disaster designations were approved by USDA on February 5, 2014.

2014 Federal and Agriculture Disaster Declarations

• UPDATE: Drought Causes Crop Disaster in 25 Counties across 4 States February 6, 2014
• California Drought Worsens February 6, 2014
• California Drought Could Paralyze the U.S.  February 2, 2014
• California Drops State Water Allocation to Zero  February 1, 2014
• California Drought Intensifies January 30, 2014
• California Communities Could Run Out of Water in 60 to 120 Days January 29, 2014
• Drought Disaster Declared for Multiple Counties in Four States January 25, 2014
• California Declares Drought State of Emergency January 18, 2014
• California Governor to Declare Drought Emergency January 17, 2014
• High Fire Danger in Southern California amid Driest Conditions on Record January 17, 2014
• 520 Counties across 16 States Declared Crop Disaster Areas due to Drought January 16, 2014
• Crop Disaster Declared in 40 Counties due to Drought January 16, 2014
• Crop Disasters Declared in 6 States January 10, 2014

Related Links

• Drought 2013
• Agricultural Disasters Index

Obama’s War of Terror Replayed at Home

DISASTER CALENDAR SYMBOLIC COUNTDOWN: 1,183 Days Left 

[December 15, 2012] Mass die-offs resulting from human impact and the planetary response to the anthropogenic assault could occur by early 2016.

• SYMBOLIC COUNTDOWN: 1,183 Days Left to the most Fateful Day in Human History
• Symbolic countdown to the ‘worst day’ in human history began on May 15, 2011 ...

.

Global Disasters/ Significant Events

28 gunned down in another shameful display of Earth dwellers sick psyche

Dressed in black battle fatigues and a military vest, a heavily armed gunman walked into an elementary school in Newtown, Connecticut, killing at least 27 people, including 20 children and himself. The 28th victim, the alleged shooter’s mother was later found dead at her home.

Wondered Why!!

Could it be that the countless massacres of women and children by the U.S. and NATO forces in Afghanistan and elsewhere had something to do with this, a ‘karmic’ fallout of the serial wars perhaps?

“We’ve endured too many of these tragedies in the past few years,” Obama said during a televised appearance in the White House.

They Were All-American Kids!!

“I know there’s not a parent in America who doesn’t feel the same overwhelming grief that I do,” said the Mechanic of Death in Chief.

After all, these were “beautiful little kids between the ages of 5 and 10 years old,” living in a wealthy, wooded New England town,  not some Afghan kids living in squalor who would grow up to be terrorists [sic.]

“Our hearts are broken today, for the parents, and grandparents, sisters and brothers of these little children and for the families of the adults who were lost,” said the Ace of Spades, calling for “meaningful action” to prevent more massacres.

Thousands of Afghan children and adults have been killed by heavily armed gunmen dressed in battle fatigues and military vests in Obama’s war of terror on Afghanistan.

Global Disasters: Links, Forecasts and Background

• The First Wave of World’s Collapsing Cities
• Back to the Primordial Future
• The Fate of Energy Dinosaurs
• Mass Die-offs

• 2010 Disasters [Links to 2010 Disaster Calendar]
• Mega Disasters
• 2011 Disaster Calendar
• 2012 Disaster Calendar

GLOBAL WARNING

• WARNING: Human impact 2.85 x Earth’s diminishing carrying capacity
• WARNING: RAPID DECLINE IN PROGRESS!
• Europe: The First Phase of Collapse Has Started 
• United States: The First Phase of Collapse Has Begun

NE U.S. Blizzard, Rainstorm GOES Movies

Late winter rainstorms pummeled  NE U.S.

And the severe weather season hasn’t even begun yet!

The northeastern U.S. was pummeled by blizzards, swamped by heavy flooding, and battered by late winter storms. Two movies of the events were captured by NASA Satellite GOES-12 between February 1 and 16, and March 8 and 16, 2010.

This is a still image of the well-developed storm on March 15, 2010 at 2115 UTC (4:15 p.m. ET) the New England coast. Source: NASA GOES Project

“Following the Nor’easter ‘parade of blizzards’ in February this year, another week-long parade of storms flooded the upper Midwest and Northeastern U.S. in March,” said a NASA GOES Project official. “The merge of three storms in the Midwest was unusual, where the normal pattern is a series of spring storms carried by the prevailing westerlies (winds).”

“The movie was created by overlaying the clouds observed several times per hour by NOAA’s GOES Imager onto a true-color map previously derived from NASA’s Moderate Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) land-mapping instrument. The infrared channels on GOES detect clouds day and night, which are portrayed as grey for low clouds and white for high clouds. The movie compresses nine days into two minutes. It illustrates how continental-scale land/sea/air phenomena come together to make large late winter storms.” NASA Website said.

“Heavy rains that hit the northeast cause flooding, fatalities, power outages and damages. Downed trees from rain-soaked roots toppled power lines. Outages were reported in Connecticut, Maine, New Jersey, New York and Pennsylvania. Literally thousands of trees were reported felled in Connecticut and New York. Flooding forced evacuations and put roadways under water. As far north as Maine, parts of the state received more than eight inches of rain. ”

Total rainfall for the first 19 days of March:

• Boston: 7.45″
• Bridgeport, Conn: 4.02″
• Newark, NJ: 5.24″
• New York City: 4.72″
• Portland, Maine: 3.57″ of rain.

Most of that rainfall was caused by the storms.

The link to the movies: (Unfortunately, the movie were available only in one format, MP4, as of posting.)

1. GOES Movie of the Northeastern US Floods
2. GOES Blizzard movie

Note: The second movie linked to above, is a 2-minute movie compressed from GOES satellite data recorded February 1-16, 2010, capturing two blizzards which hit the Baltimore, Md. and Washington areas.

During the first two weeks of February, Washington, DC,  was put out of action by two blizzards which dumped heavy wet snow as follows:

• 5 inches fell on February 3
• 24 inches fell on February 6
• 12 inches on February 10.
• A second, back-to-back storm followed on February 16 dumping 10 inches on Philadelphia and New York, but spared Washington and Baltimor.

“These storms are called Nor’easters because the counter-clockwise circulation around a low pressure system on the Atlantic coast pushes moist sea air from the north-east into arctic air over the land. This windy mixture creates a very efficient snow-making machine from Boston to Washington. ‘The GOES movie illustrates how succeeding storms form along the Gulf coast, travel up the Atlantic coast, pause over the mid-Atlantic states, and finally slide out to sea,’ said a NASA official with GOES Project.” Source: NASA/EO website.

Related Links:

• Winter Officially Starts Today!
• Ready to Welcome Climate Refugees?
• Global Weather Chaos
• The World Is Rapidly Collapsing
• Deadly Winter Storm Paralyzes United States
• Deadly Weather in Your Area?
• US Northeast Snow Records Broken
• Humongous Snowstorm Paralyzes Eastern U.S.
• ‘Humongous’ storm spreads across the US

Deadly Storm Strikes Northeastern U.S.

Storm Kills 7, Damages Many Buildings and Leaves Up to a Million Homes Without Electricity

At least 7 people were killed many buildings were damaged and up to a million homes lost electricity after a torrential rainstorm battered northeastern United States.

Most of the damage occurred in Connecticut, New Jersey, New York and Pennsylvania, where strong winds and torrential rains uprooted trees, snapped power lines and flooded many of the streams in the weekend.

Three people were crushed to death by falling trees in Greenwich, Conn, Westport, Conn., and Hartsdale, N.Y.

NWS Radar Mosaic. Click Image to enlarge and update. (24-Hr FE ED).

“In Teaneck, N.J., two neighbors were killed by a falling oak tree as they headed home from a synagogue at 7 p.m. on Saturday.” A report said.

A police officer was killed in Rhode Island, after his car hydroplaned in a pool of water formed by the weekend storm.

“In New Hampshire, a large pine tree fell on a car travelling on a highway on Sunday afternoon, killing a man and injuring his wife and child, police said.”

In Ocean Grove, N.J., five homes were consumed by a large fire that was fueled by strong winds which also damaged a historic inn, reports said.

Storm advisories and flood warnings are in place in many areas throuought the Northeast and elsewhere.

Predominant Weather. Click Image to enlarge and update. (24-Hr FE ED).

Hazards. Click Image to enlarge and update. (24-Hr FE ED).

Related Links:

• US Weather
• Satellite Imagery
  

U.S. power plant explosion kills 50*

Nature Defaults on Supplying Man-made Power, Again?

*Up to 50 feared dead  with ‘bodies everywhere’ as Connecticut power plant explodes

The explosion leaves another 250 workers injured, with at least four of them in critical condition.

An aerial view of the Kleen Energy Systems plant, where an explosion may have killed up to 50 people, injuring another 250 others. Photo: AP/Getty Images. Image may be subject to copyright.

The blast occurred at a gas-fired power station in Middletown, Connecticut. At least 5 people were confirmed dead, but a spokesman at Middletown’s Middlesex hospital, said: “The reports vary from a few, several, to possibly as many as 50 dead.

“They are in the process of search and rescue.”

The shock wave caused by the explosion at the plant, located on the Connecticut River, was felt about 50km (~30 miles) away, according to various reports quoting witnesses, and was initially thought to be an earthquake. One witness said he could see “bodies everywhere,” while others said more victims could be buried in rubble.

The new 620Mw gas-fired power plant in Middletown would have been one of the largest in Connecticut, due to go online on June 1. The college town of Middletown is about 50km (30 miles) south of Connecticut state capital, Hartford.

In Murphy’s law has no time vector! posted on November 12, 2009, Fire-Earth moderators said:

The US, EU countries, China, Japan and other energy dinosaurs WILL experience similar disruptions…

And the Moderators amended Murphy’s Law:

If more things can go wrong they will go wrong about now!

Related Links:

• Major Blackout Plunges Brazil into Darkness
• Murphy’s law has no time vector!

• The First Wave of the World’s Collapsing Cities
• The Fate of Energy Dinosaurs
• State of the World

• Failing Ecosystems
• Point of NO return
• Human Impact on Nature
• Is a Future Possible?
• Can Humans Enter the Next Phase of the Future?

• Emerging Scenarios
• Giga Trends
• Nuking Earth for Lifestyle

US Tornado Brief

A Shrinking World Series

Updates:

• First lock on Mississippi River closes amid flood June 12, 2008

• Tornado kills four and injures up to 40 at Iowa boy scout camp June 12, 2008
• Midwest hit with floods June 11, 2008
• Midwest floods drowning crops; corn prices soar 11 Jun 2008
• Tornado kills four at Iowa boy scout camp 11 Jun 2008
• Midwest battles flood waters 11 Jun 2008
• Flooded Midwest braces for more rain 10 Jun 2008

• Video: Severe weather pounds U.S.
• Video:Holding a river at bay

What Tornado Headlines Say:

Copyright Editors or the News Agencies [Some editing by FEWW]

Deadly storms flood Midwest

At least five people were reported killed as heavy rains continued to pound the American Midwest on Sunday, flooding towns from Iowa to Michigan and threatening levees as lakes and rivers swelled.

Early Death Toll:

• Two delivery workers for The Grand Rapids Press in Michigan were killed Sunday when their car fell into a deep ravine created when a rain-swollen creek washed out a road.

• A woman died in Lansing Michigan, when a small trailer blew over on top of her.

• At least one person died as the result of rising waters, police spokesman in Columbus, Indiana said.

Meanwhile, storms in Nebraska spun out an early-morning Omaha tornado about a quarter-mile wide that moved northeast. As much as 11 inches of rain flooded central Indiana over the weekend.

Most towns south of Indianapolis and further west in Terre Haute received 6-10 inches of rainfall, said a meteorologist with the National Weather Service. He said some affected areas hadn’t seen a such flooding for 100 years.

Flood waters continued to rise throughout Iowa on Sunday, with the northern part of the state receiving up to 5 inches of rain from a single afternoon storm.

Two delivery workers in Michigan were killed when their car fell into a ravine. (Photo: AP/ The Grand Rapids Press) Image may be subject to copyright. See FEWW Fair Use Notice!

Tornadoes maul homes, flip vehicles

A series of tornadoes destroyed homes, toppled power lines and flipped vehicles Saturday as a small but powerful storm system moved through the region, cutting just south of Chicago before weakening and moving over Lake Michigan.

Some of the damage in Monee. (Photo: Scott Stewart/Sun-Times) Image may be subject to copyright. See FEWW Fair Use Notice!

“It was kind of like a train coming through the living room,” An eye witness said. “The building was shaking. There was a lot of commotion.” He said his neighborhood looked like a war zone, with siding, branches and debris strewn everywhere.

Lightning strikes pavilion as storms blow through Connecticut state park; 1 killed, 4 hurt

Lightning struck a pavilion at a Connecticut state park killing one person and injuring four others. Strong thunderstorms moved through the state Sunday leaving thousands of homes without power.

Powerful storms swamp U.S. Midwest, spawn tornadoes

Heavy rains caused flooding that forced hundreds of evacuations in Indiana, and a tornado raked Chicago’s suburbs on Saturday as violent thunderstorms pummeled the already soggy U.S. heartland, authorities said.

The U.S. Coast Guard was called out to help rescue stranded homeowners and motorists, and near-record flooding was forecast for rivers and creeks in western and central Indiana where Gov. Mitch Daniels declared an emergency in 10 more counties, added to the 41 counties declared earlier. At least one person was injured and some 29,000 households were without power.

“We’ve had some reports of houses destroyed,” said Andrew Krein of the National Weather Service.

Tornadoes also struck in Iowa and Wisconsin, capping a season that has seen a parade of storms spawning tornadoes, hail and destructive winds. According to the weather service, 112 people have died in tornadoes since the beginning of the year, the most in the United States in a decade.

Weather service warns of ‘violent’ tornadoes in Plains

Large hail, strong winds and heavy rain are reported in northwest Kansas in a powerful storm system that could produce large tornadoes in the state before nightfall.

In a strongly-worded statement Thursday, the National Weather Service warned that parts of Kansas could see hail bigger than baseballs, 80-mph-plus winds and “a few strong to violent long-lived tornadoes.”

Forecasters say severe thunderstorms will form by late afternoon in central and south-central Kansas and move toward eastern Kansas, Nebraska, northwestern Missouri and Iowa.

68 Tornadoes Have Hit Mississippi In 2008

The Storm Prediction Center – the National Weather Service office responsible for severe weather forecasts and tallies – says that 1,330 tornadoes have been reported this year. Not all of those tornadoes have been confirmed yet, but even still the numbers of confirmed tornadoes are already nearly three times that of the most active periods of previous years.

The National Weather Service Forecast Office in Jackson says 68 tornadoes have been confirmed to have touched down in Mississippi so far this year. In 2007, a total of 33 tornadoes touched down. In less than half the time the number of tornadoes has more than doubled.

Tornadoes and heavy rain struck Northern Minnesota

At least two tornadoes broke loose Friday morning in the far northeastern corner of Minnesota, where heavy overnight rains led to flash flooding throughout Cook County and the city of Grand Marais. About 5 inches of rain fell at Grand Marais.

Water coming down the hill next to Highway 61, west of Grand Marais. (Photo: Stephan Hoglund/ Star Tribune). Image may be subject to copyright. See FEWW Fair Use Notice!

Related Links:

• Deadly Storms Hit US Midsection
• Will 2008 be year of the tornadoes, too?
• 2008: Year of the Fire

EPA Sued Over GHG Pollution

The states of Massachusetts, Arizona, California, Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Iowa, Maine, Maryland, Minnesota, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington sued the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) yesterday for failing to limit greenhouse gas emissions from new cars and trucks. The lawsuit came one year after the Supreme Court ruled that the agency had the power to do so.

Main Entry: 18 States Sue EPA Over GHG Pollution
Original Report: 18 states sue EPA over greenhouse gas pollution