The heavens declare the glory of God;
the skies proclaim the work of his hands.
-Psalm 19:1

Do you know that God controls the clouds and makes his lightning flash?
-Job 37:15



Wednesday, May 14, 2008

Cyclones, Earthquakes, Tornadoes and Wildfires... weather around the world

Of all the horrific news... this has to be among the worst... Cyclone devastated Yangon, Myanmar (Burma), with their militaristic junta preventing outside relief because they "have their own team to cope with the situation", a situation that has resulted in a tragic loss of life on top of the already high loss of life resulting directly from the cyclone itself, has YET ANOTHER tropical cyclone expected to head toward the same region. Thanks, Mikey, for sharing the story with me.


Reports a tropical depression was swirling southwest of Yangon and that it could develop into a major storm sparked concerns that a new tragedy could follow the early May cyclone that left up to 100,000 people dead or missing in the Irrawaddy delta. ~Source.
At this time, I am getting conflicting reports about the situation with a potential new storm... according to one story...
A.R. Subbiah, director for the climate risk management team at the U.N.'s Bangkok-based Asia Disaster Preparedness Center, told Reuters later:

"It is part of the monsoon system... Nothing to worry... It is very unlikely to develop into some kind of Nargis." ~Source.
... however, the more recent article, as well as the Naval Research Laboratory, present a differing view. It appears that it is not only possible, but most likely. (Update courtesy of Mikey... doesn't look like it will happen... whew.) That area is already ravaged with a tremendous amount of loss of life. A secondary strike in the same area would be catastrophic. The outcome is unbearable to consider. What can you do? Pray. (Prayers answered)

As for other news... I never did report on the major earthquake in Dijiangyan, China that took the lives of about 15,000 people, including 100's of children within a school that was completely destroyed, when an earthquake measuring 7.9 on the Richter Scale, took a horribly deadly toll. Effects and damage were noted 980 miles away in Beijing, so that speaks to the destructive power of this horrible quake. Fortunately, a big difference is the relief effort underway... rescue and relief are freely being accepted.
The Party's swift action to mobilize a massive rescue force has made a jarring comparison with that of Myanmar, whose government's slow response to a devastating cyclone has infuriated aid and rights groups ~Source.
Today, we are facing YET ANOTHER slight risk for severe weather in the plains... Texarkana is under fire today with a threat of tornadoes and large hail. Tomorrow, the slight risk shifts (barely) into my neck of the woods, during a time (Thursday) where I am not available to storm chase... frustrating. The scene in Texas seems like a 1,2 punch as conditions are ripe now, but afternoon heating is expected to spark round two... Crazy weather. Interesting discussion associated with the day 2 (Thursday) outlook:
THUNDERSTORMS SHOULD READILY DEVELOP...ALBEIT IN A SEEMINGLY RANDOM FASHION...AHEAD OF UPPER SYSTEM AS THERMODYNAMIC PROFILES WILL BE EXTREMELY MOIST AND UNDOUBTEDLY UNCAPPED.
With all these wildfires in Florida raging dangerously close to my neck of the woods, words such as, EXTREMELY MOIST, really offer a glimmer of hope. I have heard a few stories talking about the hundred plus homes consumed by the flames, which were started by arson. How awful is that?! Currently, there are 108 wildfires blazing with 17,131.2 acres of land on fire. Here is a current report. Another one of those years...

As an aside, I would like to welcome the newest elected member of the Southern Weather Brigade storm chasing team, Storm Chasing Mikey. He was terrific support for bf and I when we went out on our busted chase... thanks, Mikey and welcome aboard!

God be with everyone suffering...
~Dewdrop

6 comments:

  1. Another Typhoon in Burma right now is hard to image. I got my bio up on the team page :)

    SCM

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  2. I was just blogging about that when the comment came in. Welcome aboard, Mikey. Have a great time at spotter class tonight!! Great bio!

    You're right about Burma, hard to imagine. The consequences... I shudder to think.

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  3. It appears as though the threat was not legit. The Low Pressure area has pretty much been broken apart.

    1. REMARKS:
    THIS CANCELS REF A. THE AREA OF CONVECTION PREVIOUSLY LOCATED NEAR
    16.7N 95.7E, IS NOW LOCATED NEAR 18.0N 94.4E, APPROXIMATELY 125 NM
    NORTHWEST OF YANGON, MYANMAR. RECENT ANIMATED INFRARED AND VISIBLE
    SATELLITE IMAGERY INDICATES SIGNIFICANT WEAKENING OF THE LOW LEVEL
    CIRCULATION CENTER (LLCC) WITH ISOLATED AND DISORGANIZED CONVECTION
    FLARING DUE TO OROGRAPHIC LIFT. THE 141320Z SSMIS MICROWAVE IMAGE
    DEPICTS WEAK CONVECTIVE BANDING AND A POORLY DEFINED LLCC. RECENT
    SURFACE OBSERVATIONS WITHIN 60 NM OF THE CENTER INDICATED SLP
    OF 1002 MB AND LIGHT SURFACE WINDS. THE SYSTEM IS CURRENTLY
    TRACKING SLOWLY NORTH-NORTHWESTWARD ALONG THE COAST AND IS FORE-
    CAST TO CONTINUE INTERACTING WITH THE COASTAL MOUNTAIN RANGE,
    WHICH WILL CONTINUE TO HINDER FURTHER DEVELOPMENT. MAXIMUM
    SUSTAINED SURFACE WINDS ARE ESTIMATED AT 20 TO 25 KNOTS. MINIMUM
    SEA LEVEL PRESSURE IS ESTIMATED TO BE NEAR 1002 MB. DUE TO THE
    WEAKENED LLCC AND LAND INTERACTION, THE POTENTIAL FOR THE
    DEVELOPMENT OF A SIGNIFICANT TROPICAL CYCLONE WITHIN THE NEXT 24
    HOURS IS DOWNGRADED TO POOR.//
    NNNN

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  4. Whew! What a relief that is, Mikey. Thanks for passing along that update.... an answer to our prayers?

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  5. It's really hard to imagine what would be the lives of the people over there in Burma. :( They don't have enough shelter and foods and here is another storm for them...

    Isn't it odd that all these things happen in just a few weeks between each other? Killer tornadoes last mother's day, Cyclone in Myanmar, Chaiten Volcano explodes in Chile, 7.9 magnitude Earthquake in China, Wildfire in Florida...

    What's next? :( I hope things would get better...

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  6. Yes, Ice. Let's all pray that things get better.

    I just read that the death toll from the quake in China might climb to 50,000. I heard that relief organizations suspect that the junta stated death toll in Myanmar of 38,000, is actually more likely in excess of 200,000. This is turning out to be a historic year for deaths resulting from natural disasters.

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Dew comment, please...